The Brightest Stars of Summer

by Leila Howland

  “We’re Italian,” Max said, “so my dad knows how to make awesome meatballs—and he always makes a lot!”

  “I do love meatballs,” Jean said. Aunt Sunny had invited the rest of the band—Eduardo, Joe, and Fred—to stay. But they all had to get home to their families. Jean, on the other hand, said, “We’d love to,” and offered to run home to whip up a salad.

  “Nonsense,” Aunt Sunny said. “The girls have already made one. Pull up a seat and make yourselves at home.”

  They’d had to bring in extra chairs from the living room to fit everyone at the table, and when Aunt Sunny realized that still wasn’t enough room, they’d spread a big blanket on the ground and eaten outside, picnic style.

  At first Peter was looking down a lot, shuffling his feet and folding the bill of his baseball cap. Marigold had a feeling that his parents had made him come over. But Marigold knew she was acting weird, too. She was so embarrassed about throwing up when she was on the boat. And she really wasn’t sure what to say to him.

  It was all pretty awkward until Lily blurted out, “Peter, I don’t like that you have a new girlfriend. I thought I was next.”

  Peter knelt down and said, “Lily, I didn’t know you would be back in town so soon, or I would’ve waited for you. You know I’d be so honored if you were my girlfriend.”

  Lily squealed with delight and flung her arms around Peter’s neck.

  “How’s that camp going, Lily?” Peter asked. “I know you didn’t like it at first.”

  “I love it now,” Lily said. “It just took a few days for people to get to know me. Once I shared some of Aunt Sunny’s cookies and showed them how to press flowers, everyone wanted to be my friend.”

  “Of course they did,” Peter said.

  Marigold’s heart melted. Peter was always so nice to Lily, which made Marigold, as her big sister, like him even more although that hardly seemed possible. Plus, when he’d said “honored,” it sounded like “on-ahhd.” Oh, how she’d missed his accent!

  To make things even more uncomfortable for Marigold, Max had been following her around like a puppy dog all evening. Marigold was under strict instructions from Zinnie not to talk to him. The problem was that this seemed to make Max even more fascinated by her. First, he’d sung her that song while they were hanging the tablecloths. Then, before dinner, he’d brought her a bouquet of purple flowers because “violets are shy, too” (even though she was pretty sure they weren’t violets). And when she’d been charged with gathering salad ingredients from the garden and she had to make a few trips outside, he kept offering to open the door for her, which became weird after the first time. She had two hands and was perfectly capable of opening doors!

  She could tell this was driving Zinnie nuts. First, Zinnie had tried to distract him by challenging him to a tree-climbing competition. Then, when Max was trying to make conversation with Marigold, Zinnie interrupted to ask him if he could identify a spider on a rock. Finally, in a really desperate moment, Zinnie started to sing that laundry-hanging song way too loud. “Sing with me, Max!” she said, and did a Broadway-style dance move.

  “Uh, a little later?” he’d said. “I’m going to help Marigold peel carrots.”

  Marigold couldn’t seem to shake him loose or discourage him with her silence, so she sighed and handed him a vegetable peeler.

  Later, when Aunt Sunny asked Max and Peter if they would find some good rocks to secure the picnic blanket with, Marigold overheard the two boys talking. She was finishing up with the vegetable chopping and they were standing just outside the kitchen window.

  “So, you were Marigold’s boyfriend last summer?” Max asked Peter. Marigold felt her cheeks turn bright red as she sliced a cherry tomato in half.

  “Yeah,” Peter said. “I mean . . . sorta. She wasn’t here that long.”

  Sorta? Marigold thought. They had kissed! Didn’t that make her his girlfriend, even if only for a few days?

  “You’re, like, the luckiest person I know,” Max said. “She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. And she’s so humble, too.”

  Marigold smiled at this sweet and surprising bit of information. She popped a tomato into her mouth and wondered if she could like him. She was, after all, looking for an ordinary boy, and Max wasn’t exactly a movie star, even with that hundred-watt smile of his.

  “Humble?” Peter said.

  “Yes. And so shy,” Max said.

