Abby and Anna's birthday party begins at one o' clock on Sunday. Maria and I cross the street at exactly five til, Maria carrying the gifts while I carry the fruit salad. We meet Mrs. Stevenson and Adelaide at the end of the Stevenson's driveway, each holding an end of a large pink bakery box. Abby and Anna are nowhere in sight.
"The girls already went over to Kristy's," Mrs. Stevenson explains, stopping and readjusting her grip on the box. She and Adelaide appear to be having difficulties holding it steady. Probably because Mrs. Stevenson is at least a foot taller.
Sam and Janet are parked in Kristy's driveway, having just arrived in Janet's Honda CR-V, a gift from her parents. Sam still drives the same battered brown rattler he bought himself the summer before his senior year. Watson and Elizabeth bought Charlie a brand-new car when he started college, but not Sam. Watson's form of punishment, Kristy says, to teach him responsibility. Elizabeth doesn't exactly agree. I know the car issue has caused a few problems at the Thomas-Brewer house.
"Get the baby!" Janet barks at Sam, as we turn up the drive. Janet's standing by the open trunk, holding a covered glass dish with a bulging diaper bag thrown over her shoulder.
Sam ignores her. "Where's Tiffany?" he asks me.
"At work," I reply, coolly without stopping.
Sam doesn't even attempt to hide his disappointment. "Is she coming after?" he asks.
"No...she has a date," I tell him. "With her new boyfriend." Technically, this is true. Tyler Austen is picking her up from work, but he's not exactly her new boyfriend. Tiffany didn't say much about their date Friday night.
"Her new boyfriend?" Sam repeats.
"Oh, get a grip," Janet growls, slamming down the trunk with one hand. She looks over at me and rolls her eyes. "Now, get the baby," she orders, then falls into step beside me, as I continue up the drive.
"Hey, Shannon!" Sam calls after me. "Don't eat whatever poison Janet made!"
"My mother helped me!" Janet screeches back at him.
It's a lovely start to Abby and Anna's party.
When we're in the kitchen and Janet has left to find Sam and the baby, Mrs. Stevenson turns to me and says, "Are they always like that?"
I stare at her, surprised. How can she not know? "Yes. They're always like that," I answer, shoving the fruit salad into the refrigerator. "I'm sure everyone's out back. Come on, Adelaide."
"I can't believe how big this house is!" Adelaide shrieks in her squeaky voice, as we walk through the living room. "It's even bigger than Anna's house! I'm so glad I convinced Anna to come home. I told her, she can't miss her own birthday party!"
I raise an eyebrow, but Adelaide doesn't see because she's already slipped through the back door out into the yard. Adelaide convinced Anna to come home? I follow Adelaide through the back door. Kristy, Abby, and Anna are standing out in the yard with Greer and Meg. Greer has her auburn curls twisted in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She's wearing her beret again. Meg's in a sleeveless tennis dress with a coral-colored skirt and a coral and beige-stripe top. She must have come straight from a lesson. Meg used to play on the SDS field hockey team until Mrs. Jardin decided it wasn't ladylike. Now Meg plays only ladylike sports like tennis and croquet. She hates them.
"Happy birthday!" I call out to Abby and Anna. When I reach them, I hug them both. I hold Anna a little tighter, a little longer. She needs it. I don't know why, but she does. She was so standoffish last night. I never made it to lunch yesterday. I just had too much homework. All through the drive to and from Levittown and all through the boat show and lunch, all I thought of was how I'd lied and disappointed Anna. And Kristy. I didn't enjoy myself as much as I did Friday night. I wonder if Wes felt it. "I don't know where Maria put your gifts," I tell them when I release my hold on Anna.
"I'll find them," says Kristy, taking charge like always. I wonder if she's still upset with me. Last night, when we all went to the movies, she hardly spoke a word to me. When we stopped at Thelma's Cafe for pie and ice cream, she sat as far from me as possible and refused to look my way. It was an awkward evening, especially with Anna barely speaking either. All the silence was filled up with Adelaide's squeaky prattling. I suppose this is how comeuppance tastes, like bitter guilt, and I can't say it's more than I deserve.
"Is Kristy still mad at me?" I ask when Kristy's disappeared inside the house.
