The Girls of Firefly Cabin

by Cynthia Ellingsen

  Archer hid a smile as the waiter refilled their waters. For once, the bickering felt fun, not mean. Like jokes between sisters should.

  “You need to think long and hard about this,” her mom said, passing her another breadstick. “I’d hate to see you miss out on something so special.”

  Archer wiped a streak of tomato sauce off her hands. She wanted to be in that photo with the other Fireflies more than anything. But she didn’t know how to back down without looking like a fool.

  “I’ll live,” she grumbled.

  Makayla snorted. “Here lies Archer. She could have been the face of Blueberry Pine, but she was too mad at the world. Which was so weird, because the world wasn’t mad at her.”

  Archer took a sip of Coke to hide her annoyance, but she knew Makayla’s words were true.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Lauren’s heart was heavy as she knocked on the screen door of the kitchen. She couldn’t believe she would never see Chef again.

  “Hello, missy.” Chef opened the door, wiping her hands on her apron. “I didn’t expect you’d have time for me today.”

  “I wanted to give you this.”

  Lauren held out a carefully wrapped package, and Chef studied it in confusion. “What’s this?”

  “A present.” Lauren lifted her chin, willing herself not to cry. “Because I’m going to miss you.”

  Chef made a tsking sound. “Of all the wasteful things,” she grumbled, but set it on the counter with extra care before pulling out her glasses.

  Lauren held her breath as Chef opened the gift. It was a framed collage she’d created during Indoor Rec. It had sparkling, brightly colored pictures of donuts, birthday cakes, onions, music notes, and pretty much anything that symbolized her time in the kitchen with Chef. In the center, Archer had helped her write a note in calligraphy: “Honorary Firefly.”

  Chef sniffed. “Missy, if you wanted treats for your friends, you could have just asked.”

  Lauren smiled. Chef’s harsh tone couldn’t hide her emotion.

  Chef sat in silence for a long moment, staring at the collage.

  “Well, that settles it.” She turned to Lauren. “I have tried to talk myself out of this a hundred times, because goodness knows, you wouldn’t want to keep spending time with an old grouch like me, but the idea keeps coming back.”

  Lauren wrinkled her brow in confusion. “What idea?”

  Chef’s cheeks flushed, and she got to her feet. “Lauren, how would you like to be my daughter?”

  Lauren’s legs felt like they might go out from underneath her.

  Did I get heatstroke, like Isla warned? Am I imagining this?

  “I would like to adopt you,” Chef said, when she didn’t speak. “If you’d like that too.”

  “Adopt me?” she whispered.

  There were so many times in her life she’d hoped to hear those words. Prayed to hear them, but it had never happened. Tears pricked the back of her eyes.

  “Hey.” Chef sounded surprised. “Come on, now.” She took Lauren by the shoulder. “Sit.” She patted a stool by the counter and poured Lauren a drink of water. “Goodness, if the thought makes you cry, maybe I never should have—”

  “No, it’s…” Lauren downed the water in one gulp. Then she grabbed Chef’s hands. “Do you mean it? Please don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”

  “Oh, missy.” Chef patted her shoulder. “I mean it. You and me, we’re the same.”

  “I think so, too,” Lauren whispered. “You understand me. It’s like…there was a reason I came here. Beyond the Fireflies.”

  Chef gave a firm nod. “I believe we were meant to find each other. Does that mean you’ll consider it?”

  “There’s nothing to consider.” Chef’s face fell, and Lauren laughed. “No, I mean…because the answer’s yes. One hundred percent, yes. I can’t think of anything I would want more.”

  Chef’s eyes filled with tears. “Well, aren’t we a pair.”

  Lauren leaped to her feet and hugged her tight.

  This time, Chef hugged her back, just like a real mother would.

  The Fireflies stood at the edge of the lake.

  It was a perfect evening. The sun glinted off the water, and the sand felt like brown sugar underfoot. The photographer set up her equipment on a heavy wool blanket while a makeup artist laid out a series of brushes and powders on a folding table.

  “Come on over, girls,” she called.

  Lauren looked at her watch. It was seven o’clock, and Archer wasn’t there.

  She wouldn’t ditch the whole thing, would she?

  “She’ll be here,” Jade said as though reading her mind. “I know she will.”

  The makeup artist applied dark brown mascara to everyone’s lashes and dabbed powder against their faces. It smelled like faded roses, and Lauren giggled.

  “I feel like a model.”

  She also felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Chef had already contacted Shady Acres to request the necessary documents to start the adoption process, as well as permission to escort Lauren back to Arizona on the plane the next morning.

