Adam

It was Labor Day weekend and Adam sighed. It was the deadline he had imposed on himself to choose between Amanda and Lana. It changed the day Amanda showed up on The Point. He regretted telling her where Jack lived. How was he supposed to know she would drive around until she found his car? He didn't blame Ryan for calling him. Really, Adam knew he was one hundred percent to blame. He just hated hurting Lana and now in hindsight, he was convinced he would have chosen her. Would she forgive him he wondered? The problem was he was still with Amanda although he sent her off to The Cape on her own. He was too old for weekend after weekend of partying. He was too old for Amanda but had yet to do anything with his knowledge.

It was thoughts of Lana which caused him to pick up the phone and call Jack. He wanted to find out if he was even welcome on The Point again.

Jack hesitated. "If you want to come, you need to know Ryan is gone so you're staying with us. I don't want you to upset Lana. You did a lot of damage and thankfully she forgave me and Ryan, but we took the brunt of what you did."

Until this call, Jack had not spoken to him about Lana and every time each of their calls ended Adam would always breathe a sigh of relief like he dodged a bullet. If Adam learned anything from the summer, it was he was tired of dating. He wanted to settle down and be done partying and picking up girls. He could have had it with Lana. He was sure he could have loved her if given the opportunity.

"So I'll come and chill with you and Maddie and the kids. I won't search out Lana, but what if I see her? I never really apologized."

"If you see her, then we ask if she wants to listen to you before you speak. If she says no, then you keep your damn mouth shut and walk away. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dad! I'm not Rory, you know."

"Rory has more sense in her little toe than you have in your whole body!"

So Jack was angry with him. Maybe he should stay home, but he secretly wanted to see Lana. Maybe he could convince her to forgive him. If he did, he would tell Amanda it was over. If not, he should still tell Amanda the same thing.

He arrived at The Point mid-afternoon and true to his word he went straight to Jack's without driving by Lana's cottage. Maddie greeted him more warmly than he deserved. Rory thought it was funny he was the one in trouble with Jack. Did she know what he did? Rory was friends with Lana's brother, so she probably did.

Rory said, "Cheer up Adam, you weren't the only one. My friend..." She said the word 'friend' sarcastically. "... Cassie was pulling an Adam with Cole and Lana's brother and let's just say Will knew Cassie was dating Cole. They have been for about eighteen months."

"Rory!" Jack said, "I didn't know any of this."

"Well duh, it's bad enough I knew. I didn't want to, and I wasn't about to tell anyone."

"I felt like Uncle Ryan, but he had it worse because he knew about Will too."

"How do you know?" Jack asked.

"Because we talked one day when I was swimming. Back when Lana wasn't going over to swim and Uncle dearest freaked out when Cassie went to use Lana's tube. Ryan convinced Will to stop, but I guess he didn't convince you, huh Adam?"

"This place is like a soap opera." Jack sighed.

Maddie laughed. "Welcome to The Point. There have been plenty of affairs and gossip through the years."

"Tell us," Rory's eyes lit up.

"No!" Maddie was emphatic.

After Maddie's delicious dinner, Adam stood up. "How about ice cream? My treat!"

Lana

She sent a text in the morning, How did you sleep in my bed?

I'm driving with Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on. I'll see your message when I get where I'm going.

She knew it was an automated response, and it surprised her he left so early. The coffee line was long again because it was the Labor Day weekend.

When her phone vibrated with a text, she thought Ryan was responding, but it was Will letting her know they were on their way. Lana groaned.

When her phone rang, she thought it might be Ryan, but it was Erik.

"Hello."

"Usually I get a what? Have you been thinking of me?"

"No." She lied. She had made a mistake the other morning.

"Really Lan, because I thought being together was awesome."

"You would, but you were the only one to reach the finish line."

"I'm sorry you can't."

"The thing is I can, just not with you."

"Come on, Lana. I always took care of you, don't say it's me."

"If the shoe fits."

"I haven't had a problem with..."

"What were you going to say? With the others. I remember your bitch screaming in the bathroom. I actually thought for a second why doesn't Erik make me scream like that. How foolish I felt?"

"Why do you always end up back at the damn bathroom?"

"Because it was a defining moment in my life. I have to work today. I can't deal with this, if you called about the other morning, then I'm hanging up."

"No! Don't! I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out this weekend. You know go to the beach or get ice cream... some things we used to do together."

