“Why did you marry him?” Scarlett asked.
“It wasn’t…enough.” Lola’s voice wobbled uncertainly. “I just needed…I wanted something real. Something that worked. And I know you don’t believe this, but Chip and I work. I know I’m young, I know all of that. It doesn’t mean I don’t know what I want. You have to understand, the money is just a side benefit.”
“You’re telling me that if Chip wasn’t Chip Sutcliffe you’d marry him anyway? If he didn’t live in a huge apartment on Park Avenue? If he didn’t have a car and a driver, if he couldn’t buy you expensive stuff?”
“It’s all part of who he is,” Lola said, shrugging. “He can’t help that. That’s not why I like him.”
“So then sign the paper,” Scarlett said, shrugging.
On this, Lola got very animated.
“I wanted to! I said I would sign it. I had the pen in my hand. Chip stopped me.”
“Why?”
“Because he didn’t want me to feel second-rate,” Lola said. “He wants his family to accept me, totally. And if they don’t, he’s prepared, you know…for what comes. He’s prepared to let them take it all away. He’s for real, Scarlett.”
That did sound genuine. Scarlett had never doubted Chip’s intentions. She had only doubted Lola’s.
“Yeah, but…” Scarlett hated doing this to Lola, but it had to be said. “He hasn’t felt it yet. He still has lots of nice stuff. He hasn’t been kicked out of school yet. So, he can say now that he’s fine with it, but how is that really going to be for him, when he has no money?”
“I know,” Lola said. “I thought about that. The worst part wouldn’t be the money, but his parents rejecting us. He feels rejected a lot. Like by Spencer. And, well, kind of by you. You don’t get it, Scarlett. His family is a mess. He’s always been jealous of us. We all get along, more or less. We all like each other. He’s never had that. He’d love to be a part of it, but no one will let him in. Except Marlene, and I think she just likes the boat.”
This was all too big for Scarlett. They sat in silence for a moment, watching the squirrels run by, and the owners getting tugged along by their dogs, and the nannies pushing the strollers. It was getting cold. Scarlett shivered. She should have been wearing her coat, but she had gone out in a thin jacket. Cold and confused.
“So what do I do?” Lola asked. “Do I do what Chip wants? If I refuse to sign, everyone’s just going to think I want money. Or do I just go and sign it? Chip will be mad, but at least everyone else will be happy, and things might actually go back to something like normal. I don’t know what to do.”
“What’s more important?” Scarlett heard herself say. “Taking this stand that just makes you look like you’re after money, or proving that you’re not?”
“I want to prove that I’m not,” Lola said.
“So go and sign the paper.”
“He’d be really upset, Scarlett.”
“Do you have to tell him?” Scarlett asked. “You could sign and you could tell them not to tell Chip. That way, they see you don’t care about money, and Chip thinks they just changed their minds.” Lola cocked her head. Obviously, this option had not occurred to her. Lola was just too fundamentally and plainly honest. Unlike Scarlett, apparently.
“You mean lie to him?” Lola asked.
“No, not lie. Just don’t tell…” Scarlett stopped herself. She had been down this road before and knew better. “Yes, lie.”
“But this is…the foundation of our marriage.”
“No it isn’t. It’s something dumb the Sutcliffes are doing, and Chip is just mad. Tell him later, when everything has calmed down. Everyone is just freaking out right now. Someone…has to be calm.”
She had no idea what she was saying now. Words were just coming out of her mouth. But Lola seemed interested in the words. She was nodding.
“You’re right,” she said. “Everyone’s too upset right now. Someone has to do something sensible. Chip probably won’t even care in a few months. I could just go and sign the paper, and everyone would calm down.”
“If you want,” Scarlett said, backtracking a little. “I mean, I have no idea about any of this. I’m an idiot.”
The idea, now seeded, had quickly taken root in Lola’s mind.
“I have to show them that I’m not after the money,” she said, mostly to herself. “Chip needs to go back to school. You’re right…I didn’t even think of it, but you’re right.”
The more she was told that she was right, the more Scarlett wanted to distance herself from the idea. All she’d really said was, “People are crazy. Why don’t you lie to them?”
“I need to prove it to everyone,” Lola said, turning to look at Scarlett straight on. “Especially you. This isn’t about money. You’re the only one who knows the specifics, but…I’m glad you know.”
She took Scarlett’s hand and squeezed it. “Do you hate me?” she asked.
“What? No. I…No.”