The Scarlet Letter Society (21 page)

Stanley walked in, and he was wearing a tie, and she laughed, not meaning to, but she couldn’t help it. He just looked so awkward in the thing. Zarina felt bad about laughing so she shuffled over and hugged him.

“You’re laughing because I’m wearing a tie,” he said.

“It looks fantastic. I’m sorry. I just don’t know if I’ve ever seen you in one.”

“You know,” he smiled at her, “I could say something about how that was probably the first time I’ve hugged you at this new higher height since I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in heels before.”

“You are correct, sir,” she said. “I bet you haven’t seen me in heels before.”

“And what is that stuff on your eyes?” he said, faking bewilderment.

“Ha ha, ok, very funny, let’s go act like we belong in this fancy schmancy place before we both turn back into pumpkins,” she said, and they entered the restaurant.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dean?” the bow-tied butler type walked over and asked.

“I’m Stanley Dean,” said Stan, “and this is… Zarina.”

She covered her mouth to hide a laugh at his formal tone of voice, because she did not want to look like a jackass and make a scene in what felt like a high society kind of place.

They sat down at a table between the beautiful picture window facing the street and the marble fireplace. She looked across at him in his slightly wrinkled soft
blue corduroy shirt and plaid flannel tie. Only Stanley would wear a plaid flannel tie. She smiled at him.

“See? We CAN have nice things,” he said, returning her smile.

“Now there’s nothing wrong with eating Chinese food out of boxes in front of
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
,” Zarina said.

“Not at all,” he said. “But once in awhile it is nice to dress up in real people clothes.”

“Yes, real people clothes are ok once in awhile,” she agreed. They talked in the natural way they always did. He was graduating in the spring, and she’d just started taking grad classes, and they were both ready for Christmas break already.

The pair enjoyed a delicious meal. Oyster stew and blue cheese wedge salads and pan seared scallops and they shared the chocolate banana bread pudding for dessert. Zarina was stuffed.

“It looks like your carriage has arrived, princess,” he said, gesturing towards the window.

She looked out to see a quaint horse drawn carriage. What was this? She looked inquiringly at Stan, thinking maybe he was joking.

“I got tickets to the orchestra at the arts center,” said Stan. “And it looks like our ride is here.”

She was amazed. “What did I do to deserve all this?” she asked. “Or what did you do wrong that you haven’t told me?”

“I just thought it was time for a night where you felt like royalty,” he said. “You work really hard and you deserve it.”

“Wow,” she said. “Well then I guess I’ll take it.”

They walked out into the chilled night and climbed into the back of the beautiful antique carriage. A warm wool blanket lay folded on the velvet bench, and they spread it across their laps and snuggled in for the ride. The white lights had been put on the trees throughout downtown immediately following Halloween. Zarina could not believe how early these holidays lights had gone up, but now she appreciated how gorgeous they made their town look at night.

They rode for a while in silence, listening to the clip-clop of the horse hooves on the street. She felt happy.
It’s a feeling you almost don’t recognize when it comes
, she realized.
If you weren’t paying attention, you might not even notice it was there
. A Ferris Bueller quote that communicated this floated in the back of her mind.
If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile
… you had to hurry up and enjoy it when it came, because you didn’t know when it would come again.

Stan turned to her and began speaking.

“I know that we both think marriage is old-fashioned and stupid,” he said, “but one of the things I love about us is that we’re old fashioned and stupid. You don’t have to say yes, you don’t even have to say anything. But I got this for you, and if ever one day you do feel like getting married, I hope it is me you choose to do something old-fashioned and stupid with.”

He opened the black velvet box, and she heard the words he was saying but she couldn’t believe what was happening. It was like she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. Marriage? Say anything? What?

She looked down at a small but stunning vintage diamond set in white gold filigree. He knew that everything she loved was vintage.

We’re both so young
, she thought.
How could we possibly know today that we want to spend the rest of our lives together
?

She looked into his sweet, puppy-dog eyes. He actually crammed himself down onto one knee inside the tiny carriage.

“Zarina,” he said. “You’re my favorite. Marry me.”

She looked at the ring. It sparkled from the white lights from the trees all around.

“You’re my favorite, too,” she said. “But let’s take a little time to think about a wedding, ok?”

He looked at her, devastated as he quietly closed the box. He had no words. And the horses’ hooves began to drum their way through the town, deafeningly loud against the silence inside the carriage.

“I cannot fucking believe you were in the same theatre with your ex and your beau at the same time during
fucking Cabaret
,” said Wes, curling himself into the orange 60s egg pop art chair at Maggie’s shop.

“How seriously Broadway was that?” Maggie walked out from behind the counter and sat in the matching egg chair.

“Well you would’ve made Liza proud if she had been there, for damn sure,” said Wes.

“I should’ve never had that third drink,” said Maggie. “Two at dinner and one at the theatre would have been plenty. Buzzed but not trashed, always my goal. The second rum and Coke at intermission was completely unnecessary.”

