Adventures in Funeral Crashing (21 page)

“Wow,” It was a lot to handle and it was all
I could seem to think of to say about the situation. So much had
happened in the last few days. My mind was spinning.

“Yeah,” Ethan looked sad, but determined. “At
least, that’s what it’s looking like. We’ll know more once they run
tests on Vanessa and actually complete the investigation.”

“Finally,” I said.

“Yeah,” Ethan nodded.

“So, how would they have confused the bodies,
though, if the sisters did switch? I mean, didn’t they have to ID
Jenna? How did they get that wrong?” I asked.

“Their mom identified the body, with Vanessa
pretending to be Jenna. At least, that’s what the cops think
happened. So, their mom assumed it was Vanessa dead on the floor.
Besides, she was in Vanessa’s bedroom, in her clothes. They never
did any sort of forensics because it was obvious. The parents
positively identified her. And, “Jenna” who we now know, or almost
know, is Vanessa was walking around as Jenna. They just didn’t
know. They’ll have proof soon enough, though,” Ethan said.

“So, Troy didn’t know anything either?” I
asked.

Ethan shook his head, “He had no idea about
any of it. I mean, he knew he had a crazy ex, but he’s totally in
shock about it all.”

I squeezed Ethan’s hand back. “I’m so sorry
about Liz.”

Ethan smiled slightly, “But now we know. You
know? I feel better about that. Liz’s name is cleared and people
won’t remember her as a drug statistic. She’ll be remembered as a
great girl who loved animals instead. And, my parents and her
friends and I won’t be beating ourselves up about not noticing she
had a drug problem.”

I nodded and looked at Ethan with suddenly
teary eyes as it all started to hit me, “I can’t believe this
happened.”

“I know. And, I don’t know how to thank you,”
Ethan smiled.

“Thank me?” I frowned.

Ethan was looking at me sincerely, “If you
hadn’t crashed my sister’s funeral, they never would have caught
Vanessa or at least, a lot of other people would have died before
she had messed up and gotten caught.”

I smiled, “Are you actually thanking me for
crashing your sister’s funeral?”

Ethan smiled back, “Yes, I am. I’m really
glad you did.”

“And, what about for taking a chance and
going after Troy?” I asked.

Ethan frowned, “Don’t push your luck. That
was still dangerous. He was a viable suspect at the time.”

I grinned back at him, “You’re welcome.”

We looked at each other in silence for a few
moments. Then Ethan looked suddenly anxious.

“What?” I asked.

Ethan hesitated and then said, “I mean,
theoretically, what would you have said, if I had asked you to
Homecoming for real?”

I laughed. Like I was stupid enough to admit
my real feelings and answer that question! So, I did my best
flippant response, although I’m not sure it came out completely
flippant, “You’d have to ask me to find out!”

“Okay,” Ethan said.

We looked at each other for a moment. It was
kind of weird, actually. It was like Ethan was searching for an
answer in my eyes or something. Then he said it. The words that
were going to change my life completely.

“Kait, will you go to Homecoming with me?”
Ethan was still holding my hand in his and he looked totally and
completely serious about the whole thing.

I must’ve woken up in an alternate universe.
That is the only way that this could be happening. Either that or I
had died and went to heaven. Maybe both. Did it really matter? I
wanted this to be real!

“Yes,” I managed to say. I hoped it came out
somewhat coherent. I felt like I was saying it from a million miles
away. My brain was spinning. This was all so surreal.

“Awesome,” Ethan said.

“Really?” I asked, looking into his eyes,
searching them. I had to be sure.

“Yeah, really,” Ethan grinned back at me.
“And, Kait?”

“Yes?” I murmured, feeling light as a cloud.
I was going to the Homecoming Dance with Ethan!!! This was real!
This was real!

Ethan was smiling at me, “What would you say
if I kissed you?”

I couldn’t contain my smile. I don’t think I
had ever smiled this big. This had to be real, “I’d say - What took
you so long!”

