Getting Even Read online

  “Rich and bright and sensitive and good-looking,” Robin said. “A Harvard freshman. It isn’t fair.”

  “I guess it isn’t,” Annie said, feeling better than she had ten minutes previously. “What’s up with you?”

  “Nothing,” Robin grumbled. “Well, that’s not completely true. I made my plane reservations to New York, so I can see Tim during Columbus Day weekend, and he’s agreed to stay at his mother’s for the weekend, so we can stay at your grandmother’s. Have you spoken to her about it?”

  Annie tried to remember. “We talked last Sunday,” she said. “I think I brought it up.”

  “Could you make sure?” Robin asked. “Otherwise I won’t have anyplace to stay, and then my parents won’t let me go, and I won’t have any chance to see Tim forever. They’re only letting me go this time because I’ll be seeing you too. Somehow that makes it all acceptable to them. Parents. Have you spoken to Torey yet?”

  “No,” Annie said. “Was I supposed to?”

  “Annie!” Robin shrieked. “You were supposed to see if she could come down then. What’s happened to you? You used to be the most organized person I knew. Has love shriveled your brain?”

  “I’ve just been busy,” Annie said. “I was on Boston Morning …”

  “That was last week,” Robin said.

  “No it wasn’t,” Annie said. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t know about any of that stuff.”

  “What stuff?” Robin asked, so Annie told her. It was funny. That summer, she and Robin had told each other everything, practically the moment it happened. Of course that summer, they’d been living next door to each other, and working at the same office, and that made it a lot easier to talk. But in only ten days many things had happened to Annie, and Robin didn’t know about any of them. Annie had meant to write, but somehow there hadn’t been time.

  “You have been busy, I’ll grant you that,” Robin declared when Annie had finished with her week’s summary. “But I still wish you’d check things out with your grandmother and with Torey. It’s only three weeks to Columbus Day, and people need warning.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine with my grandmother,” Annie said. “She loves it when I visit and she’ll be happy to see you too.”

  “Grandmothers have to love your visits,” Robin said. “Do me a favor, and make those calls right now. I’ll call you tomorrow, to make sure everything is set up.

  “Okay,” Annie promised. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”

  “Fine,” Robin said. “Try not to change your life all over again tonight, okay? I don’t know how many of these updates I can take.”

  Annie laughed, and the girls hung up. She then dialed her grandmother’s number. To her relief, her grandmother answered on the second ring, and Annie explained the situation.

  “I’d love to have you girls over,” her grandmother assured her. “You and Robin, and Torey too, if she can make it. By the way, I hear from Tim’s mother that he’s positively pining away from love.”

  “Robin’ll be glad to hear that,” Annie said. “So it’s absolutely okay with you for all of us to visit?”

  “Absolutely okay,” Annie’s grandmother said. “I’ll put fresh sheets on all the beds, and rake the leaves, and roll out the red carpet.”

  “Don’t worry about the sheets or the leaves,” Annie replied. “The red carpet will do just fine.”

  It felt good to laugh with her grandmother. Annie realized as they said goodbye just how much she was looking forward to seeing her. Her grandmother was a very special person, and Annie felt better knowing that in three weeks they’d be together.

  She checked her watch and debated calling Torey. Knowing Torey, she was at one of her hundred and twelve different jobs. On the other hand, if she didn’t call now, she couldn’t call after she got back from her date. It was a gamble, but it was worth a try.

  Torey answered the phone herself, which made Annie feel better. “Annie!” she cried. “How great to hear your voice. How are you? What’s new? Have you heard from the others? Tell me everything.”

  “As a matter of fact, I’m calling because I just spoke to Robin,” Annie said, images of Torey flashing through her mind. She tried to reconcile the picture of Torey’s classic blond perfection with the photographs she’d seen of Torey’s ramshackle home, but she couldn’t get them to fit. Torey belonged in New York City. She’d never seen Torey look more at home than she had at the home of Image’s executive editor. They’d gone to a party there, and Mrs. Brundege’s home was spectacular, filled with antiques and views of Central Park. Torey had belonged there, dancing with Mrs. Brundege’s son Ned, not working as a cashier in a small-town supermarket.

