"All right, Vi, I'll admit it. You rock at this."
Keely surveyed the masses of food and drinks piled upon Via's kitchen table. This girl was incredible, she really was. She had everything Keely could have imagined; she'd be darned if anyone attending this party didn't leave full.
What was funny was, all morning, the strain of the planning had steadily transformed into excitement. Via could do that to you, if she got into a mood. Anyone who knew her also knew her as laid-back and friendly, but with a party underway, she was something else.
"I do, don't I?" She clapped her hands together excitedly, reminding Keely somewhat of… herself.
Keely smiled. Via just laughed.
"Okay, okay…there's no way I can take all the credit here." She put an arm around Keely. "Couldn't have done it without you, doll."
"Oh, sure you could." Keely laughed. "But…you're welcome. I'm glad I could help you."
Via smiled, walking around the table, just examining all of her food.
"Listen, Keely," she began, picking up a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. "I'm sorry if I made this party into a bigger deal than it needed to be. I…I know a lot is happening with you right now. I just want you to know that it means a lot to me that you would put aside your time just to help me." She gave her friend a heartfelt smile. "I think the person I'll end up having the most fun with there is you. You've been my best girlfriend ever since I got to this crazy place." She giggled.
Keely smiled softly, but looked down at her hands. She suddenly felt guilty for being so impatient with Via this whole time.
She looked up at her, returning the smile. "Aw, Via," she said, trying to push it away. "Why wouldn't I do this for you? You're my best girlfriend, too." She held out her arms. "Hugs?"
Via accepted it graciously. "Thanks, Keely," she said. "And, for the record, I mean 'crazy' in the nicest way possible."
Keely laughed. "Hey, do you wanna go out and get some ice cream or something?" she wondered, pulling away. "You can only look at so much food without eating it…" She giggled, poking at a pineapple on the table.
Via laughed. "Of course," she said. "Let me just check with my mum." She turned to depart the room, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be right back."
Keely leaned against the table patiently after Via had gone. As she waited, she took her cell out of her pocket and flipped it open. She decided to dial Phil's number…maybe he'd want to go.
Her fingers jumped smoothly from button to button until the familiar number had been entered. She went to hit the SEND key, and just as she did…an incoming call interrupted her.
Who else? Phil himself.
"Are you serious?" Keely laughed to herself.
She took the call.
"Hey, buddy," she greeted him happily. "I was jus t about to call you!"
"Whoa, how do we do that?" he laughed.
"We're, um…cool like that?"
Phil chuckled. "Obviously. So, what were you calling about?"
"Oh, well," Keely began, checking quickly to see if Via was coming. "Vi and I were just about done with the big menu plan, and we were thinking of going to get ice cream. Do you, you know, wanna come?"
"Sounds sweet," he said. "Would it be okay with Via?"
Just then, the girl in question returned to the room. "Keely, Mum says…" She paused at the sight of Keely's phone against her ear. Keely covered the mouthpiece for a moment, letting Via know she had her attention.
Slightly quieter, Via continued, "Mum says it's okay." She slung her purse over her shoulder. "That Phil?"
Keely nodded.
"Hi Phil!" Via called out. "Keely, tell him to come with us."
Keely laughed at the irony.
"He's coming," she informed Via, who smiled and nodded.
"So, we'll pick you up," Keely confirmed.
"All right. Do I get to pay for you?"
"Nope." She bit back her smile.
"Are you— ah, fine," he surrendered.
She laughed. Funny how her heart was suddenly fluttering like crazy. "See ya, Phil."
…..
Via slammed the passenger door shut. "Thanks, Mum," she called through the open window. "I'll ring later." She waved.
The use of her British lingo brought a shared smile to the faces of Phil and Keely, who had enjoyed listening to the little things she hadn't dropped from her vocabulary yet, even after some eight months in America.
The late afternoon sun painted Keely's neighborhood as the three of them laughed their way across her ornament filled front lawn, and towards her house.
"Is your cousin here right now?" Via wondered as they climbed the porch steps. "It doesn't look like anyone is." She craned her neck to look for a car anywhere on the premises.
Keely and Phil followed her gaze to the driveway, then looked at one another. Keely shrugged curiously.
"Uh, would this explain anything?" Phil said suddenly. The girls turned to face the doorway, discovering the small blue-ish piece of paper taped to it.
