My next question was about his lab results. But I wasn’t able to ask because the phone rang. Saundra caught it on the second ring.
“Meredith residence.” A short pause. Then, “Yes, Andie’s here, but she’s resting.” Saundra turned to me, covering the mouthpiece. “It’s Rico Hernandez; he asked to speak to you.”
“Me?”
What did Andie’s guy friend want with me?
LITTLE WHITE LIES
Chapter 15
“Hello?”
“Yeah, Holly, this is Rico. I thought you and Andie might wanna know about my beach party tomorrow night.”
“Oh? What’s the occasion?”
“Just some people getting together for a good time.”
“What people?” I sounded like an interrogator, but I didn’t care. I wanted to make things tough for him.
“Some of my college friends will be hangin’ out. You know, just a bunch of kids.”
Yeah, right. Sounds like a party I can’t wait to miss!
“Andie and I have other plans,” I said quickly. “Sorry. Bye.” I was getting ready to hang up.
“Uh, wait, Holly. Is Andie doing okay?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Well, uh, oh, nothing. Just tell her I said hi, and I’ll see you two later.”
See us later? Hadn’t he listened? And why was he asking about Andie as though she were sick or something?
I dashed downstairs. “Andie, wake up!” She moaned and groaned when I shook her awake. “C’mon, sleeping beauty. My stepmom’s got some great plans for us.”
“I’m sleeping,” she said, her throat raspy.
“You’d better shake a leg if you wanna go with us to Marcie’s.” I told her it was some expensive salon in Beverly Hills.
She carried on like she was too tired. “Do I have to go?”
“You’ll be fine once you wake up,” I assured her, now playfully pulling on the covers.
“Holly, I’m tired,” she snapped at me. “Leave me alone.”
I stood back, surveying the rumpled pile of covers billowing around her. “Are you kidding, you actually want to miss this?”
“I’m telling you to just go without me. I’ll stay home and sleep. Have fun with your wicked stepmother.” With that, she rolled over.
“Okay, have it your way.” I left the room, purposely keeping the beach party invitation a secret. Closing the door behind me, I wondered how fast Andie would have snapped to it if I had mentioned Rico’s party.
Saundra and I did the town, all right. I managed to get by with just getting my cuticles soaked, pushed back, and trimmed. After my nails were filed and shaped properly, I chose a pale pink polish that matched my shirt.
Several hair stylists went a little over the edge about my hair—especially the color and the length. No matter where I went, my hair seemed to attract people.
Afterward, Saundra and I headed for lunch in another posh area of Beverly Hills. During the drive there, and later after ordering our entree, I unsuccessfully tried several times to return to our former conversation about Daddy. I was still curious about the lab results, but Saundra was talkative about other things. Mostly the travel plans she was secretly making for their wedding anniversary in August.
“I tell you, Holly, your father is going to be so surprised.” She looked happier than I’d ever seen her. “He’s been talking off and on about Tahiti for years. What a wonderfully beautiful place for him to rest.”
“When will you tell him?”
Her face glowed with anticipation. “I must plan a very special way to present the tickets to him.” She gushed about the luxurious anniversary gifts he’d presented to her other years. Everything from cashmere sweaters to diamond bracelets. You would have thought, listening to her talk, that material things ranked highest on her list of important things in life. I wondered where simple words or deeds of kindness and affection came in.
By the time the dessert tray came around, I had decided I never wanted to be rich, and I was anxious to leave. The black-coated waiter held the gleaming silver tray with a variety of delicacies for us to choose from. His accent was French or Italian—I wasn’t sure which. For Saundra, it was chocolate mousse, slightly chilled; for me, the most familiar dessert I could find: strawberry cheesecake.
We arrived home long before Tyler, and I rushed downstairs to Andie’s room, expecting to find her up and reading in bed. The big surprise was that her bed was made and her room picked up.
“Andie,” I called, even searching outside on her private balcony. “We’re back!”
I checked her bathroom and found that she’d taken a shower. A pile of dirty clothes was left lying on the floor in the corner near the sink. Her makeup bag was unzipped, with mascara and blush shoved into it sloppily.
And then I spotted a clue to her whereabouts. Above the sink, on the flat piece of glass running across and below the mirror, I noticed a business card with the words BEACH BUZZ, The Band. Under the words were Rico’s name and phone number.
“Oh, so she stayed home to see Rico,” I muttered angrily, remembering the tired, worn-out-and-desperate-to-sleep charade she’d put on for me earlier. Talk about lies. Andie was the master of deceit!
Not sure what to do, I ran upstairs to the deck and scanned the beach area. She was nowhere in sight.
I headed to Tyler’s room and focused his telescope, aiming north toward Rico’s parents’ estate. No sign of Andie.
Then I looked toward the ocean, turning the black knob, bringing a rectangular white speck into view.
Bingo! There she was. Way, way out—past the breakers—and floating on an air mattress built for two with her cohort. Quickly, I cranked the view in even closer. I could almost reach out and touch them, which is exactly what Rico was doing to Andie. Touching her hair, her face. Why was she letting him get so close?
