I introduce Gabby. “This is my oldest. And I have a nine-year-old, Alex, and a seven-year-old, Trixie, and a new baby, Hank. My husband died. Military.” I don’t say more. I don’t think I need to.
“I’m so sorry,” Freddy says.
I shrug. “Life goes on.”
“So, you and Jake, huh?” He leans in and bumps my shoulder.
“Maybe.” I can’t give him more than that.
“She signed the papers,” Fred says. “That’s why she came, to give them to him and bring his car. And she needed to talk to him.”
“I think he needed to talk to her too.” I look up at him. “Can I meet your daughter?”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” We walk down the dock to where Jake and Laura are still standing. I introduce myself to Laura and she’s very gracious and polite, and her daughter is gorgeous.
Jake gets a gleam in his eye. “Hey, Fred,” Jake says, as he hitches his shorts higher.
“Hey, Jake,” Fred says.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I say. I point my finger at both of them and shake it. I’ve seen them do this before. More than once.
“What?” Laura looks from one to the other. She has no idea what’s coming.
I take the baby from Laura and pass her to Gabby, who doesn’t even think twice about it. Gabby steps back from all of us. “You’ll thank me later,” I tell Laura. “Now run!”
I turn and try to run past Jake, but he snakes an arm around my waist and picks me up. “You want time to hold your nose?” he asks.
“Jake, if you throw me in the lake, I’m going to—” I sputter because I can’t think of anything bad enough to threaten him with.
“You’re going to what?” Jake taunts as he dangles me over the lake. He kicks his shoes off one by one and leaves them on the dock. His phone lands in the pile.
“I’m going to tell your father on you!” I shout. And then Jake jumps into the lake with me in his arms. Two seconds later, there’s another splash as Fred and Laura hit the water too.
We burst into the water in a tangle of limbs and Jake pulls me back to the surface with him. “You still mad at me?”
I shake my head. “I think I’m done with that,” I whisper to Jake as I tread water beside him. “But I reserve the right to find a different reason to be mad at you tomorrow.”
He points over at Freddy and Laura, who are treading water and laughing with one another. “They look content, don’t they?” he whispers to me.
“Very,” I say. “Hold that thought,” I add. Then I hoist myself up on his shoulders and push him under the water.
“That was a really dirty trick,” he says, blowing water from his lips as he surfaces.
“I have all kinds of dirty tricks. I can’t wait to show all of them to you.”
“I’ll see when I can put you on my calendar.”
I hear Mr. Jacobson grumbling on the dock above us as he talks to G
abby. Mr. Jacobson looks over the edge of the dock and scowls at all of us. “When you’re all done fucking around in the lake, get cleaned up. It’s burger night.”
“Burger night?” Freddy says, treading water. “I love burger night!”
“Good. Get yourself settled and come help me cook.” Mr. Jacobson walks toward the golf cart, hops on it, and leaves us.
Jake pinches my side. “Did he really just ask them to hang out?”
“Apparently so.” I retrieve my flip flops, which are floating right next to Jake’s head.