Mixed Bags (7 page)

But when they got outside, she realized that Conner was already sitting in the driver’s seat of Harry’s Jeep. And next to him, wearing the cattiest smile, was Taylor. In the backseat was Kriti.

Conner waved and smiled. “You want to ride with us, DJ?”

DJ looked uncertainly at Eliza.

“Or you can ride with us,” said Eliza with a concerned frown, as if she knew.

“Come on,” said Harry, tugging DJ toward the car. “I’d love to ride around Crescent Cove in a Porsche with a couple of beautiful babes.”

DJ waved at Conner. “That’s okay. You guys already have three in the car. I’ll even things out and go with Harry and Eliza.”

Taylor nodded with an expression that seemed to shout, “I win! I win!”

DJ stood straighter now, forcing a smile as she climbed into the back of Eliza’s Porsche, next to the picnic basket. Then she opened the Hermès bag and retrieved the sunglasses case that Eliza had just given her. She slipped on the shades, hoping their oversized lenses might help to conceal her emotions, because at the moment, she felt like she could either burst into tears or go into a hysterical rage.

Eliza HaD OnLY Gone
a few blocks when DJ noticed that the ride seemed a little bumpy. She stuck her head out the window and looked down to see that the Porsche’s left rear tire looked odd.

“Hey, Houston, I think we’ve got a problem.”

“What?”

“I think you might have a flat tire.”

Eliza pulled over and sure enough, the tire was flat. Fortunately, Harry said, “No problem,” rolled up his sleeves, and located the jack and spare tire.

“I could call Triple A,” said Eliza.

“This’ll be quicker,” he said, putting the jack into place.

“Plus, it’ll be educational,” said DJ with interest. “I’ve never changed a tire before.”

“Wanna help?” asked Harry.

“No,” said Eliza quickly. “She doesn’t.” Then as Harry worked on the car, she quietly reminded DJ that they’d just gotten her cleaned up. “I don’t want you to ruin my hard work.”

“Right.” But DJ was thinking it didn’t really matter now. Taylor, once again, had gotten the advantage. Still, the day wasn’t over yet. “Hey, should we call Taylor and let them know we—”

“Good idea,” said Eliza. “Do you have her number?”

It turned out that neither of them had her or Kriti’s cell phone numbers. “Note to self,” said Eliza. “Get everyone’s cell numbers ASAP.”

Then Harry told them Conner’s number. DJ hadn’t even been aware that he had a cell phone, but then why wouldn’t he? First she entered his number into her directory and then called him.

“Hey,” he said, his low voice catching her off guard.

“This is DJ,” she began quickly, suddenly nervous to be talking to him on the phone. “We got a flat tire.”

“Bummer. Want us to come back and help?”

“No, Harry’s got it under control. We just wanted to let you know that we’d be running a little behind.”

“That’s okay. We’re not going anywhere at the moment anyway.”

“Why?”

“We stopped at the store.”

“The store?”

“Yeah, just the Shop ’n’ Go. Taylor needed to pick up something. Kriti and I are out in the parking lot waiting for her.”

“Oh, well, guess we’ll see ya at the beach then.”

“Right.” There was a pause and DJ wasn’t even sure if he was still on or not. “You know, DJ, I thought you were going to ride with me and Kriti in the Jeep, and then Taylor hopped in the front, and I didn’t know what to—”

“It’s okay,” said DJ in a falsely cheerful voice. “Eliza and I weren’t moving too fast.”

“Well, here comes Taylor now. See ya down there.”

DJ felt a tiny bit better when she hung up, knowing that Conner felt a little bit bad for how it had gone back at the house. That was something. After about fifteen more minutes, Harry had the tires switched and they were back on the road again.

“Don’t forget to get that flat tire fixed,” he warned Eliza.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “But how do I do that?”

He chuckled and then explained to her the concept of tire stores.

“I know I probably sound dumb,” she admitted. “But I’m used to having other people take care of that kind of thing.”

“I’m happy to help you,” he offered.

She turned and smiled brightly at him. “Thanks, Harry. That’s good to know.”

Soon they were driving down a private road that seemed to lead to the beach. But the road was sandy and rutted and DJ was worried that Eliza’s car might get stuck.

“I hope it doesn’t get much worse than this,” said Eliza as they bumped along. “My car’s not exactly an off-road vehicle, you know.”

“We’re almost there,” Harry assured her. “Just take it easy, and you’ll be fine.”

“Just don’t get another flat tire,” called DJ from the back. “Or else we’ll be stuck.”