Not only had Andie decided the first day we’d come here that Rico was husband material, but here she was acting like they were married already! Well…not exactly married like on a honeymoon or anything, but getting terribly close. I almost felt guilty watching the two of them carry on this way. I held my breath, scared he was going to kiss her.
Tyler came bursting into the room. “Having fun?” He came over to me. “Who’re you spying on today?”
I backed up, moving away from the telescope. “I, uh, hope you don’t mind.”
“Go for it.”
“You sure?” I inched forward, almost afraid to look again.
“Go ahead and watch them,” he said, grinning. “They don’t know it, but last night I caught them outside together.”
Andie was with Rico in the middle of the night?
Tyler kept talking. “Man, would my mom have a cow if I did that!”
“Of course she would,” I said, trying not to overreact to the shocking news. “You have no business sneaking out of the house with a girl.”
“I didn’t mean that,” he said. “I meant leaving the house in the middle of the night. You never know what’s lurking around out there on the beach.” He sounded for real, but I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Are there prowlers or something?”
“Drug dealers, prowlers, you name it—we’ve got it going on up and down the beach. And the parties. Sometimes I have to put earplugs in my ears.”
Now my heart was pounding out of control. Was Rico’s party going to be one of those wild ones? And if so, was Rico involved with drugs or alcohol?
I got brave right then. I asked Tyler if he’d ever seen Rico drinking. “Oh sure. Some of his college friends come up from San Diego almost every weekend. They have some rock band; I forget what it’s called. All I know is there’re tons of beer bottles scattered around the next morning.”
I shuddered to think about Andie and her dreams of Rico becoming her future husband. If she only knew!
LITTLE WHITE LIES
Chapter 16
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Andie refused to believe me when I told her what I knew about Rico, his band, and his wild parties. I cornered her as she came into her room to shower and dress for supper.
“Holly, get a life!” she yelled. “I wouldn’t think of butting into your time with Sean.”
“Nothing’s happening between Sean and me.”
“Right.” She threw her wet towel at me. “I’m sick of your holy-schmoly routine, Holly Meredith.”
“You didn’t have to lie to me today,” I accused her.
“I didn’t lie, just changed my mind.”
“What? About sleeping in? Come on! You pretended to be tired so you could stay home.”
She shook her head defiantly. “That’s not how it happened, but it’s really none of your business, anyway.”
“Okay, fine,” I said, throwing her towel down on the carpet.
“But the next time your mother calls, I’m telling her the truth.”
“See if I care!” She slammed her bathroom door, punctuating her words.
Jittery and upset, I went to the sitting room. Things were so far out of control. Andie couldn’t even begin to see the truth about Rico. And worse, there seemed to be no way to get through to her. What could I do to make her see who Rico really was before she did something she might regret forever?
At supper, Daddy announced that everything was set for our trip to Universal Studios.
“Cool,” Tyler shouted.
“Tyler, please,” Saundra reprimanded him. “We’re having supper.
“Sorry,” he said, but I could see his enthusiasm was oozing right out of his pores.
“What about the rest of you?” Daddy asked.
“Fine with me,” Saundra said. I agreed, too.
Andie, however, looked a little nervous. “How long will we be gone?” she asked.
“Why? Got a date?” Tyler piped up.
Andie shrugged. “Just wondered.”
“I thought we could have dinner somewhere special and then drive up the coast and see the sunset.” Daddy pursed his lips, waiting for her response.
“Sure, sounds fine,” Andie said eventually, even though I was sure Rico had told her about his beach party.
As it turned out, Andie refused to discuss anything about Rico later that night. We’d reached a standstill, Andie and I, and to push things with her would only bring more hostility between us. So I made the decision to back off, let her do her thing, and pray for her. Mom had always said that prayer was more powerful than anything you could ever do or say.
So I prayed before going to bed, and later while trying to fall asleep—every single time I thought about Andie or began to worry over the situation.
One thing for sure, the trip to Universal Studios would keep her from Rico most of the day. That was something to be thankful for.
Andie chose to hang out with Tyler on both Jurassic Park, The Ride and the E.T. Adventure. It had to be obvious to the rest of the family that Andie and I weren’t speaking. I hoped it wasn’t spoiling things for them, and I tried to keep a positive, upbeat attitude.
Later, Saundra freaked out over the two-thousand-pound eating machine otherwise known as Jaws. When we least expected it, it leaped out of the water just inches away from her side of the tour bus.
“Oh,” she squealed. What really got her, of course, was the water it sprayed at her while thrashing around in a frenzy to “devour” her. Then it was on to the earthquake, where we experienced an 8.3 heart-pounding tremor.
Out of the entire day, Daddy seemed to enjoy the WaterWorld show most—probably because his heart prevented him from being able to go on some of the rides. And I noticed him laughing at the tribute to I Love Lucy.
Of course, we scurried here and there, standing in long lines and snacking on junk food and pop while we moved from one attraction to another. One time, when Daddy and I were alone getting caramel corn, I almost told him about Andie’s crush on Rico. Then, just as I was about to open my mouth and confide in him, I decided not to. I didn’t want to worry him about it—and maybe cause more stress on his heart.
