Sun-Kissed

by Melissa de la Cruz

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jacqui said, helping her wipe up the spill with a wad of paper napkins.

  Eleven-year-old William didn’t take his eyes off the adventure novel he was reading. The hyperactive little boy had calmed down, surprisingly without the help of any medications, and a miraculous transformation had taken place. Whereas it had been so hard to shut him up before, now you could hardly get him to talk. He had grown tall and lanky and was looking more like Ryan every day. The two older children tried not to show their anxiety, but the noise was clearly bothering Zoë and the baby, which was what they all still called Cody.

  Zoë’s lower lip trembled and it looked like she might cry, and Cody, the only one who was Anna’s biologically, was pressing his hands against his ears and screaming.

  Her fuse already dangerously short, Jacqui walked over and pulled the plug out of the white box, which immediately stopped squawking. They could still hear the rest of the house echo with the elder Perrys’ quarrel, but now it was muffled and distant.

  “C’mon, eat your fruit,” she coaxed, handing around a bowl full of raisins and prunes.

  “Anyone home?” a cheerful voice called from outside the screen door.

  Jacqui looked up. Mara walked in, bearing a large basket filled with warm, fresh-baked muffins from Barefoot Contessa. Their cinnamon-and-nutmeg smell filled the kitchen. And for the first time since she’d gotten the bad NYU news, Jacqui actually felt like smiling.

  “Hello, hello!” Mara said.

  “Holla!”

  Mara came over and hugged Jacqui. “You look so great!”

  Jacqui twirled. She was wearing a blousy eyelet Derek Lam halter top and slim gray plaid Bermudas. “So do you. Is that a Tory tunic? J’adore!”

  Mara nodded and pulled out a seat from the counter, while the kids immediately dropped their oatmeal spoons and raided the muffins.

  “My God, William, you’ve grown like a weed!” Mara said. “And Madison, you look so pretty in that shirt.”

  “It’s Bill now. He doesn’t like to be called William anymore,” Jacqui said fondly. “And we found that shirt on sale at Jeffrey last week, didn’t we, Mad?”

  William gave Mara a shy smile and went back to his seat. Mara raised her eyebrows at Jacqui, who merely shrugged. For two summers, the boy had terrorized them with his hyperactive tantrums—it was hard to reconcile the Super Soaker-wielding brat with the quiet boy reading a book.

  Mara ruffled Cody’s hair and kissed Zoe.

  “So, how was your first night on the ‘love boat’?” Jacqui teased, making air quotes with her fingers as she collected the untouched bowls around the table.

  Mara blushed and looked meaningfully at Ryan’s younger siblings.

  Jacqui nodded and quietly explained that as soon as their grandparents arrived, she and Mara could have some privacy. Kevin’s parents were taking the kids to their estate on the far end of the island, where they would spend the day fishing in the pond and riding horses. The no-nonsense Perry elders didn’t approve of nannies, and so Jacqui basically had the day off.

  When the kids had left, Mara told Jacqui about the amazingly romantic dinner that Ryan had prepared, only to have it interrupted by a work assignment. “I had to leave him—I didn’t really have a choice,” Mara defended herself.

  “Tough,” Jacqui said.

  “Yeah, but it’s okay. We’ll have three months together.” Then she told Jacqui all about her new job and her crazy boss.

  “That’s fantastic, Mar. You’re, like, a real reporter,” Jacqui marveled. “I’m so proud of you, chica.”

  Mara beamed. Jacqui always knew the right thing to say.

  They compared their respective graduation ceremonies, and the subject soon landed on their college choices.

  “I’m still on the wait list at Dartmouth; can you believe?” Mara groaned. “I’m sooo bummed. How about you—did you hear from NYU yet?”

  In an instant, her stomach sank. Jacqui couldn’t think of a reply—she didn’t want to own up to her rejection, especially after having given Mara the impression that she was a shoo-in. Plus, it hurt too much to admit it out loud. She had never felt so guarded in front of her friend before.

  But Jacqui was saved the embarrassment of confessing by two loud, long beeps from the driveway.