  “Robin,” Torey said. “I know it’s only been a few weeks, but it seems like forever since I saw all of you. Actually, it seems like a dream that any of it ever happened. Does it feel that way to you too?”

  “Yeah,” Annie said. “But I’m starting to realize it did. I’m starting to incorporate it. Know what I mean?”

  “I know, but I’m not,” Torey said. “It’s like there was a part of me that spent that summer, but the rest of me doesn’t believe it. Oh, I don’t know. I dream about it all the time, though. Last night I dreamed that you and I were taking a carriage ride with the others through Central Park. It felt so good to see you.”

  “Want to see me in person?” Annie asked. “That’s why I’m calling. Robin and I are getting together Columbus Day weekend, and we were wondering if you could join us.”

  “Where?” Torey asked. “How?”

  “At my grandmother’s on Long Island,” Annie replied. “Say you’ll come too.”

  “I don’t know,” Torey said. “It’d cost so much money. There’s bus fare to the city, and then the train fare too.”

  “Don’t you have any money saved from the summer?” Annie asked. “Besides, if you came down, you’d be able to see Ned Brundege. You could spend Saturday night with him.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” Torey said.

  “I didn’t know you could be tempted,” Annie said. “I didn’t know you could afford temptation.”

  “I can’t,” Torey said. “That’s the problem. There’s the cost of the transportation, and all the money I could earn if I stayed here that weekend. I could work full time on Monday if I were here.”

  “There’s more to life than supermarkets,” Annie said. “And you know you want to come.”

  “Of course I want to,” Torey said sharply. “That’s not at issue.”

  “Okay, sorry,” Annie said. “It’s just Robin and I would like to see you so much. I’m being selfish.”

  “I want to see you too,” Torey replied, and her voice had softened. “Let me think about it. Maybe there’s a way I can work it out.”

  “I hope so,” Annie declared. “So have you heard from Ashley?”

  “She writes constantly,” Torey said. “She’s so unhappy, it worries me.”

  “We all knew she’d be unhappy,” Annie said. “I think Ashley enjoys being unhappy.”

  “Not like this, she doesn’t,” Torey said. “I wish there was something I could do for her.”

  “There isn’t,” Annie said. “Ashley’s going to have to make her own changes. Besides, she only has a year left at home, and then she can go away to school, and never see her family again if she doesn’t want to.”

  “If she makes it through this year,” Torey replied.

  “So is anything new with you?” Annie asked. “How’s your family? How’s the satellite dish?”

  “We’re all the same,” Torey said. “And the dish is losing its appeal, thank goodness. My brother likes the TV, so we keep it on for him a lot, but when he’s in bed, we turn it off and listen to the radio instead.”

  Annie laughed. “You can get any station in the universe, and you listen to the radio instead?”

  “My father prefers it,” Torey said.

  Annie kicked herself. Torey’s father was blind. Naturally he’d prefer
the radio. Annie had spent a whole summer sharing a room with Torey and hearing about her family’s various afflictions. How could she have forgotten so fast?

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” Torey said. “I’ll think about Columbus Day and let you know. I really would like to come, so maybe I’ll just put in extra hours the next couple of weeks, and make up the money I’d be earning that weekend, that way. I’ll see if I can do it.”

  “I sure hope you can,” Annie said. “And so does Robin. And if you hear from Ashley, tell her I’ve been thinking about her.”

