Drew Nance Book 2: "The Hidden Staircase" by Bobbie J. Cabot Chapter Four: Drew and Hotel Reservations / The Girls and Sundresses

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After Phil Cohen and Dave Evans left, Drew took the opportunity to wash down the part of the street where Phil’s Escalade dripped gallons of automotive fluids onto the pavement. She used several containers of the environmentally friendly cleaner that Otto said was good (She and her dad had to buy it at a store far from the house, and kept a couple of gallons worth in the garage), but she still flushed the crud down the drain – not exactly environmentally-friendly. At least when she used the high-pressure hose, it completely washed away the crud, and no trace of the crud was left afterrwards.

After putting away the hose, she called up Otto to make arrangements for her new RCZ.

“Hey, Drew,” Otto laughed. “We just got in. This is fast, even for you.”

Drew giggled. “What can I say, Otto? I guess I’m just as big of a motor head as Phil. So, yes?”

“Okay, the RCZ’s yours, Drew. Now do you just want it restored back to mint, or do you want to soup her up?”

She said to do it like her Tiger, but she had a few extra requests, of course: one – make the car more New York street-friendly i.e. make it so it can manage regular streets, with all of the humps, potholes, sharp turns and rough roads; two – make it more passenger-friendly i.e. easier to get in and out of, and make it an overall more comfortable ride (she didn't want to go through what she goes through with Tiger everyday); three – since the car's going to be repainted, she asked if it could be painted in a specific shade of red. Knowing the quality of Peugeot factory painting, Otto cringed at that, but Drew was the customer so he agreed. Drew promised to email him some more details later. And, four – add some more “bling” but not change the car’s lines. Drew wanted the car to look as close to stock as it could.

Otto said what she asked wouldn’t take too long. Probably less than a week since his guys basically knew what to do since they were basically just going to repicate Tiger's makeover, and since he had all the parts needed.

He promised he would call regularly about costs and progress.

After they hung up, Drew still couldn’t stop grinning.

“So, whom were you talking to that you can’t stop smiling?” Aunt Arlene said.

“Oh, nothing,” Drew giggled. “I just got some good news about my new car.”

“New car? You’re getting rid of your current one?”

“I’ll tell you about it later, Aunt Arlene. Did Callie or Iola call?”

“You just missed Iola. She said she’ll be in before seven. She didn’t sound too happy, though.”

That worried Drew. “How about Callie?”

“Callie will be here in a few. But, Drew...”

Drew sensed what she would be saying next. “Aunt Arlene! Please don’t say no!” She flung her arms around Callie’s aunt.

“Oh, Drew. It’s one thing for you girls to spend the night at Iola’s, or stay out late to go to a party. This is Hawaii. I don’t think it’s...”

“Oh, Aunt Arlene...”

“Is your father coming later?”

“I think so.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll have a word with him first.”

“Well, okay...”

The doorbell chimed.

“That’s probably Callie,” Drew said. “I’ll check.”

She went to the front door, and, sure enough, it was Callie.

“Hey, Drew,” she said glumly. “Is Aunt Arlene still here?”

Drew gave her a hug. “Hi, Callie. Yeah, she’s still here.”

“So you heard?”

“Yeah.”

“And don’t ask me to argue with her, Drew. It’s Aunt Arlene.”

“But...”

Callie shook her head.

“’Kay,” Drew reluctantly agreed.

“Well, at least we can have a nice sleepover,” Callie smiled sadly. “Is Iola here yet?”

“Not yet.”

“’Kay. Let’s go in. And, guess what?” Callie brought up a six-pack of Swamp Pop sugarcane soda. Callie had introduced it to Iola and Drew and it became their favorite drink. Sadly, only Aunt Arlene knew where to buy the delicious Louisiana soft drink since it wasn't regularly available anywhere in New York, and she wasn’t telling.

Drew clapped and got the six-pack from her. Callie brought out another six-pack from her backpack and gave Drew a razzberry.

- - - - -

Carson came in a little late. It was already eight PM.

“Hi, guys. Sorry for being late. Got stuck in some work.”

Drew got up from the couch where the three of them were listlessly talking about something.

“Hey, Pop,” she greeted him, and gave him a quick hug.

“Hey, Kid. What’s wrong?”

Drew shrugged and brought him to the dining table.

“Hey, girls,” Carson waved, and Drew’s friends said hi.

The mood was unmistakable. “Drew?”

“Oh, don’t mind us, Pop. Lemme get you some dinner.”

“How about you girls?”

“We already had dinner, Mr. Nance.”

Drew went into the kitchen and came out shortly with chicken from KFC, complete with fixings. Aunt Arlene followed with coleslaw from Rita’s, and a couple of beers.

