Dead to Her(28)

Keisha sounded so forlorn, Marcie didn’t know quite what to say, but then Keisha whispered, “You want to get high?”

“What?”

“Weed. I found some. In Saint Eleanor’s room.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Come on. It’ll be fun. I already had a Valium this morning, so if it’s not going to kill me, it won’t kill you.”

“Oh, I really shouldn’t . . .” Booze and drugs. This was turning out to be quite the afternoon. A treasure trove of information.

“We’ve got a couple of hours before Billy gets back. Let’s be young. Play some music. Have a laugh. Please, Marcie?”

What was it with this woman? She didn’t need Marcie’s help. Keisha was hell-bent on wrecking her new life all by herself.

“Put some clothes on. I’ll see you inside.” Keisha grabbed the jug and glasses. “Let’s get mashed.”

She couldn’t be serious. “What will Zelda think? And what will she tell William?”

“I’m tired of caring what people think. And she won’t tell him anything, because she’s about to get the rest of the day off.”

Marcie stared after Keisha as she turned and headed for the terrace. Get high? No she was not going to get high. She was done with this weird day of game playing. She’d get dressed, go inside, call a cab, and go home. There was no way she was staying. No way.





18.

By six, Marcie was truly baked. Her ears buzzed and the R & B playing in the background, some English artist she’d never heard of, was now in time with the slow thump of her heart.

“This is really trippy weed,” Keisha murmured and then coughed out a small laugh.

She was right. Marcie was at once floating on air and at the same time her limbs were heavy against the soft cushions. Everything was amusing and she cared about nothing. Where had Eleanor gotten this shit? Had she used it as pain relief when she was dying? Probably. But still, kudos to the old girl. Whoever her dealer had been they were good. But then Eleanor always did have the best of everything. At least her leftover grass wasn’t going to waste.

They were out on the deck, sprawled on the double lounger, watching the sun sinking languidly toward the horizon, the doughnuts eaten, passing a joint between them. At some point Marcie had texted Jason to tell him where she was and that he’d have to pick her up, but she hadn’t looked to see if he’d answered. Screw him, with his lies and his moodiness and his making her feel like shit. All that belonged in a world outside this bubble. She deserved to have some fun.

How strange that she was having fun with this woman though. The snake in their grass. She lay on her side and watched Keisha as she exhaled smoke from her perfect cupid’s bow mouth. The knot in Marcie’s guts, ropes of jealousy, insecurity, and paranoia tangling together tight, had gone. It was the smoke, she knew that, but she felt completely relaxed, observing her own life from the outside, fascinated by this creature who was possibly flirting with, or even screwing, her husband while pretending to be her friend.

“What?” Keisha said. “Why are you staring at me?”

Marcie shrugged. “I’m trying to figure you out.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Nothing I think you’d tell me.” She let out a half-laugh. She wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t funny and yet it was. She was being played at her own game. In fact, she was being outplayed at her own game.

“Try me.” Keisha shrugged, childlike in her openness. Underneath the veneer of confidence she wore, Marcie was starting to see how young Keisha really was.

Marcie took a careful toke on the joint, without the hint of a cough this time. This was not how she’d seen this lunch date panning out. She’d planned to keep her cool and draw information from Keisha without giving away any of her own. Now she was about to blurt out exactly what she thought.

Keisha rolled onto her side, so that they lay facing each other. “Go on, what is it? I won’t be offended.”

That made Marcie want to laugh again. Her, offended? Wow, she was good. She sighed the laugh away. “There’s only one thing I want to know.”

“God, you’re stoned. Spit it out.”

“Okay.” Screw it. She was too high and too tired of worrying to care about games anymore. She looked Keisha in the eye and rose up on one elbow. “Why are you pretending to be my friend when you obviously want to sleep with my husband?”

She spat the words out hard like poison darts, and Keisha looked stung.

“You think I want to fuck Jason?”

“Oh, come on! You’re always wanting to be near him. Trying to get between us. Flirting and laughing. Asking questions. Jason this and Jason that. I’m not stupid.”

There was a long pause before Keisha burst into a fit of giggles, waving one perfectly manicured hand in front of her face. “Oh, that’s too funny,” she gasped between bouts of snorting laughter.

It was Marcie’s turn to feel stung. How dare she? How dare she laugh? Why did what this woman think of her hurt so much? “Yeah, I guess it must be.” She got unsteadily to her feet, trying to stay dignified. “How stupid of me to try to talk about it like adults.” She wanted to get away. Everything was a mess and she’d made it worse. Getting drunk and stoned like a teenager. Speaking her mind. Making herself look like an idiot. The world spun slightly as she stumbled toward the patio doors, hoping the freezing AC inside might straighten her up.