I raised my eyebrows. “Their what?”
“It’s a lake thing,” he explained. “The basic idea is that since you meet a ton of people at the beginning of every summer, everyone has to condense their bio down to the main ideas. Thus, five sentences.”
“Right,” I said slowly. “What’s yours?”
He cleared his throat. “Born and bred here at North Lake. High school senior this fall. Work multiple jobs. Want to go to journalism school. Allergic to shellfish.”
“Wow,” I said. “Didn’t see that shellfish part coming.”
“An element of surprise and oddity is crucial with this,” he told me. “Hit me with yours.”
“I need five in all?”
“Start with one.”
“Okay,” I said, thinking it over. “Well, I’m from Lakeview. Also about to be a high school senior.”
“Coming out strong,” he said as we hit a wave, water splashing over the bow. “I like it. Go on.”
“My mom grew up here at the lake,” I continued, “but this is my first real visit. I came once as a kid, but I don’t really remember.”
“Nice,” he said. “Facts and intrigue. Now you need something random and memorable.”
I thought for a second. “People don’t get my humor.”
“Meaning?”
“I think I’m funny, but other people often don’t laugh.”
“I know that feeling,” he said.
“You do?” I hadn’t met anyone who could relate before.
“Yep,” he said. “Okay, now for the strong finish. Your shellfish allergy, so to speak. What’s it going to be?”
I had to admit, I was feeling the pressure. Especially as the seconds ticked by and nothing came. What could I say? I was nervous to the point of obsessive? I liked organizing things?
Roo did not rush me. He just waited.
Finally, I had it. “I read the obituaries every day.”
His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay, that is good,” he said, then held his hand up for a high five. I slapped it. “You, in five sentences. Nicely done.”
Me, in five sentences. All facts, some informative, some colorful. Not really all that different from the obits themselves, now that I thought of it. Only shorter, while you’re living, and still have time to add more.
Roo slowed the engine, then stopped it entirely, and we drifted up to the dock. As he hopped off the boat, pulling the line with him, I heard the thump of footsteps coming down the dock. Looking up, I saw Trinity approaching, now in a flowing black maxi dress, her hair wet. She looked grumpy, but considering this had been a constant each time I’d crossed her path so far, maybe it was just her face.
“Hey,” Roo called. “What’s up?”
“Mimi says you should stay for dinner,” she replied. “Since you brought her in, and everything.”
Her was me. Apparently. While I was not sure what five sentences Trinity would pick, I was pretty sure one would cover the fact that she really didn’t like me.
“You know Trinity, right?” Roo said to me.
“We haven’t been reintroduced formally,” I told him. To her I said, “Hi. I’m Emma.”
“Hi,” she said, her voice flat. She turned her attention back to Roo. “Where’s Bailey? She’s not answering her phone.”
“Rode off with some yacht club guy,” he replied. “Maybe up at the Station?”
“Of course she is.” Trinity rubbed a hand over her belly. “Like I have the energy to go all the way up there.”
“I can go find her,” I offered. “I need to learn my way around anyway.”
“I’ll walk you,” Roo said. “If I’m coming for dinner, I should go home and change.”
“Will you just drive me?” Trinity whined. “I need to go to the store and I can’t reach the clutch anymore.”
“Sure,” he said agreeably. “Emma, you want to ride along?”
“She should go help with dinner,” Trinity said. Now I was She. “Mimi said to tell her to.”
Roo looked at me. “Oh. Right. Well, rain check.”
“Sounds good,” I said, making a point to act like it was no big deal. Still, as Trinity and Roo started down the dock without me, I felt another sting, this one a sort of shame. Despite all my mom had told me about the lake, none of it explained why so far at least half the females I’d met had disliked or outright hated me on sight.
Now, back at the table, I looked out the window to the sandy beach below the house, where Roo, Trinity, and Jack were sitting in lawn chairs, eating their own dinners. We’d all fixed our plates together, assembly-line style, but it was only after I’d sat down that I realized the table was too small for everyone, and this contingent was eating outside. Which left me with Celeste, Mimi, and Bailey, as Gordon was again lost in her Allies book.
“So,” Mimi said to me. “You getting situated? Meet everyone out at the raft?”
I nodded, finishing my bite of potato salad before saying, “A few people, yeah.”
“Taylor got up in her face,” Bailey said, adjusting the tomato on her burger.
“What?” Mimi said. “Why?”
“Because she was with Jack, and Taylor’s got major jealousy issues.” She rolled her eyes. “Even when they’re together, they’re fighting.”
“It’s not easy to disconnect from someone totally in a place as small as this,” Celeste pointed out.
“Says the woman who married and divorced the same man twice,” Bailey said.
I blinked: this was news to me. Another thing to add to my family tree.
Mimi chuckled. “She’s got you there, Celeste.”
Celeste, hardly bothered, reached for the bowl of potato chips. “I’ve got to tell you, Saylor, when I saw you coming in with Roo, man, it brought back some memories. Wild to see you two together, after how close you were as kids.”
“Wait, what?” I said. Now I felt even worse about our first meeting at the dock, when he’d looked so surprised. “We were?”
“You
