Summer Sisters
Authors: Judy Blume
No writer captures the seasons of our lives better than Judy Blume. Now, from the internationally bestselling author of
Wifey
and
Smart Women,
comes an extraordinary novel of reminiscence and awakening—an unforgettable story of two women, two families, and the friendships that shape a lifetime
.
SUMMER SISTERS
“An entertaining adult fairy tale … with engaging characters, an intriguing plot and plenty of sex.”
—San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle
“She catches perfectly the well-armored love between longtime female friends. Blume’s characters still tend to hover after the book is set aside, proving that this talented realist continues to do what she does best.”
—The Seattle Times
“You don’t have to be a Blume fan to enjoy
Summer Sisters
, but if you are, you’ll remember why you loved her books as a child and read them again and again.”
—San Antonio Express-News
“
Summer Sisters
is a fictional fountain of youth sure to make the reader young all over again.”
—Newsday
“Blume tells a good story, creates memorable characters … and demonstrates an ear for up-to-the-minute vernacular…. Many readers of
Summer Sisters
who traveled with Blume in their youth will welcome this new opportunity to visit with a writer who now spins provocative tales for them and other grown-ups to read.”
—The Tampa Tribune
“A relentlessly readable book … The strength of this novel is its vivid portrait of teens in the 1980s. Interspersed viewpoints of various characters add interest and depth.”
—Library Journal
“Summer Sisters
is not for kids. It is Blume’s third book for adults, coming 10 years after Smart Women and Wifey, both of which were best-sellers…. [And] it’s pretty darn good.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Engaging … sympathetic characters and realistic situations.”
—The Oakland Tribune
“A healthy mix of drama and wry humor … An effortless, enjoyable read … [Judy Blume] is a woman for all seasons.”
—BookPage
“A book for all readers … an adult book with universal appeal.”
—Seventeen
“Blume keeps her story moving … her portrait of an unlikely yet enduring friendship as it changes over time will remind readers why they read Blume’s books when they were young: she finds a provocative theme and spins an involving story.”
—Publishers Weekly
JUDY BLUME’S BOOKS
For Adult Readers
Wifey
Smart Women
Summer Sisters
For Young Adults
Tiger Eyes
Forever …
Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You
Places I Never Meant To Be (Editor)
For Younger Readers, the “Fudge” books
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Superfudge
Fudge-a-mania
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Double Fudge
For Middle Grade Readers
Iggie’s House
Blubber
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Then Again, Maybe I Won’t
It’s Not the End of the World
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
Deenie
Just As Long As We’re Together
Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson
Picture Books
The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo
The Pain and the Great One
Freckle Juice
To Mary Weaver
my “summer sister”
W
ITH MANY THANKS
to Randy Blume, Larry Blume, Amanda Cooper, and their friends for talking with me about music and memories during long, leisurely Vineyard dinners on the porch. Special thanks to Kate Schaum, dedicated early reader, and to Gloria DeAngelis, Kaethe Fine, and Robin Standefer. Also, to my Harvard connections, Nicky Weinstock, Ted Rose, and Seng Dao Yang (my unofficial guide to Weld South).
Contents
Part One
Dancing Queen
1977–1980
Part Three
We Are the World
1983–1987
Part Four
Didn’t We Almost Have It All
1987–1990
Part Five
Steal the Night
1990–1995
Prologue
Summer 1990
T
HE CITY IS BROILING
in an early summer heat wave and for the third day in a row Victoria buys a salad from the Korean market around the corner and has lunch at her desk. Her roommate, Maia, tells her she’s risking her life eating from a salad bar. If the bacteria don’t get you, the preservatives will. Victoria considers this as she chomps on a carrot and scribbles notes to herself on an upcoming meeting with a client who’s looking for a PR firm with an edge. Everyone wants edge these days. You tell them it’s edgy, they love it.
