The Long Ride (7 page)

“Sure,” Stevie said. She opened the package. The T-shirt was simple enough. It had the store's logo, a cartoon character dressed as a medieval knight. That was why it was called Pizza Manor. The hat, however, was not so simple. It was like the one the little cartoon character wore. It was made of felt, with a brim that was rolled up along the edges but pointed in front—like something Robin Hood might have worn on a bad hair day. Worst of all, feathers sprouted from the headband.

“Isn't it cute?” the manager asked.

“Very,” Stevie said, hoping she was keeping her voice even. She didn't want him to sense her rising panic.

“See you later!” he said cheerfully. He retreated to his office before Stevie could reply. She turned to Polly Giacomin, who was still standing patiently behind the counter.

“Nobody told me about this!” Stevie exploded.

“Didn't you wonder why he was so worried about having to make the deliveries himself tonight?” she teased.

Lisa began giggling. “Put it on,” she said. Stevie donned the hat and slipped the elastic band under her chin. She grimaced.

Lisa adjusted the hat to a jaunty angle. “It's you!” she declared. Polly grinned.

“It's a good thing there aren't any mirrors in this place,” Stevie said. “I have a feeling I'm better off not knowing how I look. Now, Polly, tell me—are there any other nasty surprises in store for me?”

“No,” Polly said. “We make good pizza, so people are usually happy to have it. And they do give good tips, so all of our delivery people in the past have been pleased with that—Oh, there is one thing.”

“Uh-oh,” said Stevie.

“Not that bad, but I just ought to warn you. Mr. Andrews is a really nice guy, but he's totally gung ho about this place—like it's his life. He's always worried that one of us is going to do something to upset a customer. That's when he tells us to ‘Mind your Pizza Manors.'”

“I'm not sure I need insurance this badly,” Stevie said.

“Oh, yes you do,” Lisa said.

“You're just afraid Alex will have to pay all of it,” Stevie accused her.

“No. I'm just afraid you're going to want to borrow money from me and Carole,” Lisa said. “Well, we're both broke, so you are going to have to wear a dumb hat and earn it. Or let Alex have the car all the time, which might be okay, too. Come on. I have to get home. Say good-bye to Polly, um, politely,” she said.

Stevie turned to Polly, slid the silly hat off her head with her right hand, brandished it gallantly, then placed it over her heart while she bowed, her left foot in front of her right one. “Milady,” she said.

“And you haven't even taken the training course yet!” Polly said.

Lisa hurried Stevie out of the shop before she could ask Polly what she meant. Stevie did need the job, and Lisa didn't want her to quit before she even started. Moreover, she was now crunched for time. They had to get going. She settled into the passenger seat of Stevie's car.

“Where to?” Stevie asked. “Your place or miner?”

“Mine,” Lisa told her. “I've got to do some organizing for my trip, and life is easier if I do that kind of thing when Mom isn't around. Although it's been more than a year since Dad got remarried, Mom still resents it and the fact that he moved across the country. She calls Dad's new wife ‘that woman,' and she won't even mention the baby. I guess I can understand. It wouldn't make me happy if I were her, but it sure has made him happy.”

“It doesn't make me or Carole or Alex happy, either,” Stevie said, just to remind Lisa that her mother wasn't the only one who would miss her that summer.

“It changes everything. I know that,” Lisa said. “Change can be great, but sometimes it's just too much. When my parents split up and Dad moved to California, I felt like I was being cut in half—half of me loved Mom and the other half loved Dad, and the half that loved Mom hated Dad and the half that loved Dad hated Mom. It's tough having all that love and hate all mixed up inside. I mean … I still wish it hadn't happened, but the fact is that there was so much tension in our house all the time that life is a lot easier with them apart from one another. The real trouble is that Mom is miserable and Dad is deliriously happy. When I spend time with Mom, I try to make her feel better, and when I spend time with Dad, I'm relieved that I don't have to cope with that, and then I feel guilty that I'm relieved. Isn't that great? No matter what I do, it hurts. I feel like I'm caught in the middle. I know that how I'm feeling isn't particularly rational. I mean, none of this is my fault. But it still hurts. But as time goes by, I feel it a little bit less and hurt a little bit less. I think it's the same for Mom and Dad, too. Mom is getting better, slowly. Dad is admitting that what he did was hurtful—even if it wasn't wrong for him. And we're all going on with our lives.”

