Boys of Summer (12 page)

“I'll try to go tonight,” I tell her, then turn to Jasper. “Where did you even learn that phrase?”

“
Crusade of Kings
,” Jasper says.

Mom and I share a look, mutually calculating the level of childhood innocence that has just been flushed down the toilet.

“I thought Dad was supposed to put a password on the DVR,” I say.

“His leg's been bothering him,” she explains. “He's still asleep.”

“I'll wake him up,” I say. “I'm supposed to start the roofing job today. He'll need to watch the boys.”

I scurry down the hall to my parents' bedroom. My dad is completely passed out, one arm hanging off the bed, the other flung over his face. I notice a bottle of prescription painkillers on the nightstand. He must have been in a lot of pain. I can barely convince him to take Advil when he has a headache.

That means his leg is not healing the way he keeps insisting it is.

That means it's going to be even longer before he's back at work.

And that also means I can't leave the boys here. My dad is dead to the world, and the villains are in rare form this morning. They're already staging coups over oatmeal. It can only go downhill from here.

I close my eyes, pushing down a swell of frustration that threatens to rise up. How much longer can we keep going like this?

“I want Apple Jacks!” I hear Jasper scream from the kitchen.

“No!” Jake screams back. “I want the Apple Jacks!”

Great. Now they're arguing over phantom cereal.

I hurry back to the scene of the crime. My mom is pouring oatmeal into bowls. She sets them on the table. I pick
Jasper up from the floor and deposit him into a chair, then do the same with Jake.

They cross their arms simultaneously, glaring stubbornly at the oatmeal. They really are a unified front.

Mom sighs. “I can't do this today,” she whispers under her breath, her voice breaking.

I put my arm around her. “Mom. Go to work. I'll handle this. And don't worry. I'm sure it's just a phase.”

Her face breaks into a grateful smile. She gently touches my cheek, then slips out the front door without putting up a fight.

“Okay,” I say, clapping my hands. “How about I buy a big box of Apple Jacks tonight and for now everyone eats oatmeal?” I glance around the kitchen. “Wait, where's the dog?”

“We locked him in the pantry,” Jasper explains. “He was being naughty.”

Shit.

I yank open the pantry door, already knowing what I'll find. And yup, there he is, covered head to toe in flour, chocolate syrup, and about a thousand other random ingredients. The pantry is trashed. The mutt has gotten into just about everything within reach.

The dog runs into the kitchen, flour following in his wake like a storm cloud. Jake and Jasper think this is the funniest thing ever. They squeal in delight.

“Walter!” I call after the dog as he makes a bee line for the sofa.

“His name is Phil now!” Jasper calls after me.

“I don't give a crap what his name is!” I yell back, trapping the dog just before he dusts the couch with a layer of flour.

“Ooh!” Jake scolds. “You said the
C
word.”

“Trust me,” I grumble as I grab the dog by the collar and guide him out the back door. “That's
not
the
C
word.”

“Yeah,” Jasper says knowingly. “Everyone knows the
C
word is ‘cow plop.' ”

This cracks both of them up. “Cow plop! Cow plop! Cow plop!”

I tie Phil to the long line, turn on the hose, and give him a quick rinse. He shakes violently, drenching me with water. I suck in a deep breath. I'm about this close to losing it.

“All right!” I say sternly as I step back into the kitchen. “I want everyone to get dressed and meet me back in this kitchen in
ten
minutes.”

“But we didn't get breakfast,” Jasper protests.

“This is not a negotiation. Either you do it or I give the dog away.”

They both look to each other, silently deliberating whether or not my threat is credible. And you know what? At this point it is.

Fortunately, they believe me. After a chorus of grunting and grousing, the twins begrudgingly rise out of their seats and shuffle to their bedroom.

“Ten minutes!” I call after them.

I dress in my work clothes, run some cold water over my face, brush my teeth, and grab my cell phone from the charging cable. I look at the screen. The text I've been waiting for hasn't arrived yet. Dave is supposed to send me the address for the roofing job.

Fortunately, I was able to convince my boss at the beach club to let me set my own hours. “As long as that grass doesn't cover my toes and I don't spot a single weed, you can come at two in the morning, for all I care,” were his exact words to me.

I promised him I wouldn't let him down.

With a little luck I just
might
be able to pull this off.

Miraculously, when I get back to the kitchen, the twins are waiting there fully dressed and ready to go. They've even eaten some of the oatmeal. They're wearing mismatched socks and their hair is a mess, but you pick your battles.

“Where are we going?” Jasper asks as I hustle them out the door and into my dad's truck.

“I'm dropping you off somewhere for the day. You'll have fun.”

They give me identical suspicious looks as they buckle themselves into the cab. “Where?” Jake asks.

I sigh. “You'll see.”

When we arrive at the outdoor playground of the beach club's kids' camp a few minutes later, Julie greets me with a huge smile. She's wearing the same khaki shorts and white polo—this time minus the paint—and I can't help but notice how good she looks. Obviously, she's a gorgeous girl. That was obvious from the moment I met her. But today, I don't know, something is different. Seeing her just immediately puts me in a good mood. Which is a welcome change from the shitty morning I've been having.

