by Jen Calonita
Izzie shook her head. “He’s too busy, with the primaries coming up. Aunt Maureen says hopefully we’ll go away when school ends.”
“That’s months away,” Zoe said. “I never stay in one place for that long. I need to see new places and forget about the past.” She looked longingly at the exit to the gazebo. Izzie realized she had never heard Zoe be this honest. “The longest I’ve ever laid down roots is in California. There is such a chill vibe there. I never feel suffocated like I did growing up in a town where all people do is talk and gossip.”
Izzie knew what Zoe was talking about. Emerald Cove was pretty big, but it felt small the way the community knew every move a person made. Harborside had been the same, in its own way.
Zoe stood up and put the camera strap around her neck. “I guess I should get back to work. I am sure Mrs. Ingram wouldn’t approve of me playing psychologist when she’s paying me to be a photographer.”
Izzie thought of something as she followed Zoe out into the sunlight. “How was Kylie’s mom able to send you Grams’s things? I thought no one knew how to reach you.”
“I checked in from time to time just to make sure your grandmother was okay.” She shrugged. “I guess it was my way of keeping tabs. The last time I called was right after you moved here. Kylie’s mom told me about the nursing home and by the time I got here, I was almost too late.” Zoe pursed her lips. “But I made it in the end.”
Something still wasn’t adding up. “But if you spoke to Kylie’s mom from time to time, wouldn’t she have mentioned me years ago?” Izzie asked.
Zoe smiled sadly. “I initiated a ‘no Chloe rule’ for my calls. I told Patty Brooks that if she brought up Chloe, I’d stop calling. Stupid, I know. Anger does strange things to people. Look, there’s a lot more I want to say,” she added, “but it’s probably best to save it for a time when we’re not standing in someone else’s backyard.”
Zoe was right. It was the same lesson Izzie had learned earlier that day with Kylie. There were some things better left unsaid—especially when you had an audience.
Twelve
Mira and Charlotte spun so fast that Mira thought she was going to throw up.
“Go faster!” yelled a small boy who was dancing in their circle.
“If we go any faster, you’ll be airborne, darling.” Charlotte’s hair kept getting in her mouth as she spun. Mira had told her friend to put it in a ponytail, but Charlotte always preferred to leave her red locks loose, and the parade was moving so quickly there was no time for the girls to catch their breath.
The kickoff to Founders Day was starting with a bang. The parade would begin the two-week-long celebration that included a street fair the following Saturday and the Crystal Ball that Sunday. With so much happening, one could easily get party fatigue, but the Butterflies were starting things off right. The sight of their sparkly green float, loud DJ, and confetti guns that blasted every few minutes was working the crowd into a frenzy. It was a gorgeous day and Main Street was jammed as if it were the Fourth of July. People waved green flags, held up banners, and cheered when they weren’t ushering their kids off the curb and into the street, of all places, to dance. There was a reason Victor Strausburg laid down roots here, Mira thought proudly, and Emerald Cove was nothing if not proud of its heritage.
“Okay, y’all!” Nicole’s green getup shone bright as she yelled into a microphone from atop the Butterflies’ float. “We have to move this party to our next stop or this parade will never end.” The DJ lowered the music to background noise and the Butterflies began saying good-bye. “You can catch us again at the Founders Day Street Fair next Saturday. Kids can mine for emeralds at our mining station benefiting the Emerald Cove Children’s Hospital. Hope to see y’all there!”
Mira had no clue how Izzie got Savannah to let Nicole be emcee, but she was glad she had. Nicole had the perfect voice for a DJ, while Savannah always did better playing the part of beauty queen. As the rest of the Butterflies jumped off at each stop to dance with people, Savannah stood high on her pedestal, looked pretty, and did a solo. Mira thought she looked ridiculous, but Savannah didn’t seem to see it that way.
“My face is going to permanently freeze like this,” Izzie said with a fake smile as Mira ascended the sparkling green stairs at the back of the flatbed truck. Mr. Emerald continued to dance behind them, and was actually a Miss—Millie, whom Savannah had forced to wear a papier-mâché head and a green leotard as part of the thankless job. “Are we done yet?” Izzie groaned. “I’m already tired.”
