The Scale (Martha's Way) (11 page)

A vision of Jason nibbling on her nipples raced through her
mind. Sweeping all thought of him aside, she stepped out of the car and placed
the necessary change into the parking meter. The meter ticked to sixty minutes,
which meant she had one hour to dine with her sister and feign interest over
her big day. Minka let out a slow breath, thirty minutes would have sufficed.

As she hurried across the popular park known for having live
music at night, she took in Blake’s hometown and admired the fairy tale-like
town. Lovers, family, and friends filled the campground famous for summer night
concerts, lectures, Sunday services, Grand Illumination Night and fireworks in
August, an event she had read about and hoped to witness some day

More than three hundred Easter egg-colored houses known as
the Gingerbread Cottages complete with dainty trimmings and names such as Angel
Cottage, Wooden Valentine, and The Pink House made up the cottage colony, a
major tourist point she admitted was a draw for the eyes.

Oak Bluffs was The Vineyard version of SoHo or the Village in
New York. It possessed a gaiety she guessed was probably even livelier at
night.

She glanced over to the beach. The Inkwell Beach made famous
from the movie with the same title was filled with beachgoers.

Minka made a mental note to come back to check it out later.
She wished Lily had taken her up on her offer and made this trip with her. At
least she would have a traveling companion, but, in true Lily fashion, her
friend had pointed out this was a wedding she needed to deal with alone and she
wasn’t invited. Minka smiled, missing her friend.

She had learned long ago about the history of the town, home
to a rich African-American history as well as dignitaries, politicians, artists,
and writers during one of her late-night study sessions with Blake. He had
described it with so much passion she had asked why he left. Blake had shrugged
when he answered, “Everyone leaves the island. Some go back. But, I’m not.”

Children with their parents were running, laughing, and
flying kites. Minka slowed her strides to admire them, loving their laughter
and freedom. Her mind wandered to Jason. She guessed he would be comfortable
here. She could almost see him with his sun-kissed blond hair casually walking
along the boardwalk or the crowded streets. Minka could only imagine the chaos
he and Blake had caused in this town.

In Minka’s mind’s eye, she pictured two rambunctious boys
riding their bikes, flying kites at the park, swimming in lakes, ponds, and
causing mayhem. A smile crossed her lips as she imagined what it would be like
to grow up in such a place.

In the end, it was Jason who occupied her mind as she
wondered what it would be like to come back here with him.
In
his arms.
Get a grip on yourself,
Minka, it was just one night.

As soon as she entered the trendy dockside restaurant, a
lump formed in her throat at the sight of Keely sitting under a large white
umbrella. Dressed in a handkerchief dress and strappy sandals with heels that
defied the scale of balance, Keely looked stunning. Minka noticed a few men
glancing at her sister, but her sister seemed unaware of all the attention.
Minka glanced at her watch, ten minutes late. Not bad. She’d managed to call
her sister to tell her she was running a few minutes behind. As always, Keely
had not complained of her tardiness, something that seemed to be a pattern
whenever they were scheduled to meet somewhere. Coincidentally, this time she
had a good excuse. She had been busy screwing the best man. Running her hand
over her mussed blouse, wishing she’d made a pit stop to redo her makeup, she
made her way to her sister’s table.

Keely came to her feet and wrapped her arms around her.
After a slight hesitation, she pressed her arms around her sister. No matter
how many times they had hugged in the past, it always felt strange to her. It
was almost laughable to think they were twins.

As she sat on the chair, Minka felt her sister’s gaze on
her, scrutinizing her appearance. She knew she looked downright disheveled. On
top of that, it was ridiculously humid outside. Not only was she sporting
morning bed hair, she now had the weather as an added bonus. With discomfort,
she ran one hand through her mad curls in an attempt to tame them.

“You’re not wearing a bra,” Keely noted.

Minka froze, feeling the heat rising into her cheeks. She
had forgotten to put her bra back on.

“Doesn’t look like you got much sleep either,” Keely
continued, clearly amused by her appearance. “Want to tell me what happened?”

