“Yes, Mom, but—”
Milo’s parents appeared in the doorway, looking confused and concerned.
“How could you, Zoe? This is so humiliating! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I am?”
She was way more upset than I thought she would be.
Milo stood too. He put his hand on my arm in a gesture of support.
“Mom, it isn’t that bad. Everybody does it. I didn’t think it would embarrass you.”
“You probably didn’t think Paulette at K’town in the Afternoon would see it and ask to feature my Internet dating experience on the show!”
Uh oh.
“You probably didn’t think I’d be blindsided and embarrassed in front of a colleague. You probably didn’t think about what the network will think when they see it or about the damage you could do to my career!”
“Mom—”
“You probably didn’t think about the dangers inherent in hosting a television show and the exponential increase in creepy fan mail that I am going to face!”
Danger? My mother had creepy fan mail? “I didn’t… I didn’t know.”
“Annie,” Milo’s mother said, coming into the room and putting an arm around my mother. “It’s going to be okay. I’m sure Zoe meant well.”
“I didn’t think you’d be embarrassed,” I stammered. “I thought you might not want to do it.”
“You are grounded, Zoe.”
“Mom!” I motioned to Milo and his family. “Hardly anybody could have seen it yet. I just put it up.”
“When?”
“We—Wednesday,” I said. “After midnight.”
“So only a day, really,” Milo’s dad said, pulling out his iPad. “Annie, it’s only been up for a day.”
My mother pulled away from Marjorie and covered her eyes with her hands. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath.
“Mom, I’m so sorry. I never meant to embarrass you. I didn’t know about the mail.”
My mother nodded. “I know,” she said in a steady voice. “I know you meant well.”
I lowered my eyes in shame. I hadn’t done this for her. Sure, I’d told myself it would be good for her, but the reality was I had done this for me.
“Let’s sit down and talk this out,” Marjorie said. “Bill, bring Annie a glass of tea.”
Mom and Marjorie pulled out chairs, and Milo and I sat back down.
Once the five of us were seated around the table, Mom spoke. “One of Paulette’s production assistants saw my profile in the featured new members section.” She shook her head. “She must think I’m an idiot. I didn’t believe her until I clicked the link she texted me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
“Give me the login info, Zoe, and I can take this down right away,” Bill said.
I told him the password and user ID I had used.
“Zoe, I don’t understand why you felt the need to do this.”
I didn’t want to share my fears about Dr. Finnegan. It would embarrass her even worse.
“I think she just wants you to be happy,” Milo said, allowing me to sidestep a direct lie.
“I do, Mom.”
Mom let out a sigh. “I know, Zoe. I know you’ve been worried about me with your father dating Sheree. I’m fine though. I’m open to dating, but I don’t need to date. I’m fine. I like my life.”
“It’s down,” Bill said, looking up from his iPad. “Nobody can see your profile now.”
“Thank you, Bill,” Mom said.
“Are you ready for something to eat, Annie?” Bill asked. “I’ll be glad to fix you a plate.”
“No. Thank you, though.”
“What about you, Marjorie? Should I get your plate?”
Marjorie rolled her eyes. “Bill, you can eat. Get your lunch. It’s fine.”
“Oh goodness.” My mother looked at Bill. “I’m sorry. Of course you should eat.”
Bill was out of his chair and out of the room in seconds.
My mother and Marjorie shared a look and then laughed.
“The man loves his leftovers,” Marjorie said.
“I didn’t mean to hold up his lunch,” Mom said. Then she turned her attention to Milo. “You too, honey. Go ahead and eat before it gets cold.”
Milo picked up his fork. Then he tentatively took a bite of stuffing.
I’d lost my appetite.
Bill returned with his plate and Marjorie’s.
Marjorie took hers but she didn’t dig in like her husband. Instead, she said, “Annie, it sounds like the production assistant stumbled across the profile by accident. I doubt many people have seen it. The profile is down now. Let’s figure this out.” She turned to her husband. “Were you able to see any kind of stats on the profile? Can we tell how many people have viewed it?”
Bill finished chewing his turkey and swallowed. “They don’t show the views, but she has four messages from men who want to get to know her better. Since we all know Annie’s beautiful and talented, I’m confident that not many more than those four have seen her profile.”
Tears pooled in my mother’s eyes again. “Bill, that’s so sweet.”
“He’s right,” Marjorie said. “You’re a catch, and any man who saw the profile would pursue you.”
“Do you want me to pull up the profiles of those four?” Bill asked.
“Well,” Mom said, her voice lighter, “I suppose we should. Just to be safe.”
“It couldn’t hurt. Could it?” Marjorie said.
Mom’s smile was fleeting, but it was a smile.
Chapter Thirteen
Milo and I escaped to my room as soon as we could.
“That was intense,” Milo said.
“You think? I thought she was going to strangle me.”
“She wouldn’t hurt you.” He was quiet for a moment.
“I messed up.”
“I thought she’d be annoyed. I didn’t think she’d be mortified.”
“I know.” I hated having embarrassed my mother. “I probably should have thought about the safety thing, too. She is kind of a celebrity.”
