Rocky Road Ahead

by Coco Simon

  “Well, then what?”

  “We just keep an eye on him, give him more medicine, have him rest . . .”

  “Until when?”

  “Um, until he’s better. Or we can take him to the walk-in clinic.”

  “Like, tomorrow?” I asked, almost not daring to entertain the idea.

  “Yes.”

  “What about . . . Yay Gourmet?” I whispered.

  My mom sighed. “One of us will have to stay home with him.”

  “Me,” I said flatly.

  “Let’s just cross that bridge if we come to it, okay?”

  “Right,” I said. “Okay, bye.” Then I put down the phone.

  I texted my friends the news, and they were appropriately horrified, offering to stay with Tanner themselves so that I could be at the store for Yay Gourmet.

  Thanks, I replied. Let’s cross that bridge if we come to it, I said, quoting my mom.

  CHAPTER NINE

  HEATING UP

  I watched the whole fever cycle unfold. Tanner was peppy, then Tanner was quiet, then Tanner’s cheeks were red again, then Tanner fell asleep. Tanner’s temperature was back up to 103.

  My mom had Rashid call Daphne to come help at the store, and then she canceled her plans for her girls’ night out and came home. She rushed into Tanner’s room and knelt down by the sofa, feeling his forehead and kissing him. She looked at me with worried eyes.

  “He’s sick. I think I’d better cancel tomorrow,” she said.

  “Mom! No! You can’t!”

  She sighed and leaned back on her heels. “But if he’s not better tomorrow, I’ve got to take him to the doctor, and then one of us needs to stay home with him.”

  “I can,” I said, even though it nearly killed me to spit out the bitter words.

  She shook her head. “You’re as much a part of Molly’s as I am. You need to be there.”

  “Why don’t you just ask Dad to come home from his trip?” I said.

  She pursed her lips in a line and looked to the side, thinking. “I really don’t want to do that,” she said.

  “Mom! It’s an emergency!”

  She took a deep breath. “Fine. You know what? I will. It can’t hurt to ask, right?”

  “Right!” I encouraged her. I followed my mom out to the hall and sat on the stairs just below her while she called my dad. I leaned my head against her knees as she spoke quietly to him, and I sat there feeling grateful that my parents got along better than ever now that they were divorced. They really seemed like friends. Kinda funny.

  After a bit she hung up and sighed again.

  “So?” I asked.

  “He’s going to try to get on the next flight home.”

  “Awesome!”

  “He’s not sure he’ll be able to, though.”

  “Oh.”

  We sat quietly on the stairs for a few minutes, my mom playing with my hair. It was relaxing. Then she stood up. “I’m going to warm up some soup for us all, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  We walked downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Allie?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re a great kid. What would I do without you?” She gave me an enormous hug. Then she pulled away and held my shoulders with her hands as she looked at me. “I’m sorry that I give you so much responsibility. I know it seems like I’m not totally in control sometimes, like with the Yay Gourmet thing, or at home, but . . . this co-parenting is a work in progress. And I think I get the important stuff right, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Thanks to you and Tanner,” she said, hugging me again. “Look. It’s not that we can prevent things from going wrong in life. That’s just not possible. What matters is how we handle them when they do. Right?”

  “Right.”

  We turned in early, my mom sleeping in Tanner’s extra bed so that she could keep an eye on him. Before I got into my pj’s, I laid out my outfit for tomorrow just in case. I felt exhausted, but I couldn’t fall asleep right away. I knew it wasn’t Tanner’s fault that he had a fever. It wasn’t my dad’s fault that he had a business trip, either. But I had worked so hard preparing for the Yay Gourmet interview, and just thinking about missing it made tears spring to my eyes.

  I woke up the next morning when my alarm went off at seven thirty. I hit snooze, and it went off again, what felt like only seconds later. I had slept so soundly through the night that I was disoriented when I woke up. I thought I was still dreaming because I could hear my parents talking in the kitchen downstairs.

  Suddenly I sat bolt upright in my bed.