"Uh, hopefully. Because my mom doesn't usually leave pieces of paper taped to our door." Keely shrugged and pulled it off gently.
"It says..." she began. "Keely, Went to look for your uncle and father, who haven't been back all day, and have apparently decided to leave their cell phones off." She raised her eyebrows confusedly, and continued reading. "Your cousin is still here, but might still be up in your room. Seems upset today." She sighed knowingly. "Don't be worried, I'll find them. Call if you need anything. Via and Phil, don't you worry either. Love you… Mom." Keely rolled her eyes at her mom's perceptiveness.
Via and Phil exchanged looks. "Well, uh," Phil began. "It's Pickford, right? How far could they have gone?" He tried to keep confident in his tone of voice.
"Yeah, well, that's just it," Keely sighed, shoving open the door. "Who knows? It's my father, after all."
As quietly as she spoke the last five words, each of her best friends heard very clearly. Keely, as she went ahead of them through the doorway, didn't notice how Via's eyebrows knit together, and how Phil was watching her with concern etched into every feature of his that she loved so much.
Phil, the last one into the house, shut the door behind him. Keely set her purse down on a small table next to the front door, then proceeded into the living room, Via and Phil close behind.
"Yeah, it seems pretty quiet down here," she muttered. "Melody must still be upstairs."
"No, I'm not."
The sudden voice startled all three as Melody herself came into the room, from the direction of the kitchen. She stopped when she noticed Phil and Via there. All three observed that she hadn't yet changed out of her pajamas, her blonde hair still lay across her shoulder in a loose braid that was coming undone, and she looked…sadder than Keely had seen her the whole time she'd been in Pickford.
"Oh, hey, Melody." Keely smiled as graciously as she could muster, despite feeling pretty distraught herself.
"Hey." Melody smiled, just barely.
"Um…" Keely cleared her throat, kind of a filler for an awkward silence. "This is my friend Via. Well, Olivia…but she likes Via."
Via smiled warmly. "I've heard about you," she told Melody. "It's awesome to finally meet you."
"Thanks." Melody smiled a little wider. Just a little. She glanced from Via to Phil, looking timid.
Awkward silence.
Keely looked around. "So, um…" She sighed. "It's a little weird that our dads never even called, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess." Melody shrugged. "It's even weirder that they found that much to do around here. Uh, no offense." She smiled sheepishly.
"Oh um, none taken," Keely assured her. She glanced at Phil, who had his hands shoved in his pockets and was looking at the floor, trying desperately not to smile. Via just stood quietly off to the side.
"Um, so, anyway," Melody continued. "I'll just be…upstairs. Let me know if our fathers ever decide to show up." She turned to leave.
Keely looked at Phil and Via, suddenly feeling desperate.
"Um, Melody," she said suddenly, before she could stop herself. "Wait a sec."
Melody paused and turned to look at her.
"Um…" Now that she had Melody's attention, she felt pretty dumb for getting it at a time like this. It was just…her cousin looked so…lonely. Something like that.
"Uh, I was just going to ask," she stammered, "um…do you…what would you…"
All three pairs of eyes were fixed on her curiously, which she realized just in that moment.
"If you want to," she spat out quickly, "Via is having this end of summer get together at the beach in a few days, and it would be cool if you came with us." She smiled as brightly as she could muster. Her mom once told her she had a smile that could charm a polar bear into buying a bag of ice. She hoped Melody was feeling polar bear-ish today. Especially since I stupidly put her on the spot like that, she thought. Awesome job, Keely. Fantastic. She tried not to grimace.
"Oh, um…" Melody looked surprised. She looked over at Phil and Via. Just using her peripheral vision, Keely could tell they were trying not to appear too curious about her cousin's response.
Keely fidgeted with the rings on her fingers, an anxious habit of hers. Like she'll really agree to it now, she kicked herself.
"Yeah. That'd be cool."
She looked up at her cousin, who offered a small smile.
"Really?" Keely asked her. Didn't see that one coming.
"Uh-huh." Melody shrugged. "Why not?" She tossed a glance in Via and Phil's direction.
"Okay, well…awesome!" Keely responded. "I mean, it'll be fun." Shut up and let her get out of here, Keely.
"Just, uh, come with an appetite," Via spoke up, relieving her friend. "I went ahead and went crazy with the food." She smiled.
