What They Left Behind

Page had invited Gennie to San Francisco for the week. It had been about two years since Gennie had seen her and that was to disclose the terms of the settlement. They did talk on the phone about once a week, though. One day Page decided to take her first vacation from the law firm. She told Gennie she had a special announcement to make. She also wanted Gennie to have so much fun that she would ‘go comatose’ for a month.

  Page’s idea of fun was always a little different from Gennie’s, but Gennie hoped that forty-year-old Page was slightly mellower than twenty-year-old Page. Not really. The first night she spent with Page most of their fun consisted of going to bars and drinking. The only thing that had changed since their college days were the drinks--cocktails with fancy names instead of just beer.

  The second day they went out shopping. Gennie was surprised because the old Page hated shopping, especially for clothes. Gennie supposed she picked up this new habit during her law career because she could’ve cared less about what she looked like in high school and college. But now she had very expensive tastes. They shopped around the Financial District. They went into stores Gennie wouldn’t dare step in by herself because they looked so exclusive. Page bought items off the racks and shelves without looking at any of the price tags. Gennie almost passed out when the total of her purchases at one boutique was twenty five hundred dollars. Page simply shrugged her shoulders and handed the sales lady her credit card.

  Tonight, on Gennie’s third day in San Francisco, they were going out to dinner and then they would see the movie Beaches. Gennie was relieved there wasn’t going to be another bar hopping or extremely expensive shopping adventure.

  Gennie thought they would be going out to one of the high-end restaurants they passed by while shopping, but instead they went to, of all places, Bella Cucina.

  “The theme for this evening is Blast from the Past,” Page explained as they waited for a table.

  “You know, I haven’t been in this place since I worked here,” Gennie said, looking around. The interior had been updated, with beige paint on the wall and mauve chairs with matching tablecloths and napkins, but the layout was exactly the same. Gennie remembered the night when Charlene came here with all of her friends. Ben was on a date with Bouffant Barbara, and that was the first time she met Foster. A smile crept onto her face as she wondered if Bouffant Barbara still had her bouffant.

  “What’s so funny?” Page asked.

  “Ben went on his first date here, with Bouffant Barbara. I was wondering if she still had her bouffant.”

  Page broke out laughing. “I actually saw her last month at my firm’s Christmas party. She’s married to one of the partners now. And you know what, she still has that bouffant! I almost crapped my pants. It’s still as blond and lacquered as ever, except she looks like she’s imitating Ivana Trump instead of Joey Heatherton now.”

  “Oh my god, that’s great! Did she even know who you were?”

  “I introduced myself to her directly. She didn’t acknowledge that she knew me, but I could tell she recognized me. She had the whole deer in the headlights look going on. She must have been thinking, Holy shit, I’m at the same party as Page Goodman! Oh no, the world is going to end!”

  They both chuckled.

  “So, since it’s Blast from the Past night, are we going to meet anybody from The Past?”

  Page gave her a sly smile. “Maybe.”

  “Did you invite Bouffant Barbara?”

  “No way. I’d rather shoot myself with a .44 Magnum than eat dinner with that bitch.”

  The host led them to their table.

  “Do you remember Lacey?” Gennie asked him.

  The young man shook his head. “I can’t say that I do, but I’ve only been here about three years. Your server will be with you in a moment.”

  Page slapped her on the shoulder. “Of course he doesn’t know, Gen! He was still a sperm in his father’s left ball when Lacey was around. I have underwear older than he is!”

  The host overheard and blushed furiously. Gennie tried to stifle her laughter, but was unable to.

  “Is The Blast going to show up, or is it Girls Night Out again?” Gennie asked.

  “Actually, I invited the whole friggin’ class of ’66,” Page said jokingly. “Come on! What did you expect?”

  “What did you expect?” A male voice said to them.

  Gennie looked up and saw a tall man in a gray double-breasted jacket with matching pants and a white shirt. Gennie thought he looked like he walked straight out a magazine ad. Except that his hair was a little long and messy and his hands looked a bit rough and calloused. She knew exactly who he was.

  “Foster?” Gennie said.

  “Hey, isn’t this a coincidence,” Page chimed in. “Gennie, this is my brand spanking new boyfriend. We’ve been going out for about three months now. And, as you correctly guessed, it’s none other than Foster Conrad.”

  “No way!” Gennie cried.

  Page was beaming like a girl who had been crowned Miss America. Foster sat beside Page and put his arm around her. Gennie thought Page was going to melt.

  “And who is this?” Foster asked her.

  “Well, I don’t know if you remember this far back, but this is Gennie Perrin.”

  Foster smiled. “Oh yes, I do remember!” He took Gennie’s hand and squeezed it. “You look terrific, Gen. I swear you’ve haven’t changed at all since I last saw you.”

  “Thanks Foster. You look great, too.”

  “Well thank you.”

  “So, how are you enjoying your new girlfriend?” Gennie asked him.

