“That is such a lie. He would never.”
“I know, but I sort of had a knee-jerk reaction and left. When I got back here and saw Gigi’s car, well, I just didn’t feel like talking so I went for a walk.”
“And I was upstairs oblivious to everything but my own problems. Sorry.”
“No. I called you, and you dropped everything to come down, didn’t you?”
“I guess. So go on.”
“When I got back, Joe’s truck was here, and Joe was in it. We went for another walk and I told him everything about what happened and getting pregnant and seeing him and Dana in his truck.”
Suze stopped with her spoon halfway to her mouth. Ice cream dripped down the front of her shirt. Van moved her hand, so that it dripped back into the cup.
“I know, I know, but you shouldn’t hit me with this stuff when I’m eating. But don’t you dare stop now.”
“It wasn’t Dana.”
Suze looked up, pushed her spoon into the ice cream, and gave Van her full attention.
“It was Gigi.”
“Whaaa?”
“It was Gigi. He has no reason to lie about something like that. I guess she had come to assuage his—”
Suze snorted.
“You’ve got a dirty mind. His wounded feelings. When I saw them, it was getting dark; I just saw naked skin and jumped to the wrong conclusion. But I guess she didn’t manage to assuage his feelings or anything else.”
“You mean they ended up not doing anything?”
Van shook her head. “Evidently. Unfortunately, in my hurry to get away, I missed that part.”
“Oh Lord. So all that followed was for nothing.”
“Well, I did get a new life out of it.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean that.”
“I know what you meant. No, the question is . . .”
“What do we do about Gigi? Are you just going to pretend you don’t know or call her on it?”
Van shrugged. “I don’t see that it matters anymore. But with Dana it might. Because now I’m wondering if Dana really did take your grant application.”
“You think Gigi set her up?”
“It’s hard to believe, but Dana seemed genuinely surprised.”
“Or surprised that she was caught.”
“Or wanted to be caught. Who steals something then puts it somewhere it could be easily found?”
“Maybe she thought no one would look. It was in her underwear drawer.”
“There is that. I don’t know. Suddenly things are not making sense. Gigi tried to seduce my boyfriend twelve years ago, but she didn’t succeed.” Van leaned into Suze. “He couldn’t get it up.”
Suze’s eyes widened. “You lie.”
“No, but don’t spread it around.”
“I’m guessing he doesn’t have that problem now?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, but how humiliating for him.”
“And for Gigi,” Suze added. “She steals her best friend’s boyfriend and he doesn’t even want her. That’s the stuff of black comedy. Do you think Gigi is still acting in reaction to that?”
“I don’t know. I think I should talk to Uncle Nate. There’s something not quite— I don’t know.”
“Not quite stable about Gigi,” Suze finished.
“And I’d like to talk to Dana first.”
“Even though she tried to make you think Joe was boffing her?”
“I think she did that because she was hurt. Like we were all getting to be friends again, then wham. We were all ganging up against her.”
“But that initial getting close might have been enough motive for Gigi to steal my grant papers out of the mailbox and implicate Dana. I’d have to go back to Princeton, Dana would become persona non gratis, and Gigi would have you all to herself.” Suze sighed.
“Except that I’ll be going back to Manhattan, too.” Though Gigi had begged Van to take her with her. God, she had been so dense.
“I guess we weren’t very sympathetic. Her life is falling apart and we were trying to have fun.”
“I think her life fell apart way before Clay died; that’s another reason I want to talk to Nate. See if lending her my house will help or make it worse. I know having her and the kids living with them is taking its toll on Amelia and Nate, both. But I’m not sure Gigi can take care of her family without help.”
“You’d still let her live in your house after all she’s done? Well, we only know that she tried to seduce Joe, bless him. But we’ll have to ask her about the other. She can’t get away with those kind of things.
“Excuse me if I don’t feel any sympathy for her. She may have just killed my chances of getting that grant.”
“What do you have to do for it?”
“Write several analyses of texts. Fortunately I’ve done something similar already for other situations, so I lucked out. But I’ll still have to spend the weekend working.”
“Except for your mother’s party.”
“Except for that. And Monday I’ll send it off and hope for the best. So what do you want to do?”
“Talk to Dana.”
“Is she still at Joe’s?”
“He dropped her at the Crab.”
“And Dorie’s going to take her back?”
“Dorie gave express instructions to get her there. She has faith in all of us.”
“Well, let’s go.”
“Us?”
“You don’t think you’re going to confront her without me ?”
“The early birds are probably out already; it will be too late to talk to her,” Van said.
“Better to take five and clear the air than to let it fester.”
“Is that a quote?”
“Not that I know of.”
Van looked back toward the house. “But what are we going to do with Gigi?”
“We could take her with us and make her confess.”
Van shook her head. “If I’m wrong, it might push her over the brink.”
“Then let’s go straight to the restaurant.”
As they passed Dorie’s street they looked down the block. Gigi’s car was gone.
“I guess she gave up waiting for us,” Suze said.
