Page 87 - In Five Years

Chapter Fourteen

It’s now the end of August. Long ago in January, David and I booked a summer
share in Amagansett for Labor Day weekend with Bella and our friends Morgan
and Ariel.

Bella and Aaron are still together, and unsurprisingly, Aaron is joining us on
this trip, turning the weekend into a triple date, which is fine by me. Historically,
Bella and I are on opposite schedules at the beach. She sleeps late and parties

late. I wake up at dawn and go for a run, cook us breakfast, and fit in a few hours
of work before heading down to the water.
David rented us a Zipcar, which is proving problematic in transporting us, our

luggage, and Morgan, who is meant to be driving with us. Ariel is taking the
jitney later after work.
“This thing looks like it belongs on a Monopoly board,” Morgan says. She’s

in her forties, which you’d never know except for the salt-and-pepper hair she
sports. She has a baby face, no wrinkles, not even the tiny lines around her eyes.

It’s wild. I’ve been sneaking Botox since I was twenty-nine, although David
would murder me if he ever found out.
“They said it fits four.” David is shoving my weekend bag over our suitcase,
jamming his shoulder into the trunk and pushing.

“Four tiny people and their tiny people purses.”
I laugh. We haven’t even tried to fit Morgan’s backpack or roller bag in yet.

Two hours later, we’re on our way in an SUV David rented last minute from
Hertz. We leave the Zipcar parked illegally on our street with the promise from a
manager of imminent pickup.
Morgan sits up front with David while I balance my computer on my knees in

the back. It’s Thursday, and although this week is sanctioned vacation, there is