Authors: Lurlene McDaniel
FOUR
Alexis set her alarm clock for seven on Saturday morning. She groaned when it startled her awake, but she remembered why she’d set it so early and scooted out of bed. She slipped on shorts and a T-shirt, threw water on her face in her bathroom, tied her hair into a ponytail and hurried down the back staircase and into the kitchen. She found her father reading the paper and drinking coffee. “Morning,” she said brightly.
Looking surprised, he said, “Morning to you. Why are you up this early?”
Alexis went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice. “No special reason.”
“This
is
Saturday, isn’t it?”
“All day.” She carried her glass to the table and sat across from him. “Mom still asleep?”
He grunted. “Naturally.”
“Want me to fry you an egg?”
“No. I have an eight o’clock tee-off at the club. I’ll get something at the drive-through on the way.”
It was his habit to play golf on the weekends, and he was always gone by the time the rest of the family got up. Alexis remembered that years before, her mother had fixed Saturday-morning breakfasts of bacon, eggs and toast that they’d eaten together at the table. On Sundays, she had fixed waffles. But no more. Now everybody went their separate ways on weekends.
“Do you know what the month of October is, Dad?” Alexis asked. She sipped her juice, hoping to cool her nervous, tight throat.
“Uh—October?” He didn’t glance up from the paper.
“Okay, I’ll tell you. October is Florida resident month at all our state attractions.” He didn’t respond. “It’s when attendance is lowest at state attractions, and people who live here can get in for cheaper rates. It’s been in TV ads.”
“I don’t watch much TV.”
Alexis set down her glass and placed her hand on top of the paper, making him look up. “I have an idea,” she said. “Want to hear it?”
“What?” His brow knitted.
She took a deep breath. “I was thinking that since it’s a good deal to visit places in Florida, our family could take a few days and go to Disney World. You know, like we did when Adam and I were little. Low crowds. Low price.” She held her hands up as if balancing a scale. “Adam and I have a three-day weekend coming up at the end of October, at Halloween, and so I thought it would be nice to take a family vacation. . . .”
“I don’t see how I can do that. Too busy.” His brusque tone only made her more determined.
“How can you say no? Halloween is still weeks away. Maybe you won’t be so busy then.”
He gave up on the paper and looked her in the eyes. “Honey, the firm’s got more work than we can handle right now. I can’t just pick up and take off.”
“Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Three days, Dad. You’ll miss one day of work and two golf matches. What’s so hard about that?”
“Orlando’s a five-hour drive.”
“So we’ll leave bright and early.”
He cocked his head. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. We never go anywhere as a family anymore. And next year Adam and I’ll be off to college, and you’ll miss us horribly and say, ‘Gee, I wish I could take my kids to Disney World,’ but too late, we’ll be gone.”
He grinned. “You have great style, counselor. Did I ever tell you that?”
“Many times,” she said smoothly, determined to keep the conversation focused. “Don’t change the subject. Can we go to Disney World next month?”
“You and Adam go. Take a few of your friends. My treat.” He picked up the paper.
She pulled it down again. “No, I want
us
to go. As in just our family.”
He looked bemused. “You’re a little old for Mickey Mouse, aren’t you?”
“I’m still a child at heart.” Her heart was hammering faster, just as it did when she knew she was arguing a position well during a formal debate.
Her father eyed the kitchen wall clock and stood. “I’ve got to run, Ally.”
She dogged him to the back door. “I need an answer, Dad.”
“You said we’ve got weeks to think about it.”
“No, we’ve got weeks until we can go. We need to plan it now.”
He turned, jingled his car keys. “Is it that important to you, honey?”
“Yes, it is.”
Their gazes locked. “Tell you what. Line it up with your mother, and I’ll clear my schedule.”
“Oh, Daddy, thanks.” She hugged him.
He kissed the tip of her nose, started out the door, turned. “Just make me a promise. Only one time around on It’s a Small World, okay? It took me weeks to get that darn song out of my head the last time we went.”
“Fair enough.” She watched him hustle toward his Mercedes parked in the driveway. All smiles, she latched the door and crossed the cool tile floor, heading toward the staircase and her room. “One down, one to go,” she announced to the quiet, immaculate kitchen.
“You can’t be serious, Alexis.”
“But I am serious, Mom.” Alexis was beginning to feel exasperated. Her mother was proving a whole lot more difficult to convince than her father.
They were in Eleanor’s home office, later that afternoon. Alexis had laid out her plan in clever, cute phrases, she thought, but her mother kept shuffling and piling papers the whole time Alexis talked. The desktop was covered with political posters and flyers.
“Halloween is a week away from the primary, Ally. And I am Larry Pressman’s media coordinator. I can’t take off a week before the election and go to Disney World. What are you thinking?”
“I am thinking that we haven’t had a family vacation in years. And that this would be a good time to have one.”
