Kevin stepped inside to open another bottle of wine, and when he started filling the wine glasses set around the teak table, he looked up to see Hugo bent over, asking the kids for a breather.
“You guys have a
lot
of energy.” Hugo’s voice carried back toward the house, even though it wasn’t loud. It was one of the features of the property both Kevin and Erin had always appreciated. Because of the way sound drifted, they were always able to find the kids if they’d snuck down to the beach. “Can we do something that requires a bit of sitting? Your dad said something about beach glass and BFF necklaces, Brooke. Would you show me what you found in the sand and tell me what sort of necklaces you’d like to make?”
Kevin watched as Brooke lit up and sat beside Hugo on the dock, rifling through the pieces of glass and talking a mile a minute.
“Do you want the pendants to be the same color glass or are you looking for something that’s close to the same size and shape?” he asked.
“What’s a pendant?” Brooke asked, and Hugo went into a description which had Brooke mesmerized with his knowledge of jewelry. After his explanation, he rolled his eyes and shook his head as if he were exasperated with himself. When he palmed the pendant he wore around his neck and lifted it for Brooke’s perusal, his reason for self-frustration became apparent. Examples were always easier to use with kids.
Kevin returned to the grill, turning the meat another time and pressing against it with his tongs to check if it was done.
“Finn,” Kevin called. “Why don’t you take Summer in the house and show her where the bathroom is? I forgot to show her, and she might like to know. Show her the outdoor shower too so she knows where to rinse her feet. And while you’re in the house, would you please wash your hands?” Finn nodded, grabbing Summer’s fingers and dragging her toward the house as he told her about the cool foamy soap Kevin had bought
that you don’t even hardly have to use any water to make a billion bubbles
. “Thanks, buddy. Brooke, supper is about ready. Get cleaned up so we can eat.”
“Okay, Dad.” She scampered into the house after a quick rinse of her feet.
Kevin could hear Hugo walking up behind him on the deck as he started cutting the meat into serviceable slices.
“Need any help?” Hugo asked in a quiet voice.
“No. I think I’ve got it managed.”
“So, where did Brooke get the dark hair?” Hugo wondered.
“From Erin’s side. Nearly everyone is a redhead in her family, but when Brooke was young there was talk about there being some dark-haired relatives in the past. Black Irish, they said. I don’t know if there’s been a brunette on my side ever. You wouldn’t believe how often we’ve been asked that.”
“Sorry. That was rude of me.”
“She probably looks like she could be yours more than mine.”
“I don’t think so. She’s got your gray eyes, ringed in blue. And your mouth.”
“True. And Finn looks more like his mom except he has my nose. It’s odd how you see little pieces of yourself in your kids.”
Hugo was quiet for a few minutes as Kevin started setting the food on the table. Kevin wondered if he was talking about Erin too much, but it was hard to talk about his kids without Erin coming up at some point. He wasn’t in love with her, but he would always be connected to her because of their kids. Kevin hoped Hugo understood that.
“You don’t happen to have a rotary tool around the house? A craft drill with a ton of different drill bits and grinding wheels?” Hugo asked.
Kevin worried his bottom lip between his teeth as he tried to visualize what Hugo meant. “Maybe. Let me check in the garage quick.”
“I don’t want to forget, and since it’s on my mind… for the necklaces Brooke wants to make,” Hugo explained, and then Kevin walked into the house to make his way to the garage. After several minutes of rooting around in a work cabinet, Kevin found a gray case and took it to Hugo for him to examine. Hugo’s eyes lit up.
“Perfect! This is exactly what I need. Mind if I use it?”
“Not at all. But we’d better eat first.”
T
HE
kids decided to try making a sandcastle after they had their fill, leaving the adults on the deck to talk and eat much more than they should have. They carried the dishes back into the house but left the dirty ones on the counter and only took the time to put away the food.
It was still quite hot out, so eventually Hugo, Summer, and Kevin joined the kids in the water and floated on brightly colored inner tubes, enjoying the combination of cool water and the warm air. They dove for rings, and Hugo showed the kids how he could walk on his hands underwater, which prompted Brooke and Summer to try it as well. Finn was too hesitant to attempt it.
