Girls of Summer(60)

The house was quiet. Mack’s truck was gone, and Tom and Dave with it. Theo and Juliet didn’t seem to be around, although knowing Theo, he was still in bed, asleep.

“Hey.” Mack was in paint-stained canvas pants and a white tee, and the cotton of his shirt was stuck to his back with sweat. Lisa’s senses went bananas at the sight, at Mack, his big hands wiping a tool before setting it in his toolbox.

“Hey,” Lisa replied with a forced smile.

“I picked up sandwiches at Fast Forward. Want a beer?”

“Um, no, I think I’ll just get some ice water.”

They took a tray of food out to Lisa’s backyard. At the end of the garden, she had, over many years, trained a wisteria plant to grow over a wooden gazebo so that the long lavender clusters of flowers formed a shady canopy. A small table and two chairs sat waiting. Lisa and Mack settled themselves, and Lisa kept her hands in her lap, not touching her food, signaling to Mack she wanted the announcement now.

“So here’s my question,” Mack said. “What would you think if I asked Theo to work for me?”

“Theo?” It was taking a moment for Lisa’s nerves to unscramble.

“Yes. He’s damned strong, not surprising given how athletic he was in high school. He’s adept with his hands. He’s easygoing, pleasant to work with. The guys like him. And to tell the truth, now that summer’s here, the work’s piling up on me.” Mack held up his hand. “Your house comes first, of course. Tom and Dave are the best men I’ve got and we’ll stay here till the work is finished. But it would go faster if Theo joined us.”

   “But, he doesn’t know how to do anything,” Lisa said.

“Maybe not, but he’s a fast learner. Plus, he could do a lot of the pickup and delivery service, driving out to the lumberyard, that sort of thing. It would be a great time saver for me.”

“Does he want to work for you?”

“I think he does. He’s been hanging around, helping Dave and Tom with basic stuff. I didn’t want to ask him without talking to you first.”

“Well, then, of course. I mean, why would I have any objection? Plus, he is an adult. I’m not in charge of him anymore.”

“I wasn’t thinking about him. I was thinking about you. You and me.”

“Oh, right. Was Beth upset the other night when she came home?”

“Not upset. Curious. We talked about it, and I told her you and I are friends.”

Lisa looked at Mack. His tanned arms bulged with muscles, and his nose was turning red from the sun. His hair, darkened by the winter, was developing white blond streaks, and his eyes were sea-green, clear and bright. She wanted to crawl over the table and sit in his lap and kiss him.

“Friends,” she said softly.

“I want more than that, I think that’s obvious. But it’s complicated, with all our children cluttering up our lives.”

Lisa laughed. “I should have called you about the ceiling when all three were living off-island.”

Their eyes met and held.

“I should have called you years ago,” Mack said and the hitch in his voice nearly melted Lisa into her chair. “But we got here and we’ve agreed we’ll go slow, and I think we can do that.”

   “Yes, and summer goes fast,” Lisa said. “I mean, I’m so busy all I want to do at the end of the day is flop on my bed.”

“But maybe we can go to some of the galas,” Mack said.

“As a couple?” Lisa asked.

“Yes. As a couple. Let the world get used to us. Let us get used to us.”

Lisa nodded, thinking. “And at the summer galas, there will be so many off-island people that the year-rounders won’t see us in the crowd.”

“I want everyone to see us in a crowd,” Mack told her.

Again, the eye lock, and Lisa saw the desire in Mack’s eyes, and the affection. She was not ready to call it love.

“So,” Mack continued, “it’s okay if I ask Theo to join my crew?”

“It’s fine. It’s great.”

Mack peeled back the wrapping of his sandwich and began to eat. Lisa pretended to eat, but could take only small bites, because whenever she was near Mack like this, she could hardly swallow, hardly breathe. Maybe I’ll lose some weight this summer, she thought with a secret grin.





twenty-two


Marine Home Center was always crowded in the summer with plumbers, electricians, painters, and homeowners, so Beth felt slightly awkward as she zigzagged among them. Most of the workers wore coveralls or tees with sagging utility pants and work boots. Beth wore a pretty flowered sundress and wedged sandals. She felt like a ladybug creeping through a field of giant moles. All she wanted was Elmer’s Poster Tack, and she couldn’t find it among the nails, screwdrivers, duct tape, and batteries.

“Hey, Beth.”

Startled, Beth froze. Looking up, she saw Theo’s ridiculously gorgeous face. “Hi, Theo. What are you doing here?”

“Picking up some stuff for Mack. Your dad. What about you?”

“Oh, I’m an idiot. I want to put some posters up on the walls of our office, but I don’t want to use tacks or nails and ruin the walls. It’s a temporary loan and I don’t know how long we’ll be in there. So I’m looking for some Elmer’s Poster Tack, but I can’t find it, and I hate to bother a salesman when there are all these serious guys who need assistance, not that I’m even sure I could get a salesman’s attention.”