Father Knows Best (29 page)

I couldn’t agree more, because I did not want to go there. “Okay, I think you should open presents, Jennifer. Right now, while I’m on the phone so it’ll feel like I’m there, too.” Before I slipped and said something to blow the surprise is what I really meant.

“Open mine first,” Meryl said.

I heard the paper tearing, then Jennifer exclaimed. “Oh, cool! Meryl gave me a book about Blessingway ceremonies.”

“You’ll have to explain that to me later,” I said, with a laugh. It’s like they were speaking a different language, I swear.

“I’m with you on that one, Car,” Lila said, wryly.

Meryl said, “It’s a Native American tradition to transition a woman from pregnancy to motherhood—”

“And it involves skinning three rabbits, eye of newt, and a ton of peyote,” Lila quipped.

Everyone laughed, but Meryl said, “Be quiet. It’s a beautiful, powerful, women-centered ceremony. Very celebratory.” And then, to Jennifer, “I was thinking we’d host one for you, Reese, and Kelly a little closer to the birth instead of a regular baby shower.”

“Really?” Jennifer said, in a vulnerable tone that was so not the Jennifer I remembered. “I’d love that. Thank you.”

“We’ll explain the details to you and Ms. Smart Aleck later,” Meryl said.

“Okay,” I said.

“Now open my present,” Lila said, and I could tell she was nervous. Heck, I was nervous, too.

“Okay. Oh,” Jennifer said to me. “Caressa, Reese and Kelly gave me an original oil painting, sort of an abstract mom-and-baby thing that’s called Auntie Jen. It’s so…” Emotion cracked her voice.

“It’s awesome,” Meryl said. “Reese painted it.”

“That sounds really cool,” I said. I glanced up, and Thomas tapped his watch face. “My bodyguard is giving me the hurry-up signal,” I told them. “Open!”

“Yes, open, open!” Lila said.

“Sorry. Okay.” I heard more paper tearing, and then dead silence. My heart started to pound.

“A map of Manhattan? What’s this?” Jennifer asked.

Lila struggled. “It’s…well, it’s…”

“Not that hard to explain,” Meryl said, with laughter in her voice. “Just tell her, Lila.”

“Yes,” I said, unexpectedly caught up in the excitement of bringing something good to Jennifer’s worst summer ever. “Tell her.”

“You guys are making me nervous,” Jennifer said.

Lila cleared her throat. “The thing is, my dad gave me a long weekend trip to New York City for my eighteenth, which isn’t until September. But they wanted me—well, us. Meryl, Chloe, and me—to see Caressa’s show. So we’re going in two weeks.”

“That’s awesome, but—”

“You’re going, too,” Meryl said, obviously giddy. “That’s the present. Lila set the whole thing up.”

“What?” Jennifer asked, in a rasp-whisper filled with wonder and clogged with emotion.

“I only suggested it,” Lila corrected.

“That is so awesome of you, but trust me, there’s no way my mom and dad—”

“My dad already spoke to your parents—”

“What?”

“—and believe it or not, they agreed.”

“You’re kidding?” Jennifer said.

“Nope. Chloe is taking us. And you are going.”

For a few moments, everything seemed silent. But then I realized Jennifer was crying quietly.

“Are you okay?” Lila asked.

“Yes.” A large sniffle carried over the connection. “I can’t believe you’d do this for me.”

“We just thought you deserved one good memory from this summer,” Lila said.

Jennifer laughed, a watery sound. “Believe me, I have more than one, and it’s all thanks to you guys.”

“Happy birthday,” I said, wishing I were there right then, wishing I’d been part of this transformative summer with my friends. But then I’d never have met Sasha, or the guys. Joaquin. He’d been my transformation. “I can’t wait to see all three of you. Introduce you to Joaquin and Thomas and Sasha. Just…everyone. You can come backstage before the show.” I started to tear up myself. The silent cacophony of emotion from four girls was way too much. I needed to escape back to the straightforwardness of the guys for a bit. “I have to go. It’s really late here, and Thomas has to take me home before the Rosenthals kill us both.”

“Okay. Love you!” Meryl said.

“Me, too,” Lila added.

“I can’t wait to get to know you better, Caressa,” Jennifer said, with another huge sniff. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for all the times I was a jerk to you guys before. I wish I could change the past, but all I can do is apologize for it. Which I wish I didn’t have to do, but there you have it.”

“Don’t sweat it, Jen. It’s ancient history, and now’s not the time for that kind of talk anyway, okay?” I smiled. “Happy birthday. Just have a blast.”

“Thank you. Really. Enjoy the rest of your time in New York,” she said.

My gaze shot toward Joaquin, and my stomach clenched. “I plan on doing just that. Talk to you guys soon.”

We caught a later flight to New York City (cheaper) and landed at LaGuardia Airport in Queens too late to see Caressa until the next day. But believe me, that was the only bummer. During the cab ride into Manhattan, all of us sat there awed into silence by the massive, glittery skyline.

After we’d checked into our hotel and changed into pajamas, I picked up the designated bucket and announced happily, “I’m going to get us some ice.” I didn’t know why. We were going straight to sleep. But when you’re in a gigantic, super-cool hotel in New York City for the first time ever, a trip to the ice machine seems mandatory.

“I’ll come with you,” Chloe said, setting down her brush.

“Oh. You don’t have to.”

“Indeed I do. It’s late and we’re in a strange city.” She winked. “Your dad would kill me if I didn’t.”

