have a party out here, but the evening was surprisingly warm and humid, as though it were still the middle of August.
Others had arrived. Bill was talking animatedly to a couple down by the boathouse, gesturing grandly over the water as though describing a plot of land he intended to build on for future generations, or perhaps asking them to guess how much the bay was worth.
Thom turned as they approached. “Daniel, there you are. Bill’s been quite worried.” He made a face at Trevor. “And so should I, now that I see your company. What has my dreaded cousin been telling you about me?”
“Nothing, actually,” Trevor said. “I’ve been talking about myself for once.”
“How gauche! Didn’t you tell Daniel I was the first person you had sex with?”
Trevor smiled indulgently. “No, I thought I’d leave that little mishap unspoken for once.”
Thom turned and pointed to the stables. “It was right over there. I sucked Trev’s cock when he was only nine years old and I was — what…?”
“Ninety?” Trevor said.
Thom made a slightly drunken bow. “Thank you kindly.”
Trevor turned to Dan. “Apparently the blame fell on me when I was seduced by Thom. Another reason I’m considered disreputable.”
“You’re nothing of the sort,” Thom insisted. “But only because you don’t try hard enough.”
“The first person I had sex with was my cousin, too,” Dan said.
“Really? How big was he?” Thom demanded. “Tell us all about it. What was his name?”
“Leyla,” Dan said, and Trevor laughed out loud.
Thom pretended disgust. “A woman? I’m disappointed. I thought you were a purebred!”
“No,” Dan said. “I already told you — there’s nothing pure about me.”
“So I’m learning.”
“Go on,” Trevor said. “Tell us about Leyla.”
“I’d heard a rumour that Leyla had the best tits in junior high school, so one night when I slept over I pretended to be asleep while my hands did a bit of exploring....”
Thom feigned a gasp. “And was she asleep too?”
“Apparently not. She let me feel her up for a while, then she grabbed my winkie dink and gave it a squeeze.”
“Smart girl....”
“I let out a scream. Her mother came running in and separated us. She thought we were fighting. That was the end of it.”
Trevor was laughing.
“Not exactly a tussle over your lost virginity,” Thom concluded. “One day I’d like to hear that story. And maybe even watch a re-enactment.”
A voice hailed Thom. They turned and saw someone heading toward them from the house. The newcomer was small and slightly stooped, as though aged, but dressed in striped cords, paisley shirt, and rock star shades.
“Speaking of lost virgins ...” Thom murmured.
“I heard that,” the man said.
“Good — I intended you to,” Thom said.
“Cousin!” the newcomer said to Trevor. “You look splendid!”
“It’s been a long time,” Trevor said. “How are you?”
“Fine. Very fine. It’s good to see you again.”
“My brother,” Thom said apologetically, leaning in to Dan.
“Richard the Lost,” said the man, shaking hands with Dan.
“Is that who you are now?” Thom asked.
“Yes, it is. I’ve changed my name again.”
“Don’t believe him,” Thom said to Dan. “This is my brother Teddy,” he insisted. “Teddy is a filmmaker.”
“Ted, please….” Ted’s shades glittered in the fading light, reflecting the oncoming sunset as though a movie were playing inside his head.
“And Dan’s a missing persons investigator with a lurid past. He was just telling us about it.”
Ted gave him an appraising look. “How intriguing! Maybe you could sell me your story. How lurid is it?”
Dan shook his head. “Not very, I’m afraid.”
A woman with high cheekbones and ringletted hair stood on the periphery of the group, sipping from a martini glass. She smiled shyly. It was, Dan thought, the smile of someone uncertain who she was.
“Ah! And here’s Jezebel observing everyone,” Ted said. “My leading lady.”
Jezebel laughed a high-pitched laugh for no reason anyone could discern. They turned to watch and her expression transformed: shyness to modesty betrayed. Now she was Julia Roberts spotted buying tampons and toothpaste in a common pharmacy. She tipped her glass at them and her expression changed again, as though she were trying out for the role of a character suffering multiple personality disorder.
“Isn’t this place wonderful?” she cried.
The guests seemed perfectly placed in an artist’s rendition of an autumn lawn party. Others were still arriving, singly and in pairs. Dan watched as a rather shockingly well-endowed young man crossed the yard wearing only a leather jacket with a blue Speedo underneath. Someone else turned cartwheels across the grass. The sticky end-of-summer heat thinned as the light died out behind the hills.
Loudspeakers blared down by the boathouse. At one point nearly everyone seemed to be dancing. Thom and Sebastiano gyrated at the centre of the action. Dan stood at the edge of the lawn looking on. He felt someone standing near him and turned. Daniella was watching her brother and Thom.
“Tell him not to marry,” she said, her words barely audible.
For a moment, Dan wondered if she meant Thom or her brother. “You don’t want your brother to marry?”
Daniella’s look was flint. “If I wanted to, I could stop it like that!” She snapped her fingers.
“Why would you do that?” Dan said. “They seem happy.”
Her mouth hardened. She looked as though she would answer, but Sebastiano’s voice cut through the air.
“Daniella!” He waved to her to join him and Thom.
Daniella turned and walked past her brother down to the lake. Sebastiano called after her, though she refused to acknowledge him. He gave up and turned to Thom with a shrug.
“Trouble in Paradise?” Dan turned to see Trevor
