The Long Winter #5
Orientation part 5
“…so you see, I was originally going to study Japanese and get myself on the path to being a diplomat. My dad said that they choose diplomats based on their usefulness to the politicians in charge of appointing them and that the more useful they are the better their placement, so I thought how much better a place to be placed than Japan? But Japan’s not really that much of an economic power anymore, I mean, their economy is still huge and they’re still extremely important to us here, but nowhere near as important as Canada or China or even Russia, I thought about learning Russian, like, majoring in Russian, too, but you know, they don’t use the alphabet, they use something completely different just like Japan! Since I can’t read it I decided that maybe it wasn’t the best way for me to move forward, but my dad, you know, he’s so rich and powerful, we own a whole bunch of construction companies and car dealerships all over the state and he was a big contributor to the governor, well, the last governor, and to Senator Garies, that’s how I’m here at his party, or at least, his son’s party. Have you met his son? Braden Garies is such a cool guy, we hang out all the time, and since I’m a lesbian we love to go to the bars and the clubs and the beaches together and hit on all the hot girls! I’ll bet that’s why you’re here, too, to be my lucky arm candy! Just wait till I show you off to him, he’s going to be so jealous! He probably doesn’t even know I’m here, we should go find him and say hello.”
“No, that’s okay—“
“But first we need drinks! Let’s go get drinks, you look thirsty.”
And Penny sulked as Geri wrapped one of her big, soft, pale hands around Penny’s wrist and yanked her back towards the house. It was lit up like a baseball stadium for a night game, giving off its own aurora that glowed up into the jack pines surrounding it. Geri never paused as she pulled Penny back along the wraparound deck to the doors leading back into the kitchen, even as she said hello to every person they passed. Incredibly, they mostly looked pleased to see her, one even extending his hand out to high-five her as she waddled past.
Geri barreled into the kitchen, calling out to the man at the counter for a pair of cocktails for her and her “date” (a title at which Penny shook her head). After several long moments of yet more chatter, Geri took their drinks and hauled Penny into the next room where she pulled the half-Asian girl down onto a couch to listen to her some more.
“...and I finally said to him he needed to move his hand off my leg if he wanted to keep it and everyone laughed, I’m like the funniest person in any room I’m in, just watch this!”
Penny raised her miserable eyes to see Geri call out to a boy across the vast room and wave. He laughed with whoever he was with and waved back, his body swaying in time with his arm. Penny thought he might be mocking her captor, but the half-Asian girl only knew her friends there (and if she was honest with herself, she did not know even them that well). And they were gone, Geri had swooped down on her and Clark and separated them and there she sat on that couch in her flowered, flowing skirt Geri had scoffed at when she first saw it. Penny leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and her head down and listen to Geri fill the air between them with the endless stream of her screechy, razor blade voice.
“I remember coming to this house when it was being built! They made such a big deal out of it, about how all the lumber used was from the trees they cut down for it, and about how environmentally friendly it is! They use LEDs for the lights and drive electric cars and even buy carbon credits to make sure they’re carbon neutral here! It really is a wonder of modern life and technology that they’re able to do all this and still be so environmentally friendly! They also own so much of the land around this place to keep it safe from the losers who live in the town back there. My dad does the same stuff, we have a house on the lake but on the other side of town, and two more on inland lakes downstate, they’re a little smaller than our house up here, but combined they’re twice as big as this place! My dad never does anything small, that’s why we’re such an important family. Even though we’re important I didn’t want to go to that stuffy institute. I honestly don’t know why you’d want to go there, too, what with all those homophobic conservatives, they might as well just call it the Institute of Fascism!” And Geri laughed and Penny lifted her head and looked around helplessly, desperate to spot a friendly face, Leah’s or Maddie’s or—
“Clark!” Penny jumped up and raced across the room for the fair-haired boy, just walking in through the open doorways from the wide deck. “Clark, where were you? What happened to Maddie and Leah?”
“I don’t know, one second we were all hanging out and the next—“ Clark stopped talking and they both looked back to see Geri looming behind Penny.
“Are you macking on my girl here?” Geri asked, prodding Clark in his chest.
“Ow.”
“Nobody’s macking on anybody else, whatever that means. I was just happy to see my friend.”
“Great! Because I might feel hurt if you’re actually a straight girl. That would be a weird thing, you know, pretending to be a lesbian and then actually hooking up with guys. That’s enough to really do some damage to a delicate girl’s psyche.”
“To be honest, “delicate” is the last word that comes to mind when I think of you,” Penny muttered, scowling at Geri’s rotund belly. Geri laughed.
“I suppose I am quite a bit tougher than you, aren’t I? Look at you, you’re so skinny! Just a little ghost of a girl! I’m amazed I even saw you! Are you anorexic?” And she roared with laughter, laughter that captured everyone’s attention, including—
“Geri Nye! What is so goddamn funny you’re making that noise for?”