"Oh, well, thanks for the heads up," Melody replied. "I'll remember that." Phil being the only one who hadn't spoken so far, she kind of glanced at him for a moment, as if expecting him to say something. He just smiled politely.
"Well…thanks." Melody nodded at all of them. "I'll be upstairs." She smiled over her shoulder, slowly making her exit.
Keely, Phil and Via stood motionless for a second after she'd left.
"Well," Keely concluded, once her cousin was safely upstairs. "I guess I could have…waited, or something."
"It was kind of awkward, but at least she agreed," Via pointed out, taking a seat on the couch and setting her purse next to her.
"One thing I did notice that you didn't mention," Phil added.
"What?" Keely asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, just that…there's gonna be at least fifty people coming and going. I'm not sure if that falls under the 'get together' category, but that could just be me coming from a different ce—section of the country," he finished hurriedly.
Keely glanced at him just long enough to let him know she'd caught it, and to praise him for a good save. A quick look at Via confirmed that it had blown right over her head.
They both figured she may find out someday, but until it became blatantly obvious, they were still keeping their mouths shut.
"Anyway, I'm not trying to make you anxious or anything, but…"
Keely interrupted Phil. "You don't think it'll freak her out, do you?"
"If it does, she'll get over it," Via reasoned. "I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I'm just saying… when I first got here, I mean, not only had I never been a student at H.G. Wells before, I had never been a resident of the United States before. All interaction I'd had with American kids consisted of TV shows and movies I used to watch back in Britain. Well, that was the only place I got to hear the American English really, because in France and Italy they dubbed the voices…"
"You lived in France and Italy?" Keely asked, eyes widening.
"Yeah. I never told you? I was kind of young, though. Still, I am definitely sure that you would love the shopping in Paris…"
Keely gasped excitedly. "Really?"
Phil sensed the conversation turning down a road marked "Females Only", and tried to focus his attention elsewhere.
He cleared his throat, as politely as he could muster.
"Um, guys," he said. "Hey, Keel? Via?"
"Huh?" Keely replied, turning her attention halfway away from Via's description of a pair of pink rhinestone sandals she had bought at a French boutique.
"Did you hear that?" he asked, already knowing they'd been too engaged in conversation to hear much of anything.
Sure enough… "Hear what?" Keely asked curiously, looking around.
"I think someone's home." Phil nodded towards the window facing the front of the house.
The sandals conversation was dropped, and Keely made her way to the front window, pushing aside the curtain to look out. "It's my mom," she said. "And...looks like my uncle and father decided to show, too."
She turned back to Phil and Via. "This should be fun."
Phil wanted to talk some reassurance into her, but wasn't sure quite what to say. He hoped that simply running his hands a few times through her hair would help, as he gently gave it a try.
Keely sighed and walked past him distractedly, sitting down on the couch. Phil sat down next to her, only for her to stand right back up again. She paced.
"Keel, relax," he began.
"Yeah, that'll—" Keely was cut short by the front door opening.
"Muffin?" came the sound of her mother's voice. She whipped around.
"In here, Mom." She looked apprehensive.
Mandy bustled into the room, her purse slung over her shoulder. "Hi, kids," she greeted them. "Sorry about all the craziness, but I'm back now."
"It's…okay," Keely answered, distractedly. "But um…Dad? Uncle Bob?"
Mandy sighed, dropping her purse onto the coffee table. She didn't have time to answer her daughter's question, as…
"Keely!" came a loud and boisterous new voice, as Mr. Teslow entered the room. "Just the girl I wanted to see." Four heads, three teenage and one adult, turned towards him.
Keely examined her dad, trying to decipher why exactly he was carrying a large pink shopping bag, the kind she usually brought home from the mall after the shopping trips she brought Phil along on.
"Uh, hi," she greeted her dad, trying to smile through the puzzlement. Looking at her mom, the only thing she got back was a baffled shake of the head.
Before she could piece anything together, her uncle followed her father into the room, carrying a couple of bags on his own. "Hey, everyone," he addressed the room. "Where's Mellie?"
"Um, she's…upstairs," Keely managed, still distracted by all the…pink.
"Oh, thanks. Just picked her up a little something while we were out today." He nudged his brother excitedly, then pushed past everyone towards the stairs.
Left confused by his quick entrance and quicker exit, everyone except Keely's father exchanged glances.
