The Scarlet Letter Scandal (26 page)

“Sounds like a dream,” said Eva with a laugh as she rolled her eyes. “Ugly bridesmaids dresses over age forty. Hooray!”

Lisa laughed too. “I think it sounds like a blast—I’d love to!”

“It’s all settled then,” said Maggie. “In the meantime, let’s talk about what’s going on with you two.”

“I went out for coffee with Ben,” said Lisa. A blush started to creep to her cheeks. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to feel guilty about it or something, but I don’t.”

“Why should you feel guilty?” asked Maggie. “Your foot-fetish husband, who was screwing a stripper, is dead. You’re allowed to move on with your life.”

“It’s not too soon,” said Eva. “And you and Ben shared a pretty natural connection that you had deliberately chosen not to escalate only because of your marriage. That chain is gone now.”

“It was really nice,” said Lisa. “I ended up telling him about how I’d lied to you two to get my membership into the Scarlet Letter Society. He thought the covered-bridge sex story I told you was so funny. We met at the diner because…” She had lowered her voice as though admitting not having coffee at Zoomdweebies was a sin.

“Because privacy?” said Maggie. “The last thing you need is the paparazzi coming around here and putting your get-together in the paper.”

“Or on the Internet,” said Eva.

“The damn Keytown Mouse,” said Lisa.

“I found out who it is,” said Maggie. “It’s Rachel. Kate told me.”

“What?!” asked Lisa incredulously. “My own neighbor at both home and work! I should’ve known. She is so nosy.”

“I don’t think she’s going to be nosy anymore,” said Maggie. “I had some words with her. Well, mostly I spoke and then she didn’t because I had slapped her so hard.”

“You didn’t,” said Eva.

“I did,” said Maggie. “Was worried I’d have to call you for some legal help there for a second.”

“Oh, I could make a judge rule it was justifiable,” said Eva. “Because suddenly I’m your Jerry Springer lawyer again—ha! I wish I’d been there to slap her with you. We could line up with weapons like in that scene in
Airplane
.”

“Excellent use of random ’eighties reference,” said Maggie.

“I learned from the best,” said Eva.

“What happened then?” asked Lisa.

“Not much,” said Maggie. “I sort of went off on her and then slapped her and left. Oh, then I made a call to her bitch of a boss, Aileen. Thought she might be interested to know Rachel was editing her little rag during work time.”

“She did publish a post about the New Year’s Eve toga party at the swinger club in your neighborhood, Lisa,” said Eva, having just Googled the Keytown Mouse. “No new posts, though. Good riddance, bitch.”

Zarina walked in to warm up the ladies’ coffees with a fresh pot. “I haven’t seen Rachel in here lately, and I’m not expecting to!”

“I hope not. So Lisa, do you have something to wear to that toga party?” asked Maggie. “I could probably pull something together for you from the shop.”

“Very funny,” said Lisa. “No, I don’t have a rock in my driveway so I don’t think I’m allowed to go. Which reminds me—I have a contract on the house.”

“That is so great,” said Eva. “In this market it could really have taken a while, so you’re lucky!”

“Your lease on my apartment is good as long as you need it!” said Maggie.

“It’s so great to be able to walk to work,” said Lisa. “I love living downtown.”

“Lisa actually bundles up that kitten and takes her to work in a basket,” Maggie told Eva. “Like Toto in
The Wizard of Oz
. You believe that?”

“Aw, I think it’s adorable,” said Eva. “Your little friend Brûlée!”

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without her these last months,” said Lisa. “Best gift I’ve ever gotten—can’t thank you enough.”

“So you and Ben have plans to meet again?” asked Maggie.

“Actually we are having dinner on Christmas Eve,” said Lisa. “We talked about how it can be the loneliest night of the year and he asked if I’d like to have dinner. He doesn’t see his son, Max, until Christmas Day. I am looking forward to that.”

“That sounds really lovely,” said Eva. “I actually had a similar discussion with my friend Nathan and we were talking about having a Christmas Eve oyster dinner together too for pretty much the same reason. I see my boys on Christmas. No fun to be alone the night before.”

“Friend?” said Maggie. “The strapping young gorgeous waterman hasn’t been given any type of title upgrade since then?”

“What are you, the new Keytown Mouse?” asked Eva slyly.

Maggie narrowed her eyes at Eva.

“Who needs titles?” said Eva. “We’re both just happy spending time together.”

“Will I sound like the Keytown Mouse too if I ask you about Charles?” asked Lisa.

“I haven’t been in New York much at all,” said Eva. “After I told them I’d be spending more time working at home and from DC, there hasn’t been too much of a reason to go back. I’m really doing more consulting work than anything now. Bossing around the junior partners. It’s not a bad gig.”

“That sounds like a perfect arrangement,” said Maggie. “I guess it’s not like you’ll be practicing law on Matthew’s Island anytime soon so consulting makes sense.”

“Actually I am doing some pro bono work for the watermen,” said Eva. “Versus the state of Maryland, whose Department of Natural Resources seems bound and determined to make their lives more miserable than it already is while they try to do their jobs and supply the seafood we all love to eat.”

“Pro bono?” asked Maggie. “
That’s
a new phrase for your vocabulary, yeah?”

“Well, yes, it probably is,” said Eva. “I like working for a cause instead of working to make rich corporations richer. It’s a nice change.”

“Good for you, Eva,” said Lisa. “We all have to do what makes us happy.”

“I am glad we’re all headed for happiness,” said Maggie. “And as for the Scarlet Letter Society, well, it doesn’t seem like any of us is even close to being eligible for membership anymore.”

