you don’t date guys from around here . . . ”
“Here is the only place I’ve ever been. All the guys I know are either tourists or locals.”
“So you mean . . . ”
“Besides,” she interrupted, “my parents need me to work at home a lot, and well . . . nobody’s ever asked me except for school dances.”
“Now I’m surprised.”
She blushed and changed the subject. “I’ve been meaning to ask you— when did you learn to play the guitar?”
“I guess I started when I was about sixteen. I needed a way to combat the ‘angry young man’ syndrome.”
“You were an angry young man?”
He nodded.
“That’s hard to believe.”
“All young men are angry about something or other.”
“Even you, huh?”
His smile dimmed. “I’ve had my moments. Music helps me forget them.”
“Oh.” She dragged her toe across the dirt under the swing. “Did you take lessons or just learn on your own?”
“A little of both. I started with acoustic, but I play a little electric now and then as well. I’m in this band, and we play local gigs around Dayton.”
“When do you have time to study?”
James tried to keep from laughing. He never studied, but it wouldn’t do to have a freshman think that’s how one got through college. “We mostly play on weekends.”
“Shh, be still!”
The unexpected order surprised him until he followed her eyes and watched as a butterfly floated down and landed gently on his thumb that was wrapped around the chain of the swing. “Well, would you look at that?” he ventured, watching the creature rhythmically fold and unfold its wings. “Do you know what kind it is? Is it a monarch?”
She squinted at it. “Don’t move, so I can get a good look at it.” She paused. “No, it’s a Viceroy I think–Limenitis archippus.”
He raised his eyebrows at her, and she broke into a smile. “Binomial nomenclature is a hobby of my father’s. When I was a little girl, I followed him everywhere around this marina. He taught me a lot of the birds and butterflies that are native here.” She watched the butterfly until it flew off. “Find wonder in all things, even the most pedestrian,” she said, her voice soft and thoughtful.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a quote from Carl Linnaeus, the botanist. He developed the system of classifying plants and animals. He’s the father of modern ecology and my father’s idol.” She smiled and looked back at James.
“So your father knows a lot about the flora and fauna around here?”
“He was going to be a biology professor, but he never finished grad school. My dad loves the outdoors — studying the animals, the insects, the plants. In fact, all us girls are named for wildflowers found in the Appalachians.”
“Laurel? Okay, I’ve heard of that. Laurel what?”
“Laurel’s my middle name.”
His eyebrow rose while he waited.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Mountain Laurel.”
He grinned. “Aha. Very beautiful. But ‘Virginia?’ That’s a state.”
“Virginia Bluebell.”
James snorted.
“And, before you ask, our baby sister’s name is Spring Violet.”
“What are the boys named for?”
“Singers in the 1960’s. Dylan, for Bob Dylan, and Crosby, for David Crosby.”
“What did your mother have to say about all this?”
“Nothing. She pretty much lets Daddy have his way about those kinds of things.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“You working tonight?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yep. You?”
He nodded.
“Well I suppose I best get back.” She stood up, stilling the swing with her hands. “Mom will want me to help with the kids’ breakfasts, and you probably want to take a shower. You know there’s a public shower up at the marina, don’t you?”
“Yeah, Stu showed me yesterday. I suppose I should get back too. He might be awake by now, and we’re heading into town. I gotta go to the bank and open up an account.”
“If he’s leaving early to drive up and see Ginny, you won’t have a ride.”
“Hmm, I guess you’re right.”
“If he can’t take you, I will.”
“It’s a deal.” He stood up, holding out his hand.
She laughed and reached out, but after they shook, he didn’t let her go.
Slowly, hand in hand, they began the descent back to the marina and boat dock. Traffic had picked up while they were gone. Cars with trailers and fishing boats were lined up three and four deep, waiting to put into the water for the day.
“Will your father care?”
“If I take you to the bank?” She shook her head. “No, I can borrow his pick-up almost anytime I want.”
He slowed his pace and swung their hands up, holding