Sean cracks a genuine smile. “No way. I’m still the ping-pong master. He’s not going to be able to beat me until he’s at least eight.”
“Don’t be silly. He’s letting you win.”
Sean grins wider and takes in Maria’s appearance. She’s wearing a dress like I am, which is a navy blue color that complements her dark blue eyes and is short enough to reveal some pretty shapely legs. He grabs her arm and pulls her in for a kiss that lasts for several seconds. She giggles, loving it. I drop my eyes.
“Don’t stay out too late,” I hear him murmur in her ear.
I look down at my nails, which I had done in a tasteful light pink a few days ago and still seem intact. I don’t know why Sean and Maria’s display of affection is making me so uncomfortable. Elliot kisses me all the time. But I can’t help but think that he never kisses me quite like that. Not anymore, at least.
And I can’t help but think that my husband isn’t as sexy as Sean Cooper either. But that’s a thought I’m going to push completely out of my head. Permanently.
_____
The first thing Julie says to me and Maria when we walk into the Hopkins School library is, “You’re late.”
Even though we are, in fact, half an hour early.
Maria looks at me in confusion, but I quickly say, “I’m sorry. What do you need us to do?”
Julie makes a tutting sound. “I told you. We need the desks and chairs arranged in a circular formation. Circular. Do you know what I mean, April?”
“No problem.”
She steps out of the library to make a phone call, leaving me and Maria to do the dirty work. Maria keeps casting looks in my direction, but after a few minutes, she finally speaks up. “Why do you let her talk to you that way?”
I’m busy myself getting one of the desks arranged just right. If they don’t meet her standards, we’ll have to redo it. “What way?”
Maria straightens up. “I’m sorry, I know she’s your friend, but she’s so bossy. I would never speak to somebody like that. You’re not her slave.”
I let out a sigh. “I know. But you have to understand that Julie is like royalty here. Everyone respects her so much. The only way I got started with Sweet Secrets is that Julie told everyone they should watch it.”
“That’s nice of her, but still.”
“Listen,” I say. “If you’re nice to Julie, she’ll do anything for you. But she expects you to do what she says in return.”
Maria adjusts one of the chairs. “I’m sorry, April, but I’m not going to let Julie push me around the way she pushes you around.”
She looks like she has something else to say, but mothers are starting to come into the library, and we can’t risk anyone hearing us talk trash about Julie. That would get back to her in an instant.
The PTA meeting starts promptly at six o’clock, with Julie presiding at the front of the room. It’s the first meeting of the year, which means she starts out with a PowerPoint presentation about all the amazing things we accomplished last year. She was the vice president then, but she did most of the work—Julie is a natural leader. Yes, she can be bossy, but she’s very good at what she does. I can’t even imagine what she was like as a lawyer. I bet she was terrifying.
“Thank you all for coming tonight.” Julie folds her arms across her chest as she stares out at the impressive showing. She’s also very good at getting people to participate. “As you know, our school does a great job, thanks to Mrs. Donnelly here.” She gives a nod to our principal, who I know from experience will be largely silent during this meeting. “However, the PTA is essential in providing extra fun and educational events for our children like school trips and book fairs, and your participation is essential to that.”
Without further ado, Julie launches into a PowerPoint summary of everything the PTA does and has done, and will continue to do in the future. It goes on for well over an hour, and it’s very hard to keep from yawning. The only thing keeping me from doing it is knowing I would hear about it forever from Julie.
I’m also starving. I had a bite to eat before I left the house, but somehow I’m still hungry. （Maybe it’s the baby growing inside me—not.） My stomach has a hollow feeling and I’m scared that any moment it will let out an embarrassing growl. I once suggested I bring a tray of brownies for the PTA meetings, but Julie was adamantly against it. I don’t know how you can be adamantly against brownies, but she was.
I clench my abdominal muscles, trying not to think about food. It helps. A little.
“As you all know,” Julie is saying, “one of our big fundraisers is the biannual silent auction. For those of you who don’t know, this is when we solicit donations from other parents and you can bid online. We will announce the winners at the fall carnival. This year, the silent auction is again being run by April Masterson, who did a phenomenal job last year.”
I raise a hand to acknowledge a smattering of applause. The silent auction is a lot of work, but as Julie said, it’s a huge fundraiser. This town is super rich, and people donate extravagant items. Mink coats. Six tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. The year before last, somebody donated a boat. An actual boat! A nice one too, not just a rickety wooden rowboat.
“This is a big job,” Julie says, “and April can’t do it herself. Would anyone else like to volunteer to co-chair the silent auction?”
I hold my breath, hoping it won’t be Melody Taylor, who “helped” me last year. The quotation marks are very appropriate in this situation. Melody did nothing. She had no idea what was donated or how much money we made.
A hand goes up to my right. “I’d like to help,” Maria says.
I let out a breath of relief. Maria will be an amazing co-chair. Even though I’ve only known her a couple of days, I can already tell.
“Thanks,” I say.
Julie nods, but her attention is distracted. She’s looking at the corner of the room, where a new parent I don’t recognize has her phone out and is talking to someone on the other line, one finger in her ear. I wince, knowing what’s coming.
“Excuse me,” Julie says sharply. “We’re trying to have a meeting here.”
The woman might have been able to save herself if she had shoved it back into her purse immediately, but instead, she keeps the phone in her hand and flashes an apologetic smile. “Sorry, this is an important call…”
There isn’t a trace of sympathy on Julie’s face. “If you insist on disrupting our meeting, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
The woman smiles—she thinks it’s a joke. The smile fades from her face when she realizes Julie is one hundred percent serious. “Oh, well, I’ll just be another minute…”
“No.” Julie’s dark eyes are like ice. “You should leave. And you can come back after you’ve dealt with your personal issues.”
“But I—” The woman looks wildly around the room, like she thinks somebody might stand up for her and point out how ridiculous this is. When she realizes that’s not going to happen, her shoulders sag. “All right.”