The Wives of Beverly Row 1: Lust Has a New Address Page 5

  “Ariel,” he said.

  She looked up at him.

  “Thanks for making this so pleasant.”

  She nodded. “Of course,” she said.

  *

  BECKY WAS THRILLED TO BE sitting in the front seat of her dad’s jeep, next to him. He had a way of making her feel special that no one else in the world seemed capable of managing. When she was with him, everything seemed to be a game, a great big fun game that the whole world was in on.

  “What do you want to see?” he said to her.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “I don’t know. Whatever’s in the Imax?”

  “That’s my girl.”

  “I was taught by the best.”

  “Yes you were,” he said and put his arm around her.

  “Have you been to the movies lately, dad?”

  “Without you? Perish the thought.”

  She laughed. “Me neither, so pretty much any movie’s up for grabs.”

  They drove down Hollywood Boulevard with the roof down, listening to loud rap music, and when they reached Highland her dad used the valet parking. She loved that about going out with her dad. He always knew what to do. He knew where to go, he knew where to find the valet, he knew where to eat, he seemed to know everything.

  In the lobby, Gabe bought the biggest popcorn, frozen yoghurt, candy, pop, even a hotdog.

  “What about dinner?” she said.

  “I’ll be ready to eat,” he said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

  *

  AFTER THE MOVIE GABE ASKED Becky where she wanted to go for dinner.

  “Mel’s,” she said.

  “You’re the boss.”

  They walked to the diner and asked for a table for two.

  “Are we celebrating anything tonight, folks?” the waitress said.

  “Well, this is her favorite restaurant so I guess we’re celebrating that,” Gabe said.

  “Come on, honey,” the waitress said to Becky. “I’ve got a table right by the window for you.”

  They looked over the menus but Becky knew what she wanted.

  “Could I get spaghetti and meatballs and a chocolate shake?” she said.

  “Sure, honey, and you, mister?”

  Becky liked the waitress. She was a little heavy, in her forties, and had a foreign accent, maybe Russian.

  “I’ll have the meatloaf,” Gabe said.

  “Gravy and mashed potatoes?”

  “Gravy and fries, please. And coffee.”

  “Sugar and cream?”

  “Black.”

  Becky sat across from her father and smiled at him. Her milkshake arrived and it was delicious.

  “So how’s the new house?” Gabe said.

  “It’s really great, dad. We love it. We have our own pool, a huge TV, all new kitchen stuff. Mom loves it.”

  “That’s great. I’m glad.”

  “Mom got me a lot of new clothes.”

  “That’s great, honey.”

  Becky knew about the whole issue of her father hiding money from her mother. She’d heard all about it. She wanted to ask him about it but she was afraid of upsetting him. She wanted to know what it was that made him want to hide money from his own daughter, to let his own family be poor when they could have been rich, but she didn’t want to ruin the evening.

  “What about you, dad?” Becky said. “When do I get to see your new place?”

  “Oh, I’ll take you there soon, sweetie.”

  “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  “What?” Gabe said, looking a little flustered.

  “Well, do you?”

  “No. I don’t have a girlfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?”

  “Not yet,” Becky said, “but there’s a boy on our street who’s smoking hot.”

  “And what age is he?”

  “My age.”

  “Sixteen?”

  “Well, he’s close to my age.”

  “Well, just remember, boy’s can be a lot meaner than you think, so be wary.”

  “Oh, I’m well aware of that, dad.”

  He looked at her meaningfully. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. Becky looked outside. People were strolling along the street enjoying the cool evening. She saw a couple pushing a stroller, an older man in a suit walking a dog, a kid on a skateboard.

  “Hey,” Gabe said gently. “Listen up. There’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up. I know that you’ve probably got some issues about the things I did when I was married to your mother.”

  Becky shrugged. She hadn’t wanted to get into a discussion like this.

  “And you have every right to feel that way, Rebecca. You really do. I can’t explain why I was the way I was. I couldn’t even promise that I’d be any different if I got back together with your mom.”

  “But you’re not going to get back together, are you?”

  He shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I just meant, I know I was a bad husband and a bad father. I accept that. I know that about myself. And I just want you to know that it was because of issues that I’ve had for my whole life. I had them before you were born and I’ll probably have them for as long as I live.”

  “You can choose to change, dad.”

  “I know, honey. I’m not making excuses. I’m just trying to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?”

  Their food arrived. Gabe looked at Becky.

  “That I love you, honey. I love you more than anything on earth. That’s the God’s honest truth. None of the things that I did, none of the secrets I kept from your mother, nothing can change that fact. I know I messed up. And I know I’m lucky to be even sitting here with you after the things I did. But I always loved you, through everything, and I always will.”

  Becky didn’t say anything immediately. She picked up her fork and twisted it into the spaghetti.

  “You used to call that Sgetti when you were little.”

  “Did I?” she said.

  He nodded. Becky got up from her seat and scooted into Gabe’s side of the booth, next to him.

  “Let’s sit together,” she said.

