Girls of Summer(37)

Rachel didn’t answer for a moment. “Do you think the two of you could?”

“To be honest, Rachel, until the last few days I didn’t think Mack and I could have any kind of relationship. And I still don’t know what the future holds. We’ve talked honestly about our past lives—Erich, Marla—but we haven’t talked about the future. It’s too early to do that. You don’t have to warn me, Rachel. I’m scared. I’m afraid of being hurt when he dumps me, which I have to assume he will, but don’t I deserve some pleasure until then? Because I think he really likes me.”

“Of course he likes you. You’re wonderful. And of course—”

A customer entered the shop. “Rachel, I have to go. Talk later.” Lisa quickly ended the call. “May I help you?”

“Just browsing,” the woman said. She was young and slim and wore four-inch Manolo Blahniks.

Thank heavens, Lisa thought. A summer person. She wouldn’t know about Lisa and Mack, and if she did, she wouldn’t care.





eleven


Theo had just flown all the way from California, and he was beat. He really wanted to go home, but getting to Nantucket was never easy or cheap, and at the moment, he was tired of traveling. His arm was healing nicely, the doctor had said, but he still wore his sling, and took Tylenol for the pain. He had some oxy left but he didn’t want to take it. He didn’t want to get addicted, plus it made him think of Atticus and then he got sad.

When he got his aching bones off the plane at Logan, he took a moment to contemplate making the bus ride to Hyannis and the slow ferry to Nantucket, but he was just too tired, and his head hurt. So he thought of calling Juliet to ask her if he could spend the night at her place. True, they didn’t keep in touch regularly, but still, he was her brother. He was her younger brother, so shouldn’t she be willing to take care of him? After all, Juliet had been the responsible good kid, getting all A’s, helping in the kitchen, never doing anything wrong, and somehow not being a nerd. When they were little, Juliet had adored him, playing with him as if he were a pet or a doll, but as they grew older, she had seemed to resent him, probably because their mother had put the burden of cooking the evening meals on her. They all knew Theo couldn’t be relied on for dinner—he was always at basketball practice or surfing.

   Now Juliet would probably hate having him around being injured and pathetic and pretty much penniless, but he was too tired to think of an alternate plan, and he knew Cambridge from going there with friends on high school holidays. He had her address so he caught a bus into South Station and then the T to Harvard Square. He walked to her apartment, hoping she’d be home. If not, he’d lie down right outside her door and fall asleep.

He climbed the stairs to her apartment. He knocked, politely, on the door. He heard footsteps padding toward him.

Juliet opened the door.

“Theo!”

Theo grinned his trademark little boy grin. For a few moments, he was golden.

She hugged him, pulled him into her apartment, and slammed the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I broke my arm.”

“Oh, Theo!”

“It’s not that bad.” Theo dropped his duffel bag on the floor and loped over to the sofa. “Only a pain in the ass. I mean the arm. I got slammed by a wave and my humerus was fractured so I have to wear this sling. Do you have any beer? Or vodka?”

“I’ve got wine.”

“Wine. Really.”

Juliet went into her galley kitchen and stuck her head in the refrigerator. “Found a couple!” She brought back two bottles of golden liquid.

   “Hey, let me have the beers. You go get yourself your precious wine.”

Juliet paused. “It’s seven o’clock here. What time is it in California?”

“It’s beer time,” Theo told her. “Who cares? I’ve been flying for hours and I haven’t had anything to eat or drink except a small pack of nuts and a Coke.”

She rolled her eyes, handed him the beers, got herself the wine, and sank on the chair across from him. “So tell me. What are you doing here?” She squinted at him. “Want pizza?”

“Oh, man, I’d love pizza. But no pineapple!”

“Broccoli? Red pepper? Any kind of vegetable? A salad on the side?”

“Do I look like I need vegetables?” Theo asked.

Juliet made a face at him. “You are still so vain.”

“Five cheese,” Theo told her.

She phoned in two large five-cheese pizzas.

“So how are you?” Theo asked, tossing back a beer.

“I’m good. I’m fine.”

“Boyfriend?”

Juliet sagged against the sofa. “Don’t ask.”

“So, basically, no boyfriend.”

“You say that with such relish.”

Theo held back a grin. He’d bet that all brothers could irritate their sisters and feel sympathy for them at the same time. “Sorry, Juliet, really. Want to tell me what happened?”

Juliet shook her head. “No. It’s over. He’s moved to New York.” She took a sip of wine. “What about you?”

“No one serious. Lots of surfer babes, but no one’s looking for anything long-term.” He drained his bottle of beer. “So how’s Mom?”