Delilah checked her watch. “About half an hour.”

Kat nodded and ripped the rest of the boxes open. Stacks of frozen patties were stuffed inside of a large plastic bag.

“Are we just going to do it like this all afternoon?” Delilah asked.

“Do what?”

“This,” Delilah said, waving her hand in the air. “Not talk. Pretend like we're invisible.”

“Yep,” Kat said, pulling out meat patties and setting them on a tray. “I'm here to work, not discuss how you screwed up my son's life.”

Delilah's eyes grew round and she swallowed hard. “I did not screw up Harvey's life.” Kat didn't respond and Delilah continued. “Well, maybe if you'd been a more understanding mother, he might've spent a little more time with you.”

Kat flinched like she'd been tasered. She set another stack of patties on the tray and looked at Delilah. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Delilah said. It was like something had sparked inside of her. I'd never seen her lose her cool but she was spitting knives. “If you hadn't just cut Harvey loose and stonewalled him, then maybe he wouldn't have felt the need to spend all of his time somewhere else.”

I could almost hear Kat's teeth grind as she clenched her jaw and set her hands on her hips. “Well, if you had respected my wishes and not turned him into your pseudo-son, he would've left this second-rate campground and gone and made a real life for himself somewhere else.”

“Harvey was an adult,” Delilah said, enunciating the word. “The problem was you never figured out how to treat him like one.”

“The problem was this place kept him from being one.”

“Yeah, if only he could've done something more adult,” Delilah said, rolling her eyes. “Like run a crappy restaurant in town.”

Kat's eyes narrowed. “At least I'm not about to declare bankruptcy.”

“At least I didn't just give up on life.”

Kat's cheeks flushed, the anger boiling over. I stood there, helplessly, watching the train wreck unfold. I didn't want to see them fight, but I knew it wasn't my place to get in the middle of them, either.

“I didn't give up on my life,” Kat said. “I stayed here to make sure my son would be alright.”

Delilah shook her head. “Which shows exactly how little you knew about Harvey. He'd be fine anywhere.”

“But if he hadn't been here, he wouldn't be dead!”

Delilah drew back as if Kat had slapped her.

“Yeah, you don't have a reply for that, do you?” Kat sneered. “Because you know it's true.”

Delilah swallowed. “Harvey was here because he loved Windy Vista. He loved Minnesota. And he loved the outdoors. No matter how hard you pushed him away, he wouldn't leave.” She swallowed again and leveled her eyes on the woman in front of her. “And it's not my fault that you have to live with the guilt of never having apologized to your son. Because he's gone now. And that opportunity is gone now, too.”

Kat froze. Slowly, she extended her arm and picked up one of the frozen hamburger patties. She stared at it for a second, then fired it at Delilah. The patty sailed a foot over Delilah's head and slammed into one of the posts holding up the pavilion, hitting it with a thud before flopping to the concrete floor.

The sound ignited something inside of Kat. She grabbed two frozen brats and hurled them at Delilah. One missed, landing in the grass beyond the pavilion but the other hit her square in the chest. Delilah stumbled backwards, clutching her shirt where it had hit her.

“Ladies, please,” I said, taking a step toward them. “Please don't do this.”

But Delilah had regained her balance. She leaned down and picked up the frozen brat. She wound up her arm like a pitcher and whipped it in Kat's direction. It smacked her squarely in the forehead, leaving a long, red mark above her eyebrows. The other woman caught herself on the table, squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, and then opened them.

And then she charged at Delilah.

I did what any self-respecting woman would have done. I took a step back and got out of the way. She tackled Delilah and they tumbled to the ground in a pile of unintelligible screams. They rolled around on the concrete patio, back and forth, their arms locked together like two Sumo wrestlers.

“Ladies,” I began but I knew it was to no avail. They were focused solely on each other.

“You killed him!” Kat screamed, her hands groping at Delilah's ponytail.

“I did not!” Delilah screamed back.

“You killed my son!” Kat screamed.

Delilah clawed at her hands. “I did not!”

“You killed my son!”

“I did not!”

Kat let out a howl that sent chills down my spine. “My son is dead!”

They both stilled, like a magic spell had frozen them in place.

“I know,” Delilah's voice was softer. Broken. “I'm sorry.”

“He's dead!” Kat wailed.

“I'm sorry,” Delilah repeated.

Both of them were crying. Sobbing, really, unable to speak or catch their breath. The wrestling had morphed into an embrace, each holding tightly to the other as they cried, their bodies shaking with grief.

“I'm sorry he's gone,” Delilah said, her voice ragged. “I'd do anything to have him back.”

“Me, too,” Kat said.

They released one another and sat up, wiping at their faces.

“I miss him,” Delilah said. Her eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks stained with tears.

Kat hesitated, then nodded. “Me, too.”

I stood there, wishing I was somewhere else. If they noticed I was still in the pavilion, they gave no indication.

“Did he really hate me?” Kat asked, her voice barely a whisper.

It was Delilah's turn to hesitate. But then she shook her head. “No. He didn't hate you. He missed you, but he was afraid he'd just make it worse if he tried to talk to you. I kept telling him he needed to make it right with you and he said he would. Some day.”

Kat nodded slowly. That had to be awful to hear, that her son had been planning to try and patch things up with her and now wouldn't have the chance. I thought of my own kids and how many times I'd gotten angry over simple things. Suddenly, I missed all four of them very badly.

“I'm sorry, Kat,” Delilah said, again wiping at her makeup streaked face. “I'm sorry he's gone and I'm sorry we aren't friends anymore. I'm really sorry.”

Kat stared at the ground for a long moment. “Just tell me one thing. Tell me you had nothing to do with Harvey's death. Promise me.”

Delilah paled and I saw her sharp intake of breath. Kat looked up, her eyes on her former friend's face.

“I had nothing to do with his death, Kat,” she said in a small voice. She hesitated, then added, “I...I promise.”

TWENTY SIX

I walked back up to the cabin, wondering about the final exchange between Kat and Delilah. Maybe Delilah had just been rattled by the fight and the conversation but she seemed flustered by Kat's request. I wondered why but it wasn't my place to insert myself in their conversation. I'd excused myself soon after and they'd both stared at me, almost as if they were surprised I was still there.

I took a shortcut back up the hill, finding a narrow dirt trail that snaked between two of the campsites. I got to the cabin and I heard footsteps on the deck. Jake must have just gotten back from his run. I thought about calling out to him but a chipmunk scampering across the grass caught my attention and I stood for a few seconds, watching it dart in between the hostas. I started walking again, rounding the corner so the deck was in site. I opened my mouth to say something to Jake, but then shut it and froze.

Chuck and Jaw were at the camper, just stepping through the glass door and back onto the deck.

Which meant they'd just been inside.

“Hey,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

They both turned in my direction. They were wearing the same exact outfits as from before, thought Chuck had on a different greasy hat. Jaw was behind him, closing the door, with something in his hands.