Girls of Summer(67)

Beth laughed. “I think we’d get arrested.”

Theo glanced down Main Street. A few brave souls were on the brick sidewalks, fighting with their umbrellas, trying to wrest them from the force of the wind.

“I truly wouldn’t care,” Theo said. Even with the protection of the awning, water dripped down his face from his hair.

“I might,” Beth told him. “Plus, this pavement is hard.”

“Is your father home?”

“I don’t know. But my car is there. And the backseat is empty.”

Theo frowned. “Um, wouldn’t that lose some of the…romance?”

“We could lose some of the romance and have plenty to spare,” Beth assured him, tugging on the front of his shirt.

Theo gasped. “I’ve always wanted to see the backseat of your car, Beth.”

He took her hand, and they both ran toward Pine Street.

Their wet clothes showed their skin in many places. Their shoes were soggy, and their hair was plastered against their heads. Several times Theo stopped, pulled Beth against him, and kissed her, holding her close, and finally they stopped kissing but simply stood there in the rain, their arms around each other, catching their breath, feeling each other’s heartbeat, joining together in the rain as if they were taking part in a universal sacrament.

“Only a few more blocks,” Beth said.

Holding hands, they walked fast, too winded to run. They turned the corner and went down Pine Street toward Beth’s house. Her old trusty Volvo waited at the curb of her house. Lights shone from the living room window.

   “Almost there,” Beth said, smiling up at Theo.

Theo stared down the street, frozen. “Beth, look.”

Coming toward them from the other direction were Beth’s father and Theo’s mother.





twenty-four


“Dad!” Beth cried.

“Mom?” Theo asked.

Mack and Lisa stopped dead in their tracks, like hunters suddenly faced with a grizzly bear. They were both thoroughly soaked, and Lisa’s lipstick had smeared, and Beth was pretty sure it wasn’t from the rain.

“Hi, kids,” Lisa called, waving as if they were more than four feet away. “Isn’t it fun to walk in the rain? I haven’t done this since I was a child.”

“Mom,” Theo said. “Dude.”

“Let’s all go inside and get dry and have some hot chocolate!” Lisa chirped, as if unable to stop pretending they were all in fourth grade.

“I think,” Beth began, her voice croaking, “I think I need a hot shower.”

   “Good idea!” Lisa was like a kindergarten teacher, determinedly cheerful. “Nothing like a hot shower and—”

Mack spoke up. “Why don’t you go in, Beth. I’ll drive Theo and Lisa home.”

“Oh, we can walk, it’s not that far,” Lisa protested.

“Beth,” Theo said, “I’ll get my car and we can—”

“No, it’s late,” Beth said. “I have to work tomorrow.” She ran toward her house.

“Come on, Mom,” Theo said.

Beth turned in time to see Theo and his mother splashing down the street.

Beth kicked off her sandals and went up to her bedroom. She stripped off her wet clothes, pulled on a terrycloth robe, went into her bathroom, and wrapped a towel around her hair. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. How had this happened? In one moment she’d gone from ecstatic to miserable.

Her father knocked on her door. He entered, dressed in dry clothes but barefoot.

“So that was awkward, right?” His tone was light, friendly. He’d pulled on sweatpants and a tee, and his hair stood up all over from a speedy towel drying.

“It was.” Beth bit off her words.

“Come downstairs. Let’s talk.”

Beth sniffed and nodded.

Mack led her into the large open room. Beth followed meekly.

Mack sat in an armchair. She sat at the other end of the coffee table, in another armchair. They looked at each other.

“Why don’t you start?” Mack suggested.

“Fine.” Beth tried not to sound angry, but her throat was tight. “So what, Dad, you’re in love with Lisa?”

Mack said gently, “I like her more than anyone I’ve met since your mother.”

“So you’re going to marry her?”

   “It’s far too early for me to be talking about that. And what about you and Theo?”

Beth folded her arms over her chest. “Well, obviously I can’t be with Theo if you’re with his mother. Plus, come on, Dad, you know she’s ten years older than you are.”

“That doesn’t make any difference.”

“Don’t you think people will gossip?”

“Honey, it’s a small town. Everyone gossips all the time.”

Beth twisted uncomfortably in her chair. With a quavering voice, she asked, “And what were you two doing? Were you coming to the house to…to…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Beth, I don’t think this is something you and I need to talk about.”

“Isn’t it?” This was more complicated than she could bear.