“We’re thinking about enrolling Zach in a day camp,” Dawn said. “He’s a good kid, usually happy playing computer games, but he’s still too young to stay home alone all day.” She didn’t want to point out the high expense associated with day camp. She feared she and Milo wouldn’t be able to pay for it and keep up with their other bills. All right, so Camille had bluntly stated that she couldn’t afford to take two unpaid weeks off, but that was probably the alcohol talking. She’d downed those Strawberry Daiquiris like they were Kool-Aid. Tomorrow she probably wouldn’t even remember what she’d said.
“Anybody have any exciting vacation plans?” Veronica asked.
“Milo and Zach and I are going to drive down to Virginia for a week. We’ll see Colonial Williamsburg and go to Busch Gardens, maybe spend some time in Virginia Beach,” Dawn said.
“Reuben and I haven’t really talked about it much,” Camille said. “Whatever we do, it’ll be someplace we can drive to. We did the Disney thing while the house was being built a year and a half ago. Plane tickets, rented condo, rented convertible. We won’t be doing anything like that again soon. It cost a fortune, although I can’t say it wasn’t worth it. Mitchell and Shayla are still talking about it.”
“I’ll bet,” Veronica said. “Our girls are asking us to bring them to Disney, but Norman wants to put them off until we can finish the kitchen remodeling, unless we can get a really good discount in the interim. He says that things probably get pretty sluggish around the parks after New Year’s and stay that way through Spring Break.”
“I think that’s very wise,” Camille said. She downed the rest of her drink and immediately poured some more.
“I’m so glad you girls came along with Reuben and Milo,” Dawn remarked. “I would have been bored stiff listening to them watch that fight.”
“Maybe we can form a reading group or something and have a discussion while the fellows are watching sports,” Veronica suggested.
“What a great idea!” Dawn exclaimed.
“Yes, it is,” Camille agreed. “I’m always reading during the commute. Did you want to keep it among us three, or would you be willing to invite a couple of other women?”
“Oh, not too many other people. I’d like it to be more of an informal group rather than an organized club, so we can meet when we feel like it, instead of every month like clockwork. Of course, most of the people I know from church live in Mount Pocono. The only folks I can think of from Arlington Acres are that couple who lives down the street from you and Reuben, Camille. What were their names?” She snapped her fingers. “Tanisha and Douglas, that’s it.”
Camille made a face. “Oh, them. I’d advise against it. They’re not very friendly.” She’d barely seen the Coles since their hasty exit the day of the barbecue she and Reuben gave, and when she did run into Tanisha she never seemed like she wanted to talk.
“I know who you’re talking about,” Dawn said. “I saw her buying meat at Wal-Mart and asked if she lived here in Arlington Acres because I thought I’d seen her there. She brushed me off like dandruff. Said she was sorry, but she had to get right home because her son was there by himself.” She paused. “You’d think I had TB or something. She might have said she was sorry, but she didn’t sound like it.”
“I know of another couple who might be a better fit,” Camille suggested. “The Kings. They’ve lived out here for four years. He works for the post office, and she works for one of the social service agencies. We met them at the pool.” She chuckled. “We passed their house the first time we came out here.” She still remembered that crisp autumn day a year and a half ago, when she and Reuben caught a glimpse of Lemuel King in his well-equipped garage, looking like the very definition of suburbia. Like Veronica and Norman, the Kings initially worked in the city but managed to get jobs locally. “They’re nice people.”
“Do they have children?” This from Dawn.
“Yes. A son in college and twins in high school, a girl and a boy.”
“Why don’t you talk to her and see if she’d like to join us?” Veronica suggested.
“Yes, do that, Camille,” Dawn said. The odd look that briefly crossed Camille’s face told her she’d sounded too eager.
But she had her own reasons for wanting to meet the Kings.
Dawn and Milo waved good-bye to their guests, whose sleepy children heavily leaned on them as they walked to their cars.
“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” Dawn asked as she closed the door behind them.
“Wasn’t bad. It would have been even better if we’d won those big pots.” He yawned. “Damn, I’m tired.”
She started to suck her teeth in annoyance, but caught herself before doing so. That was the last thing she expected Milo to say after such a fun evening. Sure, it was late, but he could sleep in tomorrow. She knew better than to hope he’d help her clean up, but would he actually be too tired for sex again? This was Saturday night, for crying out loud. Last night he’d fallen asleep on her, waking her in the middle of the night for a quickie, which seemed so impersonal to her.
“I guess I shouldn’t have drunk all those Strawberry Daiquiris,” he said apologetically. “They tasted like punch going down.”
He’d never been much of a drinker. Her irritation began to soften. “I think Camille had a few too many, too,” she said, chuckling. “She seemed to be slurring a bit. Thank goodness Reuben had Mitchell to help with Shayla, since he had to hold Camille up.”
“They’re all good people.” He put his arm around her as they walked toward their bedroom.
Dawn took a quick glance over her shoulder. No light showed from beneath Zach’s door. He’d already gone to bed.
“I agree,” she said. “I feel a kind of kinship with them. We’re all about the same age, we’ve all got kids, and we all moved out from the city within months of each other.”
