Chelsea and Charlie were back at their private beach for one last roll through the sand. They hadn’t noticed it before, but the beach wasn’t so private. The people living in the house just around the bend could see them if they knew what to look for. And anyone with a pair of binoculars could have found them from across the lake. Suddenly, Chelsea felt keenly aware of the exposure of their naked bodies. Two weeks before, they were the first geniuses to consider having sex on a semipublic beach; now they were just adults behaving like children. A spell had been broken.
The shift in their feelings about each other could be attributed to any number of things: Charlie’s family trauma, the intensity of the public spotlight or too many days spent alone together. It shouldn’t have surprised Chelsea to learn that their bond wasn’t strong enough to endure all that, but it did. Even as she wished to be anywhere else, she didn’t really wish to be through with Charlie.
Chelsea couldn’t discern how Charlie felt, for they hadn’t really discussed it. In lieu of emotions and words, Charlie was just dealing in bodies for the time being. He seemed incapable of understanding the breadth of the bomb that had just exploded in his family, and instead of working through it, he was burying his head in the soft parts of Chelsea’s body.
This was a relief to her. Chelsea hadn’t the slightest idea how to comfort a person in Charlie’s position, but she knew how to do this. She was tired and sore and sunburned after the better part of the day spent in depraved congress on a sandy beach. But talking about it would have been worse.
Charlie sucked the last of their water bottle down in one gulp. “What time do you have to go tomorrow?”
“I should leave for the airport by eleven. You sure you don’t mind driving me?”
“Of course not. I just wish you didn’t have to go yet.” He kissed her shoulder. “We should probably get back. I think JJ and Mary and the twins are leaving soon.”
Chelsea nodded. “I’m starving. Are you hungry?”
Charlie reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. He kissed her forehead with parched lips. They pressed up against each other until she could feel fresh sweat accumulating between her breasts. Neither could think of a way to say what this was: an end, but not an angry end. And so they said nothing. They were alike in many ways, but none more than this.
Twenty minutes later, Chelsea and Charlie emerged from the lakeside trail and walked toward the back side of the house. Despite the fact that it was an objectively perfect summer day, there was almost no sign of human life outside. JJ had put all the watercraft away and the twins had folded up all the beach chairs. The cushions from all the deck furniture had been returned to storage and the grill was covered. The only evidence of the Brights on that sprawling lawn now was Philip, sitting on a cushion, reading a book under his tree. He had a different set of clothes on from the day before, and a little cooler beside him (courtesy of Mary-Beth). He had hardly moved in over two days.
They smiled at Philip as they passed, and he smiled back. No words were spoken among them. Chelsea wondered what Charlie thought of it all—his brother (half brother) camping outside indefinitely—but Charlie wasn’t up for questions, so she kept quiet. He just nodded at his brother, who nodded back, as if all the new rules of this strange new arrangement were as normal as could be.
Inside, Ian and Spencer were having a whispered conversation in their running clothes.
“Hey, aren’t you guys leaving today?” Charlie asked.
Spencer shook his head. He had large bags under his eyes. “Tomorrow. No one’s leaving today, actually. Dad’s doing a press conference in the morning. Then we’re out.”
“A press conference? Christ, aren’t things bad enough?”
“It’s necessary.”
“JJ thought it would be helpful,” Ian explained. “To announce the end of the campaign in his own words.”
Charlie shook his head and led Chelsea by her hand upstairs. “Whatever.”
Chelsea desperately wanted a shower, but when they got to the landing, Charlie put his finger to his lips. Shhh. The master bedroom was booming with loud, arguing voices.
They tiptoed quietly along the hall and stopped halfway to listen. It didn’t feel right to Chelsea to eavesdrop, but Charlie held her hand with such force that breaking away wasn’t an option.
“You are insane!” Patty yelled from the other side of the door. Something slammed like a drawer, and then another. “I can’t believe you’re considering this.”
“Patty, my dear,” John Senior said. “This could actually be an opportunity. We could be the campaign of total transparency and humility. Voters love fallibility—you know that! We could go out there tomorrow and make this a historic comeback story.”
“No. Absolutely not. I won’t even discuss this with you.”
“But Patty—”
Another drawer slammed. “John, have I ever—ever—said no to anything you’ve wanted me to do? Have I ever objected to any of this?”
“Patty, please keep your voice down.”
“Goddamn it, have I?”
“No, you have not.”
“Right, I have not. But I’m doing it now. Because our family needs some time out of the spotlight. We owe that to our sons. We owe it to Philip. Poor Philip, look at him out there!”
Charlie’s hand clamped harder around Chelsea’s, and she thought she could feel his heart beating through it. His eyes didn’t stray from his parents’ bedroom door.
“John, please...” Patty’s voice was softer now. She may have been crying. “I’m begging you. Please just let this go. Use tomorrow’s press conference to say goodbye with dignity.”
No one said anything for a long time. There were muffled sounds and a few of Patty’s sniffles. Chelsea imagined that they were hugging, but it wasn’t easy to picture. Then someone whispered something that sounded like “okay.” And that was the end. No one said another word.
Charlie stayed for another minute, then pulled Chelsea into their bedroom.
She was ready for whatever he needed to do: yell, cry, have sex (again). But he didn’t do any of those things. He just stood there for a moment with wide eyes looking stunned, then walked to the bathroom and slammed the door. Chelsea heard the shower turn on a moment later. He was gone.
She wished to be invisible for the remaining time until the moment of her escape to the airport. It was such a short period of time, but the entire house felt as if it might burst into flames at any minute. She just happened to be caught up in the fire, a bystander and near stranger.