Beach Lane (21 page)

Far from shy, Ryan took the cue, doffed his boxers, and followed her in. After all, his mother had shipped him to a hippie summer camp in Vermont as a kid. This was all just fun and games.

“WATER FIGHT!” he yelled, splashing up to her.

Mara screamed mid-backstroke and tackled him in the water. She’d never had so much fun in her life. She was liberated, free. The old class secretary Mara would never be caught dead in the wee hours of the morning, completely nude with a guy she wasn’t even dating.

Ryan swam up and grabbed her by the waist. “GOTCHA!”

“Ryan! Let me go!” Mara squealed, loving every minute.

They treaded water for a while, laughing, and Mara suddenly realized she was like, oh, good God, totally naked in front of Ryan! And he was holding her . . . kind of close actually.

She looked into his eyes, which were laughing back at her.

He’s going to kiss me,
Mara thought.
It’s going to happen. Now. Here.
She closed her eyes, but then she suddenly pulled away.

“Ryan, I can’t—this doesn’t feel right—not that I don’t want to—I really do—but I still have to work things out with Ji—JIM!”

And there, standing by the edge of the pool, was Jim Mizekowski, all two hundred and twenty pounds of him. With a look of absolute disgust on his face.

when arguing naked, be careful how emphatically you talk

MARA STRUGGLED OUT OF THE POOL, RUNNING AFTER JIM.
She felt terrible for him—there was so much to explain—if he would just wait.

“Jim, please, listen to me,” she pleaded.

“So THIS is why you couldn’t come home this week. You had to ‘work.’ I get it.” He spat, so angry that a vein throbbed dangerously on his forehead. “Jesus, I can’t even look at you.”

“It’s not what you think. Ryan’s just a friend. We were just playing a game, that’s all,” Mara said, knowing it sounded pretty weak.

“Calm down, buddy,” Ryan said, still laughing, giving Jim his usual disarming smile. “We’re just having fun. You want to join us in a little strip poker?”

Jim ignored him.

“NOTHING HAPPENED, Jim! I SWEAR!” Mara said, energized by the truth. After all, nothing had happened. Yet.

“You know why I came up here?” Jim asked. “My MOM saw
your picture in the paper. She gets the
Post,
you know. And there was some picture of you from some polo match and some guy you were with—this guy!” he said, motioning to Ryan. “I didn’t even believe it. It’s just not like you. Not my Mara. But I saw the picture—you were dressed like a hooker.”

“I’m not a hooker!” Mara cried. Even though she was, technically, still naked. In public. Ahem.

“No, you’re worse. You’re a slut and a whore. You’re nothing better than a two-bit hooker on Worth Avenue.”

Mara gasped. She had never been called such awful names. And from her own boyfriend! She didn’t know how to react.

“Hey, dude, that’s enough,” Ryan said, coming up to shield Mara from Jim. His voice was quiet, and he was no longer amused. (He had thought the whole thing was kind of funny, really, since he and Mara were still naked, and hey, everything could easily be explained—it’s not as if there wasn’t a bunch of half-naked people on the porch.) But this guy was acting way out of line.

“I understand you’re angry, but you can’t talk to her that way,” Ryan said.

Mara couldn’t believe what was happening. It was all too much. And she’d had a lot to drink. It was surreal. A total nightmare.

Meanwhile, back on the patio, the music was still blasting and the game continued. Everyone else was totally clueless about the drama going on in the backyard.

“I’ll speak to her any way I want,” Jim spat, hulking up. This little fancy pants prep school kid had nothing on him.

“And Mara, you can forget about the discount on that Camry at my uncle’s dealership.” With those fighting words, Jim took off through the woods.

It was so absurd Ryan actually began to laugh.

“A Camry?” he asked.

“It’s not funny,” Mara said miserably. “I was counting on that car. It was the only one I could afford to buy and still have money left over for college.”

“God, I’m sorry,” Ryan said, sobering up.

Mara frowned, but after a minute she, too, began to laugh. There they were, standing naked in the Perrys’ front yard. “It
is
kind of funny.”

They walked back toward the house, collecting their clothes along the way.

* * *

A few hours later Jacqui walked out of the au pairs’ cottage and found the two of them huddled in Ryan’s oversized sweatshirts, sharing a cigarette and watching the sun rise.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Jacqui explained.

