“Yeah, sure.”
“Wait till Erin gets here. You know family’s important to her, and she already thinks of her as a sister. And… do it before Brooke leaves.”
My eyebrows rose with a question.
“Not for her. For Christy. After all, she went to all the trouble to get her out here.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Besides,” Wren added, “I want to plan a party.”
“An engagement party?”
“Sort of, but more than that. It’s for everyone. The four of us’ll be engaged, but the others’re headed off to college.”
“And Brooke’s about to start graduate school,” I added. “Same with Christy.”
“While I’m going to find a job. So, it’s the end of an era, not just the summer. That seems like a good time to celebrate.”
I smiled at the Wren-ness of it.
“Let me know when you decide,” she insisted. “You don’t have to give me details.” She thought of something and added, “I don’t wanna lie if I don’t have to. And I can’t tell what I don’t know. So, just tell me the day. I’ll handle the rest.”
I drew a deep breath and then nodded.
“Do you know what you want to do? How you want to ask? Never mind. Don’t tell me. You’ll figure it out. And I’m sure it’ll be romantic.”
“I hope so,” I chuckled.
“She’s the same, a romantic. Hopeless, both of you. That’s why you’re perfect for each other. It never would’ve worked with you and me.”
“We’re too much alike,” I said.
“Maybe in some ways, but not this.”
“You aren’t a romantic?” I teased.
“Uh-uh. I like a little romance now and then, but not like you. You read poetry, for God’s sake!” She smiled to take the sting out of it. “That’s why I’m glad things worked out the way they did—you and Christy, me and Trip. I don’t believe in fate, either, but…”
“It’s hard to deny sometimes.”
“No kidding,” she agreed. Then her eyes drifted to the past. “Did you ever think…? I mean, when we first met?”
“Bunny and Beautiful?”
She laughed. “And you were Mysterious? Yeah. We were such kids back then.”
“It was only three years.”
“It seems like longer.”
“A lot’s happened since then.”
“Good and bad. But mostly good.” She rolled her eyes. “Listen to me! I’m turning into you!”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, maybe not.”
“Hey, are you gettin’ serious with my woman?” Trip said from the patio near us. They’d finished their conversation while Wren and I were having ours, and we hadn’t noticed. Trip laughed, “I’m just kidding.”
“You know she was my woman first,” I said.
“Maybe. But the best man won.” He walked down the steps and extended a hand to Wren.
She grinned and moved away. “Sorry,” she said insincerely. “He won me, fair and square.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I had my eye on a bigger prize. Well, a smaller one.”
“Me!” Christy scampered down the steps and didn’t bother to stop. Instead, she turned and waded backward toward the deep end.
“Looks like your prize is getting away,” Trip said.
“That’s okay. My prize comes with her own prize.”
Brooke walked down the stairs on cue. She sat beside me. Her breasts were at eye level, but I looked up and met her eyes instead.
“So I’m a prize now?” she said.
“You’re more than a prize!” I said expansively. “You’re my girlfriend’s girlfriend. The transitive property of girlfriends means you’re my girlfriend too.”
She scoffed but didn’t argue.
Christy stopped at the edge of the deep end. “Hold on, the what property?”
“Transitive,” Brooke said.
“Transistor?”
Christy had a perfect memory for sounds, but she wasn’t above baiting someone, especially Brooke.
She sighed and explained, “If A is related to B, and B is related to C, then A is related to C.”
“If you say so.”
“Math says so, Chris.”
“Now you sound like Paul.” Her eyes flashed mischievously. “Does this translator thing mean I can keep you both?”
“If you’re lucky,” I said.
“Ha! I’m the luckiest girl in the world!” She spun and swam into the deep end.
“She is,” Brooke said under her breath. “Damn her.”
I chuckled. “We’re pretty lucky too.”
“Yeah.”
Wren and Trip were watching Christy, so I studied them for a moment. He had his arm around her, and they looked incongruous together. He was a foot taller and much broader through the chest and shoulders. She wasn’t petite compared to Christy, but Trip made her seem smaller than she was. Still, they looked good together, comfortable and somehow right.
Brooke followed my eyes and seemed to read my mind. “They’re nice,” she said quietly. “And you can tell they’re happy.”
“They are.”
They turned to look at us, and Wren smiled. I glanced at Brooke. Wren followed and then replied with a slight nod.
“I think I’m ready for bed,” she said to Trip.
“Now? It’s still early.” He registered her expression. “Oh, right! Bed, got it. You want me to help with the dishes first?”
Wren staggered in mock surprise, and even Brooke laughed.
“Hey,” Trip protested mildly, “I can change.”
Wren smiled up at him. “You can, but not tonight. The dishes’ll keep. Right now, you need to take me to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It was nice to meet you,” she told Brooke. “And we’re glad you’re here.”
“Thanks. I’m glad to be here. For real,” she added.
Wren looked over her shoulder, to where Christy was frolicking in the deep end.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Brooke said.
“What?”
“How she always gets what she wants.”
“Yeah,” Wren mused. “We were talking about it earlier. Paul and I.”
“I can’t explain it,” Brooke said.
“That makes two of us!” Wren laughed, soft and friendly. Her smile lingered as she looked up at Trip. “Ready for bed?”
“Bed, yes. Sleep, no.” He bent to kiss her, and she laughed in surprise when he swept her into his arms. “’Scuse us,” he added.
Brooke scooted toward me and let him pass on the stairs.
“Have fun,” I told them.
“Oh, we will.”
Brooke and I watched them go, until they disappeared into their bungalow.
“He’s really cool,” she said. “I like him. Wren too, I guess. I didn’t know what to expect. Chris told me, but… you know.”
I nodded.
After a moment she spoke up, “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you talking about earlier? With Wren?”
“How Christy’s the sun. She keeps us all in her orbit.”
“That’s a good analogy,” Brooke said. “We had this group of friends back at Uni. Everyone loved Chris. She was the center of attention. I don’t think she even realized. It was just natural to her.
“I used to be jealous,” Brooke continued. “She always made friends so easily. I’m not exactly shy, but I’m not as outgoing as she is. And she’s so small that guys treat her like a little sister. They treat me like a pair of tits.” She snorted derisively and then glanced at the bungalow. “I think that’s what I like about Trip. He talked to me instead of my chest.”
“Well, he was on his best behavior tonight.”
“It worked, especially when we started talking baseball. Most guys can’t believe I actually know what I’m talking about. But Trip treated me like another guy. It was… really cool.”
Good for him, I thought.
“It’s strange, though,” she continued. “I thought people would be more reserved at a nudist camp, but they’re more real instead.”
“Nothing to hide behind,” I agreed.