Fair Play (12 page)

It’s a small dig but at least it’s a dig, hopefully the first of many today. “I’m glad you’re getting the chance to get to know Aaron’s mom a little better,” I continue. “She’s like a second mother to me.”

When Rainy heaves a small sigh, I decide to let her stew on that for a few moments. Then she says, “I always imagined when I got married that my husband’s family would become like a second family to me. It’s just me and my dad, so I wanted to be close to my mother-in-law and my future husband’s siblings.”

Once again, I had to stifle a grin because there was no way Rainy
is ever going to be close to Aaron’s mom. She’ll be lucky if Mrs. Donovan decides to tolerate her. Aaron’s brothers might like Rainy but only because they want to fuck her.

“We made it,” I announce as I pull into the long driveway.

I don’t even stop at the guardhouse because Hans, the man who has been working in the guardhouse for years, has known me my whole life. When he sees me, he just gives me a wave of his hand and opens the gate.

When I pull up to the valet parking, Rainy and I jump out of the car and I see her eyes go wide as she takes in the enormity of the country club.

I lean over to her a whisper, “Ever been to a country club before?”

Rainy shakes her head in response as I ha
nd the keys to the same sexy valet attendant, who was there the previous time. He gives me a little grin of recognition as Rainy and I walk by.

Today, I
made sure to wear a brand new Yves Saint Laurent dress that hasn’t even made it to the stores yet. I had to pull a few strings to get it but I know my mom and Mrs. Donovan will be impressed so it was worth the effort.

“This way,” I say to Rainy as I grab her elbow and lead her towards the restaurant.  

Rainy looks around at everything like a baby taking in a new environment. She’s wide-eyed and seems filled with awe. “This place is amazing,” she says and points to a painting on the wall. “Is that a Jasper Johns?”

“I’m sure it is,” I say dismissively even though Rainy takes in a sharp breath like she’s just seen a ghost.

“That painting is worth millions,” Rainy mutters as if it’s something amazing.

“So are half the cars in the parking lot,” I retort as we enter the restaurant.

Rainy gulps as she looks around at all the ladies lunching. I think reality is finally starting to hit and based on the deep furrow in her brow, I think it’s hitting hard.

As I scan the large open area, I spot my mom and Mrs. D
onovan, who have acquired a prime spot in the garden area. Mrs. Donovan had to give someone an extra-large tip to score a table like that at lunch and especially on such short notice.

“Over there,” I say to Rainy as I discretely point in the dire
ction of their table.

The maître-d’
greets us with a nod. “I’ll show you to your   table, Ms. Whitley and Ms. Dey.”

Rainy goes wide-eyed again and I can only assume she’s wo
ndering how the man knows her name. I guess she doesn’t realize you can’t just walk into a country club as exclusive as this one without being cleared as a guest by the management. Another service on which Mrs. Donovan probably dropped a few thousand dollars to have the clearance expedited for our lunch today.

Mrs. Donovan and my mom both stand when they see us arrive. Mrs. Donovan makes a point of giving me a big hug and then says, “Your dress is amazing.
Yves Saint Laurent’s new line?”

I give her a warm smile and nod.

“You have great taste, Keira.”

“I agree,” my mom adds as she gives me a
cold A-frame hug, which could be the most affection she’s ever shown me. But it’s obviously not for my benefit; I’m sure it’s just part of the show.

“Nice to see you,” Mrs. Donovan says as she gives Rainy the once-over.

Rainy tries to smile but she looks like Mrs. Donovan just slapped her with her less than enthusiastic greeting.

“Please, girls,” Mrs. Donovan says. “Have a seat.”

We take our seats at the table and it isn’t long before the waiter brings four Cosmos, which seems to be the drink of the day.

Rainy looks confused as she stares at the cocktail. “I didn’t order this,” she mutters.

I slide toward her and whisper, “It’s what everyone is drinking today. They just assume you want what everyone else is having.”

