Kristy
When we got off the plane in California, Mary Anne and I made our way to the baggage claim, although Mary Anne was the only one who had checked bags. I just had a carryon. It wasn't like I wouldn't be able to do laundry.
As we approached baggage claim, I spotted a familiar figure. Tall, tan and blond, Dawn always made me and Mary Anne look like members of a different species. She waved and jogged up to us.
"Hi! How was the flight?" Dawn hugged Mary Anne first, then me. "Your bags are going to baggage claim four. How many do you have?"
"Just mine," Mary Anne said. "Kristy just brought that."
"Good thinking. When you travel as much as I have, checking bags becomes overrated. Did you have anything to eat on the plane? We can stop for lunch on the way to the house."
"That sounds good," I said. Mary Anne didn't seem to be paying attention; she'd whipped out her cell phone and was talking with her back to us.
"So, how are things, Kristy? I think the last time I saw you was when I was home for Christmas three years ago."
"Well, I know Mary Anne told you that Cary and I broke up. I just quit my job at the Y. I guess I'm kind of at a crossroads. At this point I don't even know if I'm going back to Chicago after the summer."
"I don't blame you," Dawn said. "I never understood how you could live in a place where it snows so much."
"Well, I am from Connecticut," I reminded her. "It snows there, too."
"Maybe so, but when you've spent your whole life in California anyplace east of Texas seems extreme. Well, at least you're here for the summer."
Mary Anne had finished her phone call and was scanning the belt for her suitcase.
"Who were you talking to?" I asked.
"Um. Just a friend in Boston. I was supposed to call when we got here safely."
"A friend?" Dawn raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Tell us, Mary Anne, was it just a friend?"
Mary Anne shot a look at Dawn. "Yes, Dawn," she said coolly.
"Hey, Mary Anne, I think that's your bag." I spotted her familiar olive green suitcase with cat-shaped luggage tag dangling from the handle. Mary Anne sprinted over to get it.
"Has Mary Anne mentioned to you if she's seeing anyone?" Dawn asked.
"No. In fact, we were just talking about how she wants to meet some surfers while she's here."
"Oh. I guess I must have misunderstood something she told me earlier. But you're her best friend. You're sure she's not seeing anybody?"
I wasn't sure what game Dawn was playing, but I decided to ignore it. I didn't want to start our vacation on the wrong foot by getting in the middle of whatever might be going on between Mary Anne and Dawn. "I'm sure," I said again. "Now let's get out of here. I'm starving."
We followed Dawn out to the parking lot and to a silver Toyota Prius. The vanity plate on the back had a picture of a whale on it and said, "FUR KILZ." Dawn pressed a button on her key ring and the trunk popped open. "Nice wheels," I said. I wondered exactly how much money a Pilates instructor made.
"Thanks!" Dawn said brightly. "I kind of need a car to get around, but just couldn't bring myself to contribute to the destruction of the environment. So my dad helped me get this. It's not ideal, but I feel better about driving, now. Just put your bags in the trunk."
I tossed my backpack into the trunk. "Shotgun!" I called, and ran to the passenger seat while Mary Anne was still struggling to put her suitcase in the back. Finally, we were all ready and Dawn navigated us out of airport parking and onto the road.
"It's just a short drive to Santa Cruz. The place we're staying is right on the beach, but I thought I'd take you through downtown. There's a café there where we can get a bite to eat."
"As long as they serve more than tofu and alfalfa sprouts," I said. Dawn is a vegetarian and never lets us forget it. Back in middle school she occasionally ate chicken, but she's been pretty hard core for awhile now. Mary Anne said the last time they had Thanksgiving dinner together Dawn cooked a tofu turkey and insisted everyone try it. For some reason, Dawn also refuses to eat junk food or drink soda. I still haven't figured out what that has to do with vegetarianism or saving the planet.
"You can get meat there, if you must. But I recommend their tomato, basil and mozzarella sandwich. Even a carnivore like you, Kristy, will appreciate it."
