When I sit up and stretch, Jay appears in the doorway. “You’re finally up,” he says, smiling. He’s showered, shaved, and dressed, and has the wide-awake appearance of someone who’s been out of bed for quite a while.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“It’s after ten. We decided not to wake you for breakfast, because you looked to be in a deep sleep.”
Jay watches as I stretch my arm in various positions, hoping to loosen the tightness in my shoulder. “Do you want something to eat? Scrambled eggs?”
He remembers how I like my eggs. “Not yet. Thanks,” I say. “I still feel groggy. I should have woken up sooner.”
“Let me know when you’re hungry,” he says, turning to go.
After a hot shower and another pain reliever, I find all four men in the open area that includes the living room and dining room. Brendan and Jonathan are working on laptops; Corbin and Jay are looking at their phones. All of them look up when I enter the room.
“Have a nice sleep?” Jonathan asks.
“Too much sleep,” I say, “You could have woken me up.”
“You must have needed the rest,” Jay says. One of his hands is resting on Roscoe, who’s curled up next to him on the couch.
“We’ve been keeping you busy,” Brendan adds, his voice telling me that he’s not talking about the sightseeing.
“Speaking of that,” I say, “I’d like to stay in today —”
“Okay,” Jay says, nodding.
“But I’d like all of you to go out,” I finish.
The men start to object, just as I assumed they would.
“It says there’s a brewery tour in Hayden County,” Corbin says, pointing at his phone.
“You’ve been searching for indoor activities, haven’t you?” I say. The men all look at me, guilty as charged. “That’s very sweet of you. I appreciate your concern about my health, but I know you didn’t come here to stay indoors all day.”
“We don’t mind —” Brendan says.
“I mind,” I say, cutting him off. “I don’t want to be the reason you spend your vacation indoors. Jay, don’t you need to be out taking pictures? It looks like a beautiful day for it. And don’t the rest of you need to be climbing mountains or rappelling down a waterfall or something?”
Jonathan is laughing as he says, “I don’t think there are any waterfalls nearby, and the mountains are pretty far away, but point taken.”
“What if we want to spend time with you?” Jay asks.
“We can be together tonight. For now, go out and have some fun.”
It takes more persuading, but I finally get the four men to leave. The big beach house feels empty as soon as they’re gone, and I almost regret sending them away, but I know it was the right thing to do.
So that I will be able to spend the evening with them, I text Valerie, apologizing for the short notice, but asking her for the next two nights off. They’re the busiest nights of the week, so I feel bad asking, but I almost never miss work and I have a ton of vacation days saved. After checking with Barrett, who agrees to cover for me, Valerie gives the okay.
In the kitchen, I forage for something small to eat, after turning down Jay’s offer to make breakfast for me before he left. I settle on toast and an apple, and share the fruit with Roscoe while we sit out on the back deck.
The day passes quickly. I sleep a little, read a little, and take Roscoe for a short walk on the beach.
When the men return, they smell of fresh air and sunshine, and are full of stories about their day. We eat an early dinner, prepared by Jay, take Roscoe for another walk after sunset, and then the bedtime fun begins.
Over breakfast the next morning, I tell the men to go enjoy their activities without me again, but they won’t hear of it. I don’t push, because it’s their last day here, and I’d really rather spend it with them anyway.
“I saw signs for a farmer’s market,” Jay says. “I could go pick up some fresh items for our meals today. Maybe they have seafood there.”
“Let’s all go,” I say. “The market’s really nice.”