The Road Home

by Catherine Hapka

  Jordan broke into a run, flinging both arms around Nina and giggling. “I’m so excited I could burst!”

  “Me too!” Edie danced from one foot to the other, then leaped forward and wrapped her arms around both of the other girls. “Thanks for inviting me, Nina!”

  “You’re welcome.” Nina peeled herself out of the three-way hug and grinned at her friends. “I have some bad news, though. My dad decided to embarrass us by driving us up there in this school bus.” She waved a hand toward the van.

  “Cool!” Edie said, stepping closer for a better look. “We can buy as much horse stuff as we want!”

  “That’s what I said,” Nina’s father put in. “I’m Nina’s dad, by the way.”

  While Edie introduced herself, Jordan giggled and elbowed Nina. “I just hope Leah doesn’t refuse to be seen in something like that.”

  Nina gulped, realizing she’d never told Jordan about her fight with Leah. “Um, about Leah . . . ,” she began.

  “Here she comes now,” Edie said, pointing.

  Nina spun around. Edie was right! Leah was climbing out of a car that had just pulled into one of the few empty parking spots on the block. Her father was getting out of the driver’s seat.

  “Hello, Stephen.” Nina’s father stepped out into the street to shake the other man’s hand. “Come on inside. Girls, your chauffeur shall return shortly.”

  “Hurry up!” Jordan told him with a grin. “We have ponies to see, you know!”

  Nina’s father winked at her. “This will only take a second.”

  He and Leah’s father hurried into the house. Meanwhile Nina stared at Leah in shock, hardly daring to believe she was really there.

  “You came,” she managed to blurt out at last.

  “Yeah.” Leah shrugged and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans, not quite meeting anyone’s eye. “Um, can we talk?”

  “Sure.” Nina shot the other two girls a look. “Be right back, okay?”

  Soon she and Leah were in the narrow alley between Nina’s house and the one next door. A lush overhanging akebia vine blocked them from view of the street, and the neighbor’s bubbling fountain provided cover for their voices.

  “So . . . ,” Nina began, for once not quite sure what to say.

  “So.” Leah took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking.”

  “Never a good idea,” Nina couldn’t resist quipping.

  Leah looked startled, then laughed. “Well, sometimes it’s a good thing,” she said. “Because I’ve been watching my parents, and they seem a lot, I don’t know, more optimistic since they talked to your dad. So maybe it’s good that you told him, even if I didn’t want you to.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Nina said. “I mean, I struggled with the decision, you know? I really, really didn’t want to break my promise. You’ve always been one of my best friends, Leah. You have to know that, right?”

  “I guess.” Leah reached for an akebia flower, stroking its soft petals. “And I guess you were just being a good friend by doing what you did.”

  Nina smiled, so relieved she could hardly stand it. “Yeah,” she said. “I was trying.”

  Leah shrugged. “So did you give away my Expo ticket or what?”

  Nina laughed, then grabbed her into a hug. Leah felt stiff at first, but then she relaxed and hugged Nina back.

  “No way,” Nina said. “That’s one promise I did keep. I’m so glad you’re coming!”

  “Me too.” Leah hugged her for another few seconds, then pulled back. “It’ll be nice to get out of my aunt’s house for a while. Thanks.” She shot Nina a sidelong glance. “And, you know, sorry or whatever.”

  “No worries. Now let’s go!” Nina took a step toward the street, then stopped. “Wait. How do you want to handle things? You know, with Jordan and Edie. I won’t say a word if you don’t want me to, but we should probably get our stories straight. . . .”

  “No.” Leah squared her shoulders, looking nervous. “You don’t have to lie for me anymore. Come on.”

  She marched off before Nina could ask what she meant. By the time she caught up, Leah was already telling Jordan and Edie the whole story.

  When she finished, Edie looked a little confused and Jordan looked shocked. “No way,” Jordan said. “That’s horrible, Leah! I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Edie put in. “But listen, if you’re worried about school tuition, I might be able to help.”

  “Huh?” Leah frowned slightly. “What are you talking about?”

