“I had an interesting conversation earlier,” Mom says as we start sorting everything into piles. “With Lillian at Ladybug Cleaners.”
My stomach drops. With everything that happened today, I forgot about Lillian pulling my mom away after the fashion show. “What did she say?” Did Lillian tell her about all the stuff I did to the Ladybugs? She said she wanted to put everything behind us, but what if she changed her mind?
“Oh nothing much. We just talked about the possibility of merging our cleaning businesses.” Mom laughs at what must be total shock on my face. “I know it’s sudden, but she said she got the idea after she spoke with you today. She knew we were looking for more clients, and she’s been having a hard time staying on top of working and being a mom, so she suggested we team up. Lee Cleaners would become part of Ladybug Cleaners, and we’d help each other out.”
“What about your business?” I say. “You’ve always wanted to be your own boss.”
“And I still would be, only with a co-owner. To be honest, I think this could be the perfect solution. I like being my own boss, but I don’t think I’m cut out for the stress of doing everything on my own. Plus, Lillian’s already been doing this for a few years. She knows how everything runs, and she can teach me a lot. The only thing is…”
“What?”
“Well,” says Mom, brushing her hair off her forehead. “For this to work, I would have to quit my office job. I don’t think I’d have time to do both.”
“Really?” I squeal. “That’s great!” Then I realize why my mom looks so worried. Her job at the law office is the stable one she’s had for years. Thanks to that job, we’ve always at least had money for food and clothes. Without it, who knows what will happen?
“So before I decide anything, we’ll have to sit down and talk this through,” Mom says.
I stare down at the picture I drew when I was a kid, the one with my parents and my imaginary turtle standing in front of our house. When I was little, I thought I’d live here forever, but I also thought that my parents (and my invisible turtle) would never go anywhere. I guess some things have to change, no matter what.
“Mom, I think we should sell the house.”
She drops a stack of report cards and stares at me in surprise. “But you love this place.”
“I know, but I love you more. And I don’t want you to have to give up your business because of this house, or to work a million jobs so we can afford to stay here.”
Mom wipes her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“As long as we don’t have to live with Aunt Nelly in Connecticut, okay?”
She smiles. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve already started looking at some apartments around here so we can stay in town. I realized that moving away would just make both of us miserable.”
I let out a little whoop of joy and throw my arms around her. “Thank you!”
I’m practically whistling with glee when I go back to cleaning out the box. It barely even seems like a chore anymore.
“We don’t have to get rid of any of this if you don’t want to,” Mom says when she sees me paging through my fifth-grade yearbook.
“I’m sure most of it can go. But yeah, maybe keeping some of it is a good idea. Like Mr. Hip. I don’t think I can ever put him in a box again.” I know I won’t lose the memories after we move, not really. But at least bringing some of my old things with me to our new place will help make the transition easier.
“I know you’ve never been great with change,” Mom says. “Sadly, I think you get that from me.”
I think of my dad, who’s often a little too happy to uproot everything and try something totally different. I guess too much change can be a bad thing sometimes, but not enough is bad, too. It makes you terrified of anything being different. Heck, it can even make you terrified of changing how you make cookies. And if I’m going to be a famous pastry chef one day, then those cookies need to be perfect, no matter how much change it takes.
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I think I’m finally figuring out the right amount.”
Acknowledgments
Hugely enormous thanks to my husband and to my family, to my writer and non-writer friends, to everyone at The Writers’ Loft, to Aubrey Poole and the team at Sourcebooks, and to Ammi-Joan Paquette. I can’t thank you all enough, but I’ll keep trying.
Turn the page for a sneak preview of
The Gossip File
Book 3 in The Dirt Diary series
Available January 2015
Editor’s note: The following is unedited and may change in the final book.
Chapter 1
“Rachel, how many rocks did you put in this suitcase?” Mom asks as she drags my luggage out of the back of her dented minivan. Evan, my too-cute-for-words boyfriend, rushes over to help ease the ancient bag to the curb in front of the airport terminal.
“Here you go, Booger Crap,” Evan says as he brings the bag to me.
I’m so used to his goofy nickname for me that I don’t even roll my eyes this time. Instead, I give a shy smile and say, “Thanks.”
When he grins back at me, his green eyes don’t twinkle like they usually do. We’re both pretending that my being away for two weeks won’t be a big deal, but it stinks that I’m leaving when things are finally good between us. Plus, I think he’s been gearing up to kiss me all week. But I guess that will have to wait until I get back from visiting my dad in Florida. I seriously doubt my first kiss is going to happen at the airport in front of my mom.
Oh my goldfish. What if that’s what Evan is planning? My mom will never let me live that down! My hands are shaking as I grab the suitcase and hurry through the parking garage.
“Wait up!” Mom calls. I hear her and Evan’s footsteps behind me, trying to keep up, but I don’t slow down until I spot my best friend, Marisol, waiting at the airline check-in.
“Rachel!” she squeals, rushing toward me.
I can’t believe how lucky I am that her parents agreed to let her come to Florida with me. If I had to do this trip by myself, no doubt I’d accidentally wind up in Omaha instead of Orlando.
