There was still one more shot I had to fire. "Maze," I ventured, "Do you think this Chrissie might be a gold digger?"

"I dunno," she replied, and I could almost see her shrug. "I guess she'd *have* to be to put up with my dad. But anyway, she's good for him. He's not as much of an asshole when she's around. I think they might get married."

I sure wasn't going to tell Ida that last bit of news!

My mother told me that I looked pale before I left the house, and as I walked to Flickerbridge's town center, I felt pale. Being sick had taken a lot out of me.

I shook off the feeling of weakness, squared my shoulders, and walked a little taller. I was done feeling sick. I was fine, I just had to get my energy back. And though it was a colder than I would have liked, it was good to be outside and walking... especially after hearing my mother's news.

I huffed loudly in exasperation, and my breath floated up like a cloud in the icy air. Twins!

My mood lightened a little when I got to Flickerbridge center. It aimed at being quaint, but it was more cute in an old-timey way, with its faux gaslamps and dated architecture. All the buildings were only one or two stories. Most were in the Tudor style, with dark brown exposed beams and light cream stucco. The rest were brick, with decorative concrete elements, like arches and window frames.

The Tea Shop on the Corner was well named, for it stood on its own little corner, surrounded by grass, and dwarfed by an elm tree. In fact, it was because of the elm tree that I'd never noticed the store before. It hid half of the building. More than that, the building was nestled into the trees surrounding it that it simply blended in, and became part of the background. The path to the front door curved gently around the tree, and led to the arched doorway. It wasn't until you got around the tree that you could see the terra-cotta tile roof, which reminded me a little of home. You see that sort of roof more often in California than in New Jersey. To the right of the doorway was a large picture window, emblazoned with the shop's logo: the image showed a gigantic teapot sitting on the corner of two streets. The corner itself pointed straight at you, and the teapot's steaming spout pointed left, to the door. On the front of the teapot was the image of the elm tree. It was clever and nicely done, but I wondered how much business they had, since it was all so easy to miss.

A bell jangled as I went inside, and a girl looked up at me from behind the counter. There was no one else in the place except for a man who sat in the far left corner: a sandy-haired, good-looking man. He was talking very intently with a woman who sat with her back to me.

Clearly I couldn't interrupt that conversation, so I walked over to the girl. She seemed to be suspicious of me, and twice she shot sour looks at the people talking in the corner.

Still, there was no one else to ask, so when I reached the counter I said, "Hi, My name is Marcie Donner, and I'm looking for a job. I heard that you need help here."

She looked at me a moment without smiling, then said in a flat tone, "Oh yeah, we need help here all right."

I frowned and asked her, "What does that mean? Someone told me you need another person here. Are you saying you don't?" I looked over my shoulder at the empty shop.

"No," the girl said, "We really need help. Nobody's here right now—" she looked pointedly at the people at the table in the corner, as if to say that they were nobody "—but you just missed the crowd. You couldn't have got in the door if you came a little earlier."

"Oh!" I said, quite surprised. "Well, who can I talk to?"

"Aren't you talking to me?"

"I mean about the job."

"You can talk to my father." She nodded toward the corner. "That is, as soon as that woman is finished picking his bones."

She said it in voice just loud enough to be heard by the woman at the table, who turned her head slightly to look. Then she saw me, and did one of those foot-to-head sweeps, taking me in, and making me feel like a piece of merchandise.

I shifted uncomfortably and turned back to the girl. "So, I'm Marcie," I repeated. "What's your name?"

"I know who you are," she said. "We go to the same school. I'm Jordan." Then she turned her head to look at something and I saw her face in full profile.

That's when it clicked. I knew who she was. "I remember you!" I told her. "We had detention together last year. I didn't recognize you until I saw you in profile." Sounds stupid, I know, but we weren't allowed to speak or sit near each other, so I only saw her from the side.

Jordan laughed. It was such a relief to see that sullen face break into a smile, but it immediately vanished when the woman in the corner stood up. She held out her left hand, and Jordan's father nervously took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. Jordan reacted with with a scoff of disgust.

The two shook hands and the woman went to the door. She opened it, stopped and turned. "Goodbye, Jordan," she said, looking directly in the girl's eyes with an air of superiority. Jordan held the woman's gaze, unblinking, but didn't answer. The woman smiled and left.

"Jordan, you need to be polite with our customers," her father gently scolded.

"She's not a customer," Jordan countered. "She's a vulture."

He glanced at me and pressed his lips into a tight flat line. "Now is not the time for this, Jordan," he told her, and turned to me. "What can I do for you, Miss?"

"Sounds pretty weird," Maisie commented.

"It was very weird," I replied. "Do you know that Jordan girl? She's a sophmore."

"Never saw her that I know of," Maisie replied. "I don't know any sophmores. So did you get the job?"

"No," I said. "Or not yet. Her father said he had to wait and see how an investment turned out."

"When will that be?"

"He didn't say."

I heard Maisie bite into an apple on the other end of the line.

"So, Maze..." I began, gingerly dipping my toe in the water, "Is your father going to let you come back?"

"I dunno," she said, her mouth full of food.

I grimaced, and tried to ignore her crunching and eating noises.

"Do you care? Do you want to come back?"

"I dunno."

"You don't know?"

"No, I don't know," she repeated. "I miss you, but we talk on the phone. I kind of miss my mother, but don't tell her that. I don't miss Blessed Yvette and the nuns and the stupid uniforms."

"Oh, Maze!"

