Chapter Three

Hours later--meals in our family are a European affair--Ellie and I are in the kitchen with the Trips while the rest of the family sits at the long farm tables that're out on the deck. They're supposed to help us with the dishes but are instead busy scooping out handfuls of soap bubbles and giving each other beards and mustaches.

“Hey squirts! Get over here and start drying.” Ellie's burning nervous energy. She's ready to get the day started.

They respond by coming up behind us while our hands are in the sink and slap bubbles on our face instead.

“I'm gonna kill you!” Ellie yells, running out of the kitchen after two of the Trips. One stays. Jaime, I'm assuming. He's the least mischievous of the three.

“I'll help you Persis.”

“Thanks, kiddo.”

I go to wipe off the bubbles, but he looks at me solemnly. “I think you ended up with the best goatee; you should leave it.”

“Oh really?” I change my voice in terrible imitation of a Bond villain. I pass him the dish and pretend to stroke my chin. He laughs and turns to dry and put the dish on the stack. When he turns back, I'm ready with a handful of soap.

“You know what? I think you have the face of a pirate, matey.” I give him soap mutton chops and a thick mustache.

“Argh, I do. I even know a pirate joke. Ready?” I nod. This is definitely Jaime. “What did a pirate pay for his corn?”

“I dunno.”

“A buccaneer.”

I respond with my best “mwahhaha.” Jaime launches into a series of ridiculous pirate jokes. We touch up each others faces as we work through the mess. I'm evil laughing so loud, I don't realize that something is going on. He's the one that stops and breaks character and asks, “who's that?”

I look out the sliding door to see a man with his back turned to us. Grampa Joe is slapping him on the back like a long-lost friend. He's as tall as Gramps. I try to place him. Everyone seems to know him. Ellie comes back in from the front door: “I lost our help.”

“That's okay. Jaime and I have pretty much finished up.” I nod my head towards the deck. “Are we expecting someone? I thought all the transients were here already.”

“I thought so, too. Unless...is it your boyfriend?” She pokes me in the side.

“Who? That guy from this morning? He was like three inches shorter.”

Jason and Justin peek around the edge of the island.

“What guy? Who did you meet?”

“Nobody. Don't worry about it.”

“Ooh...Persis has a boyfriend.” The Trips have managed to say it unison.

“Shut up, dorks.” I look helplessly as they run chanting “Persis has a boyfriend” out onto the dock.

Grampa Joe turns at the interruption as does the visitor.

“Oh my god. Do you know who that is?” Ellie asks.

I look but besides realizing that I've now lain eyes on yet another good-looking guy, this one blonde and brawny with indigo blue eyes, I have no idea who he is. I turn to Ellie and see her face has fallen. She tries to say something, but it's too late.

“Persis. Is that you?” Hot Stranger #2 asks in a friendly, deep voice. “I mean, I hardly recognized you with your, um, beard? But that has to be you.”

I reach for a towel and wipe my face. I am confused.

“Grampa Joe. When was the last time Jesse was here?” Ellie asks, oddly gentle.

“Well, it must have been...” he looks up, squinting a little. Then his face falls, too.

“Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I plum forgot.” Grampa Joe goes uncharacteristically quiet.

Realization dawns on me. It's uncomfortably quiet, so I decide to speak up. “Jesse? Is that your name? You must have come the summer I drowned.”

“Well, yea. We hung out all summer. I was on your team and everything. I'm Dr. Turner's grandson.”

Ellie tries to break in, but I determined to own my own issue. “I don't remember anything from that summer.”

“Nothing?”

“Not a thing after the end of the school year. My therapists say I have retrograde amnesia brought on by acute trauma.”

“From the drowning or from your dad dying?” I again feel Ellie tense up next to me. No one likes to talk about dad's death, but it's oddly comforting to face such openness.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

I wait for the usual response. Eyes to the ground. Or a subject change. I'm surprised at his immediate response. “That's too bad. We were as good of friends as you were a terrible teammate. We'll have to see what we can do to jog that memory.”

I smile and Grampa Joe and Ellie do, too. He's put them back at ease. “Sounds good to me. I certainly owe the grandson of the man who saved me life.”

“Shall we?” Grampa Joe gestures to the deck. He and Jesse wait until Ellie and I walk through to follow.

Everyone's looking at us, quiet for once. It's clear they're all wondering if I remember anything. I start to tell them when Jesse interrupts them. “Persis and I just decided we're going to get reacquainted this summer.” The implication is clear but it's still quiet until Herc pipes up.

“Well, if you don't remember him, then who is the boyfriend the Trips were yelling about?”

I glare at him. I preferred being awkwardly stared at for being nuts.

“Oh, the kids heard me and Ellie talking. When I was out on the lake this morning, I passed by Fuller house, and someone's living there.”

Everyone's interested now. With only four non-Jennings houses on the lake a new neighbor is big news. “He says his dad bought it to flip and he's decided to fix it up.”

There's a lot of excited chatter. “How old is he? What does he look like?” It's Sarah, of course, louder than anyone. Blond, Amazonian, boy crazy, Sarah.

I don't answer so Ellie kicks in. “He looks about 18 or 19. He's quite the looker—not that it's relevant to you Sarah. Where's Austin anyways?” I'm assuming Austin is her latest boyfriend. Ellie mentioned that he was one of our transients.

“Oh, we broke up.” She's not looking at Ellie but at Jesse, so she doesn't see the anger erupting around her.

Ellie asserts herself over the outcry. “Sarah! We already had the teams evened out!”

“Would you relax? I found a replacement.”

“Who?”

She smiles brilliantly and points to Jesse.

He smiles back, claps and rubs his massive hands together. “I'm game.” Sarah's pleased with herself.

He turns to me. “Now, Persis and I will have a chance to get to know each other again. When do we start?”

“Now!” the Trips yell and take off. I can't help but enjoy the disbelief on Sarah's face as we all make our way, following them around the side deck and down to the playing field, ready for the ridiculously over the top parade of teams for our opening ceremonies.