by Chloe Taylor
“He seems shy about her,” Zoey said. “Or maybe she’s shy.”
“But they’ve been dating for a while,” Marcus argued. “And it’s not like we’re that scary. Okay, maybe you are, but I’m not.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Zoey said. “To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure I want to meet her now. Between Priti’s parents getting divorced, and you and Allie breaking up, and now Kate and Tyler not being together, I don’t think I can handle any more relationship drama in my life. Especially when it’s grown-up, affecting-me-personally drama.”
“But . . . she seems to make Dad so happy,” Marcus observed.
Thinking about it, Zoey realized that Marcus had a point. Since Dad had been dating the Mystery Lady, he was more cheerful, smiling when he thought no one was watching. He certainly seemed to be paying more attention to what he was wearing!
“I think this is the real deal,” Marcus continued. “And just in case Dad is worried we’d be freaked out about him being involved with someone other than Mom, we should tell him we’ll be fine with him being in a serious relationship that makes him happy.”
“I guess,” Zoey said.
But deep down, she wondered if she was okay with it. Of course, she wanted her dad to be happy. But was she ready for a stepmom?
As was her habit, as soon as she’d finished her after-school snack, Zoey checked her blog and her e-mail. One name stood out in her in-box—DAPHNE SHAW!
Dear Zoey,
I hope school—and all your exciting sewing projects—are going well. I’ve got a proposition for you that I hope you’ll find exciting, too!
I’m doing a pop-up store at a major department store in New York City—and this one will have a tween focus—inspired by you! I’ve had so much fun making pieces for you and your friend Libby, so this is a way to test the idea of a new Daphne Shaw tween line in a limited way.
The department store is already onboard—especially after the success they had with Cecily Chen’s tween line not long ago. Since you and Sew Zoey are my inspiration, I had this great idea, and I hope you like it: I’d love to feature one of your pieces in the pop-up shop. What better place to spotlight an actual tween designer’s work than in a designer’s tween fashion line pop-up shop?
What do you think? If you’re interested, I’d need you to express mail me a box with a few sample pieces you can produce in multiple sizes, right away (I’ll give our account number to your dad so he can arrange the shipping)—so I can select which one will work best alongside my own collection. I hope you are as excited about this as I am!
Let me know!
Daphne
Zoey had to read the e-mail twice before she believed it. It was too good to be true—except after reading the e-mail for a third time, just to be extra especially sure, Zoey knew it was!
She e-mailed Daphne back right away and said that she was definitely interested, and she’d get together the pieces to send to her as soon as possible.
The news made it hard to concentrate on doing homework, because she kept imagining seeing one of her designs on display in a New York department store!
After finally finishing her work, she paged through her sketchbook, trying to figure out which designs might work. Nothing seemed quite special enough to be next to Daphne’s own designs.
“Marcus! Zoey! Dinner’s on the table!” Dad called from downstairs.
Zoey had been so involved in her design deliberations, she hadn’t even realized she was hungry. But now that Dad said dinner was on the table, she heard the growls coming from her stomach.
She headed down to the kitchen, where her father was removing a delicious-smelling lasagna from the oven.
“Yum,” Zoey said. “That smells awesome. Did you make it?”
“No, I bought it at Paola’s,” Dad said. “I had a busy day.”
“Paola’s lasagna?” Marcus said, walking into the kitchen and slouching into a chair. “Sweet!”
After they all had served themselves generous portions and tasted a few scrumptious bites, Zoey told her father and Marcus about Daphne’s exciting e-mail.
“I know I’ve said this before, Zo, but you are so fortunate to have a mentor like Daphne Shaw,” Dad said. “This sounds like an incredible opportunity.”
Marcus nodded and gave Zoey a pointed look. “Speaking of opportunities . . .” he said. “Zoey? Is this a good time?”
Zoey knew he was trying to say he wanted to ask their dad about the Mystery Lady, but she wasn’t ready to do it. She glared back at Marcus.
“Uh, kids? What’s going on?” Dad asked. “You’ve obviously got something on your minds. Are you trying to plan some kind of surprise?”
