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on her shoulders. He drew her in for a hug. A brotherly hug.
Sexless, and not unpleasant.
He said,  We got off to a bad start.
 We had a great start, she corrected.  Bad middle.
 We can have a good ending, said Ray.
 Who says our friendship has to end? she asked.
They let each other go. Ray turned to walk to the driveway.
Peg s eyes followed him as he went down the deck steps to re-
lieve Gloria of a twelve-pack of soda. The two of them went
back into the house, holding hands.
As she watched that odd couple, Linus crossed into her line
of vision. He stood in the driveway, staring at her.
Peg s heart stampeded in her chest. She broke eye contact
and dashed inside. In the living room, Gloria was setting up a
makeshift bar (plywood sheet on two sawhorses).
 Nice house, said Gloria.  It is now anyway. The dusting
and polishing? That was me. I did it with a rag and a can of
Pledge. In Connecticut, we have servants for that kind of
thing.
Peg curtsied and said,  I am honored by your condescension.
 You may rise, said Gloria.  Unless you haven t figured it
out by now, we re throwing a party tonight. A coming-out
party.
 For whom? asked Peg.
 For the whole group.
 We re all gay?
Gloria said,  I don t think we are.
240 Valerie Frankel
 So this is a coming out, like a debut.
 Exactly. Minus the elbow gloves, said Gloria, who d prob-
ably had a debutante ball when she was sixteen.  Week Four
begins tonight. We re to apply our new understanding of our-
selves in social situations with strangers. Linus has invited the
people on the road and some of his friends.
 An Old Dirty Goat Road block party, said Peg.  I hope no
one brings an actual goat.
Gloria said,  Linus thought it would be a nice way to intro-
duce you to your new neighbors.
Linus sure was doing a lot of thinking about Peg. Wilma
walked into the room, carrying bags of ice.
 Look who s out of bed, she said, handing Peg the bags.
 Bathtub? she suggested.
Peg put the bags in the bathtub on the first floor. She joined
Tracy stocking the fridge with hamburgers and hot dogs. She
helped Luke set up the Weber charcoal grill. She wandered
into her pasture and picked wildflowers, which Ben expertly
arranged (he d once been member of the Hartford Flower Ar-
ranging Club). The grill was hot as the sun dropped, in perfect
timing for the arrival of Artemis Call, Albert DeWitt, Donna
Judd, Dr. Andy and his wife Katie, who brought a case of
Smoking Loon wine. They all greeted the Inward Bounders as
if they were old, dear friends.
Other folks arrived in good time. A middle-aged woman
and her much younger husband two houses down
brought sour cream brownies. Albert DeWitt, who d plastered
himself to Peg s side (his wife was covering the restaurant
tonight), whispered in her ear that the woman was once a po-
etry professor at Dartmouth and she d met her husband when
he was a master s candidate. This was five years ago. The poet
had since quit teaching to write a sex guide about Tantric in-
tercourse, featuring photos of her young husband in congress
with several other women.
Another man, mid-thirties, who came with ten-year-old
The Girlfriend Curse 241
twin boys, had been a chief advisor to Howard Dean, and
greeted Peg by saying,  Don t you dare put a penny into the
New Hampshire economy. Those fuckers buried us in the pri-
maries. But don t worry. The Deaniacs have plans for them.
First, we re going to Nashua! Then Portsmouth! Then Con-
cord! He ended his rant with a primal screech. Everyone gig-
gled and told him to shut up.
Another man, mid-fifties, shaggy like a sheep dog, was a
former Olympic downhill skier who d made his money in
fleece endorsements and had retired to a farm four houses
down to breed llama. A sixtyish woman (three houses up)
owned and operated a wooden-toy shop, and had supported
herself for thirty years by selling hand-whittled dolls and
miniature rocking horses at country fairs. Another neighbor
a fortyish, quiet man was, as Albert described,  the world-
wide acknowledged go-to guy for antique musket
restoration. A young woman, her husband and three pre-
school kids came with a basket of fried chicken. They ran an
organic chicken ranch (five houses up), and had killed the
birds in the basket only a couple of hours ago,  just for the oc-
casion, said the pretty redheaded wife with blonde lashes.
Even with Albert steering her through the maze of faces,
names and histories, Peg couldn t keep the information
straight. Her neighbors were, as a whole (except for the shy
musket guy), friendly, talkative, receptive and, seemingly,
glad to have her on their road.
Peg said to Albert,  When they say they re glad to meet me,
they seem to mean it.
 If they said it, they mean it, he said.
Peg said,  Linus is in his element. She d been watching
him glad-hand his way around the party. Wilma, meanwhile,
was keeping herself busy, away from the social swirl, by re-
plenishing drinks, removing empty cups, slapping patties on
the grill.
Albert said,  I m not going to talk to you about Linus. I
242 Valerie Frankel
would, but I m a loyal friend. You can t drag me into a con-
versation that reveals his state secrets.
 State secrets? Such as?
He shook his head.  You won t get anything out of me.
 What exactly does Linus do? she asked.  In his capacity as
mayor, I mean.
Albert said,  It s a nominal position, really. His salary is one
dollar a year. Manshire is under the official jurisdiction of the
township of Norwich. So Linus doesn t have many legislative
responsibilities. He just keeps the town wheels greased.
 That s New York speak for bribery.
 I wouldn t call what Linus does bribery. I ll bet you ve seen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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