“Humph. I wonder if they’re having as rough a time adjusting as we are.”
“I think they are.”
“Why you say that?”
“Well, Camille came out and said that she’d have to take two weeks off without pay after Mitchell and Shayla’s school lets out. That’s because Reuben’s niece is coming for the summer to babysit and her school gets out later than theirs. She said she can’t afford to do it, but she has no other choice. And Veronica said she and Norman want to finish remodeling their kitchen before they take a vacation.” Dawn reached up and covered his hand with hers. “So it’s not just us, Milo. Imagine, having all our expenses plus trying to redo our kitchen.”
He grunted. “Don’t knock it, Dawn. Norman and Veronica have an older house that’s not on a lake. They probably didn’t pay nearly as much for it as we did for ours. A lot of houses out here are under a hundred grand. Their mortgage payment is likely a heck of a lot cheaper than ours. Plus they don’t have the expense of commuting or child care, either, with Veronica working nights and being home during the day. Too bad neither of us has a niece or nephew old enough to take care of Zach.”
“It doesn’t matter. With the way our relatives have acted since we moved, I wouldn’t want to give them the satisfaction of letting them know we’re in a bind.” Milo went into the bathroom and stood in front of the commode.
Dawn followed him, leaning in the doorway. “But Veronica suggested that we females start a reading group, and Camille said she knew someone who might want to join us. Somebody from over there in Phase I. A woman with a daughter in high school.” She stared at him meaningfully, the corners of her mouth turned up in a slight smile.
“Ah, I get it. You plan on offering the daughter a job watching Zach.”
“If she doesn’t already have a summer job lined up, absolutely.”
“Well, good.” His hand wandered down from her shoulder to squeeze her breast. “Come on to bed. If you make me wait you’ll be disappointed.”
Now you’re talking, she thought happily.
The kitchen needed to be cleaned, but the hell with it. This wasn’t an apartment build
ing in Brooklyn, where a plate with crumbs on it left out would attract an army of cockroaches from adjoining, less clean apartments.
She pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him, her fears forgotten as his hands slipped beneath her blouse to caress her back.
Thank God for Saturday nights.
“It costs how much? Dawn, are you nuts?”
“It’s for our son’s welfare, Milo. How can you take the attitude that we’re throwing away money? He has to be safe while we’re at work!”
“Listen, I’m all for doing our best for Zach, but for crying out loud, we already bought him a house in the country and a dog, both of which he gets to enjoy a hell of a lot more than we do, and we have jobs. Now you want to send him to this expensive-ass day camp.” He shook his head.
“This was the cheapest one I could find. They’re all expensive.”
Whatever happened to that neighbor of the Currys you were going to talk to? Did the girl already have a job?”
She shook her head. “The Kings’ girl? I don’t know. I haven’t met her mother yet. I was hoping Camille would arrange something soon.”
“Dawn, you know most of the kids on this block. We were one of the first families to move in. What about that studious kid two doors down?”
“He’s a sweet kid, but I don’t know. He seems a little effeminate to me. I’d be afraid he’d try something with Zach.”
“Forget him,” Milo said vehemently. “I guess a girl would be more responsible for child care, anyway. Isn’t there anyone else who could be depended on to keep an eye on Zach? They don’t have to sit here with him all day, just pop in on him every couple of hours and make sure he’s okay.”
“He probably won’t be cooped up in the house anyway, Milo. He can ride his bike with the neighborhood kids, play with Stormy. Come to think of it, maybe he wouldn’t need to go to camp. The association sent out a flyer saying that they’ll have some activities for the kids during summer vacation at the clubhouse; movies and game days. And they’re hiring two lifeguards to work afternoons so kids can’t swim unattended.”
“I’m glad they’re offering something for that six hundred dollars we had to pay them in dues.”
The association dues remained a sore spot, just another expense they hadn’t known about until the invoice came in the mail last fall with a due date of January thirty-first. The letter enclosed with it stated that the money would be used to maintain the public areas of Arlington Acres including the playground, the tennis courts, the clubhouse, and the pool. Apparently, the salaries of the two lifeguards came out of this fund as well, plus the cost of any social events and snow clearing during the winter.
“Anyway,” Milo continued, “it’s an easy way for a kid to make some spending money.
Just call Camille and tell her to ask Mrs. King if she thinks her daugther would be interested in the job. You can’t wait for her to introduce you. School will be out in a few weeks. And I don’t want to pay for that day camp unless there’s no other option.”
Chapter 26
The Lees
July 2003
Veronica and Norman looked at each other quizzically when the doorbell rang the Saturday morning of Lucy’s party.
“It must be one of the neighbors, or maybe one of the neighborhood kids for Lorinda,” Norman said.
“Wasn’t Lucy planning on getting here early?”
“Not this early. It’s only a little past 11:00. The party doesn’t start until 2:00, so 1:00 is plenty of time for her to get out here and let me get some meat cooking so we’ll have some hot dogs and burgers ready when her guests arrive. Not that anybody’ll be here promptly at 2:00, anyway. You know how people are. Maybe 2:30, or even 3:00.”
She followed him to the front door. “Who is it?” he called out.
