She thought about it and sighed. “I’m just not ready. To get married and have children, I mean. I know that’s what I’m supposed to want, but I don’t. Marianne thinks I’m crazy, but Lynne understands. She wanted a career too. Did you know she has a master’s degree? In International Affairs. From George Washington. University, I mean.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“She’s smarter than Brooke. Well, smarter in a different way. But most people think she’s just a wife and mother. James wants her to go back to work, but she doesn’t want to. Not till John starts school. Did you know he got a vasectomy? James, I mean. Not John. Oh my gosh, listen to me! I’m all over the place tonight. You probably think I’m crazy.”
“No,” I chuckled, “just full of energy.”
“Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh, right, Terri. I’m sorry nothing happened. It’s probably for the best, though. You saw Wren. Ugh! She gets like that sometimes. Jealous, I mean. Only, I think it’s ’cause she wants to be in charge. Well, you’re my boyfriend, darn it! I get to say who you sleep with.”
“Yes, dear,” I said with a barely suppressed grin.
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“Is that why you were trying to get her drunk tonight?”
Christy’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, I figured it out,” I said.
“It wasn’t her.”
“You wanna tell me about it?”
“Can I finish the apple first?”
“Sure.” I cut another slice.
She nibbled and then grinned. “Too bad I don’t have any penis butter.”
“Later. First, tell me what’s going on with Wren.”
“Fine, Mr. Persistent. Huh. Do you know that Dalí painting? The one with the melty clocks?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“It’s called The Persistence of Memory. I dunno why I just thought of that.”
“Because you’re trying to change the subject.” I fed her another slice.
She pretended to glare.
“So… Wren?”
“Oh, all right. If you insist. And if you must know, I was trying to get Trip drunk.”
“Trip? Why him? Never mind, I think I know.”
“Mmm hmm, exactly. He’s been hinting all week. The usual. He’s been nicer about it lately, but he still thinks I should jump at the chance to sleep with him. Wren sort of makes it worse. She tells him all these stories about me being a nympho. But she doesn’t understand that I’m only a nympho for certain people. One, really. Well, two.”
“Me and her?”
“No, Brooke.”
“Really? Not Wren?”
“Oh my gosh, no! I love her, but…” She thought about it and shrugged. “I have limits with her. I don’t with you and Brooke.”
“For real?”
“I’ll do anything for you. You know that. The same with Brooke. But not Wren.” She sighed. “I’m eventually going to have to make up my mind with Trip. He isn’t as bad as Will, but he’s still a jerk sometimes, especially when he’s been drinking. You heard him tonight, with the whiskey.”
“Yeah.”
“He could’ve just said no. But instead, he had to trash me and my whole family.”
“I don’t think he meant it that way,” I said, “but I get it.”
“Will was a chauvinist. Trip is just thoughtless. And arrogant. I don’t mind that—my whole family’s like him—but I can’t stand when he takes me for granted.” She fell silent and ate the last of the apple. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she sulked. “And it isn’t fair to Wren. I can’t keep getting her drunk just because I don’t wanna have sex with Trip.” She looked up. “You won’t make me, will you?”
“No, of course not!”
“Thank you.” She turned thoughtful again. “I still wanna do things with him,” she said. “Just… not that. And I think he’s one of those guys who’ll get upset if I don’t go all the way.”
I wasn’t so sure, but she needed support instead of an argument. “Do you want me to talk to him?”
“Oh my gosh, no! Please! Then they’ll both hate me.”
“They won’t hate you.”
“I know, but…” She sighed. “I’ll figure it out.”
I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you.” She ventured a smile, although it didn’t last.
“What’s the matter now?”
“I ruined your birthday.”
“Actually, you ruined the day after my birthday.”
“Funny, ha ha. But you know what I mean.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. As a matter of fact, this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“Now I know you’re lying.”
“No, I’ll prove it to you.”
“How?”
“With the Rod of Truth.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Rod of Truth,” I repeated. “If it goes soft, I’m lying. If it stays hard and shoots, I must be telling the truth.”
“Oh, boy. And you expect me to believe that?”
“Of course! Haven’t you heard of ‘Truth Serum’? Where d’you think it comes from?”
“From the Rod of Truth?”
“Exactly!”
“And where are we supposed to put this Rod?”
“Here, I’ll show you.”
Chapter 31
Our families began arriving on Thursday.
Wren’s father left his twenty-something mistress in Atlanta. Wren’s mother rode with him and left her own special friend behind as well. Wren struggled with how to react. She hated that her parents were divorced in all but name, but she understood that in some way they still loved each other. She also realized that they’d put her happiness ahead of their own. In the end, she decided to act like they were a normal family, for however long it would last.
By contrast, Christy’s family were about as normal as possible and extremely close. Harold, Anne, and Rich flew in together and then waited at the airport until Sabrina’s flight arrived, more than an hour later. She wasn’t even an official member of the family, yet they still treated her like one.
My own parents were somewhere in between the Carmichaels and Hilliards. And my father had the best of both worlds. He could sleep with women half his age, but he and my mother were still a married couple. She had her special friends as well, but they weren’t her main interests.
Trip’s family was closer to Christy’s on the normal scale. His stepmother and little brothers absolutely adored Wren, and she saw in them the kind of family she wanted to have with him.
All of us gathered on campus a couple of hours before the commencement ceremony on Friday. At least a thousand other families had had the same idea, and they crowded the usual places for pictures, like the Torchbearer statue and the tree-lined paths in Circle Park.
Christy and Wren posed in their caps and gowns with every combination of family and friends. Then we hiked up the Hill for more pictures in front of Ayres Hall. The weather was hot and muggy, but a breeze picked up and made life semi-bearable.
My father and Harold stood off to the side with Rich, and I decided to join them. They were talking about the Navy, comparing notes about squadrons and ships. Their careers overlapped a little, when they’d both been deployed to Vietnam, but not at all after that.
Rich and I didn’t have anything to add, so I tried to start a conversation with him.
“How come you didn’t become a pilot?” I asked.
“Not enough of a challenge.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise.
“You probably figured this out already, but I’m not like the others.”
“In what way?”
He looked at me sideways. “Are you trying to analyze me?”
“No, just curious.”
“Mmm.”
“So… you aren’t going to tell me?”
“You’re a smart guy. Besides, you dated a psych major. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Ah. We’re still sparring.”