“Stop! I give up!” Freddy yells over his laughter.
“I’m too old for this,” Mr. Jacobson grunts as he rolls off Jake and lets Freddy’s leg go.
“You’re only as old as you feel, Pop,” Jake says with a chuckle.
“I have sperm in my nut sack older than you, boy. Not to mention the dirt between my toes.”
“Ew,” Laura says.
Mr. Jacobson turns his fake glare on Laura, but Laura doesn’t know him well enough to know it’s fake. “Girl, if you ever became intimately acquainted with my nut sack, you would not be saying ew.”
Laura swallows hard.
“C’mon, Pop, quit talking about your nut sack in front of the women.”
“Why are you four still here?” Mr. Jacobson asks. He glares at us all.
“We’re helping,” Jake says petulantly.
“Helping make my beer disappear,” Mr. Jacobson grumbles. Then he turns the hose toward them and puts his finger on the trigger. “You need some help getting cleaned up?”
“No!” Jake and Freddy yell in unison. They both back away, but Jake snags a six-pack of beer from the cooler, first.
“I’ll expect to see both of you tomorrow morning at seven at the bathhouse. Bring your toothbrushes.”
“Aw, man,” Freddy complains. He shoves Jake’s shoulder. “See what you did.”
“You fucked my wife,” Jake mumbles at him.
“That’s your last shot with that particular comment,” Freddy warns.
Jake nods, sticks out his ketchup-covered hand and Freddy takes it.
“Do you think we can be friends again?” Freddy suddenly asks Jake as they pump hands.
“Good possibility,” Jake says.
“Good,” Freddy says quietly. “Because I really miss you.”
Jake grins. “Same here.”
“I’ll race you to the lake,” Freddy says.
Before Jake can even respond, Freddy takes off running for the dock. Jake is right behind him, and they both dive into the water at the same time, at the same angle, with the same amount of speed.
“Have they always been this competitive?” Laura asks.
“Oh, this is nothing,” I say, as we follow them to the water’s edge, where Laura puts Patty’s feet in the water while Jake and Freddy try to dunk one another. “They used to be worse.”
“What could be worse?” Laura asks.
“Oh, imagine that ketchup fight with ice cream, chocolate syrup, and all the fixings of a sundae.”
“That sounds kind of yummy, actually,” Laura says.
“It does, doesn’t it,” I reply. Then we laugh together.
“I’m glad we got to meet,” Laura says.