Class Reunion

by Linda Hill

  As they went over the schedule, Jen thought ruefully that she hadn’t planned for spending much time with her sister’s family, and she told them as much.

  “I could skip tonight’s party, if you like. So we can spend some time together,” she suggested hopefully.

  Sally slapped her leg. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Why don’t you two go? I’ll stay home with the kids,” Jim suggested.

  Jen’s eyes lit up. “Perfect. Sally? Please come. I’m liable to drive around for hours trying to get my courage up if you don’t go.” She didn’t have to twist her sister’s arm, and within twenty minutes, they were in the car and on their way to the reunion.

  Chapter 3

  They arrived at the country club ten minutes later. Jen reluctantly stepped from the car and began to make her way down the path toward the clubŹhouse and botanical gardens.

  “Oh god,” Jennifer said. “Do we have to do this?”

  Sally placed both hands on her younger sister’s back and gave her a playful shove. “You can do it, kiddo. I can’t believe you’re this nervous.”

  “I can’t either,” Jen admitted. “In fact, I don’t remember the last time I was this nervous.”

  “It’s not like you.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re always so confident.”

  Jen turned toward her sister. “You think so, huh?”

  “Of course. I’ve always wanted to be more like you in that way.”

  Astonished, Jen glanced sideways to see if her sister was teasing. But Sally’s face was earnest.

  “I never knew that,” she mused.

  “Of course you didn’t. It’s not something one likes to admit to her little sister.” They stopped walking as the clubhouse door loomed before them. A huge banner was draped above it. WELCOME GEORGE WASHINGTON — CLASS OF ‘77.

  Jennifer groaned aloud. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

  Sally rolled her eyes and tucked an arm through Jen’s. “Come on. We’ll have fun.” She pushed the door open and the two of them stepped inside.

  They found themselves in a long narrow hallway that led to a larger room, where picnic tables had been placed strategically along the perimeter. Dozens of people, indistinguishable to Jennifer’s eyes, milled about, casually drinking and chatting in little groups.

  “Hi!” A loud, singsongy voice greeted them. “And just who would you be?”

  Jennifer’s eyes fell to the perky, brown-haired woman who stood behind a picnic table immediately to their right.

  “Hi.” Jen found her voice.

  “You know,” the woman said in a puzzled voice, her eyes darting back and forth between the sisters. “I don’t think I recognize either one of you. I’m Tina

  Simms.” She pointed to the round button pinned to her lapel. On the button was a black and white photograph, clearly from their high-school yearbook. Jennifer didn’t think she’d ever seen this woman in her life. 1 m —

  “Don’t tell me,” the woman shrieked abruptly, clearly excited about the role she was playing. “Show me!” She waved the two of them closer. “Find your button.” Dramatically, her arm swept out to indicate the table before her. Nearly fifty of the round buttons were scattered across the table, each decorated with the yearbook photograph of a different graduate. Beneath each photo, someone had carefully lettered the graduate’s name.

  Jennifer slid a grimace at her sister before scanŹning the table for her name tag.

  Her own face stared back at her from one corner. “That’s me.” Jen pointed to the button, and Tina eagerly swept it up, glancing at the photograph and then at Jennifer.

  “Jenny Moreland?”

  Jennifer cringed. No one had called her Jenny in years. Except her sister, of course.

  Tina continued to glance back and forth between Jennifer and the picture. “I don’t think I know you.” Tina was clearly disappointed. “Wow,” she said, handŹing the pin to Jennifer. “You sure look different.”

  Jennifer looked at the photo on the button and had to chuckle. “I sure do.” The teenager smiling lazily up at her could have been anyone but the woman she’d turned into. Long, thick blond hair layered in a long shag framed softly pointed features.

  Eyes thick with makeup were wide open. Innocent. She’d looked innocent. With a sigh, she fumbled to pin the button to her shirt.

  “And who are you?” Tina turned to Sally.

  “I’m her sister. I graduated a year earlier.”

  “Well, how nice of you to join us tonight. Have fun,” Tina said smoothly, already turning her attenŹtion to a couple opening the door behind them.

