Friends Forever (8 page)

Marilyn had gotten a job almost immediately selling residential and commercial real estate. She had passed the exam and was doing well at a large firm, learning the ropes, and she seemed to have a knack for it, and enjoyed it. She had gotten their house in the divorce, and after seventeen years of marriage, Larry had to pay her spousal support, and although he complained about it to Billy, he could afford it. Marilyn’s whole life had turned around. The divorce had been final for six months, and as soon as it was, she had met Jack Ellison, a good-looking man in his late forties, divorced, with two boys of his own in Chicago. He owned a successful restaurant downtown that was a popular meeting place for businesspeople for lunch or dinner. It wasn’t chic or trendy, but it was a solid business. He had opened a second equally popular restaurant in the Napa Valley the year before.

Jack was nice to her boys, and she was crazy about him. Brian was thriving on his attention and kindness to them, and although Billy grudgingly admitted that he was a nice guy, he felt an obligation to dislike him, in order to be loyal to his father. Billy spent as little time as possible with Jack and his mother, and spent most of his time with Gabby. Larry hardly ever made time to see him, he was always too busy, and he made no effort whatsoever to see Brian. He was having too much fun. And on weekends, when he wasn’t working at the restaurant in the city, Jack took Marilyn and Brian to his ranch in Napa, so he could check on things there. And sometimes he took them out on the bay on his boat, which Brian
loved. He thought Jack was a hero. Marilyn was truly happy for the first time in years. She told Connie that she felt like a miracle had happened in her life. The only one resisting it was Billy, but she was sure he’d get used to Jack in time. Jack’s genuine niceness was impossible to resist.

The biggest problem Billy had during junior year, other than his mother’s boyfriend and his father’s disappearance from his life, was that his grades suffered from all the changes he’d been through, and his adviser warned him that he would never get a football scholarship with his grades, no matter how well he played. He had no idea what to do about it, and junior year was crucial for his acceptance to college and getting a scholarship, which was his goal. It was an exciting year for him, and recruiters had come to watch him play since the beginning of junior year. Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, USC, and Notre Dame were all contenders, and desperate to have Billy accept their offers. Larry had put video clips of Billy’s best games on the Internet, which they all saw. But his adviser said he had no chance of getting in with his GPA as low as it was. It was crucial for him to get his grades up, so he could get into one of the schools recruiting him.

Marilyn hired a tutor, who only made everything seem even more complicated to him. He complained about it to Izzie one day over lunch.

“My father will kill me if I don’t play football in college,” Billy said glumly. Gabby had tried to help him do some of his assignments, but her grades weren’t stellar either. Gabby had never been a great student, and she didn’t want to go to college. All she wanted to do was go to L.A. after graduation and become an actress.
It had been her dream since first grade, and now it was only a year away. But she was no help to Billy with his schoolwork.

“Do you even want to play football in college?” Izzie asked him seriously, and he looked shocked at the question. “Or were you just going to do it for your father?” Izzie’s mother wanted her to go to law school, but it was the last thing she wanted. Although she admired what her father did at the ACLU, she knew it wasn’t for her. She had no idea what she wanted to do as a career. She had thought of teaching, or majoring in psychology, or maybe nursing, or the Peace Corps. She liked taking care of people, but she didn’t know what form she wanted it to take yet. She liked what Connie O’Hara did as a wife and mother. She was Izzie’s role model, and she had been a schoolteacher. But Izzie knew her mother would be upset if she didn’t choose a more glamorous career. Katherine wanted her to go to an Ivy League school, which Izzie didn’t want to do either, although her grades were good enough to get in. She wanted to stay in California, and her father told her to do what she wanted. He said she didn’t have to go to Harvard or Yale to get a good education, which was liberating for her, despite her mother’s pressure.

“Of course I want to play football,” Billy said with a look of determination. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. What else would I do? They’re offering me a terrific deal at all those schools.” And Billy knew it was what his father expected of him, and he didn’t want to let him down.

“Well, then I guess we’ll have to help you,” Izzie said matter-of-factly. She had well-organized study habits, and good grades. She was stronger in English and history, and Andy was the top science
student in school, and between the two of them, Izzie figured they could get Billy’s grades up, if he was willing to work hard, and he said he was. Billy was determined to do anything to get into a top school to play football.