“Sorry, club leader, we still have two more stops.” Violet spun by her, her long dark brown hair swaying in the breeze. Despite the insanity of being part of a moving dance party, most of the club had gotten into the idea, especially once the music started blasting.
Izzie sighed. “I could handle four stops if we didn’t have to wear these costumes.”
The green leggings and fitted tees Savannah had picked out made everyone look like the Jolly Green Giant. Charlotte had tried to fix the situation by BeDazzling the tops and adding glitter to the pants, but there was only so much she could do.
Izzie looked up at Savannah, who seemed to be auditioning for Dancing with the Stars. “Hey, Ingram!” she yelled. “Mrs. Fitz texted me. She says she’s at the last parade stop with the mayor and the Junior League president. We need to pause the float for a picture and make a statement to the town paper.”
“Already done! I did an interview with the Emerald Cove Herald on my own this morning.” Savannah was too busy dancing to Elvis to look at Izzie. Float rule number one: Never stop dancing. “They couldn’t have been nicer. They loved the idea of using songs with the word green in the title. They couldn’t believe how creative I am.”
Izzie stopped dancing. “That’s because you aren’t. It was my idea.”
“Really?” Savannah feigned innocence. “I could have sworn it was mine.” Izzie looked like she wanted to hurl Savannah from the moving float, so Mira stepped in front of her. “Oh, look!” Savannah said. “There’s Daddy! Hi!”
“Maybe she’d like to join him on the sidewalk,” Izzie said under her breath. “I know a way we can get her there quick.”
“That would be messy,” Violet quipped. “Plus we don’t want to stop the parade.”
“I can’t believe she took all the credit,” Izzie complained as she started dancing again. “I was up late every night this week trying to find more green-themed songs.”
Mira bopped by her. “Don’t sweat it. Mrs. Fitz is never going to believe Savannah did all of this on her own. Or that she…” The sounds of the DJ and the parade-goers seemed to disappear when Mira saw Kellen standing in front of Corky’s. She made sort of a strangled noise and froze. He had flown back to see the parade! She was two seconds from ditching the float, when Kellen turned to talk to someone next to him and Mira realized it wasn’t Kellen after all. It was just a boy who looked a lot like him.
“Did you just ‘see’ Kellen again?” Charlotte was so intuitive it was scary. Mira nodded. “Oh, honey. We have to find you a new guy.”
“I don’t want a new guy.” Mira turned her attention back to the crowd. I want Kellen.
“Have you talked to him?” Violet ran a hand through her hair, and Mira noticed the green streaks. Several of the girls had sprayed their hair with glitter, including Izzie. Mira had chosen accessories instead (earrings and a headband). She was not a fan of having paint in her hair.
“He’s doing great,” Mira said even though it killed her. “He really likes his new public school. Says we don’t know what we’re missing.”
“Metal detectors?” Izzie spoke from experience.
“I bet he can’t wait to come back and see you,” Charlotte gushed. “He should come for the Crystal Ball and stay through your party.” Mira avoided eye contact.
“She didn’t tell you?” Izzie said, and Mira felt a sharp pain in her chest. “He swore he’d be back for Easter, but now he says he’s not coming back to EC
till summer, if at all.” Mira was ready to fling her glittery green headband at Izzie’s head.
“What?” Charlotte and Violet stopped dancing and crashed into each other.
“Sorry,” Izzie said when she saw how upset Mira was. “I know you technically broke up, but I didn’t think he’d get over you that fast.” Mira winced. “I am just mad for you! It’s not your fault he isn’t coming.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Charlotte looked mournful.
“I didn’t know what to say.” Mira was reluctant to rehash the story. They hadn’t planned it this way, but the week Kellen was supposed to come coincided with her birthday party. Then the visit fell through. “He wanted to be here, but his mom thinks it will be too hard for him to visit EC so soon.” Mira played with one of her earrings. “He told me two nights ago.” She had cried for an hour. She knew they were no longer together, but she still wished they were. She had thought that if he felt the same way, he would have pushed to come see her. Instead, he barely sounded bothered.