“I guess I was pretty rude.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I just feel—”
“Stop right there. If you’re about to say you feel sorry for her—”
“I was,” Van said. “Old habits.”
“You were always taking care of her, we all were, we all cared that she didn’t feel bad, made sure she didn’t get in trouble, and she let us. But guess what? She could take care of herself. Witness how quickly she went after your boyfriend. She used us all the time. And I bet she’s using us now. So stop feeling sorry for her.”
“Okay, Professor, I get what she did with Joe. But why steal your grant application? You never did anything to her?”
“Neither did you. But we’re friends now, and Gigi is extremely jealous. I noticed it right away; that’s why I’ve been trying to keep a low profile.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I did.”
“Ah. Most favored nation.”
Suze nodded.
“Sometimes I’m a little dense. Come on. Maybe we can catch Dana on her break.”
VAN AND SUZE stood in the back hallway while waiters and busers rushed by, waiting for Dorie to bring Dana back.
Dana put her hands on her hips and scowled. “Dorie’s taking my tables, and probably my tips. You’ve got five minutes.”
“Let’s go outside where it’s quiet.”
Dana didn’t move. “Are you back to ream me some more for something I didn’t do? ’Cause I’ve just about had it with you people.”
Suze pushed her. “You’re about to get vindicated . . . maybe.”
“What the hell is that? I didn’t do anything.”
“We came to apologize. Now get outside.” Suze gave her anoth
er push. This time she went.
Van led the way onto the boardwalk and down the steps to Whisper Beach. It seemed like the appropriate place to clear the air.
Dana stopped as soon as they were on the sand. “Can you get to it? Some of us have to work for a living.”
And then Van got it. She and Dana were more alike than she’d like to think. Not the flirting and the sharp tongue and the overly sexy clothes. But the fear. Dana wouldn’t make the first move. Ever. It was amazing that she’d gotten herself to Dorie’s that night when she’d shown up bloody and beaten. And Van bet she wouldn’t have gone if she’d known that Van and Suze were there.
It was all protection, that hard-edged attitude. Joe had nailed it that afternoon. Van had her own protective shell. She had needed it first starting out. It kept her alive and made her successful. But she had survived and thrived, and she didn’t need it anymore. Until she came back to Whisper Beach; and she didn’t even need it here.
“I’m an idiot.”
“I coulda told you that without you dragging me all the way out here.”
“Oh, just be quiet,” Suze said.
“Okay, I’ll make this fast,” Van said. “I blamed you for breaking Joe and me up. I was wrong; I broke us up. I saw you flirting with him, and I got pissed, but when I got over it, I came back and found him, well, let’s just say I thought it was you in the cab of his truck.”
“What?” For the first time Dana dropped her façade. “He had somebody in his truck? Why that lowdown— And you thought it was me? Ha. Who was it? Damn him, I’d been after him before you even started working at the Crab. And he never—Ugh. Who was it? Did he tell you who it was?”
“Just that it wasn’t you. So I’m apologizing.”
“Hell, is that what you’ve been talking about? You think I boinked your boyfriend? I would have. But he wasn’t interested in me. Never was.”
“I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion, though you weren’t even aware of it. I’m still mad because you were flirting with him.”
Dana grinned. “A girl can try. And what about today?”
“That is still open to debate,” Suze said.
Dana started to go up the steps. Suze grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her back to the sand. “I said debate.”
“You really didn’t take Suze’s letter?”
“No. First of all, when was I up in time to get the mail?”
Van thought back, and she couldn’t think of a time when they hadn’t all been together.
“And second, what would be the point? Why do I give a shit if Suze gets whatever it is she’s trying to get. No skin off my nose.” Dana looked from Van to Suze. “How do I know that one of you didn’t do it?”
“That’s absurd.” Suze said. “I wouldn’t steal my own mail.”
“And I didn’t steal it either,” Van said.
Then a look of understanding crossed Dana’s face. “No, Gigi was getting it on with Joe in his truck? I don’t believe it.”
“How did you jump from grant applications to Joe’s truck?” Van asked, trying to slow down the pace of the conversation. She wasn’t sure how much she should tell, or if she should even speculate around Dana. Could she be trusted?
To do what? Tell Gigi what they were thinking?
“That’s it, isn’t it? And Gigi took the letter and put it in my drawer.”
“Another big leap,” Suze said.
“No, it isn’t. What the hell was she doing in my room going through my dresser?”
“Putting laundry away,” Van said.
“And when did Gigi ever help out with anything? She never did shit. Gigi, can you help bring that crate of lettuce over? She’d bat her eyes and whine ‘it’s too heavy for me’ and would get one of the guys to do it. Someone called the cops because we were too loud, and everybody would rush around so Gigi wouldn’t get caught because she was the one doing the screaming.
“Good ole Gigi, never had a bad word to say about anyone. And news flash. It wasn’t because she was so nice. It’s because she was a spineless wonder. So yeah. I bet she took Suze’s letter. I don’t know why, maybe to punish Suze for being friends with you and being a professor while she married a deadbeat and now has to live with her parents.”