  Well, at least she was doing a good job of being a normal girl who didn’t try to get attention, she thought, and cut another tomato.

  “Are we talking about the same girl?” Peter asked.

  “There’s only one Marigold here, right?” Max said. “I think the fact that she’s so quiet means that she’s really deep. I’m hoping that she’ll be my girlfriend. I’m going to ask her tonight.”

  Oh no! Marigold thought, realizing that she didn’t want just any normal-boy boyfriend. She wanted Peter!

  “But she lives in California,” Peter said.

  “I wouldn’t care if she lived in India,” Max said. “We can talk every night on the computer. My mom and dad video-chatted when he was stationed in Turkey.”

  Marigold sat in between Lily and Aunt Sunny during dinner. Every time Max tried to start a conversation with her, she focused on teaching Lily how to twirl spaghetti onto her fork, or helped her practice her addition and subtraction using peas. But it wasn’t just Max who was trying to get her attention. Peter kept asking her questions, or offering to refill her lemonade, or bringing up things they’d done together last summer (or “summah,” as he said), like sailing and collecting sea glass. And when Jean and Mack went home because their favorite TV show was on, Peter didn’t go with them.

  “I’ll be home later,” Peter said, and then he proposed a game of flashlight tag.

  It was just like Handsome Horace! Marigold realized now as she lay under the bench in the dark. Peter liked her again because Max said that he wanted her to be his girlfriend. She watched Zinnie’s flashlight illuminate Lily in the vegetable garden.

  “Peter is behind the shed!” Lily called out, jumping out from between some tomato plants. Zinnie’s flashlight beam swooped across the yard to the shed.

  “Aw, man,” Peter said, coming out with his hands up. “You’re not supposed to give me away, Lily.”

  “But now the three of us can look for Max and Marigold together,” Lily said.

  “You have to go to jail,” Zinnie said.

  “I won’t go to jail,” Lily said. “It’s too boring in there. Come on, Peter, let’s hold hands. Do you want to hear about the flowers I’m pressing so that I can remember this summer forever?” Lily asked him. “So far I’ve collected impatiens, forget-me-nots, delphiniums, and petunias. I’m going to frame them. I can show you how to do it if you want.”

  “That’d be great, Lily,” Peter said.

  Marigold giggled quietly. Lily’s crush on Peter seemed to be getting bigger by the hour. Marigold debated relocating to behind the shed. Stealthily changing spots midgame was her signature strategy in flashlight tag, and if she picked a spot that had already been used, she’d really throw Zinnie off. She was creeping out from under the bench when she heard a voice.

  “Psst! Marigold! I’m up here.”

  Oh no, Marigold thought, looking up to see Max halfway up the tree above her. He was a fast tree climber to have gotten all the way up there before Marigold had found her hiding place, and he was even quieter than she was.

  “I just want to say that I think you look really pretty right now.”

  “Uh . . . thanks,” Marigold whispered, standing up. “I gotta go!”

  “Wait!” Max whispered, jumping down from the tree. He was as quiet and lithe as a cat. “There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

  “Now?” Marigold said. Suddenly she wanted to be found. She didn’t want to be Max’s girlfriend, but she also didn’t want to have to tell him that and hurt his feelings. She’d done such a good job dodging him all e
vening. And yet here they were, alone under the stars on a perfect summer night with a soft breeze rustling the leaves above them. Tony and his band might as well have been playing “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” like they had at least a dozen times during rehearsal today.

  “Shh! We don’t want them to find us,” Marigold whispered loudly.

  “Wait! I hear something!” Lily said.

  “Where?” Peter asked.

  Marigold had a pretend coughing fit.

  “Are you okay?” Max asked.

  “I’m fine,” Marigold said.

  “Somewhere over there!” Zinnie said, lighting up the surrounding area.

  “Well, this will just take a second,” Max said. “I was wondering if, well, maybe you’d like—”

  “Gotcha!” Zinnie said, shining the light on Marigold and Max and stopping Max midsentence. Zinnie, Peter, and Lily charged toward the bench.

