“Okay,” Scarlett said, feeling more positive, “this is how it works. You guys set up the boat trip—make it long and make it far. The show takes a full three hours, plus at least an hour to clean up.”

“Longer than that,” Spencer said. “If we put up the stage, we’re talking two hours minimum.”

“Okay. So the show starts at seven, it’s over at ten. We need at least until midnight.”

“The ride to the boat basin takes about twenty minutes,” Lola said. “We can drag our heels getting off and getting to the car, I guess.”

“If you have to, make Chip say the boat stalled or something,” Scarlett said. “Keep it out there as long as you can.”

Lola sagged a bit. Spencer gave her a cheerful squeeze around the shoulders to hold her up.

“The part with Mom and Dad,” Scarlett said. “That’s up to you, Marlene. We need them both to go. We’ll tell them it’s like a mini vacation we set up for them, and that it really matters to you.”

“A mini vacation with Lola’s ex,” Spencer said. “Cozy. We’re going to need to do better than that.”

“I can get Mom and Dad to come,” Marlene said firmly. “What time are we supposed to go?”

“Ten in the morning,” Scarlett said, calculating based on her many hours of observation. “That gives us nine hours to get everybody in, and you guys can practice at least once. Does that sound possible, Spencer?”

“The whole thing sounds nuts, but nine hours—yeah, we could set up, reblock it, run it once. It won’t be smooth, but it’s possible.”

“Okay,” Scarlett said. “The first part is up to you, Lola.”

Lola rose unsteadily.

“I’ll do this,” she said, “but…”

This was to Spencer.

“No remarks about Chip. Ever.”

“I promise,” he said seriously. “No remarks about Chip, ever again. For life.”

Lola took her phone from the tipsy dresser and went out into the hall. Marlene followed to watch.

“I don’t know what just happened,” Spencer said. “I had no idea I upset her so much. You haven’t been listening to anything I say, right?”

“Of course not,” Scarlett replied. “I know way too much about you. Besides, I don’t want you to punch me.”

He shook his fist at her, then turned it on himself, knocking himself backward onto the bed.

“I’m going along with this, because the only other option is to do nothing at all,” he said from his flopped position. “But it’s never going to work.”

“It could work. And you were the one complaining that you never threw a party at home. Now’s your big chance.”

“True,” he said. “Might as well go out with a bang.”

Lola’s call was amazingly brief.

“It was almost like he was waiting by the phone,” she said. “He’ll do it. He’ll take us out on the boat whenever we like, for as long as we like. He’ll get some food brought on. We’ll have a picnic up the Hudson. Honestly, he picked up so fast, it barely rang once…”