Everyone shrugs, but no one looks very interested in discussing the truth.
When Kristy comes outside, she's carrying my gifts, and glaring at me. Or not at me. Claudia Kishi follows her out the door. Claudia has on hot pink and neon yellow floral-print leggings and a sheer black blouse that her black lace bra is clearly visible through. Maybe that's appropriate barbecue-wear over on Bradford Court, but I doubt it will go over well with Elizabeth and Watson.
Kristy tosses my gifts onto a card table on the patio, then strides swiftly toward us, glaring at Abby. "I didn't know Claudia was coming," she says in what I assume is supposed to be a light tone, but instead comes out tight and strained.
Abby looks embarrassed. "Oh...I forgot to tell you. I invited Claudia. Surprise?"
Claudia waves. "Hey everyone!" she cries.
Kristy introduces Claudia to Adelaide, then reintroduces her to Greer and Meg. They've met a couple times over the years. Kristy's introductions are rather half-hearted. I know she's still upset about Bart's party. "Where's Erica Blumberg?" Kristy asks Claudia. "I thought you two were attached at the hip."
"Oh...well, she's kind of embarrassed about throwing up in your car. Sorry about that, by the way."
"Thanks."
"What are you wearing?" Greer asks Claudia, bluntly.
Claudia glances down at her shirt. "My body is its own work of art," she explains, seriously.
No one appears to know exactly what that means.
"Foods up!" Watson shouts from the patio, saving us from further awkward conversation.
We file into the house, where lunch has been set out buffet-style on the kitchen table. Watson and Elizabeth barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs, plus there are several salads and vegetable dishes. When I catch Sam watching me, I make a big show of piling my plate high with the broccoli casserole Janet brought. It doesn't occur to me until he looks away that now I actually have to eat it. I hate broccoli.
Out on the patio, I hear Nannie say to Janet, "Why don't you go sit at the picnic table with the other young girls?"
Janet mumbles something in reply, then sets her plate down on the patio table between Mrs. Stevenson and Emily Michelle. I always forget she's only a year older than us.
Kristy falls into step beside me as I cross the lawn to the picnic table. "Thank God she's not sitting with us," Kristy grumbles.
"She isn't so bad, if you give her a chance."
"She's run out of chances with me," Kristy snaps.
"She isn't to blame for everything," I reply. I wonder if Kristy and Elizabeth will ever admit that Sam made choices, just like Janet did. They can't go on forever dumping the blame solely in Janet's lap. "Kristy, I'm sorry about the New Hope presentation." I don't mean to say it now, but it slips, out into the open.
Kristy doesn't say anything right away. "It's okay," she says finally. "I know you wouldn't cancel without a good reason."
I thought I couldn't possibly feel worse about my lie. I was wrong. I bite my bottom lip and slide onto the bench beside Greer. Kristy sits across from me between Adelaide and Abby. Anna and Meg soon join us, Anna sliding in beside me, then Meg on her other side. It's several minutes before Claudia comes out, carrying a plate loaded with food and wearing a white cardigan and a disgruntled expression.
"Kristy, I'm so disappointed in your mother!" she exclaims. "I didn't realize she supported censorship of the arts!"
Kristy shrugs, stifling a laugh. "Sorry, I don't know what to tell you, Claud."
Greer clears her throat, clinking her plastic fork on the side of her plastic cup. "So..." she begins when everyone's looking at her. "Mr. and Mrs. Taylor came home Friday night," she says and pauses dramatically. "As soon as my mother saw them, she marched right down there to give them an earful about Bart's party. Embarrassing, I know. Well, she came back absolutely fuming. The Taylors gave Bart permission to have that party! Mr. Taylor's the one who bought the kegs!" Greer cries, slapping her palms down on the table top. "Could you just die to have such cool parents?"
"Uh...no," replies Kristy.
Greer rolls her eyes. "You're such a stick-in-the-mud, Kristy."
"That's really irresponsible of the Taylors," I interject. "Someone could have gotten hurt."
Greer flicks her hand, dismissively. "You worry too much, Shannon. I wish my parents were like the Taylors. Mine are total drags. My mom lectured me for twenty whole minutes Tuesday night. It was torture!" Greer rolls her eyes again. "What did your parents do, Claudia?"
