Daddy seemed more relaxed when I arrived home. He was sitting in his study, reading a poem to Andie. She sat across from him in a comfortably cool leather chair. Rich, gleaming cherrywood bookshelves shone against the sunlight streaming in from the skylight above.
I tiptoed in, standing silently as he read. When the poem was finished, Andie applauded. “You never told me your father writes poetry,” she said, observing me.
“He does?” I came around, leaning over his chair. “You do?”
He held up the printed pages. The title, “A Year to Celebrate,” made my heart glad. It must have been inspired by his newfound joy. Daddy had become a Christian last April.
“You wrote this?” I walked slowly around his chair, scanning the lines on the page. It was free verse, beautifully flowing with a loose rhyming pattern.
“Well, what do you think?” His eyes searched mine.
“It’s fabulous!”
Andie agreed. “You get your writing talent from your dad, Holly.”
Daddy’s eyes shone. He reached for a pencil and began scribbling on the back of his paper.
I walked around his large study, stopping to inspect the goldframed family pictures on his enormous desk. Baby pictures. One of me wearing a red Valentine dress with white lace edging, one of Carrie cuddling a white bunny with pink ears.
Andie wandered over, looking at the pictures. “Aw, how sweet. Holly, you were such a doll.”
“Look how light my hair was then,” I said. It looked the color of real butter—almost white.
“And it was so short and wispy,” she said. We looked at Carrie’s picture together. The resemblance between us was uncanny, even as babies. “You could pass as identical twins,” Andie said.
“Yeah, born four years apart.”
Saundra poked her head in the door. “Anybody ready for tea?”
Andie looked at me, surprised. “Tea?”
Daddy chuckled. “Yes, we have afternoon tea around here every so often. Saundra’s quite a hostess.” He smiled proudly, and Saundra came over and laid a big smacker right on his lips.
I chose peppermint tea with honey, because that’s probably what Mom was drinking back home right about now. I honestly missed her and wished I could confide in her about Andie’s shenanigans. Unfortunately I’d promised to keep my friend’s private life a secret.
After we pigged out on finger pastries and a variety of other sweet cakes, I thanked Saundra and asked Daddy if we could talk alone.
“Not now,” Saundra said, standing up suddenly as though she’d forgotten something important.
“Time for my pills,” Daddy said, apologizing for her. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
I went over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be waiting.”
Daddy smiled faintly, leaning his head back against the padded leather. “I don’t think I can stand having two doting women in the same house.”
I blew a kiss, wishing Saundra hadn’t cut me off like that. Something must have shown up on those lab tests for Daddy to be staying home all day. Worried, I headed down the stairs with Andie trailing behind.
“Your mom called while you were out with Sean,” Andie said, following me into my room.
“She did? When?”
“Right after you left.”
“Why didn’t Daddy say something?” I asked.
“Because he was asleep and Saundra was next door.”
“So
you
answered the phone?” I couldn’t believe this. Andie was certainly making herself at home here.
“Well, I kinda thought it might be Rico,” she admitted softly. “That’s why.”
“What would
he
want?”
“Oh, nothing much,” she said, but I wondered if they weren’t making plans for later.
“Well, what did Mom say?”
Andie grinned. “She wanted to talk to you, what else?”
“What did you say?”
“That you were out with some boy, sneaking off with him into the night.”
“You did not.”
“Bet me.” Her face looked serious, and she wasn’t twisting her hair like she usually did at a time like this. Was she fibbing me? Or…was she trying to get back at me for my reaction to Rico?
“Your mom said you’d have to come home immediately.” Andie’s face was severely serious now.
“Andie, come on!” I wailed.
Her face broke into a spiteful grin. “How’s it feel?”
I lashed out. “That’s not fair. You lied.”
“And you didn’t?” She looked absolutely haughty. “Well, now we’re even.”
Even or not, I didn’t like it one bit. I flew out of the room and upstairs to call my mom.
LITTLE WHITE LIES
The next morning, bright and early, I slipped out of bed and found my journal.
