Fourth Comings_ A Jessica Darling Novel - Megan McCafferty [115]
If there was one thing I took away from Cinthia’s spiel, it was this: She is as rootless, as restless as I am right now. The obvious difference is that she’s got the resources at her disposal to put even her vaguest whims into action. Despite the pompous jargon, her mission strikes me as so wide-eyed optimistic. Sincere. And therefore subject to ridicule. Fortunately, Cinthia knows it.
“I’m a prime target for mockery,” she said, nodding toward Dexy. “‘Bad Girl Wants to Do Better.’ But I don’t care. I’d rather be ridiculed for that than for a grainy camera-phone video of me chowing down on Eurocock….”
Fuck.
I have to stop.
I can’t write anymore. Seriously, my hand is cramping into a deformed Thalidomide flipper.
I have to pick up Marin from St. A’s, anyway.
And really, what better way to end than on Eurocock?
sixty-eight
Another Brief and Meaningful Conversation with Marin
“Did Marcus ask you to marry him?”
“Uh…”
“Mommy said that Grandma said that Marcus asked you to marry him.”
“He did. But I’m not getting married, Marin.”
“Not ever?”
“Well, not…soon.”
“Mom says you’ll end up a spinster.”
“A what?”
“A SPINSTER.”
“I heard you. I didn’t know that anyone actually used that word anymore.”
“Mom does. But being a spinster is okay, right?”
“Being unmarried at twenty-two does not make me a spinster. Being unmarried at twenty-two or even forty-two doesn’t make me a spinster. Gloria Steinem wasn’t a spinster, and she didn’t get married until she was sixty-five! Christ. What is wrong with people?”
“Is Gloria Steinem related to Rebecca Steinem in my class?”
“I don’t think so. I’m sorry, Marin; I’m a little nutty today.”
“Because you’re a spinster.”
“Well, no…”
“But being a spinster is okay, right? Because Marcus is a spinster, too.”
“Uh, no. Marcus isn’t a spinster.”
“No? Are you sure? He reminds me of Driver, who is a spinster.”
“Driver? Liesl’s kid?”
“Yeah! That’s the one!”
“Driver can’t be a spinster because he’s a boy. And he’s only four years old.”
“Yes he can, too! He’s definitely a spinster. He spins around in circles all the time and never gets dizzy!”
“Oh. He spins. That makes him a spinster.”
“Yeah. He’s got modulation issues.”
“What?”
“It’s a form of sensory-processing disorder.”
“Okay, now you’re really losing me.”
“Driver gets all jumpy and funny like Marcus. And he spins in circles to help himself feel better. It makes his brain feel better.”
“Does it work?”
“Nope. He’s a wild thing.”
“Really.”
“But you should still marry Marcus. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because then I could be the flower girl in your wedding! Shelby Guglemann got to be a flower girl in her aunt’s wedding and she got to wear the awesomest dress….”
“What if we don’t have a wedding? What if I don’t get married to him or anyone?”
“No wedding? Well, I guess you could come live with me when I’m all grown up.”
“Thank you, Marin. That would be perfect.”
“But only if my husband says it’s okay.”
sixty-nine
A Not-So-Brief But Still Meaningful Conversation
with Marin’s Mommy
“So this has been a busy week for you….”
“Marin already told me that you told her that Mom told you that Marcus proposed last week.”
“I didn’t tell her. She overheard me. And I also told her not tell you.”
“She did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m your sister.”
“I was going to last week. But then you sprung the whole legal guardian thing on me and…”
“And?”
“It didn’t seem like the right time.”
“Is now the right time?”
“For what?”
“To talk about it.”
“There isn’t much to say.”
“Jessie! Your boyfriend has asked you to marry him! How can you say that there isn’t much to say?”
“You’re right. There’s a lot to say. There’s too much to say….”
“Mom said you said no.”
“Mom hears what she wants to hear.”
“So you didn’t say no?”
“I didn’t say no. But I didn’t