  “Dad?” I called.

  The voices downstairs stopped.

  I realized Tanner might still be sleeping, so I flung off my covers and quickly tiptoed out of my room and down the stairs. As I turned the corner, I saw my dad in a suit sitting at the counter drinking coffee.

  “Daddy!” I squealed. I couldn’t help it. I burst into tears and ran into his arms. He hugged me tightly and patted my back and didn’t let go.

  “I was so scared,” I wailed into his shoulder.

  “Shh. It’s okay. Mom and I are here. Everything’s fine.” He kept patting my back and hushing me. “It’s all right.”

  “I was so worried,” I told him. “I didn’t think you were going to get here in time.”

  My dad smiled down at me. “I know how important this is to your mom . . . and to you,” he said. “And when something is important to you, I will always do everything in my power to help.”

  I gave him an extra hard squeeze.

  Then there was another voice in the doorway.

  “Dad?”

  It was Tanner, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as my mom would have said.

  “Hey, buddy!” said my dad, holding out an arm so that Tanner could join us.

  Tanner scrambled onto my dad’s lap and nestled in.

  My mom was watching us wistfully from the other side of the kitchen island.

  “Come on, Mom,” said my dad.

  And my mom didn’t even hesitate. She came right around the island, and we had a big family hug, just like we used to. It felt amazing.

  “We’re still a family,” said my dad.

  I was so happy, but it made me want to cry harder, and I could not have puffy eyes for the photo shoot!

  I pulled away and went to wash my face in the kitchen sink. “Mom! We have to get going! The cleaners and the window washers!” I said.

  “I already let them in,” she said.

  “You did? What time?”

  “Six?” she said, squinting at the clock.

  “Wow. Good job, Mom.”

  “Allie! I’m pretty competent! As much as I appreciate your help, I can survive without you bossing me.” She laughed.

  “Yes, but everything would not go as smoothly,” I said.

  She laughed again. “Maybe not. But maybe they’d just go differently.”

  “Okay, gang. Time to get this show on the road, I think,” said my dad.

  “Showers,” said my mom.

  “I go first!” said Tanner.

  “Mom!” I complained.

  “Hey,” Dad said to Tanner. “You and I are going to Molly’s later. Let’s let the ladies get ready first, since they have to be there early to work. You and I are just going as customers, so we don’t have to look fancy. Okay?”

  “What do you mean?” Tanner asked.

  “I mean we’re just there to eat ice cream, so we don’t have to be early or get dressed up! We can hang out here!” Dad replied.

  “And play video games?” asked Tanner hopefully.

  “You betcha!” said my dad.

  “Yessss!” said Tanner, pumping his fist. “This is the best day ever!”

  My mom and I rolled our eyes at each other. We hated video games, and Tanner was always begging us to play with him.

  “Just one more temperature, baby,” said my mom to Tanner. When the thermometer beeped, we all leaned in to read it.

  �
��One hundred. Much better!” said my mom.

  “On the mend!” said my dad.

  “Let’s go!” I said, and dashed up the stairs. We were meeting Tamiko and Sierra at the Salon on the Square for our hair and makeup (we’d realized that would be easier than having my mom’s friend Annie lug all her gear over to Molly’s), and we didn’t have time to spare.

  When Annie was finished, our blowouts looked amazing, and in our dresses we all looked like we were going to a party. The makeup consisted of clear mascara and clear lip gloss that Annie let us take with us so that we could “freshen up between takes,” whatever that meant.

  Now, as calm as my mom had been leading up to this day, it was as if she had reserved all her panic for the last minute. She ran around the store like a crazy person once we got there, arranging flowers she’d bought, wiping up tables that were already clean, fussing with the toilet paper in the bathroom.

  “Mom, I don’t think Yay Gourmet is coming to photograph the bathroom!” I called after her.

  She popped her head back out and laughed. “I know, but you can tell so much about a place by how clean its bathroom is!”

  Soon we opened for business, and right then the reporter and photographer arrived.