  “I will,” Torey said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Right,” Annie said, and hung up. Three months ago, Torey and Ashley had been nothing more than concepts to her, the other two interns, the two she didn’t know. Then they’d spent two months together, practically breathing in unison, and she’d gotten to know them as intimately as she’d ever known anybody. She’d known all about them, and their families, and their problems, and she’d felt as though she’d actually known all of them, Ashley’s tyrannical grandfather, Torey’s brain-damaged brother, and the rest in their personal cast of characters, and now, just a few weeks later, they were all fading from memory, as her world filled up with Murray Levine Associates and Chris and a new set of teachers and classes and a whole new reality. That was the way life was, Annie supposed, but still she felt some regret that things couldn’t stay the same only with more of it. She wanted it all, she realized, and it didn’t seem fair somehow that she couldn’t have it.

  She laughed at herself, as she stretched out on the bed, and she continued to laugh at herself as she showered and washed her hair and prepared for her date. Wanting it all didn’t get you anywhere. Chris’s father wanted it all, she suspected, and that was why he lived in divorce court. Ashley wanted it all, and she ended up in motorcycle accidents. It was better to want just enough, and let anything else be a bonus.

  Chris showed up on time. “No car today,” he said. “My friend has a waiting list for it for Saturday nights. Do you mind walking?”

  “Not at all,” Annie said. The pizza parlor and movie theater were all within walking distance, and the night was beautiful. “Look at all those stars,” she said. “There must be thousands of them out tonight.”

  “Millions,” Chris replied. “Do you think there’s life on them?”

  “Sure,” Annie said. “Don’t you?”

  Chris nodded. “There has to be,” he declared. “We can’t be all there is in the universe. It wouldn’t make sense.” He took Annie’s hand and they walked, swinging their arms together. “I’m glad there isn’t intergalactic travel, though.”

  “You are?” Annie asked. “Why?”

  “Because then my father would have zillions more women to choose among,” Chris said. “There’d be no stopping him then.”

  Annie laughed. “The neverending journey,” she said.

  “We’d find each other, though,” Chris said. “No matter where we were in the universe, we’d still find each other.”

  “I’m glad we didn’t have to search forever, though,” Annie said. “It was a lot more convenient this way.”

  “Convenience certainly counts,” Chris replied. “Oh, my father has set his latest wedding date. Sunday, the eleventh of October.”

  “That’s Columbus Day weekend,” Annie said.

  “Right,” Chris said. “He’s doing it as a convenience for me, if you can believe it. It turns out this one, Mariel or whatever, has been married before, so she doesn’t mind skipping the real big ceremony. So she and Dad are going to get married at his condo and have a few of their more tolerant friends there. So Dad decided to schedule it at a time when I could get away from school, so I could be there. I’ll fly out there Friday after my morning class, and get back on Monday.”

  “You’re going to be there for your father’s wedding night?” Annie asked.

  Chris laughed. “Not exactly,” he said. “Dad and Mariel are going away on a week’s vacation Sunday night. I can’t bring myself to call it a honeymoon. He’s had so many. I’ll have Dad’s place to myself that night.”

  “How awful,” Annie said.

  Chris shrugged his shoulders. “There’ll be plenty to eat,” he said. “And Dad has all the latest electronic toys, so I’ll certainly be able to entertain myself. It’s just for one night.”

  “I’ll be at my grandmother’s that weekend,” Annie said. “Visiting with her and my cousin Robin. Maybe Torey too. She was another of the interns.”

  “I remember,” Chris said. “I’m glad you’ll be busy with your girlfriends.”

  “I have to remember to ask Murray if I can have that Saturday off,” Annie said. “Oh, well, if it’s a problem, I can just fly out Saturday evening after work. But it probably won’t be. Murray’s the kind of person who likes it if you visit your grandmother. He’s very big on family.”

  “That’s good,” Chris said. “What do you think they’re doing on that star over there?” He pointed one out.

  “I think they’re going out on dates,” Annie said. “After all, it’s Saturday night all over the universe.”

  “I don’t think it works that way,” Chris said. “But it must be Saturday night on at least some of the planets out there.”

  “Those are the planets I like the best,” Annie said. “The ones where it’s Saturday night.”

  “I like this planet the best,” Chris said. “Because you’re on it.”