“And who are these handsome gentlemen?” she asks, bending down to make eye contact with the boys before glancing up at me through her dark eyelashes.

Jasper, normally the bold and courageous one, turns beet red and hides behind my leg.

“Jasper and Jake, my brothers. I'm really sorry to ask this, but I'm in a bit of a jam. I'm starting a new job today and, well . . . Do you think I might be able to leave them here for a few hours?”

“Of course!” She stands up. “I'd be delighted to have them.”

I cringe. “I wouldn't speak too soon. They're a bit of a handful.”

She laughs like I'm joking.

“I'm not joking,” I assure her.

“You forget I'm a professional.”

“That you might be, but they're professional monsters, so . . .”

Before I can finish, she squats down, and Jasper retreats further behind my leg. “I bet you can't guess what number I'm thinking of,” she says to him.

Jasper contemplates this challenge for a minute. “What do I get if I do?”

I chuckle. “Always the negotiator.”

Julie pretends to think long and hard. “You get to play with the very special toys.”

He twists his mouth in deep concentration.

“What are the special toys?” Jake butts in.

She shrugs. “I can't tell you until you guess the number. But unfortunately, I don't think you'll get to play with them. No one has
ever
guessed the right number.”

“Seven!” Jasper blurts out, taking a brave step out from behind the safety of my leg.

Julie's jaw drops open. “What! How did you do that?”

Jasper takes another step forward, smiling broadly at his victory. “Mom says we're psychic 'cause we're twins.”

“Hmm,” Julie says thoughtfully. “I don't know. I think that was just a fluke.” She turns to Jake. “If you two really
are
psychic, then you'll be able to guess the next number.”

“Nine!” Jake shouts without delay.

Julie giggles. “Hold on. I haven't even thought of it yet!”

I watch this whole spectacle with great fascination. Within seconds she's got the two of them practically eating out of her hand.

“Okay,” she prompts Jake. “I'm ready.”

Jasper watches him, biting his lip in anticipation. Julie has a smug look on her face, certain that she'll win this time.

“Um . . .” Jake hesitates.

“Think hard,” Jasper commands him.

Jake closes his eyes tight and scrunches up his face. Julie looks up at me again, and we share a smile.

Jake's eyes flash open decisively. “Eighteen!”

The reaction on Julie's face is priceless. Her eyes spread wide, and she falls back onto her butt in the sand. “W-w-what?” she stammers. “H-h-how? I don't understand! That's impossible!”

Jake and Jasper squeal in delight and jump up and down.

“How did you do that?” she asks them in shock.

They're giggling so hard, they can't even respond. Even I find myself chuckling a little at the charade.

“That's Mike's age!” Jake gives away his secret. “Eighteen!”

Julie slaps her head. “It is? That's my age too! I guess I shouldn't have picked such an easy number, huh?”

“Now we get to play with the special toys?” Jasper confirms.

Julie pushes herself to her feet, wiping sand from the back of her khaki shorts. “I guess I have no choice but to let you.”

She looks at me. “What time will you be back to get them?”

I wince. “Is five o'clock too late?”

She waves her hand. “Of course not. I'll be here until six, so that's fine.”

I shift nervously from foot to foot, feeling super-uncomfortable for even asking, but I know I have to.
“About the tuition,” I begin, scratching at the stubble on my face. With all the commotion this morning, I totally forgot to shave.

She holds up a hand. “Don't worry about it.” Then she leans in close to me, and I can smell her citrusy shampoo. “No one has to know.”

I still feel weird about the whole thing. I hate asking people for charity. But I admit that I'm totally relieved to hear her say that. Even with the discount for locals, the kids' camp tuition is pretty ridiculous this year. And there's no way we could leave these two with Mamma V like my parents used to do with me. Every guest in the restaurant would end up with earthworms in their spaghetti.

“Thanks,” I say appreciatively. “I owe you big-time.”

Jasper tugs at Julie's shirt. “Special toys. Special toys.”

Julie laughs and takes each of them by the hand. “Go,” she tells me as she begins to lead them away. “I've got this.”

“If you have any trouble,” I call after her, “I've found that threats work really well.”

I watch in utter disbelief as Julie brings Jasper and Jake over to a group of kids their age and whispers something into each of their ears. They both nod and start playing quietly with the other children.

I'm beginning to think the girl is pure magic.

I wave good bye to Julie and start to walk back to the parking lot, just as my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and glance at the screen. It's a text from Dave. He's finally sent me the address for the roofing job.

321 Sea Star Lane. Be there by 9.

I stop dead in my tracks. I know that house. I practically grew up at that house. But I've never had to actually
work
in that house. In all the summers the guys and I have been friends, money has never divided us. It's never even been an issue. At least not for me, and I'm the poorest of the group.

But we've also never been in a situation like this.

There's no way I can turn the job down now, though. Not after Dave pulled so many strings to get it for me, and we
really
need the money.

Nope, this is happening.

I'm just going to have to find a way to come to terms with the fact that for the next two months I will be fixing the roof over Grayson Cartwright's head.

IAN