Thursday, July 14: Andie and I aren’t getting along so well. I wish she’d drop Rico flat, but even after we talked late last night, she seemed more determined than ever to ignore me and do things her way. Shoot, she’s not just being stubborn, she’s outright defiant! Andie’s acting really different here. I can’t remember her being so rebellious back home.
That bizarre comment she said she made to my mom about me sneaking off into the night with Sean…Where did that come from? If I didn’t know and trust Andie the way I do, I’d think she was planning something like that herself.
Whew—Mom sounded depressed when I called last night. She said Stan was giving Uncle Jack fits over his new curfew—guess he’s been staying out too late, breaking house rules. I told her I thought Ryan Davis was a bad influence on him. She agrees.
Mom thinks my coming out here might be just the thing my little sister needed to make her appreciate me more. She said Carrie actually misses me. Stephie too.
Well…Daddy and I didn’t get to have our talk, at least not yesterday. It seems like every time there’s the slightest window of opportunity, Saundra shows up and slams it shut. I don’t know what her problem is, but she’s starting to drive me crazy. I have a right to know what’s wrong with my father. And if she’s going to keep being so secretive, well, I guess I’ll just have to confront her.
I showered, dressed, and wandered onto my balcony. In the distance I could see a tall blond jogger on the beach with a black dog. I was sure it was Sean Hamilton and his Labrador, Sunshine.
I thought about our talk yesterday. Sean’s face had shown his approval for what I’d said…and his words seemed to agree. But I had a funny feeling he was going along with my decision to appease me. Sometimes it was hard to read Sean. I wished I had a better handle on things—on how he really felt.
Tyler was more hyper than usual at breakfast. We ate at the breakfast nook, and Andie came dragging in late. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept all night. I played with the tan linen napkin under my fork. Still observing Andie, I listened halfheartedly as Tyler chattered about tomorrow’s trip to Universal Studios in Hollywood.
“I can’t wait to ride through the earthquake on the back lot,” he said as Saundra finally came around and sat at the head of the table. “Power cables snapping and sparking with electricity, train wrecks, lethal fumes, and a sixty-thousand-gallon tidal wave coming right at us!”
“Cool,” Andie said sleepily, her curls drooping as she tugged on her bathrobe.
I wondered why Saundra was sitting in Daddy’s place. “Did Daddy go to work today?” I asked, watching for signs of him.
Saundra began passing a platter of pancakes around. “Since your father is taking off tomorrow, he had to go in to the office early today.” She volunteered nothing else. Zero info…zilch!
I breathed deeply, surveying the situation. Her eyes refused to meet mine. But I watched her anyway. I
had
to know. “Is he okay?”
Saundra nodded, still avoiding my persistent gaze. Then Tyler launched into his excited chatter about Animal Planet Live and the Rugrats Magic Adventure, along with everything else we were going to see and do tomorrow, and Saundra actually seemed relieved.
So…was that how she wanted to play this game? Just ignore me? Say whatever she pleased to get me off her back?
I was freaked out, and even more so when it came time to eat and no one said grace. “Excuse me?” I eyed Tyler. “Didn’t we forget something?”
“Oh, sorry.” He passed the pancake syrup to me.
“That’s
not
what I meant.”
Andie came to my rescue. “Somebody pray,” she muttered, leaning her mop of curls into her hands.
“I will.” And I did.
When I was finished, I noticed that Saundra had bowed her head right along with the rest of us. A first.
I spread butter and syrup on my warm pancakes and began to chow down.
After breakfast, Andie went back to bed. She said she hadn’t slept well last night. I really wasn’t interested in her sleep patterns, so I headed to my room to straighten things up and have my devotions.
Later, I went upstairs to see if I could help Saundra with anything. “That’s very thoughtful of you, dear,” she said, “but the cleaning lady will be coming tomorrow morning. The best thing for you to do is to have your room picked up a bit before she comes.”
“It’s nice and neat,” I said, dying to broach the subject of Daddy’s health. But she looked rather busy as she sat at her desk in the kitchen alcove, scanning her daily planner.
Glancing up, she said, “Since Tyler’s going to be busy at summer school, how would you and Andie like to go to lunch with me?”
“Okay.”
“We could go to Marcie’s first and have our nails done. Would you like that?”
“Marcie’s?”
