It’s rather fitting that Laura arrives in the pouring rain. Thunder claps loudly and lightning streaks across the mid-day sky. Headlights flash across the screen door at the front of the house, and I get up to go see who it is. I recognize the headlights immediately. Is it terrible that I am happier to see my car than I am to see Laura?

“Better go get her,” Pop mutters at me.

Katie is with her family at Cabin 114, so it was just me and Pop today. Pop has spent his rainy afternoon absorbed in a jigsaw puzzle.

“Do I have to?” I mutter back.

He looks up from his puzzle. “Take an umbrella.”

In all the years we were married, Laura has only been here twice. She didn’t enjoy the lake; she liked the beach a lot more, so when I would come to visit Pop, she would go away with her girlfriends.

She doesn’t get out of the car, since the rain is coming down in sheets. Or perhaps she’s just stalling. I’m not sure which.

I grab an umbrella from the mud room and step out onto the porch. I open it and walk slowly down the steps. Now I know what a man might feel like when he’s walking down that long hallway toward an execution room. It’s awful, terrifying, and my palms are sweating by the time I get to the car. I hold the umbrella open over the car door and she manually rolls the window down. It jerks a little.

Laura smiles at me. “Hi,” she says.

“You want to get out?” I ask.

She nods, and takes a deep breath. Then she rolls the window back up. She holds tightly to the steering wheel for a moment and bows her head. Then the door opens with a creak.

“Thanks for bringing the car,” I say as she stands up. She’s a lot taller than Katie. God, I shouldn’t be comparing them. I can’t help it. They’re polar opposites.

“You’re welcome,” she says as she reaches back to grab her purse, and a big brown envelope. Her hand shakes as she holds it out to me. “I brought the papers you wanted me to sign. I had them notarized and everything. So all you have to do is file them.”

I take the envelope from her. “Thanks. You want to come inside?” I lean my head toward the big house.

“Is your dad here?” She smiles what I think is probably a genuine smile. I never could tell about Laura’s smiles.

“He’s inside working on a puzzle.” I take her elbow. “Come in. He’ll be happy to see you.”

“If you’re sure,” she says hesitantly.

“I’m sure.” I hold the umbrella over her head as we go up the steps. She stops on the porch and kicks off her wet shoes. She always did that at home, too. Wet shoes never mattered to me, but they did to her.

She comes in, and I stop to shake the water from the umbrella as she greets Pop. She hugs him and admires his puzzle from over his shoulder, and then she picks up a puzzle piece and puts it in place. Pop grunts and covers her hand where it’s resting on his shoulder. He pats it and she smiles. Her eyes meet mine.

“You want something to drink?” I ask as she loiters around the kitchen.

Pop looks out the kitchen window. “The rain is slowing down. Why don’t you two take a walk?”

I look at Laura. She shifts uncomfortably on her feet and shrugs her shoulders. “Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah, okay,” I say. I walk to the door and Laura follows me. She stops and puts her shoes back on.

We walk in silence side by side. “Where’s the baby?” I ask. I didn’t even think of her child when she got here. What kind of husband does that make me? The kind that didn’t father her child, apparently.

“Oh, she’s with Freddy,” Laura says. She looks down at her watch. “He should be here in about an hour. I hope that’s okay. I needed someone to pick me up.”

I stumble over my own toe. “Fred’s coming here?”

She nods. “Is that all right?”

Hell no, it’s not all right. “Sure. Whatever.”

She stops and turns to face me. “I’m sorry, Jake. I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I look everywhere but at her.

“I should have told you. I should have given you some warning. But…I couldn’t. I tried so many times. But I didn’t want to hurt you. There was a tiny little part of me that hoped desperately that the baby would be yours.”

“You should have warned me.”

She stares up at me and I finally allow myself to look into her eyes. “To be honest, there was also a part of me that hoped the baby wasn’t yours.” She sucks in a breath. “Through the years, my feelings for you changed.”

I nod. I can’t think of a single word to say.

“I thought a baby would fix everything, but then we had such a hard time getting pregnant, and with all the babies we lost…” Tears fill her eyes and she doesn’t try to stop them. “We stopped loving one another. And all I had left was the idea of a happy family. I wanted one desperately. Each child we lost made me want it more.”

I swallow hard. “Why would you turn to Fred, of all people?”

“I met Freddy before I met you,” she says. “Do you remember that night?”

I nod.

“He was sweet and charming and quiet, and he seemed so steady. And then I saw you. And you eclipsed the sun, Jake. You were vibrant and outgoing, and you were so strong. I thought what I wanted was strength. But it’s not. You didn’t just eclipse the sun. You eclipsed me. I could never keep up with you. You wanted action and I wanted to sleep. You wanted movement and I wanted silence. You couldn’t sit still and I couldn’t take enough breaks.”

“I resented the hell out of you then,” I admit.

She sighs. “You probably still do.”

I nod and an ironic chuckle escapes my lips. “I have lately, that’s for sure.”

“I should have told you how I felt.”

“But Fred, of all people? How did that happen?”

