AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is probably the weakest of the story. I'm sorry. I noticed it was starting to ramble and I looked for the quickest way to wrap it up. I'm also getting a better idea of where the story will go from here. So new chapters will be coming as fast as I can spit them out. But I'm trying to figure out exactly how to change Kaley's name from Heller to Bombay…any suggestions?
A NEW LIFE – CHAPTER SIX – SETTLING IN
"Hang on…I've almost got this…"
Kaley bit back a laugh as she watched Gordon try to put her bed together. Good thing he can play hockey. She thought. Cause we'd be starving if he had to do this for a living.
"Ah! There!" The whizzing noise of the screw gun stopped as the last screw was driven into place. "Done!"
Finally. Kaley thought. Gordon had just spent the past three hours trying to put her bedroom set together. It hadn't been funny for Gordon, but Kaley had found it hysterical.
"There." Gordon said, standing up. "You're all set."
"Thanks for the entertainment." Kaley said as Gordon left the room.
"Entertainment for you." Gordon said. "Hard work for me!"
Kaley just laughed and shut the door. Then she got to work arranging the bedroom. Her mother's bedroom set looked more like it would belong to a teenage girl than a thirty-year-old woman. The set consisted of a white daybed, dresser, desk, and nightstand. A white lamp with a pink shade completed the set. Kaley placed the lamp on the nightstand and began making the bed. She'd always been a nut for making sure everything matched and went in its place. The bedcovers were periwinkle, and Kaley pulled them taut before folding her pajamas and placing them near the pillow. She took her mother's jewelry case and opened it, taking Grandma Heller's ruby and diamond engagement ring out and putting it on the third finger of her right hand. It was a little big, so Kaley switched it to her middle finger. Perfect. She thought. Standing on her tiptoes, she put the jewelry case on the dresser.
Kaley took her mother's senior picture and put it next to the jewelry case. Stepping back, she took a moment to study it. Funny, I do look a lot like her. Se thought. People always told her so, but Kaley had never believed them. Now, looking at the picture, Kaley saw where those people were coming from. Well, I guess that saves me from wondering what I'll look like in nineteen years.
Kaley surveyed the room. Just one more thing. She thought, pulling out her framed photo of the Royals and hanging it on the screw Gordon had placed behind her bed.
"There!" Kaley said, satisfied. The clothes still had to be put in the drawers, but she'd do that later. Tomorrow was her first day at Warroad St. Middle School.
"Kaley, wake up!"
Kaley bolted upright in bed. "What?" She gasped.
Gordon put a hand on her shoulder. "Whoa, easy now." He said. "It's just me. Time to get up."
Kaley groaned and flopped back down on the mattress.
"You could skip today and go tomorrow." Gordon offered.
"No, no, that's all right." Kaley sat up again. "I'll go."
Gordon nodded and left the room. Kaley got up and put on a denim skirt with a white tank top. She quickly ran a brush through her blond hair. It'll have to do. She thought, looking at the clock. Ugh! Six-thirty! What time does school start around here? In Baltimore her school hadn't started until eight-forty-five and she's only lived ten minutes away. Some days, she could sleep until eight, maybe even eight-fifteen.
"What time does school start?" Kaley asked as she exited the bedroom.
"Eight." Gordon responded.
Kaley grabbed a bagel as it popped from the toaster. "How far away do we live?"
"Forty minutes. Your bus comes at eight-ten. Now eat." Gordon said, pointing to the bagel.
"Well, I sure won't be walking to school anymore." Kaley said, spreading butter over the bagel. As she bit into it, she nearly choked. "Wait, did you say school bus?" She had ridden a school bus in second grade, and it had been awful.
"Yeah, is that OK?" Gordon said.
"Oh, yeah, uh, sure." Kaley said. "I'll be fine." I hope.
Half an hour later, Kaley sat freezing at the bus stop. The sweatshirt jacket did little to shield her from the wind. No doubt about it, this place is gonna need some warmer clothing.
The bus pulled to the stop with that familiar squeal of school bus brakes. Kaley took a deep breath and hopped on. Look, this isn't inner city Baltimore. These kids have got to be nicer than what I'm used to. Nervously, Kaley looked for a seat. She'd never done too well with strangers, and nobody wanted the new kid to sit next to them.
"Hey!" A female voice called. "This seat's open."