I didn’t think he’d kill her. He liked her way too much for that. But he might be pissed. “Good point,” I said. “Okay.”

“Don’t open the door for anyone, even if they claim to be a hotel employee,” Chloe told Meryl and Jen.

“We won’t.” They were too busy reading the thick leatherette folder that extolled the virtues of the hotel and everything it had to offer.

As we walked down the long, carpeted hallway, our footsteps completely silent, I realized something with the illuminating jolt of a lightning strike. I’d made my peace with Jennifer. I’d cleared the air with my dad. I’d agreed to be more open with Dylan, and our relationship was stronger than ever. The only person I hadn’t had a heart-to-heart with was Chloe, and she deserved it.

After we filled our ice bucket, I spied a small seating area in an alcove off the hallway. “Um, Chloe? Can we sit for a minute?”

She looked surprised, even concerned. “Are you okay?” She laid one cool hand on my forehead, and the sheer momishness made me have to swallow a few times before I could even speak.

“I’m fine,” I said, finally. “I just…want to talk to you. If that’s okay.”

Now she looked curious. “Of course.”

We sat.

I set the full ice bucket on the little table between the chairs and blew out a breath. I tucked my hair behind my ears, then pulled my legs up to sit crosslegged on the big fancy chair.

“Okay, lady, what’s up?” Chloe asked.

I flicked her a guilty glance. Sighed hard. Jennifer’s AA twelve steps popped into my mind. Holy crap, I was working them in a non-alcoholic way myself, wasn’t I? I cleared my throat. “I’m trying to be more a better person these days, and I think I owe you an apology.”

Her brow furrowed. “For what?”

God, this was hard. Like, I-want-to-barf-right-now hard. But it had to be done. “The truth is, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call…thrilled when you and my dad started dating. I’m sure you know that but you’re just too nice to say so.” The notion that I might have hurt her feelings in any way made me sad.

She simply nodded.

I fidgeted—my body’s classless way of letting off steam during times of stress. “I’ve just come to realize over the months that I wasn’t being fair.”

Her expression softened. “Oh, honey, you don’t have to do this. I understand.”

“No. I have to say this. For me.”

She studied me for a moment, then inclined her head.

“The thing is, I was being selfish. My only concern was myself and Dylan and how you dating my dad would impact that.” I cringed. “You know?”

“I know.”

“But I was wrong, Chloe,” I said, in this stupid teen-angst sounding blurt. “Self-centered and wrong and, God, I’m a horrible person. I can understand if you hate me.”

She smiled. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“No. It’s true.” I pleaded with my eyes. “You and my dad are”—just say it, Lila—“perfect for each other, and I’m sorry if I was—”

“You weren’t. Anything. First of all, I do not hate you.” She reached over and held one of my hands. “Listen, I was a teenage girl once, too, you know. I understand how difficult it is. How cutthroat and judgmental those high school hallways are.”

Relieved, I exhaled all my tension. “It sucks. Especially when your dad’s the police chief and you have to go to school with people like Miffany,” I spat.

She chuckled. “I can only imagine. But please know that your father and I would never intentionally do anything to make your life miserable. You and Dyl? Absolute first priority for us. I promise.”

That scared me for some reason, propelling me off on a whole different track. “Please don’t break up with my dad,” I said, shocking even myself. I even teared up. “You make him really happy, and my mom’s been gone for so long, he deserves to be happy again.”

Chloe laughed out loud. “You’re nuts, do you know that?”

I smirked as I wiped my eyes. “I’ve been told. By your son, as a matter of fact, and on many occasions.”

“Well, I raised a smart boy.” She lowered her chin and leveled me with a straightforward glance. “I have no plans to dump your dad, so stop worrying. But you should know that your dad’s been happy his whole life, not just since I came along. You kids make him happy.”

“Well, I know. But still, he needs the girlfriend kind of happiness. He needs you, actually.” I smiled shyly.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” she said. “You have no idea how much your words mean to me.”

I bugged my eyes. “You have no idea how difficult they were to say.”

We grinned.

“Ready to head back?”

“Oh…um—” Was I? Our big talk seemed to have just ended abruptly. “Okay,” I said, standing up and grabbing the ice bucket. I clutched it to my chest as we walked toward the room, but I quickly realized the conversation wasn’t over. My whole body felt like a cauldron of bubbling emotions, jumbled up and twisted and under pressure. I needed to release some of it before the whole mess boiled over. I stopped short.

Chloe realized I was no longer beside her and turned around. She blinked at me curiously. “Lila?”

“I…I…”

She walked toward me. “What is it?”

“I have to say something else to you,” I blurted.

“Okay. You can tell me anything at all. Cross my heart. Even if it’s about my son.”

I laughed nervously. “It’s not. Although, thank you for having him. He rocks.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

I took a deep breath in and held it. Now or never. Grow up and be honest, or remain a stupid kid forever. After a big whooshing breath, I peered up at my dad’s girlfriend. But she’d become more than that, more than my boyfriend’s mother, more than my boss. In my mind, she’d become her own entity—my friend. A woman so ingrained in my life, I couldn’t imagine it without her anymore. I swallowed to try and keep my voice from wavering, but it wavered anyway. And then I—you guessed it—rambled. “The thing is, I never really had a mom because she died so young and Dad never remarried. So, I want to say…it’s been so nice having a female to talk to about things.” I paused. “And thanks for making Dad happy.”

“Okay,” she said, uncertainly. “You’re welcome.”