“Hey, Arlene, you’re still here?”

“I have to leave in a while, actually – I have night duty at the hospital. But I wanted to stick around so I could talk to you.”

Drew glumly walked back to the couch.

“I take it that it’s bad news about the trip.” He gestured to Drew and the girls.

“I’m afraid so.” And they had a quiet talk while Carson had a meal of KFC Classic Chicken with KFC mashed potatoes, gravy and coleslaw.

- - - - -

“Well,” Drew said as she listlessly thumbed through an issue of Sugar. “It’s been almost thirty minutes. Guess Aunt Arlene’s told Pop about her decision. Wonder what they’re talking about now?”

“Probably not too different from what my mom and dad told me,” Iola said, her voice sounding a little resentful, as she played a first-person shooter game with Callie on Drew’s old X-Box.

“Yeah,” Callie said in the same tone. “Parents are all the same.”

“Let’s not talk about it. Let’s talk about tonight. What do you guys want to do?”

“I’m not in the mood. How about you, Iola?”

“Me, too,” Iola said.

“Come on, guys!” Drew responded. “We’re together. Let’s do something fun!”

Callie giggled. “Typical Drew.”

“Well, then, why don’t you be Typical Callie and think of something to do tonight?”

Iola giggled. “’Typical Callie.’”

“And what’s that supposed to mean, ‘Typical Iola?’” Callie said.

“I don’t know. How about you, ‘Typical Drew?’ Have any ideas about tonight?”

Drew started to giggle, too.

Pretty soon, they were having a hard time holding their laughter down – they didn’t want to disturb Carson and Aunt Arlene.

“So, what’s all this giggling about?” Carson asked mock-sternly. He and Aunt Arlene had come over from the dining area. Aunt Arlene had her bag with her so that meant she was about to leave for the hospital.

The three girls stopped, turned to look at the two adults and burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, Pop,” Drew said in between breaths.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Callie and Iola said, laughing as well.

“Well,” Carson said, “anyway, Arlene and I have talked about the trip to Hawaii.” That sobered up the girls.

“Yes?”

“Well,” Aunt Arlene began, “Carson, Mr. and Mrs. Morton and I have no real objections about you girls spending three weeks in Hawaii. It will be both fun and educational, I’m sure. But three weeks is too long for you girls to be on your own.”

“But Aunt Arlene!” Callie said, “you know you can trust us!”

“Baby, it’s not that. As your parents-slash-guardians, we have a responsibility to keep you safe.”

“Ahhh, nuts.”

“Callie, don’t be like that,” Carson said. “Your aunt is just trying to look out for you girls.”

“But, Pop,” Drew said. “We’re not kids anymore. We’re adults.”

“Barely adults, Drew. But that isn’t the point. We have a responsibility.”

“Ahhh, nuts,” Drew said, echoing Callie.

“But we have a proposal. Something that will allow you girls to go on your trip.”

The three teenagers looked at each other in hope.

“But then again, you might not like it...”

“What is it?” Callie asked.

“The main reason Arlene and the Mortons feel uncomfortable giving permission is that you have no chaperone. Even though you girls have proven that we can trust you, three weeks in Hawaii all alone is too much to ask, even for you.

“So our proposal is that a chaperone will go with you.” The three girls groaned.

“A chaperone?” Drew said. “Really?”

Carson nodded.

“And who will this chaperone be?”

Aunt Arlene cleared her throat. “I’ll be your chaperone.”

The three stopped and looked at Aunt Arlene.

“So if you can stand having me with you the whole time, then you can go.”

“Well...”

“Can we think about it?” Callie asked.

“Of course,” Carson answered. “Needless to say, I am going to foot the bill for the trip, otherwise we won’t get the seventy percent discount. So that means you guys keep your money. For sure, you’re gonna need a lot of pocket money over there. Think about it. In the meantime, I’m going to call the Mortons and tell them our idea,...”

“And I’ll talk to a friend of mine at the hospital later,” Aunt Arlene said, “and see if she and our floor supervisor will agree for me to pass on my duty hours to her for three weeks. I’m sure they’ll agree. ”

“And if those things work out, then you guys can go to Hawaii,” Carson finished. “Well?... What do you say?”

“We’ll talk it over tonight,” Drew said.

“Okay then. I’ll just walk Arlene out, and get my driver to bring her to the hospital.”

After a short round of hugs with Aunt Arlene, the two adults walked out the door.

“Well... What do you think about that?” Callie asked.

“I don’t know,” Iola said. “But with a chaperone around... With your aunt around, don’t you think that would cramp our style?”