“Did you call him or did he call you?” Charlotte demanded.
“I called him.” Mira wondered where the conversation was going.
“And the time before that?” Charlotte wanted to know.
“I called him.” Nicole looked over from the DJ booth and waved. Mira could barely lift her hand halfway to wave back.
Violet frowned. “Does he ever call you?”
The weight of the situation was getting to her. “If I leave him a message. He’s really busy!” The girls stared at her. “You guys are forgetting how amazing his Valentine’s Day plans were.” How could Kellen give her dolphins and now barely pick up the phone?
“No one is denying he cared about you, but he’s clearly moving on,” Violet said. “You should, too.”
Mira clutched the float railing. She didn’t want to move on, but somehow she sensed that wasn’t the thing to say. “Can we not talk about this?” Mira said weakly. Everywhere she looked, people were enjoying the kinetic energy of a parade. Everyone but her. Talking about Kellen made her feel like she had a big black cloud hanging over her head. “Please?”
“What about Landon!” Charlotte made his name sound like a battle cry. “He’s this gorgeous guy in our art class who totally has a thing for Mira,” she told the others.
“He does not,” Mira said, but even she suspected otherwise.
Charlotte ignored her. “He’s like her own personal knight in shining armor,” she gushed. “Our teacher seems to have it in for Mira. Probably because she’s the most talented one in our class.” Mira rolled her eyes. “And every time she lays into Mira’s work, Landon has some great defense about art that proves Selma wrong.” The girls cooed, even Izzie, who wasn’t normally the cooing type. “Last week he asked us if we wanted to go to Corky’s, but this one said she had some press thing with your dad.”
“I did!” Mira protested. That didn’t mean she didn’t regret it. She liked talking to Landon and there wasn’t much time to do it in class. Then she’d remind herself that breakup or no breakup, she liked Kellen and she couldn’t move on so soon. But was that what he was doing?
Charlotte kept going. “He’s cute and has this smoldering thing going on.”
“Enough yapping!” Savannah snapped, all the while moving her arms like a belly dancer. “Get back to dancing! Our next stop is coming up.”
Mira and the others did as they were told. Mira promised herself that if she made it through their last stop with a smile, then she could go home, peel off her string-bean costume, and watch E! all afternoon. As their group danced their way off the float, Mira tried to muster the last of her enthusiasm.
“Girls!” Mira heard her mom and looked over. She and her dad were waving green flags while Connor held a sign that said Go Butterflies in kid handwriting.
Mira danced over, and her dad kissed her cheek. “What are you doing here?” she asked as Izzie did her best to dance up beside them.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on a float right now?” Izzie asked.
“The police are escorting me back up to the start of the parade in a few minutes.” He was wearing a suit and a green EC logo tie. “I couldn’t go till I saw your dance party. I might have to hire you to do something like this at one of my rallies.”
“It will cost you,” Izzie said. Mira had a feeling she was serious. That girl was going to be a great philanthropist. Or a ruthless businesswoman. Mira wasn’t sure which.
“Where’s Hayden?” Mira asked.
Her mom glanced at Izzie. “He had plans. He said to wish you two luck.”
Izzie and Hayden hadn’t spoken since Izzie’s fight with Kylie the week before. It seemed like neither girl was willing to apologize first. Instead, they avoided each other.
Zoe walked over wearing an EC press badge. “Girls, can I get a quick picture of your club and the mayor? Mrs. Ingram wanted me to take pictures along the parade route, but I was on the phone with Sarah Jessica Parker and she just kept yapping.” Mira’s dad coughed.
“Sure.” Izzie called the group over. After a few seconds of figuring out who would go where—Savannah wanted to be front and center—Zoe fired off a few shots, then brought in the mayor and Mira’s dad for a few more.
“That wasn’t so bad.” Zoe looked at her watch and frowned. “Now I just have to get back to the start of the route to get ahead of the rest of the floats.”
“You can catch a ride with Bill,” Mira’s mom suggested. “The police are escorting him there in a few minutes.”