  The reporter, Maryann, was a petite woman with tiny dreadlocks. The photographer, Anita, was a taller lady with lots of scarves on, including one wrapped in a turban around her head. They were both super-nice, but we were all really, really nervous.

  My mom showed Maryann around the store while Anita started testing all the lights, flipping them on and off.

  “I feel like we’re at a disco party,” said Tamiko quietly.

  We giggled nervously.

  Anita said, “I’m just going to get some lighting equipment from my van up the street. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll help you!” offered Tamiko, and she came out from behind the counter.

  “Thank you so much! Why, aren’t you the cutest thing?”

  “Yes, I am the cutest thing,” joked Tamiko, all fake-modestly.

  Anita threw her head back and let out a giant laugh, and then those two were best friends for the rest of the day.

  Tamiko was really interested in photography, so she was actually very into helping Anita. When they came back a little later with a bunch of reflectors and a floor light, they were chatting away. Anita was explaining lighting basics to Tamiko, and Tamiko was asking tons of questions.

  “Looks like she’s in her happy place,” said Sierra, gesturing at Tamiko.

  “Totally,” I agreed.

  Maryann and my mom had finished the tour and were chatting quietly at one of the tables. By now it was eleven o’clock and customers were starting to trickle in. I wished more people would come so that Anita and Maryann could see how popular we were!

  The girls and I scooped and rang, and Anita shot candid photos of us while we worked. We all tried to look as good as possible, scooping with smiles on our faces, the headbands I handed out perfectly in place, and making each ice cream order a work of art. Anita snapped away.

  The bell started to jingle more frequently as the early-lunch crowd of mostly little kids and their parents began to arrive. Tanner and my dad came by, and Anita got some shots of Tanner eating a cone as big as his head, and some with my parents and me too. Now the door was jingling and the register was ringing sales, and Maryann had joined us behind the counter to “get a feel for it all.”

  I called out to Sierra to ring up an order. Sierra, Cookies and C—”

  “Colin!” she whispered.

  “No, Cream!” I said, confused. “Cookies and Cream.”

  “No! Colin’s here!”

  What? I turned and saw him walking through the door with some friends. Guy friends. I searched for any sign of Tessa, but I didn’t see her. Phew!

  He saw me and smiled and came right up to the counter. “Hey!” he said.

  “Hey!” I said. “Thanks for coming!”

  “Wouldn’t have missed it for the world! I know how important this is for you—and for Molly’s! And I am your number one customer, after all. Is that them?” he asked quietly, jutting his chin slightly toward Maryann and Anita, who were speaking with my mom.

  I looked and then turned back to him. “Yup.”

  “Nice?” he asked.

  “Very,” I said.

  “Good. Can I order something, please?”

  “What’ll it be? No flower flavors, I know,” I whispered with a smile.

  “Shh!” he joked. “Hmmm.” Colin scanned the menu. “I’ll have . . . the Banana Pudding shake, please.”

  “Wait! What about Cereal Milk? I thought that was your favorite?”

  “Really? Did I say that? That must’ve been my favorite last week. Now I’m into Banana Pudding.”

  “Huh,” I said. “Me too.”

  I made his shake, set it to mix, and then went back to chat with him at the counter.

  “Listen, I owe you an apology,” he said. “I forgot to say it when I saw you the other day.”

  “What for?” I asked.

  “I wasn’t very supportive of your idea at the last newspaper meeting. I didn’t treat you nicely, like a real friend, and I felt terrible afterward. I . . . Oh gosh.” He put his hand over his eyes. “I actually didn’t forget to apologize the other day, as a matter of fact. I just . . . We hadn’t seen each other for a bit, and then we were having such a nice time again that I didn’t want to bring it up in case you’d get mad.”

  I was quiet for a second as I decided what to say. Part of me wanted to just laugh it off and act like it hadn’t been a big deal. But that would have dishonored our friendship and his kind apology. He had read the situation right. I had been hurt by what he’d said in the meeting. Now he was making up for it.

  “I accept your apology,” I said.