“Well, it isn’t.” Her mother ceased the paper diversion and, putting her hands on her hips, gave Alexis a pained look. “You know how hard I’ve worked on Larry’s campaign. He needs me.”
“What about us?”
Eleanor waved her off. “Don’t sound so dramatic. It’s not as if anybody here is neglected. There’s food on the table every night, clean clothes in your drawers—”
“There’s takeout most nights, and the housekeeper does the laundry.”
“Well, excuse me, little Miss Ingrate. Let me chain myself to the kitchen sink and start sorting through my recipe box.”
Nothing was going the way Alexis had planned it. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m not asking you to return to kitchen duty and give up your plans. I’m only asking for three days to come to Disney World with us. Dad’s clearing his schedule. Why won’t you?”
“Stop.” Her mother threw up her hands. “I don’t want to argue. Frankly, I’m too busy to argue. My working on Larry’s campaign isn’t just for fun, you know. If he’s elected, he’ll be very helpful to me this time next year when I run for city council. And I am going to run, Alexis.”
“I want you to run,” Alexis said, forcing her tone to be more placating, less adversarial. “Next year Adam and I’ll be gone. You can run for president. But this year, all I’m asking for is one little three-day vacation together.”
Her mother pursed her lips. “What is this really about, Ally? Vacation-taking time was last summer. You didn’t say a word then.”
“Dad had that big case and barely came home except to shower and change. You went off to that realtor convention in Dallas. There wasn’t any time last summer either.”
“So again I ask, what’s this about?”
Alexis opened her mouth to speak, but the phone rang.
“Just a minute,” her mother said, and picked up the receiver. The next instant, her face lit up. “Larry! How good to hear from you. I’ve got a list of things to go over with you. Are you free to meet this morning?”
Alexis shifted to catch her mother’s attention. Her mother mouthed,
Later,
and started gathering paperwork with her free hand, all the while keeping up a stream of chatter to Larry Pressman. Alexis felt as if she’d been physically shoved aside. Anger bubbled, so she left the room before it could boil over.
She retreated to her bedroom, slamming the door with such force that pictures hanging on the walls shook. She stormed to her desk, jerked the photo of her family at Disney World off the bulletin board, ripped it in half and threw it in the trash. Then she started tossing clothes from dresser drawers.
“Did your ceiling fall in?” Adam had cracked her door enough to poke his head into the room. “I heard a racket.”
“I’m cleaning drawers and closets,” she said tersely.
“Need help?”
“No.”
He came into her room anyway. “All right, sis, what set you off?”
“Nothing.” She stopped suddenly, a wad of clothing in her hands. “Everything.” Like a gust of hot wind, the fight went out of her, and tears brimmed in her eyes.
“Tell me.” Adam sat on the corner of her unmade bed.
She told him about her conversations with their mom and dad. She finished her story by saying, “She just blew me off, Adam. It was like Larry’s important and I’m nothing, an annoyance, like a housefly.”
“I’m not too surprised.” Adam leaned across her bed, pulled a tissue from the box on her bedside table and handed it to her. “You always could wrap Dad around your finger. He’d have agreed to anything. But when it came time to go, well, that would be different.”
She blew her nose, glanced sidelong at Adam. “You think?”
“I’m positive. And so long as we’re talking about it, did you ask me? What makes you think I want to go to Disney with them? I’ve outgrown Disney.”
Alexis shrugged. “You’re right. I should have asked you before going to them. I can’t do anything right around here.”
He leaned back on his elbows. “On the other hand, I might not be opposed to taking Dad up on his offer for you and me to take a few of our friends while he foots the bill.”
“But you said you weren’t interested in Disney.”
“Not with the feuding Chappels. But you, me, Sawyer, Kelly—now, that sounds okay.”
Alexis weighed the idea. “Kelly and I could share a room.”
“I’m sure that’s the only way her parents would let her go.”
Alexis considered his suggestion. She wouldn’t love being with Kelly, but since Adam liked the girl, she’d do it. “Do you think her parents will believe the sleeping arrangements? Better plan on taking a few others too. Safety in numbers.”
“How about Wade?” He named one of his longtime friends. “And maybe Tessa.”
“You’d like Tessa to come?”
“She’s pretty easygoing. I’ll be with Kelly anyway, so ask any of your friends.”
“That leaves Tessa with Wade. They might think we’re trying to force them together, and I don’t think either of them would like that. They don’t even know each other that well.”
“We’re not asking them to get engaged. They can manage for a couple of days, don’t you think?”
The more Alexis thought about it, the more she liked the plan. Adam was right. Who needed their deadbeat parents ruining a fun weekend because neither of them wanted to be there? “Let’s do it,” Alexis told her brother. “You set it up with Kelly and her parents and Wade. I’ll get Tessa and Sawyer to commit.” She paused. “And I’ll get the money from Dad too. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to buy his way out of a family vacation.”