Zoe and Bill looked at each other warily. “Oh, well, if you don’t mind.”
“Nope,” her dad said. “It’s the perfect time for us to catch up.” There was something in his tone that worried Mira. What could they have to talk about other than Izzie?
Zoe looked around. “You know, if I leave now I could probably make it on foot.”
“Don’t be silly!” Mira’s mom insisted. “Ride with Bill. You don’t want to be out of breath when you get there.”
“How is the pool house?” her dad asked. “I thought we’d see you with Izzie now that you were staying there, but it seems like you’re around less than ever.”
“I know, right?” Zoe missed the dig. “Izzie and I are planning on having a good girl talk soon, though.” She smiled at her niece. “I’ve just had so much work in New York. The timing on this visit couldn’t have worked out better.”
Mira winced. Timing meaning Grams’s death? If Izzie caught the reference, she didn’t say anything. Mira knew Izzie was happy about the talk she and Zoe’d had at the Ingrams’, but it was clear she was hoping to hear more about their family. Zoe kept swearing they would meet up, but something always got in the way.
“We’re glad to hear your visit has been so successful,” Mira’s mom said graciously. “We’re so happy you’re here to spend time with Izzie.”
“And with Mira,” Zoe said it as if she were willing it to be true. “I am moving forward with Justine.” She winked. “Any day this one is going to be a huge star.”
“You called Justine?” Mira couldn’t believe it.
Zoe pushed her hair behind her ear. “Well, I lost their number, but my friend is getting it for me.”
Mira felt foolish. Was Zoe ever going to put in a call for her?
“I did remember to have someone send me a box of pictures of your mom and me from L.A.,” she told Izzie.
“I’m sure Izzie would love to see them,” Mira’s mom said.
“We will figure out a good time to go through them. They are great,” Zoe said. “You can really get a sense of your mom’s personality in these. She was such a free spirit.”
“You think so?” Her dad looked pensive. “Chloe seemed so grounded and responsible to me. Like Izzie. She always put other people’s needs first.”
“Maybe that was her problem.” Mira detected an edge to Zoe’s voice. “Everyone needs to shed their responsibilities once in a while. Take Izzie, for example.” She looked at her. �
��After all that’s gone on, I’m sure she would love to get away for a day or two.”
“Like to New York with you?” Mira’s mom pressed, and Zoe pursed her lips. Clearly that was not what she had in mind.
“Actually, I did have an offer,” Izzie said apprehensively, and they looked at her. “Brayden asked me to visit Dylan with him at USC after everything with Founders Day is over.” The color drained from Mira’s mom’s face. “I know what you’re going to say.” Mira had a feeling she didn’t. “Dylan can be trouble, but she’s been better, and Zoe is right. I could use some time away.” She snuck a glance at a photographer hovering nearby. Another shot of Brayden and Izzie kissing had been in a Grayson article last week. The caption said Does Bill Monroe know what his daughter is up to? Mira seemed off the hook now that she had no one to kiss, but Izzie was an easy target because she had given the press so much to work with from the beginning.
“Just ignore them,” her dad had said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
“I think getting away is nice, but USC is a few hours away,” Mira’s mom said.
“I thought I could stay at Dylan’s dorm overnight and come back in the morning,” Izzie explained. “Brayden wants to celebrate my birthday while we are there. It could be fun.”
Warning! Warning! Mira wanted to scream. She knew her parents were going to flip, but there was no way to warn Izzie.
“With Brayden’s parents?” Mira’s mom looked tense.
Izzie shook her head. “Mrs. Townsend and Dylan haven’t spoken since she left. Brayden and I were going to take the bus since his mom doesn’t want him driving so far.”
Mira’s mom looked like she was going to pass out. “I… Bill?”
“Senator Monroe?” A police officer approached them. “We need to get you to the start of the parade, sir.”
“Yes, one second,” he told him pleasantly, and turned to Izzie. “We can talk more about this later, but I think the answer will be the same. I am sorry, Isabelle, but it’s just not appropriate for you to be visiting a college campus overnight.”