Innocent Little Crimes (18 page)

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see it that way. I
never will.”

“A pity. Look at all the excitement you’ll
miss by keeping your blinders on.”

“I don’t have to listen to you.”

“No,” said Lila, matching her tone, “I
suppose you don’t. You have your strong, protective fiancé to
shelter you from all the pain and evil in the world.”

“I can take care of myself. I’m not hiding in
his shadow. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I’m helpless. I see
pain and evil all the time, working with the organizations I
chair.”

“Yeah, you see it from your lofty height.”
Lila said. “From your hillside home high above the wheat and chaff
below, where you think about other people’s suffering.”

“So, I have money. So do you. But I
appreciate the position I have; I don’t take it for granted. I
don’t build ostentatious homes and buy extravagant jewelry to flash
around. I use my money to help others.”

“Time for some more violins,” said
Jonathan.

“Cynthia’s a good kid. You guys aren’t going
to be able to pin anything on her,” Davis said, trying to reach for
her again. And again, she avoided his touch.

“I’m not a kid.”

“Easy, darling. It’s just an expression.”

“And I don’t like it.”

“Are we going to finish Della off, or what?”
Jonathan wriggled impatiently. Della fished the last menthol
cigarette out of the pack and lit it. She crumbled the empty
package and threw it at Jonathan’s face.

“If I’m going down, then you’re going with
me, Levin.”

“Try it.”

Lila interrupted them. “I’ll sum up. Take all
the abortions, the pills, the booze and cigarettes, the lateness,
irresponsibility, using people and throw those in with what she did
to me in college and I’d say there’s enough evidence to sink the
Titanic. I vote Della off.”

“What did I ever do to you?” Della asked.

“Why, Della, have you forgotten your
conspiracy against me? I certainly haven’t forgotten it.”

“We never conspired against you. The school
put pressure on us to pick an outsider and you were the best
qualified. You always memorized every part in every play we ever
did. You were a natural.”

“Oh pul-eeze, Della. I’m not talking
about
that
little joke. I’m
talking about the other set-up. The one with Davis.”

Della’s vision faded. Dizziness overcame her,
and she felt herself slip off the bench and onto the floor.

“Hey, no fair. I was just getting to the good
part,” Lila said, feigning disappointment.

“Lila, how can you joke about this? She’s
fainted! Get out of the way!” Cynthia knelt beside Della, dabbing
water on her forehead.

“Just dump the glass in her face,” Jonathan
said.

“Shut up, Jonathan!” Cynthia answered.

He laughed, then grabbed a bottle of scotch
and took a long swallow. Reaching over Cynthia’s arm, he tried to
force the bottle into Della’s mouth. Cynthia knocked his arm
away.

“What are you doing? She’s unconscious. Are
you trying to kill her?”

Davis came to Cynthia’s side to calm her
down. “He was just trying to help.”

Her voice screeched. “Like hell he was.”

Davis muffled a laugh. “Cynthie, darling,
calm down.”

Cynthia glared at him. “This is
not
funny, Davis.”

“But, hey, true to form, her timing was
impeccable.”

Cynthia leaned over Della’s face. Della
opened her eyes partway. “Here, Della, here’s some water.” She
propped Della’s head to sip from the glass.

“I say vote Della out. Now. Vote!” Jonathan
raised his hand. Lila’s hand shot up. Davis and Millie raised
theirs with reluctance.

“Sorry, Della,” Millie said. “Let’s just get
this over with.”

Della stood and stumbled to the corner where
Dick sat in an easy chair, sucking a beer. He saluted her with the
bottle.

“Here.” Dick handed her a beer. “Welcome to
the club.”

Della held the bottle in front of her, then
smashed it against the wall. Glass and liquid flew in all
directions. Then she threw herself down in a chair and stared at
her lap.

Lila chuckled. “That was an award-winning
performance. Jonny, did you catch that? The girl’s got some talent
after all.”

Cynthia started walking out of the room.

“Hey, get back here,” Jonathan said.

“Go to hell. All of you. I am not going to
sit and listen to this for another minute. Go ahead, kill
yourselves off. I’m through being a witness to your disgraceful
behavior.”

She left.

