Page 107 of The Book of Summer

Does he have to register as a sex offender? There never was a trial, so the answer is likely no.

“Wow,” the woman says. “That’s scary.”

“What? That he was a perv?”

“No. That if he was twenty-seven, what mustwelook like to teenagers?” She shakes her head. “Ugh.”

The woman stands. She sways as she works to keep straight.

“You always seemed so badass,” the woman says, going cross-eyed as she speaks. “A steamy affair and you had, like, no remorse. Zero. Felicia said they gave you the opportunity to exonerate yourself but it was like, no thanks!”

“It didn’t happen quite like that.…”

“Can I get you another drink?”

The woman waggles her own emptied glass as Bess glances down at hers, on the bench, still full.

“No, I’m fine. Thanks though.”

“Okay. Cool. I’ll be back. I want to know the details. Hell, you could write a memoir. Like, unapologetic, you know?” She contemplates this. “You were taken advantage of but you liked it. Or would that send a bad message?”

“Uh. Yeah. Very much so.”

“Hmmm,” the woman says, wandering off. “Hmmm.”

As the woman careens away, Bess reaches into her pocket, thoughts of de Leudeville evaporating at once. She checks her phone. Still no word from Evan. And why would there be? What obligation does he have to respond at all?

Bess stands, moves her glass to a nearby table, and turns to go. As she charges down Old South Wharf, the party’s voices and laughter tinkle in the distance. If anyone notices Bess’s abrupt departure, they don’t say a thing.

42

RUBY

Summer 1942

The drill had gone as planned, which was to be expected with Mary manning the show.

Everyone in the neighborhood took cover. All blinds were drawn, no sliver of light able to sneak out. Mary checked the sum total of Baxter Road’s cricks and cracks but didn’t uncover a single violation, though not for lack of trying. The bird loved filing incident reports, no greater thrill than committing other people’s mistakes to paper.

“Golly, Ruby,” Mary said as they went through the house, turning on lights and opening curtains. “You performed aces this time around. For once you didn’t treat it like a joke, or as though you have special privileges since you’re related to the warden.”

“Thanks,” Ruby said. “I’m trying.”

She did take it seriously and certainly never viewed Mary’s position as anything worthy of abusing. But naturally Mary liked to think of herself in such terms. Ruby forgot to turn the radio off once and Mary harangued her about it for seven days straight.

“I can’t say it enough,” Mary prattled on.

Indeed, she could not.

“You’re finally taking things seriously. You even seemed nervous about it! Jittery! There might be hope for you yet.”

Ruby nodded reflexively, still wound up not by the drill but by what she’d found in Topper’s room.

Whathadshe seen? Something. Nothing. A teensy part of Ruby wanted to show Mary, get a check from another stance, but the fuddy-duddy would no doubt misread the situation entirely. Plus, Mary hated Tops’s photography hobby. She deemed it unseemly for his class of man.

Hattie. Now,shewould know what to make of it. Hell, Hattie was probably peeping over his shoulder when the Rolleiflex went click. The thought made Ruby brighten, for a spell.

“I need to tell you something,” Mary said as they pulled back the living room drapes. “With Philip away, I’ve struggled with my place in this world. Who am I? What am I contributing? I’m not a mom. I’m barely a wife with him gone. And, so… well, there’s no easy way to say this, but I’ve applied to nursing school.”

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