  He smiled and put his arm around her and they ate like that.

  X

  “RELAX,” ARIEL SAID AS BECKY got out of the car. “The first day at a new school is always nerve-racking.”

  “I just don’t see why I can’t keep going to Pomona.”

  “We’re starting a new life up here. That means a new school, sweetie.”

  Becky kissed her mother and took a deep breath as she got out of the car. She had to admit it was a beautiful building. The school had been founded over a hundred years ago, one of the first in LA, and the children of so many actors and actresses had attended over the years that it had its own VIP entrance and security team. The thought of famous people’s kids being at the school only made her more nervous about her first day.

  There was a girl sitting on the wall by the side of the steps. She was about Becky’s age and very pretty with a short skirt and knee-high socks.

  “Hey,” Becky said.

  The girl looked at her but said nothing.

  Becky cleared her throat. “I’m looking for the office. I need to register.”

  “You new?”

  “Yeah.”

  The girl rolled her eyes and hopped off the wall. Becky thought she was going to show her to the office but she just walked past her and went down the steps to say hi to some boys who were coming in.

  The boys were the typical, good-looking jocks that could be found in every high school in the world. One of them picked up the pretty girl that Becky had approached and kissed her. Becky felt awkward, standing on the top of the steps, staring like an idiot.

  “Who’s this?” one of the jocks said as he eyed Becky up and down.

  “No one,” the pretty girl said. She didn’t even look in Becky’s direction as she and her entourage of jocks walked past.

  Becky clenched her jaw. It was a habit she had when she was nervou
s and she stopped when she noticed she was doing it. She pulled herself together and entered the main building of Marymount. It looked more like a grand villa than a school but Becky knew it was one of the best schools in the country. She was determined to make the most of it and make her mother proud.

  It was the middle of the semester so there wasn’t any orientation programs. Becky just had to find the main office and get herself enrolled for her classes. As she was walking down the corridor she saw the girl again. Now she was with a group of four other girls, all of them beautiful and confident looking with long hair and short skirts.

  “There she is,” the girl with the socks said.

  Becky looked over at them and they all started giggling. It was the most juvenile thing in the world, the cheerleaders laughing at the new girl, but Becky knew that there was no way around it. She was the new girl, the fresh meat. She would have to get through this in any high school so it might as well be here.

  As she walked past the girls, one of them threw a piece of gum at her. It hit her on the side of the face. Becky put her hand up to her cheek and wiped it. The girls were all staring at her. Becky didn’t know what to do, but she knew one thing: If she didn’t stand up for herself, no one else would.

  “You girls got a problem?” she said.

  “It speaks,” one of the girls squealed and they all laughed again.

  Becky looked up and down the hall for a sign leading to the office. She didn’t see one. There were some more kids in the corridor and they were beginning to look at her because of the scene the mean girls were creating. Becky wished she could just run down the corridor and hide in a washroom but she knew that would just make her look even more ridiculous.

  Instead she put on as tough a face as she knew how and walked toward the girls. As she approached them they stopped laughing. It was always the same way with bullies. As soon as you stood up to them they backed right off. The girl with the knee-high socks came to the front of the group. She seemed to be the leader of the little clique and the only one with any courage.

  All of them seemed to be about Becky’s grade, sophomore. She stood in front of the girl with the socks. She was tall, had beautifully smooth skin, shoulder-length brown hair, expensive clothes. She was about as intimidating as a sixteen-year-old girl could be but Becky refused to be afraid of her. She knew she was pretty herself. She had blonde hair, she was wearing a cute tartan skirt that her mother had taken her out to buy the day before. She knew she looked good and she reminded herself of that as she stood in front of the group of mean girls.

  She was sweating because of the intensity of the situation. The strap of her bag on her shoulder felt heavy. She took a deep breath.

  “Look,” she said to the girl, “you don’t know me so I’m going to give you a second chance. By the end of the week, every boy on every sports team in this school is going to know who I am. If they don’t, they’re going to want to know me. I’m going to be popular as fuck in this school and if you don’t tell me right now where the main office is, I’m going to spend the rest of the year making sure you regret it.”

  That got her attention! Becky had even surprised herself. She had no idea where that had come from. She’d never spoken like that before in her life. She was completely bluffing, she had no idea whether or not she was going to be popular in this school but there was no way in hell she was going to let this mean bitch make a fool out of her on her very first day.

  The girl looked straight at Becky. At first she looked like she was going to cry, then she looked angry, but it was clear that the tables had turned. The other girls and the other kids in the corridor were looking at Becky differently now. It wasn’t every day that someone stood up to the mean girls and everyone knew it. Becky wasn’t sure how the girl was going to react. It looked like she might have a fight on her hands.

  Then she heard her name being called. “Becky!” That surprised her too. She didn’t know anyone in this school. Who could possibly be calling her name?

  She turned around and saw Kyle coming toward her. He looked tall and strong and handsome with his broad chest and wide smile. His arms were muscular and strong. Becky had never seen a boy look so good in all her life.