  “I should have dated her twenty years ago,” Foster replied.

  “Yeah, you should have,” Page said.

  “You should have slapped me upside the head,” Foster told Page, “that I didn’t see a beautiful girl like you.”

  Page pinched his cheek. “Yeah, but you’re too cute.”

  They ordered their drinks and chatted.

  “Page tells me that you’ve got a good man,” Foster said, “and you have kids too, right?”

  “I have two girls,” Gennie replied. “My oldest, Michele, is nineteen. She’s in college, at USC, studying music. And my baby, Jamie-Rae, is fourteen months old.”

  “Do you have any pictures?” Foster asked.

  “Sure,” Gennie replied, taking out her wallet and handing it to Foster.

  He looked at the photos. “Your kids are gorgeous.” He handed her the wallet back. “You’re a lucky girl.”

  “Do you have any children?” Gennie asked.

  “Yeah, I want to know too,” Page said, elbowing him playfully.

  “No, I don’t,” Foster said. “I never got married or anything like that.”

  “Really?” Gennie replied.

  “Came close once, but I think I was waiting for this one right here,” Foster said, turning towards Page.

  “Well, I came about as close to getting married as I’ve come to a rat’s ass, which isn’t close at all, but I guess it was all worth it, since I’m going out with him.” Page pointed to Foster.

  Their drinks arrived and they put in their orders.

  “We don’t have any kids in our family except for my niece Lauren,” Foster said. “I’ve been sort of like her father since Charlene and Johnny got divorced, because Johnny can’t be bothered to spend any time with her. He hasn’t even paid child support.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that Charlene and Johnny split up,” Gennie said.

  “It was a long time ago. Lauren couldn’t have been more than three years old.”

  “How is Charlene doing now?” Gennie asked.

  “Oh, she’s getting by, I guess,” Foster replied, in a less than happy tone. “I try to help her out as much as I can. For some reason, she won’t move out of that slum she’s living in. Mom needs someone to look after her and she has that huge house with all those rooms. I tried to talk Charlene into moving back in with her, b
ut she refuses. I can’t believe she’s still mad at her after all these years.”

  Charlene living in a slum? Gennie could barely imagine that. And Mom needs someone to look after her? He wasn’t talking about his mom he was talking about hers! If Ben hadn’t pushed her into that death oath, she would have definitely stopped by.

  “Would you like to see a picture of Lauren?” Foster asked, taking out his wallet and sliding it across the table.

  “Okay,” Gennie said, feeling a bit nervous. She opened up the wallet to see a girl who looked exactly like Charlene except that she had light brown hair. It was obviously a school picture and Gennie noticed that Lauren was dressed more casually than Charlene would have been. She had on a red sweater with puffy shoulders along with a white turtleneck and silver hoop earrings.

  “It’s déjà vu!” Gennie said. “She looks exactly like Charlene.”

  “Well, what Charlene used to look like, anyway,” Foster said. “We’re all so proud of her. She graduated third in her high school class and now she’s attending Newbury College in Boston. Mom was in her glory when Lauren told her she wanted to go into cooking just like her. It just made her whole day.”

  Wouldn’t Ben like to know this, Gennie thought. It would make his day too.

  “She’s a beautiful girl, Foster,” Gennie said, handing the wallet back to him.

  “Oh, I know,” Foster replied. He slid the picture out of the wallet. “Do you want to have it?”

  “Huh?” Gennie responded. She thought that was a weird question to ask.

  Foster nodded, as if they shared something Page didn’t know about. Oh geez, he wants me to give it to Ben, she thought. How could I be so dense?

  Gennie nodded in return. “Well, thank you, Foster. That’s really nice of you.”

  “Wow, I’m impressed,” Page said, oblivious to the silent exchange. “He’s a great guy, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is,” Gennie replied. She put the picture in the pocket of her black leather jacket.

  Their orders arrived and they chatted while they ate dinner.

  “I’ve got to get going, girls,” Foster said, as soon as he finished eating. “I have a presentation to give at seven in the morning tomorrow.”

  “You don’t want to go and see Beaches?” Page asked.

  Foster looked at her as if she asked him to attend someone’s execution. “Sorry, I can’t. Why don’t you enjoy yourselves tonight? Paint the town, you know.”

  “We’ve painted the town many colors,” Gennie added.

  “Mostly vomity-like colors,” Page added and they both chuckled.

  “Goodbye, sweetie pie,” Foster said and kissed Page on the lips.

  “Goodbye, lovey dovey,” Page replied. “Get your beauty rest.”

  “I’ll try,” Foster replied and left.

  After the check was paid, Gennie and Page walked to the theater. They had an hour to kill before the movie started, so they hung out and talked outside the entrance.

  “Charlene doesn’t sound like she’s in a good place,” Gennie said.

  “Oh, Foster was being nice, really nice, when he said that.”

  “She’s doing that bad?”

