The Summer of Our Discontent (10 page)

Keely looked to Faith to act in kind.

“Oh, act all adult and contrite,” Faith said hotly, “it’s total bull…shorts.”

Rachel’s ass squeaked again as she turned to face Faith. “I’m so sick of the rivalry between us. I have been for a long time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I guess I just needed that last big blowout to get it out of my system. I asked you for civility, but I didn’t show you any, and I’m sorry. I’ve never been as ashamed of myself as I am right now.”

“I can ask one of the other chaperones to trade cabins with one of you so you don’t have to be so close together,” Keely offered.

“That won’t be necessary,” Rachel said as the blush on her face deepened. “I feel bad enough as it is.”

“Good,” Keely said with satisfaction, “because you should, both of you. As you may not know, I took a psychology class in college. It was just one class, and I dropped it, but I learned a lot when I wasn’t dozing. I think whatever is between you goes a lot deeper than just not getting along. Y’all should think on that. And remember, another flare-up will result in immediate expulsion. Don’t put me in that position.”

Rachel nodded. “There won’t be any more problems, I promise.”

“That goes for me, too,” Faith agreed without much conviction.

Chapter Thirteen

Faith didn’t buy Rachel’s act of contrition, and for her, civility meant avoidance. She kept her distance as Rachel sat at the craft table with the girls. She did agree on one thing—if Rachel was telling the truth, she was sick of the tension between them. At first, it was just fun to prank Rachel and the rest of the police department, but one prank begat another, and Faith was always wary of the next one to come. Perhaps Rachel was right when she said they needed one last blowout before they could put their animosity to rest.

As she sat in the shade beneath a big oak, she thought about what Keely had said. Actually, she’d thought about it a lot over the years. What went on between her and Rachel was more than simply the inability to get along. They’d argued in elementary school because often they both wanted to do the same things and were too bullheaded to relent to the other. The dynamic changed when they entered junior high, the time when social status began to become important. They were both misfits. Faith was overweight, and because she couldn’t fit into the cool clothes, she pretty much wore her father’s shirts. Her fashion sense made her stand out, and the attention she received was not favorable.

Rachel was the only redhead in a sea of dark hair or blond, and God help her when she was young, her hair was bright orange. Her teeth were another issue altogether. Until the braces, she looked like an orange version of Bugs Bunny. For her looks, Rachel received as much torment and taunting as Faith had.

Instead of banding together, they had taken a different route and had become each other’s whipping girl for their inability to fit in. Faith remembered being in the school cafeteria and someone saying, “Damn, Faith, back away from the burger. Aren’t you fat enough?” Instead of throwing an insult of her own, she sought out Rachel and vented her frustrations by making her feel as low as she felt. They’d used each other as unhealthy crutches.

The tide began to turn in their junior year. Rachel’s braces were gone, and her hair had turned a deep auburn. As much as Faith hated to admit it, Rachel had gone from butt ugly to painfully pretty. Her metamorphosis was the catalyst that made Faith stop eating whole pizzas by herself, and instead of sitting in front of the TV, she spent her time on the track and in the gym.

As adults, they were both much more confident with themselves and no longer hurled insults that cut so deeply. But they were stuck in a rut and too proud to admit that they’d been two peas in a very twisted pod. Faith had been groomed by her father to join the fire department, and once she put on the uniform, her fellow firefighters became her brothers. Everyone knew of the rivalry between her and Rachel, so her enemy became theirs. Faith had truly fit in with a group of people for the first time, and it was easier just to go with the flow.

She knew exactly what Rachel meant when she said she just needed that final blowout. Had Rachel not pushed for it, Faith would’ve done more to prompt it. She supposed in some way they needed someone else to say “enough.” Silly as it seemed, neither had it in her to lift the flag of surrender first. The next step, Faith wasn’t sure she could take. They were stuck in the woods together, and eventually, they’d have to talk.

*******

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked when Sophie dropped the beaded necklace she was working on and folded her arms.

“Aunt Faith is sitting all by herself. It makes me sad.”

Rachel looked over and noticed Faith sitting on a tree root drawing in the dirt with a stick. She’d seen her already but couldn’t make herself walk over there and invite her to join them. The sadness in Sophie’s eyes tugged at her heart, and when Sophie started to get up, Rachel put a hand on her arm. “Let me go talk to her, okay?”

Sophie sat back down and eyed Rachel curiously as she got up and walked over to Faith. “You’re…um…upsetting your niece by not joining us.”

After all the soul searching that Faith had been doing, she couldn’t make herself be the bigger woman. “Is that the excuse you’re using to invite me over?”

Rachel folded her arms. “Yeah, it’s all I got.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s just not sweet enough. Try saying please.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Rachel said wearily. “I wasn’t blowing smoke up your ass…assets earlier. As much as I used to enjoy it, it’s not fun to put hot sauce in your coffee anymore. I’m tired, Faith. I’m tired of the shitake.” She dropped her arms at her side. “I’m already tired of making up words to use in place of the profanity we both know and love.”

Faith sighed. “Yeah, that royally suckles.”

“We don’t have to kiss and hug, shed a few tears. Let’s just pick up from right here like we never knew each other because we really are strangers in a way. I’m Rachel Chauvin, disliked lesbian among chaperones.” She put out her hand. “And you are?”

