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242
that money is burning a hole in eliza's stella bag
The next day Eliza found herself in front of the counter at Cartier. Even after everything that had happened, she felt like herself again inside its gilt doors. Now, this was living. She pondered the classics: interlocking trinity rings, sparkling diamond solitaires with the C emblem, the latest from the "nouvelle vague" collection of sturdy, minimalist gold cube rings that Hamptons housewives were collecting as casually as multistriped sailor shirts from L.L. Bean.
"That one," she said, pointing to an eighteen-karat-gold Panthere watch set with diamonds.
The salesgirl put the watch on Eliza's tiny wrist. "It's a beauty."
Eliza held it up to the light, admiring how it glinted and shone. "I'll take it," she said. "And no need to wrap it up; I'll just wear it out."
The watch cost significantly more than the amount in the envelope, but Eliza asked the girl to put the rest on her well-worn Visa.
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She deserved this watch! After everything she had to put up with. Maybe if she looked at it long enough, she would forget Jeremy's disgusted expression, her friends' scornful laughter, and the fact that she had to return to Buffalo at the end of the summer.
Eliza left the store and spotted Mara across the street, headed to a branch of the North Fork bank. She ducked down before Mara could see her. She didn't feel like showing Mara the watch or facing her just yet.
244
someday mara will have saved enough to buy her own country
Mara left the teller window. She had approximately $6,300 in the b
ank! She would have had $6,666 if she hadn't spent so much money on a dress and flip-flops on that fateful shopping trip. Maybe she could still buy that Camry if Jim found it in his heart to forgive her. After all, it wasn't as if she and Ryan had made out or anything, she thought, with more than a little sense of regret.
She tucked her deposit ticket into her wallet and walked out the door. She saw Eliza across the street leaving Cartier with a small red shopping bag. Eliza was pretending not to see her. Just like on the first day when they had sat on opposite sides of the bench.
Mara started toward the Pilates studio to pick up the little girls.
245
jacqui just might win her own bet
Jacqui stood at the travel agency counter, biting her lip. She had just enough to take her back to Sao Paulo. It was so tempting. What was she doing staying in town? She could be back on a real beach in sixteen hours.
She looked across the desk to the flight schedules on the computer screen. See, there was one leaving that evening from JFK.
But maybe running away wasn't the answer? It was such a waste of money. There were only a few weeks left. Her grandmother would be surprised to see her back so early. There would be too much explaining to do, and Jacqui didn't think her avd would approve when she confessed that she had spent her summer in the States just to be with a boy. Her grandmother had only allowed her to come to America because Jacqui had told her she had been chosen to participate in an "educational experience." How prophetic.
After a month in the Hamptons, Jacqui had learned that thongs were not allowed on the beaches, that her breasts were not
246
considered real, and that the best way to crash a party was to pretend you already belonged.
"Should I make the reservation?" The clerk sat back down at her desk.
"Actually, I think I've changed my mind," Jacqui said.
Besides, she had promised Zoe she would teach her to read that book she had brought from home, with all the pretty pictures.
So she left the travel agency, her envelope of cash safely tucked inside her purse.
247
super saturday is turning out to be not so super after all