  Colin smiled. “Thanks. Sometimes I feel like I have to sort of show off for the editor in chief in meetings, now that I’m the assistant editor. Like, I have to act like I know what I’m doing. And sometimes I don’t do it right.”

  “It’s okay. Anyway, I owe you an apology too.”

  “Why?”

  I took a deep breath. “I was really weird when I ran into you and Tessa last week.”

  “Yeah! You were really weird. What was up with that?”

  I sighed. “I just . . . felt left out. Like you and I are supposed to be friends, and then there you were with some friend I don’t even know, and she seems to know you better than I do, even, and . . . I felt awkward or . . . jealous or something.” I looked away.

  “Oh,” said Colin. “Well, you were weird, but I wasn’t upset. I don’t even know Tessa that well. We just take tennis at the same place, and our moms organized for us to take the bus home together since we live in the same neighborhood. I think my friend Patrick actually has a crush on her.”

  “Really?” My knees felt weak with relief. I felt so silly. Why had I worried and assumed that Colin and Tessa were a couple?

  “Yeah, so—” Colin was saying.

  Suddenly there was a crash. I turned to see a unicorn sundae splattered all over the floor, all over a customer, all over the front of the ice cream freezer.

  “Oh no!” I breathed in horror.

  CHAPTER TEN

  UNICORN DOWN!

  Sierra was aghast, her hands still open in midair where the sundae had fallen from them.

  I rushed to the sink, and as I did, I said calmly, “Tamiko. Mop, please. Sierra, take a deep breath and start making a new sundae.” I grabbed a roll of paper towels and started soaking bunches of them in warm water. Then I quickly handed them to the customer.

  Luckily the sundae had only caught the customer on the legs, and she was wearing shorts and flip-flops. The lady laughed it off and mopped off her feet and shins.

  Sierra, on the other hand, was traumatized. She looked like she was going to cry.

  “I’m sorry, Allie! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” she whispered in horror. “And t
he Yay Gourmet people are here!”

  Some people remain calm and then grow panicky in a crisis. I panic leading up to big events but grow calm if anything goes wrong. “Sierra, do not worry. It was an accident. Make the new sundae and make it really good,” I said quietly. “Go on.”

  Sierra followed my orders and moved like a robot. I stole a glance at Anita, Maryann, and my mom, and they were all watching quietly as Tamiko and Sierra and I handled the debacle.

  Colin and his friends had retreated to the far table and, I noticed, were calmly chatting and eating and acting as if nothing unusual had happened. I was so grateful to Colin for managing that. Other boys might have laughed and pointed and made a scene, but these guys didn’t, and I knew it was Colin’s leadership that had kept them in line.

  Soon everything was under control. The store was clean, the customer was clean, and she was devouring her new sundae with pleasure.

  Things had quieted down, and Anita asked if now would be a good time for her to get some “product shot” photos of the ice cream itself. We said yes and started to assemble our planned sample menu.

  I went into the back and got the tray of perfect Lime Sorbet scoops out of the Deepfreeze. I rolled them off the parchment paper and into a bowl that I’d left near the freezer. As I turned to bring the scoops to the front, I spied Tamiko’s phone plugged into the sound system for the store. Quickly I put down the bowl and scrolled through her music until I found a Wildflowers playlist. I selected it and pushed play. Then I quickly brought the lime scoops out front.

  Tamiko and Sierra noticed the music and stopped, their mouths open in surprise. Then they turned to me, smiling.

  “Thanks, Allie,” said Sierra. “Thanks so much.”

  Tamiko winked at me.

  I looked at my friends and beamed in gratitude for them. Then I began to assemble the lime cones and stand them in the cone rack on top of the counter.

  Anita snapped a couple shots of the Lime Sorbet cones as I put them up, but she didn’t seem very into it. She took one or two snaps of the Rockin’ Rocky Road cones that Sierra made, but again, she wasn’t going crazy like paparazzi at the Oscars.

  My friends and I exchanged perplexed looks. What was up?