“Pretty astute observation,” Suze said.
“I’m no genius, Professor. But I know bitches.”
“Gigi?”
“Yeah, precious little Gigi. That sweet-girl routine didn’t fly in high school, and it certainly doesn’t fly at thirty.” She stopped. “Shit.”
“What?”
“Oh shit.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just something Joe said.” She smoothed her spiky hair back with both hands. “Just shit.”
The three of them stood looking at one another for a second, then Dana visibly shook herself. “Remember when Gigi came the first day I was there? The look on her face, and the ‘Why is she here?’ Gigi took one look at me and decided to get me out of the house in case we started talking and you finally came to your senses about me and Joe. Well, she got me out of the house. And got you all to herself. The prize goes to Gigi.”
Van and Suze both stared at her.
Then finally Suze said, “Amazing.”
Dana shrugged. “Just a theory, Prof. I have to get back to work.” She climbed the stairs.
Van ran after her. “So come back to Dorie’s tonight.”
“What? Afraid I’ll try to shack up with Joe?”
“No. ’Cause we’d like to have you there.”
Dana narrowed her eyes. “I’ll think about.” And she walked away.
AS SOON AS Van and Suze returned to the house, Van called her uncle Nate. She told him she had some concerns and also needed advice about the house she owned. He agreed to meet her when Amelia and Gigi and the kids were at church the next morning.
Then she called Gigi at home and told her that she’d made plans to visit the Enthorpes the following day, but they would be working at renovating the Crab on Monday if she was free.
Gigi sounded disappointed but said she’d try to get over on Monday.
“Okay, done,” Van said when she’d hung up. “Though I’m not sure what I should say to Uncle Nate. I’ll ask him whether he thinks I should let Gigi and the kids live in the house, but what do I say about Gigi? He’s bound to ask me about how she’s doing.”
Suze looked up from where she was stretched out on the couch. “Are you sure Dana isn’t playing us?” she asked. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“I know, but I don’t think so. I’ve become pretty good at reading people. I guess you do in my business. You learn why some cling to possessions that they don’t need and that don’t have any real or even sentimental value. Why they wait until they’re overwhelmed to get help. What drives them to succeed. How they cope with failure, or fear, or anger. You’d be amazed at what you learn about folks just from cleaning up their messes and organizing their lives.”
She looked over the plate of cheese and meat and olives. Chose an olive. “But I’ve been slow on the uptake here. I thought Gigi was just grieving. But now I think it’s more.”
“Yeah. Dana read that situation pretty accurately. I always thought Gigi was a wuss, but she was so sweet you sort of forgave her for it. And we did try to protect her.”
“We did. She was my cousin and best friend growing up. Or at least I thought she was. But the truth of that somehow changes in light of what Joe told me and the theft of your grant application. I mean, what happened with Joe is really inconsequential . . .”
“I’ll say.” Suze laughed, then started coughing and pounding her chest. “Swallowed the wrong way.” She gasped for air.
“Well, besides the lack of success, it isn’t funny.”
Suze shook her head energetically. “No.” She burst out laughing again.
Van tried not to follow suit and gave it up. She was the first to stop. “But it’s sad and pitiful. I don’t think she went to J
oe because she felt it was her duty to help him feel better.”
“God, no. I think Dana was right on that, too. She was jealous of you. We just didn’t see it.”
“I know,” Van said. She was serious again. “And what does that say about us? About me?”
“That we were young and clueless just like all the other young and clueless.”
“But,” Van said, “we’re not young and clueless now.”
“No. And she came close to screwing me big time.”
“I know. But she did ‘expose’ the theft in time for you to still get your application in.”
“I don’t think it was because she saw the error of her ways, Van. I think it was because she saw you and Dana getting chummy and she panicked.” Suze shrugged. “Or she got cold feet and couldn’t take the pressure and guilt any longer.”
Suze sat up. “Look, I know you’re having a hard time believing that Gigi would do something like this. But it makes sense. She even announced the mail at least twice. I thought she was trying to be helpful. I don’t even remember Dana being downstairs when the mail came, and most of the time I was practically sitting at the door waiting for the mail carrier.”
“I know. It does make sense. It was just so much easier to blame Dana.”
“I think maybe there’s been too much of that already,” Suze said.
“Blaming Dana?”
“Blaming in general.”
Van frowned. “I suppose, but don’t quote anything about it.”
“I wasn’t going to. I think it’s time to act instead.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. And I know where I have to start.”
Chapter 24
VAN MET NATE MORAN AT TEN THE NEXT MORNING AT THE pavilion of a nearby lake. He was sitting inside, drinking coffee from a cardboard cup. He stood when he saw Van walking across the park toward him.
When she stepped onto the platform, he handed her another cup. “I wasn’t sure how you like it so I brought everything on the side.”
“Black is fine, thanks.” She sat down. He sat down. He seemed nervous.
“You said you needed some advice.”
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