Olympia told Harry about it that afternoon, and said she was pleased for her, although she hoped Ginny's studies wouldn't suffer from the amount of time she was spending with him. Ginny had said they studied together, and spent a lot of time in the library when he wasn't at practice with the team. “She's so crazy about him, it's really cute.”
Olympia looked delighted. Ginny had had a number of crushes in high school, and several boyfriends. Her romances usually lasted a few months. Veronica was much slower about getting involved, and had a much longer list of requirements. Most of the time, she went out with friends, and had been in love only once. She was more cautious by nature, and more intellectual. The girls looked totally identical, but were completely different in disposition. Olympia asked Veronica about Steve later that afternoon, and she said he was okay, but didn't seem enthused.
“You don't sound too thrilled,” Olympia commented with concern. Veronica wasn't jealous by nature, and she wondered if something was wrong, or if he was less of a catch than Ginny said.
“Steve's okay, he's kind of the hot guy on campus, or thinks he is. A lot of girls are always chasing after him. He's pretty full of himself.” That kind of narcissistic personality never appealed much to her.
“Is he as nuts about Ginny as she is about him?” Olympia was worried by what Veronica had said.
“He says he is,” Veronica said coolly. She had a much more wait-and-see attitude about life, and was far more cynical and cautious than her more exuberant sister. “I don't like guys who are that handsome. Sometimes they're weird.” She liked the interesting, more unusual ones, who were better to talk to than to look at. The boys Ginny went out with were always strikingly good-looking. In some ways, they always reminded Olympia a little of Chauncey, as though Ginny were looking for a younger version of her elusive, inattentive father. And it sounded as though she was head over heels in love with Steve.
Virginia had admitted to her mother that they were sleeping together, but had promised her that they always used protection. But the degree of her infatuation with him worried her mother anyway, particularly after what Veronica said.
“I get the feeling you don't like him,” Olympia said honestly, fishing for more reasons why, if not.
“He's okay. I'm not crazy about him. Someone told me he jerks girls around a lot. I don't want her to get hurt,” Veronica said honestly, with worried eyes. But once Ginny got an idea in her head, she was hard to stop. About anything. Veronica was stubborn, too, though usually about ideas, not people.
“I don't want her to get hurt either,” Olympia said. Ginny was obviously moving full steam ahead. “Keep an eye on her, please. Talk sense to her, if you need to,” Olympia said conspiratorially, as Veronica laughed and rolled her eyes.
“Yeah. Sure. A lot of good that would do me with Ginny. You know how she is.” Mostly, with Ginny, all you could do was help her pick up the pieces later. When she fell, she fell hard. And when it was over, her whole world came crashing down around her. In some ways, Veronica was tougher and more solid. Olympia knew her children well.
“What about you? Anything serious going on with this Jeff you invited to be your escort?”
“Nope,” Veronica said noncommittally. She was always very closed about her love life, even with her mother, and sometimes even with Ginny. She kept her own counsel, as did Charlie. They were both much more like their father than their mother on that issue. Ginny and Olympia were far more open, and willing to tell all. Olympia kept no secrets, nor did Ginny. They wore their hearts on their sleeves at all times. Harry loved that about her. It was one of the many reasons why he had fallen in love with her in the first place. “He's just a guy, we're friends,” Veronica said about Jeff.
“What made you invite him to the ball?” Olympia asked, curious about him, and somewhat nervous. There was no telling if Veronica would do something to sabotage her attendance at the event. It wouldn't be unlike her. Olympia was afraid to press her about it, and make her balk again.
“I had to invite someone. Everyone else I know would laugh me out of the room if I asked them. His sister came out last year, he thought it was stupid, too. So I figured he wouldn't laugh at me if I asked him. We agree, it's a dumb thing to do. But he said he'd do it.” He had also said they could get stoned before they went on stage for her to make her bow. But she didn't share that piece of information with her mother. She thought it was funny, whether they did it or not.
“Does he look normal?” Olympia asked with some trepidation, as Veronica gave her a dark look, with obvious irritation.
“No, Mom, he has three heads, and a bone through his nose. Yeah, he looks normal, most of the time. He knows the drill. He'll look fine that night.”
“What does he look like the rest of the time?” Olympia asked gingerly.
“Sort of punk, but nothing too outrageous. He spikes his hair, but he said he didn't for his sister's debut. He'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry.”
“I hope so,” Olympia said with a sigh. She was beginning to feel stressed about the event, and she wouldn't have Harry to lean on. She, Frieda, Margaret Washington and her husband, another couple, Ginny's new boyfriend Steve, and Chauncey and Felicia would be sharing a table. A motley crew at best. The debutantes and their escorts would be seated elsewhere.
Olympia mentioned her concerns to Charlie before he went back to school, and he assured his mother everything would be all right. It was only one evening. Nothing much was going to happen. The girls would make their bow. They would parade around the room. Their father would dance with them, and the rest of the evening would be spent eating, drinking, and dancing. What could go wrong?
“You make it sound so simple.” She smiled at her firstborn. He had that way about him. Charlie always put oil on troubled waters, and calmed her down. He had always been a great comfort to her. He never made waves himself, instead he smoothed things over when others did, as occasionally happened in any family. He was the peacemaker in their midst, the ever-responsible oldest child, trying to be all that his father was not.
“It is simple,” he said with a warm smile, but behind the smile, once again she saw sadness, as she had since the previous spring, when his friend died.
“Are you okay?” She looked deep into his eyes and could not decipher what she saw there. She sensed more than saw that something was hidden. She hoped nothing was wrong in his life. He was a deep thinker, and had been even as a young child.
“I'm fine, Mom.”
“Sure? Are you happy at school?”
“Happy enough, and I'm almost finished.” She knew he was worrying a lot about what to do when he graduated in June. He was still planning to go to California, to interview with his friend's father. He had decided not to go after Christmas, and to go over spring break instead. He had also applied to Oxford for a year of graduate studies, before applying to divinity school at Harvard. He had options and choices, and decisions to make, which was stressful for him. He had his whole life ahead of him to work out. It was always important to Charlie to feel he was doing the right thing.
“Don't worry too much about what you're going to do. You'll figure it out. The right thing will just happen. Give it time.”
“I know it will be okay, Mom.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Don't you worry, either. Have you talked to Dad lately?”
She shook her head. “Not since last summer, when he was so mad at Veronica saying she wouldn't come out.”