Zoe in Wonderland (11 page)

Zoe and Quincy Together Again

I
, Zoe G. Reindeer, hate to get up really early on the weekends, but last night I set my alarm for 6:00
A.M
. I didn't know what time Quincy would be back, but I wanted to be finished with my chores before he got here. Sleepiness made me press the snooze button, giving me ten more minutes of shut-eye, but finally, like a zombie, I crawled out of bed. Lazily, I put on my work clothes, ate some cereal, and woke up Harper.

He pulled the covers over his head. “It's too early,” he whined.

“You made a deal,” I reminded him.

He yawned and stretched. “I'm coming.”

“You have fifteen minutes,” I warned him.

Of course, birds were already chirping, talking nonstop to one another in bird chatter. One was singing a song.

BQ, happy birds.

Daddy was already up, with his head poked inside the hood of his truck, tinkering.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“You're up early for a Saturday,” he said.

“Quincy's coming today and Kendra too,” I reminded him.

“That's right,” he said, and went back to working on his truck.

“I'm going to the greenhouse.”

“Before you go . . . do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Get in the truck and turn the key.”

Me, inside the truck, turning the key? “Okay.”

I turned the key but the truck didn't start; it only made a clicking sound.

“Thanks.” Daddy kicked the truck. “This heap of junk!”

I got out and went to his side. “Whatsamatter with it?”

“Everything . . . starter, alternator, transmission, radiator, you name it. But it's got more than two
hundred thousand miles on it, so I suppose I shouldn't be complaining.”

I didn't know much about trucks or cars except when you turn the key they're supposed to turn on and they need to be fed gas and sometimes they need new tires. “Is two hundred thousand a lot?”

“Yes.”

“Just take it to a shop and get it fixed,” I advised him.

“Costs money, Zoe. Costs money.”

“Oh.” I grabbed a pen from the truck and did some math on the palm of my hand. There are fifty-two weeks in a year and I get paid fifteen dollars a week to take care of the greenhouse and do other chores around the Wonderland. That equals $780. I'd never realized it was that much money.

“You don't have to pay me for a whole year. That's seven hundred and eighty dollars.”

At first Daddy smiled, then he started laughing so hard, he leaned against the truck and grabbed his belly.

“What's so funny?”

“Nothing,
my
Zoe.”

He patted the top of my head and said, “It'll all work itself out. It just will. Now go on to the greenhouse and finish up so you can have your time with
Quincy. And catch a few flies for the flytraps and those others for me, okay?”

“Okay.” I'd save that job for Harper.

The first thing I did was check on the baobabs—still nothing. What the heck was wrong? There was nothing for us to start the movie with. I frowned.

Soon, Harper joined me in the greenhouse. Together we worked and before long we were mostly finished. “Can I please go back to sleep now?” Harper pleaded.

“Sure.” Being the boss really felt good. As Harper trudged outside, I called out to him, “Thanks, little brother.”

I'd just finished watering the seedlings and was studying an orchid bud that was about to bloom when, behind me, the greenhouse door opened.

“Hey, Comet.”

I couldn't believe my ears.

I turned around.

He was standing in the doorway, same round face and nerd glasses, smiling. Quincy.

I felt like someone was tickling me from the inside. Silly-happy.

I didn't mean to. I really didn't. But I was so happy that I couldn't stop myself. I dropped everything, ran to where he was standing, and hugged him tight. Tight like I'd fallen from a boat into the middle of the ocean
and someone had thrown me one of those round lifesavers and to keep from drowning I had to squeeze the thing until I almost squished it—that tight.

He made a fake choking sound. “Can't breathe, Zoe.”

I laughed, let go, and stepped back. “Sorry.”

“I wanna see the baobabs,” he said. I pointed to where they were planted and stood behind him as he examined can after can. “They didn't grow yet?” he asked.

“Nope,” I answered. “Something must be wrong. They should have sprouted a long time ago.”

“Have you been watering them?”

“Yes.”

He poked his finger into the dirt. “Did you soak the seeds for twenty-four hours before you planted them?”

“No . . . I just planted them.”

“Zoe! The directions said to soak them in hot water for twenty-four hours and then use a nail file or knife to remove part of the seed's outer shell before you plant them. Otherwise, it takes months for them to grow.”

“I didn't know I had to do all that stuff.”

Quincy poked my shoulder. “That's what directions are for, Zoe. Always read directions.”

“We can always buy some more,” I told him.

“No, that's okay,” he replied.

“Sorry you have to wait to start your movie.”

He shrugged and said, “No problem,” as if he didn't even care.

He's probably got too much other stuff to think about, I figured. Stuff like his mom. “I double swear I will look at them every day, and as soon as they grow, I'll let you know. . . all right?”

“Okay,” he replied, then glanced at his watch. “C'mon, let's go. My dad's waiting for us in the car so we can go pick up my mom,” he told me.

“But I have to finish my work,” I told him.

“Your dad said it's okay. My pops already talked to him. C'mon.”

I hadn't worn gloves, so my hands were grimy, and my blue jeans were filthy, and my work hoodie had holes at the elbows. No way was I going anywhere dressed like this. “I have to change my clothes. It won't take long. I promise.”

Quincy checked his watch again and said, “Better hurry, Blitzen.”

It felt so good to have him near that I actually liked being called reindeer names.