“Not exactly,” Zoey said. “It’s more like you are.”
Dad looked even more puzzled.
“I am?” he said. “That’s news to me.”
Zoey looked over at Marcus and gave him a C’mon, it’s your turn! look.
But Marcus seemed to be having second thoughts, too. Maybe he was remembering how private their dad was about his dating life—except for when he occasionally asked Zoey for fashion advice.
Dad looked from Marcus to Zoey and back to Marcus. “Okay, kids,” he said. “Spit it out. What’s on your minds?”
Zoey looked down at her lap. This whole thing was Marcus’s idea. No way was she going to be the one to speak up!
“Well, Dad . . . The thing is . . . Zoey and I are both mature. . . . Well, I am, and Zoey kind of is . . . .”
“I’m just as mature as you are!” Zoey protested.
“Let’s stipulate that you’re both mature,” Dad said to head off any argument. “So . . .”
“So, we think it’s time we meet this person you’re spending so much time with,” Marcus said. “I mean, we’re mature enough to know she might not be The One, or whatever, but it just seems strange you’ve been seeing her so much without introducing us.”
Zoey expected Dad to say, “Sure, I’ll invite her over this weekend!” but to her surprise, his brow furrowed and he looked nervous.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not sure if she’s ready to meet you guys yet.”
“We promise we won’t bite,” Zoey said.
Dad laughed. “She knows that,” he said. “And I promise to talk to her about meeting you, okay?”
“Okay,” Zoey said.
But Marcus wasn’t so easily satisfied. “When you say she isn’t ready to meet us, is that because she doesn’t like that you have kids?” he asked. “Or that she doesn’t like kids at all?”
Zoey hadn’t even thought of that. She couldn’t imagine her dad going out with anyone who didn’t like kids!
Dad burst out laughing.
“Marcus, I promise you—nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “Once you meet her, you’ll understand.” Suddenly more serious, he said, “I’ll talk to her. It’ll be as soon as she feels comfortable doing it. Hopefully, it won’t be too long now.”
Zoey wondered how long “too long now” would be. Marcus apparently wondered the same thing, because after dinner he came into her room and sat on the end of her bed.
“Wasn’t that the weirdest convo with Dad we’ve ever had?” he asked.
“If it wasn’t the weirdest, it was definitely a contender for weirdest,” Zoey agreed.
“He’s being so cryptic about the Mystery Lady,” Marcus complained. “ ‘Once you meet her, you’ll understand.’ ”
“I know, right?” Zoey exclaimed. “But then he won’t say when we get to meet her!”
“Which only makes me want to meet her even more,” Marcus said.
“Maybe that’s the plan!” Zoey said. Then she thought about it. “No, that’s not Dad’s style.”
“No, definitely not Dad’s style,” Marcus agreed.
“I’m more curious about her than ever,” Zoey said. “Soon can’t come soon enough!”
“You’ll never guess what happened!” Zoey told Priti in industrial arts th
e next day.
“Should I try, or are you just going to tell me?” Priti asked.
“I’ll just tell you because it’s too awesome to make you guess,” Zoey said. “Daphne Shaw is doing a pop-up store in a Manhattan department store for a new tween line, and she wants to feature one of my pieces, since I was one of her inspirations!” Zoey gasped for air after rattling off her good news in one breath.
“For real?” Priti exclaimed.
“Yep!” Zoey said, a big grin lighting her face. “But I can hardly believe it!”
“That is so awesome!” Priti said. “Do you, like, get to go to the opening and be photographed by paparazzi and all that stuff?”
“I don’t know,” Zoey said. “I hadn’t even thought about that kind of thing. I was just excited that she asked me to be part of it!”
Ivy, who’d overhead Zoey telling Priti, smiled in an unexpectedly friendly way. “Zoey, that’s really amazing. I’m happy for you,” Ivy told her.
Even though Ivy had been nicer to her since the reversal in her family fortunes, Zoey was still surprised that Ivy seemed genuinely pleased to hear of her good news.