“You don’t have to actively be cheating on someone to be a member of that club,” said Eva. “What’s your Hawthorne quote from all those invites? The scarlet letter is our passport into regions other women dared not tread.”

“Yes,” said Maggie. “Once a member, forever an honorary member. Lisa, you kissed Ben while you were still married to shoe boy, so that’s close enough.”

“I’m glad!” said Lisa. “After all those lies I had to tell pretending to be a member.”

“That hypocrite of a Keytown Mouse acted like we had something to be ashamed of,” said Maggie, “not to mention how the prima donna princess of Stony Mill Jeannie would agree with her. But you know what? There’s no shame in wearing the scarlet letter. There’s no shame in being human.”

“Hear, hear!” said Eva.

“Agreed,” said Lisa.

Christmas Eve arrived, and Lisa wasn’t sure what to wear. She rifled through the small closet Maggie had cleared out for her. Most of her things were still in storage, and the clothes she’d brought had been meant for work at the bakery, not dinner with handsome graphic designers.

At first, she selected a plain pair of black pants and as she laid them on the bed, she smiled, thinking,
Of course I can just go downstairs and find something to wear there
. Maggie was home with her family, but Lisa had the key to the shop. She was sure Maggie wouldn’t mind if she just ran in and grabbed a dress. She checked the time on her phone and hurried down the narrow staircase. She smiled at the faint squeak of the iron hardware on Maggie’s shingle. The signboard read “Wings Vintage Clothing” and Lisa couldn’t help but think it was perfect. She was ready to fly.

She entered the store, deciding she’d stay only briefly since it was freezing. After locking the door and flipping on the light, she went straight to the vintage dresses rack, choosing three to try on, and quickly turned off the lights, exiting and locking the store and returning upstairs. The second one she tried on, a red ’50s ballerina-length dress with a Peter Pan collar, two rows of front buttons, and a cinched waist, fit her perfectly. She spun like a little girl, watching as the pleated dress puffed up. The neckline plunged just enough. She worried briefly it would be too formal, but with a pair of black patent leather Mary Janes, she decided the outfit was perfect for a holiday dinner at that fancy celebrity chef restaurant in town.

Next she found a gorgeous brown faux fur long coat in Maggie’s coat closet, again wondering if it was too fancy.
Better overdressed than underdressed
, her mother had always said. Lisa was thankful her mother had insisted on having proper makeup application techniques taught to her at a fancy department store near her hometown in Delaware. Though she never wore makeup as part of her “real life,” she always had some ready for such an occasion. Hearing her mother’s voice in her head, Lisa had taken the dress off first before applying the understated makeup.
You don’t want that powder all over the dress.

She hadn’t spoken to her mother or father in years. Taking care of her severely handicapped brother for her entire childhood was a thankless task. Her parents worked full time and she was left with too many caretaking responsibilities. When she left home for culinary school in Washington, DC, they had unceremoniously taken him to a full-time care facility. Lisa visited him once a month, but never her parents.

I don’t need anyone to be proud of me in order to be happy
, Lisa thought now, and she glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror hanging in the hall. She tucked a few items, including her lipstick, into a black vintage purse and set out for the restaurant.

Ben was standing in the gorgeous lobby of the historic downtown establishment. He wore a black velvet vest that immediately made her feel less overdressed. They dined by candlelight, sharing conversation about their jobs, the loss of their spouses, their hopes for the future. As Lisa watched from their seats in the round bay window, a light snow began to fall.

After dinner, he asked, “Would you like to go for a ride?”, taking her arm and walking her to the front door.

Outside, a perfectly restored bright red 1963 250 GT California Modena Spyder sat glistening in the streetlights. Lisa emitted a tiny squeal. “What a gorgeous car! It looks so familiar somehow.”

Ben laughed. “Almost like it’s famous?”

He opened the door for her. She climbed in, and he placed a fur blanket over her legs. “I know it’s a chilly night for a ride in a topless car.”

Ben climbed into the car and started it.

“So where do I know this car from? Is it yours?”

Ben laughed.

“Well, I didn’t steal it,” he said. “Though that would’ve been appropriate, actually. I did borrow it. My brother is, well, let’s just say he’s a bit of an antique car collector. He’s in town visiting for the holidays and it took some doing but he let me use it for the evening. He bought it at auction recently. It was in a pretty famous ’80s movie that was an old favorite of his. A friend of his writes for
Road and Track
and stalked it for many years. Any guesses?”

Ben drove slowly as they enjoyed the scenery—tiny white lights lined the streets of Keytown. Beautiful handmade wreaths, candles in windows of huge brick bed-and-breakfasts, and decorated shop windows lined the drive. They made their way to the beautiful ponds at Bailey Park, which was dark and empty and quiet on Christmas Eve. The streetlights reflected on the pond as sparkling snow fell into the black water.

“Hmmm,” said Lisa. “Maggie would kill me for not knowing this.

“
Pretty in Pink
?” Lisa guessed. “Where he comes to get her after her sister’s wedding? Or something?”

“Oh geez,” said Ben. “Well, you’re in the right wheelhouse with the John Hughes films, but if your friend Maggie is a fan? You’d be in pretty big trouble.”

The iconic car stopped at the covered bridge, which was closed for renovation. Huge tarps covered the work area.

Lisa had a puzzled expression on her face as she let Ben open the car door to let her out. Ben walked Lisa around to the front of the car, with its cat-eye headlights and chrome detailing, pointing out a tiny dent in the front grille.