They organized a study program for him. Andy tutored him during his free periods at lunchtime—they met in the library every day. And Izzie worked with him after school. Billy’s two friends stuck with him with unwavering dedication for the rest of the year, helping him with papers, preparing him for quizzes and tests, and breaking down the material into digestible chunks he could understand and manage, and by the end of second semester, Billy was in the top third of his class with a strong B average in almost every subject, and the occasional A on a science quiz, thanks to Andy. They had done a heroic job tutoring him, and Billy was where he needed to be to qualify for the scholarship he wanted. It was a major victory for all three of them, and Sean had joined in to help him in Spanish, since Sean had become fluent. And by the end of junior year, Billy’s adviser couldn’t believe what he’d done and the improvement he’d made. He had no idea how Billy had gotten there. And Marilyn was ecstatic too. Billy was on his way to having his dream come true. And so was she. Jack Ellison asked her to marry him in June, and she accepted.

They didn’t want to wait, and they agreed to get married at his ranch in Napa in August. She told the boys the morning after he’d asked her. She wanted them to be the first to know. Brian was thrilled, he loved Jack more than his own father. And Billy stayed drunk for two days. He told his mother he had stomach flu, but Izzie, Gabby, and the others knew the truth of how upset he was,
and how he had reacted to the news. He was devastated. It was the first time he truly understood that his parents would never get back together, his father would never sober up, and even if he did, Marilyn didn’t want him. She was going to marry Jack.

Billy’s childhood ended that summer. He was so distraught about his mother’s marriage that he began drinking in secret and smoking marijuana when he was alone. No one knew what he was doing or even suspected. He hid it well. And he got so drunk at his mother’s wedding that he passed out, and Sean and Andy had to carry him to his room, with Izzie and Gabby helping. They thought it was just a one-time excess. Marilyn was so happy and excited that she didn’t even notice he was missing as they cut the cake. The party went on until four in the morning, and she told Connie she had never been as happy in her life.

“Where’s Billy?” Connie asked Sean later that night, when she saw him talking with Izzie at a quiet table far from the dance floor that had been set up for the occasion. Jack’s Napa restaurant had catered the event and the food was great.

“I don’t know, Mom,” Sean said vaguely, glancing at Izzie, his partner in crime. “Maybe he got tired and went to bed.” He didn’t tell her that Billy had passed out hours before, and was unconscious in his room.

Connie and Mike danced a lot that night. It was a beautiful wedding, and made everyone feel romantic to see how happy the bride and groom were. Marilyn had confided to Connie that they wanted to have a baby. She was forty-two years old, and thought she still could. They were going to start trying right away. Connie had a strong feeling Billy wouldn’t like it, but by the time the baby
came, he’d be leaving for college, and Marilyn had a right to lead her life, she’d been unhappy with Larry for a long time. And Jack was good to her. He was down-to-earth and easygoing, and crazy about Marilyn and her boys. His sons were at the wedding too, and seemed like nice kids.

The O’Haras genuinely liked Jack and enjoyed spending time with him and Marilyn. Gabby’s parents, Judy and Adam, were at the wedding too, and had brought Michelle, who seemed astonishingly thin, but looked very pretty. She looked a lot like her older sister, Gabby, only paler, smaller, and less vivacious.

Andy’s parents had declined, because they were both working. His mother was on call, and his father was in L.A. doing a TV show to publicize his new book. Andy had come with the O’Haras. And Jeff Wallace, Izzie’s father, had come with a new woman he was dating, whom Connie knew Izzie didn’t like. None of the kids wanted change in their lives, they wanted everything to stay the same, but it couldn’t. Two sets of parents had already gotten divorced, and who knew what other changes life had in store for them. And the kids were changing too. In another year, they’d all be leaving for college.

The only things everyone agreed on were that they had never liked Larry, and how much they liked Jack. And unlike Larry, Jack treated Marilyn like a queen.

