Innocent Little Crimes (29 page)

“Dammit, Davis,” Della said. “She owns you.
You heard her.”

“Yeah, well I think it’s a big joke. I bet
she made it all up.”

“Then why are you running, huh?” Dick asked,
pressing in on him.

The wet bodies hovered over Davis as he
attempted to stand. Behind him a loud wave crashed, sending plumes
of foam up the sand. The others retreated at the racing water, but
Davis fell back down. Freezing water encircled him, soaking into
his shoes.

“Look guys, I’m going to get off this island
and head straight to my lawyer. If that lunatic really did what she
says, we can have her arrested.”

Dick cut him off. “And what if she buys your
lawyer, Davis. Think of that?”

Davis scowled. Impossible. Or was it? If Lila
had gone this far, she’d go all the way. He’d find another lawyer.
But with what money?

Davis’s heart raced. He would not let her do
this. No way would he let some selfish, crazy woman destroy
everything he spent his life building.

Davis searched the faces glaring down at him.
“Look, I have a lot of friends. People who won’t succumb to her
type of bribery. I have powerful connections with a lot of
money.”

“Forget it, Gregory.” Jonathan pulled on
Davis’s sleeve, forcing him to his feet. “Can the foolishness and
get back to the house. Come on.”

Davis refused to budge. Jonathan clenched his
lips together. “Davis, you have to come.” The others began yelling
at him.

“Yeah, you broke your promise to her and
we’re all paying for it,” Della said.

“You lied to her, you fix it.” Dick
added.

Davis tried to press his way out of their
enclosing circle, but they stood steadfast in their places.

“That’s ridiculous,” Davis screamed
back. “We were all
acting.
It
was a play, don’t you remember? Lila misunderstood.”

“Yeah, right,” Jonathan said.

Dick nodded. “Yeah, you tricked her.”

“What is it with you guys? What does it
matter if I did or didn’t? I don’t remember anymore, do you? Do any
of you?” Davis pushed on Jonathan, forcing his way through, but
Jonathan held fast. “Don’t let her scare you. I can help you. I’ll
straighten it out, you’ll see.”

“What about Cynthia?” Millie asked.

Davis grabbed Millie’s arm. “What about
her?”

He searched the expressions on the
encroaching faces. “Where is she? Did you do something to her?”

Millie shook her head. “She ran out ahead of
us. We thought she would have caught up with you.”

Davis stopped. “Oh my God . . .” He thought
Cynthia was sleeping in that warm bed. “If you guys are lying to
me, I’ll kill you.”

“That’s the truth, Davis,” Millie said. “She
probably went back after she couldn’t find you.”

Davis collapsed back onto the sand. A knife
of pain tore through his ankle. He had to get back to check on
Cynthia. Behind him, another wave exploded on the jutting rocks and
the tide whipped white foam along the shoreline and raced across
Davis’s shoes. Rain blew in sheets around them. Davis was drenched
up to his knees. His long wool coat, saturated with water, pulled
him down. Shivering, he stripped it off and let the current carry
it out to sea.

Another huge wave cracked behind him. When he
saw the others run up the beach, he knew he was in trouble. The
force of the breaker knocked him forward. He reeled face down into
the sand. The retreating water pulled at his legs. In the dim
darkness, he searched the faces of his classmates as they stood
yards away. Why wouldn’t anyone help him?

“Please,” he tried to say, but his voice was
a scratchy whisper. “I can’t get up.”

He dragged himself a few inches toward shore,
but the tide pulled him back toward the churning sea.

At the edge of the woods, a figure ran toward
the beach. Davis strained to see, but another rush of water
encircled him and flooded his face. Freezing water submerged his
entire body. He was numb from head to foot and his hands felt like
stumps. Strangely, he had stopped shivering; the cold didn’t seem
to bother him anymore, but his face still burned like a hot
furnace. He laughed and barely a sound came from his ice-cold
lips.

He must be imagining things. There was
Cynthia, in her I. Magnin’s fur-lined coat running toward him. He
chuckled and lowered his face to the wet sand.

What he would give for a little sleep.

