After Weezy’s father died, Bets never went back to the shore house.
But Weezy didn’t care what Bets thought. She wanted her kids to have the same summers that she did, full of hot dogs, taffy, and sea salt. Of course, it was different now. The house was split between Weezy, Maureen, and nine other cousins, and no one (including Weezy) wanted to double or triple up on families and be squished the way they once were. She and Maureen always went together with their families, which was plenty. And for the past few years, Maureen’s kids hadn’t come, so it was just one extra person.
Weezy had claimed the last two weeks in August early on, and thankfully no one had challenged her on it. She and Maureen had brought their families there every summer for the past thirty years. Weezy was afraid to miss even one year, worried that if she did, one of the other cousins would take her time slot. Even the year that Will’s mother died in August, they packed up the week after the funeral and went. It was good therapy to be by the ocean, Weezy thought, and what good would it do to sit at home?
The end of August was Weezy’s favorite time, right before the end of summer, when fall and responsibility and schedules were so close that you could smell them in the changing air, and everyone rushed around to get as much sun and ocean as they could before they had to return home. That was all she wanted for her children, who were no longer children—to smell like sunscreen and play mini-golf and shuffleboard, and jump in the waves. If she could give them this one thing to carry with them, then maybe it would make everything else okay. And so she forced this gift on them, summer after summer, whether they wanted it or not.
WEEZY WAS IN THE TV ROOM sorting through the beach towels and her summer clothes. She had them all spread out on the couch, trying to decide which things to give away and which things she could keep. She needed to make a list of things to get for the shore and start shopping, because really she was already behind.
She held a black one-piece bathing suit in her hand, debating whether or not to just pitch it. She hadn’t bought a new bathing suit in years, and she knew it was time, but the thought of standing in a dressing room to find a new suit that would (to be honest) just stay hidden underneath her cover-up seemed like a waste of time. Not to mention an unpleasant errand, to say the least.
She was still holding the suit when the door slammed, making her jump. Then she heard Martha clomp to the kitchen and open the refrigerator.
“Martha? Is that you?”
Martha came around the corner with a glass of Diet Coke in her hand. “Mom,” she said, “that bathing suit is like a million years old.”
“I know, I’m tossing it.” Weezy put it down on the couch. “How was your afternoon?”
“Fine,” Martha said. She sounded down and Weezy felt her heart drop. She was used to Martha’s moods, but she’d hoped for a good one today. Now dinner would be strained and silent. Maybe they would eat in front of the TV.
“Is everything okay?” Weezy asked. She tried to make it sound like a light question, so Martha wouldn’t think she was prying.
Martha sipped the fizz off the top of the glass and sighed. “It’s fine. Just a bad day at work.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah.” Martha sighed again. “I’m just kind of over it. J.Crew, I mean. I’m thinking about looking for some other jobs. Maybe even think about going back to nursing.”
Weezy stayed silent, not wanting to say anything that would make Martha change her mind. She had wanted Martha to do something else for so long, but she hadn’t wanted to push it. It had driven her crazy to watch Martha rot away at that store. It was a waste of talent. But she hadn’t been able to say so. She’d remained quiet and patient, at least in front of Martha. At night to Will, she would whisper, “What is she going to do? Work there for the rest of her life?”
“Really?” Weezy finally said. “That’s interesting.”
“Whatever. It’s just something that I’m thinking about. I don’t even know if I’ll go through with it.” Martha took her Diet Coke upstairs, leaving Weezy to