Stevie was glad she was behind the wheel and could pretend she was concentrating on the road in front of her. This was the first time in more than two years that Lisa had talked so much about her parents and how their divorce had affected her. Both Stevie and Carole had known that all these things were going on in Lisa's mind and heart because they were best friends, but Lisa had never shown much inclination to talk about them. Now she was talking, and Stevie's sole job was to listen.

“So now I'm going off to my dad's. It'll be more relaxed than here—if you don't count looking after Lily. She's the cutest thing. I never thought I'd have a baby sister, and I certainly never thought it would happen when I was in high school—in a way, that's an awful thought—but it's happened and she's adorable and I love her and I'm glad to spend time with her and I'm glad to be with my dad when he's so obviously happy to have me and Evelyn and Lily there with him. It's like there's enough air out there to breathe, and there isn't here, certainly not at my house, anyway. Do you think the air in California is really different?”

“I've never been there,” Stevie said. “I guess the weather's better.”

“I don't think that's it,” said Lisa.

“Probably not,” Stevie agreed. She pulled into Lisa's driveway and stopped the car smoothly. She didn't know what to say. Everything seemed inadequate. Lisa smiled understandingly.

“Tell Alex I'm home, will you?” she asked.

“I think he knows already,” Stevie said. She pointed to her own home, a few houses down the block. Alex had emerged from the front door and was heading toward Lisa's house. “Radar,” Stevie said in explanation.

“Thanks,” said Lisa. “For the lift and for letting me talk.”

“You're welcome,” Stevie said, meaning it.

“And congratulations on getting your job. Don't worry about the hat. It looks so silly on your head that nobody will take it seriously at all.”

“You really know how to make a girl feel good, don't you?”

“That's what friends are for,” Lisa said before she closed the car door and headed into her house.

Stevie waved at her twin as she passed him on her way back to their house. He was so focused on getting to Lisa's that Stevie didn't think he really saw her at all. That was okay. She was glad that her best friend had someone who loved her that much—even if it was only Stevie's brother.

“Hi, Lis',” Alex said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and taking her hand. “Got a minute?”

“Always,” Lisa said, squeezing his hand back. “I wanted to see you today anyway. I've got a bunch of stuff to do, and you can help.”

“Like choose what shirts you're going to take to California?”

“No, actually, what CDs I should take. That's more up your alley than fashion, right?”

“Definitely,” he agreed. She led him into the den, where she kept her music collection.

As they walked in, Lisa's mother came out, saying she was on her way to the grocery store. “Not that I'm going to need to keep much food in the house once you're gone for the summer, Lisa,” she said. The sigh was apparent, even though inaudible.

“That makes it unanimous, then,” Alex said when the door closed behind Mrs. Atwood. “Nobody wants you to go away this summer.”

“That doesn't change the fact that I'm going, Alex, and it doesn't make it easier when you talk like that.”

“I know, I know. I just can't help myself sometimes.”

“Look, we'll talk on the phone. I'll send you e-mail from my dad's computer. I'll be in your hair so much you'll start wishing I were farther away!”

“I don't think that'll happen,” he said. Gently he pulled her to him and wrapped her in his strong arms. He gave her the kiss he'd wanted to give her when he first saw her: warm, lingering, and deep. She circled her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It made her feel good—very good—but it also reminded her how hard it was going to be to be away from him for the whole summer.

They came up for air. “I'm going to miss you,” he said.

“Me too. But being apart isn't going to change how we feel about one another. Besides, Alex, saying good-bye is really hard. I'm dreading it, and it doesn't help when you start doing it now. I'm not leaving yet. Let's save the good-byes until the last minute, okay?”