But soon the road opened out into what looked like a small, sandy parking lot, where several other vehicles were already parked.

“Whose cars?” asked Eliza.

“Just locals,” said Harry, pointing over to where his Jeep was parked. “You have to know the right people to use this road and park down here.”

“And you do?” asked DJ.

“Yeah, my family has a beach house right over there.” He pointed down the beach as he got the picnic basket out of the backseat.

“Cool,” Eliza said as she got a blanket out of her trunk.

“Yeah, I get to use it for parties sometimes, but this weekend my parents loaned it out to some friends.”

“Should I put the top up?” Eliza asked Harry.

“Nah. Just don’t leave any valuables in your car. It’s pretty safe here, but you never know. I figure you’re better off to just leave the top down. A friend had his convertible broken into, and the cost of replacing the slashed top was a lot more than the CDs that got stolen.”

They headed down a sandy path bordered by tall beach grass, and soon they were out on a nice stretch of beach. It looked like about twenty or thirty other kids were already there. Not exactly a party, because they were sort of spread out, but as Harry walked past a small group of sunbathers, some of the girls called out to him. He called back, “Hey,” and DJ noticed that a couple of the girls in that group were familiar. Painfully familiar. But she didn’t actually look at them, and she had a feeling they didn’t recognize her. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t remember her anyway.

“Who were they?” asked Eliza, once they were out of earshot.

“Girls from school,” said Harry.

“I recognized a couple of them,” said DJ. “Madison and Tina.” As soon as she said those two names, she was left with a bad taste in her mouth.

“Sounds like you don’t like them much,” said Eliza.

“More like they don’t like me much.”

“Those two can be mean,” said Harry. “I don’t get that though. Why do girls get so mean?” Before anyone could answer, he pointed to where Conner and Kriti were just setting up some beach chairs next to the big white ice chest that Taylor was sitting on.

“Nice of you guys to set up camp for us,” said DJ as they joined them.

“I didn’t realize I was going to be used as a pack mule,” said Taylor, pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead.

“Yeah, right,” said Kriti, who actually was sweating. “I think Conner and I brought up most of the stuff.”

“I helped carry the cooler,” said Taylor as she unsnapped her western-style shirt to reveal a very small bikini top that looked like it had been constructed from a crocheted doily, the kind DJ’s great-aunt Margaret used to have on all her tables. DJ tried not to stare, but she was curious as to how Taylor managed to keep all those little holes in the right places. She also wondered how well that top would hold up in saltwater. Or maybe Taylor didn’t plan to go swimming.

“Hey, matching purses,” said Taylor when she spotted DJ’s new bag.

“Except that yours is Hype,” pointed out Kriti as she nudged the similar bag with the toe of her sandal, “My dad won’t even copy Hype.”

“It’s just a beach bag,” said Taylor defensively.

Now Kriti was eying DJ’s bag closely. “And DJ’s bag just happens to be Hermès.”

“No way,” said Taylor, staring at the bag too.

“Way,” said Kriti. “And it’s the real thing too.”

Taylor suddenly looked at DJ more carefully. “Hey, what’s up with you anyway, DJ? Did you have a makeover?”

“Just cleaned up,” said DJ as she tossed her bag down on one of the blankets and then opened the cooler to remove a soda.

“You clean up good,” said Conner, winking at her.

“Want a soda?” she asked him while the cooler was still open.

“Or maybe Conner wants something a little more exciting,” said Taylor as she opened a large paper grocery bag and pulled out a six-pack of brown bottles. “Something with a little more zing.”

“Is that beer?” asked Conner.

“It is,” said Taylor with a sly grin. “India Pale Ale, actually.”

“Your stop at the store was to buy beer?” he asked with a frown.

Then she pulled out another six-pack. “Beer and wine coolers. I thought the ladies might prefer something a little—”

“How did you buy those?” demanded Kriti.

“With
money.
”

“No, I mean how did you buy booze when you’re underage?” persisted Kriti. The others waited for Taylor’s answer.

“I have ID.”

“You mean
fake
ID.” Kriti folded her arms across her chest and scowled. “I cannot believe you did that, Taylor. While Conner and I were waiting, you were in there buying wine and beer and then you put it into the car. We could all get into serious trouble and—”

“Don’t freak,” said Harry in a soothing voice. “Lots of kids bring beer down to the beach. It’s not that big of a deal, Kriti. I’ve never seen anyone getting busted down here.”

“And then they drive?” demanded Kriti. “Under the influence?”

