A large group came in and Quentin’s father went to seat them. Quentin led Sarah to a table where Erin and Owen leaned together in intimate conversation. Martin sat beside them, arms folded on the table, chin on hands, eyes closed. He stirred, then closed his eyes again as Quentin’s stepmother appeared with a cart of food and handed bowls to Quentin to pass around the table.
Sarah still felt apprehensive about facing the Cheatin’ Hearts again after her outburst the day before, but bravely she moved forward, pulled out a chair, and sat beside Erin. Then, partly because she wanted to test how angry Erin was, and partly because she really was completely confused, she asked Erin quietly, “Does Quentin speak Hindi?”
Erin giggled. “It’s pretty weird hearing that come out of his mouth, isn’t it?” But she took a bowl Quentin’s stepmother passed her and didn’t elaborate, as if an uneducated country boy speaking Hindi was weird, but not that weird. She elbowed Martin and tried to hand him the bowl. “Are you going to sleep all day?”
“No,” he said matter-of-factly, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
To change the subject from Martin’s conspicuous napping, Sarah said truthfully, “This food is so delicious. Amazing.”
“Isn’t it?” Erin agreed. “It’s even better than Q’s.”
“I know,” said Quentin. “I think my stepmom’s holding out on me. She’s putting something in it that she isn’t telling me about.”
“Why would she do that?” Erin asked.
Sarah said, “She wants you to keep coming back.”
She felt Quentin staring at her. When she glanced up at him, he looked like she’d given him a revelation. She smiled and resumed eating.
Then she felt Erin staring at her from the other side. Erin was pissed. Sarah filed this information for future use. Erin minded a little when Sarah touched Quentin, but she minded a lot when Sarah made inroads or gained insight that Erin didn’t have. Convincing him to drive. Commenting on his stepmother. It was okay with Erin for him to have sex with someone else. It wasn’t okay for him to fall in love.
Sarah thought it wise to concentrate on her food. This was another rare occasion when she ate until she was stuffed. She wasn’t sure what most of the Indian dishes were, but Quentin didn’t stop her again, so she figured they were safe to eat. Later, when Quentin and Owen finally finished, Quentin’s stepmother cleared away the empty bowls and brought out a white birthday cake decorated with Sarah’s name. Quentin’s stepmother and father sat down at the end of the table.
Erin and Owen handed Target-wrapped gifts down the table to Sarah. Erin’s was straw stacked heels that tied around the ankle—the countriest, sluttiest shoes Sarah had ever seen. “Welcome to my side of the fence,” Erin said with a wink.
Owen’s gift was a silver toe ring with heart cutouts. Sarah thought Erin must have picked it out, but Owen actually smiled at Sarah when she opened it, as if he wished her well for once. She wasn’t sure what to do. What the hell? She stood and hugged him. Kindly he whispered, “Happy birthday,” in her ear.
She sat down to a small, flat box. This must be the emerald from Quentin. He leaned over expectantly, watching her. She opened what she thought would be a gold chain with a small emerald pendant.
Everyone gasped.
The whole thing was emeralds. Lots of emeralds, large and small, set in circles. The necklace was narrower in the back, cascading to a pendant in front.
Erin looked grim.
Owen’s sarcasm returned. “Look, the royalties for ‘Come to Find Out.’ ” He slapped Quentin on the back. “Good thinking.”
Sarah looked to Quentin in horror. Quentin shook his head and smiled. When he motioned, she turned around obediently so he could clasp the heavy necklace around her neck.
“Looks great with your tank top,” he said.
She put her lips to his ear and whispered, “I can’t take this.”
“I’m rich,” he whispered back. “If you were my girlfriend, you’d shut up and kiss me.”
She sat back to gaze into his laughing green eyes. Then she put her arms around his neck and kissed him like a girlfriend who’d just gotten a very expensive, very beautiful birthday present.
Quentin’s father leaned over Sarah to flick a lighter to the candles on the birthday cake. Just as Sarah was taking a breath to blow them out, Quentin’s stepmother said something in Hindi.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Sarah said. This day seemed so foreign and yet so right.
Quentin laughed and laughed his musical laugh. Finally he choked out, “Make a wish.”
Sarah looked around at the faces smiling at her. Her eyes lingered on Quentin. She wished that he wasn’t in love with Erin, and that he and Sarah could be together. She blew out the candles.
They spent the afternoon at a huge modern house tucked among shady trees along the lake. Sarah was apprehensive about changing into her bathing suit along with Erin in the bathroom. She was afraid Erin would take the opportunity alone with Sarah to share exactly what she thought of her and the emerald necklace.
But the tension melted when they saw that the red bikini Sarah had bought at Target was identical to the one Erin wore, and with their country heels and toe rings on, they looked comically like they’d planned to dress as twins.
Erin giggled. “I guess country floozy and rock ’n’ roll floozy aren’t all that different.”
Sarah agreed, “Not in a bikini.”
Laughing together, they passed Martin sleeping on the living room couch and walked down the lush lawn to a sandy beach and a pier. Quentin and Owen were setting a large ice chest down on the wood. Owen reached in for a beer.
“I thought it was Erin’s turn to get drunk,” Quentin said.
“I traded with Owen,” Erin said.
Sarah thought again, uneasily, Erin hides sobriety from men.
“Look at you,” Quentin said to Sarah. He held her arms away from her body and examined her midriff, then her br**sts. He took her hand. “Come with me into the lake,” he growled at her, “or I’m going to pick you up.”
Sarah rather wanted to be picked up. But she let him pull her into the water, which was clear in the shallows and warm as a bath. Then he picked her up anyway, wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed her deeply.
They kissed for a long time, standing in the lake, dappled in bright sun and shade from the overhanging trees. Quentin was erect against Sarah, underwater where no one could see. She got a thrill rubbing against him with Erin and Owen lying in the heat on the dock twenty feet away, and with motorboats passing by out in the river channel. She wondered if he caught the buzz, too.