Claudia takes a sip of her soda. "They don't know. I stayed over at Erica's. Her parents were kind of mad. Not about the drinking, but about the pot. They didn't yell though," Claudia answers. She takes another sip of soda. "But Lauren did. Oh my Lord, she gave me such a headache." Claudia places a hand on her forehead, as if the memory itself is painful.
"Lauren Hoffman?" Anna asks, looking up from her hamburger, which until now she's been concentrating intently on.
"Yeah," Claudia says, "do you know her?"
"Sure. We were in orchestra together at SMS. She played the trombone."
Kristy snorts. "Figures. She's always been full of a lot of hot air." Kristy chuckles to herself and takes an enormous bite of her hamburger, smearing ketchup over her top lip. Suddenly, she looks startled and her eyes widen. She begins chewing furiously.
"Don't choke," I advise, taking a very dainty bite of my own hamburger.
Kristy swallows and slaps the picnic table. "I forgot to tell you all!" she exclaims, then quickly wipes her mouth with a napkin. "Mary Anne called me this morning. She's been nominated for Homecoming Queen!"
I can't help but raise an eyebrow. "Mary Anne Spier?"
"Oh, yeah," Claudia says, leaning around Abby. "Erica and I helped with her campaign posters on Friday night. I made some really wild ones! I'm not certain how much Mary Anne liked them though. Julie Stern sure didn't."
Abby gags.
"Is Mary Anne aware she has to stand in front of a stadium packed with people?" I ask Kristy, ignoring Abby. Mary Anne is incredibly shy. I've hardly seen her the past few years, but I doubt she's changed that much.
Kristy nods. "Of course she knows that! She's nervous, but I think she's a lot more excited than she lets on. I promised her we'll all come to the Homecoming game to cheer her on."
"Sure!" I agree, enthusiastically. I've never been to a Homecoming. We don't have one at Stoneybrook Day. There isn't a football team, plus the school board and Dr. Patek believe Homecoming elections are degrading and divisive.
Kristy stretches across the table to grab some napkins from in front of Meg. The smiles quickly drops off her face and is replaced by an expression of anger missed with disbelief. "What is she doing here?" Kristy shouts.
Everyone's head whips around to the patio. And our jaws promptly drop. Sally White is crossing the lawn toward us. She's wearing black satin shorts and a burgundy silk tunic with her stiletto heels. She has a blue and yellow polka dot box tucked under her arm.
We are stunned into silence as Sally comes to a stop at the head of the picnic table. She drops the box in front of Abby and Anna. I recognize it as a candy box from Polly's Fine Candy in downtown Stoneybrook. "Here," she says, casually. "There are two of you, so I bought two pounds. Happy birthday." She turns toward Anna and lowers her mirrored sunglasses. "You must be the twin. Good, it's easy to tell you apart. Your hair doesn't look like an electrocuted mop." Now Sally turns toward Kristy. "Nice house. Your dad said the food was in the kitchen. Don't talk about me while I'm gone." Sally slides her sunglasses back into place, then spins on her heel and strides back toward the house.
"Who is that?" Anna asks, terribly confused.
Kristy, Abby, Greer, and I exchange gaping looks. Greer's holding her hand over her mouth. It is a rare moment when Greer, Kristy, and Abby are all speechless. "Oh my God," Greer finally gasps, lowering her hand. Then she laughs. "Oh my God," she repeats. "Can you believe her nerve?"
"You can close your mouth now," I tell Kristy.
Kristy obeys, but the stunned look doesn't leave her face.
"Who is that?" Anna asks again.
"Sally White," I reply.
Anna's hand flies to her mouth. "The Sally White? The one you told us about?"
"There's only one," I say. "Thank God."
"What are we supposed to do? Make her leave?" Abby asks. "How did she know what time the party started?"
Instinctively, everyone's head turns toward Meg, who has been oddly silent. Meg's twirling a strand of dark hair around her finger, eyes shifting back and forth. "She said she was curious," Meg tells us.
"Meg!" Abby and I exclaim in unison.
Kristy finally regains her voice. "I'm going to talk to Mom," she announces, standing up. "Shannon, come with me."
