“Tania knew your order. Matcha latte with coconut milk and a croissant sandwich with bacon, egg, avocado, and spicy mayo.”
I pull out my identical sandwich. “It sounded good, so I got one too.”
I bite into it. It tastes delicious. Summer hesitates before finally sipping her latte and biting into her sandwich.
“So, I was thinking we should take outPenelopeand have a sunset dinner. Or we could hike to Hidden Cove. I also wouldn’t mind doing some surfing on the north side of the island. Unless you’re tired and just want to have a chill beach day.”
Penelopewas my dad’s catamaran that I inherited when he passed. We used to take her out fishing every weekend before Summer and Clara moved in.
Her chewing stops. Her eyebrows pinch together before she shakes her head, swallows her bite, and washes it down with a sip of her drink.
“I’m sorry, but who are you, and what have you done withDayton Copeland? And why did I have to meet the evil twin first?”
I bark out a laugh and shake my head. “You’ve always been funny, Cupcake.”
“Aren’t you flying back to New York today?”
“No. I planned to sleep in and relax today because I figured the wedding festivities would go late and there might be people I wanted to spend time with before leaving.”
I hold off on adding the part about hoping she was the one I would be spending today with.
“Oh, well, you should do that. You don’t have to stick around with me the whole day.”
“But we have so much fun together, bonding and shit.”
“I think our bonding should remain … where it is. We’ve bondedplenty.”
“I can think of a few more positions we could bond in.”
“Oh, I’m sure you could.”
“Have you not enjoyed bonding with me? Because if you say no, I’ll have to spend the rest of the day proving how big of a liar you are with more bonding exercises and documenting your vocal, enthusiastic participation.”
Her cheeks tinge bright red.
“Yoo-hoo, neighbors! Anybody home?” January comes up around the corner from the beach side.
She waves cheerfully, a dish of some kind in her hands. “I made you an upside-down cake because, well, I just had some milk that was about to go bad. I had to use it because you know how, sometimes, on this island, we can’t get things in time, and the stores run out, and yada yada.”
I stand up to meet her, grabbing the cake from her before she gets to the stairs leading up to the porch.
“Oh, thank you, sugar. You sure look so much like your father. Sometimes I see you, and I think it’s him for a minute.”She smiles, the wrinkles around her eyes creasing with the movement.
Instead of turning around to head back to her house, she starts walking up the steps. I guess she wants to stay and talk for a bit.
I extend a hand to help her, but she sticks with the railing. We make our way over to where Summer is dutifully eating her breakfast sandwich and sipping on her matcha. She smiles warmly at January, warmer than she’s ever smiled at me.
“Hello. How are you? Thanks for bringing the cake! This one is my favorite.”
January doesn’t need an invitation to take a seat. I follow suit.
“Better than Mary Beth’s, I assume? How’s the house coming along?”
Summer gestures toward the back door. “Would you like to see? The painters have some plastic taped up, but we can get into most of the rooms.”
January nods. “In a minute. How are you two doing? I know it’s been a while since the accident, but I just wanted to check in and see if you needed anything.”
Summer smiles warmly at her. “I’m doing … it almost feels wrong to say it, but I’m doing okay. I guess the only thing I’m struggling with now is feeling like a disappointment. Like if she was still here, I don’t think she would be proud of me.”
