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“So what’s been going on?” Jamie asks on the phone while popping a couple of gummy bears into her mouth. “Isn’t my bed so uncomfortable? I think it’s called a princess twin, but there’s nothing princess-y about it other than the gilded headboard. The mattress feels like it’s full of straw sometimes.”
I laugh.
“No, it’s fine. I admit, the mattress is a little narrow, and it’s a bit weird to wake up with all your stuffed animals staring at me, but it’s been nice here with your dad. Ed’s been very kind.”
Jamie nods.
“Yeah, my dad can be generous and open-hearted sometimes. It’s weird because I know they call him a shark at work. He supposedly whips all these entrepreneurs into shape, and gives them no quarter to fuck around. But then again, when it comes to making money, Ed Ventura is your guy. My dad has a knack for that shit.”
I nod.
“Making money isn’t a bad thing, Jamie. I mean, look at this,” I say, gesturing to her bedroom, which is about the size of my parents’ entire house. “You grew up with this. Plus, NYU is expensive, and your dad’s paying your tuition, right?”
Jamie pops another gummy bear into her mouth.
“Yeah, and tuition’s through the roof. Something like sixty K. I don’t even know. But yeah, my dad’s footing the bill, so I’m grateful that he’s good at his job. Shit could be a lot worse.”
I nod because I’ve taken out loans to attend Coleman University, and even with financial aid, the debt burden is significant. That’s another reason why I hate school. I’ll be leaving the university with somewhere around thirty thousand in loans, and it’s going to be difficult to pay them off in any kind of timely manner.
But right now, I’m just looking to get away from it all for a short while. My life has been so insane that it’s been tough to wrap my head around recent events, and I’m grateful for this peaceful interlude in the Ventura household. Meanwhile, Jamie fixes me with another look.
“So you know I have to ask, girlfriend: what brings you back to Hooper?”
I bite my lip. I don’t want to tell my best buddy about Club Z because it’d inevitably require some mention of her father, and I have no idea if Jamie knows about her dad’s secret life. Instead, I focus on my own family.
“Well, you know that I was coming home for the weekend, and I stopped by my parents’ house.”
Jamie nods, sipping at a Coke.
“Yup yup. Sounds good.”
“Well, when I went inside, my stepdad Steve was there.”
“Okay,” she says with a casual shrug. “He works from home sometimes, right?”
I nod.
“Yeah, but Jamie, Steve wasn’t working. He was in my bedroom.”
At that, my friend pauses with a handful of gummy bears halfway to her lips.
“He was? Why? Doing what?”
I feel tears spring to my eyes again.
“He was masturbating,” I say in an anguished whisper. “He was using my panties to rub his pole, and then he lifted a second pair to his nose and sniffed the crotch.”
Jamie’s mouth drops open so far that a red gummy bear literally falls out. I see the candy cling to her t-shirt before dropping off the screen, but she doesn’t even bother to clean it up.
“What?” she whispers. “Are you serious?”
I nod.
“I haven’t told your dad yet. When I bumped into Ed, I told him that some stuff was going on at my house, but I wasn’t specific about what it was.”
Jamie nods.
“Oh my god, don’t tell my dad because Ed will go ballistic. You know my dad works out all the time, right? He’s in great shape for a dude in his forties, and he’s been a judo black belt since I was a kid. If you want your stepdad to continue living, absolutely, and I repeat absolutely, do not tell Ed.”
I sniffle.
“Yeah, I don’t know what I want to happen to Steve. I mean, it’s so wrong. But then again, my mom’s married to him, and the only reason why I was able to attend Hooper High was because he supported us. You know my mom still works as a clerk at the Stop n’ Save, right?”
Jamie wrinkles her nose at me.
“Still? Why? I thought Steve was a successful accountant.”
“He is,” I nod. “But Sandra’s always had this thing about women having their own money, so she never gave up her job.”
Jamie nods.
“Makes sense. My dad says stuff like that sometimes, as if I’m not his only heir. But does your mom know about your stepdad’s perverted ways?”
I shake my head.
“I don’t think so.”
“But do you think she suspects?” Jamie presses. “I mean, wives always know about this kind of stuff, even if they don’t acknowledge it out loud. Plus, I feel like Sandra has an inkling. Remember how she always wanted you to sleep over at our house? And how I could never stay over at yours? Maybe it’s because she suspected something about Steve.”