  “Edie’s great-grandma founded our school,” Nina explained.

  “Really?” Jordan stared at Edie, looking impressed. “I didn’t know that.”

  Edie laughed. “It’s not usually the first thing I mention to people,” she said. Then she turned back to Leah. “But seriously, my family still has some influence over scholarship awards and stuff like that. So even if things don’t get worked out for your family by next semester, at least maybe you’ll be able to stay at school.”

  Nina held her breath, afraid that Leah might get snippy about the new girl’s offer. But Leah just nodded.

  “Thanks, Edie,” she said. “I’ll let you know. By the way, sorry I haven’t been more, you know, welcoming or whatever. I’m sure Nina has heard it all already, but I heard you’ve lived in some pretty cool places. Will you tell us about them on the drive up to the Expo?”

  “Sure,” Edie said, and Nina let out the breath she was holding. Okay, so it was obvious that Leah was ready to change the subject. But she’d done it in a pretty cool way. That just reminded Nina why she’d been so eager to help Leah. She really was a great person—just like all her friends, new and old.

  Just then she noticed that her father and Leah’s dad were emerging from the house. Both men looked cheerful, and they shook hands again before coming down the porch steps. Nina smiled, glad that she’d taken the risk of helping Leah—even if she hadn’t thought she wanted the help.

  “So let’s hop in this great white whale and get going, then,” she exclaimed, ready to put all that behind her and move on. “It’s time to have some fun!”

  Ten minutes later they were on their way. Nina had decided to tease her father by sitting with her friends in the very last row of seats, saying that if he wanted to drive a bus, he should feel like a bus driver. Because of that, it was hard to see where they were going.

  Edie had just finished another tale of overseas life when Jordan leaned forward to peer out the window. “Hey, are you lost, Mr. P?” she exclaimed. “We’re going the totally wrong direction!”

  Nina leaned forward herself and saw that her friend was right. “Did you have to go around construction or something?” she guessed.

  “Something like that,” her father replied.

  Leah pushed Nina aside to get a look. “Wait, isn’t this the road to Metairie? You went the wrong way, Mr. Peralt!”

  “Did I?” Nina’s father glanced at the three girls in the rearview, looking amused.

  “Yes!” Nina exclaimed. “Fair Grounds Race Course is back that way!” She jabbed a thumb toward the rear window, wondering if her father had suddenly gone nuts.

  “Oh right.” Her father nodded. “I guess I forgot to tell you girls we have another stop to make on the way.”

  “Another stop?” Jordan wrinkled her nose. “Where?”

  “The airport.”

  “The airport?” Nina echoed, more confused than ever.

  “That’s right.” Her father smiled at her in the rearview. “We’ve got to pick up a few other guests who are coming to the Expo.”

  Nina traded a mystified look with her friends. “Other guests? Who?” she asked.

  “Hmm. Well, there are three of them,” her father said. “I believe their names are Maddie, Haley, and Brooke.”

  CHAPTER

  12

  NINA WAS SO stunned that she couldn’t respond for a moment. She blinked when Jordan poked her in the arm.

  “What’s he talking a
bout, Neens?” she asked. “Aren’t those your imaginary friends?”

  “Y-yeah,” Nina stammered. She undid her seat belt and crawled up to the front passenger seat. Her father kept his eyes on the road, grinning broadly.

  “Buckle up, Boo,” he said. “Safety first.”

  Nina clicked on the shoulder belt. “You’re kidding, right?” she said. “You just took a wrong turn and you’re kidding . . . right?”

  “Nope.” Her father shot her a look. “This is part of your birthday gift, kiddo. Your mother and I set it up weeks ago.”

  “You mean they’re really . . .” Nina couldn’t finish.

  “What’s going on?” Jordan called from the back.

  Nina ignored her. “They’re really coming?” she demanded.

  “Uh-huh. Maddie and Haley are arriving soon on a flight from Chicago—Maddie transferred planes there so they could ride part of the way together,” her father explained. “Brooke’s plane from Baltimore was due in a few minutes before theirs—she’s probably already waiting for us.”

