Izzy laughed. “Don’t you live right by the ocean?”

“Yes, but I don’t go sailing on it!”

“I would,” he said.

I pictured us there, Izzy and me, the ever-blowing wind making his wild hair fly all over the place, him smiling with his whole face, all the way to his dark and light brown sunburst eyes.

“Izz, I get that it’s your day and all, but I could use some help here,” Seb said, struggling with one of the ropes that was attached to the boat.

“Got it,” Izzy said, making a face that his brother didn’t see before grabbing another rope.

Seb and Izzy looked alike enough to be siblings, with matching smiles, sharp noses and chins, and dorky footwear. But if I were to draw Seb, I’d start with umber, whereas Izzy’s darker hair and eyes would be better in sepia.

“What activities are we doing today?” Jake asked, appearing in bright blue swimming trunks and a multicolored mock-neck swim shirt, a straw hat, and huge yellow sunglasses.

“Hey, buddy,” Seb said, looking over his broad shoulder. “I think the usual. Floating and swimming and hanging out. Want to grab a line?”

“Activities?” Kennedy asked me, confused. “Are we at a five-year-old’s birthday party?” Pah-dee.

“Shhh,” I said to her. “Jake likes schedules . . . like Frankie.”

Kennedy nodded knowingly and didn’t mention it again.

Jake, Izzy, and Seb worked together to pull the boat close, tightening the ropes around poles on the dock. Then Seb and Jake jumped aboard while Izzy, Kennedy, and I passed them grocery sacks of food, a loaded cooler, and our personal bags.

The pontoon was a floating rectangle about the size of half my bedroom at home, with a steering wheel on the right side in the middle of the boat instead of up front like I’d expect. The center part had a navy-blue canopy overhead and cushioned benches around the outside.

“I call the back!” Girl Sam yelled, shaking the whole dock as she ran down.

Boy Sam, Jasmine, and Axl sauntered behind her. A red SUV beeped twice as it backed out of the parking lot next to the lodge.

I introduced Girl Sam, Boy Sam, Jasmine, and Axl to Kennedy. Then we all boarded the boat; my heart raced as I stepped from the only-somewhat-still dock to the definitely moving floating rectangle. Once the ropes were untied and everyone was in life vests, Seb carefully maneuvered the boat out to open water, managing not to hit the other boats that were parked nearby.

I sat with Girl Sam on a bench facing backward. The boat went slow at first, then picked up speed, leaving the lodge behind. The propeller hung off the back, cutting through the water, pushing us forward, leaving a mesmerizing trail of crisscrossing waves behind us.