“What do you mean, I got the lead?”
Lila asked her instructor. Mr. Reynolds explained that the panel of
faculty and students were in unanimous agreement that she play the
part of Madge in “Picnic.” She could hardly believe his words. Lila
knew she had read well but never expected this. The best she’d
hoped for was a walk-on, but the
lead
?

Lila wandered in a daze through the rest of
the day. Her mind raced with fear and excitement. During her
classes, she sneaked peeks at the play and studied her
dialogue.

She planned to arrive early on the first day
of rehearsal, but was so nervous she had to make innumerable trips
to the bathroom. When she finally entered the theater, she found
the entire cast already seated on the stage. She wanted to turn and
flee. Her breakfast roiled up into her throat.

Davis called to her. “Up here, ‘Madge.’ “

Lila approached the stage aware of the eyes
upon her. Davis tapped the seat next to him, a warm smile on his
face. Lila relaxed. Millie sat to her right, having snagged the
part of the younger sister.

Jonathan, the director, took charge. “Okay,
people. Let’s do our first read-through. At rise . . .”

When Lila’s turn came to read, she no longer
was fat Lila. Instead, a beautiful, naive young woman stood on a
porch on a warm summer’s night, a night filled with a potential for
romance and adventure. As she said her lines, her fear transformed
into confidence. Her voice softened with renewed joy. This was
where she belonged—on stage. Nothing felt so right as being
immersed in a role, being someone, anyone other than Lila
Carmichael.

When the first session ended, Lila could
barely lift her backpack. Even through her exhaustion, the elation
of the reading buoyed her. She joined Millie outside and they
walked back to the dorm together.

“I was good, wasn’t I, Mil?”

“You sure were, and they all know it,
too.”

That night they celebrated with an expensive
dinner neither could afford. As rehearsals went on, Millie noticed
the subtle condescension directed at Lila from the inner clique.
Lila, so unaware, worked her heart out on the stage, oblivious to
the snickers whispered behind her back, mostly from Della. Why
couldn’t Della be satisfied with the role of the schoolteacher? It
was a terrific, juicy part and Millie thought Della should be glad.
But, oh no, Della had to be the star. Even Dick and Jonathan
cracked rude jokes about Lila, and Millie agonized over their
remarks, terrified that Lila might hear. Only Davis treated Lila
with respect. Millie noted that, of all the group, Davis was
actually kind to Lila, tackling his role with seriousness and
sincerity.

One afternoon, Lila took Millie aside. “Come
on, Mil, let’s have some tea. I’ve got to talk to you.”

Lila seemed nervous. Millie knew she worried
incessantly about her performance, yet the rehearsals went
smoothly. Sure, this was her first big role, but Lila wasn’t eating
or sleeping much and her hands often shook.

“Lila,” Millie said, urging her into one of
the big overstuffed lounge chairs. “You need to calm down about
this show . . .”

“It isn’t the show. Oh, everything’s going
great. I’m so happy.”

“Then what?”

Lila lowered her voice. “I know this is going
to sound stupid . . . I can’t say it. Forget it.” She sipped her
tea and stared out the window. “Look, Mil. Spring’s finally here.
Look at all those flowers.”

“Lila,” Millie said, “spit it out.”

She sighed and faced Millie. “I know I’m
crazy, but I—well, it’s Davis.”

Millie’s heart raced. “What about him?”

“Look, I know every girl in the school is
gaga over him, but I really think, well, I really think he likes
me.”

Millie drew in her breath. “Of course, he
likes you. And respects you.”

“You know what I mean. I’m so close to him
every day on that stage. I just feel he really cares.”

“He’s acting, Lila. He’s supposed to be
attracted to you.”

“It’s different than that. Oh, am I crazy to
even think such a thing?”

“Yes, forget it. You know Davis’s taste in
women, let alone his track record. Besides, he and Della are still
a couple.”

“Not from what I can tell. Something’s going
on between Della and Jon.”

“Oh, that’s just Della’s way. Playing one
against the other.”

“You should look more closely, Mil. If you’re
going to be a great actress, you have to be a keen observer. Davis
and Della are finished.”

Millie let out a long breath. “Lila, if I
were you I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Besides, Davis is not your
type.”