  “WHERE ARE MY HARAJUKU GIRLS?” Eliza bellowed from the front door of the house.

  reunited once again, the three musketeers take a cigarette break

  ELIZA CLIMBED OUT OF HER CAR. SHE WORE A WHITE strapless, empire-waist floor-length smocked jersey cotton dress that showed off her jutting collarbone and tanned shoulders. Perched on her button nose was a pair of oversized Dita sunglasses, the latest celebrity fashion obsession, the provenance of which she had tracked down to a boutique in West Hollywood. They were so big they obscured half of her face, but she had to have them. (Everyone else could wear run-of-the-mill Chanel and Gucci, but to be in the know, it was all about Dita!) Her hair was twisted into a long sexy French braid down her back. Her cheeks glowed and her teeth shone. She was the picture of summer, and the beat-up cowboy boots she wore added just the right edgy note.

  Mara and Jacqui admired Elizas dress and both immediately decided they wanted one too. That was the usual effect Eliza’s clothes had on the female gender—you always wanted what she was wearing. Luckily, Eliza was one of those girls who happily shared her shopping secrets.

  “It’s so cute, no? Planet Blue in the ’bu. I was in Cali with my dad the other week. I have the number, so no panicking!” Eliza enthused as she kissed the two girls effusively on each cheek—a habit she’d picked up after a day working in the fashion studio. “Jacqui, no one does more to a pair of Bermuda shorts than you. Where did you get them? Old Navy? Are you serious? They look designer! Mar, your haircut is so good! And did you do something to your eyebrows? But before we catch up, can someone please get me a bottled water? I’m parched!”

  Mara laughed and fetched a frosty Glaceau Smartwater from the kitchen and handed it to her. When she’d first met Eliza, she had written her off as some kind of princessy brat, but Eliza had certainly proved her wrong. Although Eliza strove to live in a world where the Sub-Zero was always filled with champagne and caviar, she still knew what it was like to eat leftovers out of a ten-year-old Kenmore in Buffalo.

  “Check it out!” Eliza said, motioning to the black LR3 parked in the driveway as she twisted off the top of the bottle and took a long chug.

  Mara nodded, impressed. Eliza had told them that her family had regained their former affluence, and the car was proof of their ascension. “It’s tight,” she agreed.

  “Where’re the rug rats?” Eliza asked.

  “At their granny’s,” Jacqui explained. “Agradeça o Deus.” Thank the Lord.

  “So no one’s here? Good. We can smoke,” Eliza said, pulling out a pack from a Chloé Silverado handbag. “You like? I know. I was bad,” she admitted, referring to the bag’s five-figure price tag.

  The three of them made themselves comfortable on the front steps, catching up over cigarettes. It had occurred to all of them that this might be their last summer together—who knew where next year would bring them?—and the thought made them huddle closer together. Without it being said, all three of them were glad they had one more chance to have another sun-kissed season in the Hamptons to shop, play, and party their hearts out before college came calling.

  The girly chitchat was momentarily suspended when a clattering taxicab pulled up to the driveway. A tiny girl stepped out of the back. She was a petite thing, an extremely pretty Korean girl with short brown hair in a pixie cut and cats-eye tortoiseshell glasses. The driver helped her with her luggage—matching olive green Fendi logo suitcases—and she paid him with several crumpled dollar bills from her Gucci bag.

  She consulted a piece of paper in her hand before glancing up at the girls. “Excuse me. This is Creek Head Manor, right?”

  “Uh-huh.” Mara nodded.

  “Can I h
elp you?” Jacqui asked.

  The girl looked at the three of them intently, as if noticing them for the first time. “Oh my God!” she said. “You’re them!”

  “Them who?” Mara asked, turning to her friends with a confused expression.

  “You’re famous!” the girl shrieked. “You guys are the coolest girls in the Hamptons—I read all about you in Teen Vogue!

  Last summer, as a favor to Mitzi Goober, the three of them had been featured in a “Summer Girls” roundup in the magazine. Mara had been pictured on Garrett Reynolds’s arm, stepping out of a Bentley. Eliza had been photographed in her sequined Sass & Bide minidress holding a clipboard in front of a nightclub. There’d even been a double-page centerfold of Jacqui in the outfit she’d worn for the finale at the fashion show.

