Eleven
Valerie loved her luxury forest bunkie. It was like a dollhouse for adults.
Under the citronella, the cedar walls smelled of fresh wood and sawdust, a scent that brought pleasant childhood memories of her dad taking her to the lumberyard to pick up supplies for one of his many unfinished home improvement projects, the way he used to before his remarriage.
The queen-size loft bed was reached by a sturdy ladder and covered with linen, apparently the chosen fabric of the gentry at play.
Underneath was a space that held two small leather lounge chairs draped with nautical-striped cashmere blankets, and a built-in closet for her clothes.
As usual, she hadn’t bothered to put anything away—she liked seeing everything at a glance—and her luggage had disgorged her belongings in a colorful jumble over the polished floor.
Although they were at the cottage, she was dressed to impress in tailored shorts and a plain blouse with tiny polka dots.
She held up a pair of small gold hoops and made a face before hunting out her gigantic dangling acrylic chains.
Penny would probably hate them, but the earrings seemed like a minor transgression given Valerie had so far ruined Malcolm’s memorial, arrived in Penny’s safe vacation space without warning, and threatened her children’s inheritance by simply existing.
She knocked on Nico’s door although she knew he would probably be out doing something productive.
He was an inveterate early riser, while she didn’t mind the occasional slow morning.
When there was no answer—expected but disappointing—she made her way to the dock, breathing in the fresh air, filtered through the pine trees and smelling like…
like clean. Not laundry clean, but a freshness that was like drinking cold water from cupped hands.
Her pace slowed as she approached, her body giving her time to mentally prepare for interacting with the Badgertons.
Roger was the first to come into sight, wearing swim trunks brightly patterned with yellow palm trees.
Then Penny, looking cool in an ivory dress.
Alice stood behind her, hair tucked under a battered ball cap and picking at the breakfast tray that had been laid out on a table.
Nico was nowhere to be seen, and she scanned the smooth lake looking for him.
She didn’t want to be codependent about all this, but she preferred him to be close.
“Morning, Valerie.” Roger waved at her as Penny turned. Valerie prepared herself to be aggressively ignored the way she’d been the previous day, but Penny cleared off the copy of the Toronto Herald that lay on the seat beside her.
“Coffee, Valerie?” she asked.
Valerie sat down, trying not to perch on the edge of the Mariposa chair and giving Penny quick glances out of the corner of her eye, like one would keep track of a dangerous animal. Penny put down her glass and smiled, her teeth white and unmarked by her green smoothie.
“We got off on the wrong foot when you arrived and I want to apologize,” she said. “Please let me welcome you to the family, however belatedly.”
“Thank you.” Roger’s talk must have shifted Penny’s attitude. Whether it was honest or simply to smooth over the situation was unclear, but she was grateful.
“Dad’s memorial is over and done with,” Penny said, reaching out as if to touch Valerie’s hand but stopping to hover her fingers in the air before making contact. “We need to move ahead instead of dwelling on failure.”
Alice sat down with a bowl of berries and yogurt. “Penny, really.”
“Umm, thank you.” Valerie would take this as forgiveness.
“Roger says you’ll be here for the summer.” Penny had a habit of trailing off some of her words, forcing listeners to wait to see if she was done. “We can get to know each other.”
Roger squeezed Penny’s shoulder in approval and she patted his hand fondly. Valerie tried not to sigh with relief that Penny was open to building a relationship. “I want to learn all about the family,” she said.
This time Penny’s smile looked real. “Of course you do.”
But apparently not now, because Penny began a conversation about the local government’s lack of foresight and general ineptitude.
A dark head came out from the water near the boathouse and Valerie sat up straight, sure it was Nico.
Three seconds later, she was proven right.
He swam toward the dock with a smooth crawl as Penny’s conversation flowed.
“I don’t know why they chose Tracey Jefferies as chair of the Mariposa Hospital gala committee. She couldn’t organize herself out of a bag.”
Nico reached the dock, holding onto the ladder with one hand as he slicked his hair back. He caught Valerie looking and gave a small nod, his equivalent of an enthusiastic wave. She nodded back.
“I heard the Keelsons are putting in a new dock,” Penny continued.
Valerie’s entire focus was on Nico slowly emerging from the lake, water streaming down his bare chest as if to deliberately emphasize the muscle under the tanned skin.