The group looked to Lila for her response to
the defection. “Aw, let her go, she bores me.”

Millie sat on the bench, lost in her troubled
thoughts. The room was quiet for a few moments.

Lila turned to Peter. “You haven’t said much
this evening, Peter. What’s come over you? Usually I can count on
you for a few humorous jabs.”

“Maybe I don’t know these people well enough
to comment.”

“You’ll have to do better than that, Avon.
You’ve been with this motley crew for twenty-four hours. Surely,
you must have formed some opinions by now.”

“What do you want from me, Li? I think this
game’s gone too far.”

“Is that so? Maybe we should talk about a
little matter of loyalty, since that seems to be your weak point.
Let’s talk about Andrew.”

“That’s not fair,” Peter snapped.

“Whoever said life is fair?” Jonathan
said.

“Then maybe there’s someone else you’d rather
discuss? Jonathan, perhaps?” Lila raised her eyes at Peter.

“Lila, please.” Peter reached for the bottle
of scotch. He took a long swig and turned away.

Lila noticed Jonathan wince. She turned back
to Peter. “I remember how eager you were to take me up on my job
offer. You couldn’t stay in that house another minute . . .”

“Lila, you promised never to bring it
up.”

“Andrew was just a shell, withered and racked
with pain from the final stages of AIDS. You couldn’t stand to see
him like that. So you abandoned him. Walked out on him without even
saying good-bye.”

“He didn’t want me to see him like that. He
felt humiliated.”

“But he needed you. You were all he had. And
you left.”

“And I’ve been suffering every day for the
last two years. Don’t you think I’m aware of my guilt?” Tears
streamed down Peter’s face. “Why are you doing this to me, Li?”

“You’re disloyal, Avon. Get off the
bench.”

The room fell quiet except for the small
sound of Peter’s sobs. He got up and went into the kitchen and
brewed a cup of tea.

“How can you be so cruel to him? He’s your
friend,” Millie said.

“And God knows you need any you can get,
baby,” Dick said.

“I’m keeping score, Ferrol.”

“I vote Lila off,” Della said.

“Yes. Off, Lila!” Dick chimed from the
corner. “You can join me for dinner. As dinner.”

“I don’t think we’re quite ready for me
yet.”

“I do,” Davis said. “Let’s vote Lila
off.”

“Jonny, aren’t you going to come to my
defense?”

Jonathan hesitated, then winked at Lila. She
winked back. “Lila’s right. She may be cruel, but she wields a
powerful stick. Maybe she can keep the wolves at bay till we get to
the border.”

“Yeah, just show them your face and they’ll
high-tail it,” Dick said.

“I heard that Ferrol,” Lila said. “That’s
two.”

Dick was beyond caring. Lila and her big
mouth and her nosing around. He came here thinking she would be the
answer to all his problems. He stared at the necklace that could
have saved his own neck. And there it lay, adorning Millie’s
throat, just out of his reach. He could kill Lila for this torture.
Instead of helping him, Lila opened up a Pandora’s box of trouble
with Millie, not to mention the embarrassment she caused him in
front of all his old friends. He would make her pay for this.

But what about those threats she made about
his mother? She wouldn’t really tell her about Penny, would she?
Dick knew that if Lila could find out about the deal with Matson
and the affair with Penny, then she was unstoppable. As much as he
felt his hatred for Lila grow, his fear grew proportionately. One
false move and he was dead. He had no choice but to watch his mouth
and humble himself before Lila. Damn.

Davis, Millie, Lila, and Jonathan were left
on the benches.

Lila cleared her throat. “Well, a nice cozy
little group on their way to the border. What about you, Mil?
What’s been your great contribution to the human race?”

Millie stammered. “I’m the mother of two
children. I’m contributing to the future of the planet.”

Dick reacted. “The planet’s already
overpopulated.”

“How can you say that about your own
children?”

“Any peasant in a field can drop a child,”
Jonathan added.

“You use your kids as an excuse for getting
fat,” Dick said.

“I got that way because you stopped
caring.”

“I stopped caring because you did. You want
to go around again?” Dick asked. He was past worrying what the
others thought. He had sufficiently drowned his cares with a
six-pack of Corona. Let the wolves tear at them all.