“So Operation Find Mom a Date is on hold?”
“Definitely.” I glanced down at my cell. Jake had called twice, and I had ignored his calls. “I need to call Jake soon. I’m not sure if I’m grounded though.”
“We already have the tickets,” Milo said. “For both movies.”
“Would you mind to—”
“I’ll go down and ask your mother if we can still go to the movies.”
“I love you, Milo,” I called after him as he ran to do my errand. I was so lucky to have a friend like Milo.
I texted Jake. Finding out about the movie plans now. Will call in a minute.
Bill drove us by Sheree’s house to pick up Jake and drop us off at the theater. My dad came out to say hello and to introduce Bill to Sheree. Those were an awkward five minutes.
Jake climbed into the middle seat of the van to sit next to me. After the emotionally draining afternoon, I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder and let him hold me. Unfortunately, doing so would make all four of us uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to prompt Bill to scold me. I’d already done enough to disappoint everyone today.
“You okay?” Jake asked.
“Rough day,” I said, but my heart warmed at his concern. He’d noticed something wasn’t quite right with me.
“So, Jake,” Bill said, “I’m glad to have this opportunity to get to know you.”
Uh oh. Bill was almost as protective of me as my dad was.
“Dad, I’m sure John has already done the whole ‘scare the boyfriend’ thing,” Milo said.
“I’m just being friendly,” Bill said. “Plus, John may be biased in this situation.”
Next to me, Jake squirmed. “I’m pretty sure he’s got it covered, sir.”
“Dad…” Milo coaxed.
“Okay then. I’ll leave the boy alone,” Bill said.
Jake relaxed.
“Thank you,
Bill,” I said. “And Milo.”
“We should have gotten you a ticket too,” Milo said. “The movie looks good.”
“I’ll be fine,” Bill said. “I need to work on the social media outreach for the youth program.”
“Mom isn’t going to like you working,” Milo said.
“I think she’ll be busy enough with Annie.”
Guilt crept back into my chest. I reached for Jake’s hand.
He squeezed my hand, but he didn’t ask what was going on with my mother. I’d tell him when we got to the theater.
“Did your Dad tell you about Christmas?”
This didn’t sound good. “Uh, no.”
“Mom decided we’re going to my grandmother’s the Sunday before Christmas. We won’t be back until the day after Christmas.”
The knowledge that he was going to be missing from my life for less than a week sucked the happiness out of my day. The boy had too much power over me. I had thought we could hang out every day of Christmas break. I’d been counting on it. Five days with no Jake?
“I know,” Jake said, pulling me close and nuzzling my nose. “I wanted to be with you too. I had plans for all that free time.”
“Like baking cookies?” I teased.
“Yes. And other things. A couple of video game marathons and some serious,” he said as he tightened his arm around my waist, “cuddle time.”
“We can cuddle in the movie,” I suggested.
He grinned and then kissed me on the cheek. “Mom and John want to exchange presents on the Saturday night before we leave. If that’s okay with you.”
I nodded. “We’ll have an early Christmas.”
After my epic fail with the dating site, I resolved to stay out of my mother’s personal life.
“I wonder if we made a mistake by restricting her from potions for the week,” Mom said to Finn. “It might have kept her away from other activities, like signing me up for online dating.”
So my mother had filled him in on the drama.
He frowned. “I suppose idle time may have been a factor. However, I am confident that challenging her to refrain from potion experiments for the week was both necessary and productive.”
“I’m not so sure,” my mother admitted.
“Trust me, Annie,” Finn said.
“Of course, Martin. You are the master. I don’t doubt your methods.”
On Sunday, I hugged Milo, Bill, and Marjorie and then waved as they drove away.
“I’m so glad they came up,” Mom said.
“Me too.”
She turned to go back inside.
“What’s the plan for the rest of the day?” I asked, following her in.
“I’m taking a long nap,” Mom said. “I love having company, but it is a lot of work.”
“Good,” I said. “I guess I’ll umm… find something on television.”
“You could read a book.” My mother smiled at me.
“I could.”
“Or…” she said. “You could work on the unicorn horn substitution.”
I threw my arms around her. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”
“You’ve earned it, Zoe. The key is in the freezer in the banana Popsicle box. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
“Thanks!” I called over my shoulder as I dashed for the kitchen. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the limestone.
At ten, my mother ordered me to stop and clean up. “It’s a school night.” She took in my damp hair streaked with limestone powder and the uneaten sandwich on the counter. “You never ate your dinner. Zoe, I think Martin had a point. You may be getting overly, er, involved in your experiments.”
“But I was making progress! Mom, the limestone is making a huge difference. I think I’m really close. I’m already close, and I just started.” I jumped up and down. “Do you know how great this is going to be?”
Mom’s eyes held concern. “Of course I know how wonderful it is, Zoe. I’m sure the unicorns are appreciative, but I’m not their mother. I’m your mother, and I’m starting to wonder whether encouraging your wondrous gifts and your superhuman drive has been the best course of action.”
Uh oh. “Mom, I promise I’m in control. I managed over Thanksgiving, didn’t I?”
She nodded.
“And while you were sick.”