“Oh, you’ll adore the place,” she said, all bubbly. “Marcie’s is the most exclusive beauty salon in Beverly Hills. We’ll get all dressed up and go, okay, dear?”
“Sure,” I said, but getting all prissy wasn’t my thing. Having a manicure was okay, but fake nails? Ick!
In a flash, Saundra picked up the phone and made lunch reservations at some exotic place in Beverly Hills.
I hurried downstairs to inform Andie.
Tiptoeing into her room, I whispered, “Andie.”
She was sound asleep.
“Hey, wake up, we’re going somewhere really fabulous for lunch.”
No response. She was out cold.
I shrugged and turned to go back upstairs. Saundra was talking on the phone when I showed up in the kitchen again. I waited till she was finished, then explained that Andie hadn’t slept much last night. “Maybe we should wait awhile and let her rest.”
Saundra’s eyebrows shot up. “How long do you think she should sleep?”
I glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s already nine-thirty. When’s our nail appointment?”
“Eleven on the dot.” Saundra went back to her daily planner. I noticed several mini-lists inside. She and I had
something
in common. Maybe it was a starting place.
“I make lists, too,” I began, a little cautious at first. “I have a whole notebook full of them.”
“That’s nice, dear,” she said, not really paying attention.
I took a deep breath now. “One of my favorite lists is my prayer list.”
She looked up quickly.
“It helps me keep track of the people I’m praying for.”
“You certainly sound organized.” Her comment was a bit patronizing.
“Well, it sure helps…especially when the Lord answers my prayers. Then I check off my list with the date of the answer.”
Saundra had a quizzical expression on her face. “Your father started doing something similar to that recently.”
“Daddy? Really?”
“Yes, he’s quite taken with the Bible and church and such things.”
“That’s really great, don’t you think?”
“Well, I try to steer clear of his current obsession,” she said, making it sound like Daddy’s interest in spiritual things was merely a passing fancy.
“You’d be surprised how the Lord can help you, especially when things go bad. Like Daddy’s health, for instance.”
She frowned. “What makes you think your father’s health is bad?”
“Well, if Rico’s father is a cardiologist, and he’s one of Daddy’s doctors—”
“Well,” she snapped, “your father has seen Dr. Hernandez only one time. So I don’t think you can jump to any conclusions.”
“That’s just it,” I said softly. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I want the straight truth.”
She tapped her nails on the desk, studying me. For a split second I wondered why she needed to have her nails redone. They were perfect. “Holly,” she began, looking at me with sincere eyes. The tension between us felt white-hot. “Do you think I’ve been lying to you about your father?”
I sighed. “Well, I hope you’re not trying to keep me in the dark. Maybe you’re just protecting me, not really lying to me.” Whew, I’d said it. Now it was her turn. Would she keep fibbing or was the truth about to emerge at last?
“You’re a perceptive young lady,” she said, throwing me for a loop. I honestly thought she’d continue her charade. “What would you like to know?”
Bracing myself against the possibility of bad news, I said, “I want to know what’s wrong with Daddy.”
“Let me see if I can explain this to you.” She crossed her legs, smoothing her voile skirt. “Your father’s heart, along with suffering severe stress from a minor heart attack about a year and a half ago—”
I interrupted her. “That long ago? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
She looked at the ceiling, like she was trying to get a grasp of things. “It was around the time of his sister’s cancer diagnosis.”
“Aunt Marla? She found out about her cancer in January—a year and a half ago.”
“Yes, that’s when your father had some trouble.” She shook her head. “He started slowing down a bit. Remember when we drove over to that pretty little chapel to hear you sing with your youth choir?”
I nodded. “So, was Daddy’s heart damaged back then? He seemed just fine to me.”
“The heart attack was so slight, but it was enough to make him want to improve his diet and include more daily exercise. But as time went on, he got caught up in his hectic routine again.”
“Does he follow a strict diet now?”
She ran her fingers through the length of her hair. “I’m doing my best to keep him on a low-fat diet. But he gets very little exercise, which isn’t good, and he’s so driven it’s hard to get him to take time off. That’s one of the reasons I was thrilled you were coming.”