FIVE
The thing that saved high school for Alexis was the work. She loved learning and classes that challenged her to think. Advanced Speech and Debate III and political science were her favorites, as were their teachers, Mrs. Wiley and Mr. Hernandez. Plus, Tessa was enrolled in those classes with her, making preparations for debate tournaments even more interesting. As a duo and with their team, they had won several trophies for their school, and Mrs. Wiley was certain the team had a shot at a state title at the Tallahassee tournament.
Alexis’s specialty was original oratory, a wholly original speech that could last no longer than ten minutes and had to be presented without the use of notes or visual aids before a panel of judges. If she won at state, it would look especially good on her application to Stetson.
“I’ve got to do something to stand out in the pile of freshmen applications,” Alexis told Tessa. They were in the library, studying.
“Of course you’ll stand out,” Tessa said.
“I’m worried about the SATs. The math part, you know? I’ve heard that Stetson won’t even consider students who don’t score fourteen hundred or above.”
“Oh, Alexis, really,” Tessa said dismissively. “I don’t think qualifying for Stetson will be a problem for you.”
Alexis shuffled her array of books. “Never take anything for granted.”
“What about Adam? Where’s he planning to go?”
“Probably Miami Dade Community for the first year.”
“You mean the inseparable twins are going to be separated? I don’t believe it.”
“He thinks he’s got a better chance of playing baseball as a walk-on. Plus, his doctors want him close by.”
Tessa was one of the few people who knew Adam’s full medical history. His hospitalizations had occurred when he’d been in elementary and middle school; therefore, it was easy to
not
talk about it in high school. The student body was so large that Adam and Alexis seldom ran into kids from their old schools, and if they did, few remembered that Adam had even been sick. “And don’t remind me that we’ll be separated. I don’t like thinking about it.”
“It has to happen sometime. You have separate lives.”
“I know, but it’s not easy. When he hurts, I feel it. When I’m mad or upset, he knows it. It’s like our brains are linked.”
“Isn’t that considered psychosomatic?”
“No, psychosomatic things are all in your head.” She doodled as she talked. “It’s more like telepathy.”
“Doo-doo-doo-doo,” Tessa joked. “How very
Twilight Zone
.”
“Forget it,” Alexis said, then changed the subject. “Are you okay about hanging with Wade when we go to Disney World?”
Tessa sighed. “Just so long as he knows I’m coming along to keep up appearances. Which, by the way, is kind of weird. Here’s good old Tessa helping out so that Kelly’s parents will be comfortable with their little darling going off with her boyfriend—who, coincidentally, is the one male on planet Earth that good old Tessa likes. Do you see any irony in this, Alexis?”
Alexis smiled and doodled Tessa’s and Adam’s names on her paper and drew a heart around it. “Yes, you are a good sport, girlfriend. And Wade knows you’re not lusting after him.”
“And Adam knows nothing about my stupid crush either?”
“Adam’s clueless.”
Tessa picked up her pencil, poised it over the doodle. “No need for him to ever know, okay? You keep that info inside your brain, Alexis Chappel. I don’t want any telepathy leaking out my little secret. You hear?”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
Tessa drew a jagged line between her name and Adam’s. “No use wishing for what I can’t have,” she said with a shrug.
Alexis felt sad for her all over again.
South Kendall High took top honors in the first high school debate of the season. “Of course, it’s not football,” Alexis told Adam that evening as soon as she arrived home. “So it won’t make the city papers.” The house was empty, but she found him doing laps in the pool.
Adam pulled himself out of the water. “I’m proud of you, sis.” He shook water on her, and she jumped back.
“Hey! Don’t get me wet.”
He stretched out on a lounge chair. “Be glad you had something to do and you missed the fireworks.”
“What fireworks?” She sat in the lounger beside his.
“The screaming Chappels. I came home from dropping off Kelly, and Mom and Dad were in a shouting match.”
“Really?” The news made her heart hammer. “What about?”
“Dad’s mad because Mom’s spending so much time on the Pressman campaign. They were in her office, but I could hear them yelling through the closed door.”
“Well, it’s not like
he’s
ever around,” Alexis said.
“Exactly what Mom said.” Adam reached for a towel. He dried his hair and pulled on a T-shirt. The sun had just gone down, and the air had turned cooler and less humid. “But I can’t really blame him. Just me and you living here these days. She’s always doing something for Larry. We’re shadows.”
“That’s not true,” Alexis said, then realized that she agreed with her brother. “I—I think things will be better when the election’s over.”
“What if Pressman wins?”
“Mom will be happy.”
“Maybe, but I heard Mom tell Dad that if Larry wins, he’ll appoint her to some position on his staff. A reward, I guess, for her loyalty.”
“What are you thinking?” Her heartbeat accelerated, because she knew what he was thinking, and she didn’t want to think it—and neither should he.