  Sally gently urged Jennifer away from the table. “Do you know her?” she whispered.

  “Not a clue. Can we go home now?”

  Exasperated, Sally punched her shoulder. “Knock it off, kiddo. You’re stuck for at least an hour or two. Recognize anybody?” They had reached the main room of the clubhouse, and it took Jennifer several moments to realize that she was scanning the crowd without actually looking at anyone.

  She shook her head. “They’re bald. All of the guys are bald.” Aghast, her eyes flew from one gleaming head to another. “They’re twenty-eight years old, and they’re all bald.”

  Sally laughed. “Don’t you have any men in your life?”

  “Of course I do. But the last time I saw any of these guys they had hair.”

  “We all change.” Sally’s voice sounded weary. “Come on, let’s find a place to sit so I can get us some drinks. No hiding in a corner, now. I want you to mingle.” She directed them to a table and tucked Jennifer safely on a bench before stepping away.

  Jennifer sat quietly, trying to relax and shed her anxiety. She let her eyes wander about the room. She discovered that once she actually allowed herself to focus on each face, familiar features materialized and recognition soon followed.

  She remembered these people. Some from as far back as kindergarten. Some were bigger than she remembered. Some smaller. Hairstyles were shorter, for both the men and the women.

  “Jenny? Is that you?” Jennifer looked quickly to her right. A shorter woman with red hair and sparkling blue eyes smiled at her. Freckles covered every inch of her exposed skin.

  “Lucy!” Jen jumped to her feet and threw her arms around the shorter woman. After a flurry of greetings and exclamations, Lucy joined her at the picnic table.

  “You look great,” Jen told her.

  “So do you. You look so healthy. And I love your do.”

  Jen grimaced self-consciously and ran long fingers through her hair, wishing she hadn’t had it cut quite so short. “A little radical for this group, perhaps.”

  “Fuck ‘em,” Lucy shrugged, tipping a bottle of beer to her lips.

  Jen laughed. For a moment, Lucy reminded her of Georgie.

  “What are you doing now? Where do you live?” “Just north of Phoenix. I’m a pharmacist.” “A pharmacist?” “Yeah,” she shrugged.

  “Good god. I’d have expected that you were doing something more exciting with yourself.”

  Jennifer shrugged again, fully prepared for this

  common reaction. They spent the next few moments catching up, and Jennifer found herself searching for things to say.

  “Have you seen anyone else here from the team?” The team was the George Washington Cherry Blossoms, better known as the girl’s high-school basketball team. Jennifer had played all three years of high school. She’d been a forward, although she’d spent most of the time on the bench, while Lucy was the point guard.

  “Sure. Tammy and Sandy are here. I saw Gina a few minutes ago. And Diane is here somewhere.” Lucy’s eyes scanned the crowd as she waved several women over to their table.

  So Diane Miller is here, Jen mused. She felt slightly curious about the only known lesbian from high school.

  Before long, Sally returned with drinks in hand, and a number of classmates began to gather at their table. Most of them had been m
embers of the basketball team, and the majority had husbands in tow. She learned that several of the women had been married and divorced. Only two of the original teammates hadn’t married at all. Jennifer was one. The other was Diane Miller.

  Sally was thankfully deep in conversation with Lucy, giving Jen a chance to observe her former classmates. As she glanced around at the faces surŹrounding her, she thought how interesting it was that this particular group would gravitate together. AlŹthough she had spent quite a lot of time with these women when they were girls, she hadn’t really felt particularly close to any of them.

  But she hadn’t really felt close to anyone back then, she reasoned. Except for Sheila and Sally. No one else had seemed important to her. But surely someone here had held some special place in her heart? She shook her head, unable to remember, but suddenly desperate to find something from her past worth revisiting. Something other than Sheila.

  Her eyes wandered outside the circle, moving from face to face as she identified some of the other classŹmates in the room. Her gaze rested on a young woman standing shyly away from the rest of the crowd. She was holding a glass tightly in one hand and watching the liquid that swirled inside with great interest. Occasionally she lifted her head, her dark eyes glancing around the room from beneath long, fine blond hair.