  “Gotcha both!” Lily said. Zinnie shot Marigold a look as if she’d personally invited Max to hide with her.

  “We found them both at the same time,” Lily said, not letting go of Peter’s hand. “So, who gets the snickerdoodle?”

  “We’ll split it,” Marigold said. “Fair and square.”

  “No, no,” Max said, giving a gentlemanly bow. “Marigold can have the whole thing.”

  31 • The Summer Triangle

  Marigold lifted Lily onto her back as they walked toward the house. She figured that Max wouldn’t ask her to be his girlfriend while she was giving her six-year-old sister a piggyback ride. He seemed momentarily distracted anyway; he and Zinnie were walking a few steps behind them talking about a TV show with a time-traveling doctor. Peter was walking next to Marigold, shining a path with the flashlight.

  “So what happened with that movie?” he asked.

  “Uh . . . ,” Marigold said. Things were going well with Peter. The last thing she wanted to do was talk her Night Sprites failure. “I was in it, but then I wasn’t.”

  “They took her part out of the movie,” Lily said.

  “Really?” Peter asked.

  “It’s a long story,” Marigold said.

  “That’s rough,” Peter said.

  Marigold felt her stomach clench. “Well, I’m not acting anymore. I’m done with that.”

  “Why?” Peter asked.

  “It’s too hard,” Marigold said.

  “She doesn’t want to get cut from any more movies,” Lily said. “Can you put me down now?” she asked Marigold.

  “Fine,” Marigold said, releasing Lily’s legs so she could jump off. They were almost back at the picnic blanket, where Aunt Sunny and Tony were drinking coffee and talking quietly.

  “I would never give up sailing,” Peter said.

  “What if you lost, like, the biggest race of all?” Marigold said.

  “The nationals?” Peter asked.

  “Yeah,” Marigold said.

  “First of all, if I got to race in the nationals, that’d be amazing. I’d be so happy just to be in it.”

  “But then what if you lost?” Marigold asked.

  “I don’t think I’d feel that bad, because it’s such an honor just to be on the team,” Peter said.

  “But what if you lost the race for your team?” Marigold asked, growing frustrated.

  “I think I’d still have a good shot at making the team the next year.”

  “But what if there was no next year?” Marigold asked. “What if the race was canceled?”

  “The nationals got canceled? Nevah going to happen.”

  “I just don’t want to do it anymore, okay?” Marigold said, walking so that Lily was between them. She took a deep breath and changed the subject. “Let’s look up at the stars.” There was no moon tonight, and out here in the country the stars were bright and clear. There were so many of them, too. Plus, she knew that Peter liked the stars. Last summer he’d shown her the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia. “Let’s see if we can find a constellation.”

  “I see the Summer Triangle,” Lily said. “We learned about it at camp today.”

  “Where?” Marigold asked.

  “Up there,” Lily said, pointing at the sky.

  “I don’t know that constellation,” Peter said. “You’ll have to show me, Lily.”

  “Of course!” Lily said, taking Peter’s hand. “Okay, so do you see the brightest star in the whole sky? It looks a little bit blue? It’s right in the middle.”

  “Yup,” Peter said.

  “I think so,” Marigold said. “Over there?”

  “Yeah,” Lily said as they arrived at the picnic blanket.

  “Hi, kids, come and join us,” Tony said.

  “What are you guys looking at?” Max asked as they all took a seat on the picnic blanket. “And where are my parents?”

  “They decided to walk down by the harbor,” Aunt Sunny said.

  “I’ll give you a ride home, champ,” Tony said.

  “I’m showing Peter the Summer Triangle,” Lily said.

  “Very good,” Aunt Sunny said.

  “So that big, bluish one is called Vega,” Lily said, pointing again. “Everyone see it?”

  “I think so,” Zinnie said.

  “Uh-huh,” Max said.

  “Okay, well, on the other side of the Milky Way is another bright one. It’s kind of yellowish,” Lily said. “That’s Alter.”

  “Altair,” Aunt Sunny said, gazing up. “But you were very close, Lily. And you have the right star.”

