Second thoughts in Sewickley
What won’t you do when a friend needs help?
In “Just Between Us,” her second novel in as many years, Pittsburgh-based author Rebecca Drake seeks to reestablish the gripping, suspenseful ambiance of her previous book, “Only Ever You.” This time around, the action takes place in the affluent Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley, where the relationship of four elementary school moms quickly shifts from latte-sipping gossip sessions to enmeshment in the horrible life of one of the friends.
It is not a spoiler to say that Allison, Julie and Sarah go to extreme measures to protect their fourth companion, Heather, who repeatedly appears with bruises and quite clearly directs the blame for her abuse to her husband, a plastic surgeon at Children’s Hospital. Ms. Drake devotes revolving short chapters to each woman, so that the story unfolds through their differing points of view. This technique grants insights into each chapter’s narrator and as well as providing interesting tidbits about the other actors, allowing the author to convey not only the narrator’s perceptions of events, but also each narrator’s perceptions of her other three friends.
As demonstrated in her previous novel, Ms. Drake is a skillful writer. The four women have consistently well-differentiated personalities. Places and events are succinctly, yet satisfyingly, described. The plot unfolds with mounting tension and drama.
But the story itself may be implausible. Why these middle-class, college-educated women go to the extreme lengths they do to help poor abused Heather defies logic. Perhaps some readers will believe that these nice, sympathetic suburbanites are willing to put their marriages, children, careers, family fortunes and personal lives in jeopardy to aide a friend, but for many other readers the actions of these women may seempreposterous.
During the first 100 pages, so many things happen so quickly, without sufficient insights into the personalities and motivations of the actors, that it’s difficult to appreciate why all four of these seemingly normal people behave as they do. Had the author taken the time to first establish the whos and whys of her characters, then perhaps the group’s willingness to embark upon its quest to rescue and protect Heather and damn the consequenceswould be easier to accept.
Even small details become absurd. The women know that the police are reviewing cell phone records, yet they continue to use their cell phones to keep each other abreast of the latest developments. Towards the end of the tale, the police take Heather in for questioning. When she becomes ill, they transport her to the hospital and then mysteriously and conveniently disappear, so that Heather can meet with her friends and leave the emergency room whenever she chooses. As the implausible small discrepancies mount, “Just Between Us” becomes more and more difficult to reconcile with any version of reality.
It could have been different. Early on, as the women meet in the cozy, fire-lit den of Allison’s charming Sewickley cottage for the purpose of pressing Heather to leave her abusive husband, Allison has a moment of doubt. “Let it go,” she thinks. “Don’t ask. This was someone else’s marriage, and we were about to cut it open and examine its contents, and how was that an okay thing to do?”
If only Allison or any one of her friends had followed through on this rational, lucid thought, “Just Between Us” could have raised and examined compelling moral issues. How far should you go to protect a friend? Do good intentions excuse bad actions?
Ms. Drake is a talented author whose writing skills are undeniable. “Just Between Us” is well-crafted and exciting. But had it been better paced and more grounded in reality, it would have been far more believable.