floral-patterned dress, and Hannah concentrates hard on the lingering smell of Wally’s cologne. But then Baker pulls her aside and sneaks her a pack of Peanut M&M’S—Hannah’s favorite—out of one of the grocery bags, and Hannah forgets Wally altogether.
They finish clearing the space in the family room and start with their party preparations. Luke and Wally fill two ice coolers with beer while Hannah and Baker set up card tables and Joanie opens bags of Solo cups.
“Elixir de Landry,” Clay says haughtily, peering over the punch bowl.
“Oh my god, you made that again?” Joanie says.
“I did.”
“I thought we told you to stop calling it that,” Hannah says.
“Why would I do that?” Clay says, looking back at her over his shoulder.
“Not sure why we’re having this discussion,” Luke says, stepping away from the coolers to fill a cup with Clay’s punch. “I love this shit.”
“It’s going to get us all obliterated,” Wally says, “but I love it, too.”
The three boys stand over the punch bowl and sip from their drinks while Hannah, Baker, and Joanie shoot looks at each other. “That is some fucking good shit,” Clay says, tapping his cup against Wally’s and Luke’s.
Minutes later, just before the party starts, Hannah notices Clay has taped a sign below the punch bowl.
Elixir de Landry , the sign reads. Bringing you unprecedented pleasure since 2011.
Hannah pours herself a cup of the orange beverage and takes a long sip of it, resenting how good it tastes.
“Damn him,” she says.
“I know,” says Joanie.
Clay invites Baker to light the outdoor torches with him, so Hannah nudges Wally and says, “Come on, let’s go with them.” Clay’s face shows a half-second of irritation before he smiles and says, “Yeah, come on, let’s all go.”
The six of them traipse across the sprawling backyard and walk along the perimeter of the property, where a rickety old fence separates the Landry’s yard from the steep decline into the woods below. They stop at each torch and watch Clay create fire out of his hands, and for a few minutes none of them speaks.
Joanie is the one to break the silence. “Not to be an ass,” she says, her face scrunched up in the orange-gold glow of the torches, “but what’s the point of this? Aren’t we going to be inside? It’s cold out tonight.”
“Because it looks awesome,” Clay says. “Plus the party might get really crowded and people may want to come outside. We don’t know who all’s gonna show up.”
“It’s a neat effect,” Wally says, sliding his palm across the air, his hand following the curving line of torches as if he could make each one light up with magic. “I always love when your dad lights these in the summer.”
“It’s really pretty,” Baker says, her expression pensive. “It’s almost mystical.”
They continue along toward the center of the torches, each of them following Clay’s steps like a group of preschoolers playing Follow the Leader, until they stop at a particularly pathetic-looking section of the fence. “That’s where Ethan and I crashed Dad’s lawn mower through the fence,” Clay says, pointing at the thin planks of wood. Hannah peers closer and sees that these planks have a fresher color than the rest of the wooden fence. “We wanted to see what would happen if something fell down that hill.”
“It’s a steep drop,” Wally says, craning his neck forward.
“Yeah. Ethan used to say he was gonna kick me over it. Probably would’ve killed me.”
“What happened to the mower?” Baker asks.
“It crashed and burned,” Clay shrugs. “The body of it was all contorted and there was smoke coming out of it and everything.”
Luke laughs. “You and Ethan did some dumb shit when you were kids.”
“We weren’t even kids,” Clay says. “We were, like, 12 and 17.”
“Your mom must’ve wanted to kill you,” Joanie says.
“Yeah, sounds about right,” Clay says. “She
They finish clearing the space in the family room and start with their party preparations. Luke and Wally fill two ice coolers with beer while Hannah and Baker set up card tables and Joanie opens bags of Solo cups.
“Elixir de Landry,” Clay says haughtily, peering over the punch bowl.
“Oh my god, you made that again?” Joanie says.
“I did.”
“I thought we told you to stop calling it that,” Hannah says.
“Why would I do that?” Clay says, looking back at her over his shoulder.
“Not sure why we’re having this discussion,” Luke says, stepping away from the coolers to fill a cup with Clay’s punch. “I love this shit.”
“It’s going to get us all obliterated,” Wally says, “but I love it, too.”
The three boys stand over the punch bowl and sip from their drinks while Hannah, Baker, and Joanie shoot looks at each other. “That is some fucking good shit,” Clay says, tapping his cup against Wally’s and Luke’s.
Minutes later, just before the party starts, Hannah notices Clay has taped a sign below the punch bowl.
Elixir de Landry , the sign reads. Bringing you unprecedented pleasure since 2011.
Hannah pours herself a cup of the orange beverage and takes a long sip of it, resenting how good it tastes.
“Damn him,” she says.
“I know,” says Joanie.
Clay invites Baker to light the outdoor torches with him, so Hannah nudges Wally and says, “Come on, let’s go with them.” Clay’s face shows a half-second of irritation before he smiles and says, “Yeah, come on, let’s all go.”
The six of them traipse across the sprawling backyard and walk along the perimeter of the property, where a rickety old fence separates the Landry’s yard from the steep decline into the woods below. They stop at each torch and watch Clay create fire out of his hands, and for a few minutes none of them speaks.
Joanie is the one to break the silence. “Not to be an ass,” she says, her face scrunched up in the orange-gold glow of the torches, “but what’s the point of this? Aren’t we going to be inside? It’s cold out tonight.”
“Because it looks awesome,” Clay says. “Plus the party might get really crowded and people may want to come outside. We don’t know who all’s gonna show up.”
“It’s a neat effect,” Wally says, sliding his palm across the air, his hand following the curving line of torches as if he could make each one light up with magic. “I always love when your dad lights these in the summer.”
“It’s really pretty,” Baker says, her expression pensive. “It’s almost mystical.”
They continue along toward the center of the torches, each of them following Clay’s steps like a group of preschoolers playing Follow the Leader, until they stop at a particularly pathetic-looking section of the fence. “That’s where Ethan and I crashed Dad’s lawn mower through the fence,” Clay says, pointing at the thin planks of wood. Hannah peers closer and sees that these planks have a fresher color than the rest of the wooden fence. “We wanted to see what would happen if something fell down that hill.”
“It’s a steep drop,” Wally says, craning his neck forward.
“Yeah. Ethan used to say he was gonna kick me over it. Probably would’ve killed me.”
“What happened to the mower?” Baker asks.
“It crashed and burned,” Clay shrugs. “The body of it was all contorted and there was smoke coming out of it and everything.”
Luke laughs. “You and Ethan did some dumb shit when you were kids.”
“We weren’t even kids,” Clay says. “We were, like, 12 and 17.”
“Your mom must’ve wanted to kill you,” Joanie says.
“Yeah, sounds about right,” Clay says. “She
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