  Page leaned into her and whispered. “He had to send her to rehab several times. She’s an alcoholic and takes pain medication like they were candy. She started going downhill after Johnny left her. Actually, the reason why Lauren turned out so well is because Foster took care of her about ninety percent of the time. She didn’t move back in with her mother until she was in high school.”

  “Oh god, that’s too bad. I hope she’s doing better.”

  “Yes, she’s out of rehab again and she has a job working at the Seven-Eleven down the street. You wanna go see her? I bet she’s working now.”

  “Charlene works at a Seven-Eleven? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  “No, I’m not. I’ll show you. I want to get some candy and soda anyway. Nothing beats the thrill of smuggling food inside movie theaters.”

  They walked down Ocean Avenue to the Seven-Eleven. As they entered the store, Gennie saw an older blond woman at the cash register, but it looked nothing like Charlene. Though Charlene was always thin, she never looked emaciated. This lady couldn’t have weighed more than ninety pounds and she had deep circles under her eyes. The skin on her face and under her chin was slack, making her look about twenty years older than Charlene would have been. Instead of Charlene’s lustrous mane, her hair was very thin and held up in a loose ponytail.

  “Hey Charlene!” Page announced. “How are you doing?”

  The woman hadn’t noticed them until then and she jumped up about a foot.

  “Oh, I’m fine, I guess,” she said nervously. “What are you doing around here?”

  “Gennie and I are going to see Beaches. Have you seen it yet?”

  “No,” Charlene replied. “I haven’t had the time.”

  “I know how you feel,” Page said. “The last movie I saw was the first Jaws. Lately, I’ve been like, if I don’t take a frickin’ vacation, I’m going to jump into the bay hoping I get eaten alive by him. By the way, you remember Gennie, don’t you?”

  Charlene eyed Gennie as if she was a cop about to arrest her. “Gennie Perrin?”

  “Yep, that’s me,” Gennie replied. “It’s great to see you again, Charlene.”

  Gennie held out her hand and Charlene shook it. She had the lightest of grips and her palm was sweating profusely.

  “It’s nice to see you,” Charlene replied, giving Gennie the one thing that sparked any recognition--the fake TV smile. “You look like you’re doing well.”

  “I am,” Gennie said. “I’m married and I have two daughters.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” Charlene replied. “You know I was just wondering…how is Ben doing? He’s okay, isn’t he?”

  “He’s doing very good.”

  “Is he married?” Charlene asked. Gennie knew Charlene was hoping that the answer was no.

  “Yes, to a really great girl,” Gennie said. She saw Charlene literally sink into her uniform. “He has a baby too. Actually, he’s nine years old now. Kristopher would kill me if he heard me call him a baby.”

  “I’m so happy he’s doing well. I wonder about him all the time, you know. I keep hoping he’ll drop in here maybe but he never has.” She chuckled nervously. “Anyway, if you see him tell him I said hi.”

  “I will,” Gennie replied.

  They loaded up on Snickers bars and Diet Cokes and then paid at the cash register.

  “See you later, sis,” Page said. “I’ll tell you about the movie next time I stop by here.”

  “All right,” Charlene replied, forced cheerfulness in her voice. “See you later.”

  “What do you think?” Page said, as soon as the door closed.

  “I can’t believe it’s her,” Gennie replied. “I barely recognized her.”

  “Doesn’t she look old?” Page remarked, as they continued down the street towards the theater. “I swear she’s in second place behind Keith Richards in the Shar-Pei Lookalike contest.”

  Gennie chuckled. “Not quite that bad, but she looks like she could be about sixty.”

  “You know, I can’t even imagine what she’s thinking right now. She’s probably like I’m stuck behind this fucking counter, and I have to wait on people I was too important to even talk to in high school. I should go home and hang myself!”

  “I feel sorry for her,” Gennie said. “She seems really sad.”

  “Don’t ever feel sorry for her, Gen. She’s getting what’s coming to her. I mean she screwed your brother over big time. You should be mad as hell at her.”

  “That was so long ago, Page.”

  “But time doesn’t make it all right. Now, she’s acting all concerned for poor Benjamin. She doesn’t care about him. She just wants to get out of that frickin’ Seven-Eleven!”

  “Be nice to her
. She might be your sister-in-law someday.”

  “Oh, I hope she’s my sister-in-law! You know why? Because I irritate the hell out of her. I can’t wait until Foster and I get married so I can bug her for life.”

  Gennie sighed. In some ways, Page never got beyond the level of a teenager.

  “Hey, race you to the theater!” Page said. “The last one there has to pay!”

  “Luckily, for me, I’m not wearing three inch spiked heel boots,” Gennie said. She took off running down the street.

  “Oh, you are always Miss Sensible, aren’t you, you little turd!” Page yelled in mock anger.

  “Yep,” Gennie yelled back. “See you at the movie!”

  Chapter 76: January 16