The Fourth of July fell on a Friday, which meant Kai had the whole weekend off from his internship a rare gift we intended to fully exploit.
"Beach trip," Maya announced at breakfast. "Big one. Fireworks on the pier, the whole thing."
"Who's we?" I asked.
"Us, Mom, Sophie and Marcus, Riley and her moms. I already texted everyone. We're meeting at noon."
"You planned an entire gathering without asking us?"
"You would've said yes anyway. I'm just being efficient."
Kai laughed into his coffee. "She's not wrong."
"Still. Some warning would be nice."
"Consider this your warning. We leave in three hours."
True to Maya's planning, we met everyone at the beach just after noon. The place was already packed holiday crowds claiming every available spot but Angela had arrived early and secured a prime location.
"This is perfect," Margaret said, setting down her chair. "I haven't been to the beach for a holiday in years."
"Since before prison?" Maya asked bluntly.
"Maya," I said.