“Did you know
Blitzen
comes from a word that actually means ‘lightning'?” Quincy asked as he followed me outside.

“Of course not, dork-boy.” I snickered.

He shook his head. “Did you just call me ‘dork-boy'? Is that what you've been learning in school, Zoe?”

“No, I made it up just now.”

He shook his head again, but he was smiling. In fact, he seemed happier than ever. “Hurry up and change. I'll go tell my pops.” Quincy zoomed off in one direction and I rushed to the house.

Two Things I Felt Like Doing Right Then

1. Twirling happily in a hundred circles with my arms stretched out.
   
2. Whistling a tune if I could—but no matter how hard I keep trying, I just can't.
   

As quickly as possible, I put on clean clothes and fixed my braids. I was about to put on lip gloss but thought Quincy might think it was weird.

Nope, no lip gloss for me today.

“Zoeeee,” Quincy's dad, Wes, squealed as I climbed in the backseat.

As we drove, music from the radio played and, as usual, Quincy's dad sang along. His voice was pretty bad, but I didn't care. Being with them again reminded me of the summer when I went with Quincy and his dad to the beach at Paradise Cove and we ate burgers
in the restaurant there and walked along the beach until it got cold. It almost felt like no time had passed since then—like the summer had never ended.

The only thing that was different about Kendra, other than her head still being bald, was that she had lost some weight.

After she hugged and kissed Quincy for a very long time, she turned to me.

“Your turn, Miss Zoe. Gimme a hug, girl.” She took me in her arms and I realized she was missing her usual perfumy smell too.

“All finished with my treatments. Docs are saying it's looking good.”

Quincy took his mom's hand and together we walked down the corridor toward the exit doors. On the way, nurses and other people called out to Kendra, wishing her well. Giving her smiles and hugs.

“Gonna miss you round here,” one nurse told her.

“Gonna miss you too, but hope never to be back here except to visit, if you catch my meaning.”

Before we reached the door, Wes took Kendra's hand and Kendra leaned into him.

Are they un-splitsville? I wondered.

Wes and Kendra also acted like they were married again when we stopped at the hardware store.

“Your parents are sure being nice to each other,” I commented to Quincy as we trailed behind Kendra and Wes's shopping cart.

He grinned. “Yeah, I know. It's kinda awesome.”

Wes stopped the cart and loaded on a bunch of moving boxes.

“I hate packing. And I mean hate it!” Kendra proclaimed.

“Who's moving?” I asked.

“Didn't Quincy tell you?” Wes asked.

“Tell me what?”

“I'm selling the house here and moving to San Francisco,” Kendra answered.

My eyes flew to Quincy. “Huh?”

“I was about to tell you,” he said. “My mom is going to move in with us because she can work from home anywhere but my dad can't leave his job.”

“You're going to be in San Francisco forever?”

“Looks that way,” Kendra told me.

Instantly I went blank inside—like a book with all of its words suddenly erased. I was on the verge of tears.

“Sorry. But I wanted to tell you in person because I was afraid you'd get all sad and stuff.”

“That's why you didn't get mad about the baobabs, huh? Because there isn't going to be any movie, right?”

“Sorry,” he repeated. “But it's good news that my family will all be back together again. Plus it's not that far away, Zoe.”

“And you can come visit anytime,” Kendra added.

Wes patted my shoulder and smiled. “Plane ride only takes an hour, Zoe.”

I'm not sure why, but right then this thought showed up from out of nowhere, which I suppose is where thoughts hide. I thought about Adam and all the places he'd been to and how I'd felt like a very boring girl the other day when he'd talked about his adventures—as he called them.

“It's not that far away,” I said out loud as if I were trying to convince myself.

Suddenly, I didn't feel like a book with no words. Instead, I felt all mixed up, like when you fill your cup with five different kinds of soda. Most of me still wanted Quincy to live right down the street, but some of me was glad he had his parents back together again. Some of me was sad. But some of me was excited to think about taking a plane to visit Quincy. I'd never been on a plane.

Zoe, wearing safari clothes, boarded the jet. The flight attendant fluffed Zoe's pillow and offered her hors d'oeuvres—shrimp wrapped with bacon—Zoe's favorite. The pilot started the engine and in no time the plane was on its way to the African Serengeti. The baobabs would be beautiful this time of year, and perhaps after that she would head to Madagascar . . .

“Zoe?” Quincy whispered.

“I was just wondering . . . how much do plane tickets to San Francisco cost?” I asked Kendra.

“Not that much,” she replied. “I'll see if you can use my frequent flier miles.”

“And I can visit anytime?”

“Anytime,” she replied.

I turned my watery eyes to my best friend. “And you guys could come here and visit too, right?”

“Right,” Wes replied.

“Plus it's not that far away,” Quincy repeated.

I wanted to—but I didn't cry.

That night, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking. Quincy and Kendra going to live with Wes was pretty hard for Zoe G. Reindeer but probably best for Quincy. He seemed so happy and so did Wes and Kendra. I supposed that sometimes what's best for
someone you care about might at first seem like it's the worst thing in the world for you. But if you really stop and think about it—if you really care about that person—the most important thing is for them to be happy, and them being happy makes you happy. It's like some kind of circle. Plus it would be a real adventure, not just an imaginary one.