Kaley turned to her left. A pretty brown-haired girl about her age was giving Kaley a friendly smile. Well, couldn't hurt. She thought, taking the seat. "Uh, thanks."
"My name's Connie Moreau." The girl said. "What's yours?"
"Kaley Heller." Kaley responded. Connie Moreau…that name sounds so familiar.
"Did you just move here?" Connie asked. "I don't think you've been on this bus before."
"Yeah, I moved here from Maryland last week." Kaley said. "My mom died and my dad got a job out here."
"Sorry about your mom." Connie said. "What kind of job did your dad get?"
"He plays hockey for the Minnesota Waves." Kaley said.
"Really?" Connie asked. "My old hockey coach is playing on that team. What's your dad's name? I'll bet they know each other."
It clicked. Connie's one of the Ducks! Kaley realized. Swallowing, she answered, "Gordon Bombay."
From the look on Connie's face, Kaley would have thought she'd just grown another head.
It was a very interesting day at school for Kaley. She was introduced to every single one of her classes. By the sixth time, she was getting tired of saying her name, where she was from, and why she'd moved. She'd recognized some of the Ducks, but fortunately none of them seemed to know who she was. Word must not have gotten out yet.
When Kaley got off the bus and entered the apartment, she saw Gordon getting ready to leave. "Kaley, we need to go to the skate shop." He said.
"Skate shop?" Kaley asked.
"Hans' place." Gordon clarified, taking his keys. "Come on."
"Hans?" Kaley asked. "Who's Hans?"
"You're about to find out." Gordon said, heading for the door. Kaley followed him.
A few minutes later, Gordon and Kaley pulled up in front of Hans' Sport Shop. "Gordon, why are we here?" Kaley asked.
"So you can meet the Ducks." Gordon said, shutting off the car. "And so I can do some heavy-duty explaining."
"I already met Connie." Kaley said, getting out of the car.
"I know." Gordon said. "Apparently, she told the team and the rumors began flying. The team now believes I got your mom pregnant, there was a gunshot wedding, I ran out when you were born, and your grandparents excommunicated your mother and she ran away to Baltimore."
"That's not far from accurate." Kaley said.
"That's not our biggest problem." Gordon said as they entered the store. "The Ducks are a bit put off that I never told them. That's what we're here to straighten out."
The store was fascinating, but Kaley barely had time to look. A bunch of kinds swarmed around her and Gordon and immediately began firing questions. These have gotta be the Ducks. Kaley thought.
"Hold it!" Gordon held up his hands. "Everyone freeze!" The clamor died down a little bit.
"Why didn't you tell us, Coach?" A smallish black boy asked. Jesse? Kaley thought.
"Yeah, we got a right to know!" A chubby boy with a mop of curly black hair said. Kaley recognized him as the goalie, but couldn't remember his name.
"Hey, I said hold it!" Gordon said. "One question at a time. Ducks, meet Kaley. Kaley, meet the Ducks."
Kaley raised her hand and gave a little wave. "Hi, Ducks." She said, feeling a bit nervous.
"So how come you never told us?" Jesse persisted.
"And how come Kaley has a different last name than you do?" A tall, dark-haired kid asked from the back.
"If you'll quit throwing all these questions at me, I'll explain." Gordon said.
Kaley hung back, feeling a bit out-of-place. Gordon told the whole story: how he'd met Ashley, gotten her pregnant, how she'd thrown him out of her life, and how he'd wondered and worried about Kaley for eleven years until the phone call.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Charlie asked. Kaley remembered him the most clearly of all. He meant a lot to Gordon. She could tell.
"I never told anyone, Charlie." Gordon said patiently. "It wasn't just you guys-"
"People!" A blond girl said from the back row.
"Aw, Tammy, shut up." A short red-haired boy said. Must be her brother. Kaley thought with a smile.
"People." Gordon said with a sigh. "I didn't see the point. I thought I'd never see Kaley again. And it hurt too much to talk about it. I never thought it would come up again. I never meant to hurt any of you." He looked around the team, but his gaze lingered a little on Charlie.
For a moment, everything was silent. Kaley bit her lip. Oh, gosh, they're going to hate me. She thought. I knew it, I just knew it…
"Hey, um, it's OK." Charlie said. He turned to address the team. "No problem, right?" The team nodded slowly in agreement.
Kaley raised her eyebrows. "No problem?" She asked, surprised.
"Sure, no problem." Charlie said. "Welcome to the team."