"It's nice out here! For one thing, it isn't cold. If you want to be cold, you have to go somewhere cold on purpose. My father is an ass, and I hate him, but I don't see him very much."

"So what do you do?"

"I told you about his girlfriend Chrissie, remember? She is so cool! She's with me all day... well, most days... until my father gets home. Then she's with him. I have some friends out here, but they're all still on vacation, until school starts."

"So... you go shopping with her? Is that what you do?"

"We did at first. We do sometimes. But you can only do so much shopping. Now we go on hikes, camping, stuff like that."

"You do?" It was hard to picture Maisie hiking.

"Yeah! It's great. I even put on some weight! Not a lot. I'm not a fatty like... well, I'm still my usual svelte self, but now I have some muscle."

I shook my head in disbelief. I didn't know what to say.

"Oh! and I quit smoking!" she announced.

"Really? That's great! How did you do it?"

"Oh, it just kind of happened. I guess being outdoors so much, and... oh, did I tell you I'm a vegan now?"

"A vegan? Is that like a vegetarian?"

"Yeah, kinda. Chrissie's vegan, so she got me into it. I'm even cooking!"

"Wow!"

"Yeah! I'm like a whole different person now."

"I was just gonna say that, Maze."

"Yeah. The only bad thing is that Chrissie is looking at schools for me. I was hoping to just stay home."

Aha! "You mean like boarding schools? Is she trying to get rid of you?"

"No!" Maisie scoffed. "You gotta quit watching those Lifetime for Women movies. She says it's gotta be somewhere close, so she can drive me. We go together, talk to teachers. She even talks to me about college, and what I want to be!"

Maisie crunched into her apple and chewed thoughtfully for a few moments.

"You know what? She is, like, the only adult who talks to me like a person, and actually listens to what I say!"

"Yeah..." I said vaguely. "I think you told me that..." I felt like I was losing ground. It sure didn't sound like Maisie was coming back, and it sure didn't sound like she wanted to come back! I pictured Ida and wondered what I'd be able to tell her.

And not only Ida... what about me? I could feel myself sinking in dismay. As difficult as she was, Maisie was the best friend I had since moving to New Jersey. Was I going to lose her so soon?

But I roused myself. There was still one more shot I had to fire. "Maze," I ventured, "Do you think this Chrissie might be a gold digger?"

"I dunno," she replied, and I could almost see her shrug. "I guess she'd have to be to like my father. But anyway, she's good for him. He's not as much of an asshole when she's around. I think they might get married."

I sure wasn't going to tell Ida that last bit of news!

And that was all I had to say, really... I felt pretty blown out by Maisie's breezy tone, and the big difference in her. She seemed healthy and happy. She seemed better out there. Could I really be selfish enough to want her to come back?

"So hey!" Maisie countered. "Enough about me! You gotta tell me what crazy stuff you've been up to! Taken out any more bad guys?"

"No, no bad guys, Maze. No nothing," I replied. "Aside from the job, and — oh!" I groaned, remembering that I hadn't told her: "My mother is pregnant."

Maisie replied with an expletive.

"With twins," I added.

Maisie doubled down on the expletives.

"My God, Marcie!" she said. "That is so messed up!"

"I know," I said.

"That is so wrong!" she went on. "You know what? I have seen this, and it is a raw deal. You should seriously consider running away from home."

"Oh, Maze, I wouldn't do that."

"I was only kidding. But seriously: You go from being an only child, which is fine, to being the oldest. Do you know what that means? It means that your parents expect you to work. Your life becomes a job."

I sighed heavily.

"It's not just babysitting. You have to be like a parent to the little monsters. It's just not fair."

I made a whining noise.

Maisie said, "Listen, next summer when the rug rats pop out, you should come out here. I can get my dad to fly you."

"Really?" I said, brightening.

"Oh yeah!" she said. "He'd do it. If Chrissie asked him, he would. And I can ask her to ask him."

"Wow, that would be great!" I said. A sense of relief and escape spread over me. I relaxed and smiled.

We chatted for a little while after that, and just before we hung up, Maisie asked me a question.

"Hey, Marce. I wanted to ask you... Have you, um, did you tell your... secret to anybody else?"

"My secret?"

"Yes, you know, your ex-Marky-ness?"

I blushed. "No. You're the only one who knows. I mean, aside from—"

She interrupted, "—aside from adults? 'Cause they don't count."

"Aside from adults, you're the only one who knows."

"Oh, cool! You didn't tell Susan?"

"No."

She was silent for a moment. "Listen, if you tell anyone else, will you let me know?"

I heard the longing in her voice, that need to feel an exclusive kind of friendship, and I wanted that too.

"I'll tell you. If I ever do, I'll let you know, but I doubt that it will happen."

"Good," she said, and I said, "Good," too.

Then we hung up, both of us in a much better mood than before.

I did a happy dance around the phone, laughing to myself. The summer of babies would turn into a summer of sun for me and Maisie. I'd escape from the crying and the diapers and the aren't they cute stuff.

And then the phone rang. I grabbed it, thinking it was Maisie calling back again. "Hallooo?" I said. "The Donner rezzy-dence."

"Marcie?" a man's voice asked. "This is Mr. Fisby, Jordan's dad. From the Tea Shop. Listen, I've gotten some... well, some unexpected funding. If you want to start work tomorrow, I'd be glad to have you. Can you come some time mid-morning so we can fill out your working papers?"

© 2011 by Kaleigh Way

[OTHER STORIES]