Melanie said. I winced.
“Did she happen to mention to you if she’s coming or not?” Tanya asked her, a bit too politely.
Mel flushed. “I don’t really know her that well.”
Tanya didn’t seem surprised. “I’ll try her cell, just in case she’s on her way.” She picked up her phone again.
I reached for another muffin and looked up to discover they were all watching me. Maria said, “Oh, god, girls, remember when
we were in our twenties and could eat like that without gaining a pound?”
“Your metabolism just
stops
when you turn forty,” Carol Lynn said. She raked her fingers through her two-toned hair. “Nothing will budge that extra inch
around my waist. It showed up the week I turned forty and I’ll never lose it. I do an hour of Pilates every day and play tennis
or run four times a week—and it’s still there.” What was she talking about?
What
extra inch? The woman was one narrow slab of hard muscle.
Tanya lowered her phone, and Melanie said, “Did you reach her?”
“I got her assistant. Marley won’t be able to make it but she’s really sorry and said we should sign her up to donate whatever
we need to the event.” She dropped the BlackBerry on the coffee table and pulled a notebook off of the stack in front of her.
“Let’s get down to business.”
The Autumn Festival was an annual Fenwick School event, a purely celebratory family party with bounce houses, cotton candy,
sno-cone and popcorn machines, and carnival-type games. Later in the year there would be a serious fund-raiser, but the goal
of this one wasn’t to make money, just to have fun and make the kids feel enthusiastic about being back at school. Costs were
covered by the Parent Association, which made me wonder how much my parents donated in addition to paying Noah’s hefty tuition,
but it wasn’t the kind of thing I thought about for long.
The Event Hospitality Committee, I learned, was responsiblefor supplying lunch that day (hot dogs, hamburgers, and chips) and drinks (soda and water) and for serving them. By the time
the meeting ended about an hour later, various exciting topics, like whether or not we should have tofu hot dogs and whether
Heinz really was the
best
ketchup, had been debated and hastily resolved, since time was running short: the festival was only two weeks away.
As we got up to leave, Linda begged us all to take some food home. The pastries had hardly been touched. I would have been
more than happy to score some of those carrot muffins, but Melanie cut me off with a shake of her head and a “Thanks, but
we better not.”
“Why couldn’t we take any food?” I asked her when we’d left.
“I didn’t want them to think we were pigs.”
“You should have told me that before I ate three muffins in front of everyone.”
We got in the car and she said, “So what did you think? That was kind of fun, wasn’t it?”
“Well, it was better than taking Noah to have his blood tested… but not by much.”
“Really? I thought they were nice.”
“They were scary,” I said. “So blond and blow-dried and Botoxy—”
“Linda wasn’t blond.” She carefully aimed the car out onto the road. Melanie was a painfully cautious driver. “Don’t be so
judgmental. Maria has a kid in your class. How lucky is that? Now you’ll have someone to say hi to and sit with at class parties
and stuff.”
“Oh, yeah!” I said. “I can already tell that we’re going to be BFFs!”
“Didn’t you think she was beautiful? Maria?”
I rolled my eyes. “Who even knows what she really looks like? She’s had so much work done.”
“I think she looks great.”
“You’re prettier,” I said. “By far.”
“No, I’m not. Did you see how thin they all were?”
“For god’s sake, Mel, don’t admire them for
that
.”
“I wish I could lose five pounds,” she said, glancing down at her stomach, which barely curved above her seat belt. “Just
five pounds. That’s
“Did she happen to mention to you if she’s coming or not?” Tanya asked her, a bit too politely.
Mel flushed. “I don’t really know her that well.”
Tanya didn’t seem surprised. “I’ll try her cell, just in case she’s on her way.” She picked up her phone again.
I reached for another muffin and looked up to discover they were all watching me. Maria said, “Oh, god, girls, remember when
we were in our twenties and could eat like that without gaining a pound?”
“Your metabolism just
stops
when you turn forty,” Carol Lynn said. She raked her fingers through her two-toned hair. “Nothing will budge that extra inch
around my waist. It showed up the week I turned forty and I’ll never lose it. I do an hour of Pilates every day and play tennis
or run four times a week—and it’s still there.” What was she talking about?
What
extra inch? The woman was one narrow slab of hard muscle.
Tanya lowered her phone, and Melanie said, “Did you reach her?”
“I got her assistant. Marley won’t be able to make it but she’s really sorry and said we should sign her up to donate whatever
we need to the event.” She dropped the BlackBerry on the coffee table and pulled a notebook off of the stack in front of her.
“Let’s get down to business.”
The Autumn Festival was an annual Fenwick School event, a purely celebratory family party with bounce houses, cotton candy,
sno-cone and popcorn machines, and carnival-type games. Later in the year there would be a serious fund-raiser, but the goal
of this one wasn’t to make money, just to have fun and make the kids feel enthusiastic about being back at school. Costs were
covered by the Parent Association, which made me wonder how much my parents donated in addition to paying Noah’s hefty tuition,
but it wasn’t the kind of thing I thought about for long.
The Event Hospitality Committee, I learned, was responsiblefor supplying lunch that day (hot dogs, hamburgers, and chips) and drinks (soda and water) and for serving them. By the time
the meeting ended about an hour later, various exciting topics, like whether or not we should have tofu hot dogs and whether
Heinz really was the
best
ketchup, had been debated and hastily resolved, since time was running short: the festival was only two weeks away.
As we got up to leave, Linda begged us all to take some food home. The pastries had hardly been touched. I would have been
more than happy to score some of those carrot muffins, but Melanie cut me off with a shake of her head and a “Thanks, but
we better not.”
“Why couldn’t we take any food?” I asked her when we’d left.
“I didn’t want them to think we were pigs.”
“You should have told me that before I ate three muffins in front of everyone.”
We got in the car and she said, “So what did you think? That was kind of fun, wasn’t it?”
“Well, it was better than taking Noah to have his blood tested… but not by much.”
“Really? I thought they were nice.”
“They were scary,” I said. “So blond and blow-dried and Botoxy—”
“Linda wasn’t blond.” She carefully aimed the car out onto the road. Melanie was a painfully cautious driver. “Don’t be so
judgmental. Maria has a kid in your class. How lucky is that? Now you’ll have someone to say hi to and sit with at class parties
and stuff.”
“Oh, yeah!” I said. “I can already tell that we’re going to be BFFs!”
“Didn’t you think she was beautiful? Maria?”
I rolled my eyes. “Who even knows what she really looks like? She’s had so much work done.”
“I think she looks great.”
“You’re prettier,” I said. “By far.”
“No, I’m not. Did you see how thin they all were?”
“For god’s sake, Mel, don’t admire them for
that
.”
“I wish I could lose five pounds,” she said, glancing down at her stomach, which barely curved above her seat belt. “Just
five pounds. That’s
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