Page 38 of Absorbed

Maureen smelled like a bar, but didn’t slur her words in the slightest, and her lipstick was always meticulous. Stacey wantedto ask how she managed that in the heat, while eating and drinking. “Yeah, I’m a senior. I’ve been lifeguarding.”

A thin woman sidled up beside Maureen. “You’ve been in the sun,” she said to Stacey. Her face–pointed like a cat’s–was vaguely familiar. Stacey thought she might be one of Jackie’s closest friends. “Be careful. You may have that perfect tropical glow now, but…,” she said, then leaned in to whisper in Stacey’s ear. “You don’t want wrinkles!”

Stacey recognized the sickly-sweet wine smell heavy on each breathy word. She raised her eyebrows, but nodded. The woman was at least seventy and looked like she’d gotten more plastic surgery than everyone in Mesa Valley combined.

“Stacey,” Jackie called from the back door. “Sorry, Maureen. Liz. I need Stacey’s help for a minute.”

“Of course!” Maureen called over to her, then turned back to Stacey. “Come talk to me some more once you’ve finished up, okay doll?”

Stacey smiled and nodded. She walked toward the house, sipping her soda and wondering if it was possible to get drunk off the breath of her dad’s friends.

An hour later, Jackie had exhausted her list of tasks for Stacey, and told her to grab a plate of food. Eyeing tables full of strangers, Stacey made a beeline for the diving board when her dad waved her over.

“Stace! Tell us about your summer so far.”

Chairs scraped noisily as the group opened a space at the table for Stacey to squeeze in. Jackie instructed a caterer to bring over an extra chair. Stacey set her food down and pulled the rented white folding chair under her. As she was taking her first bite, her father’s friends hurled questions at her.

“Where are you lifeguarding?” asked a man Stacey believed was her dad’s colleague.

“The community pool,” she replied, covering her mouth as she chewed and spoke. “In Mesa Valley.”

Jackie’s mouth pursed in distaste.

“I bet you make good money. Smart girl,” Maureen said. “Where are you applying to college? That’s coming up, you know. Hope you’re making plans!”

Stacey gritted her teeth behind her forced smile, nodding.Of course I know it’s coming up! I’ve been working toward this for as long as I can remember.She swallowed and took a sip of soda to clear her mouth, minding her manners more closely. “Probably Berkeley, USC, Stanford, UCLA…”

“No East Coast schools?” Maureen tsked. Her face turned serious. “The Ivy Leagues are much better than what’s available here. Chuck, tell your daughter she needs to look at schools outside of California.”

“Oh, Maureen,” Chuck said. “Give her a break.”

Jackie chimed in. “I’m sure she’s considering all her options. Stacey’s top of her class. She’ll get in wherever she decides to go.”

Oh, really? How would you know?

“Stacey,” Maureen waved away their indifference. “Listen to me. You should consider applying to at least Brown and Cornell. They’d be lucky to have you. Vassar, too! Far superior universities.”

Stacey grinned, blinking.Are you planning to foot the bill for those, Maureen? Is there anyone who would even take me to visit those schools?

“She has plenty of time,” Chuck told Maureen. He looked across the table at Stacey, grinning with that hazy glint in his eye Stacey knew all too well. “I’m so proud of my little girl,” he said, lifting his glass. “To Stacey!”

The group raised their cups to toast her. Stacey held tight to her fake smile and fought the urge to walk away from the table.Lifting her warm can of Coke, she held it steady as ten plastic cocktail cups thunked against it.

After another hour discussing her job and future plans with random strangers, Stacey’s self-imposed two hour minimum had long passed, and she was ready to leave. Her dad was occupied with a group of guys and a couple of putters at the corner of the lawn. She didn’t want to risk the onslaught of their attention by interrupting him.

“Tell Dad I said bye,” Stacey told Jackie, who she found restocking the chocolate covered strawberries at the buffet.

“You’re not staying for the fireworks?” Jackie whined.

“I have to be at the pool at eight tomorrow. It’s a long drive. Thanks for inviting me.” Stacey initiated a generous hug with her stepmother, willing to do whatever she had to do to make it to the exit quickly.

While Stacey navigated two hours of gridlock on three freeways, fireworks danced across the sky. She kept the windows down and the radio off to listen to the booms, pops, and crackles over the whir of cars passing. The sparkling blossoms of color reignited Stacey’s excitement, as she imagined her date the next night, holding hands with Jessie under shooting stars.

As she pulled into the driveway, illegal fireworks were still exploding on neighboring streets, but no one on Stacey’s block was outside. She locked her car. The scent of smoke mixed with sulfur still lingered in the air. Out of habit, Stacey looked past the chain link fence to ensure the dry brush behind their house wasn’t burning. The smell of smoke scared her after too many long fire seasons.

Opening the front door, Stacey realized the air conditioner was running. “Mom?” she called out, then remembered her mom was planning to stay late at the barbecue. Murphy was afraid of fireworks, so her mom wouldn’t have taken the dog with her.No wonder the AC is actually on.In the past, Murphyhad broken screens to escape through open windows during fireworks. Stacey scrunched up her nose at the pungent scent of urine. She flipped on the lights in the living room and found a puddle on the carpet by the back door. The glass was covered in nose and paw marks, like Murphy had been scrambling to open the door.

“Murphy?” Stacey called.

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