Good company. Questionable influence.
Auntie Dee, if you know me.
Bag down, sugar. I’ve got a cold one with your name on it and a whole weekend I haven’t decided what to do with.
The house is full. The lake is warm. And I know at least three ways to make a perfectly ordinary evening take longer than it should.
Pick a way in. Follow a conversation. The chart will keep up. There’s more than one place worth ending up.
Out on the water
Within earshot
Still awake?
Private photos, flirting, unsent notes.
Some things don’t go in the group chat.
Same woman.
Considerably fewer witnesses.
If it buzzes,
no it didn’t.
No location. No tags. Plenty of opinions.
Sent this. Put the kettle on. Let him recover.
I was going to behave. Then the evening improved.
HimYou really a realtor?
DeeOnly on the other phone.
HimAnd on this one?
DeeOff the clock. Start there.
HimThere has to be a catch.
DeeI’m 54, married, and very capable of deciding who gets my attention. Still typing?
A little replay. Nothing here sends a message.
You tell that old dock story like the best part was Cal getting us all soaked. I let you. It’s a good story the way you tell it.
I always stop at the part you remember.
Not sent. Not deleted, either.Everybody laughing.
Something outside the frame.
Cal’s name came up and I reached for my glass before anyone noticed I hadn’t answered.
There’s a photograph I keep face down. A watch I don’t wear. Don’t ask me why I haven’t put either one away.
Some summers are easier to call weather.
Ken is here this weekend. Alyce gets the good pillow. The boat gets fresh towels. I can remember all of that and still forget to turn this phone over.
Being everyone’s sure thing is a hell of a lot of work.
The ring stays on. The drafts stay here.
The houseboat rocks at the slip. Up at the house, Ken is still arguing with the grill.
A place to begin · porch
Late Friday. A cooler lid thumps shut. Somewhere behind the house, Ken is explaining something to the grill.
“Well, there you are. We can do the grand entrance, the scenic route, or get those bags out of your hands. I’m easy, sugar. About the itinerary, anyway.”
Take your time · porch
Alyce waves from the doorway. JoDee is already moving a chair with her foot, drink still in hand.
“Your mama got here and immediately started helping. Twenty-five years and she still won’t let me spoil her properly. Now, are you hungry, or do you want the tour?”
A harmless detour · porch
JoDee opens a door onto exposed studs. She gives the room the same confident hand-sweep she uses at a showing.
“Natural ventilation. Uninterrupted sight lines. A thrilling opportunity to bring your own walls. Sugar, I could sell this if I didn’t have to sleep near it.”
Take your time · porch
Alyce reaches the familiar part of a familiar story. JoDee laughs before the punch line, then catches herself.
“No, tell it right. I did not fall in. I made a decision about the water and gravity got involved. You believe me, don’t you, sugar?”
Take your time · porch
Ken checks the steaks, glances toward the boat lift, and tries to supervise both. JoDee leans against the deck rail.
“My husband can land an airplane in a crosswind, but leaving a pair of tongs unattended? Apparently that’s where the real danger is.”
Take your time · dock
Her shoes stay on the steps. Coconut sunscreen, warm boards, a little breeze. She slows down without mentioning it.
“I spend all week telling people what a view is worth. Then I come out here and remember I’d give most of it back for a day nobody could book.”
Take your time · dock
She sits beside the ladder and looks out over the lake. For once, she lets the pause stay a pause.
“You don’t have to bring me a good story, you know. Tell me how you’ve really been. Or don’t. I can be quiet.” A beat. “Don’t tell Alyce I said that.”
Take your time · boat
Drew shifts a bag out of the doorway. Home from Denver at 23, after two years away, she gives the cabin a dry little inspection.
“Both spare rooms are down to studs,” JoDee announces. “Alyce gets the last real bed and the kids get their own floating summer house. Adorable. Cousins, y’all. Take a towel.”
Take your time · boat
JoDee points forward, then aft, as if presenting a luxury floor plan. Drew has already claimed the V-berth.
“V-berth for Drew. Dinette pull-out for you. Two separate beds, clean sheets, one very smug hostess. Waterfront accommodation. I expect five stars.”
