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gave any sign that he knew Beth was being suckered, and it was a faint sign at that; he finished his beer and silently crumpled the can between his palms. Amanda sat quietly in the corner, casting me furtive glances, probably wondering if I was going to lose it, or maybe still embarrassed that she had nothing for Beth to open.

    Daniel's earrings had diamonds in them. Diamonds! They sparkled as he helped Beth put them on her ear lobes. Again, I almost died. I almost cried. I almost said something. But what could I say? Daniel hadn't said much to me all night. I knew he was still pissed at me for speaking to Jo about his excitable bedsheet manners. I was afraid that if I spoke then—or even later—I would ask why and he would say 'bye.

    I began to think it was a stupid party.

    Beth finally finished with her presents. ("Oh, Shah, the Beatles! My favorite!") Several more people left. Then Beth brought up the idea of swimming. The condominium complex had one huge heated pool and two steaming Jacuzzis.

    But how could we go swimming, I wondered, without bathing suits? That was no problem for those who had been told in advance to bring their suits, I soon learned. Daniel was one of those people. And strangely enough, Amanda was also one. Apparently, after asking her mom to ask me for a ride to the party, she must have called Beth directly to see if she really could come and had received the word on the suits. Daniel and Beth had theirs on under their clothes.

    "We could go skinny-dipping," Jo said as we watched everyone except Jeff parade out the front door. Jeff was standing alone on the balcony drinking another beer when Jo made her suggestion. He had been putting them away all night, one after another, but he did not seem drunk.

    "No," I said. "I always feel naked without my clothes on." I nodded toward the dark balcony, which lay—relative to our cozy spot on the living room couch—

    beyond an intervening kitchen. We could see Jeff’s silhouette against the night sky, the shadow of his beer can resting on the supposedly strong and secure wooden rail. "Besides, this is your chance. Go give him a bite."

    "I think he wants to be alone," Jo said.

    "He wouldn't have come to a party if he wanted to be alone."

    "He had to come to the party. It's his girlfriend's birthday."

    "His girlfriend's not here. She's gone swimming with my boyfriend."

    "You're not upset?"

    "I'm not?" I asked.

    "They were the gaudiest earrings."

    "Gaudy costs money. You should have given her used specimen jars."

    "Who says I didn't? Are you really upset?"

    "I don't know. Are you really afraid to talk to Jeff?"

    "I don't know," Jo said and sighed. "Yeah."

    "Do you want me to talk to him?"

    "I don't care. Just don't tell him I love him."

    "Do you love him?" I asked, surprised. I hadn't realized he meant that much to her.
    Coming to the party was probably hard for her.

    Jo began to make a flip remark, at which the two of us were masters. Then she paused and lowered her eyes. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know. Do you love Spam?"

    I stood. "I always hated it when I was a little kid."

    Before going out onto the balcony, I made a quick stop in Beth's bathroom. But it wasn't because I'd been drinking beer. I was never into depressants like alcohol and health food. I liked good old blood-rushing caffeine: coffee, Cokes.

    Pepsis. I'd had all three that night.

    The design of the condo was common for the beach area, although it would have been unusual a few miles inland. It had two master bedrooms, which meant, of course, that the condo's two bathrooms were located in the bedrooms.

    Beth's room had the better view, with a wide sliding glass door that led directly onto the west-end balcony that overlooked the ocean. But it was smaller than her parents' room and, being next to the kitchen, was also less private.

    When I finished in the bathroom, I joined Jeff outside on the balcony without having to backtrack to the living room.

    He was lighting up a