  “You’re Mara, right?” the girl said, thrusting a hand toward Mara. “I saw you on Sugar Perry’s reality show!”

  “Oh. Thanks, I guess,” Mara said, still a bit confused.

  The girl nodded eagerly. “And you must be Eliza—the trendy one,” she said, turning to Eliza.

  “So that makes you Jacqui—my favorite!” she squealed, throwing her arms around the stunned bombshell.

  Mara and Eliza nudged each other while Jacqui politely escaped the hug. “Favorite”? What were they, like characters in a television show?

  The new girl looked like she was about to faint. “How cool is it that I’m going to be working with you this summer!”

  “Working with us?” Eliza asked, her eyes narrowing, grinding her cigarette butt on the bottom of her shoe.

  “I’m Shannon Shin. The new au pair! And I’m ready for the best summer of my life!”

  misunderstandings go hand in hand with too many margaritas

  OVER BLUE HYPNOTIQ MARGARITAS ON THE PATIO AT THE Sunset Hotel, the girls discussed the latest development in the Perry establishment. Eliza had driven the three of them to Shelter Island for a quick happy hour drink before she had to pick up Jeremy from work. He had started a landscape company that summer and had soon rounded up all his former employers as clients. They were going to rendezvous at his apartment in a few hours, and she wanted to fortify before the big event. Even though she’d decided she was finally going to lose her virginity, she didn’t want to lose her nerve.

  “Did you know you were getting help?” Eliza asked, lighting a cigarette and propping her feet on the ledge. They were sitting on the bar’s wicker chairs that lined up against the low wall that faced toward the ocean.

  Jacqui shook her head. “I guess Anna forgot to mention it. Big surprise.”

  Mara nodded. “The new girl seems very … enthusiastic.” She was still struck by how Shannon had treated them—like they were celebrities.

  “I think it’s great,” Eliza agreed. “At least you have someone to order around.”

  The three of them felt a little older—had it really been almost three years ago that they had first met? Seeing Shannon’s fresh fifteen-year-old face reminded them of how young and naive they had been when they had accepted the au pair gig. Shannon had been happy enough to stay at the house by herself to wait for the children to get back while Jacqui snuck out for a quick drink with her friends. They found out Anna had hired the new girl the same way she had originally found the three of them—by posting an ad online. Shannon told them she had sent Anna a professional-looking portfolio, including a ten-page dossier of her skills, complete with moving testimonials from the children she had previously babysat. She had been hired immediately.

  Jacqui still felt a little guilty about leaving her there alone on her first day, but then again, Eliza was right. She was in charge, and it would be good to have an extra pair of hands for the summer.

  “So we need to have an awesome summer before we start college in the fall,” Eliza said. “We need to be at the polo every Saturday afternoon. No exceptions. I hear it’s going to blow up this year. Major, major people hosting the VIP tent.”

  “I’ve got a press pass,” Mara said. “I’m covering it.” She still couldn’t believe she had merited one—but Sam Davis had handed it to her that afternoon. It was a laminated ID card that read PRESS in red capital letters above her name. Just looking at it gave Mara a thrill.

  “Cool. I’m on the list. I’ll get you on too, Jac,” Eliza promised. Now that her family was back on their high perch, Eliza was confident in her ability to navigate the social stream. “Then there’s the Art for Life benefit and the AIDS Luau. Maybe one weekend we should drive out to the North Fork to the vineyards for some wine-tasting?”

  “Perfeito.” Jacqui nodded.

  “How about a party on the boat, Mar?” Eliza asked.

  “Sure. Maybe for the Fourth of July?” Mara said, thinking how pretty the sparklers would look off the deck. They could get a cooler full of beer and a few bottle rockets and Roman candles for the boys. Jeremy could probably hook them up if Ryan didn’t know where to get them in town.

  “I’ll do the barbecue,” Jacqui offered. “You guys have a grill on the boat, yes?”

  “I’ll ask Ryan, but I think I saw one,” Mara said.

  “How is Ryan?” Eliza asked, exhaling a smoke ring and keeping her voice light. She fiddled with the Claddagh ring Jeremy had given her for her birthday. It was an Irish wedding ring, and Eliza wore it with the heart facing inward to show that her heart was already spoken for.

