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Eliza led them through the house to the patio, past the pool, and down to the trail that led to the beach. It was a gorgeous night. They kicked off their shoes and walked for a while in
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silence, taking in the moonlight and the calm sea. They eventually came to the secluded spot near the old Perry homestead, Creek Head Manor. "Weird." Mara broke the silence. "I had no idea we were so close."
"Yeah," Eliza replied. "Pretty much all the houses in this part of the Hamptons are connected to the same beach--you just have to know where to walk." She dug a toe into the sand. "Anyway, I thought this would be an appropriate spot to bring you girls on our first night."
The three girls grinned mischievously, thinking of their skinny-dipping excursion of two years ago. They turned to look at the Perry house, memories of their first summer together rushing back. Mara put an arm around her friends' shoulders. Eliza and Jacqui didn't know that this spot held extra significance for her--it was where she'd first spent a night with Ryan, sleeping side by side in sleeping bags on the beach but not so much as kissing. She shook off the thought. This night was about her and her girlfriends, not her history with Ryan.
Eliza pulled the bottle out of her purse and handed it to Jacqui, who did the honors, popping the cork and sending a spray of bubbles onto the sand. The three girls giggled. Eliza reached into her purse again and produced three plastic cups. "I propose a toast--to the start of the summer." She raised her red Solo cup, careful not to spill its contents on her white dress.
Mara's eyes glinted in the moonlight. "I propose revising your toast--to the new start to the summer!" she said with a laugh.
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"Yes," Jacqui agreed, raising her glass. "Here's to getting a-- what is the phrase?--a much needed do-over!"
"Hear, hear!" they all cheered, sipping down the cold bubbles.
The surf was rolling in gently, and the sand was refreshingly cold and wet on their feet. A soft ocean breeze blew, and the sky was blanketed with stars. All three girls couldn't help
but feel lucky to have yet another summer to spend in such a magical place.
Mara looked back at the Perrys' house again. "Just imagine, if those first au pairs had worked out, we never would have met," she said softly, referring to the fact that the three of them had been hired as the "B team" after the first group of au pairs had been unceremoniously fired by Anna before the Fourth of July. During the past year, the three of them had been in New York at the same time, but they hadn't been able to see each other nearly as much as they'd have liked. Eliza had been busy with her new arsty friends, hanging out at the basement of La Esquina with the fashion crowd, while Jacqui had no spare time between juggling the kids' schedules and her studies. Not that Mara could talk about being busy--she'd been so wrapped up in David and Columbia that more often than not, it was she who canceled on dinner dates and brunch plans.
She looked over at Jacqui and Eliza, who were leaning on each other and happily sipping their champagne. Mara felt a shiver of delight. With the whole summer stretching ahead of them, it was time to reconnect and reacquaint with her old friends. She couldn't wait. She'd made some good friends at college--her
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roommates, a debutante from Georgia and a Nantucket preppie, were both really sweet--but they were no Jacqui and Eliza. Somehow, the experience of surviving the Perrys' dysfunctional family dynamic and the rigors of the Hamptons social scene had bonded the three of them for life.
Mara threw pebbles into the water, making them skip. "This champagne is making me hot," she said, feeling a warm rush to her cheeks from the alcohol.
"Well," Eliza said in a practical tone. "There's only one cure for that."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mara grinned.
In answer, Eliza kicked off her clogs and took off her sweater. Jacqui watched with an amused expression. "Are we really going to do this?" she asked.
"Hey, it's practically tradition!" Eliza replied.
Jacqui slid out of her skinny jeans and Mara shrugged off her sundress, following Eliza to the water. The cold waves lapped at their ankles and the breeze tickled their skin.
"This is it !" Eliza laughed, expressing what all three of them felt. That they were wild and free, at one with nature and the world, their best friends at their side. This was what life was all about--the ocean, the stars, and friendship. This was what they'd waited all year for.
"Let's never grow up!" Mara cheered.
"Never!" Jacqui agreed. "Jovens para sempre!" Forever young.
And with that promise, the three of them bounded into the surf.
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MARA FINDS A NEW WAY TO WARM UP
BRRRRR. MARA STARTED SHAKING FROM THE COLD, TINY
goose bumps forming all over her wet arms. Whose idea had it been to go skinny-dipping in the Atlantic Ocean anyway? Maybe she hadn't drunk enough champagne--Eliza and Jacqui didn't seem to feel adverse to the chill. Jacqui was doing a handstand in the waves, while Eliza floated lazily on her back.