  For the life of her, Jen couldn’t place the woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but nothing in Jen’s memory clicked. One thing was certain, however. The woman was terribly uncomfortable. Even more unŹcomfortable than I am, Jen thought.

  Unable to drag her eyes away, she searched her memory. She wanted to come up with a name so that she could find a reason to talk to the woman. Heat rushed to her cheeks as familiar excitement fluttered in her stomach. Then Sally’s elbow was digging into her side, demanding her attention. Reluctantly, her thoughts rejoined the group around her. Gina was telling a story about trying out for her college basketŹball team. Sally whispered something about Sheila before disappearing from her side.

  In her peripheral vision, Jen could see Sally reaching for someone, pulling them close in a hug. Black hair. Shorter than she’d remembered. A familiar voice. Sheila.

  Jen felt cold inside; her palms instantly went damp. The two were approaching, their voices growing clearer. She tried to focus on what Gina was saying.

  “And then this girl takes the ball from me and looks me over, and then she said ‘You’re from Iowa, aren’t you?’ And I told her yes and asked her how she knew. Do you know what she said?” Gina looked from one face to another. “She said, ‘Because you never step over the centerline and you never dribble the ball more than twice.’ ” A roar of laughter erupted from the table.

  Jennifer could hear her sister calling her name, but she didn’t want to look. She didn’t want to talk to Sheila.

  “Jen! Jenny! Look who I found!”

  Groaning inwardly, she fixed a smile on her lips and turned in her seat to face her sister.

  Sally was grinning broadly. “It’s Sheila!”

  Jennifer held her breath as her eyes swept over the woman standing beside her sister. Her body was fuller and heavier than before. The long black hair was cut short and poofed out in a way that made her look older. Green eyes peered out at her from behind heavy makeup. Bright red lips pouted ever so slightly.

  Jen stood, uncertainly moved forward, and awkwardly held out her hand. Sheila’s hand met hers, and their cheeks brushed in the stiff, formal way reserved for straight women who don’t know each other.

  Jennifer’s bones chilled. If she’d had any doubt about how Sheila would react to seeing her, she had none now. Sheila was studying her carefully, her eyes flickering over Jen’s features. One brow raised ever so slightly as her eyes focused on Jennifer’s hairline.

  “Sheila. How are you?” Jen was determined to get this over with quickly.

  “Couldn’t be happier. And you?” Her voice was clipped, with just a trace of a southern accent that Jennifer knew she hadn’t had before.

  “Better than ever,” she replied, unable to break the stare between them.

  From out of nowhere, an arm appeared around Sheila’s waist, and a large, rough hand was thrust out in front of Jennifer. “Hey, Jenny.”

  “Hi, Bobby.” With a sick feeling, she placed her hand in his and nearly gasped as he crushed her fingers. He was grinning at her, a knowing smirk on his features.

  He knows.

  With some satisfaction, Jennifer noted that Bobby seemed to be suffering the same fate as so many others of their male classmates. He was completely bald, and his belly protruded over his belt.

  He pulled Sheila against him possessively while he chewed gum loudly, all the while staring at Jen with that unflinching smirk.

  The silence grew uncomfortable. Sally stepped in and took control of the conversation.

  “Where are you two living now?”

  “We moved to Dallas about eight years ago,” Bobby said.

  With some relief, Jennifer tuned out the conversaŹtion and observed the couple quietly, looking for any sign or acknowledgment from Sheila.

  “Do you have any kids?” Sally was asking.

  Sheila rolled her eyes. “Three of ‘em. All boys.”

  Jennifer felt her knees buckle. Sheila had childŹren. Three boys. Jen felt betrayed all over again. It was easier not to know. It was easier just to imagine that Sheila had gone on without her. But she didn’t want to hear about it.

  “Hey, Bobby! Hey, Sheila!” Thankfully, they were interrupted by Gina, who waved them over to meet everyone. While introductions were being made, Sally threw a questioning look at Jen, who just shrugged and looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

  “We were just talking about some of the crazy stuff we used to do,” Gina was saying. “Like sneaking into the boys’ locker room after practice.”

