Nan Rossiter - The Gin and Chowder Club

She and Nate stood too. Noelle took the plate and glass from his hands. “You can leave those,” she said.

Nate looked at Noelle. “Well, my dear, what days are you working now?” he asked.

“Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday,” she replied, “but Asa can come anytime.”

Nate followed Asa to the door. “Well, there you go. If Noelle’s not here, the key is under the mat. Also, feel free to use the pool and help yourself to whatever you can find in the fridge-really, Asa, just make yourself at home. Oh, and make sure you keep track of your time.”

“Okay,” Asa replied as he backed down the steps.

As Asa pulled away, Nate put his arm around Noelle and teasingly whispered in her ear, “So much for no tan lines.”

Noelle just nodded, her heart suddenly filled with an odd sadness…

The boys returned from the beach late in the afternoon. Samuel and Sarah were sitting together on the porch swing enjoying a cold glass of sweet tea and talking about the week ahead. Sarah was accustomed to spending much of the summer on the Cape without Samuel, but she still missed him when he returned to their home in Boston. It had always been this way: she and the boys spending the long, leisurely summer months at the Cape house and Samuel coming and going as his schedule allowed.

Martha thumped her tail happily when she heard the boys on the steps.

“Well, how was it?” their father asked.

“Great,” Isaac answered as they hung their beach towels over the railing and sat down.

Sarah looked at their sandy legs and feet. “Please don’t go in the house until you’ve rinsed off,” she warned.

“Yes, Mom,” they replied, smiling. It was just like being told by their father to rinse the clams before adding them to the chowder. The boys had been rinsing themselves off in the cool outdoor shower after a day at the beach for as long as they could remember. When they were toddlers, Sarah had always ushered them around back for a quick rinse and then let them run innocently around the porch naked until they were dry. Those days were long gone, but still, their mother felt it necessary to remind them.

“Isaac, are you all packed?” Samuel asked. “I’d like to head into town tonight.”

“I’m not, but it won’t take long,” he replied. “Dad, do you know when we’ll be coming back out?”

“Probably not till Friday. Why? Are you already having second thoughts?”

“No… well… maybe.” Isaac hesitated. “I’d just like to be able to spend some time out here.”

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time out here, Isaac. Why don’t you wait and see how it goes before you start worrying?”

“All right,” he said, standing and pulling off his T-shirt. He headed around the house to rinse off his legs before going upstairs.

Samuel turned to Asa. “And how’d it go for you? Does the work at Nate and Noelle’s seem manageable?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Asa nodded.

“Do you know when you’ll start?”

Asa stopped stroking Martha’s head and leaned back in his chair. “I think I’ll try to start on Tuesday.” Martha put her paw up on Asa’s leg and gave his hand a nudge with her nose. Asa absently put his hand back on her head, and she contentedly closed her eyes again.

“I think they’re pleased that you are willing to help with this and that they can count on you,” Samuel remarked.

“And I’m sure Noelle will like having someone around,” Sarah added. “I don’t think she likes being at the house alone all week. She misses Nate and has said she’d rather just come out on the weekends with him. She told me this is going to be the last summer she works out here and that she is hoping to change her position in Boston to year-round.”

Samuel nodded thoughtfully as he got up to check the charcoal. “She won’t have any trouble either. She’s a good nurse.” He paused. “This fire’s ready, my dear,” he said, knocking down the hot coals and adjusting the vent before putting the lid on.

Sarah went into the kitchen to get the sirloin that Samuel had marinated that afternoon, and Asa asked her to bring out a bar of soap too. “I’m going to shower out back,” he said. “I’m sure Isaac is taking his sweet time upstairs.” He took the soap and a dry towel and kissed Sarah on the cheek.

“Go on,” she said with a smile, “and hurry up. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Asa stood in the shower and let the cool water drench his head and run down his sunburned shoulders and back-it felt good. He thought about the day. It seemed ages ago that he had gone running and to church. It had been another busy day, and he was worn out. When the sand had rinsed away, he peeled off his swimsuit, rinsed it, wrung it out, and hung it over the old wooden shower wall. He lathered up his hands and quickly washed his hair and then ran a bar of soap over his arms and chest. When he was almost done, he just stood there with the water beating down on his back. He looked at the white skin of his upper thighs and hips, rubbed the soap into the dark mass of curly hair, and, as he rinsed the suds away, allowed his hand to linger. He thought of the playful look in Noelle’s eyes when he had asked her to come to the beach, and he recalled her teasing reply-and then he remembered how her body had felt pressed against him that afternoon. He closed his eyes and pictured her slowly unbuttoning her blouse. He imagined the smoothness of her skin and how it would feel to lightly trace his fingers along the soft curves of her breasts. Asa couldn’t help himself-more than anything now, he wanted to see her alone. He put the soap on the shelf, slipped his hand back down, and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes again and, with a slow, steady movement of his hand, felt a surge of heat course through his body with pulsating urgency.

On Tuesday, Asa was up early. He ran, showered, and was eating his second bowl of cereal when Sarah came down.

“I made your coffee,” he said.

“I see that,” she said, ruffling his hair. “When did you start drinking coffee?”

“Today. I thought I had better take it up since I’m heading off to college.”

She peered into his cup. “Black?” she said, surprised.

“Yup, no cream or sugar for me.”

“And how is it?” she asked, pouring herself a cup.

“Awful. Hey, do you think Noelle would mind if I brought Martha with me?”

“Not at all,” Sarah replied. “And I’m sure Martha would love going for a ride and spending the day with you.”

“All right, I will.” Asa stood up and put his dishes in the sink. “What do we have for lunch?”

“There’s still some leftover steak if you want to make a sandwich,” Sarah replied.

“Sounds good,” Asa said, opening the refrigerator and taking out what he needed.

Sarah poured herself a cup of coffee and sniffed it suspiciously.

“Hmmm… how many scoops did you use?”

“Four.”

“Perhaps you might try a scant two next time,” she said with a smile. Carrying her Bible and a cup of the strong coffee, she went out onto the porch.

Asa packed his cooler with two sandwiches, two Cokes, pickles, cookies, chips, a hard-boiled egg, an apple, and two dog biscuits. He had to rearrange his lunch twice to get the top on. He also filled a jug with ice water. He looked around the kitchen one last time to see if there was anything he had missed and decided he probably had enough. He could always stop and buy a snack if need be. Asa looked at Martha. “Well, are you finally ready?” he asked. She wagged her tail. Asa pushed open the screen door, and Martha followed him out. “I’ll be home for dinner,” he said, leaning down to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek.