Roger continued, “I hear Jack call out, ‘Marilyn, who is it?’ And she says, ‘I don’t know.’ Jack shows up in his bathrobe, and now we are all just staring at each other. I tell him who we are and that he asked us to come and meet him. Marilyn turns to Jack and growls, ‘You didn’t tell me we were expecting anybody.’ She gives us a final once-over and turns away in a huff.”
“Like we’re the trash someone left on her porch,” Maggie added.
“Jack’s not embarrassed or apologetic,” Roger went on. “He looks over his shoulder and says to Marilyn, ‘I forgot we were having company.’ He turns back to us and says, ‘I’ll call you tomorrow to make another appointment.’ Then he notices Maggie’s holding a cake box from the best bakery in Boca.”
“He grabs the box from my hand, asking, ‘Is this for me?’ and then the door closes in our faces,” Maggie said.
“I would have thought you were exaggerating, but Jack obviously has scheduling issues,” I said. “When he came to visit us,he showed up three hours early! I hadn’t even had the chance to tell my husband he was coming—talk about making things awkward.”
“Awkward is being kind,” Roger said.
“He’s probably one of those guys, you know, because he’s good looking, he thinks he can get away with being inconsiderate,” I said.
“I wouldn’t argue the point,” Maggie said.
“Personally, I don’t find Jack the least bit appealing,” Abby said and took a sip of her coffee. “What nerve showing up early. How’d your husband react? If I surprised my Barry like that, he would’ve had a total conniption.”
“Ronnie readied his arsenal of lawyering skills and peppered Jack with all kinds of questions. I was so embarrassed when he asked what if one of our daughters gets attacked by a bear.”
The three of them nervously chuckled.
“Back to you guys. Why did you decide to work here after being treated so rudely?” I asked.
“Because Abby’s kids, Cooper and Ashley, are besties with Tony, and they really wanted to go to camp together,” Maggie said.
“I’d already signed on, and there was no way I was leaving them to swelter in the Florida humidity. I couldn’t do this job without them, so now we all get toschvitztogether in the mountains,” Abby said.
“Also, our next meeting with Jack was perfectly normal. He drove to meet us at our home and was very convincing and nice,” Roger said. “He never brought it up, so we didn’t either. He acted like it was the first time he ever laid eyes on us. He even said, ‘I can’t wait for you to meet my wife, Marilyn.’ I was tempted to ask him if he enjoyed the coffee cake.”
“Your turn. How did you get suckered into working at Woodlands?” Roger asked.
Even though I could already tell these were my kind of people, I wasn’t ready to share the intimate details of my life. “I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but my original summer plan was celebrating my fifteenth anniversary in Greece drinking their strong boiled espresso, and somehow ended up sitting here with you.” I held up my cup. “Sipping dirty-water coffee.”
Maggie raised her mug. “Let’s drink to whatever circuitous route got us here and to new experiences.” She looked at me. “And to new friends.”
Maybe this could be a good summer.
5Sleeping Arrangements
Abby practically limped back to the cabin at the end of our first day of orientation.
“Lori, slow down. My legs are screaming. I can’t remember ever walking this much in my life. I wish us schleppers got to ride around in a golf cart.”
“I know how you feel, my flat feet are cramping from hiking up and down all the hills.” I yawned. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to pass out.”
“Good luck with that,” Abby said.
“What do you mean?”
“When was the last time you slept in a strange bed without your husband snoring next to you?” she asked.
I had an urge to spill my guts to Abby, telling her that not sleeping next to my husband was a goal of mine. Ronnie and I were using this time apart to decide whether we wanted to stay married, but since she and I had just met that morning, it might be a bit much. Instead, we stood facing each other in the narrow hallway, hands on our doorknobs, and I said, “Sort of feels like we’re in college again.”
“The next thing you know we’ll get our periods at the same time and sit in bed gossiping, eating chocolate frosting right out of the container.”
I smiled. “I think we’re going to become fast friends.”
“I feel the same way.”