Let’s see, where do I
start? I picked up Jason at his bar. Went back to his house and had wild animal
sex with him.

“Nothing happened. I went out for a drink and crashed.” The
words rang in her ears; they were partially true. She did crash, just not on
her bed. “I have a headache. I can’t stay too long. The meter is only for one
hour.” There, she had established a time constraint.

Bright, amused eyes stared back at her from across the table
until Minka felt transparent and looked away. Keely believed in the powerful twins’
connection thing. Minka didn’t.

“Do you want to reschedule?” Keely asked. Her voice held no
hint of annoyance.

A rare pang of guilt rose in her heart. Her sister had
begged her for a day alone. The plan was to have brunch then drive to the inn
to meet Claire, her sister’s BFF. The few times she had crossed paths with the
other woman, she had been polite, even friendly, but Minka never assumed she
belonged in their circle.

“No,” Minka replied softly. As the maid of honor, spending
time discussing marriage plans was one of the many crosses she’d have to bear.
She might as well get used to it. So what if she was sitting at a crowded
restaurant looking ragged while her sister looked immaculate across the table.

Keely appeared to be satisfied and returned her attention to
a platter of fruit on the table and took a bite into a juicy piece of
nectarine. She licked the juice off her lips and Minka swore all the men in the
diner noticed and automatically caught an erection.

“Can you not do that?”

Keely looked at her blankly. “What?”

“That thing you always do when you are eating a piece of
fruit, or anything for that matter.” She waved her hands in frustration. Her
sister looked at her as if she had grown two extra heads.

“I’m eating a nectarine.”

“You are eating it like…” Minka searched her mind for the
appropriate word, “like
it’s
Blake.”

A roar of laughter erupted from Keely, another seductive
thing she possessed. No one looked annoyed by her deafening shriek, if anything
even some of the women turned and smiled adoringly at her.

God, she wanted to die.

“Fine, Mink.”

Of course only her sister called her Mink. She hated that
nickname. She hated fur so why would she want to be called Mink? But whatever,
at least Keely put the nectarine down.

“For the record, this is a really good nectarine, and it
doesn’t even come close to how Blake tastes.”

Shoot me now, please.
Inside she shuddered at the thought but plastered a smile on her face. She
needed to change the conversation to something safer. “How come you didn’t design
your own dress? I imagine you’d know exactly what you want.”

Her sister smiled. “Claire designs the best gowns.”

That
was true. The famous singer designed gowns for the rich and famous.

“I sent her a few sketches,” Keely continued, “But quite
frankly I don’t know which sketch she decided on. It’s all a big surprise. I
brought a few sketches with me. Want to see?”

She nodded, all the while hoping she gave the impression of
being elated.

Keely pulled out a thin blue folder from her large straw
bag, “Claire and I are good friends.”

Minka nodded again. The two women met in design school while
Claire was on hiatus after the success of her first record and became
inseparable. If anything, she thought the woman should have been Keely’s MOH.

“She’s a great artist with wonderful eyes. I couldn’t say
no.”

Minka nodded in understanding. She opened the folder to
survey the sketches just as the waiter came to get their order. Keely ordered a
cheese platter with a Mimosa and a watercress salad. She was tempted to go for
an omelet with apples and sausage and a side of home fries. But alas, it was
Sunday. Another week was starting, the week she was determined to stick to her
diet and lose two pounds.

“I’ll have two hard-boiled eggs and a cup of coffee. No
sugar.” she added, remembering she had read somewhere if she cut out sugar,
carbs and dairy, the weight would essentially fall off. Although her stomach
begged for food to restore some of the energy she spent last night, she ignored
it.

For forty-five minutes she did her best to maintain a level
of excitement. But as Minka listened to continuous chatter about her sister’s
upcoming wedding and honeymoon in Provence, France, the photo shoot for her
next collection, she became lost and disengaged from the conversation. She was
unacquainted with the world her sister lived in, a world that consisted of
fashion, models, and art. She glanced at the cold glass of water and wished she
was sipping a nice glass of wine or whatever magic drink her sister was
drinking instead.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love her career. As a matter of
fact, that was probably her only source of true joy. Ever since she was a
child, she had always loved teaching others. It was natural for her to major in
education and now teach elementary school. As much satisfaction as she received
from helping a child
discover
something new, her job
wasn’t as glamorous as Keely’s profession.