Although I'd never been to the Central Coast, I'd been to Southern California a couple of times. As we drove through Santa Cruz, I quickly realized that it was nothing like LA. It was a much more eclectic crowd. The people we passed on the streets had piercings, tattoos, multi-colored hair…Even the middle aged people I saw seemed to have embraced the hippie lifestyle. Of course, certain areas of Chicago attracted a variety of lifestyles so this was nothing new, but it was a far cry from conservative little Stoneybrook and image-conscious Southern California. No wonder Dawn had settled here.
"Is that…is that couple smoking marijuana?" Mary Anne pointed out the window at a teenage couple who were, in fact, passing a joint.
"Relax, Mary Anne," Dawn said. "And for God's sake, don't point. That kind of thing goes on here. You went to college, it's not like you haven't seen it before."
"Not in the middle of the street in broad daylight! And I really haven't technically seen it. Have you, Kristy?"
"I went to college on a softball scholarship. Getting caught with illegal substances would have gotten me kicked out. But…do you want to hear some good gossip?"
"I'm always up for gossip," Dawn said.
"Karen got kicked out of Camp Mohawk last summer for packing pot in her suitcase."
"No way!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I thought it was just beer and cigarettes," Mary Anne said.
"No, she and Margo Pike scored some pot from Buddy Barrett and Karen was keeping it all inside a hollow book. I guess Claudia babysat for them one too many times. Hey, how'd you know about that, anyway?" I was the only person Sam had told the real reason Karen had been sent home early; we'd told the rest of the younger kids and Mom and Watson that she'd been sent home with a bad case of poison ivy. I really didn't know why Sam had agreed to keep her secret. Maybe he just believed she deserved a second chance.
"Sam told me about it the last time we had drinks. Wow. I can't believe little Karen Brewer and Margo Pike are stoners." Mary Anne got a sad look on her face.
"Or that Buddy Barrett is their dealer! Kristy, what other stuff do you know?" Dawn was getting very excited. I hoped she wouldn't drive off the road. As it turned out, she swerved onto a side street and parked the car. "This is it," she announced. We went into the small sandwich shop and ordered our food (we all ended up getting the sandwich Dawn had recommended), then took it to a table outside.
"Okay," Dawn said as soon as we were seated. "Gossip!" For someone who had lived in Stoneybrook for such a short time, she sure was interested in what was going on. "Do you ever hear from any of the other girls from the BSC?"
Mary Anne and I glanced at each other. Neither of us had stayed in close contact with the other girls, but we occasionally heard things through the grapevine.
"Well," I started. "My mom saw Mrs. Kishi at a city council meeting awhile back. Claud tried a couple of semesters at the junior college, but it just didn't work out. She moved to LA a couple of years ago to go to the Fashion Institute…"
"God help us all," Dawn interrupted. Claudia's fashion sense had been a little eccentric, to put it mildly. The only person I could even imagine wearing a Claudia Kishi original—other than Claudia herself—was Gwen Stefani.
"Anyway, Mrs. Kishi said Claudia is actually designing T-shirts with her own artwork on them. She calls her line Mimi, and she sells them for $60.00 in boutiques and at street fairs. I guess she's starting to do pretty well. And I know Mallory Pike is at Stoneybrook University after two years at Community. All the college-age Pikes are. I guess when you're a Pike, there's not enough money to send everyone away. I think the deal was they had to finance their own education or stay local."
"That makes sense." Dawn said.
"Jessi Ramsey is at NYU," Mary Anne said. "She and Stacey were in the same sorority. I used to meet them in the city occasionally, but I've kind of lost touch with both of them. The last I heard, Jessi was majoring in English and had given up ballet for ballroom dance. She was placing pretty high in competitions, too. Stacey got a job at an investment bank after graduation."
"And Abby Stevenson went to ASU on a soccer scholarship," I finished. "I guess she likes the warm weather like you, Dawn. She never comes home, although I occasionally see Anna when I'm in town. She says Abby is really happy out there and wants to try out for the USA soccer team. Right now she coaches club soccer for teenagers."
We all became silent. Mary Anne and I looked at each other and snickered. I once heard that every seven minutes conversation stops completely. I told Mary Anne about it, so now whenever the Seven Minute Silence occurs we can't help but notice. Dawn looked at us like we were crazy.
"Well," Dawn said, as she crumpled up her sandwich wrapper and put the cap back on her bottled water. "Are you ready to go see the house?"