“Oh. The net. You stopped for it.”
“I did. Where’s Emma? Maybe she can help me.”
Amelia pointed her wooden spoon toward the stairwell. “They’re upstairs getting ready.”
“Getting ready?”
Amelia poured some white wine into the shrimp, and a cloud of steam rose. Perry’s stomach growled in response. He realized he hadn’t eaten since an early lunch meeting, and he was starving.
“Apparently there’s some kind of camp event tonight. For the staff.”
Perry hadn’t heard anything about it. “On a weekend?”
“Well, I think it’s more of a social thing. You know, the counselors getting together at the clubhouse.”
Perry wasn’t sure what to think about that. He’d hoped the girls would be home. He’d hoped they’d try out the Ping-Pong table and hang out with him and Amelia. It had been a while since Emma had had anyone over, and he rather liked the thought of hearing them giggling down the hall. When was the last time that had happened?
“Do we know what kind of get-together it is?”
Amelia shrugged. “She didn’t really say. But I’m sure it’s fine. It’s just at the clubhouse. And that closes at ten.” She returned her attention to the shrimp sizzling in the pan. “Will you call the girls? Dinner’s ready.”
Dinner was served outside on the patio, but it was not the relaxing summery evening he’d anticipated. Instead, the girls passed their phones back and forth, whispering and laughing over whatever it was they were looking at. Perry knew they didn’t use Facebook—“That,”Emma had informed him once, “is for old people.” He caught Amelia’s eye at the other end of the table. “It’s the perfect night,” he said, meaning the pink sky and the light breeze coming up over the water. But to his dismay it was lost on Emma and Alicia.
“Girls,” Amelia said, finally. “Why don’t we set our phones aside.”
Alicia looked up, embarrassed, and turned hers off. Emma took longer to set hers aside.
“Hey, Mr. Goodwin,” Alicia said, as if noticing Perry for the first time.
He smiled. “Hello, Alicia. How’s your summer going?”
Alicia was excessively talkative, but for once Perry didn’t mind. He liked hearing about camp. After working his way up onthe board, to president of the Club, he oversaw the camp program, and it was one of the things he was most proud of. Engaging their community’s kids in a safe educational environment on the lake was the quintessential summer experience!
On and on Alicia went. Perry soaked it all in, hungry for every grain of detail she shared, but he couldn’t help but notice a few looks from Emma. It seemed she was trying to tone Alicia down. “We should probably go get ready,” Emma said, rising suddenly from the table.
“There’s dessert,” Amelia said. “I have blueberry pie from the farm.”
Emma loved the local farm’s blueberry pie. But to his surprise, she declined. “No thanks. We’re going to be late.”
“Hey, honey,” Perry said, hoping to grab her attention before they escaped the table. “I fixed the Ping-Pong table. It’s ready for you!”
Emma blinked. “Oh. Thanks.” Then, “What was wrong with it?”
Perry tried to keep the disappointment from his voice. “The net broke, remember?”
“Right.” She nodded. “Okay, so we’d better get ready for tonight.”
“What exactly is tonight?”
Perry could tell from the look on Emma’s face she thought he was prying.
“Nothing, really. Some of the counselors are hanging out. At the clubhouse,” she added.
Perry kept his sigh to himself. Well, maybe she’d at least play some Ping-Pong there.
“They’re just excited about tonight,” Amelia reassured him once the girls were indoors. “How was work today?”
Perry pushed the shrimp and rice around his plate. It was delicious, but he suddenly didn’t feel as hungry. He didn’t want to get into the halftime show issues. It was the weekend, and he wantedto leave that behind him back on his office desk in New York. “Tell me about your day,” he said, instead.