“I can tell he’s different than what shows
everyone. He has a kind heart and maybe I’m crazy, but I can’t help
it. I’m hopelessly infatuated.”

“Forget it, please, Li. You’ll only get
hurt.”

Lila laughed, her face glowing. “Well, I can
dream, can’t I?”

As the semester progressed, Lila spent more
and more time in rehearsals. Jonathan expressed concern over
getting the parts perfect, and Lila found herself scheduled with
Davis for extra hours in the evening at least two or three times a
week. Those were the moments she lived for. Being so close to him,
feeling his arms around hers in the romantic scenes, made her heart
pounded so hard she thought he could hear it. She felt eyes fixed
on her. Granted, only Jonathan and a handful of actors were in the
room, but Lila wished she and Davis were alone.

Knowing Millie would chide her, Lila kept her
feelings to herself. Her infatuation grew and filled her with
agonizing pain. She could never tell Davis how she felt; he might
laugh at her. So she bore her passion in silence, hoping against
hope that Davis would grow to love her too. Everything else in her
life paled beside this one thought. Her grades fell. School no
longer seemed important. At night, she lay in bed practicing words
to say to Davis, visualizing her arms around him and his lips on
hers. For a brief moment, she considered quitting the show before
she went crazy. But she smothered that thought quickly, feeling
herself fall, fall into love.

The night before Easter break, Millie joined
Dick down at the Rainbow for drinks. She felt guilty for ignoring
Lila. Dick wanted to spend all his free time with Millie, but Lila
didn’t seem to mind. Soon, she and Dick would graduate and,
although he intended to stay in town, Millie knew she had to apply
some pressure to keep him from drifting away. He rambled on about
politics and the activists in Olympia he hung out with—some of them
aggressive, confident women. Millie worked hard to garner his time
and attention, fearing he’d lose interest in her. At least she got
him to commit to a trip to Wisconsin as soon as school ended.

As she slid into the booth beside Dick and
his friends, she saw how drunk they were. It bothered her that they
drank so much; her family raised her to shun the evils of alcohol.
On occasion, she had a beer at Dick’s urging, but she preferred a
Coke. Even one beer dulled her perceptions, making her woozy and
nervous.

Dick greeted her with a sloppy kiss and
filled her glass. Della, sandwiched between Davis and Jonathan,
laughed and pushed at them. The club was packed with locals and
students, and music blasted from the jukebox. Everyone greeted
Millie and passed the pretzels to her.

“Dig in,” Dick said.

Millie took a small handful and sipped from
her glass. She was watching her diet, wanting to slim down for
Dick. Earlier that day, he had remarked on some woman they passed
on campus, how that kind of body turned him on. And Millie’s heart
sunk—the woman was practically anorexic. She tried to restrain her
eating, but her anxiety increased her appetite. Only four weeks
left until graduation and every minute and every calorie
counted.

“I wish school would end already,” said
Davis.

“Why rush it? Once you’re out, you’ll have to
go into the real world,” Della said.

“I’m sick of this show,” Davis added.

“It’s just because you’re bored.”

Davis hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah,
maybe.”

Millie didn’t understand Davis; she thought
the show was wonderful and he and Lila were fantastic in it.

“You’re too talented for a small-time school
production,” Millie said. “You really should go into
television.”

“Well, the big star’s made other plans,”
Della said. “He feels his calling is to sell inflated pieces of
land to developers who hope to fill the world with cracker-box
houses.”

Davis huffed and hunkered over his glass. “At
least it’s a sure thing.”

“A sure,
boring
thing,” Della said.

Davis turned and scowled at Della.

“So, how is it, holding fat Lila in your
arms?” Dick asked.

Davis groaned. “Oh, please . . .”

Jon interrupted him, waving his hands and
laughing. “Ugh, imagine having to pretend you’re smitten with Lila
Carmichael.”

Della shook her head, flicking her hair into
Millie’s face. “Boy, is she obvious. She’s totally hung up on you,
Davis.”

“Do you have to remind me? Sometimes I think
she’s going to faint in my arms and I’ll get a hernia.”

Millie lowered her heated face.

“So, why don’t you prove how talented you
really are,” Della said, pouring them all another round of
beer.