"Oh. Thanks, I guess," Mara said, still a bit confused.
The girl nodded eagerly. "And you must be Eliza--the trendy one," she said, turning to Eliza.
"So that makes you Jacqui--my favorite!" she squealed, throwing her arms around the stunned bombshell.
Mara and Eliza nudged each other while Jacqui politely escaped the hug. "Favorite"? What were they, like characters in a television show?
The new girl looked like she was about to faint. "How cool is it that I'm going to be working with you this summer!"
"Working with us?" Eliza asked, her eyes narrowing, grinding her cigarette butt on the bottom of her shoe.
"I'm Shannon Shin. The new au pair! And I'm ready for the best summer of my life!"
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misunderstandings go
hand in hand with too
many margaritas
OVER BLUE HYPNOTIQ MARGARITAS ON THE PATIO AT THE
Sunset Hotel, the girls discussed the latest development in the Perry establishment. Eliza had driven the three of them to Shelter Island for a quick happy hour drink before she had to pick up Jeremy from work. He had started a landscape company that summer and had soon rounded up all his former employers as clients. They were going to rendezvous at his apartment in a few hours, and she wanted to fortify before the big event. Even though she'd decided she was finally going to lose her virginity, she didn't want to lose her nerve.
"Did you know you were getting help?" Eliza asked, lighting a cigarette and propping her feet on the ledge. They were sitting on the bar's wicker chairs that lined up against the low wall that faced toward the ocean.
Jacqui shook her head. "I guess Anna forgot to mention it. Big surprise."
Mara nodded. "The new girl seems very . . . enthusiastic." She
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was still struck by how Shannon had treated them--like they were celebrities.
"I think it's great," Eliza agreed. "At least you have someone to order around."
The three of them felt a little older--had it really been almost three years ago that they had first met? Seeing Shannon's fresh fifteen-year-old face reminded them of how young and naive they had been when they had accepted the au pair gig. Shannon had been happy enough to stay at the house by herself to wait for the children to get back while Jacqui snuck out for a quick drink with her friends. They found out Anna had hired the new girl the same way she had originally found the three of them--by posting a
n ad online. Shannon told them she had sent Anna a professional-looking portfolio, including a ten-page dossier of her skills, complete with moving testimonials from the children she had previously babysat. She had been hired immediately.
Jacqui still felt a little guilty about leaving her there alone on her first day, but then again, Eliza was right. She was in charge, and it would be good to have an extra pair of hands for the summer.
"So we need to have an awesome summer before we start college in the fall," Eliza said. "We need to be at the polo every Saturday afternoon. No exceptions. I hear it's going to blow up this year. Major, major people hosting the VIP tent."
"I've got a press pass," Mara said. "I'm covering it." She still couldn't believe she had merited one--but Sam Davis had handed it to her that afternoon. It was a laminated ID card that
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read Press in red capital letters above her name. Just looking at it gave Mara a thrill.
"Cool. I'm on the list. I'll get you on too, Jac," Eliza promised. Now that her family was back on their high perch, Eliza was confident in her ability to navigate the social stream. "Then there's the Art for Life benefit and the AIDS Luau. Maybe one weekend we should drive out to the North Fork to the vineyards for some wine-tasting?"
"Perfeito. "Jacqui nodded.
"How about a party on the boat, Mar?" Eliza asked.
"Sure. Maybe for the Fourth of July?" Mara said, thinking how pretty the sparklers would look off the deck. They could get a cooler full of beer and a few bottle rockets and Roman candles for the boys. Jeremy could probably hook them up if Ryan didn't know where to get them in town.