Chapter 139
ALL THE WIVES THREW LAURA a baby shower in early June. It was maybe a little earlier than she’d have liked, but Rita and Beverly were desperate to participate before they packed out.
Annie Campbell offered to host the party at Il Paradiso, which was perfect because the apartment complex had a pool with a nice big deck and plenty of seating.
Debbie and Bev tackled the decorations. There were pink and blue balloons everywhere, and since it was impossible to mail-order one of those cutout storks, they’d made their own out of moving boxes, packing tape, and acrylic paint.
“Impressive,” said Mary Lou, and I could tell she meant it.
Rita and I organized the food, which wasn’t that hard, since it was potluck. We bought paper products, scrounged up some tablecloths, and ordered a cake from a bakery downtown.
“Why does the cake say Ciao Bella?” Debbie asked after we’d unveiled it.
“It’s like Hello Beautiful,” said Rita. “But in Italian.”
“I don’t get it,” Debbie said.
“It’s like we’re talking to the baby,” I tried to explain.
“But what if it’s a boy?” said Debbie. “Wouldn’t it be Ciao Bello?”
I was about to defend the decision when Laura jumped in. “I’m okay with willing a baby girl into existence.”
“Well, there you go,” said Bev, and we all laughed.
We ate and drank, and then it was time for games; Annie was in charge of the first one. She used a marker to write a bunch of popular baby names on pieces of masking tape, then walked around the pool deck and slapped the pieces of tape on our backs.
“Okay, listen up,” she said once we’d all been tagged. “You’re going to ask each other yes-or-no questions to figure out which baby name is yours. As a reminder, Laura helped come up with this list, and two of these names are near and dear to her heart, so be nice!”
I’d played some version of this game before, but with celebrities. Baby names were harder because there were only so many questions to ask. Did the name appear in the Old Testament? Was it originally a last name? Was it Italian?
Meredith Green, who was quite pregnant by this point, was walking around with the name Theo on her back, and while I told myself it had to be a coincidence, a small part of me wondered if Annie or Laura or one of the other wives was trying to mess with me. “It’s not Todd?” Meredith asked.
“You’ve said Todd three times,” said Laura. “Pick something else.”
“Tyler?”
“I thought we were meant to ask yes-or-no questions,” I said.
“That’s the idea,” said Annie.
“I can ask yes-or-no questions,” said Meredith a tad defensively. “Is it Tyler?”
I almost slapped my forehead, I was so annoyed. “No, it’s not Tyler.”
“Ask something else,” said Annie.
Meredith thought for a minute. “Is there a famous ballplayer who shares this name?”
None of us was good enough with sports trivia to answer that question one way or the other. “Mary Lou follows sports,” said Laura.
“What do I follow?” Mary Lou asked from a few feet away as she poured herself another glass of prosecco.
Meredith pointed at her own back. “Is there a famous ballplayer who shares this name?”
Mary Lou considered the question. “Yes,” she said. “But how’s knowing that going to help you if you don’t know the names of any famous ballplayers?”
“Touché,” said Annie.
It was clear that Mary Lou despised this game and maybe all shower games, which, frankly, made me like her more.
“Do I know someone with this name?” asked Meredith.
Laura shook her head. “No,” she said, “but Eileen sure does.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
Laura seemed to realize right away that she’d overstepped, but the problem was that she’d done it in front of so many other women, and most importantly Mary Lou.
“Yes,” said Mary Lou. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Laura turned at least three shades of pink, then started to stammer. “I was just joking.”
“About whom?” asked Mary Lou, although I knew that she knew exactly who Laura was talking about.
“Just that reporter Eileen knows. Teo Manca.”
Mary Lou turned to me. “Do you see much of him these days?”
“Not much at all,” I lied.
“I was just giving her a hard time,” said Laura, but Meredith interrupted, still thinking about the sticker on her back.
“Is it Teo?”
Laura shook her head as if trying to tell Meredith to scuttle the whole thing. But Meredith was completely consumed with winning the game, or at least not losing it.
“What’s the English version of Teo?” she asked the group.
“You’re meant to ask yes-or-no questions,” said Annie. “Remember?”
Mary Lou couldn’t take it anymore. “It’s Theo,” she said, “with an h.” Then she stalked off.
“Can I talk to you?” I said to Laura while Annie ripped the masking tape off Meredith’s back. She followed me over to the picnic table on the far side of the pool, where we’d stacked all the gifts.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Mary Lou already hates me. I really don’t need her thinking I’m cheating on Paul.”
“Are you cheating on Paul?” Laura asked sharply.
“Why would you even ask that?”
She seemed to hesitate.
“What?” I asked.
“We lost power the other night, and I needed a shower.”
“Okay…”
“I knew Paul was on duty, and I figured you’d be up.”
I didn’t like where this was going.
“So I drove over to your place, but you weren’t home.”
“Laura,” I said, feeling a little self-righteous, “I could have been out to dinner.”
She nodded, like the excuse made all the sense in the world. “That’s what I figured.”
“Well, great.”
“But the thing is, I drove over again in the morning. Early. And you still weren’t there.”
I was quiet for a moment, considering my options. Finally, I asked, “Did you tell Bobby?”
“Obviously,” she said. “I came home without having showered. Twice.”
My hands had started to tremble, and I shoved them into my armpits. “He can’t tell Paul.”
“Jesus, Eileen. So it’s true? You really are cheating on him?”
I couldn’t even look at her, I was so ashamed. “I’m not proud of it,” I said. “But you have to understand—”
“I have to understand what?”
“Not everyone has what you and Bobby have.”
“Oh, give me a break,” she said. “You don’t have what Bobby and I have because you’ve spent the last two years looking for an out.”
I felt like I’d been slapped.
“So, congratulations,” she said, throwing up her hands. “You’ve got one.”