Second Chance Summer

We’d discovered that we both liked the grassy area with the picnic tables. It had a balance of sun and shade, and looked out at the water—but, most importantly, it provided an excellent view of the parking lot, which meant that we would be able to see Fred’s truck if he happened to drop by. He did this occasionally, and it always indicated the fish had refused to bite for him that day—meaning he would already be in a disgruntled mood and would probably not be too happy to see two of his employees lying out in the sun while on the clock.

We headed straight for what had quickly become our favorite spot. Elliot handling the next three customers could mean, in the late-afternoon lull we were in, that it might be half an hour before we had to return to the snack bar. Lucy kicked off the flip-flops we weren’t technically supposed to be wearing in the kitchen and sank down cross-legged onto the grass. I followed, lying back on my elbows and turning my face up to the sun.

“So,” Lucy said, turning to look at me. “How’s everything going?” Since we’d been working together all day, I knew this wasn’t just an idle inquiry. It was her coded way of asking about my dad, which she did every few days, always careful not to press it if I didn’t want to talk. I hadn’t realized how much I would appreciate someone else knowing about him. It was so nice to just be able to shrug off the question, and to know that she would listen if I wanted to talk—which I hadn’t, really, yet. But the opportunity was there. Mostly, it was just a relief not to have to pretend, as I was still doing with almost everyone else, that things were still just fine.

“About the same,” I said, squinting out at the water. This was pretty much the truth. My father seemed to be doing basically the same. He was working on his case and on his project, which remained a secret despite Warren’s many attempts to crack the mystery. My dad seemed to have calmed down a little bit in terms of the mail order—we were no longer deluged with gourmet packages from around the world—but he was still trying to read as much and see as many movies as possible. Possibly as a result of this, he had started taking a nap every afternoon. He was also thinner than ever, despite all the Belgian chocolates. We’d been to the diner for breakfast two more times but with each visit, he seemed to eat a little bit less of whatever he ordered. My mother had started trying to counterbalance this at dinner by simply serving him double the portion that the rest of us were eating, and then watching him like a hawk throughout the meal, so that she barely ate anything herself. At dinner two nights ago, my dad had only picked at his food, starting to wince whenever he took a bite, and he’d finally looked up at my mother and sighed.

“I’m sorry, Katie,” he said, as he moved his plate away. “I just don’t have any appetite.”

My mother had sent me for a vanilla milkshake from Jane’s for him, but by the time I’d come back with it, he’d already gone to bed. I’d ended up sitting on the back steps, drinking it myself as I looked out at the moonlight hitting the surface of the lake.

I kicked off my own flip-flops and stretched out my legs in front of me on the grass, hoping Lucy would understand that I wanted to change the subject. “So what’s up with Kevin?”

“Kyle,” Lucy corrected. “Kevin was last week.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I shook my head, smiling. Since her breakup with Stephen, Lucy had been dating her way through all of Lake Phoenix’s eligible—and not-so-eligible—guys. She seemed to still be completely unaware that Elliot was pining openly for her and messing up most customers’ orders as a result. And the one time I’d tried to hint to her that there might be dating prospects with someone she already knew, someone she was friends with, she’d thought I was trying to set her up with Warren, and things had briefly gotten very uncomfortable.

“But you could have Kevin!” Lucy said, her face lighting up. “And then we could double. Perfection.”

“Luce,” I said, shaking my head, and Lucy sighed. Ever since she’d reentered the dating scene with a vengeance, she was always trying to get me to go out with her. But I had resisted every invitation, knowing full well the reason why.

“Is this because of Henry?” she asked, fixing me with her direct gaze.

“No,” I said, much too quickly for it to be the truth. Because it absolutely was. I hadn’t talked to him since we’d been on the dock together, but whenever I’d gone into Borrowed Thyme to pick something up, I’d been disappointed when it wasn’t him behind the counter. I’d seen him a few times at a distance, in his kayak on the lake, silhouetted against the sun.

“You need to do something about that,” Lucy said as she lay back down on the ground and closed her eyes. “Either become friends with him again, or tell him how you feel and get it over with.” Before I could respond, Lucy’s phone beeped with a text, and she grinned as she sat up. “Bet you it’s Kyle,” she said, drawing out the syllables of his name. But her face fell as she read the text. “It’s just Elliot,” she said, dropping her phone back on the grass again. “He says he needs you to come back.” Since I’d started to have more of a social life, I’d begun carrying my phone again, but Elliot would always call Lucy’s phone, even when the message was for me.

“Fine.” I sighed, but I was already standing up and sliding my feet into my flip-flops. I was actually grateful to have some time to think about what Lucy had said. I wasn’t going to ask Henry out—he had a girlfriend with annoyingly perfect hair—but maybe we could be friends again. Did I really have anything to lose?

“Don’t let him trick you into staying,” Lucy said as I started toward the snack bar. “We still need to talk about the Kyle situation.”

I nodded as I headed to the employee entrance. I had a feeling that Elliot might actually need my help, because if he just wanted one of us to keep him company, he would have asked for Lucy. “What is it?” I asked, as I came in through the side door, going temporarily blind as my eyes adjusted to the darkness after the brightness of the day outside.

Elliot tipped his head toward the front window. “You were requested specifically,” he said. Gelsey and Nora stood in front of the window, my sister smiling, Nora looking impatient.

“Hey, you two,” I said, stepping up to the center of the counter. “What’s up?”