He put away the towel and began to walk off, and right then
164
Madison blew chunks all over Eliza's shoes. "Noooooo! I told you!" Eliza wailed, standing up in shock. "I just bought these!"
Jeremy ascertained the damage. "They're leather. It'll come off," he said, kneeling down and taking a shoe off Eliza's foot. "Let me." He began to clean off the ick.
"Seriously, you just can't leave a girl alone, can you?" Eliza said, softening a little. He really was cute.
"Not if I can help it." He grinned.
"You know, it's really okay. I'm totally fine. It's not that I don't appreciate all this ... she said, hopping on the other foot as Jeremy cleaned the other shoe. "Could you get--er--that part?" she asked, pointing toward a smudge.
Jeremy gave her an are-you-kidding look, but Eliza only smiled sweetly. "I guess this means I can't ignore you anymore."
"In some cultures we're practically married," he joked, standing up. "See you around... Eliza."
"How'd you know my name? And where do you think you're going?" she demanded in mock annoyance.
"I'm off now. Getting beers with the guys," he yelled back. "I didn't know you cared so much!"
"I don't!" she yelled back, but she was still smiling."C'mon, Madison," Eliza said, holding her hand. "Don't sniffle. You're okay, aren't you? Will you be good now and listen to what I say?"
The two headed back inside the tents. Mara was still engrossed in an intense cell phone conversation with Jim, and Jacqui was still MIA. Zoe, Cody, and William were seated at the
165
table, scarfing down platters of raw clams, which they recognized from their high-protein-low-carb-diet. Eliza spotted Taylor and Lindsay smoking in the roped-off section and shooed Madison toward the other kids under the tent. She walked over to them so they could admire her outfit.
"Charlie was looking for you," Taylor said accusingly.
"He was here?" Eliza asked. "Where is he?"
"He's gone. He looked kind of mad,"
Lindsay added dramatically.
Eliza's shoulders slumped. All the time she was in the parking lot up to her ears in barf and flirting with the gardener, her ex- boyfriend was inside looking for her.
"I'm sure he'll call me later," Eliza said, trying to sound confident.
The minute they turned their backs, Eliza rushed over to the kids' table for a quick head count. William, check. Madison, check. Cody, check. But where was the other little girl? Oh, there she was, underneath the table, picking up a scallop from the floor.
Thank God. They were a lot of work, but she was actually starting to warm up to the pukey little brats.
166
there is some pain even bacardi 151 can't numb
Madison had asked for another helping of shrimp, so Jacqui, thinking it was probably allowed on the little girl's diet, had gone to fetch her some. It was seafood after all-- how fattening could that be? As she spooned a few plump pink specimens on a porcelain plate, she glanced up across the lawn. It was divot-stomping time, and the game had stopped to let the spectators pound the clumps. Ladies in peau de soie and gentlemen in navy blazers and pressed khaki trousers paraded out to toe at the clumps of grass unearthed by the quick stops and starts of the ponies. They patted the earthy patties back into the ground, grass side up, of course.
Across the field a familiar mess of blond hair and glasses caught her eye. But Luca hadn't mentioned anything about attending the match! She put down the plate, all thoughts of feeding the child promptly fading from her memory.
Wait--what? Luca--holding some girl's hand? Someone who looked familiar? But why would he be holding her hand? Or
167
gulp--kissing her? On the lips? Like that? She stormed over, all the hurt and misunderstandings she'd been keeping in check for the last month boiling in her brain.