“Any interest in going on a boat ride?” Kevin offered when Summer rose from the water after her perfect handstand.
“Yeah!” Brooke and Finn screamed, running to the dock to grab their towels to dry off and gather their hoodies with Finn chanting, “Boat ride, boat ride….”
“You don’t happen to water ski, do you?” Summer asked, hopeful.
“I most certainly do,” Kevin answered. “Do you?”
“I basically lived on this lake as a kid. My dad taught me how when I was little. Do your kids know yet?”
“Oh no.” Kevin knew he sounded paranoid. “Erin was against it, at least until they could both swim better. That’s why Finn’s been in swimming lessons since January. They both want to learn this summer, but I haven’t had time. I even bought kids’ skis.”
Summer raised an elegant brow and smirked. “Any interest in trying tonight?”
“We can see if they feel ready.”
Kevin asked Hugo to follow him, heading toward the garage where they found life jackets for everyone, the towrope, and skis for both the kids and adults.
“Do you think you’d like to ski?” Kevin asked Hugo.
“Hell no.”
Kevin couldn’t help but laugh. “Not really your thing?”
“I tried in college and felt like my arms were going to be pulled out of their sockets. Not to mention, I think I swallowed most of Lake Minnetonka. God. I had such an awful stomachache after that.”
“Well, you might change your mind. Catch!” Kevin said as he threw the boat key attached to a bright-yellow foam keychain toward Hugo, who easily caught it.
After a very thorough on-land lesson from Summer that Kevin couldn’t help but notice even Hugo was paying great attention to, the kids were ready to try it. Summer walked into the water, zipping up and adjusting her life jacket as she said to the kids, “I’m going to go first. What I want you to do is watch me.”
Kevin lowered the boat hoist with the large aluminum wheel as soon as everyone got inside the boat. Brooke and Finn fought over who got to be in the
favorite
seat, as usual, and Kevin had to settle it. “Finn, you had it last time. Let your sister sit there. Everybody get your life vests on.” Kevin attached the towrope and started the outboard motor so he could slowly back into the lake, making sure to watch for other watercraft.
“If I give you a
thumbs-up
, I want to go faster, okay?” Summer shouted.
Kevin nodded and looked back over his shoulder, giving Summer the OK sign. She reached for the handle of the towrope as it floated past and adjusted it in her fingers, finally nodding her head vigorously, signaling she was ready.
Kevin shifted forward and accelerated slow and steady but fast enough for Summer to get up. She popped up on her first try, and Kevin watched her for several moments to see how stable she was. Summer asked for more speed, so Kevin gave it to her, heading out into open water but still following the shoreline.
“Is it like driving a car?” Hugo asked over the noise of the wind and outboard motor.
“You’ve never driven a boat?”
Hugo shook his head. “I can row, but I fly-fish and ice fish. No need for a boat with either of those.”
“It’s a little like driving, but not really. There’s not a brake and no lanes. Here. Why don’t you steer?” Kevin suggested.
Hugo’s eyes grew wide with apprehension, but he stood, taking the wheel, then Kevin’s seat. Kevin sat on top of the back of the cushioned driver’s seat behind Hugo just in case he needed to take over quickly and positioned his feet on either side of Hugo’s hips. He felt Hugo lean back, giving a quick nuzzle to Kevin’s inner thigh.
“She wants a bit faster,” Kevin relayed at Summer’s signal. He reached down and placed his hand over Hugo’s and showed him how to make the boat accelerate.
“We should probably head back,” Kevin suggested after they passed an inlet. He didn’t want Summer to get overtired, so he threw his arm around in a circle above his head to indicate to her that they were going to turn. Hugo handled the turn perfectly.
Kevin took over when his house was in sight again, slowing the boat and bringing Summer in fairly close to the dock so he could drop her off. He rounded the boat so the next person could go.
It took several tries, but Summer stayed in the water next to Brooke and talked her though her first several wipeouts until Brooke finally leaned forward enough and started gliding on the water.
Brooke’s straight, dark hair flew behind her, and her face was lit up like a thousand-watt bulb. She was concentrating hard but having a great time. Kevin didn’t take her nearly as far as he’d taken Summer, and on the trip back, Hugo drove, following Kevin’s directions on how to do a decent drop off to a T.