“Thanks, Ivy. I’m really excited.”
“When does the pop-up shop open?” Ivy asked.
“I’m not sure,” Zoey said. “I just have to get Daphne some samples quickly, so she can decide which design will work best with her collection.”
“Good luck!” Ivy said, before walking away to go use the table saw.
Priti elbowed Zoey. “What’s got into Ivy all of a sudden? Why is she being nice to you?”
Zoey hesitated. She’d promised Ivy that she wouldn’t tell anyone about seeing her and her mom picking up supplies at the food pantry, because Ivy’s father had lost his job and they’d been struggling financially. But how else could she explain to Priti why Ivy had suddenly developed some compassion for others?
“I don’t know,” she said. “People change, I guess.”
Priti gave her a sideways look.
“We’re talking about Ivy Wallace, your supreme nemesis!” she said. “I don’t trust this sudden transformation into Nice Ivy. Be careful, that’s all I’m saying.”
Zoey wasn’t sure she trusted it either, but knowing what she knew, she felt like she wanted to give Ivy the benefit of the doubt.
“I will,” she promised Priti. “I will.”
CHAPTER 4
Lock and Key
I’ve got some potentially very exciting news that I can’t share yet—but keep your fingers crossed. Sorry to have to keep it under lock and key—the inspiration for today’s designs—but I don’t want to jinx anything. Mine’s not the only mystery around here. I can’t tell you much more about that, either, but I know exactly how you feel about being kept in the dark! Maybe if I wasn’t so busy with everything else, I’d do a little detective work, like Sherlock Holmes would. I could wear this cute dress and necklace as I went around hunting for clues.
“There’s a letter for you,” Marcus told Zoey when she got home from school. “It’s on the counter.”
The envelope had “Mapleton Gift Fair” as the return address. Zoey dropped her backpack and ripped open the letter, excited to see if she’d been accepted into the fair.
Dear Ms. Webber,
Thank you for your application to the Mapleton Gift Fair. While we found your designs charming, we haven’t had the greatest success with clothing vendors in the past, because of the lack of dressing room facilities and because clothes are harder to buy as gifts than other items. Therefore, we’ve made the decision to cut back on clothing vendors and are sorry we cannot offer you a booth at this year’s gift fair.
Sincerely,
Mapleton Gift Fair Planning Committee
Zoey’s heart sank. She’d been counting on getting a booth. Allie had made it sound like it was almost a sure thing. Plus, she’d already told Ezra about it, and he’d been so excited for her. Now, she was going to have to tell him that it wasn’t happening after all. That would teach her to jinx things by talking about them before they were a done deal!
Maybe she should have submitted accessories instead of clothes, Zoey thought. Except that would have put her directly in competition with Allie, and that didn’t seem right given that Allie was the one who recommended she apply for a booth. It wouldn’t be very considerate. But then Allie hadn’t been especially considerate of her feelings lately, had she?
Zoey sighed.
“What’s the matter?” Marcus asked. “You’re looking pretty glum all of a sudden.”
“I didn’t get accepted for the gift fair.” Zoey sighed again.
“What!” Marcus exclaimed. “Why not?”
“They’re cutting back on clothing vendors, because clothes don’t sell as well as other items,” Zoey said.
“That stinks,” Marcus said. “Haven’t you made a whole bunch of stuff for the fair already?”
“I have.” Zoey sighed a third time. “And now it’s all going to go to waste, unless . . . Wait! I know!”
Marcus stared at her, taking in the sudden transformation of her face from discouraged to cheerful.
“Why do I sense that you’ve had a sudden brainstorm?” he said.
“Because I have!” Zoey laughed. “I found the silver lining. Since I already like the pieces I made for the gift fair, and they’re relatively simple to make in different sizes, they’ll be perfect for Daphne Shaw’s pop-up shop. Can you drive me to FedEx? I just need a few minutes to pack a box to send.”
“If it helps turn your frown upside down, sure!” Marcus said. “Hey, by the way, did you see the other thing that came in the mail?”
“What?” Zoey asked.
