November 20, 2010
At two o’clock on dinner club day, Mary Ann came up Alice’s stairs carrying pressed tablecloths wrapped in dry-cleaning bags. “We’ve got two hours,” she said. “Let’s get busy. Hi, Lavinia.”
Lavinia didn’t look up, kept playing with her dollhouse.
“Say hello, Lavinia,” Alice said.
Lavinia kept her head down, murmured a word that might have been hello.
Mary Ann threw her coat and purse on a chair, draped the tablecloths over the back of the sofa. “Shall we rearrange the furniture? I think these chairs should be pushed back against the wall.”
“Why?”
“To create conversation corners.”
“Oh, right.”
“Have you really never entertained before?”
“Never.”
“Not once?”
“Does cooking dinner for a boyfriend count?”
Mary Ann glanced at Lavinia and whispered to Alice, “What boyfriend? You’ve cooked for him?”
Alice shook her head. “I was talking about someone in the past. But I do have something to tell you about the present.”
“Help me move this table on an angle while you’re talking. There. See how we’ve opened up the space?”
“Hold on, Mary Ann.” Alice held out a hand to Lavinia. “Come on, Lavinia. It’s time to watch your movie in my room.”
When Alice returned, Mary Ann was spreading a cloth out on the table. “This must be good if you had to remove Lavinia from the room before telling me. Spill.”
Alice told Mary Ann about Jake — about the lunch and the drop-in visit, and about his band’s gig at Chuck’s that night. When she was done, Mary Ann said, “I hardly know what to say, Alice. Friendships have ended for less.”
“Are you serious?”
“Semi. Why didn’t you tell me any of this before now?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I should have. I didn’t think I had much of anything to tell.”
“What I can’t really get over is that you — the person who hates conceited guys — are seeing Jake the Snake Stewart.”
“I’m not seeing him, not yet. And he’s different now. Less generic, more humble. More individual.”
“Probably still has a big dick though.”
“Mary Ann, please.”
“Okay, I’m feeling optimistic about me and Sam tonight, so I’ll forgive you.”
“Thank you.”
“And I love the idea of taking the dinner club dancing. I can’t wait to get Sam on the dance floor.”
“What?” Alice said, weakly.
“Continuing the dinner club party at Chuck’s is a super idea. Where do you want to set up the dessert table?”
After Mary Ann had left, Lavinia came into the living room and stopped short when she saw how it had been transformed — the tablecloths, the gleaming rows of glasses, the stacks of plates, the rearranged furniture.
“What do you think?” Alice said.
“Is tonight the night I’m sleeping over at Kayla’s?”
Alice bent down, put her arm around Lavinia. “Yes, sweetie. And Melina’s going to be looking after you and the other girls.”
Lavinia said, “I like Melina.”
“Me, too.”
“She has an earring in her eyebrow.”
They’d done this dialogue before. “Would you like an earring in your eyebrow?”
“Nooo!”
Alice hugged her. “How about in your belly-button?”
Lavinia giggled. “Nooo!”
“Your nose?”
Suddenly serious, Lavinia said, “Do you have earrings in your ears, Mommy?”
“Yes, I do.”
Lavinia lifted Alice’s hair above her ear, felt for Alice’s right earlobe, touched one of the hoops Alice had taken to wearing daily.
“Careful,” Alice said.
Lavinia let Alice’s hair drop, reached for her own ears. “When can I have my ears pierced?”
“When you’re fourteen. Let’s pack your bag for the sleepover now.”
In the car on the way out to Oakdale, Tom said to Kate, “You’re not coming tonight to keep an eye on me, I hope.”
“No. I’m coming for the entertainment value these evenings afford. I trust you. Everyone else may be giving in to temptation, but you will no doubt continue to remain unmoved by even the fetching Mary Ann Gray.”
“You don’t seem too pleased by my steadfastness.”
He had a point: it was churlish of Kate to be bugged by Tom’s rectitude. Or was it his complacency she minded? She let a mile go by before speaking. “Do you remember when we moved in together? In that awful apartment in Chelsea? Your hair was long, you were the maître d’ at that chi-chi uptown restaurant, you were doing your master’s degree. A responsible dreamer — that’s what my dad called you. A wonderful combination, I thought.”
“And what am I now?”
“Still responsible. Isn’t this the turnoff coming up?”