“I’m not driving,” said Taylor as she opened a wine cooler and took a swig and then sat down on a beach chair. “Anyone else?”

“I’m not driving,” said Harry as he reached for a beer.

DJ wasn’t sure what to do now. She wasn’t into drinking. But she didn’t want to look like a spoiler either. She glanced at Conner who seemed to be a little unsettled too. Then she looked at Eliza, who seemed perfectly fine.

“A little bit of wine never hurt anyone,” said Eliza as she reached for a wine cooler. Then she looked at the label more carefully. “Not that this is a very good wine. Good grief, Taylor, I thought you had better taste than this.”

“Hey, it was a convenience store, not a wine shop.”

“Well, at least it’s chilled,” said Eliza as she opened it and sniffed. “Oh, my, what a delightful bouquet. I smell a trace of imitation berry extract with undertones of cheap wine. Lovely.”

“No one’s making you drink it,” said Taylor.

“This is good,” said Harry. “I compliment your taste in beers, Taylor.”

“Thank you,” said Taylor happily. “It’s nice to see we have a connoisseur in our midst.”

“Why don’t you try one too, Conner,” suggested Harry.

Conner shrugged. “I’m not into beer.”

“Maybe that’s because you haven’t tasted good beer,” said Harry. He reached for a second one and handed it to Conner. “Just try it, man. You might be surprised.”

Conner looked even more conflicted now.

“Come on, Conner,” urged Taylor. “Be a big boy and try it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink it.” She laughed. “Besides, you don’t want to make Harry, Eliza, and I drink all twelve bottles by ourselves. Let’s see…that would be like four bottles apiece. And, don’t forget, Eliza is driving, so we’ll have to cut her off sooner than that.”

Kriti looked steaming mad now. She started to say something but then just turned and walked away. They all watched as she stomped off down the beach. DJ considered going after her, but didn’t like the idea of leaving this particular foursome alone. Or more specifically, she didn’t like the idea of leaving Taylor with Conner.

“She’ll cool off,” said Taylor. “She just needs to grow up a little.”

“She’s been very protected,” said Eliza as she leaned back in the beach chair. “Ahh…this feels good.”

“Why don’t you guys sit down?” said Harry, pointing to Conner and DJ. “You’re making the rest of us feel uncomfortable.”

“And why don’t you try a wine cooler, DJ,” said Taylor. “Or are you like Kriti—a teetotaler too?”

“I already have a soda,” DJ pointed out as she sat down on the blanket and took a sip. She didn’t want to stare at Conner, but she was curious to see if he was going to let them pressure him into drinking a beer. Then he sat down beside her, opened the bottle, and took a cautious sip.

“So, Conner,” said Taylor, “how is it?”

Conner wrinkled his nose a little. “Kind of bitter.”

“It’s beer, man,” said Harry. “It’s not supposed to be sweet. Take another sip. It’s an acquired taste, you know.”

DJ watched as Conner took another sip and his face grew thoughtful as if he were still trying to figure out whether or not he liked it.

“Did you know that the drinking age in Connecticut
used
to be eighteen?” said Harry.

“Really?” said Taylor with interest. “Why did they raise it?”

“According to my parents, the state lowered it in the seventies. They figured that if eighteen-year-olds could be drafted for Vietnam, they should be able to drink too. And they changed the law.”

“So when did they change it back?” asked Eliza.

“In the eighties. Thanks to Mother’s Against Drunk Driving.”

“Those crazy MADD women,” said Taylor. “I think Kriti must be a secret member.”

They all laughed. Then Taylor pointed at Conner who was still holding a beer. “So? What do you think of the beer now?”

“Tastes like something that an old pair of my dirty sweat socks has been soaking in for a week or two.” Then he put the lid back on, shoved it into the sand, and turned to DJ who was leaning against the cooler. “Wanna get me a Coke outta there, DJ?”

She grinned at him and reached for a soda. Then he popped it open, holding up the can like he wanted to toast her, and she grinned as they clicked cans together.

“Here’s to sobriety,” he said loudly.

“And to designated drivers,” she added.

“Fine,” said Taylor. “That leaves more for the three of us.” But the tone of her voice suggested that she was not at all pleased. Still, DJ couldn’t help but smile to herself as she sipped her Coke. It felt as if she might’ve just won round three. Or was it round four? And then she wondered how many rounds there would be before it was over. Because Taylor seemed like the kind of girl who usually got what she wanted. And she did not seem like the kind of girl who gave up easily.