“I was thinking the clubhouse at Pleasant View.”
He’d passed by the entrance to the country club his parents belonged to on his way to today’s meeting. As a general rule, he avoided that club as well as the many others Dad and Mom belonged to. He didn’t much care for golf. He cared for the majority of society elites who spent their time at the facilities even less. Tonight, he’d make an exception. It wasn’t far from where they were, and generally the restaurants at his parents’ clubs served excellent food.
“I’ll meet you there.” The cell phone in his hand beeped, alerting him to a new message.
“Excellent.” Dad gave him a slap on the back and walked down the row to his car. Brett watched until Dad got into the vehicle before turning his attention to the device.
Have fun with your dad. See you Friday?
Affirmative. Call you tomorrow.
He’d figure out the logistics for Friday sometime between tonight and their conversation tomorrow.
Jen flipped to the next page in her leader handbook and set her cell phone down. She’d brought all her Girl Scout materials with her when she went to pick up Bo. Bella’s impromptu concert had kept them from getting started right away. Her niece had started piano lessons around the New Year, and she regularly liked to perform for anyone who stopped by. Today she’d insisted on playing the newest song she’d mastered, but one song quickly turned into several songs. Eventually a video call from a friend put a halt to the concert, leaving Jen and her sister to start their review of which badges they wanted to tackle this fall.
“I think we should work first on the animal habitats badge,” Kristen said without looking up from her handbook. “Or the flowers badge. Both would be easier in the fall. We can do the first aid one in the winter. I know the fire department will help us with it. What do you think?” She looked over at Jen. “Hey, what’s up? Bad news?”
She turned to the animal habitats badge before answering. “No, not really. Brett and I talked about getting together after his meeting today. He just texted to say he’s going to dinner with his dad instead.” They hadn’t made definite plans for the night, so she shouldn’t be disappointed, but she was.
“A meeting on a Sunday?” K
risten asked.
Her sister had less interest in politics than she did. Every election, Kristen voted for the same candidates and issues as her husband. Still, the death of Senator Neil Brown had been on every news outlet in the country. When Governor Wentworth announced the date of the special election, it had attracted national attention too. With the longtime senator gone, the party’s majority in the Senate was in jeopardy. It had already lost the majority in the House of Representatives two years ago. With so much chatter going on, Jen didn’t think there was any chance her sister hadn’t heard of the upcoming election.
“You heard about the special election being held in Massachusetts to fill Senator Brown’s seat, right?”
“Kind of hard not to. It’s everywhere. You’d think the election was taking place here, because it even made the front page of the Providence Gazette.”
She couldn’t recall the last time she’d bought a newspaper. Mom and Dad still did though, and Kristen stopped by their house every weeknight to pick up Bella, who stayed with them after school. “Brett’s running. He had another meeting with his campaign manager today.”
“Makes sense considering his family.” Kristen put a bookmark in her handbook and closed it.
Bella’s concert had kept them from discussing Jen’s date. Once her niece finished up, Jen insisted they get right to work in case Brett called and asked her to meet him. With that possibility off the table, there was no reason not to answer any questions her sister might have.
“If you were talking about seeing each other tonight, yesterday must have gone well,” Kristen said. “I got a little worried when you didn’t say anything, but didn’t want to ask.”
More than well as far as she was concerned. “You were right to not let me cancel. Thanks.”
“Wait, did I really hear you say that? Maybe you need to repeat yourself.”
She could play this game too. “Thanks.”
“No, no. The first part, about me being right.” Her sister smiled. “C’mon, let me hear you say it.”
“This time you were right.” She couldn’t help but put some emphasis on the “this time” part of her statement.
“Details, details. Don’t leave me hanging. Where did you go, and what did you do?”
“The beach.”
“Well, yes I knew you were going there. What beach? And what did you do after?”
Jen didn’t know if the beach they’d spent the day on had a name. “Brett’s brother owns a house in Newport. It has access to a private beach. We went there.”
“Access to a private beach, sounds nice. His brother wasn’t there though, was he?”
“No. Curt lives somewhere in New Hampshire. He let Brett use the house for the day.”