Page 30 of Bad Summer People
“Sam Weinstein jumped in the bay!” Jason heard someone scream, sending nearly the whole town of Salcombe racing to the bulkhead to get a glimpse of the village golden boy having a drunken breakdown. Sam was floating on his back, about ten feet out. His face looked calm, and his eyes were closed. Jason felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Jen, panicked. She was still in her bathing suit and cover-up; her hair was matted to her head, and she didn’t have any makeup on.
“You have to get him out of there. Now. Get him out!” She was nearly crying.
Jason saw Rachel staring at him and Jen coldly, eyeing Jen’s hand on Jason’s arm.
Motherfucker,thought Jason.Rachel knows.But he didn’t have time to think about it, not really, because he had to go rescue Sam. Once, when they were seventeen, a group of them had gone swimming in the ocean at night, stupidly, drunkenly. The waves weren’t huge, but there was a strong pull that Jason hadn’t anticipated. He’d suddenly found himself far away from the shoreline in the pitch-blackness, the water cold and gray. A surge plunged him under, and he didn’t know if he was headed up or down. He’d finally sputtered up into the air, gasping and frightened. He couldn’t see his friends, though he could hear their voices. He thought about how mad his mom and dad would be to get a call that he’d drowned after chugging eight beers and jumping in the freezing Atlantic. “Jason! Jason!” He’d heard Sam first and then felt his grip on his torso, strong for a kid. “Let’s get you back. Come on, come on,” Sam repeated, dragging him along as they went, reaching the sand and collapsing together.
Now it was his turn to help, though it didn’t look like Sam was at risk of drowning. Just of making an even bigger fool of himself. He went to the bulkhead, teetering on the edge. “I’m coming to get you!”
Jason jumped into the bay. The shock of the water hit his clothed body. He dunked his head in the murky liquid before bobbing back up,almost directly next to his friend. Sam was still doing a back float. Jason doggy paddled over to him. Everyone was watching them.
“Let’s go, get the fuck out of the water. You’re making a scene and you’re also scaring Jen.”
“Oh, fuck Jen,” said Sam, not opening his eyes.
“Come on, dude, that’s your wife.” The words got stuck in his throat as he said it. It was freezing in the water, and Jason was feeling weighed down by his clothes. He was circling his legs underneath him to stay afloat. He didn’t want to do this for much longer.
“She’s cheating on me. Rachel told me. I was going to speak to you about it, but you’ve been avoiding me. Why?”
“I told you, I’ve been slammed with work,” said Jason. He couldn’t think quickly in this situation—he needed to get out of the bay to get his story straight. He looked up to see revelers lining the shore, methodically sipping their wines.
“Who could it be?” asked Sam. “Max Leavitt? I saw them talking closely once at a party at the Grobels’. It couldn’t be Paul, could it?! No, he’s way too short for her. Plus, she hates him.” Sam paused. “Do you think she’s fucking that tennis pro? He’s good-looking. But that would be such a cliché. That’s not Jen’s thing. Anyway, it seems like that guy only has eyes for Lauren.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Jason. Though maybe it was true. Lauren had been acting odd lately, hadn’t she? His heart was beating in his ears and his shoes felt like rocks on his legs. “What happened at work?” Jason asked. “Is the investigation over?”
“I got a call from Henry this morning informing me that I’ll no longer be working while they finish it. They’re not firing me; I’m just ‘on pause,’ as that dickhead put it.”
“And what about the girl? Any news of her?”
“No, no idea. I believe she’s still at the firm on the corporate side. I haven’t heard otherwise.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Well, now everyone in town knows, including Jen, so I guess I’ll just kill myself.”
“Not funny,” said Jason. “Listen, I’ll help you. We can find the best lawyers to represent you. Even if you end up losing your job, the firm will have to pay you millions in reputational damage.”
Sam was silent. They’d floated farther out, to the point that they were semi in danger of entering boat traffic. Jason saw Jen standing on the edge of the bulkhead. She looked young. She was shivering. Someone had given her a sweater, which was wrapped around her small shoulders.
Jason felt weird, like his whole life had led up to this uncomfortable moment. “Come on, let’s go back. Lauren is going to cut my head off if we don’t eat some of her fucking gourmet churros.”
Sam laughed softly. He turned over, finally, and started doing the crawl stroke to the small ladder that led up to the beach. Jason followed in his wake, grateful the end was in sight. They climbed out one after the other, just like they used to when they were kids during swimming lessons at camp. First Sam, then Jason.
The crowd mercifully dispersed as they emerged, everyone too embarrassed to ask if they were okay, retreating to their own picnic areas to privately, gleefully discuss what had just happened.
Jen and Rachel handed them both towels, which they’d gotten from who knows where, and Lauren appeared in front of Jason, looking concerned for once. The group went back to their spread, everyone standing around awkwardly in front of the cold nachos and browned guacamole. Brian and Lisa had made their way to another area, perhaps ashamed to be associated with Sam’s antics. The sun was hanging at the horizon, a gigantic red orb, about to set. Jason needed to get out of his soaked clothes, but he wasn’t sure what the protocol was for a situation like this. It was Sam, Jason, Lauren, Jen, Rachel, and Robert, hands in his pockets, looking amused. Sam broke the ice.
“Well, everyone, you could say I had a bad day. I’m having an issue at work—someone accused me of something I didn’t do—and so I’m now on leave from my job. It really set me off. I’m sorry to everyone here for my behavior. I’m sorry especially to Rachel’s guacamole. I know I’ve let you down.”
Everyone laughed. After all these years, Jason was still shocked at Sam’s ability to disarm and charm people.
Jen walked over to Sam and locked arms with him. They looked at each other and smiled, and Jen whispered something into Sam’s ear. Jason felt light-headed. What was happening here? He started to shake, maybe from the cold, maybe from nerves.
“Lauren, I have to go home and get out of these clothes,” said Jason. “Are you okay with the kids?”
Lauren nodded. He didn’t say goodbye to anyone. People stared as he passed, but he didn’t give a shit. He wasn’t the one who’d flown off the handle and humiliated himself in front of the entire town. He hurried home as the sky darkened, nearly running all the way along the boardwalk. Jason could hear the band playing as he went. “Hey Jude,” then a weak version of “When I’m Sixty-Four.” He wondered if he’d be with Lauren until then. That was over twenty more years.
When he got back, he went into his room, with its soothing blues and charming beachy décor, and closed the door. He grabbed his phone and opened Signal.
