Page 51 of After You Returned

“Dad was not amused. One bathroom for six people is not enough.”

We sit down to change into our bowling shoes. Everyone who grew up on the island has their own pair since bowling is the most popular gym course during senior year of high school.

Hazel wanders off to find a bowling ball. I can’t help but watch her. She smiles at everyone, stops to talk to people she knows, and generally spreads joy wherever she goes. I need her to aim some of that joy my way.

Zane sits next to me and bumps my shoulder. “You’ve got it bad.”

I elbow him. “You promised to behave tonight.”

He jumps to his feet. “Too bad you never defined behave.”

Jaxon frowns. “Classic mistake.”

I shoo him away. “Aren’t you on lane six?”

“Come on.” Blossom grasps his arm. “We’ll be out of the danger zone but still within the watching zone.”

Hazel skips back to our lane with her bowling ball. “I hope you’re ready to parade around clucking like a chicken.”

I tug on one of her curls. “You need to knock the contraband item loose first.”

“How hard can it be? There’s a toy rum barrel in the middle of the lane. I’ll knock it loose on my first try.”

I motion her forward. “By all means.”

She stands at the end of the lane and tilts her head from side to side as she studies the best way to hit the toy rum barrel. After a minute, she nods and raises her ball into the air. She takes two steps and an alarm sounds as a giant anchor slowly lowers from the ceiling.

Everyone in the bowling alley freezes. If you move while the anchor is lowered, you get a gutter penalty. And everyone heckles you.

“You moved!” Sloane points to Hazel.

“Anchor breaker!” Zane chants, and soon enough, everyone is chanting with him. “Anchor breaker! Anchor breaker!”

“I didn’t move. I got a cramp!” Hazel exclaims before stomping over to put her ball in the ball return.

She collapses on the chair next to me and I hand her a shot. “Bottoms up, anchor breaker.”

She narrows her eyes at me before she raises the shot glass and drinks the moonshine. “I was in the middle of my approach. It’s impossible to stop on a moment’s notice.”

I pat her arm. “Sure, it is.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“It means to treat in a way that appears kind or helpful but betraysa feeling ofsuperiority,” Jaxon says from the lane next to ours.

I give him the finger. “I’m not an idiot.”

He fiddles with his glasses. “You’re not?”

Hazel bursts into laughter. “I forgot how much fun your family is.”

“You should give Miles a second chance,” Sloane says.

“And then you can be part of the family,” Harper finishes.

“How much did you pay them to say that?” Hazel asks.

“Nothing,” I claim at the same moment Sloane says, “A weekend of babysitting.”