“Millie, you’re a wimp. You’ve let Dick walk
all over you,” Jonathan said.

“You married for the wrong reasons,” Davis
said.

“You let your mother-in-law boss you around,”
Lila added.

“You’re fat!” Dick yelled.

“You’re right,” Millie said, rising to her
feet. “I’m fat, I’m a wimp, I’m a nobody. And you know what
else—I’m through with you!” She pointed a shaking finger at Dick.
“For me, this marriage is over!”

Dick, through the haze of his mind, heard
Millie’s words and chuckled. “This marriage was over a long time
ago, baby.”

“Poor Millie, I can relate,” said Lila. “I
was fat and homely in college, desperate to have someone like me. I
thought Millie did. Until she betrayed me.”

“What? I never betrayed you.”

“But, yes, Mil, you did. You knew what the
rest of them were doing to me and you didn’t say a word. You let me
look at the world through rose-colored glasses. You set me up for a
fall—a big one.”

Silence spread across the smoke-filled room.
The candles, melted almost down to the metal, flickered, casting
shadows on the faces of the players on the bench. Millie exhaled a
long breath. “It wasn’t my idea. I told them not to do it. They
wouldn’t listen to me.”

“And, true to form, Millie once again kept
her mouth shut and pretended not to see.”

“You were so happy. I didn’t want to ruin
that for you. I figured maybe it would turn out okay in the
end.”

Lila shook her head like a teacher
disappointed in her students. “Della came up with the idea. Davis
went along with it. Jonathan got his kicks putting us together in
rehearsals. Dick had his fun organizing the entire ‘production.’
But of all the sinners, you, Millie, are the most guilty, you.
Because you knew the truth. Yours was the sin of omission.”

Millie started to cry. “Lila, I’m sorry,
I—”

Lila’s voice turned loud and harsh. “Too
late, Mil. Off the bench.”

Millie stood, wiping the tears as they rolled
down her face. She noticed Dick avoiding eye contact with her. She
walked aimlessly around the room, not knowing where to light.
Finally, she settled on a chair and stared out the window at the
darkness. Lila was right. She’d kept that heavy burden of guilt in
her heart all these years, knowing that she was to blame when Lila
didn’t show up on opening night. Sure, all the others were guilty
in their own small way, but they viewed their actions as harmless
fun. They hadn’t known Lila like she had. If Lila had found out the
truth, it would have destroyed her.

Millie gasped. That must have been what
happened! Somehow, Lila found out; that was why she didn’t make the
performance.

Millie’s heart raced. Suddenly, she
understood why Lila invited them all—just this group from “Picnic.”
Why she had followed their lives so closely, gathering up
ammunition against them all. Clearly, no one else here realized
their culpability. All these people—all these years—probably never
gave opening night a second thought. Never gave Lila a second
thought. That is, until she became rich and famous. And now they
were all here, not out of friendship, but out of greed.

She thought of Dick and her anger rose in her
throat. She wanted to strangle him. In college, he’d been thrilled
to dupe Lila. Millie was shocked; she tried to dissuade him and the
others—she begged Dick. But he loved a good joke. He never stopped
to think someone’s feelings were involved. He rallied them all
together at Lila’s expense. And now, he came to her island thinking
she would be grateful to him and bestow him with favors.

Boy, did he have a lesson coming.

Peter walked back into the room, his hands
cradling a teacup. He sat down in a chair near the door. Millie
couldn’t help but notice the pallor across his features. He looked
so tired.

“Now,” said Lila, snapping everyone to
attention. She turned to Jonathan and Davis. “That leaves us three.
Where do we begin?”

Jonathan finished off the Scotch and tossed
the empty bottle on the carpet.

“I’d like to know what Lila’s been doing to
Davis and Jon all these years,” said Dick. “Since she’s meddled
with my life and Della’s.”

Della echoed him. “Yeah. Who else have you
set up, Lila?”

“I see you’ve come back from the dead, Della.
I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to miss the grand finale. Well, now,
like I said, it’s just me and the guys. The wolves have devoured
everyone else, but they’re still on our heels. They’re getting
closer and closer and they’re still hungry.”

“Can the narrative, Li,” said Jonathan. “Just
tell us what you did to us, too.”