“But I don’t drink alcohol,”
Rainy whispers back.

“Fake it,” I advise. She’s going to have to learn to fake a lot of things if she thinks she’ll have a chance of surviving the country club crowd.

Against my counsel, Rainy actually speaks up and announces that she doesn’t want the drink and that she doesn’t drink alcohol.

I cringe as Mrs. Donovan glares at her. “We’ll just have to get the waiter to bring you something else,” Mrs. Donovan sneers.

Mrs. Donovan makes a point of having the waiter bring Rainy sparkling water in an effort to embarrass her but I’m not sure Rainy is even aware enough to get the put-down. The only women who order
sparkling water
at lunch are lushes who have been to rehab.
      I have to control a gasp when Rainy actually opens her menu to look at it. My mom and Mrs. Donovan both give each other a knowing glance. The girl is truly clueless. No one looks at the menu at lunch. They always order the special selection of the day.

As I glance around the restaurant, the reaction to Rainy is just as I suspected. Everyone is staring at her like she’s an alien that just landed from Mars. I wonder if Rainy can sense that all eyes in the place
are on her.

When the waiter comes to take our orders, Mrs. Donovan asks what the special is even though it’s obviously a walnut
-crusted chicken salad because that’s what everyone is eating.

As the waiter describes the special, I notice that he’s directing a lot of his attention to Rainy, as if he’s attracted to her. I wonder what it is about the girl that seems to get so many guys hot and bothered. The waiter is an attractive guy, not drop-dead gorgeous like Aaron, or hunky like Evan, but he’d definitely do if you were horny and in need of a little fling.

Of course, Mrs. Donovan orders the special and my mother follows suit. When it’s my turn, I agree to what everyone else is having, even though I despise walnuts. It’s not like I’m actually going to eat any of it. When the waiter gets to Rainy, she orders a bowl of Clam Chowder and I swear my mother and Mrs. Donovan both gasp.

When I glance at the waiter, I can see he’s stifling a grin and it suddenly occurs to me why so many guys have a thing for Rainy. It’s because she’s not like everyone else. She’s not afraid to be her own person no matter what the situation. And for a moment, I can’t help but admire her for it. I wish I had the confidence to really be myself but all I truly have is bravado and the need to be liked. It doesn’t seem to matter to Rainy whether people like her or not and that actually makes her more likeable.

And that makes me want to crush Rainy even more.

Mrs. Donovan asks Rainy a few questions about her art hist
ory major just to be polite but I can see by the way her eyes glass over, she doesn’t care at all about Rainy or her major.

“I heard Aaron and
Keira are working together on a big project for their Economics class,” my mom offers.

I smile and glance at Rainy. I’m sure by now Aaron has told her about our group project. I can see that she’s started to wring her hands again, so it’s probably still a sore subject.

“Yes,” I say and grin. “Aaron and I will be spending a lot of time together this semester.”

When Rainy gulps, I know I’ve struck a nerve so I keep g
oing. “I’m so glad I decided to get a place right next to Aaron’s condo. It makes
things
a lot more convenient.” I make sure to say
things
in such a way to imply there is more going on than just studying.

Rainy’s
lips are now pursed and she seems to be seething inside. I love it.

But then, to my utter astonishment, she bites right back. “And what does Evan have to say about you spending so much time with Aaron?”

Now both my mom and Mrs. Donovan are staring at me. “We’re just friends,” I say as casually as I can but at the mere mention of Evan’s name, I can feel my face growing hot.

M
y mom’s eyes narrow. She and I don’t discuss my relationship with Evan because her dream has always been for me to marry Aaron.

“I didn’t think Evan was close to settling down yet,” Mrs. Donovan says pointedly. That makes me think she’s heard about Evan winning
The Tournament.

“He’s not,” I agree even though deep down I have a feeling Evan wants nothing more than to be with me.