Adam gave her a long look. “I’m thinking we should go inside and leave our parents to work out things on their own.”
Alexis agreed. “I guess they both took off. When I came through the house, it seemed empty.”
“I went to my room after the blowup, but I still heard some door slamming. They drove off in separate cars around five.”
The news depressed her. “I ate with Tessa on the way home from the tournament, so I’m not hungry. If you want, I’ll heat up some macaroni and cheese for you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You should eat.”
“I had a burger with Kelly on the way home from school.”
“Good. We need our strength for Disney World.”
“Is the trip all set?” Adam started toward the house, and Alexis followed.
“Dad said he’d give me his credit card and said for us to have a good time.”
“Sounds great to me.”
The lights from the patio and pool made circles on the concrete. Alexis squinted. “Is that a bruise on the back of your leg?”
He glanced down. “Just shadows.”
“Let me see.”
Adam turned away, twisted the towel and snapped it expertly against her bare legs.
“Ow!”
He took off running, and she chased after him, her threats of retaliation and his laughter filling the quiet spaces in the rooms around them.
By mid-October, the Halloween Carnival committee had plans under control. “I can’t believe you and Adam aren’t going,” Glory grumbled.
“Mickey calls,” Alexis said. She was driving her friends home from the latest planning session. They’d stayed after school, and it was her week to have the car. Tessa sat up front, Glory and Charmaine in the backseat.
“Actually, I think we took the news about being left behind very well,” Charmaine said. “I hardly even called you bad names.”
“And we’re proud of you,” Tessa said. “Of course, if either of you want to take my place and baby-sit Wade—”
The two girls squealed. “No way!”
“Anybody hungry?” Alexis asked.
“Always,” Tessa said.
Glory said, “I have a few bucks.”
“That’s a miracle,” Tessa muttered.
“No fast food,” Charmaine said. “I’m on a diet.”
“You’re always on a diet,” Glory said.
“Look . . . there’s Sea Dreams.” Tessa called out the name of a popular seafood place off the main thoroughfare. “Fish is good for us.”
“Too expensive,” Charmaine said.
“My treat,” Alexis said, turning into the parking lot.
“Since when?” Tessa asked.
“Since no one’s cooking at my house. Mom gave me a fifty this morning.” Alexis couldn’t forget how her mother had rushed into the kitchen and shoved bills into her hand and Adam’s. “Got a huge fund-raiser tonight. I’ll be really late, so take yourselves to dinner. See you.” And then she was out the door.
“Wow,” Glory said. “All my mom gave me this morning was a hard time.”
They all laughed as Alexis parked. Inside, the restaurant was lit by twinkling lights and candles. “Four for nonsmoking,” Alexis said. “We’d like a booth, please.”
The hostess eyed them skeptically but picked up menus. “Right this way.”
They followed her single file, weaving their way among crowded tables. “She probably thinks we only go out on prom night,” Tessa whispered from behind Alexis.
But Alexis wasn’t listening. On the other side of the room, at a table for two, she had seen her father. He was sitting with a pretty, young blond woman, and they were leaning into each other, their gazes on each other’s faces, their hands touching slightly, wineglasses filled beside them. Alexis stopped so abruptly that the others plowed into her.
“Ouch,” Glory said when Charmaine clipped her heel.
Alexis spun. “I’ve changed my mind,” she said. “I don’t want to eat here.”
“But I do,” Charmaine said. “I’m really getting into thoughts of lobster.”
Tessa’s gaze shifted, and Alexis felt her cheeks burn because she knew Tessa had seen her father and the woman too. Tessa grabbed Glory by the shoulders, turned her and gently edged her back toward the front door. “Come on, ladies. Let’s pick some other place to eat.”
“But why?” Charmaine dogged behind Glory and Tessa.
“Because the girl with the money has changed her mind about having fish,” she said.
“Are you sure? I didn’t hear Alexis say a word about fish.”
Alexis was out the door, so she missed Tessa’s comeback. Outside, she took in great gulps of evening air. Her hands shook, and she felt numb, recalling the look of rapt attention and tenderness on her father’s face.
“Hellloo . . .”
Alexis was suddenly aware of Glory peering hard at her.
“Want to tell us what’s going on?”
“I—I just changed my mind about eating there, that’s all. It smelled nasty and was giving me a headache.”
“If not here, where?” Charmaine asked testily.
“Can we do it some other time?”
“Fine with me,” Tessa said cheerfully, going toward the car. “Want me to drive?”
Alexis met her friend’s gaze, but shook her head. “It’s all right. I’ll drive.”
Her hands shook as she inserted the key into the ignition. She backed out of the lot with a screech and floored the accelerator to get into the flow of traffic.
“Don’t kill us,” Charmaine said.
Tessa blasted the radio so that no one could talk on the ride home.