Scott leaned toward Lisa. “Place looks neat, doesn’t it? Figured we’d invite the Ramones.”

Lisa’s upper lip curled, an involuntary flicker of objection.

Scott whispered, “I know you and Shirley aren’t close, but there’s nothing wrong with her. And JP’s always a great time, loves golf. And the kids actually get along.”

That was true. The Ramone kids shared interests with and were close in age to Scott and Lisa’s fourteen-year-old Rae and eleven-year-old Kimmy. And Scott was right, there was nothing so very wrong with Shirley, it was just . . . nothing was quite right about her either.

“Mm.” Lisa grunted querulously as she looked back at the brochure. She slowly emitted a soundless burp and adjusted her posture. She was no longer comfortable in her dress. Beside her, Scott resumed the joke he had been telling several minutes ago, just before his name was announced as the raffle winner. He waggled his head around to make sure he had the attention of everyone at the table before delivering the punch line. “Get it?” He snorted wetly, eyes circling the table for confirmation. “You get it?”

Lisa patted the top of Scott’s hand, a gesture intended to reassure him of the joke’s success and discourage him from telling any more. As she paged through the brochure for Fripp Island a second time, she felt a fresh wave of agitation that Scott had already decided who would accompany them on this vacation without consulting her. Furthermore, it occurred to her, she hadn’t a clue how many raffle tickets Scott had purchased for that drawing. For all Lisa knew, he might’ve spent more on raffle tickets than they would’ve put toward an actual vacation. It would be like him to do such a thing, honestly, scoop up all the tickets, any opportunity to win. Oh well, this really wasn’t her concern. Scott had provided Lisa with a very comfortable life—she hadn’t held a job since she was nineteen years old, for crying out loud—and he rarely griped about the way she spent money. Lisa sipped her martini and drew an olive from the stainless-steel cocktail skewer with her lips. She’d be a good sport, she decided. It was only four days, after all.

Fortunately for Lisa, though, the Ramones had already solidified their vacation plans for the entire year and didn’t have a day to spare. This was also the case with Scott’s sister Nan and her husband, whom they asked next. Lisa’s cousin Frank and his wife had a newborn, so they didn’t want to fly, and they lived too far away to drive. Scott’s friend Liam’s wife was going through some weird anxiety stuff, so they couldn’t commit. Lisa and Scott were on good terms with his parents but couldn’t quite see their way to spending that much time with them under one roof. Lisa’s mother was recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from her throat, so she was in no condition to travel. They considered going with just their kids, but Scott pointed out that “all expenses paid” included alcohol, and the house had five bedrooms, so it would be a terrible waste not to find others to accompany them.