The Party #4
Had some strangers come into the house to watch a football game?
That would be just too weird, even for the Stroll party, although a few years ago, when Lydia was sixteen, a friend of hers had gone into the bathroom, taken quite a few Adderall, and rejoined the party, claiming loudly and vociferously that he had seen angels in the Parsonses’ guest bathroom.
Lydia saw the television screen flash up the score: Green Bay Packers 7, Patriots 7.
So those must be Daniel’s friends, Lydia thought, but still…
Weaving and sliding, Lydia made her way to her sister. Florie was with a group of her girlfriends who were comparing Caribbean resorts.
“Sorry, ladies. I need her.” Lydia took Florie’s hand and pulled her away from the party and into the guest bathroom. She shut the door firmly.
“You read my mind,” Florie said, immediately arranging her dress so she could sit down and pee.
“That’s not why we’re here.” Lydia leaned against the door. “What are a bunch of Green Bay Packers fans doing in our family room?”
“Oh, them. They’re friends of Daniel’s. They won some contest and came for the Stroll.”
“Is Daniel a football fanatic?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have friends who like football.” Florie flushed the toilet and stood at the sink, washing her hands. If she looked in the mirror, she could see Lydia over her shoulder. “I mean, is there a problem?”
Lydia shook her head. “No. Yes. Maybe. I mean, they seem so young.”
“I’m so young.”
“Do you have anything in common with them?”
Florie yanked at an ironed linen hand towel with a Christmas tree embroidered on it. “Lydia! What’s up with you? Do you have anything in common with Jari?”
Lydia sighed and put down the toilet lid. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be mean. I just—okay, well, I did want to tell you that I overheard Jari and Daniel having a conversation about Finnish poetry. They were really having fun.”
Florie beamed. “Wow, that’s wonderful news, Lyd. Thank you. Maybe you and Jari can come visit us, like next Christmas. Wisconsin has lots of snow. Jari would like that.”
“But will you?” Lydia asked.
“Will I what? Like the snow? Come on, Lyd, don’t go dark on me.”
“Sorry. It’s just—I guess it’s all the change. Lucas being a nurse, for heaven’s sake. Who could see that coming? And you’ll be so far away in Wisconsin.”
“And where will you be?” Florie asked. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not being mean. I want to know. It’s a natural question.”
Lydia pressed her back against the door and slid down to sit on the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I saw Jimmy. He was one of the EMTs. We, um, talked for a moment, while Beatrice was being settled in the ambulance. He’s not going with anyone.”
“He’s only twenty-four. Give him time.”
“Florie. He makes me feel hot—like I’m the only person in the room.”
“Lydia, please. Jimmy flirts with everyone. Monogamy is not his skill set. He wrecked you senior year, remember? You cried for a month, lived on iced coffee, and swore you hated him.”
Lydia worried at her nail. “Then why do I still want him so bad?”
“Because he is crack cocaine in human form. He’s sex in a shirt. Beatrice probably wants to have sex with him.”
Lydia grinned. “Beatrice was pretty funny on that stretcher. Making jokes. Waving. It was a whole new side of her personality.”
Florie snickered. “Her hormones probably exploded when Jimmy touched her.”
Lydia looked thoughtful. “Do people her age have hormones?”
“I fully intend to.”
“Daniel is pretty hot.”
Florie nodded. “So is Jari. I mean, I suppose he would be if he weren’t made of ice.”
“I know. I don’t know what to do, Flor. I love him. Truly. But we both have careers that keep us stressed out and super busy.”
“That’s what you wanted,” Florie reminded her.
“I know. But now, I mean, just yesterday my boss phoned and told me I have to go to Arizona to manage the Golden Resort there.”
“Great! You’ll be nice and warm this winter.”
“I suppose. But Jari will be in New York and Chicago. That will mean a lot of traveling and messing with our schedules.”
“Are you two a thing now? Kind of committed?”
Lydia groaned. “I’m not sure. I mean, it’s been ten months.
He told me he loved me about a month after we met.
In the beginning, we were kind of enthralled.
I told him first that I loved him. Then he told me.
Maybe he felt he had to? He’s so hard to figure out.
Last week I asked him if he loved me, and he said, ‘I told you I do.’ ”
Florie laughed. “Oh, Lyd, men are so terrible!”
Lydia stood up, washed her hands, opened the medicine cabinet to find a lipstick, spread it on, and blotted it with a tissue. Her eyes met Florie’s in the mirror.
“I’ll always love Jimmy,” Lydia said dreamily. “But if I put him next to Jari, it’s so obvious that Jari is a grown-up while Jimmy is still an adolescent.”
Florie raised an eyebrow. “And maybe that’s the attraction.”
“Good point.” Lydia gave the lipstick to Florie and moved aside so Florie could have the mirror.
A knock sounded on the door. “Is someone in there?”
They both covered their mouths like naughty children, just like they had a million times before, when they kept whispering in their rooms at night, or hid from a well-earned scolding because they’d eaten most of the frosting off the cake.
“We’ll be right out,” Lydia called.
They smoothed their hair, calmed their expressions, and opened the door.
—
Somehow Lucas found himself cornered by Samantha Morgan, his father’s assistant. She was good-looking, super smart, and well-liked. Lucas really wanted her to feel happy and welcome in this house.
“I hear through the grapevine that you’re going to become a nurse,” Samantha said.
Lucas laughed. “They say if you sneeze in ’Sconset, someone in Madaket will say ‘God bless you.’ ”
“Oh, I didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret.”
“No worries. I know my parents are…concerned…but—”
“Nursing is hard work, you know,” Samantha said sternly. “It’s not all hand-holding and sleeping with the doctor.”
Lucas jerked back. “Damn, girl, I never thought it was.”
“Sorry. That was rude of me. But I have friends who are nurses, and it’s terribly hard work. Since you’re male, you’ll be doing the heavy lifting. You’ll have people vomiting on you, spurting blood in your face—”
Lucas frowned. “Hang on, now—” He held up his hand in a stop sign. “I get you. You’re trying to convince me not to be a nurse, so I’ll work with my father.”
Samantha coughed and covered her mouth. It was obvious to Lucas that he’d surprised her.