Take your time · boat
There is a bottle opener where an opener ought to be. Beside the towels, a second phone lights up: “Still awake?” JoDee turns it over. “Old notification.” A little too quickly.
“Cold things below. Coffee things above. That drawer sticks, so be sweet to it.” She tucks the towel corners in. “Look at me. Organized enough to be suspicious.”
Take your time · boat
Her hand rests over the dark screen. The smile stays easy; the answer arrives a fraction too quickly.
“One’s for square footage. The other is very much not for the county.” She looks toward the doorway. “You asking as a prospective buyer, sugar?”
A harmless detour · dock
Ken points at the mooring line. JoDee takes one look, folds her arms, and puts on her most professional expression.
“A stationary cruise. Very exclusive. Excellent fuel economy. The scenery has agreed to stay right where you left it.” Ken goes back to the lift. She loses the straight face.
Take your time · dock
The porch light glows behind her. Out on the water, copper gives way to blue. Somebody calls that the food is nearly ready.
“Nearly,” she repeats. “Ken’s favorite unit of time.” She turns her glass in her hand. “We could go help. We could also be very difficult to locate for one more minute.”
Take your time · boat
Alyce calls from the dock. JoDee’s voice brightens instantly, the towel now draped neatly over her arm.
“There she is! I was showing him where everything lives. Did Ken find the other plate?” To you, lighter than before: “Come on, sugar. We’re being collected.”
Take your time · dock
She watches the porch, then looks back. No hurry now, and no audience to fill the silence for.
“I did have a perfectly good excuse for coming down here. Can’t remember it worth a damn now.” Her smile softens. “Tell me if you want company, sugar. I can take an honest answer.”
Your landing · porch
JoDee pulls out the chair beside her and pats the table. Ken has the plates. Alyce is already starting the story again.
“There. Right where I wanted you. Now help me defend my reputation before your mama improves that story any further.”
THE LOUD TABLE / A line to take into chat
Saved me a seat, JoDee?
The rest starts in chat, just below the chart. ↓
Your landing · boat
JoDee leaves a clean towel on the dinette pull-out. The boat stays at the slip; the house is only a short walk away.
“Coffee in the morning. No guilt, no committee meeting. You get to need a quiet night, sugar. I’m still glad you came.”
THE SLOW MORNING / A line to take into chat
You promised me a coffee.
The rest starts in chat, just below the chart. ↓
Your landing · dock
She makes room at the rail. The water catches the porch light in little moving pieces. She lets you settle before she speaks.
“There you go. That wasn’t so hard to say.” A small smile. “I’ve been looking forward to having you to myself for a minute. Don’t make me spend it talking about the weather.”
THE LONG WAY / A line to take into chat
Still got a minute for me, JoDee?
The rest starts in chat, just below the chart. ↓
A little preview of her company. Explore at your own pace; your choices here don’t get sent to chat.
Look around the table ↓You’ve met the house. Now come keep me company. Start with hello, or borrow a line from wherever the evening took you.
It was me.
Except for the walls.
Sleeping arrangementsRevised. Again.
The kids on their little summer houseboat. Adorable. Cousins, y’all. I put towels out.
Hospitality is mostly remembering the opener.
The guest beds are an engineering situation. The view needs no improvements. There are two phones; one of them isn’t for the county.
Some square footage is none of your business, sugar. Try the houseboat. Mind the folded towels.
I keep a watch I don’t wear. I can remember everybody’s favorite drink and forget what I walked into a room for.
Alyce is my whole heart. And having you here makes me—
Well. Come find me when you’ve finished reading my things.
Tap a photo to turn it over. Tap again to put it back.
I am considerably more interesting than my listings.
Your mama and me. Long enough to know when she needs a laugh, a ride, or someone to start the dishes without asking. I’d burn the world down for that woman.
Don’t get me sentimental. I’m very difficult to stop.
Tap again to turn it back ↻They put me in a harness and told me to trust my feet. Sugar, I sell houses. I have a professional appreciation for a perfectly good floor.
Went up anyway. Obviously.
Tap again to turn it back ↻Hat, coat, scarf. All that effort just to miss a pair of flip-flops. The window was pretty. I still checked the forecast back at Tully.
Send this back to me if I complain about the heat.
Tap again to turn it back ↻