And, with that Ethan Ripley, the most popular
boy in high school, kissed me. It was the best first kiss ever.
When I leaned in to him, to keep kissing him, I almost didn’t
notice that my shoulder was hurting. Kissing was a great pain
relief aid. They should bottle it. I could have kissed Ethan
forever, except I had to think about buying a Homecoming dress! Cuz
I had a date!!!

Oh, wait, never mind, it’s not like they were
going to let me out of the hospital tonight so I could go to the
mall. Gee darn, I guess I’d just have to spend the extra time
kissing Ethan! And, his hair! It was super silky! Sigh….

By the way, I’d take kissing Ethan over a
Wired peanut butter banana milk shake anytime. Just saying, if you
wanted to know.

And, back to kissing…

###

Read an excerpt from Milda Harris’ next book – available July
2011!

Chloe sat on her luggage, watching every
passing car speed by with interest, waiting for the one that was
supposed to pick her up. They all seemed to weave in and out of the
unending airport traffic with grace. Some even managed to stop and
pick up loved ones, but her ride hadn’t arrived yet. Chloe hoped
that he’d be able to find her in the chaos that seemed to be LAX
airport.

Chloe wondered if she’d recognize him. She
hadn’t seen Jake since the fifth grade, when he and his parents had
moved from Illinois to California. Chloe’s mother and Jake’s mother
had been best friends since grade school. Then they grew up and had
children, only a few months apart. Thus, Chloe and Jake had been
best friends as kids, always thrown into play dates when their
mothers wanted to visit with each other. Then after the fifth
grade, Jake and his family moved to California. Chloe and Jake had
been best friends back then, but the distance and the excitement of
growing up quickly made their friendship grow apart and turned it
instead, into a fond childhood memory.

Chloe hadn’t seen Jake since, but their
mothers had still kept in constant contact. Jake’s father died a
couple of years before and Chloe’s mother had gone back to the
funeral to console her friend, coming back with stories of
California and the now handsome grown-up Jake. Chloe had been more
excited about hearing about California. She had already set her
mind on going to California to college for film school. She had
known that she was destined for California ever since the beginning
of her freshman year when a girl in her class started bragging
about her brother in California who made movies for a living. It
sounded like the perfect life and from that moment on, Chloe had
made up her mind to go to California for film school. Her parents
were supportive, but money became the big issue. An out of state
school would cost money and lots of it and there was no way her
family could afford to send her to an out of state college. Chloe
spent about half of her junior year of high school sulking with
frustration at the thought of being unable to follow her dreams
until her mother had approached her with an idea. She and Jake’s
mother had talked about it and with a year’s residency in
California with Jake and his mother, Chloe would be able to attend
a California state school, as a resident. Chloe didn’t think twice
about it. She agreed. She knew she would miss her friends in
Illinois, but this was a chance to follow her dream and she
couldn’t pass it up.

Chloe could barely believe that she was in
California about to start her new life. It was all really exciting.
If only Jake would show up, so she could start the adventure. Jake
was supposed to meet her outside the baggage claim when she
arrived, but he hadn’t shown up yet. Chloe looked at her cell
phone, wondering if she should call him. She felt a little shy
about it. She would rather see him face-to-face first. Maybe she
should text him. Why was she so scared about seeing him again?

Chloe tried to picture Jake in her mind, but
could only see the little boy with unruly brown hair and
mischievous blue eyes that she had played with as a child. Before
she had left for California, Chloe’s mother had shown her a more
recent picture, but Jake had been looking at the camera with only
half of his face, so Chloe wasn’t quite sure what to expect when
she actually saw him. Hopefully the picture her mother had sent his
mother had been better. Chloe cringed inwardly, hoping that her
mother hadn’t sent him her last year’s school picture. It had not
been the best picture of her life. She had woken up late for school
and hadn’t had any time to make herself look good for the
photo.

Looking back, Chloe realized she should have
friended Jake on Facebook. It would have been a good way to get to
know him again before this meeting. His profile had been set to
private, though, and although, she had sat at the computer and
tried to think of an email to send him or a way to add him as a
friend she couldn’t do it. She had just been too shy and the
situation just felt too awkward. Besides, Jake hadn’t sought her
out either.