There was a brunch at Jack’s restaurant in Yountville in the Napa Valley, the day after the wedding, and all their good friends came to see them off on their honeymoon. Jack was taking Marilyn to Europe. They were starting in Paris, and he had chartered a sailboat in Italy. He had invited the boys to come, but Brian got
seasick and Billy didn’t want to go, so both boys were going to stay with the O’Haras, and his own sons were going back to Chicago to their mother.

After brunch, the bride and groom left, and everyone drove back to town. Brian chatted animatedly with Sean on the way home—he was blossoming with his stepfather’s kindness and attention. And Billy barely spoke. He was too hung over from the night before to say anything. Connie just thought he was tired, and he went right to bed in Sean’s room as soon as they got home.

Connie smiled to herself as she thought of the first time she’d ever seen Marilyn, on the first day of kindergarten, the day Brian was born. It amazed her to think that Marilyn wanted to have another baby, and start all over again. Connie couldn’t imagine doing that herself. She and Marilyn had been friends for twelve years. It seemed hard to believe, it had all flown by so fast. And it was even more amazing to realize that the kids’ school career, the five best friends, was almost over. The twelve years since they’d all met in kindergarten had passed in the blink of an eye.

M
arilyn and Jack came back from their honeymoon three weeks after the wedding. It was already mid-September, Brian had started seventh grade, and the Big Five were all seniors. They were in the home stretch of their high school careers.

Marilyn took Connie to lunch to thank her for taking care of the boys while she was gone, and Connie insisted it had been no trouble. She and Mike loved having them, and so did Sean.

“Our house is so overloaded with testosterone, with Mike, Kevin, and Sean, believe me, two more guys isn’t a problem. I wouldn’t know what to do with a girl.” And then she thought of Gabby’s sister, Michelle. “Did you notice Michelle at your wedding? She gets thinner every time I see her. I was worried about her. I wanted to say something to Judy, but I didn’t want to upset her. She’s always focused on Gabby, I’m not sure she sees what’s happening. Michelle looks anorexic to me.”

“I did notice,” Marilyn admitted. “I’ve seen it for a while. I keep
wondering if I should mention it to Judy, or mind my own business.”

“That’s kind of how I feel too. But I’ve always been grateful when people told me things about Kevin, when he was in trouble. Sometimes you’re too close to it to see it, or they hide it from you.”

“I know. How’s he doing, by the way?”

“Terrific. He’s still at City College. He’s getting there slowly. He should graduate next year. It’s taken longer than we hoped, but his grades are really strong, and he’s still sober. He’s in good shape … which reminds me,” she said with a serious look. “I found a few beer bottles under Billy’s bed. I think he and Sean may have partied a little one night. They’re nearly eighteen, but I gave them hell about it anyway. They both apologized but I wanted you to know. I think he’s still kind of upset about your getting married. He likes Jack, but he feels torn between him and Larry. He doesn’t want to be disloyal to his father, but he’s happy for you. Jack is a great guy. He’s ten times the man Larry is.” Marilyn knew that too.

“That’s why I married him,” Marilyn said with a slow smile. She looked peaceful and happy, and Connie was pleased for her. “I think Larry puts a lot of pressure on Billy, so he doesn’t bond with Jack. Brian had no relationship with his father, so he threw himself into it with Jack. But it’s a lot harder for Billy. I think it will be good for him when he goes away to school next year, and gets away from his father. Larry is such a mess, I don’t know how he keeps his business together.” He was still making money hand over fist, from everything Connie knew, but drinking more than ever, and dating girls less than half his age. It was pathetic. And she
knew Billy didn’t like it either, although he rarely criticized his father, but he had made a few oblique comments.

“Billy says he’s still trying to decide what school to go to,” Connie said with interest. The schools with the best football teams had been recruiting him since the spring of junior year, which was exciting for him, and for Larry. “He says he’s still serious about a career in pro football, and he’s certainly got the skills for it. Mike promised him we’d go to all his big games, wherever he is.” Marilyn smiled at her faithful friend of so many years. And she knew they would go to Billy’s games. She, Jack, and Brian were planning to go too. “It sounds like he might do USC, so he can be close to Gabby, and it’s a great school for him.” He had the pick of them all, and recruiters had been doing everything possible to get him to accept their schools’ offers.