Everyone had a buzz on, although the beer was warm and soupy. The tap had leaked, and when she and Arthur pulled the keg out, her new car stank of hops. Sherri had almost forgotten what it was like to be drunk without speed. Alcohol sloshed around in her system, slowed her down. She jumped into the lake and swam with Boo and Paul. She held her breath and dove so deep that her ears popped. Boo was showing them how to perform some water ballet moves. “This the clam,” she said, throwing her arms and legs up in the air so that they touched, sinking down and rising again. When Paul tried it, he looked like a thrashing whale.

Sherri climbed back onto the boat and discovered Carmen and Ginger leaning over the rail on the bottom deck. Carmen wore a turquoise bikini with sequins all over the cups, and they glinted in the dim light. The women were dangling their fingers in the water, gossiping about the resort’s financial trouble. Sherri overheard them talking about auditors in gray suits who had started showing up, asking questions, disappearing into the managers’ offices for hours on end. The head of catering had been let go. Sherri couldn’t stand to hear it. “You guys are buzzkills.”

She climbed the metal stairs to the top deck. Val was asleep on her Jaws towel snoring gently, a sound Sherri was familiar with. Sherri had avoided her the entire afternoon. She felt guilty about what she’d said in earshot of Curtis. She couldn’t confront her about the missing money in front of everyone, nor did she think she could do it straight to Val’s face. Earlier she’d noticed Val and Danny holding hands like any old couple. They didn’t seem too concerned that Carmen would see. Once Carmen got word of something, the whole world heard.

Danny and Arthur were talking about boat stuff. Horsepower, inboard, outboard, tow capacity. Arthur was more outgoing than he’d been at first, clearly more comfortable with a smaller group. Sherri’s idea of a bad party was his idea of a good one. “Danny,” Sherri said, trying to get a party started. “Show me your corkscrew. Remember?”

Danny smiled and took off his shirt. “Think I can splash all the way up to the second level?”

“Sure you can.”

Danny took a running jump off the top deck and flew through the air with one knee bent up to his chest. Water shot up when he landed, but not a lot.