  “And cutting biology class,” Lucy chimed in. “NoŹbody ever went to that class.”

  “Smoking in the rest room,” somebody added.

  “I never did any of that stuff.” Sheila’s voice boomed far louder than anyone else’s.

  For a moment, no one said anything. They all stared at Sheila. Jennifer was amazed. If anything, Sheila had been the ringleader whenever they were up to no good.

  “Yeah. Right.” Lucy’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “You were a real angel, Sheila,” she chuckled. “I seem to recall that it was you who always wanted to play spin the bottle. You who put Gina’s bra in the freezer at one of my slumber parties. And weren’t you the one who —”

  Sheila’s face grew red. “I don’t remember doing anything like that,” she insisted. “And if I did, it was because Jenny put me up to it. She always made me do stupid things that I didn’t want to do.”

  Stunned by the vehemence of Sheila’s words, Jennifer stared dumbfounded at the woman who had once been the most important person in her life.

  The others in the group were also shocked, obviously surprised by what sounded like a completely unprovoked attack.

  Finally, Lucy threw her head back and laughed. “If you say so, Sheila. But that sure ain’t the way I remember it.” She picked up a bottle of beer and tipped it to her lips.

  “Jesus,” Sally muttered under her breath near her sister’s ear.

  Jennifer turned to her sister and plastered a fake smile on her face. Through tightly clenched teeth she whispered, “Are we having fun yet?”

  Sally gave her a wide-eyed, meaningful stare just as Jennifer felt an arm curling heavily around her shoulders.

  Startled, she looked up into the face of Diane Miller, just inches from her own. Diane was smiling broadly.

  “Hey, doll. You’re looking hot,” she said loudly. Too loudly.

  Jennifer nearly choked as Diane’s eyes slid over her boldly. Jen’s memory of the once shy and gawky teenager was instantly blown away. The big-boned, hulking woman that towered over her was clearly self-confident, unbelievably handsome, and unŹdoubtedly a bull dyke. And it was equally obvious that she didn’t care
who knew it.

  Jen glanced at Sheila and Bobby, who were both barely hiding their distaste. As the desire to flee swelled inside her, Diane squeezed her shoulder and sent a playful wink her way. “Don’t let her get to you, doll,” Diane whispered, and Jennifer was someŹhow calmed.

  A chorus of greetings erupted as Diane quickly became the center of attention. She greeted everyone smoothly before turning to Sheila. Deliberately and slowly, she looked Sheila up and down again before meeting her eyes and greeting her with a nod of her head.

  “Sheila,” she said simply, without acknowledging the husband who seemed to pull his wife even closer against him.

  The tension was thick between them as Sheila muttered a greeting, her lips a careful straight line.

  Warning bells were going off in Jennifer’s mind. Something here was definitely not right. In high school, she and Diane had really no relationship at all except on the basketball court, and she couldn’t recall Sheila ever even speaking to Diane. Why then, was Sheila glaring at the two of them? And why did Diane appear so triumphant, casually draping her arm around Jen’s shoulder’s and rocking back and forth on the heels of her boots?

  Jen caught her sister’s questioning gaze again and shrugged her shoulders, completely at a loss. “We were just talking about the good old days,” Jennifer finally found her voice.

  “Come on, were they really all that good?” Diane whispered and smiled at her hawkishly, making her squirm.

  “Yeah,” Lucy chimed in, “Sheila was just telling us what an angel she was back then.”

  Diane tipped her head back and laughed, her arm finally leaving its place around Jen’s shoulders. “She was a real innocent, wasn’t she?”

  Had Jennifer missed something? Why was Lucy so antagonistic toward Sheila? And what did Diane know about Sheila? And about Jen, for that matter?

  Thankfully, a small group of people that Jennifer barely recognized stepped between them, interrupting the exchange. Diane disappeared after throwing another wink, and Jennifer seized the opportunity to catch her sister’s elbow.

  “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night. Let’s go.” She began to steer Sally away from the others.