Page 13 of Bad Summer People
Lauren made her way over to the beer table, dragging Amelie by the hand along with her. Beth was standing with some of the firefighters, all of them sipping Coors and eating hot dogs. God knows what would happen if there was a fire today. Beth was wearing denim shorts over her chicken legs, and a ripped black T-shirt, her hair pulled back under a tennis visor. Instead of the cute summer dresses from brands like La Ligne or Gabriela Hearst that were sported by all the other women in town, Beth wore baggy outfits that hid her skeletal frame. It wasweird.And Lauren hated weird.
Beth glared at Lauren as she approached. Amelie was still sniffling, and Lauren bent down and told her to go find Silvia while Mommy spokewith Mrs. Ledbetter. She shuffled away sadly, her sullied Pink Chicken dress now a throwaway.
Lauren was furious. Who laughs at a crying kid? Lucy was out of control, and Beth was encouraging it. Lauren never made a scene, but there was something about today that felt different. She bit down hard on her bottom lip. She wasangry.
Beth was smirking now. One of her lackies, Mollie Davidson, was standing by her side like some lame bodyguard.
“Hey, Beth, I need to speak with you,” said Lauren. Her mouth felt like it lost all its saliva at once.
“What’s the problem?” Beth shot back, standing up straighter in her ridiculous outfit, more suited to a seven-year-old than a grown woman.
“Did you laugh when Lucy spilled ketchup all over Amelie?”
Lauren couldn’t quite believe that she was saying it as she did; most mom fights ended in fake apologies and promises to get a glass of wine later. A small crowd gathered around the two women. Lauren saw Rachel and Emily in the circle and was grateful to have two of her own posse there to help spin the story however it needed to be spun.
“Absolutely not,” said Beth. “Little kids get in arguments. Why would I laugh at her? Though that dressiskind of funny.”
There was an audible gasp from the observers. Lauren’s cheeks stung. Her hands started to shake. Even Beth looked surprised that she’d gone that far. Lauren wasn’t sure whether to turn and walk away or really go for it.Fuck it,thought Lauren. She’d had enough of people mistreating her lately. The surrounding group had grown twofold. Lisa and Brian were now in the mix. Where was Jason when she needed him? Fuck him.
“Oh, fuckyou,Beth. My daughter is upset. You’re such a liar. And abitch!” Lauren yelled.
Beth’s homely face turned white. She took a step toward Lauren. Was she going to try to hit her? Brian, hulking in his heavy firefighter’s gear, stepped in between them.
“Ladies, ladies, let’s all calm down. No one’s going to come out of this making the winning investment,” he said.Fuck Brian Metzner,thought Lauren.Fuck all of them.
Rachel swooped over and locked Lauren’s arm in hers, leading her away from Beth and toward the field, where the kids were still running races and chucking water balloons at each other. Lauren spotted Amelie and Arlo, eating watermelon with Silvia. Luckily, they hadn’t witnessed their mom’s mental breakdown. Rachel kept walking until they’d reached the wooden bleachers in front of the baseball diamond. The two women sat down. Lauren felt like she might throw up.
“Whatwasthat?” said Rachel, still in her tennis clothes from earlier that morning, nearly bursting with excitement and trying to suppress a smile.
“I don’t know,” said Lauren. “Beth laughed at Amelie after Lucy bullied her, and I kind of just lost it.”
“Beth is the absolute worst,” said Rachel. Lauren was occasionally irritated by Rachel, but in situations like these, she was useful. Rachel was loyal to Lauren, and Lauren knew she’d spread anti-Beth gossip accordingly. Rachel leaned closer to Lauren. “I heard—and don’t quote me—that Beth’s been smoking alotof pot lately. Even during the day,” she said gleefully. “Maybe she was on drugs.”
“Could be,” said Lauren. She felt rattled and not at all like herself. Lisa and Emily walked over. They were dressed nearly identically, in white linen jumpsuits and big black sunglasses.
“Oh. My. God,” said Emily when they arrived. Her long blond hair was swept up in an artful bun, and her arms looked twiglike. “I cannot believe that just happened. Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I think I just momentarily lost my mind,” said Lauren.
“I’d love to unpack that with you,” said Lisa, putting on her life coach hat. She was shorter than Emily and prettier, with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes that were strangely, but not unappealingly, set wide apart. She was a former PR maven who’d stopped working when she had kids, but she still put that loud energy into everything she did.
“I’ve never seen you like that,” continued Lisa. “Did something happen today to set you off?”
“I honestly don’t know,” replied Lauren truthfully. “I’m still so upset about the scammer scandal at Braeburn. Jason and I have been at eachother’s throats. Maybe it had something to do with that?” Lauren immediately regretted saying it out loud. She knew better than to reveal anything of note in front of Rachel. Lauren saw her perk up.
“If it makes you feel any better, Brian has also been on my last nerve,” said Lisa. “I always forget how annoying he is during the year, because he’s off working and I’m doing my thing, and then we get out here for the summer and spend time together, and I’m, like,Oh, yes: I hate my husband.And why is he always wearing a fireman’s hat around town? He’s a hedge fund manager.”
Everyone giggled, including Lauren. Lauren was starting to feel a little better. She knew that she held the superior position in town to Beth and that she’d end up coming out on top in all this.
“Speaking of men, there goes your boyfriend,” said Emily, gesturing toward the boardwalk. Robert was there with a group of older women, including Claire Laurell, getting slobbered all over.
“Oh, please,” said Lauren, who glanced over quickly. “He’s like a child.” She knew it sounded unconvincing as she said it.
“Come on, we’ve all seen him staring at you on the court,” said Emily.
Lauren just shrugged.
“Okay, girls, let’s go back to the food and drinks,” said Lisa. “It looks like Beth and her crew have left. So, you’ll just have to find someone else to scream and curse at.”