“Our ‘style?’” Callie giggled. “What ‘style’ is that?” Iola threw one of the couch pillows at her.

“Oh, shut up!”

The sleepover wasn’t depressing anymore, but it wasn’t completely what they thought it would have been. The main topic was, of course, the trip to Hawaii, and the prospect of it pushing through.

But there was a little light at the end of the tunnel. As Carson said, they could go if Aunt Arlene would go with them.

Carson’s call to the Mortons was very helpful. After he told them that he was fine with Arlene as a chaperone, they said they were fine, too. So that meant it was all a go. If the girls agreed.

An hour later, Arlene called and said she was good to go. The only catch was that it can only be from Friday next week to the Monday seventeen days later. That was the only extended time she could get. Carson then checked with the travel agency and said that, given this, the latest that the agency coul wait for a reservation would be the Wednesday before that, otherwise, the girls won't get a Friday booking, but only the Wednesday after. That meant that they had to finalize their plans by Wednesday at the latest. The agency also emailed all the packages they had available, and the girls pored over these.

Carson took his leave at around ten, saying he wanted to go to bed early, although the girls all knew he was just giving them space for their sleepover.

The girls had changed into their nightclothes and congregated back in the living room area with some leftover chicken, sodas and snacks to talk over their latest dilemma.

Drew had worn a pastel-green shorty pajama while Iola changed into a set of long-john style girl’s pajamas. As they were setting out bowls of chips and a cooler full of cold Swamp Pop, Coke Zeros and Pepsi Max, Callie traipsed down wearing a powder-blue babydoll set, complete with a diaphanous jacket.

Drew could not look away as Callie walked over to the couch. With her little grin, Iola knew Callie was doing this deliberately to catch Drew’s eye. Iola grinned and looked to Drew, and it was clear Callie was having the effect she wanted. And if Drew wasn’t careful, she’s gonna be putty in Callie’s hands soon. That is if she wasn’t already.

- - - - -

It was their consensus that it wasn’t so bad if Aunt Arlene was with them. She was okay, as far as parental units go. But she was still a parent, or Callie's equivalent of one. And Iola said they wouldn’t be able to do the things that they wanted to do with her around.

“Well, what things would those be?” Drew giggled.

“Sexy outfits? Make out with guys? Skinny-dipping in the ocean? You know? Things!”

“Really, Iola? Skinny dipping?” Callie said.

“That’s just an example...” Iola said, and giggled herself.

“I guess Aunt Arlene would be a bit of a drag,” Drew said. “But, still – It’s Hawaii, guys!”

“True.”

“So, even if our Hawaii Trip becomes a G-Rated vacation, it’ll still be a lot of ‘family fun.’”

Iola pshawed that.

“What kind of fun could ‘family fun’ be?” Iola said.

“Iola! It’s Hawaii! Oahu? Molokai? Maui? The Big Island?”

“What’s your point, Drew?”

“Swimming? Golf? Spas? Food? Cocktails? Lava-spewing volcanoes? Beaches? Sand? Sunsets at the beach?”

“Ahhh! That kind of family fun. You have to be clear, Drew!” They all laughed.

“So? Do we go to Hawaii with Aunt Arlene?”

“Well... I guess she can come along.”

Callie giggled. “Honey, maybe it’s more like, can we come along with Aunt Arlene.”

“Simmer down. I know. Hope dragging around an old lady won’t keep the hot guys away.”

Callie giggled again.

“What’s so funny.”

“Iola, have you seen Aunt Arlene?”

“You are so full of yourself, Callie...”

“My aunt is a babe, Honey!”

“Well, she is somewhat pretty.”

“Somewhat! Honey, let’s just see if she doesn’t get more guys than all of us put together.”

“Humph! You have a high opinion of your auntie.”

“Aunt Arlene and I come from a long line of beautiful women.”

Drew and Iola simultaneously threw couch pillows at her.

“Hey!” Drew said. “That means we’re gonna need enough outfits for three weeks!” She clapped her hands at the thought of shopping.

Callie and Iola looked at each other with a worried look. Iola shook her head subtly, but turned to Drew with a cheery smile.

“That’s true!” Iola said. “What do you think? Swimsuits, sundresses and halters, I guess?”

"Depeds on what we'll be doing."

So they pored over the stuff the agency emailed and decided on a three week package that included a booking at a luxury hotel in Oahu, a guided tour of selected places on the island, seeing the memorials, a hike, swimming, beach fun (lots of beach fun), surfing (they were confident that it would be easy), an observation plane sky tour, para-sailing, ziplining and bungee jumping (well, maybe not bungee jumping...), early morning balloon flights, nights out dancing, a "shopping tour," a submarine trip, a photo safari, and golf at the end (the golf was for Drew’s dad).

