Chapter 27
On Tuesday at lunch, Evie’s wheels begin to spin when I tell her about Luke’s shoot starting next week, and that this weekend
is pretty much the end of our agreement and our time together. I mean to tell her about Mom and Todd, too, but I keep failing
to find the words. It’s like if I don’t say anything about it to anyone, it isn’t real. To my knowledge, Nicky still doesn’t
even know.
“This weekend is Halloween,” she says slowly.
“I know. Big weekend for you. Is that still the plan?”
“It is,” Evie says, but she’s distracted.
“What?” I ask her. “You’ve got your evil mastermind face on.”
Evie twirls a finger through the ends of her newly shorter hair. She wasn’t feeling the shag anymore, so it’s now a few inches
shorter to blend the layers. I give it a month, tops, before she’s either cutting baby bangs or getting extensions or something
equally adventurous.
“Eddie’s parents are away this weekend.”
“I know. Thus the whole sex plan.” I lower my voice, whispering the last two words. “We’ve been over this, remember?”
“No, what I’m saying is that Eddie’s parents are away, and it’s Halloween weekend. And what do you do on Halloween? You dress up. It’s totally normal to wear a mask to a Halloween party. You could be anonymous for the entire night.”
I’m starting to understand where she’s going with this. I think about Luke wearing his disguise at UConn. “Oh.”
Her eyes shine. “Now you’re getting it.”
“If Eddie throws a party, we could put Luke in a mask and he could come, too,” I say. “He could be anonymous.”
“Exactly.”
“Would Eddie get in trouble?”
“I bet they’d let him have a party if he asks,” she says. I raise my eyebrows and she says, “Really! They have before.”
I nod slowly. It would be the perfect end to Luke’s high school experience. Going to a packed college frat party with sunglasses
and a hat pulled low is one thing, but this would be different. We could pretend he’s some guy from Halston Prep. We can give
him a fake name, a backstory.
It might even be fun.
“You two look so devious right now,” Lily says as she and Dylan come to sit with us.
“We want to convince Eddie to throw a Halloween party,” Evie says. “His parents are away this weekend.”
Dylan laughs. She’s wearing dramatic dark lipstick that matches her shiny black nails. According to Evie, Dylan was a super-goth
in middle school but has mostly grown out of it, though she still maintains a goth flair. “You two want to talk Eddie into throwing a party? Have we stepped into the Twilight Zone?”
“Is it because of Lucas Cordova?” Lily asks.
“Lil,” Dylan says.
Lily gasps. “Oops.”
Lily, Dylan, and Evie all look a little nervous and guilty. Especially Evie. They know, I realize. Not just that we’re old friends, but the whole shadowing thing, too.
“Evie! You weren’t supposed to tell anyone except Eddie! No offense,” I add to Lily and Dylan. “I was just trying to keep
the whole thing a secret.”
“I’m sorry, okay! Only, like, three people from school were chosen as extras. Everyone else was chosen from the community
college or are, like, real adults. So it was too exciting that you have this special movie job not to share! But it was only
Lily and Dylan, and they promised not to tell anyone.”
“We swore,” Lily says.
“Neither of us has said a word,” Dylan adds.
The three of them wait to see what my reaction is going to be. I sigh. “Fine. But please don’t tell anyone else.”
“So has it been amazing?” Lily asks. The words spill out as if she’s been holding them in for a while. “I cannot believe you’ve
gotten to spend so much time with him.”
“It’s been nice, yeah. But we’ve known each other for a while. I’m not sure if Evie told you that part.” Evie feigns innocence. I turn back to Lily and Dylan. “I’m just going to assume she’s told you every detail.”
Evie laughs but at least has the good sense to look contrite.
“So, the party!” Evie claps her hands. “I’m going to ask Eddie if he’ll throw a party on Friday night. Costumes only. That
way, Luke can wear a mask and experience a real high school party in total anonymity. The perfect cap to your normal-life-tutoring
experience.”
“Yeah.” I push away from the table. “I’ve got an essay due last period that I should go over one more time. I’m going to head
to one of the study rooms.”
“Oh,” Evie says. “Can’t you do it here?”
“No, I have to focus.” I wave at Lily and Dylan. “I’ll see you guys later.”
A few minutes later my phone pings. It’s from Evie.