"If I say no, are you going to call my mother for an invitation?" He didn't respond, so she took it as a yes and so she sighed. "Fine, I'll give you two hours tonight from seven to nine. You'll buy me ice cream and when I say go you'll go."

Lana wasn't sure why she was agreeing, but she knew he would show up even if she didn't. This way it was on her terms. She also wanted to prove to herself they could go back to being adversaries, acquaintances - whatever they were before he fucked her. She meant literally because it was all he had been doing since the frigging bathroom.

When her phone rang as soon as she hung up. "What now?"

"Good morning to you!"

"Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Well, I'm glad I wasn't on the end of that greeting. You wanted to know how I slept in your bed. Great, but I had dreams I was being attacked by panda bears."

"Oh, shut up! How did you survive Nora?"

"I don't think she likes me, but your father does so score one for me."

"She doesn't like anyone except for Erik."

"Your father doesn't."

"You talked about him with my father. What are you doing? Aren't you driving?"

"Hands-free. I'm in Connecticut."

"Why did you and my father talk about Erik?" She didn't want her father to know that she was drunk again or where she stayed.

"I may have mentioned his wife was closing up his cottage and someone magically appeared at the end of your shift. He wasn't happy. I like him, by the way."

"Great, you like my dad, but you didn't tell him I was drinking, did you?"

"No Lan, I just thought he should know what his wife has been up to."

"Okay, listen I hsve to work. Let me know when you're home safe."

"Okay, but it will be hours."

"Yeah, I know. Bye Rye."

"Bye Lan."

Lana hoped her father didn't make things worse between her and her mother. Whenever Nora started being Nora, her father would intervene, which would only make things worse, because her mother would accuse him of taking Lana's side. Lana thought of it as taking the side of sanity, but obviously not Nora. She suspected her mother would arrive feeling hurt and ganged up on. She and her mother could spend a year in counseling and it wouldn't even put a dent on the surface.

She didn't have time to think about it, because she had cottages to turn over and Jessie had already gone back to school. She shoved her earbuds in and went back to work. Like the day before she gravitated to her musical playlist and found her escape as she sang along with a dying Eponine. The song should have made her feel depressed, because it was about unrequited love, and Lana still believed in love.

Eventually, she finished her work and made her way home. Thankfully, the cottage was empty, and she didn't waste any time in changing into her swimsuit. Unlike when Ryan was living there, when visiting Heidi she knocked on the door and shouted out, hello.

Cam popped his head out of the kitchen. "Hi Lana. They're out back."

She smiled at the word, 'they're' because now her friends were a family and not a couple. She wiped her smile quickly when she discovered she had misunderstood Cam. On the deck was her mother holding the baby and cooing which Lana had never seen before. Even her father was sitting next to her mother and smiling at Grace.

Heidi saw her first. "Oh, hi Lan. Look at the outfits your parents brought. Aren't they just precious?"

"Absolutely." She swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew her mother always wanted to be a grandmother, but Lana had never envisioned her as one. Nora wasn't all bad, she had always been kind to Heidi and now her baby."

"She really is perfect." Nora smiled a smile Lana rarely saw.

Her father looked at her. "Honey, are you all right?"

"Yeah, just tired. You know I worked all day. I came over for a swim."

"She spent the entire summer in this pool." Nora told Heidi who didn't have time to reply. "We had a houseguest last night. The Harris boy was very polite."

"Mom, he's not a boy. He's in his thirties." Lana reminded her.

Heidi smiled. "Ryan and Cam are the same age. Cam likes having a young wife. He says I keep him on his toes."

"Will thinks Ryan is his new best friend," the older Will said.

"That's because he is. They spent a lot of time together. I think Will ate more meals with Ryan than me."

"I'd say he was a good influence on Will and he helped him. My son was unstoppable last night. I was almost too proud to sleep."

"Will, you were snoring as soon as your head hit the pillow." Nora corrected in a teasing voice.

No matter how much her mother drove her crazy, her parents loved each other. She also knew her mother listened to her father, so she suspected her mother would be nice for a day at least.

Her mother looked up at her. "Lana did you want to hold the baby?"

"Not right now, I'm going to swim."

The truth was, she hadn't held the baby yet. She was the one who wanted a baby and Ryan didn't, yet he held Grace and JP multiple times. Perhaps the difference was he didn't have emotional baggage like she did surrounding babies. Her want for a baby caused her divorce and Ryan just made a choice.