When the phone rings she grabs it, expecting a call from the segment producer at Regis and Kathie Lee. “This is Victoria Leonard,” she says, sounding solid and professional.
“Vix?”
She’s surprised to hear Caitlin’s voice on the other end and worries for a minute it’s bad news, because Caitlin calls only at night, usually late, often waking her from a deep sleep. Besides, it’s been a couple of months since they’ve talked at all.
“You have to come up,” Caitlin says. She’s using her breathy princess voice, the one she’s picked up in Eu
rope, halfway between Jackie O’s and Princess Di’s. “I’m getting married at Lamb’s house on the Vineyard.”
“Married?”
“Yes. And you have to be my Maid of Honor. It’s only appropriate, don’t you think?”
“I guess that depends on who you’re marrying.”
“Bru,” Caitlin answers, and suddenly she sounds like herself again. “I’m marrying Bru. I thought you knew.”
Victoria forces herself to swallow, to breathe, but she feels clammy and weak anyway. She grabs the cold can of diet Coke from the corner of her desk and holds it against her forehead, then moves it to her neck, as she jots down the date and time of the wedding. She doodles all around it while Caitlin chats, until the whole page is filled with arrows, crescent moons, and triangles, as if she’s back in sixth grade.
“Vix?” Caitlin says. “Are you still there? Do we have a bad connection or what?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“So you’ll come?”
“Yes.” The second she hangs up she makes a mad dash for the women’s room where she pukes her guts out in the stall. She has to call Caitlin back, tell her there’s no way she can do this. What can Caitlin be thinking? What was she thinking when she agreed?
Four weeks later Caitlin, her hair flying in the wind, meets Victoria at the tiny Vineyard airport. Victoria is the last one to step out of the commuter from LaGuardia. She’d spotted Caitlin from her window as soon as they’d landed but felt glued to her seat. It’s been more than two years since they’ve seen each other, and three since Victoria graduated from college and got caught up
in real life—a job, with just two weeks vacation a year. No money to fly around. Bummer, as Lamb would say when they were kids.
“Going on to Nantucket with us?” the flight attendant asks and suddenly Victoria realizes she’s the only passenger still on the plane. Embarrassed, she grabs her bag and hustles down the steps onto the tarmac. Caitlin finds her in the crowd and waves frantically. Victoria heads toward her, shaking her head because Caitlin is wearing a T-shirt that says simplify, simplify, simplify. She’s barefoot as usual and Victoria is betting her feet will be as dirty as they were that first summer.
Caitlin holds her at arm’s length for a minute. “God, Vix …” she says, “you look so … grownup!” They both laugh, then Caitlin hugs her. She smells of seawater, suntan lotion, and something else. Victoria closes her eyes, breathing in the familiar scent, and for a moment it’s as if they’ve never been apart. They’re still Vixen and Cassandra, summer sisters forever. The rest is a mistake, a crazy joke.
PART ONE
Dancing Queen
1977–1980
1
Summer 1977
V
ICTORIA’S WORLD SHOOK
for the first time on the day Caitlin Somers sashayed up to her desk, plunked herself down on the edge, and said, “Vix …” It came out sounding like the name of a beautiful flower, velvety and smooth, not like a decongestant. Caitlin had transferred to Acequia Madre Elementary School just after Christmas, having moved to Santa Fe from Aspen over the holidays. Everyone in Vix’s sixth-grade class fell instantly in love with her. And it wasn’t just the way she looked, with her pale, wavy hair, her satin skin and deep-set, almost navy blue eyes. She was scrappy, fearless, and had a smart mouth. She was the first to say fuck in class and get away with it. No teacher, no adult, would have believed the words that rolled so easily off Caitlin’s pretty pink tongue. And then there was that smile, that laugh.
Vix was too shy, too quiet to even speak her name. She sat back and worshiped from afar as the others fought over who would get to be her partner, who would share desks with her. So she thought she’d heard wrong when Caitlin asked, “Want to come away with me this summer?”