  “I won’t be needed here,” Chef said. “There will be no one to feed once all you rascals are gone. Besides, no daughter of mine is going to fly alone; not if I have anything to say about it.”

  Daughter of mine.

  The words filled her heart with a happiness she’d never dreamed possible.

  “We’re just about done here…” the makeup artist said, scrutinizing her work.

  “We have another girl coming,” Jade said quickly. “She is just running late.”

  Lauren breathed a sigh of relief, until the makeup artist added, “Now, how are you planning to wear your hair?”

  The Fireflies exchanged glances. They all had their hair tucked under Blueberry Pine baseball caps.

  “Down,” Lauren said. “It’s humid, though, so I’d like to keep it up until the last possible moment.”

  The other Fireflies gave a solemn nod.

  The makeup artist clicked her tongue. “That won’t be long. Once the photographer says she’s getting close, we’ll have to get started.”

  Isla froze. “Fireflies, I believe we have company.”

  Lauren straightened her shoulders as Barbara Middleton approached the counselors on site, along with Carol Kennedy and a group of administrators. Carol Kennedy spotted Lauren and gave a friendly wave.

  Just then, Archer ran across the sand.

  “You made it,” Lauren cried.

  “Of course!” Archer hugged them all, her hair hidden beneath her own ball cap. “We’re in this together.”

  “Exactly.” Lauren gave an enthusiastic nod. “Which is why…Fireflies?”

  Lauren, Jade, and Isla whipped off their caps to reveal streaks of bright blue and purple in their hair. The administrators gasped in surprise. Archer’s hand flew to her mouth. “No! You can’t be serious.”

  “So serious.” Lauren turned to the administration. “We wanted to thank you for the opportunity to be the Faces of Blueberry Pine. In our experience, Blueberry Pine is a camp designed to empower young women. So, we were surprised when you decided to suppress the individuality of our friend. Archer has her own unique style. That’s who she is. You have to accept that, or take the picture without us. What’s it going to be?”

  The adults looked stunned. Barbara Middleton put her hand to her chest, and Carol Kennedy looked downright ashen. Then Archer stepped forward.

  “Wait,” she cried. “You guys, look!” She whipped off her cap. Her hair was no longer jet-black, but a warm chestnut brown, without a streak in sight. “My mom took me to the salon,” she murmured. “I couldn’t miss out on this.”

  “You look amazing,” Jade said. “Sorry, but you’re, like, thirty-five times better-looking than your sister.”

  “Stop.” Archer flushed in delight. “You guys, on the other hand, look terrible. What on Earth were you thinking?”

  The Fireflies exploded
with laughter. One by one, they pulled off the black wigs Chef had swiped from the theater department, along with the clips of purple and blue hair from the mall the next town over. The administrators let out an audible sigh of relief, and then, Archer turned to face them.

  “I did this out of respect for my friends,” she said. “But in the future, I hope you guys stop being so narrow-minded. I’m a lot more than a girl with blue and purple hair. To be honest, you’re lucky to have me.”

  The counselors burst into applause, and a few of the adults smiled. Finally, Barbara Middleton stepped forward and shook their hands.

  “Girls your age never fail to impress me,” she said. “Thank you for the reminder of what matters. You will be an excellent representation of Blueberry Pine.”

  “It’s go time!” The photographer called from down by the beach. She gestured at the sky, where the sun had started to set. It cast a perfect, golden hue.

  The makeup artist grabbed her hair wand. “Give me ten minutes.” She got to work, and Archer beamed at the Fireflies. Her smile was brighter than the setting sun.

  “You guys are ridiculous,” she said.

  Lauren smiled. “We couldn’t do this without you.”

  As the photographer put them into position, Lauren thought back to the picture on the front cover of the Blueberry Pine brochure. The girls with their arms across one another’s shoulders, the laughter and friendship gleaming from their eyes.

  It’s our turn.

  Lauren stood in the center. Jade and Isla stood on either side, arms draped around Lauren, while Archer got down on one knee and lifted her arms to the sky.

  “Perfect!” The photographer reached for her camera. “I don’t even have to tell you to pretend to be friends.”

  The girls burst into giggles.

  “True.” Jade nodded. “We’re best friends.”

  “We’ve been there for each other every step of the way,” Isla said.

  Archer grinned at them. “Sometimes, we’re nothing but trouble.”

  Lauren squeezed them close. “In the end, though, we’re family.”

  The camera clicked away, capturing a piece of their history. But it wasn’t just history. Lauren thought of her future life with Chef and grinned from ear to ear.

  The Fireflies were far from over—their story had just begun.