I shoveled the last bite of ice cream into my mouth and Dan put a new scoop in my bowl. I ate it to keep from answering.
Katie heaved a sigh. She began to nervously shake her legs, and her knee jumped so hard I was afraid she’d vibrate the stool she was sitting on right out the door. I finished my ice cream while they all chit-chatted about the cold water we fell into, and Katie explained why she was wearing my clothes. Adam and Dan ribbed one another.
“I should go,” I said. “My dad will be worried.” I took my empty bowl to the sink and rinsed it out.
“Damn, Old Mr. Jacobson raised a son with manners,” Dan said.
“You know my dad?”
They both grinned. “He caught us kissing when we were about your age,” said Adam. “We were taking a walk down by the shore. In the moonlight.”
Dan dropped his voice down to a gruff growl. “‘You boys need to get a room,’ he said to us.”
“We quickly found out that he said that to all the straight kids, too.” Adam laughed, then sobered. “I was really sorry to hear about your mom.”
I nodded. I didn’t like to talk about my mother. “Thanks.”
“I’m going to walk Jake to the door,” Katie said.
“You mean you’re going to kiss his face off,” Dan said. He glared at Katie. “No.” He pointed to the door. “Good night, Jake.”
“Good night, sir,” I said.
I walked all the way to the door without looking back. “Thank you for the ice cream,” I said as I slipped outside. Then quickly I poked my head back in again. “Can I come and visit Katie tomorrow?”
The corners of her lips tipped up.
Dan looked at me and shrugged. “That’s up to Katie.”
Katie smiled at me and nodded her head. “I’d like that.”
As I walked away from the cabin, I could hear Adam inside, taunting playfully. “Jake and Katie sittin’ in a tree…”
Then I ran all the way home to tell my dad about Katie’s oddly intriguing family. And he said I made him proud, although I couldn’t figure out why accepting someone’s sexuality was something to be proud of. It was kind of like him being proud of me if I said I liked blue eyes.
“I’m going to see her again tomorrow,” I told my dad.
He went to his room and came back with a small box of condoms. He threw the box at my face, and I caught it, juggling.
“Seriously, Dad?”
“If that girl gets you pregnant, I’m going to be really angry at you.”
“Yes sir,” I said, and I grinned all the way to my room. I took a condom out of the box and pressed it into my wallet. You know, just in case.
13
Jake
After dinner, Pop announces that I am going to do the dishes, and then he goes back to the little table on the porch and picks up the deck of cards. He motions for Katie’s oldest daughter to join him. She grins, shaking her head as she goes. “I’m going to get his wallet next,” she says.
I sincerely hope she does.
“Can I borrow your phone, Jake?” Katie asks me very quietly as we stack the dishes beside the sink.
“Sure.” I pull it out of my pocket and hold it out to her.
“Thanks.” She takes it and steps into the bedroom, closing the door gently behind her.
I fill the sink with water and bubbles, and wash the few forks and knives that we got dirty, and I clean a few glasses.
The soft sound of Katie’s voice reaches me in quiet lulls, and I think I hear her giggle. I shut off the water and tiptoe toward the bedroom door. I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t. But I can’t help it.
“Yeah, I love you too. I’ll check in with you in a few days. I promise.” My heart jerks in my chest. Despite the size of her very pregnant belly and the three children she has with her, my heart still can’t rationalize the fact that Katie has a husband somewhere. I don’t know what that says about me.
I dash back to the sink when I hear Katie’s footsteps walking toward the door.
She hands my phone back to me and wipes her nose. “Are you all right?” I ask.
“I’m fine,” she says.
“Was that your husband?” I’m nosy. I can’t help it. I’m a cop.
She snorts. “I wish.” She wipes the back of her hand beneath her nose. “That was my dad and Uncle Adam.”
“How are they doing?” I have such fond memories of them from my childhood. Nights when we played Sorry together or rainy afternoons spent shouting over a game of Monopoly are some of my best memories of all time.
“They’re fine. They’re very relieved I’m here.” She looks up at me.
“Why?”
“Why what?” she asks, as she starts to dry the glasses.
“Why are they relieved you’re here?”
“It’s safe here,” she says quietly.
“What does that mean, Katie?”
She shakes her head. “It means I’m really happy to see you, Jake,” she says. “Dad and Uncle Adam said hi.”
I smile. “Next time you talk to them, tell them I said hello, will you? I’d love to see them.”
“I asked them not to come. Not yet.”
“What’s going on with you, Katie?” I rush to ask, because she’s really starting to scare me.
She heaves a sigh. “I just needed a safe place to land, Jake. That’s all.”
“And you picked here?”
She nods. “Yeah. I did.”