“Maybe a hundred. Not positive. We have the ribs, hamburgers, and hot dogs, and I have friends bringing more salads. However many come, we’re going to have too much food.”
Valerie laughed. “We always did.”
Brad bagged the onions he’d sliced for hamburgers and gave Rosaline three separate bowls of chopped onions. “Next?”
“Wash and prep the lettuce for hamburgers, then slice tomatoes and prepare them for transport.”
After Valerie finished putting the ribs in the marinade, she helped Brad slice tomatoes. Soon, they finished all the food prep and Rosaline released them from the kitchen. “Go enjoy the afternoon. We’ve done all I want to do.”
Brad looked at Valerie. “I really have some work I need to get done, but I can probably spare another hour. Do you want to swim?”
She’d planned on working that afternoon, too, but the thought of spending an hour in the sunshine appealed to her on a massive scale. “I packed my suit in case I had a chance. Let me go get it from my car and I’ll meet you out there.” Standing in the kitchen for so long made her hip ache, and swimming would loosen her muscles without any impact. She grabbed her bag out of her car and used the guest bathroom to change out of the dress she’d worn to church. Barefoot, she grabbed a towel from the closet by the back door and walked out to the pool. They had retracted the glass walls and roof weeks ago when the weather had warmed. She found Brad already out there, kicking off a pair of flip-flops.
“Is the water warm?”
“I turned the heater off a couple weeks ago. So, it’s as warm as the weather’s been.” He walked over to the deep end and winked at her. “Afraid to just jump in and give it a test?”
He executed a perfect dive and smoothly entered the water, emerging several yards closer to her. He shook his head to get the water out of his eyes and looked up at her. “It’s nice. Come on in.”
She didn’t fully believe him, but didn’t want him to call her a chicken, either. So, she walked over to the same spot he’d dived from and jumped into the water. She fully anticipated the shock of cold and felt pleasantly surprised as tepid water enveloped her.
Instead of swimming to Brad, she paddled, kicking her legs out against the force of the water, letting the resistance work her muscles. Brad swam up to her and faced her. “Would the hot tub feel better?”
“No. This feels good. I’m glad you suggested it.” She lay her head back and closed her eyes, letting the hot sun soak into her skin. “Tomorrow is going to be fun. It’s been too long since I was at a Dixon party.”
“It has been. What was the last? Graduation?”
“Yeah. High school. I didn’t come for your college graduation.” She lifted her head and smiled. “We had it here, remember? The big pool party.”
“I remember.” His eyes grew serious. “I remember asking you to reconsider college and go to Auburn with us.”
“It was too late then.” She kicked backward and stretched out her body, floating on top of the water. She had to close her eyes against the glare of the sun. “This feels incredible.” Slowly, she stroked her arms and gently kicked her legs just enough to barely move but stay afloat. When she reached the edge of the pool, she lazily turned around and went in the opposite direction. After three laps, she pulled herself out of the water and picked up her towel, wrapping it around her shoulders. She sat in a chair under an umbrella and watched Brad swim laps. Eventually, he got out and sat next to her.
“You know what?”
“What?” he asked.
“I haven’t been fishing since the last time I went fishing with you and, hmm, was it Ken?”
“I don’t remember.” He gestured with his hand in the general direction of east. “I stocked up on bait and poles for tomorrow. You should be able to fish.”
Brad fully relaxed while fishing. At least, that’s what used to happen. She assumed he still did. With a smile, she said, “I’ll like that. But I’d like to go fishing with you again. Not at a party. Not with your brothers. Just you and me. Do you want to do that?”
With amusement in his eyes, he asked, “Like a date?”
Chuckling, she said, “Yes, Brad, like a date-date. A romantic fishing date, even.”
“I’d like that very much. Let me look at my schedule and I’ll tell you when I’m free to go.” He picked his watch up off the table and looked at it. “In the meantime, I need to get to work. I took Friday and yesterday off. I have a lot of catching up to do.”
“I need to go, too. Thanks for spending this hour with me.” She stood and wrapped the towel around her waist. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Let your mom know if she needs anything, to call.”
Brad clicked “send” on theemail, then sat back and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t resent working until eleven Sunday night, but he was happy that he didn’t have to work tomorrow. He would have a chance to relax, knowing he’d caught up, and just enjoy his guests. Of course, most of his guests worked for him or with him, so work would come up. Just, hopefully, not too much.
He picked up his dinner plate and cup and took them downstairs. After washing them and stacking them in the dish drainer, he turned off lights and walked through the downstairs rooms, making sure all was well in the Dixon household.
When he went into his dad’s study, he was surprised to find Jon on the leather couch, legs crossed on the table in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. He had his eyes closed. Brad bent and touched his shoulder. “Hey, bro,” he said.
Jon immediately jerked awake and grabbed Brad’s hand. For a brief moment, he looked scared, confused, and startled. Then he relaxed and smiled. “Hey.”
