Ch 5 sorry this chapter is late!
As Veronica left her father in his den, she grabbed her cell phone.
"Scooter, hi. It's Veronica. I wanted to let you know, daddy wants to meet you. Today. Soon actually. I don't know how soon you can be over here with work and all, but when you get this, let me know." Veronica hastily called Kristy shortly after.
"Veronica! My mom said I could go! How awesome is that!" Kristy started talking more about how she is going to go see a foreign country, but Veronica stopped her.
"I can't' go until my dad meets Scooter. And I can't get a hold of Scooter." Veronica admitted.
"Did you try calling JB's?" Kristy suggested.
"No. But I'll try that. Thank you, Kristy! When he says yes, I want to hear all about your wardrobe!" Veronica just knew that her father was going to love Scooter.
"Okay. Veronica, don't worry too much, okay?" Kristy soothed her best friend's fears and then hung up the phone promising that she would indeed tell Veronica all about her wardrobe.
"Hello, JB's." An unfamiliar voice answered the telephone.
"Hello, my name is Veronica DiAngelo. I am looking for Scooter. Is he available to speak?" Veronica was desperate to find Scooter. She was going to run out of time if she didn't hurry.
"He is not scheduled to work today. Sorry, miss." The voice replied.
"Thank you." Veronica was very downhearted when she hung up the phone. She couldn't get a hold of Scooter and now she was going to end up as the only one who won't be going on this adventure to Ireland. "And I'm the main reason everyone is going!" She said out loud to herself.
Her phone rang and she instantly and anxiously flipped it open to talk to the person on the other line. "Hello?"
"Veronica, its Scooter. I got your message. I suppose I could find a way to get out to your place soon. I was in the middle of getting some plans ready for our trip. I called my parents and..."
"Scooter!" Veronica cut him off. "How soon can you get here? I really need to see you and daddy wants to see you too."
"Right away if you wish it." Scooter walked up behind Veronica and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Snapping her phone shut, Veronica nearly yelled but saw who it was and caught herself. "You scared me, Scooter. I really need you to meet daddy. He won't let me go unless you meet him. Something about people who take advantage of my status and money."
Smiling at her frustration, Scooter took Veronica's hands and squeezed them tightly. "Veronica, you know that you do not have to worry about me taking any of your money. I would, in fact like to offer to pay for anything on this trip for you, Veronica."
"Scooter, do you think that my father would let me go?" Veronica dropped her head and her hands from Scooter's view.
Scooter took her head into one of his hands and brought her gaze to match his. "Of course he will. I know this is hard to believe right now, but your father loves you and would love to see you happy."
"Let's go in, then." Veronica took one of Scooter's hands and led him towards the door of the diAngelo's house. "Scooter?"
"Yes, Veronica?" Scooter questioned
"Thank you for cheering me up. You always do and I don't always say thank you. So, thank you." Veronica thanked him and opened up the door.
"Veronica, is that you, dear?" Mr. DiAngelo asked.
"Yes, and I brought Scooter too." Veronica answered.
Scooter squeezed the hand Veronica was holding. He was not going to back down from this. He wanted Veronica to go to Ireland and meet his family.
Mr. diAngelo came the full way into the living room to observe this relationship with his daughter. Sitting on the edge of the couch, he noted they were holding hands.
"Sir, my name is Brian Mulchay. Everyone calls me Scooter." Scooter took his hand out of Veronica's and reached it out to shake with Mr. Frank diAngelo.
"Brian is fine." Mr. diAngelo was impressed by his outer appearance, but Veronica was his pride and joy. "My Veronica tells me that you work for a living. Where at?"
"Dad!" Veronica shouted out. She had traveled into a corner chair. While Scooter and her father talked.
"It's perfectly fine, Veronica. I merely want to know more about Brian, here." Frank diAngelo was no fool. He knew just what he was looking for.
"It's alright, Veronica. I have nothing to hide from your father. What Veronica says is the truth. I work at JBs diner, although I do not have to. My parents, well my father really, owns half of Dublin. They sent me here per my request when I wanted to learn more about horses and how they act in different environments. I heard amazing things about Pine Hollow and had to see it for myself. I quickly found a job at JBs to help them and myself. Nothing wrong with a good working background in a man my father always told me. Then I met lovely, beautiful, Veronica. I knew I had to stay in the area at the exact moment that she walked through the diner doors. And I knew in that second why my mother always told me to believe in love over gold. As I explained to Veronica, love is better than money, and Veronica is worth more to me even if we owned all of Dublin."
Veronica was simply astounded that Scooter was telling the truth to her father. Although, it is a good thing to do. Truth is always the way to go.
"Ah half of Dublin you say? Is that where you will be staying, then? In a hotel in Dublin?" Mr. diAngelo looked at his pocket watch and aptly awaited the answer.
"Dad, I am not sure that that is a polite question to ask our guest." Veronica snapped.
"Veronica, the girls, and I, will be staying in my house. My parents are very excited to have company. My siblings too. I would like to have them along, as well as having the permission of you, sir. I should have done this to begin with instead of assuming that it would be alright with everyone's families. I suppose an apology would be in order for such a large mistake on my part." Scooter turned to Veronica and then to Mr. diAngelo.