EVIE:
Are you mad? I’m sorry I told them. I’m realizing now that was kind of shitty of me
I hesitate before I text back. I am a little upset.
ME:
Not mad. Don’t worry
EVIE:
Promise?
Once again, I hesitate. Then:
ME:
I promise! Let me know what Eddie says about Friday
After school, I get a phone call from Nicky.
“Hey,” I answer.
“What the actual fuck,” Nicky says in response. “When did you find out?”
I flop down on the couch. “So Mom told you?”
“Yeah. I just got off the phone with her.”
“What did you say?”
“I told her that he’s a total buffoon and that I don’t support it.”
“Nicky, come on. You didn’t actually say that, did you?”
“Yes! Of course I did! Because he is a buffoon, and I don’t support it.”
I close my eyes and put the phone on my chest, without switching it to speaker. “She said she’s been lonely. She said he makes
her happy. I’ll be at college next year, and Mom’s going to be alone.”
“Who gives a shit? It’s better for her to be alone than to marry a guy like Todd Mackey.” Nicky’s voice is small and far away.
I pick the phone back up and put it to my ear. “It’s her life, Nicky. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“I want you to be honest with someone about how you actually feel for once,” Nicky says.
“Ouch.”
“Sorry,” Nicky says. “I’m just—I thought we were united on this.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
There’s not much else to say, so eventually we say goodbye. I put my phone back on my chest and close my eyes. Within a minute
it’s buzzing again. I tap the green button without looking at the screen and put it back to my ear.
“What do you want now?”
“Oh. Sorry. Is this a bad time?”
It’s not Nicky—it’s Luke. I sit up. “Oh. Hey, sorry. I was just on the phone with my brother and I thought it was him. What’s
up?”
“I had a free ten minutes and, I don’t know. I guess I wanted to hear your voice.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I miss talking like we used to. Isn’t that obvious by now?”
“Sometimes,” I say, which makes him laugh.
“Everything good with you and Nick?” he asks.
I sigh. “Our mom’s boyfriend proposed to her, and Nicky and I aren’t exactly his number one fans. Like, he’s fine, but he’s also . . . I don’t know how to explain it. We’re trying to figure out how to deal with it.”
“Ah. Yeah. You’ve mentioned him. I don’t know if this helps at all, but I wasn’t a fan of Mich at first. Now I love her.”
“Why? What was wrong with her?”
“She was super intense about everything. I wanted my mom to be with someone . . . I don’t know. Lighter. It took me over a
year to understand what my mom saw in her. I was the one who was wrong. Mich is shy, and that made her seem aloof and serious,
when she’s not. The jokes she cracks are all dry and under her breath. She’s the best, but it took me a minute to get there.”
“Did you support your mom early on? Like, in their relationship, I mean?”
“Not always. But when it became obvious that she was serious about Mich I knew it was time for me to get on board. And I’m
glad I did.”
I find myself telling him more about Todd. That I have gotten to know him, and even though he’s reliable, financially stable, and is admittedly so sweet about how much he loves
her cooking, I still think it’s the wrong decision. That I think she’s doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s cathartic to share
all these things I truly think and feel. I’m annoyed Nicky is right, again.
“Maybe you won’t grow to love Todd like I grew to love Michelle. Or maybe you will. I don’t think you’re wrong to support
your mom, even if he sucks, because it is her life. But you should tell her how you feel about it before they get engaged
and then eventually married, because otherwise, it’ll just fester.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I say.
“I bet she really wants to know. Your mom seems cool.”
“Yeah, she can be,” I agree. “Thanks. You always make me feel better.”
“Good. Because the feeling’s mutual.”
My face flushes, and I’m glad we’re on the phone and not talking in person. “I’m also glad you called because I wanted to
run something by you. How would you feel about going to a Halloween party with me?”
“Like a high school one?” There’s a pique of interest in his voice.
“Yes.” I explain what Evie and I are thinking. “The only caveat is that you would have to wear a mask as part of your costume.
And make up a backstory about who you are. Maybe you can be my cousin, visiting from California.”
“Aren’t both your parents only children?” Luke says.
“Yes, but no one else knows that,” I tell him. “Other than Evie. But forget the details for now. We’ll come up with something
good. Are you in?”
“For sure. I can come up with a better backstory.” Someone starts shouting for Luke in the background. “Hey, listen, I gotta
go. But I’m glad I caught you.”
“Me too.”