But the sleepover wasn’t only about the trip. Just like it always was, they had a good time talking about everything and nothing, and just being around each other.

- - - - -

Staten Island wasn’t exactly jumping during school break. Although most places were doing okay, businesswise - with all the kids doing nothing, they had captive customers. The biggest challenge of most kids around their neighborhood was to look for something to do.

Also, crime was up. By a couple of points only, of course. Staten Island wasn’t exactly downtown Brooklyn, Koreatown or Port Morris in its crime rates. But with so many idle minds... well, crime was up, but just petty crimes, mostly. Still, Drew had started parking Tiger (her souped-up Opel Twin-Top) in their garage again.

When they were deciding on where to live, the Nances picked Staten Island partly because of the relatively low crime rate. The other part was for the car stats: Staten Island was the most car-friendly borough in the city – overall, driving in metropolitan New York wasn't a common thing except in Staten Island, where more than 83% of the families have cars and the majority use them regularly rather than commute, as opposed to the NYC average of 45%, with only 30% of working NYC people actually driving (the lowest being Manhattan, with 8%).

New York had the lowest car ownership rate in the country, with only 22% of Manhattan households having cars while Bronx was 40% and Brooklyn was 46%. Queens was fairly high at 66% but Staten Island was by far the highest as 83+%. And Drew wanted a place where she could indulge her driving, and for other people around them to be driving, too.

- - - - -

Drew’s friends remarked that Phil’s old Escalade wasn’t in front anymore and wondered if it got stolen. Drew told them she had sold it back to Phil for a bunch of money. And she said that she would be buying a new car with that money.

“What’s an RCZ anyway?” Iola said. “Is it a good kind of car?”

“It’s Peugeot’s first Sports Coupe in ten years, Iola!”

“So?”

“It’s Peugeot’s way of breaking back into the sports car market.”

“You know I don’t know anything about cars,” Callie huffed.

“Well, whatever it is, for my money, Tiger is more than good enough,” Iola giggled.

Drew grumped in frustration, and then thought of looking for some pictures of the RCZ on the net.

While she was searching, Callie casually sat on the arm of the couch Drew was sitting in.

Casually, she draped her arm around Drew’s shoulder and looked at the screen as Drew surfed. Drew gulped as she was almost nose-to-nose with Callie’s bosom, or boob-to-ear in this case – a fact Drew couldn’t ignore given how Callie was dressed. And, given Callie’s very mischievous smile, she knew it. Drew gulped.

“Okay,” Drew said, and sighed in relief when she found the pictures. She pressed the Enter key and leaned back in the couch, dislodging Callie. “Here’s the Peugeot RCZ Sports Coupe.”

Callie and Iola leaned forward.

“Wow!” Iola said. “Nice car!”

“Pretty cool!” Callie said. “But... what’ll happen to Tiger?”

“I guess I’ll have to sell her. Even what Phil paid me might not cover the cost of Arcee.”

“Oh, no!” Callie said. “We’re gonna lose Tiger?”

“Afraid so.”

“Ummm, Arcee? Oh! ‘Coz it’s a Peugeot RCZ!”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you mean the girl autobot from that cartoon. Why 'RCZ?'”

“Beats me.” Drew decided to change the subject. “Hey, you guys wanna go with me tomorrow to check out a house?”

“House?”

“It’s the house Eva Jacobs suggested as a replacement to the house she was offering.”

“Didn’t anyone tell her you guys weren’t really looking into buying another house?”

“’Course not. It would, you know, break our cover as to why we were at her place.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Thinking about Eva Jacobs brought back everything that they went through – the adventure they called “The Secret of the Old Clock.”

“Anyway, maybe you guys can go with me to check it out?”

“Oh, sorry, Drew. I promised Aunt Callie I’d spend the day with her tomorrow. Don’t want her to think I’m taking her for granted. But, it’s just for tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay.”

Callie excused herself to go to the kitchen and get some ice for her Swamp Pop.

Drew sighed and watched Callie walk to the kitchen.

“Woohoo!” Iola commented and playfully socked Drew on the shoulder.

“Owww!” Drew exclaimed. “What was that for?”

“Well, Honey, it’s obvious. Callie’s putting on the moves. Better watch it, Drew.”

Drew sighed again. “Yeah. I noticed.”

“Ummm, Drew? You okay? If you’re uncomfortable or anything, I can say something to Callie...”

“No, Iola. I appreciate it. But I don’t want to make a big deal of it.”

“You’re sure?”

“It’s okay. Besides... I kinda like it. You know?”

Iola giggled and hugged Drew around the neck.

- - - to be continued - - -

 

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