Kristy and I walk quickly to the patio, where the adults and kids are seated. Sam and David Michael are flicking olives at Janet while she stoically ignores them. Elizabeth, Watson, Nannie, and Mrs. Stevenson are ignoring them too. All four have turned their chairs slightly away from the rest of the table. They're deep in conversation when Kristy and I come to stand between Elizabeth and Watson. They barely acknowledge us and continue on with their discussion. I hate when adults do that, pretend you are not there, waiting, listening to every word. It's like you are invisible and hardly even matter.
"Anna has become impossible," Mrs. Stevenson is telling them. "I don't know what to do with her. She's freezing me out. Ever since I told them my decision to go back to my maiden name. They think it's forgetting. I've held onto Jonathan's name too long. It's keeping me back. I need to get on with my life."
"Of course," Elizabeth replies, a bit unsurely. "We have noticed that Abby seems...troubled." She glances over at Watson.
Mrs. Stevenson's face becomes unreadable. "Yes..." she says and begins to fidget with her napkin.
Kristy takes the opportunity to jump in. She pokes Elizabeth in the back. "Mom," she says, "that girl you just let in? She wasn't invited."
Elizabeth turns her chair partly around, so we have a side view of her. "What do you mean she wasn't invited?"
"Uh...I mean, she wasn't invited?"
"Kristy..." Watson says, warningly.
"What? She wasn't," Kristy tells him, then turns back to her mother. "Mom, that's Sally White. Remember? From microbiology?"
Elizabeth smiles, slightly. "The eyebrow girl," she says.
"Yes, the eyebrow girl, Mom. Who says mine look like dead caterpillars. What are you going to do about her?"
Janet swings her chair around to face us. There's a pickle in her hair. "I could pluck your eyebrows for you, Kristy," she offers.
Kristy folds her arms. "Excuse me, but I'm not mutilating my body. And I'm not talking to you. Now, Mom, what are you going to do about Sally White?"
Elizabeth cocks an eyebrow. "What am I going to do?"
Mrs. Stevenson stops fidgeting with her napkin and leans forward. "Why would she come to a party she's not invited to?" Mrs. Stevenson asks.
"Because she wants to torture us," I answer.
Mrs. Stevenson laughs. She's a lot of help. Sally comes out of the house then, holding a cup of strawberry soda and balancing a plate on her hand. She's pushed her sunglasses onto her head. She regards us in that cool way of hers. "I thought I said not to talk about me while I'm gone?" she says, then starts back toward the picnic table.
Kristy shoots a dirty look at the adults, then grabs my wrist and pulls me along with her, following Sally. Sally sets her plate next to Claudia, across from Meg, and dusts off the bench with a napkin. Then she sits down and bites into her hamburger. Everyone's staring at her again. There's a slight sinking in my stomach when I notice Greer gazing at her almost admiringly.
Kristy and I take our seats again. Kristy's mouth is in a thin, straight line, as she silently fumes. Slowly, everyone resumes eating, but still cast furtive glances in Sally's direction. She doesn't notice, or at least pretends not to.
When Sally finally looks up from her plate, she stares at Meg, who's on her second hamburger, which has lettuce, tomato, and avocado sliding out the sides. Meg's plate is still heaped with macaroni salad, corn on the cob, and fruit salad, which she's not made a dent in. "Damn, that's a lot of food," Sally says, lifting her soda to her lips.
Meg pauses mid-bite and casts a guilty look down at her plate. "My mother doesn't let me eat," she explains.
"Your mother doesn't let you eat?"
Meg shakes her head.
Sally tips her head back and drains her cup. "This is one screwed up town," she says. No one tells her she has a strawberry mustache.
After lunch, we gather in the living room for Abby and Anna to open their gifts. It's become rather chilly outside and Meg's lips have turned a bit blue since she's in that ridiculous tennis dress. Abby and Anna sit together on the sectional sofa with me on Anna's right and Kristy on Abby's left. Sally plops down next to me and stretches out her arms, taking up much more space than she deserves. I wonder why we're putting up with her. Sally takes a momentary interest in Sam until she realizes he's married to "that chick with the pickle in her hair." She then shifts her attention to Charlie, who while not present, is visible in at least a dozen photos scattered around the living room. I answer Sally's questions half-heartedly, knowing that Kristy's furious enough about Sam being with Janet, plus Charlie's best friend and roommate at Central Connecticut dates her childhood nemesis, Cokie Mason. Sally White would really just be the icing on the cake that causes Kristy to snap.