“You mean that confidence juice that made you march up to your ex-husband while he was on a date and cause a scene in the lobby of the theatre? The one that made the intermission more dramatic than the movie?” asked Wes,.

“It was not a
scene
, exactly,” said Maggie. “I was just introducing everyone.”

“Let me paraphrase,” said Wes. “I believe your words were something to the effect of ‘Oh, hey Dave, this is the guy I’m fucking, Ted.’ And then you motioned to Dave’s date and said ‘Ted, this is the girl who is fucking my husband.’ You actually
put your hand out
like she was going to shake yours.
Hilarious
.”

“Total fucking disaster,” said Maggie.

“You could hear the awkward silence from a mile around,” said Wes. “We couldn’t have shown the second half of the movie until the real live drama was done in the lobby, because that’s what everyone really wanted to see.”

“I don’t drink that much,” said Maggie, “but when I do, the very thin filter between my brain and my mouth is completely obliterated.”

“Truth serum for sure, honey,” said Wes. “But maybe it’s better that everything is out in the open now?”

“They were on a
first date
,” said Maggie. “The poor girl looked horrified. For all she knew he was still married to me, not divorced from me for a decade.”

“And what about Ted?” asked Wes. “How did he take it?”

“He laughed when it happened,” said Maggie, “I think because he was trying to do the ‘oh, silly Maggie had too many drinks’ cover-up thing. But I do believe he was shocked at my use of the word ‘husband’ in reference to my first,
not to mention my second
, my first husband. We fought about it a little bit…”

“Uh oh,,” said Wes. “Trouble in paradise?”

“He is being ridiculous with this whole ‘running away with the band’ thing,” said Maggie. “I mean, really, he’s going to be 50 and he’s going to get in a bus and drive across the country to play gigs for chrissakes?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s
so
annoying that he wants to risk his boring 9 to 5 job to pursue his dream of music because he has a shot at making it in the nation’s number one music industry city.
How rude
,” snarked Wes.

“Why does everyone leave me?” asked Maggie in a quiet voice.

“Oh sweetie, no one leaves you,” said Wes. “You leave them. You’re always the one in control, right? You left Dave because the two of you didn’t know how to be married again after losing a child. You left Matt because he bored you to fucking tears and you’d rather be alone than be in a building with that man for another minute. And if Ted goes to Nashville he won’t be
leaving here
as much as
going somewhere
but you’ll probably leave him to punish him for leaving you.”

“Fuck you,” said Maggie, sniffling, “for knowing me so well and for your honesty.”

“It’s such a lonely word,” said Wes.

“Yeah, everyone is so untrue, aren’t they, Billy Joel?” said Maggie. Wes could always make her smile. Incorporating Billy Joel lyrics into conversations was something they had been doing for the decade they’d been best friends- in fact it started at a party where they were both quoting a song and no one else recognized it; they’d smiled at each other and that was the beginning of this beautiful friendship.

“You know what I think your problem is?” asked Wes.

“Oh, Christ, please do tell,” said Maggie.

“You don’t ever want to admit that you need someone,” said Wes. “Little Miss Independent. God forbid you’re vulnerable and you cry and fall into a man’s arms,
because your bra-burning mother’s generation told you poor little Gloria Steinems to grow dicks so you never had to need one from a man.”

“Paging Dr. Freud,” said Maggie, laughing, “and fuck you again by the way. What the fuck are you, taking shrink school on the Internet?”

“No,” said Wes. “What the fuck I am is right. If you are still in love with the man you have now publicly referred to as your husband even though you haven’t worn his ring in a damn decade, then you better take a look in the mirror, sweetie. Stop trying to pretend you’re a lesbian, too, because that annoys the shit out of real lesbians. They don’t go around sleeping with your potential boyfriends, so you shouldn’t be playing ‘come on down’ like it’s the Price is Right with their potential girlfriends.”

“I am not trying to pretend I’m a lesbian,” said Maggie. “I was just having a bicurious interaction. I think they call it
experimenting
?”

“Oh, actually when you’re sleeping with everyone, I think they call it being a slut,” said Wes. “Experimenting is for rats.”

“I am not sleeping with everyone,” said Maggie.

“But I think there’s only one person you want to be sleeping with,” said Wade. “And it sure isn’t the one with the tits.”

Eva drove over the drawbridge to Matthew’s Island with tears in her eyes. Normally, she felt emotional due to the happiness and relief of crossing the bridge to a more peaceful side of the waters. It felt like the end of the earth, really, leaving behind a faster-paced world on the other side, behind her. But this time she cried as she crossed it because her mother wouldn’t be at the cottage to welcome her.

It wasn’t her first time back since the accident; of course she’d been back there with Joe and the boys for the funeral and burial, and to take care of things like mail and newspapers. Her mom’s cats and the houseplants had been looked after every few days by the cleaning lady, but she needed to spend the weekend at the
cottage to decide “what was going to happen next.” Would she sell the place? What would she do with all her mom’s things?