"Well, I have a very important decision to make. How long are you wanting to be gone? I do need of course information on the house and its safety too, if I am to make this decision." Veronica's father, to Veronica, seemed to be making excuses. In truth, as soon as he saw how happy his Veronica was around Scooter, he knew his answer.
"I'll ring my folks. They surely will have the information you are seeking." Scooter took out his phone and dialed a few numbers. Not bothering to leave the room, he held a quick conversation with whomever answered the phone and turned, handing the phone to Mr. diAngelo.
"Frank diAngelo. I am seeking to inquire about the house. Yes, I want to know about the room accommodations, and the security of the premises. Will my daughter be safe, or is there some way someone could come in and steal her belongings while she is off on a road trip?"
Veronica stopped listening at about this point and decided it was best if she just let her father do what he wants. Getting up, she decided to sit next to Scooter. "Brian, is it? You never told me that."
"You never asked." Scooter smiled, bringing her closer to himself.
"I guess there is a lot I need to learn about you, isn't there, Scooter?" Veronica asked, looking up at him from her position on his shoulder.
"Veronica, you are sure that this is how you want to spend your holiday? I won't be there if something goes wrong, you know. You will be far away from home too." Mr. diAngelo wanted to be for certain that his daughter knew what she was doing.
"Yes, daddy, it is. Besides, I'll have Scooter and my friends too. We are all very careful. Can I go, dad?" Veronica was going to add a please but with Scooter holding her so close and comfortably she wanted to seem semi-dignified in her response to her father.
"Then I shall have to make one more phone call. Here is your phone back." Mr. diAngelo stood and took large strides out of the living room.
"Scooter, do you think that my father will let me go?" Veronica was beginning to worry that the answer she was going to get was that she could not go.
"Lets go find out." Scooter suggested as he hopped off the couch they were cuddled upon. Leaving Veronica to fall onto her side on the soft over-plush, over-sized couch.
"You are so stupid!" Veronica cried out.
"Well, you know my answer to that already, my Veronica." Scooter held out his hand to help her to her feet. He then pulled her close and gave her a quick kiss before taking off in the direction that Veronica's father had gone.
Veronica smiled, shook her head and followed. "Scooter, he is going to hear you if you do that!" She scolded him as he opened her father's den door a crack.
"Ms. Atwood I would like to give you my answer. Yes. I have found all the information I need from the children. My daughter seems to think this will be the exciting chance of a lifetime to study abroad. The culture difference there will be!" Mr. diAngelo heard his den door being cracked open and couldn't help but smile to himself.
"Don't worry, Veronica. Your father can't see us. He will simply think it was the wind or something." Scooter said seeming like an expert on the subject.
"Yes. My daughter will indeed be going on this expedition. I trust her fully. I am looking forward to seeing your Lisa at the airport in the large group send-off." Veronica heard her father's answer and wanted to jump for joy. "See you there then. Excellent! Goodbye and a good day as well." Mr. diAngelo hung up his phone and sat thinking a moment. Remembering he had eavesdroppers, he quickly spoke to the air, " Not as if anyone is listening, but if they were, I hope packing and shopping is finished in a timely manner and with little delay. I expect frequent, if not daily, updates during this trip, and stay under supervision at all times. That is all."
Veronica and Scooter left the house in a quick haste.
"I can't believe he said yes! Oh Scooter thank you so much!" Veronica hugged Scooter in her excitement not thinking that her father could see them from his den window. All she cared about was going on the trip with her friends and Scooter.
"I told you, Veronica. He wants his girl to be happy. Now, I believe there is something very important that we didn't finish inside due to official spy business." Scooter placed his fingers gently under Veronica's chin and brought her gaze to meet his.
The kiss was sweet, much like their first one at the river side picnic just a short month ago.
"I had no idea that I could feel so much like this, Scooter. You have been so much to me these past few months. Even through our teasing, I knew that neither one of us really meant what we said to each other. I never thought that I would be brave enough to accept your date, but I am so glad that I did now. It was your words that made me throw my selfishness away and give that stamp to Max. You helped save Pine Hollow in a way." Veronica took a deep breath and allowed Scooter to wrap his arms around her small body.
"Veronica, what would you have done with that stamp?" Scooter wondered.
"I don't know. I may have just given it to Max anyways. But for a while I felt that I needed to hold it to have power over everyone else. I thought that Carole, Lisa and Stevie were trying to steal Kristy away from me. I told Garnet I would never let her join my stables if I bought some with the stamp. I might have let the other three in if they begged me. But I see that that was me being cruel and selfish now." Veronica confessed to Scooter what only her horse Garnet had heard.
"I suppose then you have more to learn. My mum is great at advice. Even if you don't think you need it. She will still let you know that you need it eventually." Scooter laughed just now.
"What is so funny?" Veronica seemed so appalled that he would laugh at a time like this.
"If you were to go back to the day we met and tell ourselves then how much we mean to each other now, do you think we would have believed ourselves?" Scooter asked.
Veronica, imagining herself telling today's events to herself a few months back began to laugh too.
The two stood on the porch of the diAngelo household, holding each other close and laughing together.
Mr. diAngelo witnessed every bit of the two teenagers' conversation although he could hear none of it. He was indeed, now sure that his Veronica would be in good, safe hands on the trip and hopefully longer.