  “She knows Kyle Roycroft,” one of the mean girls whispered.

  Kyle had jock written all over him and his timing was perfect.

  “One second, Kyle,” Becky said as if he was her best friend in the world. “This chick was just about to direct me to the office.”

  Becky looked at the girl. The girl looked back at Becky but the battle was over. Becky had won.

  “It’s right down there,” the girl said, nodding down the corridor.

  “Thank you,” Becky said, and rushed down the corridor before the mean girl changed her mind. Kyle followed.

  XI

  ARIEL WATCHED BECKY WALK UP the steps to the school. She prayed she’d have a good first day. She thought back on her own high school days and remembered how intense everything had felt. It was as if every feeling, every emotion, had been multiplied by a thousand.

  She drove down Sunset and turned left into the UCLA campus. There was a Trader Joe’s across the campus and she needed to pick up some groceries. On her way through the university she passed the art building. She’d wanted so badly to study there when she was younger. She’d even been accepted to the prestigious school, but then she got pregnant. It just wasn’t possible for her to go to school after that. She’d married Gabe instead. She slowed down outside the building and looked at the students hanging around outside the entrance. The boys had long hair and the girls were smoking. If her life had gone differently she could have been one of those kids.

  She parked on Weyburn Avenue and went into the supermarket. It was nicely air conditioned inside and she took a minute to appreciate the cool air on her body. She looked at her watch. It was just after nine. She thought about giving Becky a quick call but she resisted the urge. She had to let her daughter find her own feet in the new school. She told herself that Becky was a bright, friendly kid and would be just fine.

  She got a cart and began making her way through the aisles, picking up the things she needed. She wasn’t far from Beverly Row but she didn’t expect to run into anyone.

  “Ariel?”

  She turned to see who was calling her name.

  “Oh, Veronica.”

  “I thought I saw you come in.”

  “Just grabbing a few things,” Ariel said.

  “Me too. They have the best salsa here. Have you tried it?”

  “I’ll grab some.”

  “It’s so fresh. I think they make it right here in the store.”

  Ariel smiled. “I had a great time the other night,” she said.

  “It was fun wasn’t it?”

  “It was great to get to know you girls better. I really appreciate how welcoming you’ve all been.”

  “Oh, we’ve been desperate for fresh blood, Ariel. Things can get awfully dull. We’re delighted to have you in the neighborhood.”

  “Well, things sure don’t seem dull to me. You should have seen my last neighborhood.”

  “It can’t have been more conservative than our little street.”

  “It wasn’t more conservative. No. But after so many years there it just felt like the same thing over and over, day after day. You know what I mean?”

  “I’m a wife and a mother, Ariel. I know exactly what you mean. If I have to hear one more story about Hank’s accounting practice and Kyle’s sports teams, I’ll scream.”

  Ariel laughed. It was nice to meet other women who weren’t afraid to call things as they saw them. She found that so many women were so reverent about their lives, it was almost as if they were afraid to admit that they hated doing their family’s laundry and keeping the house clean.

  “I was pretty surprised at the things you told me,” Ariel said.

  “Oh, about the depraved fetish I crave?” Veronica said, grinning wickedly.

  “Exactly.
No one in my old neighborhood would ever have owned up to wanting something like that.”

  “Well, that’s me. I’ll own up to anything. That’s not even the worst thing I’ve been lusting for.”

  “Veronica! You’re hilarious.”

  “Ariel! Don’t tell me you don’t have fantasies like that. Wouldn’t you just love it if a great big hunk of a man took you and made you his and did everything he wanted to you? Wouldn’t you pretty much give anything for that?”

  Ariel looked around the supermarket. It wasn’t busy but she didn’t want people to overhear the conversation she was having with Veronica. It was pretty risqué for the Trader Joe’s dairy aisle.

  “I’ve never thought about it,” Ariel said.

  Veronica slapped Ariel’s arm playfully. “Oh, give me a break, Ariel. You can’t fool me that easily.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Ariel said. “I’ll buy you a coffee.”

  They checked out together and loaded their groceries into their cars. The street was still in shade and it wasn’t too hot.

  “There’s a Starbucks right around the corner,” Veronica said.

  They ordered some drinks and sat by the window overlooking the street. A good-looking guy about ten years younger than Ariel jogged past and Veronica winked at him. Ariel laughed. It was more of a giggle really.

  “Spill the beans,” Veronica said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you’ve got something to tell me, Ariel. You’ve been intrigued ever since I told you I wanted anal.”

  “Keep your voice down,” Ariel said, leaning forward.

  There were a few other people in the cafe, sipping drinks and typing away on their laptops.

  “Anal, anal, anal!” Veronica said. “I want it in the ass so bad, and I want a prince in shining armor to give it to me!”

  “Veronica!”

  “No one’s listening,” Veronica said. “That guy’s got headphones on.”

  Ariel looked at the guy. He did have headphones but how could she tell they were turned on?