“That’s what I thought,” she said. “I might’ve been mistaken.”
“It isn’t really a policy,” I explained. “Some people frown upon it, but the only rule is to be discreet.”
“Ah, right. That explains why we haven’t seen any alcohol, beer or otherwise.”
“Not out in the open,” I said. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cooler of beer by the lake. Well,” I amended, “you probably will tomorrow night, but that’s because of the fireworks. It’s a special occasion.”
“Makes sense,” he agreed.
“The Retreat is different.”
“How?”
“It’s for adults only. Couples, actually.”
He caught the gist and nodded. “Right.”
“Besides, it’s just us at the moment. Well, us and Trip and Wren, but they’re—”
“Headed to Atlanta? Susan mentioned it yesterday.”
“That’s right,” I recalled.
“You go to school in Tennessee, right? So… why Atlanta?” He opened his box and began unloading bottles, which he stacked in our makeshift apple-crate wine racks.
“Wren’s from there,” I said. “Me too.”
“Really? By the way, this is some nice wine. You have excellent taste.”
“Wish I could take credit for it,” I said, “but it’s all Wren. Well, her and the guy at the liquor store.”
“So,” Carter prompted, “Wren’s from Atlanta…?”
I nodded and told him about the reason for their trip.
“And what about you?” he asked. “Did you grow up there too?”
“Sort of. My family moved there… wow… seven years ago. Doesn’t seem like that long, but… yeah.”
“What about before?”
“Are you cross-examining me again?” I teased.
“Deposing you,” he laughed. “Close enough. Sorry about that. No, I ask because I’m curious. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t act like a guy who’s twenty-one. I thought it might be something in your background. Like maybe you’re a politician’s kid or something like that.”
“No,” I chuckled. “I’m just a regular kid. Well, a regular twenty-one-year-old, but you know what I mean.”
“Yeah. Still, you don’t act like I did when I was your age. I was all about parties, getting drunk…” He glanced at Kim and added in an undertone, “Getting laid.” He straightened and continued in a normal voice, “Even in law school, I partied more than I should’ve.” He looked at Kim again, fondly this time. “I didn’t really settle down till we were married.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
“Three years. Right after I passed the bar.”
“So you’re… what? Twenty-eight?”
“That’s pretty impressive,” he said. “I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m surprised you figured it out.”
I shrugged. “Simple math. You probably graduated college at twenty-one, law school at twenty-four. Then six months to a year to pass the bar. That was three years ago, so… twenty-eight.”
“Right, it’s simple when you think about it, but most people don’t. Think, I mean.” He considered me for a moment and then nodded. “You’d make a good attorney.”
“Thanks. But I’ll probably stick to architecture.”
“Yeah! It’s a great field. I was just saying, you have what it takes to be good at…” He thought about it and laughed. “Well, anything.” Then he snorted softly, a laugh at himself. “I wish I’d been half as mature at your age.”
“Oh, I’m pretty immature sometimes. Just ask Christy.”
“Kim says the same about me. What’s next?” He closed the empty box and then laughed at my quizzical expression. “Sorry, we’re a little bored down at the main camp. I can’t really blame Kim, because we didn’t know what to expect when we made the reservations, but… How should I put this? The people down there are… older than we were hoping. Or they’re our age, but they have kids.” He shrugged and gestured helplessly. “That’s not what we’re looking for.”
“I get it.” I seriously thought about asking him the real reason they’d come to camp. I had a better sense of him as a person, and I could easily see him and Kim as swingers. But we were still in the getting acquainted stage, so I decided not to rush things. I glanced at my watch instead.
“Have we worn out our welcome?” Carter joked.
“No! Not at all. But I’m supposed to meet a delivery at the gate in about fifteen minutes.”
“Can I help?”
“Not like that,” I laughed.
“Oh, jeez! You’re right.”
“You forget, don’t you?” I said. “That you’re nude.”
“Yeah, you do. Want me to run back to the room? I have shorts and a shirt there. Hey, hon,” he called to Kim, “I need to run to the room for some clothes.”
Kim frowned. She and Christy seemed to be getting along well too, and she clearly didn’t want to leave.
“Why?” she asked.
“Whoa, hold on,” I said before he could answer. “You don’t have to run back to camp. I’ll give you a ride—”
“Why can’t he borrow something of yours?” Christy suggested.
“That’s even better.” I sized him up. “We’re about the same size. Close enough, at least.”
“You don’t mind?” he asked.
“Not at all. As long as you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.”
“Then let’s go,” I said. “Hold on a sec. Hey, girls…? We need to have some delivery guys here. Do you want us to drop you at the main camp? Or stay here and stay out of sight till they’re gone.”
“You have air conditioning here,” Kim said immediately.
“Ha! We do. I’d forgotten about that.”
“Yeah,” Carter agreed. “I never thought I’d miss it as much as I do, but…” He shrugged.
“Oh, I get it. South Carolina in July. Okay,” I said to the ladies, “we should be back in twenty minutes or so. Maybe thirty, if they’re late.”
“We’ll watch for you,” Christy said to me. Then she glanced at Kim, and her eyes flashed playfully. “We can hide out till they’re gone.”
“It’ll be fun,” Kim agreed.
* * *
Carter and I spent the next hour cooling our heels at the gate. I told him more about my own background, and he shared details of his. He’d been born in Wilmington, as he’d said, and his family had moved to Charlotte when he was twelve.
His father was a banker who’d climbed the corporate ladder to become the president of the company. Carter had had an extremely comfortable upbringing, although he’d clearly learned the value of hard work. Case in point, he’d gone to college at Duke on a tennis scholarship.
“I wanted to go pro,” he added, “but I tore a ligament in my knee when I was a junior. Probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” he admitted. “I’d’ve been a good player, but never great. I’m no Marc Flur.”
“Whoever he is,” I laughed.
“All-American last year, just turned pro. He was a few years behind me at Duke.”
“Gotcha,” I said. “And I know what you mean about good versus great. I had wrestling scholarships after high school, but I knew I’d never be in the Olympics.”
“Right,” Carter agreed. “Same here. So, I finished my degree—”
“In what?”
He laughed. “Would you believe… Philosophy? With a minor in French?”
“Actually,” I chuckled, “I would. You seem like the type.”
“It was good prep for law school. Oh, hey! We have another connection. I went to Emory.”
“In Atlanta?”
“Yeah! You and I moved there at the same time. In ’77, right? Too bad we didn’t meet back then. We could’ve hung out and partied.”
“Um, dude…? I was fourteen.”
“Ah, right! It’s easy to forget. You aren’t my age.”
“No.”
“So, when did you first start coming to the Pines?”
“A couple of years before that,” I said. “My family lived in Savannah at the time, and we…”