CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SYLVIA
Sylvia linked her arm through Judith’s and walked out of their house on Saturday for the very last time. She closed the door behind them and forced herself not to look back. She was distraught and all she wanted was to race back inside, curl up in a corner of the living room, and sob amid the chaos of her crumbling life. But she had to be strong for her daughter, and besides, there was no point standing around watching everything she owned get packed into the back of a moving truck when there wasn’t a darn thing she could do about it.
They’d agreed to sell most of the large furniture to the new owners for an extra few thousand dollars. The movers were in the process of carrying the rest of their belongings to a truck parked outside and would deliver them to the cottage on Onyx Avenue later that afternoon.
“I don’t see how we can just sleep at the new place tonight; it’s all happening so fast,” Judith said through tears.
“I know it’s hard, but we have to remember it’s just a house,” Sylvia said, giving her a squeeze and trying to believe it herself. “We’ll make the next place cozy, I promise.”
The Bathing Beauty Contest was starting at 2PM,and she needed to get to the Fun Zone fast. Sylvia put her arm around Judith, who was feverishly dabbing her eyes with tissues, desperate not to mess up hermakeup before the contest she’d be attending with her friends in just a few hours.
“Let’s do a quick check,” Sylvia said once they were out of the front gate. “Do you have the corsages with the numbers?” Sylvia asked.
Judith nodded, lifting an elbow to indicate they were in her heavy tote bag.
“The sashes?”
“They’re with the numbers. In the box.”
Judith was watching her expectantly, no longer sniffling. Maybe focusing on the details could help her—and Sylvia too, for that matter—pull herself together. What other choice did they have? “Good. I’ve got the trophies and the crown,” Sylvia said, patting a large bag looped over her shoulder. “Milly said she’d bring fans in case the girls get warm. I’ve got a first aid kit: Someone always needs a Band-Aid for a blister or smelling salts if they’re feeling faint after starving themselves to fit into their swimsuit!” She gave her daughter a nudge and shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe the theatrics!” And Judith managed to smile back. “I was certainly guilty of that the day before my contest,” Sylvia went on. “Anyway, I think we’re all set. Let’s at least try to have some fun.”
They started down the promenade, but any sense of camaraderie faded too soon.
“This would be so much easier if you still had your car,” Judith grumbled under her breath as they made their way toward the ferry.
“Yes, it would,” Sylvia said. “I wish I’d thought to ask your father to leave us his car this morning, but there was so much going on.”
Walter had left for the bank earlier that morning to fill out paperwork and hand the deed over to the new owners. If all went well, after he’d awarded the Bathing Beauty Contest winner her prize, he could at last deliver the money he owed later that afternoon, upstairs in some dingy bar on the peninsula. The mere thought of it made her heart ache and her eyes sting.
“Can’t someone else announce the winners, Lamb Chop?” he’d asked Sylvia wearily the night before. “Hal Peterson would be happyto do it.” Clearly the contest was the last thing on Walter’s mind, but he had awarded the prize for the past two decades, and before that his father had done the presenting, so Sylvia insisted that he not break with tradition now. They had to maintain their reputation; they had the club, just barely. Everything was riding on it, and she was going to do everything in her power to hold on to it and make it a success. People in town seemed to know about the sale of the house by now, and she was sure rumors were flying. She had to keep her chin up, keep moving forward and project the image of a welcoming community family as they always had, so that no one would question Walter’s shaky finances, wonder about the club’s potential longevity, or the status of the memberships they’d eagerly sought when it opened last year.
“The Bathing Beauty Contest will be a vital demonstration of community action and generosity, Walter,” she’d reminded him. “And after the trouble we’re in now, it couldn’t come at a better time.”
The beach next to the Fun Zone was already packed when Sylvia and Judith arrived. As usual, the high school and college kids came early to claim their spots, blanketing the sandy beach with their brightly colored towels, lined up one next to another as far as the eye could see. Some reserved space on the wooden pier, while others packed themselves into the viewing area in front of the boardwalk, rocking to the live music, waiting for the festivities to begin. Some picnicked in rowboats, others were perched on surfboards and kayaks, happy with a view from the water.
Milly was already there with Jack and Debbie by her side.
“Thank you for offering to help,” Sylvia said. “We need it.”
“Of course; it’s your big day,” Milly said. “Leticia couldn’t work today so we’ve got two extra helpers.” Milly nodded to her children and shrugged just before lunging for Jack as he tried to sprint off into the crowd.
“The more the merrier,” Sylvia said. “Can you check in the contestants and give them each a number? Judith and I made the numbers into corsages so they can wear them on their wrists. And then, Judith”—she turned to her daughter, who was scanning the crowd—“I know you want to find your friends, but can you please help Milly for now? I’ll go and check on the gentlemen.”
The judges’ booth was front and center with seats for six local businessmen who’d volunteered to be part of the highly coveted Bathing Beauty Judging Committee. Walter’s seat sat empty. Sylvia was starting to perspire when she realized it was five minutes past two and Walter wasn’t anywhere in sight. If they were ever to vanquish the threat of exposure, today had to go like clockwork. She prayed nothing had gone awry.
It was unseasonably hot. The men, though shaded in the booth, were squirming in their suits and ties. The contestants, all fifty of them, were hopefully now lined up and out of sight inside the Pavilion in their glamorous swimsuits and white pumps.
“Mom,” Judith called out to her mother when she saw her pacing outside the Pavilion. “Should we just start? I don’t know how much longer I can hold these girls back. They’re hot and raring to go.”
Sylvia hurried over and peeked inside to an earful of complaints about the hot, stuffy hallway where they waited, the warm air trapped in the building threatening to deflate everyone’s perfectly coiffed hair and give a shine to their freshly powdered faces.
“Two more minutes, sweetheart,” Sylvia said as she checked again to see if her husband had arrived. The whole point of the contest, of Walter’s announcing the winners, was so that he would maintain his good standing in the community and, hopefully, mention the club to a captive audience. She didn’t want some other big shot from the judges’ booth to take the stage and claim all the credit for the well-attended contest they’d worked so hard to put on year after year.
She took the steps to the stage and grabbed the microphone.
“Welcome everyone, welcome,” she said as the crowd began to hush. “Welcome to the annual Balboa Bathing Beauty Contest, where the first-place winner will win a vacation to Catalina Island with boat passage, and all runners-up will win a weekend pass to The Island Club,lunch and dinner included!” People gave a few cheers, others clapped appreciatively.
