Chapter 39
This late in the evening, the streets of Wildwood were mostly quiet, though the boardwalk was still lit up in full swing when it came into view. The giggling in the back of the van had dispersed into quiet mumbles, and Tara wondered how many of Amanda’s friends she’d have to help carry up the stairs into the house before she could sneak away. Hopefully no one was planning to drive home later. None of them was in any shape to do anything more than crash until morning.
Cautiously she pulled into Marlene’s driveway. Her aunt was already snoozing beside her in the passenger seat. Cutting off the van, Tara pulled the keys from the ignition, then shook her aunt awake. “Aunt Marlene?” she called softly. “Hey, we’re home.”
With a snort, Marlene awoke. “Wh—what? Where?”
“Home.” Tara unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. Heat wafted in, dispersing the cool air from the car’s A/C. “You want to come on in, or do you plan to sleep out here in the van all night?”
“No, no, I’m coming.” Marlene blinked owlishly in the bright overhead light as she struggled with her seat belt. When it wouldn’t unbuckle easily, she called out, “Mandy? You up?”
From behind them came the sleepy reply, “Yeah.”
It seemed to take forever to get everyone moving again. The frantic, kinetic energy from the bar was gone, replaced with a drunken lethargy that dragged them down like wet sand. Tara stood by the van’s open sliding door, one hand on her hip, trying not to show her impatience. Come on, come on,she thought, mentally trying to will everyone to move faster. Some of us have better things to do tonight.
Amanda apparently picked up on Tara’s wavelength, because she clapped her hands, then slapped her cheeks, as if trying to wake herself up. “Chicas! We’re losing steam here!” she called out, rallying her friends as they stumbled from the van. She flashed Tara a conspiratorial grin. “I have something fun for each of you that’s sureto get things buzzing again! Hurry up already!”
“Don’t want to miss that,” Tara said.
The girls oohed and ahhed, pushing each other now in their haste. Like a drunken pied piper, Amanda led the way into the house, her friends close behind. Tara waited until the van was empty, then shut the door and locked it. She caught up with Marlene on the porch. “Hey, I’m going to sit out here for a bit,” she said, slipping the keys to the van into Marlene’s dress pocket.
Marlene started, as if surprised Tara was still there. “Oh, okay. Want a drink? We’re home now. I can get you something.”
With a shake of her head, Tara said, “No, I’m good.”
Fanning herself, Marlene sighed. “It’s so hotout here! Do you want me to sit out here with you? Or—”
“No, no,” Tara said, a little too quickly. “You go on in with the others and have fun.”
“With one of Mandy’s vibrators?” Marlene snorted. “Plastic doesn’t do it for me, sorry. I think I’ll have a nightcap and head on up to bed.”
Like you need another drink,Tara thought. But she smiled and kept her mouth shut. As long as Marlene went inside, Tara didn’t care what her aunt did after that.
She waited a good five minutes after the screen door slapped shut before stepping off the porch. With slow, deliberate steps, she strolled down the sidewalk towards her car, still parked at the curb. If anyone came out, she could say she was getting something out of her trunk, or checking on her tires, something like that.
No one came out.
When she reached the curb, she dropped all pretense and hurried around the car to the driver’s side. In seconds she was behind the wheel, fumbling through her purse for her keys. She kept one eye on the porch to make sure no one came out to check on her.
They didn’t. Thank God.
Her keys were at the bottom of her purse. No turning back now. With a glance at the clock—quarter to twelve, plenty of time to get back to the bar—she started the car and pulled away from the curb. She didn’t even glance in the rearview mirror as she drove away.
* * * *
The streets were still empty, but Tara wasn’t exactly sure about the way back to Shark Bait and missed the turn the first time. When the street she was on dead-ended at a retaining wall overlooking the beach, she had to circle around in front of a Wawa and try again.