24. Tiffin Talks Crush #2
Davi is reaching into her bag to show Charley—she has to understand what a bad idea this field trip is—when Olivia H-T comes around the corner, shedding her bubblegum-pink Moncler puffer.
“Pink for situationship?” Davi asks. “With a younger man, perhaps?”
Olivia flips her off.
“I like the coat,” Charley says. “You look like a candy heart. And I think you and Grady are cute together.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Olivia hisses. “Also? You two can’t hog the Senior Sofa every D-period.”
Davi stretches her legs across the green velvet cushions and closes her eyes.
“Fine,” Olivia says. “If that’s the way you want it.” She disappears around the corner.
“That’s the way we want it, bitch,” Davi murmurs. Charley cracks a smile and goes back to I Regret Almost Everything. This will also be the title of Charley’s memoir, Davi thinks, if she isn’t careful.
Charley surprises East by agreeing to sneak up to the chapel roof even though it’s a Thursday and twenty-six degrees out. It’s so cold that they have sex in the stairwell, which is exciting because it’s new and they have to be so, so quiet: Every sound echoes down six flights.
After they finish, Charley says, “I have something to tell you, and I don’t want you to be angry.”
“I wish you wouldn’t lead with that,” East says.
Charley is on the step below East, gazing up at him. She reminds herself that he’s not her boss, she’s not asking for his permission, she’s simply apprising him of her plans.
“I’m going to the art museum in Williamstown on Saturday.”
“The art museum?” Charley watches East process this. “With Mav?”
“I mean, yeah?” Charley says. “He teaches the class, he organized the trip…”
“Is Taylor going? I thought she quit the class.”
“I’m not sure she quit the class?” Charley says. “I assume she’s going…?” She drops her gaze to the zipper of East’s parka. She knows Taylor isn’t going.
“Okay, good. Because if it were just you and Mav going to a museum together, I would think that was weird.”
“Oh my god,” Charley says. “That would be so weird.”
Audre and Coop decide to attend the Tuck wearing red—Audre a red blouse with jeans, Coop a red cable-knit sweater over a red gingham button-down. It will be their hard launch.
Audre and Coop have been spending so much time together—they eat together in the Paddock during the week and spend every Saturday night and Sunday together, either in the Residence or in Coop’s apartment in town—that finally, the day before the Tuck, Audre decides she has to tell Jesse Eastman.
She sends an email, subject line: Personal matter.
Jesse, good morning—
I wanted you to hear from me that I have started seeing our new history teacher, John Coopersmith, outside of school.
We are becoming close, and although it’s too soon to put a label on our relationship, it seemed prudent to let you know.
Dr. Coopersmith and I are dedicated first and foremost to our jobs here at Tiffin and will remain cordial and professional no matter what happens privately.
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to discuss the matter further, please feel free to call anytime.
Thank you.
All best, Audre
The moment she sends the email, panic sets in. What if Jesse forbids the relationship? Would Audre defy him?
Audre goes in search of Cordelia, then remembers that Cordelia is hip-deep in admissions decisions: Letters go out March 10. And so Audre returns to her office to wait for a reply.
One good thing about Jesse: He’s an instant responder.
Good morning, Audre—
I’m happy to offer my support of this budding romance.
Although I have yet to meet Dr. Coopersmith, I’ve heard only positive things about him, and I appreciate the two of you committing yourself to your jobs first. I have no reason to believe anything about your outstanding performance as Head will change, and it would be churlish of me to oppose you pursuing a social life when I only have a few months left at the helm of the ship.
I hope you and Dr. Coopersmith find the happiness that I’ve enjoyed with O’Malley. Love at our age is a miraculous thing and should be savored.
Thank you for letting me know.
I look forward to seeing you in April for Tiffin’s 115th anniversary. I assume invites for the alumni reception and VIP party will go out in the next few weeks? If you need any help with the planning, let O’Malley know. She lives to plan a party!
All best, J.E.
Audre exhales anxiety and inhales triumph! Jesse has given unequivocal support. Audre forwards the email to Coop’s private address with the caption: Happy Valentine’s Day, my darling!
Then she allows herself to fret over the other parts of Jesse’s response.
He lauded her “outstanding performance,” but he has no idea that, by the time he arrives in mid-April, the operating budget will be running on fumes.
The account is up—the AI stock is performing well—but not enough to make a meaningful difference.
And Jim Benbow’s “substantial donation” popped like a soap bubble when Tilly disenrolled, so Audre won’t have that money coming in.
Deposits for next year’s incoming students are due May 1, and Audre will have no choice but to dip into next year’s money this year, creating a kind of boarding school Ponzi scheme.
She might not even get to that point: There will be no avoiding telling Jesse what’s happened when she sees him at the 115th anniversary.
She asks herself for the 115th time if she should have accepted the bribe from Erik Sacks. No, obviously not, but at the same time maybe yes.
The email also reminds Audre that Jesse is leaving and they’ve found no one to replace him.
Finally, there’s the matter of the 115th-anniversary celebration, which Audre has done exactly nothing about.
The alumni reception can be a carbon copy of the reception for Family Weekend; she’ll contact the tent company and alert Chef Haz about refreshments.
The reception will precede the boys’ lacrosse game against Hotchkiss (which Tiffin will lose).
Audre will ask Mr. Chuy to have the cast of this year’s musical, Footloose, perform the title song and dance.
That will suffice. Alumni will cough up 115 dollars to attend the reception, then they’ll donate anywhere from 250 to 2,500, and Tiffin will clear 50 to 100 grand.
Audre has bigger hopes for the VIP cocktail party, attended by a curated list of alumni, parents, and friends. The big draw will be the location, kept secret until attendees arrive on campus.
The location: Priorities, the speakeasy below the dorms. Nobody on the invite list, not even Jesse Eastman, knows it exists.
Audre is both eager to show it off and worried about people asking how it got there.
She can’t very well explain that Andrew Eastman masterminded a renovation of a defunct bomb shelter.
She’s banking on everyone being too dazzled by the space, and too intrigued by the new bit of Tiffin lore that has been created, to ask any questions.
Audre sighs and pushes all thoughts of 115 from her mind. She would far rather think about Coop.
Dinner Service
Balthazar Pop-Up
Friday, February 12
SELECTIONS
Gougère
Onion soup au gratin
Frisée au lardons (chicory, bacon, shallot vinaigrette with soft-poached egg)
Steak frites
Moules frites
Wild mushroom risotto
Haricots verts
DESSERTS
Raspberry napoleon (lemon mascarpone mousse, raspberry coulis)
Chocolate mousse
Now that Pippa is gone, Davi has a newfound enthusiasm for Chef Haz’s pop-ups. She’s the one who suggested Balthazar—because they’re reading Keith McNally’s book in their memoir class!
Davi, whose social media posts have been desultory (“lacking plan, purpose, enthusiasm”) as of late, finds new inspiration as she videos the slices of rosy steak dripping with béarnaise sauce, the piles of golden fries, the pillowy yellow and pink layers of the napoleon.
She explains the connection to the Tiffin curriculum and tags both Keith McNally and his publisher, Simon & Schuster.
Davi’s effort pays off: The reel goes mega-viral with a quarter million views by lights out, and thousands of comments and reposts.
Keith McNally himself comments on Instagram: Looking good, Chef Haz!
Lots of followers want to know if Chef Haz is single. He’s such a snack!
Haha! Davi remembers now why she loves influencing.