Page 20 of Summer of '69
“Aw, thanks,” Kirby says. She executes a quick curtsy.
“Just watch out for Evan,” Darren says.
“I can handle the likes of Evan,” Kirby says. “Putty in my hands.”
“I’m sure he is,” Darren says. “So, hey, why don’t you swing by Inkwell Beach sometime? I’m always there, and it’s an easy walk from your house.”
“Okay,” Kirby says. “I’ll do that.”
“I mean it,” Darren says. “Come by.”
Kirby’s heart somersaults. “Imean it,” she says. “I will.”
Darren waves and drives off, and Kirby stands on the sidewalk staring at the car until it disappears from view.
Hitchhiking is the best thing she’s ever done.
It turns out, Mrs. Bennie is the general manager of the Shiretown Inn. She invites Kirby into a small office behind the front desk.
“How do you know Darren?” Mrs. Bennie asks.
Kirby nearly says she just met him hitchhiking but she worries how that will make her sound. “From school,” she says.
Mrs. Bennie looks at Kirby’s résumé, which is on the desk before her. “But you go to Simmons,” she says. “That’s a girls’ school.”
Women’s school,Kirby thinks. “I met him through a friend of mine at Simmons,” Kirby says. “She and Darren grew up here together in the summers.”
“Well, you know, Darren’s family has lived here forever,” Mrs. Bennie says. “I’ve known that boy since he was an itty-bitty baby.”
Kirby loves hearing this. Martha’s Vineyard is a place where racial harmony exists!
Mrs. Bennie points to a handwritten note in the margin of Kirby’s résumé. Kirby spent hours on her sister’s Underwood typing and retyping until the thing was perfect, and yet someone has scribbled all over it. “It says here that you’re interested in a chambermaid position,” Mrs. Bennie says. “But I’m sorry to say, those jobs have all been taken. The Irish girls, you know, they get here in May.”
Kirby’s spirits fall. The Irish girls—like Miranda, Maureen, and Michaela on the second floor—arrived in May and snapped up all the jobs. If the cleaning jobs are gone, what will be left for her? Pumping gas? Bagging groceries?
“I wanted to get here earlier,” Kirby says. “But I had to finish up the semester.”
Mrs. Bennie raises her head and seems to see Kirby for the first time. “You’re a pretty girl,” she says. “And you have three years of college.” She leans over so that Kirby has a view of her matronly cleavage. “How would you feel about a position on the front desk?”
It’s too good to be true. Speechless, Kirby nods.
“I’ve just had to fire a girl,” Mrs. Bennie says. “For being indiscreet.”
Kirby knows not to ask, but she naturally wonders: What did this girl do?
Mrs. Bennie seems to read Kirby’s mind. “We had a guest staying with us, a gentleman guest, and Veronica gave this gentleman’swifea key to his room without checking with him or with me. It led to a very unfortunate situation.”
Gentleman guest caught with a co-ed, Kirby guesses. Or his secretary. Or someone else’s wife. She pushes away thoughts of Scottie Turbo.
“Before you accept, I need to make certain aspects of the job clear. You are to be on time. You are to be neatly dressed with your hair coiffed. No pants or culottes. No bare arms. We have distinguished guests at this inn, Wall Street types, business executives. In fact, I just booked a room for Senator Edward Kennedy. He’s coming to stay with us next month.”
Teddy Kennedy! Kirby can’t believe it.
Mrs. Bennie continues. “Our priority here at the inn is our guests’ comfort and their privacy. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” Kirby says. She’s glad she tied her hair back for this interview, though she worries about a wardrobe. She’ll have to see if the Vineyard has a store like Buttner’s where she can buy some appropriate outfits. Teddy Kennedy! She can’t wait to tell Rajani about that. Except no…she has to be discreet.
“The shift that’s available is eleven p.m. to seven a.m. Is that going to be a problem?”
