"Slow down, Nance!" My best friend, Bess Marvin, shrieked from the backseat.
Okay, I'll admit, I'm not the best driver in the world. Solving mysteries is more of my thing, and I'm really good at it. This day, however, I was driving like a maniac; my dad, Carson Drew, is a lawyer and he had been dealing with a client in Shanghai for seven months! For almost an entire year, my Dad had been in China and he was finally coming home. It's needless to say, I was excited and had probably frightened a couple of drivers on the road.
"The airport is only five minutes away. You can slow down now." My other best friend, George Fayne, suggested.
George and Bess are not only my best friends, but they are also cousins. You wouldn't know it if you met them, because they are as different as can be. Bess is curvy and blonde and the definition of "girly-girl," while George is athletic and short haired and is definitely a tom-boy. Since my boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, was sick with a cold he could not come along with us, but George and Bess were enough company.
I sighed deeply and drew back a strand of my strawberry blonde hair. "Okay, you win." I took a little bit of pressure off the gas pedal and my friends sighed in relief.
"I would have been better off helping Hannah with "Welcome Home" dinner." George teased.
Hannah Gruen has been the housekeeper for me and my dad, ever since my Mom died when I was three. She's been like a mother to me, and makes what is possibly the best food in the world. Today, she was preparing a three-course meal to celebrate my Dad's homecoming.
Pretty soon, we pulled into the parking lot of the O'Hare International Airport. In my excitement to see my Dad, I had almost forgotten that I still had my seat-belt on. After releasing myself, I hurried into the airport with George and Bess at my heels. Once we reached the terminal, we waited patiently (or impatiently in my case) at the gate for my Dad to show up.
For one plane, it seemed that it had a lot of passengers. My friends and I became lost in a crowd of people.
"I think I see him!" George shouted over the noise.
I looked in the direction that George was pointing, and sure enough she was right: My dad was heading towards us.
"Uh Nancy, do you know that woman?" Bess asked.
"What woman?":
"That woman that is following your Dad."
Now that the crowd had begun to clear, I could see that an Asian woman, who seemed to be middle-aged and was dressed like she was ready for a business meeting, was following my Dad.
I shrugged. "She's probably not following him. She's probably a tourist."
"Er...Nance...Does your Dad like to hold hands with tourists?" George asked.
I could feel my eyes grow wide when I realized that George was right; Dad was holding hands with the woman. I had a funny feeling about this, but kept quiet; all that mattered at the moment was that my Dad was back.
"Nancy!" My dad shouted when he was close enough to see us.
"Dad!"
I ran to him and hugged him as tight as I could manage. My Dad usually had to travel because of his career, but he would usually be gone for two or three months. Never seven.
"I'm so glad that you're home." I cried.
After we finally separated, I saw the woman was standing behind my Dad and smiling. After my Dad had given both Bess and George a hug, he took the woman by the hand and she walked to his side.
"Nancy, Bess, George: This is Fan-Ning. She's a lawyer from Shanghai; we met when I first arrived."
"Nancy, I have heard so much about you." Fan-Ning stepped forward and hugged me.
Now, I was confused. Dad comes home after seven months with a complete stranger who was hugging me. Over Fan-Ning's shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Bess and George who seemed just as confused as I did.
Once Fan-Ning had stopped hugging me, she took both of my hands and still wore a smile.
"Carson talked about you all the time. Your friends to." She nodded towards Bess and George. "I'm sorry if I surprised you, Nancy."
"It's okay. It's just that Dad has called me every night since he's been in Shanghai, and he's not mentioned you."
I didn't want to sound rude, but I was telling the truth. Dad hadn't mentioned Fan-Ning at all, and it seemed to me that they were pretty close.
"I wanted you to be surprised, sweetheart." Dad said, wrapping his arm around Fan-Ning's shoulders.
"Well, I am." I said.
There was a moment of silence, before George cleared her throat and got everyone's attention.
"Well, I think we should get on the road. It's gonna take an hour to get home." George said.
Fan-Ning nodded. "I agree. I've been eager to see the Drew house and to meet Hannah."
I could only shrug. Still recovering from the shock of what had just happened. It was only when we were leaving the airport that I saw something shimmer on Fan-Ning's hand: A large diamond ring.