Chloe had tried her best to look good today,
although five hours of flying had taken the curl out of her long
blonde hair. She had quickly touched up her make-up before picking
up her luggage, though, so she felt a little better about that.
Still, she was nervous. She really wanted to make a good first
impression. This was the start of the rest of her life.

“Chloe?” a male voice questioned from her
right.

Chloe turned and stared into the bright blue
eyes of Jake Spencer. Her breath caught and she felt her cheeks
turn pink.

He was cute! He still had the unruly brown
hair and his eyes had become an ocean shade of blue. A dimple
creased the right corner of his mouth, making his smile contagious.
Chloe smiled back.

“Hi, Jake?” Chloe said, attempting to recover
from her sudden reaction to him.

“I’m so sorry! I was late and then I couldn’t
find you in the baggage claim and I left your cell number at home,”
Jake paused, catching his breath and then he grinned broadly, “It’s
so good to see you!”

And, before she knew it Jake was engulfing
her in a hug. Chloe hugged him back and noted, with wonder, at how
nice it felt to be in his arms. Chloe caught a hint of his
aftershave as he pulled away.

“It’s good to see you too,” Chloe smiled
back.

They just grinned at each other for a moment
and then Jake looked away, “My girlfriend, Kate, should be here any
second. She’s circling, while I went to look for you. The airport’s
crazy.”

Chloe nodded absently at his words, her mind
suddenly elsewhere. Jake had a girlfriend. Of course he had a
girlfriend. She felt a surge of disappointment. She immediately
pushed it away. She hadn’t come to California for romance. Well,
she hadn’t come for just romance, she admitted. Some romance would
be nice eventually, but she had come for the adventure and to
pursue her dream. Besides, even if it couldn’t be romantic, Chloe
thought, she would enjoy getting to know Jake again. It had been a
long time since they had been friends and she was eager to hear
about his life since then.

They stood for a few moments in silence,
watching the cars fly by. Chloe felt awkward and gawky, suddenly,
standing next to Jake. He was at least a head taller than her, his
shoulders broad and muscular. She looked at him from the corner of
her eyes as he scanned the crowd for his girlfriend. She wondered
if he was still the same boy she had known in grade school. She
searched his features, looking for the friend she had lost to
distance so long ago.

“There she is!” Jake motioned toward a blue
convertible, which screeched to a halt next to them.

Wow, Chloe thought, as the sleek car pulled
up. “Is this your car?”

“Yeah,” Jake grinned. “I love this car.”

Chloe looked at it in admiration. It was the
perfect way to arrive in California. How much more perfect than a
convertible driving by the ocean could you get? Chloe felt a warm
glow of happiness form in her stomach. This was going to be
great!

Jake busied himself with loading her luggage
into the trunk and Chloe found herself gazing awkwardly at his
girlfriend, Kate. She was the epitome of the California girl –
tall, blonde, with cool blue eyes, and a killer sense of
fashion.

Chloe felt old fashioned in comparison
despite the efforts she had made to look nice in the airport
bathroom before she had gotten her luggage. Her own blonde hair was
a strawberry blonde, the curls she had tried to put in that
morning, falling out, and she had on the normal jeans and baby doll
T-shirt that were her usual ensemble. Chloe felt almost like she
was staring at a girl from a magazine, sitting inside a perfect
car. Kate, on the other hand, had sleek, bleach blonde hair,
make-up that looked almost professionally done, a glowing tan, a
mini-skirt, and a purple lacy tank top that fit her body perfectly.
Chloe had a feeling that she was going to have a lot to learn if
all the girls in California looked like Kate.

“Hi, I’m Chloe,” Chloe smiled, stretching out
her hand.

“Kate,” Kate replied dismissively, pulling on
big sunglasses that hid her eyes completely.

Chloe felt her smile falter at Kate’s lack of
enthusiasm. She wasn’t sure how to react to it.

“Okay, bags are in the trunk. Let’s go!” Jake
said, coming up behind Chloe.

Chloe was glad of Jake’s appearance and
crawled into the tiny backseat, as he sat down in the front, next
to Kate. As they drove off, Chloe could almost feel Kate’s cold
eyes boring into her through the rear view mirror.