  Nina’s jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh!” she blurted out. “Dad, this is amazing! You’re amazing! I so want to hug you to death right now—”

  “But you probably shouldn’t,” her father advised. “I’ll take a rain check for sometime when I’m not hurtling down the highway at sixty, okay?”

  “Yeah.” Nina grinned and blew him a kiss instead. Then she climbed back to rejoin her friends, practically bubbling over with excitement. It took her a few minutes to speak coherently enough to explain what was going on. But once the others understood, they were as amazed as she was by the big surprise.

  “I can’t believe your parents kept this a secret all this time,” Leah said admiringly.

  “I know, right?” Nina grinned, bouncing up and down in her seat. “And the others Pony Posters kept the secret, too!” Suddenly it dawned on her what that meant. “Oh! No wonder they didn’t want to talk about the Expo!”

  “Huh?” Edie said.

  “Never mind.” But Nina smiled as it all started to make sense. Her friends hadn’t been envious when she’d told them about the Expo. They’d been afraid of spilling the secret that they were coming too! No wonder they’d all just avoided the topic altogether. . . .

  The rest of the drive to the airport seemed to take forever. By the time they found a parking spot for the van and headed inside, Nina’s heart was pounding so hard she was afraid it might burst out of her chest.

  She scanned the crowds wandering around the arrivals area, wondering if she’d recognize the Pony Posters from their photos. Was that girl over there with the ponytail Haley, or just someone who looked a little like her?

  While she was peering at the ponytail girl, she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Nina?”

  Spinning around, Nina saw Haley, Maddie, and Brooke smiling at her, their faces as familiar as if she saw them every day. “You’re here!” she blurted out. “Oh wow, you guys are really here!”

  Haley giggled. “We’re here!”

  The next few seconds passed in a thrilling, confusing, almost overwhelming chaos of hugs and exclamations and introductions. Leah, Jordan, and Edie took it all in stride, grabbing the visitors’ bags to help carry them to the van.

  “Ready to get moving, girls?” Nina’s father broke in at last. “The Expo’s already started, you know.”

  “Sure!” Nina smiled at him. “I can’t believe you and Mom pulled this off! This is the best birthday gift ever.”

  “Definitely,” Maddie declared.

  “Yeah,” Haley said, while Brooke just nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

  Nina still couldn’t quite believe they were really here. Maddie was just as vibrant and likable in person as she was online or on the phone, laughing and talking almost nonstop. Brooke was much quieter, but with a gentle confidence that matched what Nina knew of her from online. Haley was as bubbly and straightforward as Nina would have expected, with a quick, contagious laugh.

  Soon they were all climbing into the van. Nina’s three local friends took the back seat, leaving the other two rows for Nina and the visitors. Nina sat right behind her father, with Brooke beside her. Maddie and Haley took the middle row.

  “Okay, driver.” Maddie clapped her hands as Mr. Peralt climbed into the driver’s seat. “To the Expo, if you please!”

  That made everyone laugh, including Nina’s father. “As you wish,” he said, starting the engine.

  As they pulled out of the parking area, there was a moment of slightly awkward silence. Then Haley cleared her throat.

  “So,” she said. “Were you surprised, Nina?”

  “Was I ever!” Nina exclaimed, and just like that, the awkwardness was gone for good. The four of them started chattering again, updating one another on their lives and ponies.

  “This is so amazing,” Haley said, leaning forward to peer out as they exited from the highway onto the city streets. “New Orleans is definitely different from Wisconsin!”

  “It’s different from Maryland, too,” Brooke said. “I can’t believe we’re really here! When Mrs. Peralt called, I was afraid my mom and stepdad would say I couldn’t come.”

  “Tell me about it,” Maddie said with feeling. “It didn’t help that they called my parents the same day I got a B-minus on my social studies test.”

  Nina laughed. “But they said yes.” She leaned forward and squeezed her father’s arm. “I can’t believe I never even suspected a thing. You and Mom are pretty sly!”