“Braden, you’re so fucking funny I saw your face and couldn’t stop my case of the giggles from getting out of control!”
Braden laughed with her, coming to stand next to her with a slap on her shoulder.
“Ah, I see you’re getting acquainted with one of our Mexican exchange students. I think she’s here majoring in housekeeping or housebreaking, or whatever it is that self-hating Latin-Xes major in.”
“I’m not Mexican!”
“I’m pretty sure she’s Japanese,” Geri said.
“Half-Japanese!” Penny said.
“Half-Japanese? You don’t look Asian. Plus you’re all angry all the time like a spicy enchilada Latin-X babe. Muy caliente!”
Geri laughed with him and Clark put his hand on Penny’s back.
“Shall we go?” he asked her in a low voice.
“Yes.”
But as they turned to go Braden and Geri corralled the pair in a corner away from the doors leading outside and the wide arch leading to the kitchen.
“So, Conchita, when are you going to finally give in to my irresistible charms?” Braden said, leaning against Geri’s big marshmallow shoulder.
“Your charms? She came here for me! If anyone’s irresistible charms are going to work on your little Mexican babe’s, it’s going to be my charms!”
“I’m not Mexican,” Penny said again, her shoulders slumping as she sighed. “I’m from Port Matthew.”
“Port Matthew? Never heard of it.” Braden turned his smirk back to Geri. “What do you mean your charms?”
“She’s a dyke, you dipshit.”
“A dyke?”
“What do they mean “dike?”” Penny asked.
“They mean lesbian, it’s slang or whatever,” Clark said.
“A dike is an earthen embankment meant to keep floodwaters back…”
“You’re hilarious, Conchita,” Braden said. “You’re not really a dyke, though.”
“I’m not an earthen embankment—I’m a lesbian. I like girls.” Penny did not look at Geri, afraid of how being caught glancing in that particular female’s direction might be interpreted and wished for a more intriguing female to be present, like Maddie… or Leah.
“Yeah, sure.” Braden snorted and glanced back at Geri. “Good luck snoogums. Let me know if you turn her straight, or when she graduates and she’s done with the whole experimenting bullshit and ready to come clean my rooms, if you know what I mean. I’m sure she’ll still be passably hot. Even if she is a self-hating Mexican.”
“Come on, Penny, let’s go get fuckin’ drunk, we don’t need this caveman with us.”
“Actually, I need some air and I have a few things to talk about with Clark.” She saw fire flash in Geri’s eyes and she knew there was only one way to douse it. The bullet Clark had mentioned earlier that day flashed in her mind. “I’ll message you tomorrow. We can talk about a date next weekend. Friday night.”
“Friday night? Well, it’s not an entire day…”
“I promise I’ll message you.”
“You have to swear. Swear on your mother’s grave.”
“My mother’s not dead.”
“Not the point! Didn’t you say you were at the Institute for your brains? You’re such a fucking liar, you stupid little thing, you! I can tell you’re going to be a handful, and I can’t wait to fill my hands with you!”
And with that Geri thundered away through the room, rushing up to the boy she waved at earlier and swatting him on his behind to a chorus of cheers and laughter. She glanced up at Clark and he nodded at the doors leading outside. She nodded her agreement and they fled the house, running down the levels of the deck until they were back at the bottom level above the water, breathless and laughing.
“I can tell you’re going to be a handful!” Clark said.
“Oh jeez, I am so grossed out! There’s no way I can go out with her.”
“But you agreed to go on a date with her.”
“I can push it off.”
“She’s a pushy one, and she’s friends with the good senator’s son.”
“If half the stuff I’ve read about the senator is true “good” is definitely not the work I would use to describe him.”
“No, you’re right, he’s a fucking scumbag. Stay-Puft back there’s not going to be gotten rid of so easily. You’re playing with fire. Or at least molten marshmallow under pressure.”
“That grosses me out, too.”
They fell quiet and a rush of noise earned their attention. Braden led a group of whooping boys and Geri down the decks to the dock and they clambered on board the largest of the three compensatory vessels. The sound of a distant engine grew.
“I suddenly don't feel like being down here,” Penny said, watching them gyrating with each other under the bright lights strung up over the deck of the boat.
“Yeah, your feelings are probably right on,” Clark said, already moving to the stairs. “Let's go see if we can find our other two friends. They must be getting suspicious of us by this point.”
“They have to know I'm pretty gay, though.”
“You look like a straight chick. No offense.”
“What do gay chicks look like?”
“Well, if I was watching porn they'd look like you, but this is real life, so like, fat, ugly, manly chicks who wear combat boots.”
Penny frowned at him.
“I know. Sounds pretty closed-minded of me to assume that, huh?”
“Kind of. I almost feel offended.”
“Only “almost” though.”
Clark grinned at her and she laughed.
“Come on. Let's go find Leah so you can go back to irritating her instead of me!”