When I sneak a glance at my mother, I see she’s scowling at me. Although the topic has never come up, the look on her face makes me believe she doesn’t think very highly of Evan. Or maybe it’s just the fact that his family isn’t as wealthy and well- connected as Aaron’s. On a scale of wealth, power and influence, where Rainy’s family is a speck of sand on the beach, Evan’s family would be a lovely fishing pier but Aaron’s family would be a magnificent lighthouse. My family would be a luxurious ocean liner sailing by both the pier and lighthouse. I can already hear my mother telling me that I shouldn’t settle for Evan Warner. Why settle for a fishing pier when I can have a magnificent lighthouse?

After our food is served, the conversation moves to various innocuous topics like Mrs. Donovan’s charity of the week (Parkinson’s Research) and whether organic foods are truly organic.

All eyes are once again on Rainy when she actually eats her soup. I guess she didn’t get the memo that the lunch is supposed to be looked at and played with but never actually put into your mouth.

When Rainy looks up from her bowl, all three of us are still gaping at her. “The soup is delicious,” she comments. Then she goes right back to eating it.

I see Mrs. Donovan give my mother a sideways glance then she clears her throat, which gets Rainy’s attention.

Rainy looks up from her bowl again and gives Mrs. Donovan a small smile.

“Rainy,” Mrs. Donovan says. “I’m sure when you start shopping for your wedding dress, you’d like to fit into a size two, wouldn’t you?”

That’s Mrs. Donovan’s way of both telling Rainy not to eat the fatty soup and that’s she’s already too big in her view.
Rainy’s about a size 4 and that might be considered small by middle class standards but in our social circle, if you’re above a size 2, you’re obese.

Rainy scrunches her nose like she’s trying to decode what Mrs. Donovan just said. Then she shrugs and says, “I’m not worried about it,” and continues to eat her soup.

Now my mother and Mrs. Donovan look at each other with wide eyes. I have to give Rainy credit for being either blissfully ignorant of the subtext of the conversation or not giving a shit about what Mrs. Donovan has to say. If Mrs. Donovan had said that to me, not only would I have not eaten the soup, I wouldn’t have eaten anything for an entire week.

After the waiter clears our plates, it occurs to me that our plan to make Rainy feel inadequate has failed. She seems to take everything in stride and it seems nearly impossible to make her feel bad about herself in any way. The girl has the
strongest sense of herself I’ve ever seen. Rainy clearly doesn’t have any self-esteem issues.

The only thing that ever rattles her chains is when I talk about spending time with Aaron, so I guess that’s what the new strategy will be. Finding a way to get Aaron alone and trying to seduce him.

When we’re saying our goodbyes, Mrs. Donovan takes the opportunity to give me another big hug and tells me to call her so we can
do lunch
again. She makes no attempt to touch Rainy and merely says, “It was a pleasure seeing you again.”

“Likewise,” Rainy replies and gives Mrs. Donovan a meg
awatt smile.

“I’ll phone you,” my mother says and I cringe at the thought of the grilling she
’s going to give me about Evan.

Once we get into my car and we’re back on the road, I ask, “So, what did you think of the country club?”

“The club itself was beautiful,” Rainy replies carefully.

“But not the people,” I probe.

“Not so much,” Rainy admits.

If I wasn’t intent on splitting up Rainy and her fiancé, she just might be someone I’d consider hanging out with.

“What do you think of Aaron’s mother?” I throw out to see if she’ll catch the bait.

“I don’t think she likes me very much.”

That could be the understatement of the year. “Does that concern you?”

“Why should it? I have no control over what other people think of me. Besides, I’m marrying Aaron not his mother.”

I have to stifle a laugh. She’s naïve if she thinks Aaron and his family don’t come as a package deal. When you come from one of the wealthiest families in the country, family does matter.

“The
Donovan’s are a pretty tight-knit group,” I warn. “I wouldn’t want to be the one to come between Aaron and his family.”