Melina sat at the kitchen counter listening to Mary Ann’s instructions. She’d seen Mary Ann dressed up before, but never looking so sexy. The fitted wrap top, the swingy black skirt, the shiny stockings, the strappy heels. What was going on, with her husband out of town?
“So,” Mary Ann said, “you’ve got the four girls to look after. Kayla and the Orenstein girls are upstairs, and Lavinia is being dropped off any minute.”
“Okay.”
“Griffin’s sleeping over at a friend’s, so you don’t need to worry about him.”
“Uh-huh.”
“As for Josh …” Josh had wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge door. “Josh, are you going out tonight or not?”
“Not sure.”
“Well, if you’re home, stay out of Melina’s way. And leave the girls alone. They have exclusive rights to the family room and the big TV.”
“Yes, Mrs.”
“If you do go out, don’t be too late.”
“Yes, Mrs.”
“And close the fridge door if you’re not having anything.”
“What’s in this big pot?”
“Soup for the dinner club. Hands off.”
Josh took out some milk, closed the fridge door. “Yes, Mrs.”
Mary Ann said to Melina, “He started calling me Mrs. as a joke when he was eleven. Now he only does it when he wants to annoy me. Don’t you, Josh?”
Josh looked up from pouring cereal into a bowl. “Honestly, Mom. How could you suggest such a thing?”
Mary Ann said, “The girls could bake some cookies if they need an activity. There’s a mix in the cupboard. Or they can have microwave popcorn when they watch the movie.”
“Okay.”
Josh sat down at the kitchen table and started to eat his cereal.
“You should aim for lights out for the girls at ten,” Mary Ann said. “To start the process then, anyway.”
“Sure.”
“And the guest room’s made up for you to sleep in. I’ll be late or I might stay at Alice’s.”
“I brought my overnight bag.”
“If there’s an emergency, you can call me on my cell phone. The number’s on the fridge.”
“Say yes, Mrs.,” Josh mumbled, his mouth full of cereal.
“Josh, I don’t want Melina to have to wonder about you coming home. Are you going out or not?”
“Probably not. I have a history assignment to do.”
“Okay. You don’t mind him being around, do you, Melina?”
“He’s no trouble.”
There was a knock on the back door, Alice walked in with Lavinia, and Melina saw that Alice had also dressed up — in a Boho-style top and skirt, chunky beaded necklaces, and boots. When everyone had said hello, and Lavinia had been helped out of her jacket, Mary Ann said, “Oh, shoot. I almost forgot something. I’ll take you up, Lavinia. I won’t be two seconds, Alice.”
Alice kissed Lavinia goodbye, leaned against the kitchen island, and watched Mary Ann lead Lavinia away.
Melina thought she saw concern on Alice’s face. “Lavinia will be fine.”
“Melina’s an excellent babysitter,” Josh said. “Mom always says so.”
“I know,” Alice said. “And I appreciate you doing this, Melina, looking after all the girls.”
“It’ll be easy. They’re good kids. And Mary Ann’s paying me big bucks to stay over.”
Alice said, “We’re lucky to have you. When I was your age, spending a Saturday night babysitting was the last thing I wanted to do. Brooding in my room and plotting my escape from Oakdale was more my speed.”
Melina smiled politely at this, but Alice said, “Oh my god. Did I just utter the words ‘when I was your age’? I did. Shit. This is why I have to get out more.”
Mary Ann came into the kitchen. She carried a tote. “Okay. Lavinia’s settled. I’ll grab my soup and we’ll be off.”
“Have a good time,” Melina said. “You two look so nice.”
“Thank you, Melina.” Mary Ann pulled the soup pot out of the fridge. “Josh, don’t forget to take Honey out for a pee before you go to bed.”
“Yes, Mrs.,” Josh said. “Now will you go, already?”
In the driveway, Alice opened the trunk of her car, waited while Mary Ann placed the pot inside, and said, “Hey. I just figured out that you named your dog after Melina.”
Mary Ann closed the trunk. “What do you mean? Josh named her Honey because of the colour of her coat.”
“Yeah, but in Greek, Melina means ‘sweet like honey.’”
“Josh doesn’t know Greek.”
“Okay, whatever.” They settled into the car, and Alice backed out of the driveway.
“Look what I almost forgot,” Mary Ann said. She waved a foot-long cellophane strip of candy-coloured condoms in the air. “You want some?”