Alex looked at her, savoring her sweet smile and lovely face. “I hadn't thought of it that way, but, as usual, you are totally sensible and absolutely right. No good-byes. Just hellos. I do a good hello kiss, too. Want to try it?”

“Silly!” she said, pushing him away. “You're as incorrigible as your sister! Who—by the way—got herself a job today.”

“Ah, my sister the pizza girl, huh? I've heard that Mr. Andrews is something else. The two of them should get along just fine.”

“As long as she ‘minds her Pizza Manors,'” Lisa said.

“You're kidding!”

Lisa told him all about Stevie's interview, including the hat. It was a useful way to change the mood because the image of Stevie in the feathered hat was so hilarious.

“And I guess she won't be the only one with a new look this summer.”

“You have to wear a uniform while you mow lawns?” Lisa asked.

“No, of course not,” he said. “But I will be spending the summer in the great outdoors, getting a tan that will be the envy of everyone but lifeguards.”

“You be sure to wear sunscreen,” said Lisa.

“Don't you want me to be a bronze god?”

“Better to be pasty white than to have skin cancer.”

“Maybe a little tan?”

“Maybe,” she said, relenting. “Just a little. If you get too handsome, the girls will all be after you, and I don't want that!”

“I'll beat them off with a stick,” Alex promised.

“That's what I like to hear,” Lisa said. “Now, here are my CDs. Which ones do you think I can't live without for the summer?”

Alex studied the CD holder and started pulling out boxes. He made three piles. “These are mine that you borrowed,” he said, pointing to the first pile. “And these are yours that you should take with you.”

“What's the third pile?” she asked.

“Yours that you want to lend to me for the summer,” he explained with a smile.

She was about to protest when the phone rang. She walked into the living room and picked it up.

“Hey, Lisa! You're there. It's Skye. I'm on a quick break, so I don't have long to talk, but I heard you're coming out here—that's great! Listen, will I get to see you?”

“I don't have a lot of plans, like, for instance, I'm not in any television shows or anything. My schedule is pretty much open. You're the one with all the work.”

“Well, not so much I can't visit with friends sometimes. And there's something else.”

“What's that?” Lisa asked.

“Um …,” he said. “I guess it'll be better to talk about it when you get here. When'll you arrive? Want me to send a car?”

“No thanks, Skye. My dad'll meet me.”

Alex peered through the doorway, looking curious. “Who are you talking to?” he whispered.

“Skye Ransom,” she mouthed back.

The concern on Alex's face was immediate and obvious. She shook her head as if to dismiss his worry. She slipped her hand over the mouthpiece. “Just a friend,” she added in a whisper.

Alex nodded broadly in a general display of disbelief.

“Look, you're going to be so busy it's going to be awfully hard for us to get together,” Lisa said, as much for Alex's benefit as Skye's.

“Never too busy to see a friend,” Skye told her.

“I'll call your service when I get to my dad's house and we can talk.”

“Good idea,” Skye said. “But why don't you call me at home? You've got the number, right?”

“Right,” she said. “And you have my father's number in case we get crossed up.”

“Of course,” he said. “From the last time you were here. That was so much fun, wasn't it?”

“Yes,” she said, remembering the great time they'd had when she had come to California for her father's wedding. Lisa was uncomfortable with the idea that Alex might misinterpret what Skye was saying to her, so she was revealing as little as possible about the other end of the conversation. But she was also uncomfortably aware that Alex knew perfectly well what she was doing.

“I bet you have to get back to the set now, right?”

“Well, in a minute,” Skye said.

“Okay, then I'll talk to you when I get out there.”

“It's a date,” he said, and hung up.

Lisa cradled the phone.

“Are you making plans with Skye?” Alex asked.

“Not likely,” Lisa said. “He's so busy with his career that he hardly has any time for a life. But, Alex, even if I do see him, remember, or try to remember, that he's a friend. He's been a friend for a long time. He's never been any more than a friend, or any less. You're number one on my list, and that's not going to change.”