“We got the invitation to Aunt Lulu’s baby shower. And it’s addressed to you, me, Dad, and ‘guest.’ ”
“Wow—so . . . do you think the Mystery Lady is going to come?” Zoey asked. “Will we finally get to meet her?”
“That’s what I plan to ask Dad tonight,” Marcus said.
When they posed the baby shower question to their father over dinner, he looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“Look, kids, I talked to her about meeting you, and she’s just not ready,” Dad said. “So she’s not coming to the baby shower.”
Marcus looked mutinous. “I just don’t get it, Dad. What does she have against us?”
“I promise you, she has nothing against you,” Dad said. “You’ll understand when you meet her, I promise.”
But Zoey and Marcus weren’t so easily convinced. After dinner, Marcus joined Zoey in her room to complain about the situation.
“I’m starting to think there’s something weird about this lady,” he said. “Why else would she be so afraid of meeting us?”
“I know! We’re not that scary,” Zoey said. “Well, maybe you are, but I’m not!”
“I’m not sure I want things to work out between them anymore,” Marcus said. “I’m worried that she’s strange or cold or something.”
“Me too,” Zoey said. “Except . . . Dad still seems really happy every time he gets back from a date with her. So . . . there’s that.”
Marcus sighed. “Yeah, there’s that. And it’s a pretty big that.”
“I guess we have to be patient, like Dad says,” Zoey said.
“True,” Marcus agreed. “But that doesn’t mean we have to like it!”
Later that evening, Aunt Lulu called to speak to Zoey.
“Did you get the invitation to the baby shower?” her aunt asked.
“Yes,” Zoey said. “It’s really cute.”
“Zo, I need your help. I’ve been looking for a simple, but cute, outfit to wear for the shower, but everything I’ve seen and tried on so far just makes me look big and dowdy,” Aunt Lulu complained. “Can you rescue me from mom-to-be madness and design me something stylish?”
“I guess . . . ,” Zoey said. “I mean, I’ll try. It’s just . . . I have no idea how to make maternity clothes. I’m not sure how much room I’m supposed
to leave for the bump.”
“I don’t want you to stress about it,” Aunt Lulu said. “I’ll buy another dress as backup, just in case. But I love your designs, and I trust you to create something that won’t make me feel frumpy.”
“I can’t imagine you ever looking frumpy!” Zoey told her aunt. “You always look fashionable to me.”
Aunt Lulu laughed.
“Just another reason why I love you, Zo,” she said. “I guess I just feel frumpy because I’m not used to having a bump!”
“Don’t worry, Aunt Lulu,” Zoey said. “I’ll make you something that you will feel good wearing . . . or at least I’ll try.”
“I know,” Aunt Lulu said. “I’m sure I’ll love whatever you make.”
Saturday dawned crisp and cool, with a sunny blue sky—perfect weather for a visit to the state fair on a date. Zoey put on her overalls-minidress and gingham shirt and a pair of comfortable sneakers, because Ezra warned her there would be a lot of walking!
“Are you looking forward to your rustic adventure?” Dad asked. “You look prepared . . . and lovely.”
“I think so,” Zoey said, smiling at her dad’s compliment.
“Make sure you have some fried Oreos,” Marcus said. “They’re awesome.”
“Everything tastes good fried,” Dad said. “The problem is it’s not healthy!”
“Everything?” Zoey asked. “Even . . . broccoli rabe? It’s so bitter!”
“I bet if I put on a thick coating of breading and deep fried some broccoli rabe, even Zoey would eat them,” Dad said.
Marcus laughed. “Now, that I’d like to see!”
“Blegh,” Zoey said, sticking out her tongue. “No, thanks.”
Just then the doorbell rang.
“Sounds like your date is here,” Dad said.
“Be normal. Don’t be embarrassing,” Zoey said.
“Embarrassing? Who, us?” Marcus joked.
Zoey glared at him as she went to open the door for Ezra.
“Hi, Zoey!” he said, looking really cute in a gingham shirt, and jeans. Then he noticed her outfit and grinned. “Great taste in shirts!”