While waiting in line for sodas, Saundra spotted a girl with waist-length hair the color of mine. Her hair hung in gentle, vertical waves down her back. “Holly, look,” she said. “Your hair would look wonderful that way.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely,” Andie said, the first she’d spoken to me all day.
“Really?” Now I was excited.
“If you think your mother wouldn’t mind, we could have it permed while you’re here,” Saundra suggested.
“Daddy, what do you think?” I asked.
He cocked his head, looking at me with his eyebrows raised. “It won’t kink up or anything, will it?”
“It better not.” I touched my single braid, not sure now how I felt about Saundra’s idea.
“Then I’m all for it.” He paid for the sodas and passed them down the line to Tyler, Andie, Saundra, and me.
“So, are you gonna do it?” Andie asked.
“I’m probably too chicken,” I said, filing the idea away for future reference. Who knows, maybe I’d get brave and have it done right before school started. A new look would be perfect, especially to start my freshman year.
“Did everyone have a good time today?” Daddy asked as we drove back down the coast at dusk after supper.
“Universal Studios was way cool.” Tyler answered from his perch in the rear seat, where he sat between Andie and me.
“Maybe we’ll go again next summer,” Daddy said, grinning. He turned around to glance at me. “What do you say, Holly?”
I glanced at Andie to my left, wondering if he was including her in the invitation. “Sure, let’s do it,” I said.
Daddy kept talking about the events of the day while Saundra nodded off every so often. We all seemed a bit frazzled from our hectic day. All but Andie. She seemed jazzed. Probably the beach party…and the prospect of seeing Rico again.
That thought made me cringe, but I kept my feelings hidden, praying silently instead.
After we were home only a few minutes, Daddy got the bright idea to invite Sean over. “We’ll play that Bible board game I just bought,” he said, opening the built-in shelving unit opposite the fireplace. “Okay with you, Holly?”
What a matchmaker!
“I guess,” I said, trying to hide my smile.
Saundra looked completely baffled about the new game. But she was quiet and didn’t raise a protest.
We tried our best to get Andie involved, but she wasn’t interested. Daddy literally begged her to play, but she declined. “Thanks anyway,” she said without an explanation. And she scurried off, down the steps, while I shot another silent prayer heavenward.
It didn’t take long for Sean to show up, and after a few instructions from the manual, we began to play. I couldn’t stop thinking about my beach speech to him about just being friends. And here was Daddy throwing the two of us together.
In fact, Daddy was close to winning when he got up rather abruptly and excused himself. “Sorry, kids,” he said, winking at Sean. “I think I’ll call it a night.”
That rascal! I couldn’t believe he was going to simply abandon the game like this. And Saundra was no help whatsoever. She took Daddy’s arm and accompanied him down the hallway, leaving Sean and me to finish the game amidst the light of candles and soft music.
Sean seemed amused. “Look what they’ve done.” He chuckled a little, his eyes reflecting the twinkling light of Saundra’s best-smelling French vanilla candles.
“What’s so funny?”
He forced the smile away. “Oh, nothing.” He said it with a silly straight face now.
“Uh-huh,” I said under my breath.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, not able to hold back his grin.
His gaze was downright attentive. And, I didn’t understand it, but I felt giddy. Inside and out. Shoot, my hands were damp, and I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like my heart was racin
g out of control. Why was this happening? Sean was just a friend, wasn’t he?
“Holly,” he started to say.
“No, please, let’s just finish the game, okay?” My eyes stared down at the board between us.
He reached over and covered my hand with his. “I can’t lie to you anymore, Holly.” His voice was unbearably sweet.
I felt his gaze on me and couldn’t resist. My eyes found his. “About what?” I whispered.
“About your friendship notion.” He took a deep breath, like this wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to be saying. “I guess I just can’t go along with it. I do like you as a friend, but…” He was searching for words. “But I want you to think about something.”
He was positively adorable, sitting here across from me in my father’s living room. Yet what was he thinking, spoiling our evening like this?
I withdrew my hand. “So you’re saying you didn’t really agree with me before? That you were just going along with me that day on the beach? That you—”
“Holly, I think you’re special. I want you to be my girlfriend.” He spoke with purpose. “Those were little white lies I told you on Wednesday. I’m sorry.”
This wonderful person had just asked me to change my mind. To break my promise to myself. And yet the gentle, kind way he approached the subject told me he was sincere. A true friend.
“I…I don’t know, Sean. I really can’t date yet. And what I said is really important to me,” I replied, referring to my earlier decision.
“You’re important to me,” he said.
Silence settled in around us as the candles flickered and the distant sounds of a rock band found their way to my ears. Thoughts of Andie clouded my thinking, and I searched for the perfect words.
Sean smiled thoughtfully. “Will you please think about it?”
Thank goodness. At least I wouldn’t have to decide anything tonight.
LITTLE WHITE LIES
Holly's Heart Collection Two Page 46