“Yes.” She sighed.
“Scientists are driven, focused people. That’s how so many wonderful discoveries have been made. I don’t understand why you’re so worried.”
“Scientists aren’t supervised by an overly powerful Council of conservatives who watch their every step. Scientists aren’t teenagers with magical powers whose slightest mistakes could impact billions of people.”
Images of frogs and toads leaped through my mind. I couldn’t deny her assertion. “That’s why Finn is here. He’ll keep me out of trouble.”
My mother picked up a sponge and began wiping down the counter. “He’ll try, but he can’t protect you from everything.”
I opened the back door to get some fresh soil to deactivate the potion, and Jasmine ran in.
Mom’s exasperated cry made me turn back to the stove where my cat was urinating on the cauldron.
“Jasmine!” I screamed, and the cat ran across the counter and out of the room.
Mom and I stared in disbelief at the cauldron and the cat urine steam that rose from it. The stench, like a cat litter pan that had never been changed, made me cough.
“Zoe! Was the cauldron empty? Or do we have to worry about a potion?”
“It was clean, Mom,” I assured her, holding up the aluminum foil. “It’s not a potion. It’s just cat pee.”
“In the cauldron, and on the stove where we cook our food.”
“What should we do with it?”
“Let’s set the cauldron out on the back patio for now.”
I got a set of potholders and carried the heavy black pot out the back door. I sidestepped two frogs and set it down on the patio. When I came back in, I set the potholders on the counter. “We need to wash these.”
My mother was scrubbing the stove top. “I’ll have to wait for the burner to cool thoroughly before I can finish.” She went to the sink and washed her hands. “What on earth got into that cat?”
“I don’t know.” Jasmine never bothered me when I was brewing potions, and yet this was the second time she’d interfered with the unicorn horn experiments. I was starting to wonder if the cat knew something I didn’t.
“Maybe she has a urinary tract infection,” Mom said. “Or she may be upset about all the company. I’ll take her to the vet tomorrow for a checkup.”
I didn’t share my concerns with my mother. I mean, she wouldn’t know any more than I did, and I didn’t want her to worry more than she already was. I finished cleaning up the kitchen, but one thought echoed through my mind as I returned the potion ingredients to the cabinet and stored the limestone in the island. Was the interference of my black cat foreshadowing of bad luck to come?
I practically ran to homeroom on Monday morning. I hadn’t seen Jake since Friday, and I couldn’t wait to see his beautiful blue eyes and his warm smile.
I rushed into the room and searched for Jake’s blond curls. He wasn’t there.
Spinning around, I barely avoided crashing into a classmate. “Sorry,” I mumbled. I navigated through the crowded hallway and arrived at my locker to find no one. Maybe his locker, I thought, and I dashed off in the other direction. Dejected after failing to find him, I walked back into homeroom just as the bell rang. Jake’s smile greeted me, and for a moment, all was right with the world.
I slid into my seat and hoped for a few extra minutes before Mrs. Hale called for silence. Unfortunately, she called us to order right away, and went over the school schedules for our final examinations.
Jake tore a page from his notebook, and for a moment, I thought he was taking notes on the schedule. We had it all online anyway. Then she looked away and Jake tossed the folded paper on
to my desk.
Unable to fathom what he would feel the need to tell me, I held the paper so that the stack of books on my desk would block Mrs. Hale’s view and unfolded it.
I missed you.
Awww. I sent Jake a quick smile.
He was the best boyfriend ever.
On Tuesday, Finn and I worked for hours, but I didn’t mention my progress on the substitution.
“I’m relieved to hear that you managed a week without conducting any experiments.”
Yeah. Everybody was thrilled.
“I’ll be giving you another test on the basics on Thursday. We need to confirm that you haven’t missed any of the key building blocks of potions science. You can do the test on the computer.”
Yay. Super fun.
After Finn left, I hit the unicorn horn substitution hard.
It went well. I’d upped it to four cat’s meows, and the mix was feeling better and better.
“Time’s up,” Mom called from the living room at nine.
“I’m cleaning up now,” I assured her. I had at least another hour of homework anyway.
“We’re behind on Christmas shopping,” Mom announced on Wednesday afternoon. “How much homework do you have? Can you spare some time for the mall?”
“It depends. How long is your list this year?”
Mom smiled. “I need twenty-four gifts for people at the network and who work on the show. And I’ll confess I don’t have any good ideas this year at all. Then I have the usual family and friends. I also need ornaments for exchanges at three different holiday parties plus a couple of white elephant gifts. Then I’ll want to do my usual gift bags for Meals on Wheels. I think last year there were four-hundred people in the county. We’ll do lotion, some non-skid booties, and gloves. Maybe some scarves if we get a good deal.”
“I can go for two hours. Maybe I can get some ideas too.”
“We need to get something for Martin. A gift from each of us would be appropriate, although I have no ideas on that front.”
Finding the perfect present for someone always felt great, but most of the time, I stressed over not finding the perfect present.
“We should get started,” I agreed. “I’m not going to stress until school gets out though. I have too much to do.”
Trouble's Brewing (Stirring Up Trouble) Page 16