"About time you all arrived!" Ernie says, smiling as he walks around the corner carrying a bag of charcoal.
Luke grabs the bag and follows him over to the grill but winks at me first before he walks away.
"I love this place! I could live here. You could go naked all day!" Ris shouts.
She runs and does a cartwheel in the grass. I laugh, then head over to Gladys; Ris follows me.
"Do you need any help?" I ask.
"Everything is just about ready. You could grab the napkins off the table by the firepit.
The flies are terrible today, so we are going to have to eat in here," Gladys replies.
"This is my roommate, Ris. We work together at Facade," I say as I introduce Ris and Gladys to each other.
They shake hands then converse about Ris and the city. I head out of the tent over to Luke and Ernie to grab the napkins.
"What's on the menu?" I ask Ernie.
He lifts the grill.
"Shish-kebabs!" he boasts.
"They look amazing!" I say.
They do. Red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, onion, potato, and steak displayed perfectly across the skewers. Ernie is such an excellent cook. My dad loved everything he made, especially when we were here. I am missing my dad a little now since it's the first time I am here without him. Luke is here; he will help me to not think of my dad too much.
Luke smiles at me, then he and Ernie continue with their conversation as I head back to Gladys and Ris. I love being here; it was the only place I ever saw my dad relax and be somewhat lazy. I wish he were here right now.
"Ris want to go down to the lake quick?" I say as I interrupt her and Gladys.
"Yes, let's finish my tour," she says in excitement.
We head across the lawn to the stairs to make our way down to the docks. Ris talks about how sweet Gladys is and how much she likes it here already. We get down to the docks, and I show her the boathouse first. Inside is my dad and Ernie's huge pontoon boat, many life jackets, fishing supplies, water toys, and other miscellaneous things.
I notice that Jason's boat is still in here, but the jet skis are gone. He and Austin must be out on them. We head out of the boathouse, and Ris runs down to our sandy beach on one side of the boathouse. She runs in the water up to her knees.
"It's cool but feels great," she shouts.
I smile and sit down on the sand. I cannot help but think about the last time I was here. It was my dad's birthday six years ago. Since I've been away, I selfishly made him visit me for his birthdays, breaking the tradition of spending them here. I am sure it broke his heart, but he would never say so. Why did I become so self-absorbed and make everything about me? I barely came home for him or anyone, and I made my life seem more important than my dad's as well as those two people up there cooking. Now, I am here without my father. I should have made more time for him, for here, to come back home.
I am released from my little pity party as I hear the jet skis draw closer. I can see Ris bent over, picking shit up from under the water. I wave at Jason as he and Austin park themselves up on the beach. I laugh as both their eyes bug out of their heads when they see Ris. I walk over to her as they make their way towards her.
"Jason!" I yell while waving.
He runs over to scoop me up and give me a huge hug. After the recent tension between us, I am glad we are starting off cordial.
"She's smoking hot!" he whispers in my ear.
I had expected this reaction from him.
"I told ya she wasn't ugly," I whisper back, giggling.
He puts me down and walks over to Ris and introduces himself. Austin introduces himself as well.
"Let's go play some volleyball until the food's ready," Jason shouts.
We all make our way to the docks. Ris gives me a big smile then walks off with Jason and Austin as they look overly interested in what she has to say. They need to pick their jaws up off the ground from drooling over her.
I stop before heading up the stairs and walk to the end of the dock. I sit down on the bench and watch as the sun continues to set over the lake. The view is spectacular right now. It's stunning. My mind goes back to my dad, my selfishness, and how much I miss him. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I look at the water. It is times like these that I miss my dad most. I wish he were here sitting next to me.
"Ali. You okay?" Luke says from behind me.
I wipe my face and stand up.
"Yea. I'm good," I say with a smile.
Luke knows I'm not and grabs me pulling me into his chest, hugging me tight as he rests his chin on top of my head. We embrace in silence for a few moments.
"Dinners ready," Luke says.
We break free from one another and walk back up to everyone. Luke is leading the way and holding my hand. We reach the top of the hill, and everyone, except for Ernie, is gathered under the tent. Luke grabs my waist, kisses my forehead, then heads over to assist Ernie. I walk into the tent and take a seat right next to Ris, who is already all up in Jason's shit. She is practically sitting on his lap, while