Abby shakes a large gift from Meg, wrapped in yellow paisley-print paper. "What is it?" Abby asks, grinning, giving it another shake.
"A professional make-up kit," Meg answers.
"You aren't supposed to tell her!" exclaims Kristy, throwing a ball of wadded paper at Meg.
Abby wrinkles her nose. "What am I going to do with a professional make-up kit?" she asks.
"I don't know. My mother bought it."
Anna lifts an identical gift. "I guess I know what this is," she says. "Thanks, Meg," but she pushes the gift aside without unwrapping it.
Abby and Anna don't look particularly thrilled with the skin care kits Greer gives them either. Or the handmade bead and glitter headbands from Claudia, although they fake enthusiasm well. I fare much better. Abby appears genuinely excited about Elvis nightshirt and mug, as does Anna about the jasmine bath set. Jasmine is our favorite scent. Mrs. Stevenson gives Abby and Anna gorgeous matching Shetland sweaters in misty heather-grays. Anna doesn't even take hers out of the box. Kristy's family gives them gift certificates to Sound Ideas, the local music store. Sam and Janet give them each a book, which causes Sam to snort and ask, "What do you know about books?" David Michael laughs loudly until Nannie tells him to knock it off.
Afterward, we move into the kitchen for cake and ice cream. Mrs. Stevenson bought a beautiful cake. It's in baby blue and yellow, covered in huge frosting flowers with a string of fake pearls and a ribbon of lace running across it. It reads: Happy 17th Birthday, Abby and Anna! in black cursive lettering. Abby and Anna barely glance at it before poking in the candles Elizabeth holds out to them.
"We'll save Lindsey a piece," Abby tells us, as she cuts into the cake. "We'll take it over tonight. She can't possibly be grounded from eating cake."
Greer, Meg, Kristy, and I are leaning against the pantry door, eating our cake and ice cream, with Sally hovering near. "I called her, you know," she says, casually.
"Who?" I ask.
"Lindsey. I knew you would all still have your panties in a twist about Friday, so I called to apologize for pointing out that her grandparents are old. But Granny wouldn't put her on the phone."
"Her name is Dr. Dupree," I say, testily.
Sally puckers her lips. "Oooh, Dr. Dupree," she says, mockingly.
Meg licks frosting off her fork. "She teaches medieval history at Stoneybrook U. I think it's a very romantic subject," Meg says, dreamily, with a sigh.
"Well, if I ever want to discuss Beowulf in its original text, I'll be sure to give her a call," Sally says, dismissively, and begins walking away.
"Why do you have such a problem with Lindsey?" I call after her.
Sally looks at me over her shoulder. "Because she thinks everyone's supposed to like her," she answers, smirking at Meg.
We stare after her. "What is she doing here?" I want to know. "She doesn't even like us."
Greer taps her fork against her front teeth. "Well...she keeps things interesting," Greer admits.
"I hope we're not starting this again," I comment, then walk away, tossing my half-eaten cake into the trash as I pass.
Anna appears beside me, wordlessly linking her arm through mine, then pulls me out of the kitchen and into Watson's study. She shuts the door. "Do you want to buy my sweater?" she asks and I realize she has the Shetland sweater draped over the shoulders of her mustard-colored long-sleeved shirt.
"Do I want to buy it?" I repeat, puzzled.
Anna pushes it into my hands. "Yes. I don't want it. I hate it. Plus, I need the money. I'm saving for something important."
"What?" I ask, curiously.
Anna shrugs.
I check the sweater tag. It's a genuine Shetland from the Shetland Islands of Scotland. "This is expensive, you know. Your mom paid at least a hundred dollars for it."
"I don't care. She owes me."
I study the sweater, carefully and a bit longingly. Like all my friends, I already have about a dozen Shetland sweaters, but none in this pattern or color. I already see myself in it. It would look great with my favorite skirt. I bet Wes would like it. "If you come over after the party, I can write you a check," I tell her.
"For a hundred?"
"Yes."
Anna smiles and it's an odd smile that I don't quite understand.