“No, they’re Swiss,” Penny said. “Apparently they fly over every weekend because it’s easier than trying to get a boat license back home.”
Nico stood dripping on the deck for a brief and glorious moment, lifting his face to the sun.
It was a good thing no one was talking to Valerie, who couldn’t look away as Nico slid a towel over his face, then down his chest. If Valerie didn’t know better, she’d think he was teasing her.
He wrapped the towel around his waist and pulled on a shirt that clung to his damp skin.
“Valerie? Don’t you agree?” asked Penny.
Startled out of her contemplation of Nico’s body, she nodded, unsure of why but figuring it was the better choice.
“See? Valerie thinks they’re ruining the lake as well,” said Penny, waving her hand toward a sprawling property on the other side of the water as Alice put aside her empty bowl.
“They’re in real estate. Developers.” She gave this an emphasis Valerie didn’t understand but knew indicated something undesirable.
It was time to connect with Penny through the time-honored tradition of trash-talking someone in absentia.
“I saw a helicopter when we arrived,” she tattled. “It might have been theirs.”
Penny gave a theatrical sigh as Nico refilled Alice’s empty coffee cup, then went to the table where the food had been laid out.
Valerie tracked him without moving her head until her eyes wouldn’t reach.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but when we were growing up, the lake was so peaceful.
These new people have no respect for nature.
They think because they pay twenty million for a bit of shoreline, they have the right to make it a gaudy eyesore. ”
Valerie made sure to direct her gaze away from the gigantic Badgerton boathouse and the carved mini-tree sculptures around the tiered patios made from the actual trees that had been cleared to improve the view.
“How long have you been coming to the lake?” This was her opportunity to get Penny talking about the past, and preferably the one fated summer when Roger and Yvette met.
“Oh, decades. Mother insisted we needed fresh air. But we should be talking about you, not ancient history.”
Building trust meant give and take, so Valerie prepared herself for an interrogation. She was saved by Roger, who was splashing water on his arms from the edge of the dock as he listened in on the conversation. “Remember when you won the lake swimming contest, Pen?” he called.
“A full minute faster than Tracey Jefferies and you cheered me on the whole way from the canoe,” said Penny with satisfaction. “I could do it again if I tried.”
“We’re not getting any younger,” warned Roger.
“Speak for yourself. My trainer says I have the physique of a woman half my age.” She arched a thin eyebrow at him. “I bet you can’t beat my time to the old jumping tree and back.”
“I wasn’t going in until later,” Roger said, glancing at Valerie. Right, because he had to monitor them.
Penny shrugged. “Scared? David tried the other day. He failed.”
Valerie remained quiet, worried that further protest might risk Penny’s suspicions.
Alice spoke up. “I can be timekeeper.”
“All right.” Roger surrendered gracefully. “Give me a chance to warm up, at least.”
He dove in and began swimming to the raft. Penny waited until he was gone and turned back to Valerie. “How much do you know about Yvette?”
“Almost nothing.” She made a show of looking toward Roger’s retreating head and stayed cautious. At least Nico was there as backup if the conversation started to go south. “I don’t want to bring up difficult memories, but I’d love to learn more about her.”
“Of course, you poor thing.” Penny gave her a small nod. “Ask away.”
“Start the timer and count me down,” called Roger, returning to the dock.
Alice held up her phone. “Three, two, one, go!” Once he was gone in a splash, Alice turned to Penny. “What was Yvette like?” she asked curiously. “I never met her.”
“You have to understand I didn’t know her at all,” said Penny.
“She wasn’t our kind of person, as Dad would say, although Tracey thought she was so exotic with that straight black hair and those narrow almond eyes.
I didn’t know any Chinese girls at home, naturally.
She was a bit of a mouse, scurrying around the Lakeview bussing tables and delivering plates. ”
Valerie might only be a fake daughter, but she fumed at Penny’s description. “You never tried to talk to her?”
“Dad was strict about who we associated with. He was a product of his time, believed in a natural order of things.” She laughed lightly. “His words, of course, but you understand what he meant. He was too old to change his ways.”
Valerie did not think this was the excuse Penny did, and apparently neither did Alice. “I’m sure he could had he bothered to try,” she said.