Watch Me Disappear

my phone rings I am surprised to see it’s not Missy or Paul, but Maura. She calls to say “I told you so.”
    “But listen, tomorrow’s Friday,” she says. “Why don’t you come to the play and then come out to the cast party after. It’ll be great. You can sit with me and then we’ll all go out together.” She tells me Jessica and Katherine have leading roles and she is in charge of makeup.
    I’m not sure, but Maura insists it will be fun, certainly better than staying home, so I agree. After the post-semi party, my parents are hesitant to let me stay out again. They don’t think it’s responsible to “stay up all night.” This time it’s Mrs. Morgan to the rescue—Jessica and Katherine can’t stay out too late with another show the next day, so she promises my parents she will make sure we are in bed by midnight. Why my mother believes Mrs. Morgan will enforce any rules is beyond me. Maybe it is just the knowledge that I’ll be next door that reassures her, or the fact that the next day is Saturday and both of my parents will be home so they can prevent me from sleeping all day.
    The play is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . Katherine is Domina, Senex’s shrill wife, and Jessica is one of the Geminae. I wonder if either of them realize how easily they’ve been typecast. Still, it is entertaining. Even Katherine drops her haughty manner a few times during particularly well executed comedic moments.
    At the cast party, Maura and I have to continually explain our presence to cast members’ parents. The best part about the party is we don’t stay long. We’ve barely been there an hour when Maura announces it’s time to go. It’s time for “real fun.”
    Maura rides shotgun, calling out directions to Katherine, tonight’s driver, into a part of town I’ve never been to before. The house sits at the top of a very steep hill and is small and narrow with a little rectangle of front lawn enclosed in a chain-link fence. It is squeezed in on either side by other houses that look almost identical to it. Most houses don’t have driveways so the street is crowded with cars, some double parked. Everything looks neglected. That it is December—all the trees stripped of their leaves and no snow yet on the ground to beautify everything—probably doesn’t help my impression any, but I’m nervous about leaving Katherine's nice car parked there. If I were her, I’d be turning around instead of squeezing in between a beat-up Explorer and an old Chevy. When we get out of the car, a dog barks and we all freeze until we hear its chain clink.
    “Stop being babies,” Maura says, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leading us up to the house.
    The reason for my invitation is immediately apparent when we walk inside: I am here to even out the numbers. Jason and three of his tough-looking pals are sprawled out in the living room watching a boxing match on pay-per-view.
    “Beer’s in the fridge,” Jason says, not getting up or greeting us. “Bring me one, would ya?” He’s wearing sweatpants and a wife-beater—this is apparently his uniform—and he is stretched out on the couch with one hand tucked into the waist of his pants. He tips his head back, finishes the beer in his hand, burps, and tosses the can across the room toward the empty 30-pack box. He misses.
    Jason’s mom is sitting at the kitchen table smoking and doing a word-search puzzle. She looks up at us as we come in. “Good luck with that bunch,” she says, nodding toward the living room. “They’ve been in there burping and farting all night.” She squints through her cigarette smoke.
    Maura hands Jessica and me each a beer and gives Katherine a bottle of water.
    “Go on and have a beer, honey,” Jason’s mom says.
    Katherine gives her a beauty pageant smile. “I’m driving.”
    “Good for you, honey,” she says. “Toss me one.”
    Maura hands her one and takes another for Jason.
    “Bathroom’s over there if anyone needs it,” she says, pointing down the hall. “And if you smoke, use an ashtray.” She coughs and her frail body shakes. She is a walking anti-smoking campaign.
    Back in the living room, Maura hands Jason a beer and curls up on the couch, nuzzling against him. The rest of us stand there, wondering where we’re supposed to sit.
    “Got a seat for you right here, blondie,” says the kid in the recliner, looking at Jessica and opening his arms.
    Jessica giggles but doesn’t move toward