  “Don’t you forget it,” her father joked. “But it wasn’t easy to keep it a secret, I’ll tell you.”

  Brooke nodded. “For us, either. Especially when you kept posting about the Expo!”

  “Yeah.” Nina didn’t bother to tell them how upset she’d been when they’d ignored those posts. It didn’t matter now—it had all been for a good cause.

  They were still chattering nonstop when the van reached the racetrack where the Expo was being held. “Wow, it’s amazing how much imaginary friends can talk,” Jordan joked.

  Brooke gasped. “Imaginary friends?” she echoed. “That’s what my friend Adam calls the other Pony Posters.”

  “Us too,” Jordan said, hooking a thumb in Leah’s direction. Then she grinned. “No offense.”

  “None taken,” Maddie said with a laugh. “And can you blame us for talking a lot? We’ve been friends for like two years, and this is the first time we’ve actually met in person!”

  “Okay, that sounds like a good excuse,” Leah said with a smirk. “But I’m thinking some of you might talk almost as much as Nina here does even without a special occasion to blame.” She waggled her eyebrows in Maddie’s general direction.

  Nina laughed as Maddie pretended to be offended. She couldn’t maintain it for long, though, and finally confessed that Leah was exactly right.

  They all climbed out of the van and headed inside. Nina noticed that Jordan, Leah, and Edie were walking together, leaving the four Pony Posters to continue catching up. She felt a flash of gratitude for her awesome local friends. She was also glad to notice that Leah and Edie really seemed to be hitting it off now that Leah was actually talking to people again. That was good. Leah would need all the friends she could get to help her through this difficult time.

  Nina forgot about that as they entered the Expo and took a look around.

  “Wow!” Haley exclaimed. “All this—all about horses!”

  That just about summed it up. For the next few hours, they stayed busy rushing around from one amazing thing to another. They started out by wandering through aisles of merchandise for sale, all of it equine oriented. Edie bought a new riding helmet at one stand, Maddie splurged on a cute set of glitter pink polo wraps for Cloudy at another, and all the girls spent a few minutes trying on cowboy hats at yet another.

  Then Brooke checked the program and suggested they watch a clinic on bombproofing your horse or pony. That was so interesting that they all pored over the schedule, deciding to see a gaited ho
rse demonstration and then a jumping clinic. In between, they got distracted by a parade of huge, gorgeous Friesian horses with flowing manes and tails. When they followed the Friesians away from the main area, they discovered several rows of horses and ponies housed in collapsible stalls with signs on the doors giving their names, breeds, and other information. They were able to pat a friendly Arabian, a regal-looking Saddlebred, and several adorable ponies of various breeds.

  “Too bad there are no Chincoteague ponies here,” Haley commented as she stroked the nose of a stout chestnut American quarter horse.

  The horse’s owner, a mustached man in a cowboy hat, heard her and looked over. “Chincoteague ponies, eh?” he said in a thick southern drawl. “Now that would be something! Don’t think there are many of those down here in Louisiana, though.”

  “Sure there are,” Maddie said. “Nina has one—he lives right in the middle of New Orleans!”

  The man looked surprised. Pushing back his hat, he scratched his head. “Is that right, now? Maybe you should bring your pony to the Expo next year!”

  “Maybe I should.” Nina smiled at the other Pony Posters. “And maybe my friends can all bring theirs, too!”

  Hours later, the Expo was over, and the girls were exhausted. But not too exhausted to go to dinner. As one final surprise, Nina’s parents had rented out the big back room at one of their favorite local restaurants. Leah, Jordan, and Edie came, and Trinity and several other friends showed up. Many of Nina’s relatives were there, too—before she knew it, her cousin Kim was discussing dance with Brooke, who it turned out had taken some classes as a little girl. And Maddie was telling Aunt Iris and Uncle Michael all about life in the California wine country, where they were planning to visit for their next anniversary. DeeDee looked surprised to see Leah, but when Nina filled her in on what had happened, her cousin went over to introduce herself properly. Everywhere Nina looked she saw people she adored having fun and enjoying one another. What could be better than that?