  “I see it,” Peter said. “What’s the third one?”

  “Denip? Where is it again, Aunt Sunny?” Lily asked.

  “Deneb is at the bottom of the Milky Way. It doesn’t look quite as bright as the other stars, but—”

  “Wait, I want to tell them this part!” Lily said. “It doesn’t look as bright as the other stars, but that’s just because it’s a lot farther away. It’s actually a supergiant star. Right, Aunt Sunny?”

  “That’s right. Deneb is much brighter than the other stars, but it doesn’t draw quite as much attention to itself,” Aunt Sunny said.

  “A shy star,” Max said. Out of the corner of her eye, Marigold saw him casting a doe-eyed glance at her. She narrowed her eyes, staring upward, demonstrating an intense interest in astronomy.

  “But really it’s not a shy star at all,” Zinnie said. “It’s just hiding its brightness.”

  “I suppose . . . ,” Aunt Sunny said. “With fifteen centuries of light years.”

  “Or maybe some other star told Deneb to be quiet and not say anything,” Marigold said.

  “Why do I feel like we’re not talking about astronomy?” Aunt Sunny said.

  “Do you like this constellation, Peter?” Lily asked.

  “It’s great. Thanks for showing it to me,” Peter said.

  “Actually, it’s not a constellation,” Aunt Sunny said. “The Summer Triangle is a star formation. Each one is the brightest in its own constellation. Vega is part of Lyra, Altair is in Aquila, and Deneb is in Cygnus. The Milky Way runs through the middle.”

  “And there’s a legend that goes with it,” Tony said.

  “Is that so?” Aunt Sunny said. “Tell us. I don’t know it.”

  “It’s a Chinese legend,” Tony said.

  “Tony traveled all over the world in the Air Force,” Aunt Sunny said, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “That’s right,” Tony said. “And before GPS, the Air Force used the Summer Triangle to navigate, only we called it the Navigator’s Triangle. Those three are the brightest stars of summer, so during the months of June, July, and August, it’s easy to spot the formation and figure out where you are.”

  “You used stars instead of GPS?” Marigold asked.

  “Yup,” Tony said. “And I still can.”

  “Sailors use stars to navigate at night,” Peter said.

  “That’s right,” Aunt Sunny said.

  “That’s so cool,” Marigold said.

  “It is,” Tony said. “I was stationed out
in California, where you girls are from. And my wingman, Eddie, call sign Angel, was half Chinese. He’s the one who told me about the legend. They have a festival for it in China. It’s called Qixi. Q-I-X-I.” It sounded like “Chee shee.”

  “What’s the legend, Grandpa?” Max asked.

  “There are many variations, but here’s the one Eddie told me. Vega, the blue star, represents a princess. Legend has it she was the daughter of a goddess. One day the princess was taking a break from her weaving, wandering the heavens, looking for some fun, as you kids do, when she met a lowly cowherd. That’s Altair. They fell head over heels in love and secretly married.”

  “Like you and Aunt Sunny!” Lily said.

  “Yes,” Tony said. “But Vega’s mother was angry when she found out that her daughter married a mortal. So she scratched a silver river in the sky to separate them.”

  “The Milky Way?” Max asked.

  “Yup,”

  “The silver river,” Zinnie said, taking out her notebook. “I like that. It sounds like poetry.”

  “But once a year, the magpies—” Tony said.

  “What are magpies?” Lily asked.

  “They’re birds,” Tony answered. And they feel sorry for these two. So they get together and form a bridge over the star Deneb. Then, on the seventh night of the seventh moon, if it’s a clear night, the two lovers can meet again. That’s the night of the festival,” Tony said.

  “It’s very romantic,” Aunt Sunny said.

  “Yeah, it is,” Max said, and he turned to Marigold. “And tonight is a clear night.”

  “I’m so tired,” Marigold said, faking a big yawn before Max could follow this thought any further.

  “Marigold,” Max said. “I was wondering if maybe—”

  “I have to get to bed. And it’s getting late for Lily.” She stood up, took Lily’s hand, and tried to pull her up.