Anna Pitoniak - Necessary People

I took a small sip. The wine was expensive, set aside for a special occasion. But that was Stella’s way. It didn’t look like alcoholism when you were drinking fine wine instead of rotgut vodka. Money could disguise just about anything.

“Are we leaving tomorrow?” I said.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Stella said.

“Okay. I can find my own way home.”

“I don’t think so.” Stella laughed harshly. “I think you do what I tell you to do.”

She finished the bottle and drummed her fingers against the counter. “I’m bored,” she said. She stood up, tucked another bottle of wine under her arm, put the corkscrew in the pocket of her jeans. “Come on.”

“Where are you going?” I said.

“Jesus,” she said. “When are you going to stop asking so many questions?”

It was dusk by now, the last light fading from the sky. I followed her down the sloping lawn, toward the water. The ocean was a deep, dark shade of blue. The wind had picked up, and there were whitecaps in the distance.

Attached to the dock was a boathouse, where the Bradleys kept their watercraft: kayaks, paddleboards, windsurfers, and the speedboat. Stella hauled the door open with a long, loud creak. Inside, the speedboat was rocking in its berth. Stella undid the ropes that tied it in place. The slosh of the water was louder in here, echoing off the walls. It smelled like cedar and paint and gasoline. Stella pointed at the door at the other end of the berth, which rolled up onto a track, like a garage door. “Get that open, will you?” she said.

“Is this such a good idea?” Nightfall, the wine, the whitecaps.

“Just do it,” she said.

Stella climbed into the boat and started the engine. Even half drunk, she deftly maneuvered it out of the berth. I hesitated for a moment. But when you were with Stella, it was easier to go along. To get swept up, and follow the path of least resistance. I knew that better than anyone.

She was glaring at me, waiting. At the last second, I jumped into the boat.

Stella revved the engine. The boat accelerated so suddenly that I was thrown from my feet. She whooped with glee, and behind us the lights from the house shrank to a pinprick. The high whine of the engine was punctuated with the thunk, thunk, thunk of the boat slamming against the swelling waves. By now we were far beyond the shelter of the peninsula, in the open ocean. Twilight had given way to nightfall, the first stars glittering overhead. After a long time, Stella finally slowed down and cut the engine.

The silence came as a relief, and then a menace.

The only sound was the water slapping against the boat. Stella let go of the wheel and opened the wine she’d brought along. She drank directly from the bottle and, this time, didn’t offer any to me. She stood in a wide-legged stance, her knees bending reflexively when the boat dipped up and down from the waves beneath.

Minutes passed. Finally, she said, “You knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

“That Jamie was going to dump me.”

And there it was: this whole weekend had been a game. A chance for Stella to bat me around, like a kitten with a ball of string. Who had held her as she sobbed on the couch? Who had been there for her, no matter what, over the last seven years? But it didn’t matter. It was easier for Stella to blame someone else for this anguish. It was easier to ignore her broken heart and focus instead on my betrayal.

I chose my words carefully. “I knew that he wasn’t happy.”

“And you let me embarrass myself,” she said. “You should have told me, Violet.”

“It’s not my business. I didn’t want to interfere.”

Stella laughed. “Now you’re definitely lying. You interfere all the time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s creepy. Everyone sees it except for you. You’ve been following me around for years. You think it doesn’t freak me out? The way you’ve attached to my family like a leech? I mean, seriously. With you around, I feel like I need a goddamn gun to protect myself.”

She took another long pull of wine. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” she said. Her voice was thick and slurry. “Aren’t you going to defend yourself?”

“You’re drunk,” I said. “You’re being an idiot.”

“No. You’re jealous. You’re jealous of me and Jamie. You wanted him all to yourself. So you ruined it. This is your fault.”

“He was my friend first, Stella.”

“I knew it!” she shrieked. “I knew it. You’ve been jealous the whole time. But you realize that I’m the one he’s been fucking.”

“Stop it.”

“ I’m the one who’s had his dick in my mouth every night.”

“Shut up!” I shouted.

“Oooh, look. I made Violet Trapp mad!” Stella laughed. She took another swig of wine and wiped her hand across her mouth. Her gestures were getting looser, messier. “You think you’re so smart. So in control. Don’t you?”

“Not all of us can afford to have other people clean up our messes.”

“That, see?” She pointed at me. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You’re so smug. Everyone’s beneath you. No one is as smart as you. Well, then, riddle me this. Why did I get the Danner interview and you didn’t?”

“Because you got lucky,” I said. “Because pretty blondes rate well.”

“Of course you would say that. But I made that happen. Me. It was all me.”

“No, it wasn’t, it was the—”

“Remember when you told me about the story, at the restaurant? And you made me swear not to tell anybody?” She smiled. Her teeth glowed white in the darkness. “That was a mistake, Violet. See, my father knows the Danner CEO. So I got in touch with him. I knew he would never agree to an interview unless it was with someone he could trust. And he trusts me. I planted the idea.” She laughed. “Not bad, huh?”

The blood was roaring in my ears. My throat was tight, my eyes pricking with tears. The hatred I felt was like an annihilation. I had to get away from her. Not just now. Forever.

“Oh, little baby Violet.” Her voice was a sickly sneer. “Am I going to make you cry? Am I being too mean?”

“Take us back,” I said.

“Not until I feel like it.”

I stood up. “Give me the keys.”

She stepped back, pressed herself against the windshield. “Fuck off.”

“Give them to me!” I shouted, grabbing for them. She yanked her wrist free from my grasp, then scrambled over the windshield, standing on the bow. Our friendship had devolved to one long game of keep-away. The boat was rocking side to side from the waves. She slowly stood from her crouch, straightening her legs, towering above me.

Stella dangled the keys with a jangling metallic sound. “You want them so bad?” she said. “But you wouldn’t even know what to do with them. You’re just a leech, Violet. You’re a suck-up. You’re the world’s biggest fraud and everyone sees it.”

What was even happening? I felt dizzy and light-headed, though I’d had no more than a few sips of wine. I clutched the edge of the boat to stay upright.

“Oh, sure,” she said, her face shadowed in the starlight. “I’ve let you hang around. Because I’m nice. Because I pitied you. And I thought you’d show some pride, eventually. But you never did.”

“Why, Stella?” I said. “Why are you saying this?”

“Because it’s true!” she shouted.

A wave walloped the boat, knocking Stella from her feet. She grabbed the windshield to keep from falling overboard. The wind had picked up, and the waves were growing larger.

“Stella, get down, ” I said. “You’re going to kill yourself.”