She shrugs. “He dropped by one night when you were gone. You might have even been here.” She stops and looks toward the water. “This was where you always wanted to be.” She clears her throat. “Anyway, he came to bring back something he’d borrowed from you, I don’t even remember what it was, and he stayed and talked to me. And before I knew it, we’d finished off two bottles of wine and we’d— Well, we’d betrayed you. We woke up the next day wrapped up in blankets and regrets.”

“Did you at least change the sheets?” I ask sarcastically.

She lets my comment slide. “Freddy was furious with himself. He couldn’t believe he’d let it happen. You were his best friend, and he was beside himself with worry. He wanted to tell you right away, but I wouldn’t let him.”

I start walking toward the water again, because I don’t want to hear about Fred’s guilt. I just don’t.

I step onto the dock and walk to the end. She follows me. I finally turn to face her.

“Hate me. Don’t hate him,” she says. “I take all the blame.”

I reach up and push a lock of blond hair behind her ear. “I think I’ve done quite enough hating the both of you. I think I’m ready to be finished with that.”

“Can you forgive us?”

I nod and shove my hands into my pockets. “Yeah, I can.”

“I was so worried I’d come here and find you still angry at me. And at Freddy.”

“Are you together now?”

She nods. “Yeah, we are. We’re trying it out. Seeing where it goes.”

“Well, you do have a baby together.” I try out a laugh, but it falls flat like a dead fish on the dock.

“There’s that.” She laughs too. Another dead fish.

“Does your baby still have all that red hair?”

She laughs again and a real smile lights up her face. “She does. I try to put little barrettes in it, but she just pulls them out. It’s not meant to be tamed, apparently.”

I nod and stare over the quiet water. Now that the storm has passed, the air hangs heavy with dampness and the water is completely still.

“Our lease is almost up at our apartment,” she says. “I thought I might start to pack things up.”

“I can come and help you.”

She lays her fingertips briefly on my arm. “That’s okay. I can do it. I’ll ship your things.”

“Take the baby stuff with you.”

She grins. “Well, it’s not like you have much use for it.”

I don’t tell her about Katie. The feeling of calmness between us is too new. It’s too raw. I don’t want to break it. I don’t want to rip the bandage off a second time. “True.” I turn in a circle, staring out over the water. “I think it hurt me more losing Fred than it did losing you,” I admit. Then I wince, because I know that sounds crass and intentionally hurtful.

“Well, that should tell us both something.”

“I want you to be happy,” I tell her.

“I want that for you too, Jake. I want you to find someone who fills up all your empty places.”

“Does Fred fill yours?”

She smiles. “Yeah, I think he does.”

Katie and her family fill mine. I never realized I had any until now.

I see a familiar head of red hair coming toward us, and recognize Fred. I’d know his lumbering gait anywhere. In his arms, he’s holding a baby with the same shockingly-red hair. He stops at the end of the dock.

“Is it okay if he comes to say hi?” Laura asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “The more the merrier.”

She motions him forward.

He walks forward slowly and carefully. “Jake,” he says.

“Fred,” I reply.

But then his daughter starts to jump in his arms and she throws her pudgy little body toward her mother. Laura catches her as the little girl falls toward her. I can’t help but smile.

“What did you name her?” I ask.

“Patricia, after my grandmother,” Laura says.

I clap my hands in front of her, and she leans toward me. “Can I hold her?” I ask as I slide my hands under her armpits.

“You’re not going to throw her in the lake or anything, are you?” Laura asks.

“Not unless she’s wearing a life preserver,” I say. I take her weight and set her on my hip. “She’s a lump.” She’s a lot bigger than Hank. I look at Fred. “She looks like you.”

“Some girls have all the luck.” He pretends to polish his knuckles on his shirt.

“She’s really beautiful,” I tell him. “Congratulations.” I hitch Patricia onto my other hip and extend my hand. He takes it warily.

“Thanks,” he says. “Jake—” Then he stops and shakes his head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, buddy,” I tell him. “It all worked out.”

He nods. “Okay.”

“I’m not sorry I beat you up.”

“I deserved it.”

“You did.”

Fred looks off toward the distance. He sees a girl walking toward us. “God, that girl looks just like Katie,” he whispers almost to himself. He shakes his head.

“I know, right?” I reply.

Fred points. “Is that…?” He looks at me.

Katie stands at the end of the dock with Gabby. “The younger one is Katie’s daughter. She looks just like her. Katie has three more kids, too. She’s been here all summer.” My face suddenly gets hot and I hate it.

Fred arches a brow at me. “All summer?” He grins.

“Yeah.” I kick a shell off the edge of the dock. It plunks into the water.

“And?” Fred prompts.

“And I think I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

Laura sucks in a breath.

“I didn’t say that to hurt you,” I rush to explain.

Her eyes fill up with tears and she lays a hand on my arm. “It’s okay, Jake. I want you to be happy.”

Fred runs toward Katie, swooping her up as she throws her arms around his neck. He spins her around.

“That one’s mine!” I yell at them. Katie scowls at me over Fred’s shoulder until he sets her on her feet.

Fred flips me the bird.

Laura takes the baby from me and laughs uncomfortably. Another dead fish on the dock.

I look at Laura and her daughter. “And you two, you’re his.” I lean over and kiss Laura on the forehead. “We’re going to be okay,” I tell her.

Laura nods and wipes a tear from her cheek. “Yeah. I know.”