"And mine is right here," Greg concluded, smiling, and gesturing to Keely. She looked down at herself momentarily, then back up at her dad. Mine…right here? It made her feel like a car in a parking lot.
Well, at least he's acknowledging me as his…
"Well, while your uncle and I were out around the town today, we dropped into the mall…mostly because of the signs in the entrance advertising the grand opening of a new Japanese restaurant, but anyway…saw this and figured that since, well, you're my daughter and everything, I'd get it for ya." He held out the bag. "Happy late birthday, early Christmas." He chuckled at himself.
Gingerly, Keely took the bag, as if it might explode in her hand. She glimpsed at Phil, who just shrugged, quite frankly looking as bewildered as she was. Via just looked taken aback by the whole situation, her first time meeting Mr. Teslow being now, of all times. Keely tried to forget about that fact in particular.
She looked around awkwardly, finally deciding to take a spot on the couch beside Phil. He smiled at her encouragingly, and she tried to return it.
She pulled open the top of the bag and slowly reached inside, fumbling for the surprise object. When she found it, she lifted it out.
Keely gazed down at the bright colors, the shapes, the sparkles, not even sure what to make of it.
"A makeup kit," she finally managed.
It had more glitter than she probably had in her closet, and she may have loved putting together these kinds of color combinations when she was thirteen, but now…
There was no way he had bought this at a store where anyone over the age of twelve shopped.
"Cute, isn't it?" he went on. "I just figured that since, hey, you're getting older, and I noticed you started wearing makeup…" He shrugged. "It was perfect!"
Keely tried to advert her eyes from any of her friends or her mom, knowing he'd be able to read her expression if she looked at them. "Well," she began. "It's…it's really colorful. I like colors." She decided to leave out the part about which ones.
"Great," her dad said enthusiastically.
She finally looked up at him. He was grinning as if he honestly thought that she loved it.
She wasn't sure whether to feel hurt or guilty.
"Thanks, Dad," she told him. She tried to remember what her mom had always said. It's the thought that counts, right?
Yeah, and doesn't seem to think about his daughter's actual age.
"No problem." He stood up finally, walked over to Keely and ruffled her hair. Surprised, she shook it out of her face, trying to smile up at him.
"I think I'm gonna head to bed pretty soon," he announced. "You enjoy that, babe." He pointed to Keely and her makeup kit, then excused himself from the room.
She just looked down at all the colors, stunned into silence.
"That was…random," she said finally.
"Honey…" Mandy came over and took a seat on the other side of Keely.
"They were at the mall all day?" she questioned.
"Well, all they told me is that they were out spending some time together, getting to know the town," Mandy responded.
Keely just raised her eyebrows.
"I know, it sounded weird to me too. But what could I say?"
"How about 'Hey, Greg, by the way, you have a daughter. How about sticking around for once and getting to know her a little?'" Keely just set the hideous array of colors and patterns down on the coffee table. "Oh, and by the way, Dad…good morning, good night, yes I'm doing fine, see ya." She waved in the direction of her dad's departure, then sat back on the couch, dejectedly.
Her only response was silence from her friends, who had no idea what to do. Phil sighed, looking as if he felt horrible. Frankly, he did. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"Love muffin…" Mandy began. She put her arms around her daughter, hugging her close. "Come here."
Keely had tried not to, she really had. The second she saw all that glitter and little girl luster, she had begun fighting it. It wasn't the present that was horrible. Okay, it was. Mostly though, it was the reason he'd gotten it for her.
"He has no idea who I am," Keely murmured, as the tears began soaking her mom's shoulder. "I knew it. I knew it would end up like this. Why would he be any different now, Mom?"
She tried to forget the fact that she was sobbing in front of her two best friends. She just did.
As her mom squeezed her tightly, running her hands through her only daughter's hair and rocking her back and forth, Keely cried harder than she had in a long while. The only time she could remember tears like this was… the end of the school year. The day Phil left.
And long ago, six years old, as she listened to her mom in the next room, the night her father walked out.
Then, she would have loved for Daddy to give her this makeup kit.
If my chapters are coming too slowly, you're too impatient!
Haha I'm kidding. But honestly, I try people, and I really do like writing this story, so don't worry, you'll get your next chapter before long.
Anyway,I'm on summer vacation now so I do go out and do stuff, and I usually write at night. Just don't worry, it's coming. :)