Liz’s phone buzzed again. “Sorry,” she mumbled, reaching for it. She typed a quick response, then silenced it before turning it over, for good measure.
“My assistant is booking us a suite at the Tides,” my mom replied, glancing at her phone again. “Although it’s taking a while.”
“They’re renovating,” Liz told her. “Only half the rooms are available.”
“Oh.” My mom looked up. “Well. I’ll just find another hotel.”
Kasey and Liz exchanged a glance. “It’s the Water Festival this week,” Liz said, nodding at the lake, which was dotted with boats. “Everything’s been booked for months.”
“There has to be something,” my mom said, sounding irritated. She put her phone to her ear, pushing back her chair. “Marella? Apparently, the Tides is out. So look for somethingalong those lines, close by. What? Calvander’s? See what kind of restaurant they have.”
Still talking, she walked through the kitchen, then took a right down another hallway. Clearly, she knew her way around.
“A restaurant at Calvander’s?” Liz said, then snorted. “You barely get towels.”
“Stop,” Kasey said. To me she explained, “It’s a true lake motel. Not exactly your mom’s speed.”
“This is all just so weird!” Liz exclaimed. Kasey shot her a look. “What? Be honest. When has Cat ever come here without a ton of notice and a reservation?”
“She doesn’t come here,” Kasey told her.
My phone, on silent, jumped in my pocket. Quickly, I pulled it out, swiping to my messages.EVERYTHING ON SALE! Use code SUMMER.After a moment, I realized my aunts were both staring at me.
“Thought it was my boyfriend,” I explained. “He’s on a cruise right now.”
“Fun!” Liz said. “Travis and I did Alaska for our fifteenth. It was magical.”
All this relayed like I knew who she was talking about. Just like them sitting on either side of me, there was a familiarity. At least on their part. To me it was odd, like I should be feeling something I wasn’t.
Which was not an issue when it came to Colin. Still, as I slid my phone back in my pocket, I had a flash of that breath he’d taken when I’d asked him on graduation night if we’d be okay.How could I ever give up the girl who told me about Seymourthe Goat?he’d replied. Of course, it had been a big day, full of all kinds of moments. This was just one of them. But it wasn’t until now, for some reason, that I realized it wasn’t really an answer.
“I promise it will get cooler,” Liz said, bustling over to open a window. “Once the sun sets and a breeze gets going. I used to need a blanket in July.”
This was the second time she’d mentioned that this had once been her room. Even though we’d only really just met—again—I’d already surmised Liz was both a nervous talker and a repeater. A deadly combo. Especially in a small, stuffy space.
“Now, these mattresses are actually new by Woods standards,” she told me, before putting a set of sheets she was carrying—pillowcase, fitted, flat—on each bed. “Which means in the last ten years. The one your mom’s on is anyone’s guess.”
This, too, she’d already brought up multiple times. Once it became clear we had no other options for lodging—the Water Festival was serious—I’d been put here. My mom, however, had chosen a small, narrow room off the kitchen I’d initially missed. It was bare except for a bed, a door with a metal screen, and a bureau, slightly slanted.
“Juvie?” Kasey had said as my mom dragged her suitcase over the threshold. “Seriously?”
“It’s close to everything,” my mom replied, her back to us. “And we’re not staying long.”
“There are four other regular-sized rooms,” Liz said.
“Upstairs.” My mom put her suitcase next to the bureau, dropping her tote on top of it. “This is fine.”
Fine. For the person I’d only ever seen at a five-star hotel and the best restaurants. There was not a lot to depend on when it came to my mom, but a nice ride—or plane, hotel, resort, theater seat—was all but guaranteed during Her Time. Sure, it was awkward. But even being uneasy was less effort in the good seats. An upside I’d come to appreciate.
Now I looked around my own room as Liz bustled back around the bed again, her faux-gold slides—which revealed a bright pink pedicure—slapping. The walls were the same dark wood that made up the rest of the house, with a built-in boxy closet and one window. The glass was aged and waxy.
“FYI, it’s a bigger drop than it looks to the ground,” she said, when she saw me studying it. “Not that I expect you’ll have to climb out, but it’s good to know. Your mom broke her elbow that way.”
“She did?”
“During her wild years.”
Her what?
