Page 27 of Mean Moms
“I’m like a hundred percent sure she’s on Ozempic,” said Julie. “She’s thinks she’s fooling everyone, but she wasn’t that thin last year.”
“Look at Gertrude,” said Dre, whispering now. “That’s what Morgan’s bodywantsto be. Mia told me that Gertrude is beingeven weirder than normal. Morgan seems to be so in the dark about that, or maybe it’s just denial.”
“Very sad,” said Julie.
“But she’s still the worst,” said Dre. They both laughed before heading into separate stalls. Mary waited for them to finish and exit before coming out.
Mary knew that Morgan Chary, Frost Trevor, and Belle Redness, with that obscenely long hair, were, as they used to refer to it in Mary’s day, the popular girls of Atherton. They were pretty and rich and social, and that status inspired jealousy among the other women. The golden trio had recently expanded to include the new woman, Sofia Perez, who was an absolute mystery to Mary. She’d never seen a new family get two nonentry spots, seemingly for no clear reason—she knew the donor list by heart and had never seen the name Perez on it. The admissions process was closely guarded, but even Heather Lipsky, who ran that department, had been taken by surprise by the Perez situation. Dr. Broker had pulled a headmaster trump card, and, Heather had confessed to Mary, basically gone rogue. It was all highly unusual.
Mary had adored the former headmaster, Dr. Summers, an inspiring educator: kind, patient, stern when it was needed, beloved by all. She missed him. He’d retired two years ago, and the school had gone downhill at a fast clip since. (To clarify, fundraising had soared, but Mary felt the school had lost its soul, and soul was more important than a state-of-the-art science lab or a professional sports-grade gym—to Mary, anyway).
Dr. Broker! Ha! He was a wolf in heartthrob’s clothing, in Mary’s opinion. The mothers were obsessed, and Mary watched them fall over each other to get Dr. Broker’s attention, flirting with him as if they were giggly sorority girls and not forty-year-olds with husbandsat home. And he encouraged it, flashing them that smile, attending those ridiculous theme parties they were all so fond of. But there was something off about that young man that Mary couldn’t quite put her finger on.
In other news, poor Nurse Weiss was so distraught over the lice email leak. She prided herself on confidential communication with parents, and the breach was haunting her, to the point that she’d hired an outside consultant to look into it, without telling Dr. Broker.
Well, none of it was Mary’s business now, was it? Mary waved goodbye to Morgan Chary, breezing out, leaving the building after yet another meeting about fundraising, or Atherton Gives Back, or whatever it was she was always coming to the school for, in and out of Dr. Broker’s office. She was here more than any other mother, hands down. Her daughter, Gertrude, that strange little creature, was also always around. Mary had seen Gertrude bringing Dr. Broker coffee the other day, probably on the command of her mother.
Mary chuckled to herself thinking about Dre and Julie’s little bathroom gossip session, how all these women were basically grown-up versions of their high school selves. For all their talk of self-reflection, for all the therapy they paid for, their meditation crap, they were still just mean girls, teasing each other on the playground.
Mary would get through her two more years at Atherton and then join her husband in retirement. That was a short amount of time in the scheme of life. She was old enough to know that.
Chapter 8A Pop-up Party!
Sofia Perez had successfully befriended the popular, wealthy women at Atherton, but she was starting to think that something was very, very wrong with them. A darkness hovering over the group like a cloud of gnats. After her mother had died, Sofia, distraught and grieving, had hired a psychic, an older Colombian woman who’d come recommended by one of the nannies. They’d sat together in Sofia’s living room and the woman had held Sofia’s hands, then shared that Sofia was being closely watched over by her mama. Her mother was worried for Sofia’s well-being, the psychic said.
“But why? I’m fine, other than missing her,” Sofia had protested. The psychic shook her head, squeezing Sofia’s fingers tightly.
“You are not fine. You are about to enter a turbulent time. You will encounter evil. You will prevail, but it will be a long, hard fight.”
Sofia had often thought of the psychic’s words as she’d stumbled through her divorce, assuming “the people” the psychic had been referring to were JP and his family. But lately she’d been starting to think otherwise. Was the battle still ahead of her?
The entirety of February had been frigid, and Sofia, not used to New York winters, was perpetually chilled. She shivered as she entered the Pippins Cottage Home pop-up on Hudson Street. It was the preview evening for the line, and Belle had invited friends and fashion editors and the moms from Atherton who were still speaking to her. At the door, Sofia was handed The Dress in her size, then escorted by a young assistant to the luxe dressing room in the back.
The space was about half full when Sofia emerged in the ill-fitting garment. Guests were perusing the goods, most of them wearing The Dress, and Sofia laughed to herself looking at all these fashionable women modeling a version of what Sofia’s grandmother used to wear to flop around the house.
Belle was standing in one corner of the room. She looked terrified.
“Sofia!” Belle came running up to her, embracing her with the force of a lonely child. Her hair was in a long ponytail, and she looked particularly young.
“Thank you for coming. I’m so nervous, I think I’ve sweat through my Dress two times already. We have all the right people here to start building excitement about the line. Your idea was genius! Have you seen Ava? I don’t think she’s here yet.”
Sofia noticed that Belle’s eye was twitching. Belle must have felt it at the same time, and she put her hand to her face, massaging it forcefully, causing a few of her eyelashes to rip off in the process.
“Everything looks great,” said Sofia gently. “And I haven’t seen Ava, no.”
Frost and Morgan breezed in from the changing area, both wearing Dresses.
“Don’t we all look fabulous!” said Frost with enthusiasm, doing a curtsy.
“Congrats! Now we arebothnewly opened business owners. Thyme & Time is booming, and I know Pippins Cottage Home will be the next big thing,” said Morgan. Belle smiled tightly, and Sofia saw Frost roll her eyes.
Jeff approached them, twirling his Oura ring around his finger.
“It looks like everyone in this room has joined a sex cult,” said Jeff, smirking. He was in his usual backward cap, beard, and sneakers combo.
“Jeff, shutup,” said Belle, frowning. “That isnotsupportive.”
“Babe, babe, I was kidding. You’re just stressed,” said Jeff. He patted her back and then, noticing an alert on his phone, stepped away from the group. Morgan changed the subject.