“Glad you made it to the party,” Ryan joked.

“Jacqui—are you okay?” Mara asked.

No, she was really so far from okay, it was laughable. The guy she had loved was a two-timing loser with serious identity issues. And the guy she had replaced him with was an even bigger loser
who was more Li’l Romeo than DMX. Jacqui felt empty and used and completely burned out.

“I’ll be okay,” she said, hugging herself and shivering.

Mara didn’t press for any answers. She knew Jacqui would tell her more when the time was right.

“You want a cig?” Mara asked, offering the only solace she knew Jacqui might accept just then.

“I thought you didn’t smoke,” Jacqui said, taking a seat on the grass next to them.

Mara shrugged. “I thought I didn’t do a lot of things.”

vacation is never long enough, is it?

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING THE PERRY KIDS RAN SCRAMBLING
into the au pairs’ room. They galloped up the rickety stairs, completely ruining the girls’ plans to sleep in. Remnants of the party the night before were in evidence in their little domicile. Jeremy had left his coat under Eliza’s bed. Ryan’s sweatshirt was draped over the armchair. Several dirty cocktail glasses were breeding fungus in the bathroom.

“We’re back! We’re back!” Madison yelled, jumping up and down on Eliza’s bed. “Did you guys miss us?”

“Wanna go swimming!” Zoë said.

Eliza groaned. “Is it Sunday already?”

Mara couldn’t even raise her head from her pillow. “William, stop pulling my hair, please!”

“Oh my God, I am SO hung over,” Eliza complained.

“Me too,” Mara said, clutching her stomach. She scanned the room. “Where’s Jacqui?”

Eliza gave Mara a blank look. Jacqui? Hello, where had Mara
been all summer? Jacqui was never around. She was their phantom roommate.

“She was here last night,” Mara explained. “I can’t believe she bailed! It’s her turn to take the kids somewhere. Ugh.”

“Well, I haven’t seen her.” Eliza shrugged, trying to hide underneath the covers.

“Seriously, there is no way I can go to the beach today,” Mara yelled over the clamor as William and Madison fought over who got to sit on the armchair.

“I’ve got an idea,” Eliza said.

* * *

They drove into one of the few movie theaters in town. Unlike the sprawling suburban megaplexes in Sturbridge or the high-tech high-rises in Manhattan, where a movie ticket cost upward of ten dollars, the East Hampton theater was a small, brown-shingled building that showed obscure foreign films, art house indies, and, luckily for them, a Disney animated feature that afternoon.

“I wanna see
Alien versus Predator
!” William demanded.

“Sucks to be you; it’s not showing.” Eliza yawned.

They ushered the kids into the theater. Eliza was thankful for the air-conditioning and the darkness. She was planning to catch up on her sleep through the entire thing in an attempt to exorcise the events of the night before from her memory. After she had left the screening room in disgrace, she had tried to look for Jeremy, but all she found were assorted half-naked people passed out on the porch.

He
had
to understand—she’d been put on the spot—in front of people she had known her whole life. It wasn’t anything to do with him, really. God, it was all such a mess. She gnawed her cuticles anxiously.

Mara walked in with Madison, carrying a huge bucket of popcorn and a Coke.

Eliza stuffed a handful into her mouth and instantly spit it out. “What? No butter?”

“That motor oil they pass off for butter has more calories than a porterhouse steak!” Mara reminded her, nodding toward Madison.

Eliza knew that. But everyone knew popcorn wasn’t really a food. And it tasted like sand without butter. “I’m getting butter on this and salt,” Eliza said, grabbing the carton.

“Hey, get your own!” Mara said, nodding even less subtly at Madison.

“Why don’t we just ask her what she wants?” Eliza said. “Do you want butter?”

Madison looked at the two au pairs. She really wanted butter, but Mara was giving her such an encouraging look, she didn’t know what she wanted. It was Mara who had fixed the hair on her Barbies the other day, combing them until they weren’t tangled up anymore. She didn’t want to disappoint her.

“No,” she replied, almost like a question.

“Good girl, Mad.” Mara nodded. “Why don’t you buy your own bag?” she asked Eliza in a conciliatory tone.

“Forget it.” Eliza frowned. She had already spent all her money and didn’t have a penny to her name till the next pay period.

The lights dimmed, and the strains of the Walt Disney theme built to a crescendo.

