It did reflect badly.

Nonetheless, Allegra and Hope put on their bikinis and cover-ups and packed up towels and lotion, bottles of cold water and Diet Coke, and their most precious commodity—the novels they were reading—and accepted the picnic hamper from Grace.

They were off.

The day was bright and blue skied. Allegra insisted they take the top off the Jeep so that sun flooded the front seat as they drove down the sandy roads to the dunes of Nobadeer.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Allegra said. “This is a beach day. This is a gift from God—I mean, look at it.”

They walked over the dunes, onto the golden sands of Nobadeer. The ocean seemed vaster here than anywhere else on the island. There were long breaking waves; the green-blue water sparkled. Tons of kids were surfing and boogie boarding and stand-up paddle boarding. The scene was picturesque, and for a second, Hope thought they were right to have come.

Then she saw Bluto.

Bluto was impossible to miss. He weighed 250 pounds and was as pale as the moon. He wasn’t ugly; he had the sweet, round, blue-eyed face of a baby and nice, thick light-brown hair. But he was crass, and he specialized in the mean exploitation of other people’s worst flaws in order to keep people’s attention off his own. Bluto was lying on a towel next to Hollis, Kenzie, and Calgary—and there, set a little bit apart, were Hannah and Brick. It was an all-star lineup of Allegra’s worst enemies.

Hope turned to look at her sister. Allegra zoomed right for her former friends, beaming. She was wearing a straw hat, her Tom Ford sunglasses, a black bikini, and a black pareu around her hips. She was dazzling.

“Hey, guys!” she said.

Hollis snorted. Bluto said, in his high tenor voice, “Move along, Zippy.”

“Zippy?” Allegra said.

“Your ankles are in different zip codes,” Bluto said.

Calgary McMann laughed maniacally at this. Hope wanted to kick sand in his face. Her foot was less than a yard away from his towel. She then saw that Calgary and Kenzie had their legs entwined. Gross.

Allegra said, “You find that funny, Calgary? Have you told Kenzie how many times you’ve tried to kiss me?”

“That’s not true,” Calgary said.

With one finger, Allegra lowered her sunglasses. “The last time was when you waited for me outside the bathroom at your house earlier this summer. When I almost had to kick you in the nuts.”

Kenzie stared at Calgary. Hope thought, Yes. Calgary had pretended to like Hope, but only because Hope looked like Allegra. Hope thought Brick might be interested in this news, but he and Hannah were in a world of their own. They hadn’t even seemed to notice Allegra and Hope. Brick looked as fit and tan as ever, and his hair was growing blonder. Hope’s heart lurched in his direction, although she realized he and Hannah were having some kind of love conversation, and she also recognized that this was a positive thing. Hannah and Brick were a good match. Hannah was an A student, she played ice hockey, she had ambition: she wanted to play Division I in college and make the Olympic team. She wasn’t as gorgeous as Allegra, but Brick was probably all finished with gorgeous.

Hope tore her attention away from Brick in time to see Kenzie jump up from her towel and lay into Calgary. “Did you try to kiss that slut? Did you?”

“Oh, please,” Hollis said in her sly voice that always reminded Hope of the cobra Nag in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. “This is hardly news. Everyone knows Calgary has had a hard-on for Allegra since the sixth grade.”

“Shut up, Hollis!” Kenzie said.

Hollis rolled lazily onto her back. “Watch who you’re speaking to like that.”

Bluto said, “Leave it to Allegra to stir things up.” He mugged up at them. “Just so you know, I’m not mad at you for screwing Ian Coburn. I think he’s cute. I’m only mad because you didn’t tell me.”

“Well, I’m mad because you screwed him,” Hollis said.

“Because you wanted to screw him yourself,” Bluto said. “Admit it.”

Hollis gave Bluto a withering look. “You’re fat.”

“And you’re a bitch,” Bluto said. “I’m sorry we’re not friends with Allegra anymore, because I liked her better than I like you.”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Hollis said.

“And, you know, it was a really evil thing, you forwarding that photo,” Bluto said. “You’re a backstabber, Hollis Brancato. I’m sure you’ll do it to me someday.”

Allegra gently took Hope’s arm and led her away from the squabble she’d created. No one had mentioned Eddie. Maybe they hadn’t heard about what had happened. Or maybe they didn’t care. Nobody their age noticed their own parents, much less other people’s parents.

Allegra and Hope passed the towels of Brick and Hannah.

“Hi, Hannah. Hi, Brick,” Allegra said. She smiled at them in a warm and genuine way but didn’t break stride.

They looked up.

“Hi, Allegra,” Hannah said. “Hi, Hope.”

“Hey, Hope,” Brick said. He paused. “Hey, Allegra.”

Hope was too stunned to respond. Stunned at what, however, she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe at the ability of people to be their normal selves, no matter what the circumstances. To keep calm and carry on, as the popular sentiment went.

When they were out of earshot, Allegra said, “They make a pretty cute couple.” She linked her free arm through Hope’s, and, despite every instinct that told Hope not to trust the friendly advances of her sister, she filled with a feeling of warm friendship and more—sisterhood, twinship. Her and Allegra, against the world, from birth until death.