  “The boy surfs twenty-four seven. It’s like there’s salt water in his brain,” Mara joked.

  “So I’ve already been asked to join this eating club at Princeton,” Eliza said.

  “Are you going to do it? I heard they’re so snobby,” Mara chided.

  “You have to—it’s the only way to eat,” Eliza replied. “Nobody eats in the cafeteria. Please!” Eliza didn’t think it was being snobby, merely being practical. The eating clubs had better chefs, organic food; one even offered a vegan/macrobiotic diet. She didn’t plan on gaining the freshman fifteen. She told them how she’d mapped out the next four years with the help of an insider’s guide to the easiest classes and professors who were the most generous with grades. Cruise through the requirements the first two years, take a junior year abroad in Paris, then graduate. Nothing too taxing, since she was certain to take over her dad’s company one day. It was what everyone expected her to do, especially her parents.

  “Wow, you have it all worked out,” Jacqui said admiringly. She felt a little sadness at that, since, for once in her life, she’d made plans as well, except hers hadn’t quite panned out.

  “I do like to plan, yes,” Eliza said modestly. “How ’bout you, Mar? Any word?”

  “Not yet.” Mara frowned. “It’s agonizing. They shouldn’t be able to do this to a person! It’s not fair.”

  “I know, that sucks, but Columbia could be awesome. It’s in the city.”

  Mara nodded. “But Ryan won’t be there,” she said in a tiny, tiny voice. She ground her cigarette out in the plastic ashtray and watched as a group of kids folded up their volleyball net on the beach.

  Eliza shrugged. “New Hampshire’s not far.”

  “I suppose.” Mara sighed.

  “How ’bout you, Jac, what happened with NYU?” Eliza asked.

  “Yeah, tell us. At least if I end up at Columbia, I’ll know you’ll be in the city,” Mara prodded.

  Jacqui put down her glass and cleared her throat. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she formed the words. “Yeah …”

  “Yeah?” Mara echoed, interrupting.

  “You got in?” Eliza squealed.

  “Congratulations!” the two of them cheered.

  Mara and Eliza gave Jacqui sloppy kisses and bear hugs. They knew how much she’d wanted NYU and how hard she’d worked for it.

  Jacqui kept smiling. The smile remained frozen on her face long after the subject had switched to what time they would meet up at Sydney Minx’s store-opening party the next evening. It was all a misunderstanding—but she hadn’t bothered to clear it up. Well, what w
as the harm? She just didn’t want to make it real just yet. Right then, she just wanted another drink with her friends.

  temptation wears a bright blue bikini

  A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS FLEW IN A TRIANGULAR FORMATION over the sky as Mara drove back to the harbor. Eliza dropped her off with a friendly wave. The three of them had spent the better part of the evening at Sunset Beach and, after waiting an hour for Eliza to sober up, had driven back to the mainland singing along to Gwen Stefani’s album with the windows rolled all the way down so that the ocean breeze could blow through their hair.

  “Be good!” Eliza called.

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Jacqui teased from the shotgun seat.

  “That leaves … everything!” Mara replied, laughing and waving back.

  She heard the sound of Ryan’s voice from the deck. He was probably talking to one of his surfing buddies who had stopped by for a visit. Their first houseguests! Mara wondered if there was anything in the fridge she could put together as a snack for them. She felt a Martha Stewart moment coming on. It would be fun to show off their new domesticity.

  Mara hurried across their pier and stepped onto the back deck. She put her bag down in the living area and walked over to the front of the stern, where she found him. Ryan was on his knees, dressed only in his cotton pinstripe boxers, waxing the finish. He was sweaty, and Mara thought he’d never looked sexier in his life. There was only one problem.

  This was no surfer dude.

  A chick in a turquoise bikini scrubbed down the boat next to theirs. She leaned over her railing and splashed Ryan with suds from her sponge, and Ryan retaliated by throwing his rag at her.

  Suddenly, Mara didn’t feel very hospitable. The fantasy of serving hors d’oeuvres and cocktails went straight out the porthole.