  “Good reason,” Annie said, and wasn’t at all surprised when Chris bent down to kiss her. There was a lot to be said for good old planet Earth, she thought. She’d have to write it a thank-you note someday.

  Chapter 9

  “Murray Levine Associates,” Annie chirped into the phone. “May I help you?”

  “You certainly may,” Chris replied. “I want to wish one of those associates a happy birthday.”

  “I’ll see if anybody is celebrating a birthday around here,” Annie said. “Oh, guess what. I am.”

  “That’s a relief,” Chris declared. “I wasn’t looking forward to wishing Murray Levine himself a happy birthday.”

  “Murray’s birthday is in March,” Annie replied.

  “I’ll put it on my calendar,” Chris said. “In the meantime, happy birthday, Annie.”

  “Thank you,” Annie said. “You still planning on coming over for cake tonight?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Chris said. “Is there anything I can bring?”

  “I don’t think so,” Annie said. “My mother makes a big production out of birthdays, so she probably has everything under control. Just bring yourself.”

  “And your birthday present,” Chris said.

  “I didn’t want to hint,” Annie replied.

  “I got you another copy of Make Your Anger Work for You,” Chris said. “A girl can’t have too many of those.”

  “I’ll think of you every time I wear it,” Annie said. “However, birthday or no birthday, I shouldn’t stay on the phone too long.”

  “See you tonight,” Chris said, and they hung up.

  Annie stared happily at the phone. The past couple of weeks had been the best of her life. She loved having an adult job. Even at its most boring, it was more interesting than any after-school activity. Spending time with Chris was great. In ten days, she’d be at her grandmother’s visiting Robin, and maybe even Torey. Her parents were satisfied that Annie was able to handle all her responsibilities, and Annie was secretly relieved about that as well.

  And to top it all off, at long last she was seventeen. She couldn’t believe it had taken so long to finally reach it, but at last she had. Seventeen was such a perfect age. Sixteen seemed babyish now that she’d made the jump to seventeen.

  The phone rang, and Annie answered it in the words that came so easily to her now. She put the call right through to Murray and went back to her reverie. Seventeen and happy. Seventeen and full of dreams. Seventeen and a senior. In
one more year, she’d be eighteen and in college somewhere, leading a whole new, equally exciting life. What an astonishment life could be.

  “Anne, could you come in here?” Murray called.

  Annie walked to Murray’s office. “What’s up?” she asked.

  “I have a little problem I could use your help on,” Murray replied. “Sit down, Anne.”

  Annie took the chair opposite Murray’s desk.

  “I have this client,” Murray began. “You don’t have to know just which one it is. One of my biggies. A nice man too, most of the time.”

  Annie nodded.

  “Anyway, this man, he’s separated from his wife,” Murray said. “Lovely woman. Close friend of Maddy’s and mine. This man, my client, well divorce is never easy, but it’s an awkward situation. I’m sure you can see why.”

  “You feel caught in the middle,” Annie said. “You don’t want to have to choose.”

  “You’re a bright girl, Anne,” Murray said. “The minute you came into the office, I knew that. I said to myself, ‘this is one bright girl.’ And you’ve done nothing to prove me wrong.”

  Annie smiled. “So how do I fit in?” she asked.

  “My client has a lady friend,” Murray said. “He’s separated, it’s kosher, I suppose, but naturally his wife and my wife and I aren’t thrilled. She’s twenty, twenty-five years younger than my client. He’s infatuated. It happens to middle-aged men a lot.”

  It happened to Chris’s middle-aged father a lot, all by himself, Annie thought. Of course if it ever happened to her middle-aged father, she would simply kill him, and that would take care of that.

  “His girlfriend sings,” Murray continued. “I can’t tell you what a lovely woman his wife is, and he has to get involved with a singer. He swears she has great talent. She writes her own songs. He’s close to fifty, and he’s involved with a singer who writes her own songs.” Murray scowled.

  “That’s a shame,” Annie said, suppressing a giggle.