“That was awesome, Brooke,” Kevin said. “What did you think?’
“It was super fun! It was hard right away, but even when I didn’t get up, I figured out something new. Do you want to try, Finn? It’s easy once you get up. The hardest part is starting.”
“Well. I don’t know. What if I don’t get up and fall and I drown?”
Hugo answered as if he were ready for the question. “Your life jacket will help you float, but maybe you’d feel better if someone was a little further into the lake just in case. How about that? I’ll swim out and be there ready to help you if anything happens to you.”
Finn looked at Kevin, his face serious and thoughtful. He scanned the water, looking at Summer and Hugo, his sister, and finally back at Kevin. He gave a somber nod.
“Atta boy. Now jump in, and Summer will get you all set up. Listen to her tips. She’s a really good ski teacher.” Kevin made sure Finn looked at him and then gave him a reassuring smile.
Hugo dove beautifully into the lake and disappeared under the water before breaking through the surface and treading water about fifty feet from where Summer and Finn stood talking. Kevin readied the boat and asked Brooke to sit in the attached seat behind him so she could more easily tell him how Finn was doing and interpret his hand signals, which Summer seemed to have drilled into the kids.
Finn was up on his second try and whooped and hollered, even daring to hold onto the towrope with only one hand for a few seconds as he fist-pumped the air. When Kevin dropped Finn off near the dock, watching him as he let go of the rope and slowly sank into the water, he chose to put the boat away for the night. That had been fun, but the sun was going to be setting soon, and the kids needed to get settled.
“If you guys get rinsed off in the shower, get your teeth brushed, and your pajamas on,” Kevin started only to get groans of dissatisfaction. “Did I say a thing about going to bed in that statement?” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer to his question. “No. I didn’t. If you get that stuff done quickly, you can stay up a little later than normal and sit with us outside. Okay?”
Brooke and Finn readily agreed and ran toward the house, only to disappear behind the wall of the outdoor shower.
“And don’t forget to dry your feet before you go back in the house,” he yelled after them. “And hang up your suits and towels to dry.” Kevin shook his head and looked down at Hugo, who was looking up at him from the lake with large eyes. “Sorry. When they’re excited they forget to follow through on a few things.”
“No. I wasn’t looking at you like that because I thought anything was wrong or you were too harsh or anything. I was just surprised, I guess. It’s weird to see you as a dad. Like, that was parent stuff you just did there.” Hugo sounded shocked, and it set Kevin to laughing.
“Are you kidding me? That was me just reminding them. Wait until you see me have to be an actual disciplinarian.”
“Ooo. Are you scary?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“So you don’t lose your patience and spank your kids or threaten them with awful things you know you’ll never follow through on?”
“Hell no! Okay, maybe I occasionally threaten things I’ll never do, but I try to say what I mean and mean what I say.” Kevin shrugged. “But I’m human, and I make mistakes. I took parenting classes with them when they were little. I learned something about how to be a decent parent, even if I wasn’t around a lot to practice. There’s plenty of time to practice now. Mostly, I took the classes so I didn’t end up like my dad, who only knew how to manipulate and control. How well did that work out for him? All it did was teach me how to lie.”
Summer stepped closer, and they all walked toward shore together, Kevin on the dock and the other two still in the water. “Where did you take your classes?”
“At the family center back home. I’m sure you know the classes since you teach kindergarten. Early Childhood Family Education. I think they offer the classes nearly everywhere in the state.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s a great program,” Summer said with a smile. “I’m impressed you went to classes. I work with a lot of dads who refuse to take any sort of parenting classes, even a one-night thing, because they think if they go to them, they’re admitting to needing help. Like refusing to pull over to ask directions when you’re lost or something.”
Kevin chuckled. “I did need help. Those rug rats didn’t come with an instruction manual when they were born, and they most certainly didn’t have a roadmap attached.”
Summer just smiled and reached for her towel to dry off.
“I’m going to head in for a minute to check on them,” Kevin shared aloud. “Make sure I don’t have to replace hardwood or carpet because of wet swimsuits. Would you like more wine?”