Page 59 of That Summer Feeling

“I’m proud to announce I guessed that,” I said.

Stevie took her box from Mason. “That’s all we can really tell you right now. You and I can fit on the crane together.”

“Not to be a downer, but we did have a near-death experience in the rowboat yesterday,” I reminded her.

“And we had a perfect morning in the lake today,” she said back, grinning. “Don’t worry. We’re just floating.”

It took a long time to blow the rafts up. The siblings insisted on doing it with their mouths, which was as weird as it was sweetly noble. They worked on their individual floats with focus and complete attention. Stevie wouldn’t even let me help her. No one would. The Magnussons took lake night as seriously as they took everything else, and I found it poignant that it was a family tradition instead of a competition. At least, I didn’tthinkit was a competition.

I expected we would each lead our raft into the water and float in different directions into the terrifying dark. Once the floats were ready, Mason pulled a rope from his backpack, and he tied each raft’s handle to the next until all four were linked together.

“That’s so we don’t lose each other,” he told me.

“You guys explain all the stuff I can already figure out on my own, but you leave out all the details I actually want to know,” I said.

He patted my head. “You’ll get it, Gar. Have some faith.”

“It’s time,” Andrew announced. He kicked off his flip-flops and left them at the shore.

Gamely, I followed suit, and so did the rest of the family. We had to wade into the water before we climbed onto our respective floats. The cold around my ankles reminded me again of the previous day’s disaster. Trudging through the lake in layered clothing with Stevie was one occurrence I didn’t expect to ever re-create.

Before the rafts floated in earnest, we climbed atop them. Mason tossed his backpack onto the pineapple, then hoisted himself up. Frank took up the strawberry. Andrew went to the flamingo. Stevie and I had the crane. She put her legs on either side of the bird’s head, and I had mine on either side of her. I clutched her torso tight as could be, as if we were riding the world’s weirdest motorcycle. It was nice to hold her all the same. I’d take any excuse for it.

“See? The water is calm,” she told me. The lake did in fact rock us like a lullaby, soft and serene.

For a long while, we floated in silence. Fireflies blinked out quick flickers of light that put me further at ease. I continued holding Stevie tightly, no longer in fear. Just contentment. Even the cold didn’t seem too bad. That’s how good it felt to be that close to her. The lake water had dried on our exposed skin but stayed wet in all the places our bodies touched, sealing us together.

“Are we ready?” Andrew asked.

We seemed to be in the middle of the lake, judging by the size of the buildings in the distance. Andrew was only two floats over from us. I couldn’t see him. I barely saw Mason right beside us. Only the outline of his moving body.

“Yes,” Mason, Stevie, and Frank all offered in unison.

Mason passed something to Stevie. She opened her palm and showed me two pennies. “Don’t worry. It’ll all make sense in a second,” she said, anticipating my question.

After Mason distributed pennies to his brothers, Andrew spoke again. “Welcome to our first lake night as adults. We come here to remember our past, and to honor our bond as a family.”

I laid my head on Stevie’s shoulder as I listened. Andrew made no mention of me being an outsider. Instead he folded me into their family tradition without judgment or qualification.

“We will start with sharing our favorite memory from the week,” he continued. “Then we will sink that memory to the bottom of the lake, remembering that no matter where we go in life, a piece of us will always live here.”

Whether he gave this speech every year or he did it for me, I wasn’t sure. It sounded practiced all the same. Careful and sacred. I felt the history wrapped up in the tradition. How many pennies were there at the bottom of the water? What memories did they represent?

“I’ll go first,” Frank said. He took a deep breath. “My favorite memory so far this year was when I found out what color team I was going to be on, and all of you clapped for me when I got picked for Green. Nobody claps for me anymore. And that’s not me being dramatic Frank or whatever you’re gonna say. It’s just the truth. There’s not much to clap about in my everyday life.”

“You’re literally a firefighter,” Stevie interjected, inducing gentle laughs from all of us.

“People don’t wait outside burning houses clapping. They want their pets and their belongings,” Frank told her.

Stevie shook her head. “They should clap more.”

“Let him finish, Steve,” Andrew said.

Frank cleared his throat. His voice had thickened with tears, rumbly and full of emotion. “After Andrew got picked for Green, he hugged me and told me he was so happy we were on a team together. I was so happy too. I just felt really lucky to be your brother. That I had someone who would put up with me no matter what.” He stopped to let out a snotty sigh. “That’s it. That’s enough from me.”

“That’s beautiful, Frank.” The water rocked as Andrew leaned over and patted Frank on the back. “Send it out.”

Frank hurled his penny into the water. It landed with a soft plink, a tiny ripple in the surface that calmed within seconds.