* * *

While the kids were occupied with the movie, Eliza told Mara what had happened with Jeremy and her friends. “I swear, I totally didn’t mean for that to happen! I was just so shocked, you know?” Eliza said, wanting to be consoled so badly. “He means more to me than any of them put together.”

Mara nodded. That was a pretty wretched picture Eliza had painted, but Mara could see it was tearing Eliza up. “I’m sure he’ll understand. You’re only human.”

In hushed tones she then told Eliza about the scene with Jim and Ryan, complete with a strip poker play-by-play.

“Jeez, what a jerk. I don’t even know why you stayed with that white trash Jim for so long,” Eliza said.

Mara was taken aback. That was pretty harsh. Granted, she wanted sympathy, but calling her boyfriend white trash was stepping over the line. Sure, Jim wasn’t some heir to a brand-name fortune and he didn’t drive a fancy car, and fine, he couldn’t pronounce
Quogue
if his life depended on it, but he wasn’t that bad. A little dim, maybe, a little overprotective, yes. And very bad tempered when he was provoked. But white trash? Combined with Eliza’s callous comments the other night about Jeremy
not “fitting in” with “this world,” Mara felt extremely insulted.

“You really are a piece of work,” Mara said, glaring at Eliza.

“Huh?”

“You know, I felt really bad about what happened with you and Jeremy, but now I think maybe you just got what you deserved.”

“Wait a minute . . .”

“Here’s a piece of advice, Liza: maybe you should think about what you’re saying before you open your mouth,” Mara hissed, grabbing her bags.

“Why? What the hell?” Eliza asked, mystified. It wasn’t like she had the best night either. C’mon, all her friends thought
she
was white trash now.

“Because you know what’s really low class?” Mara asked, her color high and her voice defiant. “A total SNOB like you!”

And with that, Mara left all four sugar-crazed kids for Eliza to deal with on her own.

* * *

Mara returned to the estate in time to see Jacqui saunter through the front door.

“Where have you been all morning?” Mara demanded.

“I was signing up the kids for the regatta competition down in Shelter Island. I thought they might enjoy it, and it’s the last day,” Jacqui explained.

Oh. She was actually doing something nice and responsible for the kids for a change. But instead of putting Mara in a good
mood, it just made Mara feel worse for neglecting the kids every so often in order to make googly eyes at their older brother.

“Well, you could have told us,” she snapped.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jacqui asked, a little hurt that Mara hadn’t even thanked her for the idea.

“Nothing. Nothing. Just—can you just leave me alone?” Mara said.

“Gladly,” Jacqui said.

everything is getting progressively worse

FOR THE FIRST TIME THE ENTIRE SUMMER, BOTH ANNA
and Kevin actually showed up for the weekly progress report in the screening room. Anna was in a good mood. Her co-chairwomanship of Super Saturday was almost locked. She had found a designer with a massive amount of overstock who wanted to sell it all in a prime booth, and it was just a matter of time before the committee anointed her with the title.

Mara and Eliza stumbled in late (projectile poo from the baby while getting his diaper changed had delayed their arrival) and were surprised and not too pleased that Jacqui of all people was sitting there, conversing pleasantly with their bosses as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

They took their usual seats, perplexed at the turn of events.

“So, anyway, as I was saying, I just want to know how Zoë is keeping up with her reading. Has she moved on to the new Art Spiegelman?”

“Uh, I’m not quite sure, Anna,” Eliza said brightly. “In fact,
you should ask Jacqui since she’s been reading to her all summer.”

“Yes, she’s completely engrossed in a book, I think it’s called
Where in the World Is Carmen SanDiego?
” Mara interrupted.

Jacqui kicked Mara under the table.

Anna beamed. “And Cody?”

“Oh, we’ve almost cured him of the whole running-around-naked thing. We’re really setting a fine example that clothes are very, very important to one’s social development,” Eliza said, glaring at Mara.

Kevin yawned. He was still picturing Jacqui naked below the decks on his Catalina.

“As for Madison, she’s learning the value of telling the truth. Especially to her friends,” Mara said, returning Eliza’s icy stare.

“And William? Is he taking his meds?”

“Oh, absolutely,” all three au pairs chorused. His doctor had put William on Adderall in addition to the Ritalin and the Metadate that he was already taking, so that was true enough. Not that it had done anything to change the kid’s personality. He was still a hyperactive little monster.