I laughed. Katie did too, wiping a little sweat off her collarbone. And then I tipped my head toward the marshy beginning of a weathered dock opposite Meredith’s gate that led us straight to Jule Pond. I knew that for sure because I’d seen it on Google weeks ago—and because it’d been noted on Meredith’s map, which was still creased into the palm of my hand.
I shoved the card into my pocket, and a minute later, we settled onto the edge of the dock. Both of us, letting our legs dangle. Lettingour bodies, finally, drop. The afternoon sun sparkled off the still water. A couple of ducks floated, and a single horsefly zipped. In the distance, across the pond, more marsh. More green. More impossibly huge mansions and an endless blue sky.
Katie pulled out our plates and filled each one. “This meal probably could’ve paid off your student loans. I think the wine alone is worth more than we’ll make all week.”
I chuckled, reaching for a medallion of butter. And then I lowered my voice and turned to her a little more. “Are we ready to talk about how insane she is yet?”
Katie frowned. She’d been wearing a different pair of sunglasses today—aviators, and a pinkish gold. Those, too, were sliding down her nose. “I feel like that’s not very nice. She was probably just having a bad morning.”
“A bad morning? She locked us out of her house because we didn’t properly follow instructions she never gave us! She left us out there with no ride home, no way to contact the outside world. And the cat! The cat! He ate a whole crab cake and a slice of cantaloupe at brunch the other day, and we just never talked about it again. Something is off in that house. Something is—”
“You’re being crazy. She’s just rich. Those crab cakes were incredible. Would you eat cat food?”
I looked at her then. “No, Katie. I would not eat cat food. Because I’m a human.”
“All I’m saying is there’s a long history of people feeding really nice cuts of meat to their pets. She has unlimited money. It makes her happy. I don’t see the big deal.”
“You are completely missing the point. Which is that nothing about her makes any sense. I mean, let’s talk about the tropes. Let’stalk about the salad bowl. Let’s talk about how the last ones we just so happened to pull out wereGirl Next DoorandBrother’s Best Friend. There isn’t a chance in hell I’m here by accident, Katie. There just isn’t. She has to know who we are.”
At that, Katie took her sunglasses off completely. Her legs, which were still kicking over the dock, came to a stop. “Are you really that self-absorbed?”
“Huh?”
“Those are not, like, original tropes. We’ve discussed this.”
“Okay, I know, but explain...” I rubbed my wrist. “ExplainKissing in the Rain.”
She looked away for a moment—past the pond and into the distance. Something worked through her mouth, her shoulders, her shins. But then it was over. She was back to rolling her eyes. “Uh, water makes kissing hotter? It’s not rocket science. Just additional proof you desperately need to watchThe Notebook.”
“I’m just saying, it’s—”
“We’re not renovating an inn, are we? I’m not the daughter of a storied Hamptons family, am I? This is just confirmation bias. You’re just being a snob, and you can’t believe your luck, that a few coincidences prove the whole genre is dumb. So stop looking for reasons the book we’re writing is beneath you and start taking notes about the way the sun feels on your shoulders.”
At that, I ripped off a hunk of roll—Jesus, was this what it was like to have money?—and decided to shut the fuck up and enjoy my day.
19
Katie
When our picnic was over, we began the short walk back to Meredith’s to return our basket and deal with the fact that we were a hundred miles from the city, and, based on the schedule I’d screenshotted earlier, the next remotely Manhattan-bound train didn’t leave until nightfall. But just when we’d arrived at Meredith’s gate—our pages already gone from the mailbox—dirt swirled behind us.
Maurice’s SUV idled at the end of the drive.
“She must have a camera,” I said to Tyler, who was scratching his five-o’clock shadow, nodding just a little.
“Right. Yeah. I’m sure that’s what it is.”
I shrugged, and then—after Tyler raised his eyebrow one more time—we both climbed into the car. Tyler put on his headphones. I pressed my nose to the glass. Mile by mile, Long Island flew by. An hour or so into the ride, I pulled out my phone and started texting Lola.
Let me get this straight, she wrote.You guys got in a spat about the merits of romance novels, and then Meredith acted like a crazy cat lady, and then you guys ended up on a two-hour-long seaside picnic date instead?
Yeah, basically,I replied.Except it wasactually aresearch lunch. And pondside.
Right. And how does Danny feel about all these... pondside research lunches?
I lifted my gaze. Tyler’s eyes were still glued to his phone, and his head rested against the window.
Honestly,I typed,I don’t know. He’s been texting me a lot more lately, and he wasreally weirdabout Tyler at dinner last night. He and his friends have this share house in Montauk next month, and now he suddenly wants me to come out for the Fourth of July and all that.
