Eliza Starts a Rumor(63)
“I’m sorry to put you in the middle of all this,” Olivia said. Eliza was filled with guilt; she knew that she had put herself in the middle of all of this.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more when you came last time. I was honest when I said that someone made up the post. But I didn’t mention that that someone was me.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you do that?”
Olivia looked so betrayed when she asked the question. It made Eliza feel awful. She did her best to justify her behavior, though she doubted her company would understand.
“I heard about this younger and hipper group called Valley Girls. I was trying to keep up with them—be more relevant—give the people what they want. I’m so sorry. This all spun out of control.”
Alison chimed in, with the intention of taking Eliza out of the hot seat. She was unsure about the stability of the witness and wanted to keep her from being on the defensive.
“I went on the Valley Girls site once. Besides the fact that I didn’t find it helpful in any way, I couldn’t relate at all. The women seemed like a bunch of phonies. I know I’m not married, but I can’t believe these exercise-obsessed women with their perfect one-point-eight kids are having that much sex. I’m not buying it.”
“I thought the average was two-point-three children?” Olivia moaned. “I wanted to have three. Now I will probably just have the one.”
“That’s not true,” Mandy piped up. “You have your whole life ahead of you.”
Alison redirected the conversation. “I understand why you got competitive, Eliza. I don’t blame you. But what happened next?”
“I saw her husband visiting Ashley Smith and I dreamed up the affair in my head.”
Olivia looked like someone had punched her in the gut. Her heart sank to her stomach and the room began to shift.
“Did you say Ashley Smith? Ashley and Jim or John or something-with-a-J Smith?”
“Joe, yes. Why?”
They all held their breath.
Shock, betrayal, grief, and pain fired at her from all directions.
“Where’s the bathroom?” It was clear she was going to vomit. She made it just in time, locking the door behind her. The three women stood outside the door trading sympathetic looks. Little Zachary cooed and kicked his legs in the BabyBj?rn that Alison had thrown him in so as to have her hands free, or possibly her fists.
“How are you doing in there, honey?” Eliza asked, to no reply.
They heard some stirring inside and the sound of running water stopped. Alison took a shot: “Come on out, Olivia.”
She came out and slid down the wall to the floor while the three of them looked on. She explained in a tired, heartbroken voice, “Around eight months ago Spencer and I were out for dinner in the city. A couple that he knew passed by our table. Well, he knew her, but I can’t even remember if he said where from. He asked them to join us. She said no, but he insisted, and the husband eagerly gave in to the idea. She seemed nervous the whole time, really uncomfortable, while her husband seemed really friendly and nice. I remember feeling bad for her, trying to ask her questions to warm her up. It seemed to make things more awkward. And then, in the end, the baby was doing crazy flips. You know, the kind that makes one whole side of your stomach rise and fall like an alien. Spencer noticed me holding my belly, feeling her move around. He turned to Ashley and said, ‘Do you want to feel my baby?’ I remember thinking that it was such a weird way to put it, ‘my baby,’ and even weirder that he was pimping out my stomach for this woman to feel.”
At this point in the story, the three women were glued to Olivia’s every word. None of them could believe that she unknowingly broke bread with the other woman. They all hated Spencer now, really hated him. They were holding their breath praying that the woman didn’t touch her belly. When she reported that the woman said, “No, thank you,” they breathed a collective sigh of relief. Olivia noted it and actually felt relieved that this was all as horrible as she thought it was.
She continued. “But he insisted on it. He took her hand and placed it on my belly. I remember we even got into an argument about it later that night.” Olivia went on. “She had the strangest look on her face. At the time I thought, I bet this poor woman is having trouble conceiving or something like that. Her expression was so pained. I even told Spencer my theory. I was worried about her!”
The other women sunk to the floor as well and consoled Olivia. They grieved with her, bonding over their shared humanity as women, both vulnerable and strong.
She had yet to utter a word of any of this to her parents or her sister or to any of her old friends. When she did, she knew there would be no turning back. For now she felt seen and heard and known by these three women, even though she hadn’t known them for longer than the hot minute it took for her life to unravel before her eyes, before their eyes. At that moment they were quite miraculously enough.
CHAPTER 35
Amanda & Eliza
Amanda stayed on after the Saturday rehearsal to help Dean organize the costume closet. It was a completely overwhelming task as the place was a disorganized mess.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we come across my old Ado Annie costume in here. It looks like this place hasn’t been touched in fifty years.”