started to talk to her and she was like, ‘I don’t know you.’ And he was like, ‘Yes, you do. We’ve been glancing for two weeks now.’ He pulled up her profile and played the video right there by the bananas.”
“Oh shit,” Zack said, laughing. “She must’ve been so pissed.”
“She was. I got in so much trouble. And it was really expensive. It turned out I’d signed her up for a two-year nonrefundable membership. She made me pay for it with my babysitting money.” Zack laughed harder. So did I. “Twenty bucks a month.”
“When did you finally stop paying for it?” he asked.
“Actually, I renewed the membership last year,” I said. “But I didn’t tell her.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, there’s this one music teacher in Newton. He’s not the best-looking guy in the world—he’s kinda bald and he has a big nose—but he plays the guitar and the piano, and he just seems nice. I keep thinking that if she’d just give him a chance…”
“Or a glance,” Zack said.
“Yeah,” I said, laughing. “Exactly. If she just gave him a glance, she might actually be happy.” But when I thought of her telling me over and over again that she wasn’t interested in dating, my smile got swallowed up by the sea.
“Let’s switch places,” Zack said. “You’ve been rowing a while.” The boat rocked again as we switched places. The fireworks were picking up. An umbrella of red light opened above us. There was the faint smell of something burning. A blue umbrella followed with a boom, turning to silver rain. “Oh my god, it’s so beautiful.”
“And we’re almost there,” Zack said.
I looked at the house. It was so close now. I hadn’t realized how far I’d rowed. It looked spooky, leaning to the left, like one strong wind would blow it over. There was a steep hill that went from the back door to a perfect little horseshoe-shaped beach, a rickety staircase between them. I felt the boat scratch against the pebbly bottom.
“Come on.” Zack took the bag with the champagne and jumped out of the boat and pulled it almost all the way to shore.
“Is this public?” I asked as I took off my flats and hopped out. The water was ankle-deep and surprisingly warm.
“No,” he said, dragging the boat up onto the beach. “But I’ve always thought this little beach would be the best spot to see the fireworks.”
“So, this is someone’s private land?”
“Yeah, but she won’t bother us. She’s just some super old lady who barely comes out of her house. She’s a famous miser and she has the best view on the island. She should want to share it.”
“So, are we like, trespassing?”
“Yes, but whose land really is it?”
“Ah, hers?”
Zack spread out a blanket, secured it with four rocks. “Wrong. It belongs to the children of tomorrow. And they don’t mind that we’re here. Now, let’s open that bub!”
“Who’s down there?” said an old voice.
“Oh shit,” Zack said, our eyes locking.
“Who’s on my property?” said the voice.
“Uh, just a couple of friendly youths,” Zack said, shoving the blanket into the bag. I took off my shoes again and stuck them in as well.
“We’re really sorry,” I said. We ran to the shore and pushed the boat into the water. Above us the sky was in gold and silver hysterics. The old lady searched for us with a high-powered flashlight.
“You’re trespassing and it’s against the law!” She made it halfway down the stairs, shining the light right on us. For a super old lady, she sure was quick. The boat scraped the sand until it was deep enough to float. The bottom of my shorts were now soaked. Zack hoisted me by the waist and I hopped in. He followed, the boat wobbling. I scrambled to the seat in the stern, pulling my wet shorts away from my body. Zack bit his lip as he fumbled with the oarlocks. He lifted an oar while I guided it into place. Zack rowed us quickly away, out to sea, both of us cracking up.
“Youths?” I asked.
“It’s what we are,” he said, and then shouted, “Happy Fourth of July!” The old lady said something in response, but we couldn’t understand. Above us the fireworks were in a riot. Little rockets of light shot upward and popped open, full of sequins.
“Look,” I said as the explosions quick-fired, getting bigger and more dramatic. “The grand finale.”
“The Fourth of July, aboard La Principessa!” Zack added in an Italian accent.
“Oh! Champagne!” I said, and clapped my