“I’m sorry, Minka.”

Not sure why her sister was apologizing, Minka could only
stare at her. Keely reached over the table to place a sympathetic hand over
hers. Minka’s heart raced with apprehension. Very few occasions brought such a
look to her sister’s face. There was that first big fashion show in New York
she had participated in which, of course, received rave reviews, and her first date
with Blake. Besides those two occasions, she couldn’t remember ever seeing such
a worried look on her sister’s face. Unless…

“God, Minka. Sometime I can be so selfish.” Keely paused,
hazel eyes taking on a darker shade of green. “Please don’t think you are
losing me. If anything, you are gaining a brother in Blake.”

For once Minka was thankful for sitting outside since she
could hide her expression behind dark sunglasses. This conversation was going
way too fast for her. She couldn’t keep up. “What?”

 
“Blake adores
you. You used to be his best friend, until I came along,” Keely said with a
grateful smile, not the least smug.

Minka nodded in agreement; there was no denying that.

“Anyhow, let’s change the subject.
Enough
about me, Blake, and the wedding.”

Keely was pure perfection. Not only did she manage to drag
her out to lunch to gush about her upcoming nuptials, she would probably get
her to agree to wear a dress that made her look like a strawberry shortcake. But
upon recognizing her sister’s distress, all Keely’s excitement was put aside as
she switched her focus to Minka’s misery.

Great!

“What do you want to talk about now?” Minka asked, although
she already knew the answer.

“You, of course.”
That revelation
didn’t surprise her. “You need a boyfriend, or maybe a hook-up.”

She almost choked on her water. And since she didn’t want to
asphyxiate herself to death, Minka took the time to swallow the mouthful of
cool liquid. She could already see the article capturing her demise.
Minka Greene, daughter of Marcus Greene,
prominent athlete turned entrepreneur and former model wife Bea, still drop-dead
gorgeous, no pun intended, daughter—don’t worry, not the beautiful one—was
found dead. It appeared she suffocated while eating a pizza.

“I don’t need a boyfriend,” she said slowly

“Then you won’t feel like you are losing me,” her sister
continued.

“I don’t feel that way.”

Keely was still smiling.
“Any hot guys at
work?”

Minka thought of her group of seven-year-old students at the
private school where she taught, picking their noses and making poop jokes. The
teachers were mostly women except one or two men, and the only hot guy she
could think of was engaged to her best friend. Nope, no hot guys there, unless
she was into totally devoted married dads, which she wasn’t.

“You may have forgotten I’m an elementary school teacher,” she
pointed out to her sister.

Unfortunately, Keely didn’t seem to have heard her words.
“When was the last time you went on a date?”

Minka shrugged. “I don’t remember.” Really, she didn’t remember;
it was that long ago. “But I’m not looking to hook-up with anyone.” A little
voice reminded her she did just that with Jason last night. More so, she wanted
to do it again.

Keely shook her head. “How could you not want to hook-up?”

Minka shrugged in her best
I don’t really care
manner.

“I think,” Keely leaned closer, as if ready to reveal the
reason why the economy was in such a dire state, “you should hook-up with
someone on The Vineyard.”

Minka grinned in spite of herself. How ridiculous. “I’m not that
desperate.”

“Why does it have to be about desperation?” her sister
asked, looking completely taken aback. “It would be fun to hook-up with someone.
Say, like Jason.”

Minka had to do a quick mental count to fifty in order to
maintain her composure. “I’m not Jason’s type, nor is he
mine
,”
she countered in fear not to sound inferior.

Her sister didn’t look convinced. She arched her pretty,
perfectly waxed eyebrows. “You must be blind if you don’t find Jason to be a
hottie. The man is a walking sex stick.”