“It’s me, Lucy.”
He opened the door. “Hey, Happy Bir—” He broke off when he noticed the two other cars in front of the house and the people getting out of both the front seat and backseat. Veronica, her face hidden by Norman’s arm, frowned.
Lucy followed her brother’s gaze. “Oh. A couple of people were afraid they’d get lost, so they asked if they could follow me out.”
“But the party doesn’t start for another three hours, Lucy,” Veronica said. “We weren’t expecting guests so soon. I’m still cleaning the house.” She’d actually finished her housework an hour ago, but she and Norman hoped to get in a little R & R before Lucy and her guests arrived. Norman would be working the grill, no small task for forty people.
Damn it, she hated how people took advantage. She and Norman had agreed to open their home from 2:00 until 9:00, seven generous hours, but these folks expected to be let in at 11:00.
“It’s no big deal, Veronica. I’m sure the house is spotless.” Lucy turned to the people behind her and began making introductions.
Norman immediately went into host mode and greeted the guests warmly, while Veronica barely managed a tight-lipped smile. “The bathroom’s at the end of the hall, if anyone has to go,” he said.
One of the women immediately headed in that direction. Veronica followed, intent on closing the bedroom doors and instructing the girls to stay in their room, at least for now. She didn’t want a bunch of strangers snooping around.
As she walked, a man behind her said to Norman, “Y’all got anything to eat? We had to leave so early I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.”
Her mouth dropped open in amazement. He shows up three hours early and has the nerve to ask someone to feed him?
“I’m afraid we won’t have anything ready for a while yet,” Norman said easily. “The party doesn’t officially begin until 2:00, you know. That’s still hours away.”
“Oh. Right. Where’s Mickey D’s, then? I’ll go out and get something.”
“There’s no McDonald’s in this town. All we have here in Tobyhanna are pizza places. The fast food franchises are in Mount Pocono, about ten, fifteen minutes from here.”
“You mean I have to drive a half hour round-trip just to get a hamburger?”
Veronica, having closed the doors to the girls’ room and the guest room and now halfway up the steps toward the master suite, covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. She would have loved to go back down so she could hear Norman’s response, but she didn’t want to risk someone seeing her eavesdrop. She continued to the top of the stairs and slipped past the open closet bars and shelves that lined either side of the stairs—her clothes on one side and Norman’s on the other—and closed the double doors of her bedroom behind her. Only then did she let out the laughter she’d been holding in.
As her laugh faded she noticed her jewelry box sitting on the corner of her dresser. Other than her engagement and wedding rings, which stayed on her finger permanently, she owned no really good jewelry, the kind that required storage in a safe; but Lucy’s friends didn’t know that. They’d likely be curious about what lay at the top of the stairs. She’d better lock this room so she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone trying to sneak up to look around and possibly help themselves. After all, she didn’t know any of these people. She’d pull Norman aside and let him know. They kept the keys to each bedroom on the ledge of its door frame, but she doubted any of Lucy’s guests would discover that.
She locked the doors, then went down to see Lorinda and Simone. “Girls, your Aunt Lucy is here,” she said. “Go and tell her Happy Birthday. And when you leave your room be sure and close the door behind you.”
“Why, Mommy?” Simone asked. “We don’t usually close our door.”
She groped for a response. “Uh . . . It’ll be easier for Aunt Lucy’s friends to find the bathroom if it’s the only door left open.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Smiling, Veronica watched as her daughters affectionately greeted their aunt with birthday wishes and hugs.
“Damn, I wish I’d known there would be kids here,” Veronica heard a woman say. “I’d a brought mine.”
Veronica felt somewhat consoled to know that at least one of her sister-in-law’s friends had some consideration, even if she had no problem showing up so damn early.
“Still,” the first woman said, “I had to leave my kids with my mama and gave them all McDonald’s money for lunch, plus money to buy a pizza for dinner. I just know these folks are gonna have plenty of food. I mean, this is a nice house. I could have kept my money in my pocket and brought my kids out here to eat. Hell, what are they gonna do, send me all the way back to New York because I brought three kids along?”
“You’re bad, girl. But Lucy’s brother isn’t providing the food. Lucy is. It’s her party. They just said she could use their house.”
“Well, I’m sure if Lucy didn’t bring enough her brother will back her up. It looks like he can afford to.”
All Veronica could do was shake her head. And wish 9:00 would hurry and get here.
Lucy’s friends brought in the food and beverages from their cars. Lucy asked Norman if he would fire up the grill so they could make some lunch with the meat she brought, and he said, “Lucy, it’s a gas grill, and I’ve got to have my gas tank refilled because it’s empty. I wasn’t expecting to start cooking for another two hours or so. I would have told you that if you’d mentioned your plans to come so early.”
Ten minutes later Lucy and her friends took off in search of something to eat. Norman turned to Veronica. “Can you believe this shit?”
“No, I can’t,” she said calmly. “Now you see why I didn’t want to host this party in the first place. What nerve, expecting us to feed them before noon. They all knew what time the party’s supposed to start.”
“I’m very disappointed in my sister, asking me to get to cooking right away like I’m the damn butler or something.”
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