“Faith the flippant, nice to meet you.” Faith took Rachel’s hand and shook it, then allowed Rachel to pull her to her feet. “I’m gonna throw some zingers at you because it’s what I do. Please don’t take them as insulting or an act of aggression. Feel free to do the same.”

“I’ll take you up on that. Care to join us at the craft table? We’re making necklaces with beads that look like bugs.”

“I have plenty of those in my cabin. I’ll string a few up for you if that’s the fashion you’re going for,” Faith said as she walked lazily alongside Rachel.

“That’s funny because I found myself with quite a few just this morning. Please don’t go to any trouble on my account.”

“Does your mattress feel like dozens of balled fists, too?”

Rachel laughed and shook her head. “I didn’t warn you about that, either. I smuggled in an egg crate. It’s big enough that I could cut it in half and share with you. Don’t tell anyone else, though. I kind of like knowing the snobby biddies are uncomfortable.”

“You have my word then,” Faith said with a smile.

*******

“Momma! I made you a necklace with beetles on it. And I’ve been swimming in the lake. And I played softball. And Aunt Faith got called into the principal’s office for fighting.” Sophie turned away when Faith grabbed for the phone. “She pushed Ms. Rachel into the lake and made her mad.”

“She pushed me! Where did you get that version of the story?” Faith grabbed for the phone again, and Sophie deftly spun, keeping it out of reach. “I have to go. We’re gonna roast marshmallows now…Momma, I gotta go. Okay, love you, too.” Sophie handed the phone to Faith and took off running.

Faith put the phone to her ear. “She’s got her facts jacked. Rachel shoved me in the lake.”

Patty snorted, then tried to rein her laughter in. “You got put in timeout on your first day there?”

“Second, and no, it was just an ass chewing courtesy of the camp director. Chauvin and I have…called a truce.” Faith grimaced. It was hard to admit that even to Patty.

“Well, it’s about damn time. You are after all staring at the ugly underbelly of thirty-nine. You’re finally growing up, sis.”

Faith sighed. “I feel patronized. I have to go now.”

“Good, my work is done. Say you love me.”

“Yes, you love me.” Faith laughed. “I do, even though you’re an ass.”

“I love you, too. Now go play nice with Rachel. No kissing, though.”

“
Ew
!”

Chapter Fourteen

“So they really don’t like us, or is it just you?” Faith regarded the adult group on the other side of the campfire. When she and Rachel had arrived, they noticed that someone put two chairs close together well away from everyone else. “Are they going
Parent
Tr
—”

“Don’t say it.” Rachel held up a hand. “That movie ends with the two sisters as best friends and living together. You and I will never live together, and when the buses pull out of here, you’ll be tied to a log that will be rolling down the hill toward the lake.”

Faith turned in her chair, giving Rachel her full attention. “You know you turn me on now when you talk like that.”

Rachel stared at her expressionless. “You’re one sick puppy.”

“Distemper is what they tell me.” She looked back at Keely and her group. “Really, do they hate us?”

“Just you. I sit with them all the time.”

Faith looked taken aback. “For real?”

“No, dumbass. They whine about their husbands and trade recipes. I’d rather have my toenails ripped off than listen to that.”

“Oh, yeah, that’d be entertaining for like half a second. Let’s play a game. Which one of them do you think would be the most likely to jump the fence?”

Rachel stared at Faith pointedly. “Do not seduce any of the chaperones, though I know your specialty is flipping straight women. I don’t want to hear monkey sex noises coming out of your cabin. That’s just
ew
.”

“Why does everyone think I pursue straight women?”

“Avery Niles,” Rachel said with a grin.

Faith looked aghast. “That’s a misconception. I never slept with her. She came on to me at a party, trying to make her ex jealous. He left with another woman, Avery got smashed, cried on my shoulder, and threw up on my shoes. That’s the extent of it.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, but you’re one to talk. Lisa Barlow over there, you bagged her before she got married.”

Rachel’s face colored as she looked away.

“Ha! It is true. That’s a bad sign, Rachel. You flipped her the other way. You must suck in bed and not in the good way.”

“You know, I think I liked it more when we didn’t talk. You really are annoying.”

“And you have no sense of humor.”

Rachel glared at her. “I have a great sense of humor. You’re just not that funny.”

Faith huffed. “Alvin thinks I’m a riot.”

“Alvin ate glue in school.”

“Oh, yeah, he did.” Faith shivered in revulsion. “We were gonna assemble a dive rescue team once because there’s so much water around us. Captain Duke agreed and sent four of us to dive training. We go through the whole class, and Alvin had a bad hangover on the day we did our checkout dive. I was unfortunately his partner. We submerged twenty-five feet down to this platform where we had to take off our masks and breath only through the respirator until we got the masks back on and purged. Do you how hard it is to breathe not using your nose?”

Rachel rubbed her arms. “Makes me claustrophobic just thinking about it.”

Faith nodded. “We get our masks back on and purged and Alvin throws up. The instructor grabs Alvin’s respirator and starts pushing the purge valve as he tries to keep Alvin on the platform. They’re thrashing around, and my mask gets knocked off again. I looked like Velma on
Scooby-Doo
groping all over the platform for it while those two did the tango.”