“We’re going to have so much fun!” she says.
Marisol’s mom stands behind her, looking skeptical about that fact. “I checked the weather report in Florida this morning,” she says. “It’s going to be near a hundred degrees.”
Marisol shrugs. “It was ninety here the other day. Besides, that’s what air conditioning is for!”
Okay, Florida in the summer might not be ideal, but I’ve been dreaming of going there ever since my sixth birthday when my dad promised we’d visit Disney World one day. Eight years later, I’m still excited to make that dream come true. Plus, with school starting in a few weeks, it’ll be nice to finally get a vacation. I’ve spent all summer working for my mom’s cleaning business, taking pastry classes, and organizing baking competitions (not to mention pulling pranks on people and making a general mess out of everything). It’ll be a relief to hang out by the pool, spend some much-needed quality time with my dad, and relax. Who cares if it’ll be a little hot?
Evan hangs back while we go check in at the airline counter. After Marisol and her mom are squared away, the ticket agent waves my mom and me forward without even looking up at us.
“What’s your destination today?” he drones.
“Omaha,” I blurt out, handing over the flight confirmation my mom gave me.
The man finally glances up at me. “What was that?”
“I mean Orlando,” I say. “Orlando! Where SeaWorld is with all the whales!”
He raises an eyebrow and then looks at my mom. “And who’s this?”
“I’m her mother,” Mom jumps in. “I’ll be escorting her to the gate, so I believe I’ll need a pass to get through security.”
The man takes her driver’s license and studies it for a long time. T
hen he looks at Mom again, and I can tell they’re coming, the words that always make my stomach clench into a ball.
“She doesn’t look like you,” he says.
“She’s my daughter,” Mom says, putting a protective arm around me. “But she looks like her father. He’s Korean.”
The man nods, but I can tell he’s still not sure about us. Does he think my mom stole me or something? Or that because I don’t have blond hair like she does, that means we’re trying to sneak her into the airport?
Just when I think my stomach might clench itself into a black hole, the man sighs and grabs my suitcase. Then he hands me an enormous badge that I have to wear around my neck. I realize Marisol has one too. The badges scream “UNACCOMPANIED MINORS FLYING ALONE” which is ridiculous since Marisol is more responsible than most adults I know.
Finally, we get to the security checkpoint. That means it’s time to say good-bye to Evan.
As I shuffle over to him, it hits me that I haven’t thought this dropping off at the airport plan through. When Evan volunteered to come along, I was excited that he wanted to see me off like a real boyfriend would. I didn’t consider the fact that he’s going to have to ride all the way back to his house alone with my mom. What on earth will they talk about?
“So,” he says. “I guess you have to go now, huh?”
I nod. “They’re going to start boarding soon.”
“Well.” He looks down at his sneakers. “Text me when you land so I know you got there, okay?”
“I will.”
When he glances up at me, I suck in a breath. He has a total “I’m going to kiss you” look on his face. This is really going to happen!
But wait. My mom is right there. Even though she’s talking to Marisol’s mom and not looking in my direction—probably to give us some privacy—it still feels like her eyes are lasering into me.
Evan takes a step forward, and I start to panic. What do I do?
“If you need something to talk to my mom about on the way home,” I blurt out, “ask her about music from when she was a kid. She won’t stop babbling for hours.”
Evan’s forehead crinkles. “Okay. Thanks for the tip.”
Gah! Why does this have to be so awkward? Why can’t I be brave like Marisol? She’d kiss the guy and be done with it, no matter who was watching.
“Anyway,” he adds. “Have fun. I’ll—I’ll miss you.”
My face goes hot. “I’ll miss you too,” I whisper.
And then I feel it. Evan’s face inching toward mine. The scent of peppermint on his breath and the heat off of his skin getting closer and closer. My mind goes blank for a second. I can’t believe it. My first kiss is really going to happen…in front of my mom!
Just as Evan’s lips are about to brush mine, I jerk my head sideways. All Evan’s mouth finds is my ear.
Holy miniature marshmallows. Evan Riley tried to kiss me. And I turned away!
He coughs and steps back. “Um, so have fun,” he says, his face flushing bright pink.
“I—I’m sorry. It’s not…with everyone here…”
Why did my stupid head have to flinch? So what if my mom is right there? She’s not even watching! This could have been the perfect moment, and I ruined it!
Maybe I can fix it. If I lean in and kiss him, then everything will be okay. Do it, I tell myself.
“Rachel!” Mom calls over her shoulder. “It’s time to go.”
The moment shatters like a dropped candy cane. Evan and I look at each other for a long second.
“I wish I didn’t have to go,” I say softly. “I wish…” If only I could be the kind of person who doesn’t care what people think, the kind who does what she wants. But I think that Rachel only exists in an alternate universe where everyone eats cupcakes for breakfast and never has to go to gym class.
“It’s okay,” Evan says, reaching out his finger to give my nose an affectionate tap. “Two weeks isn’t that long.”
I know he’s right, but it still feels like I took our perfect airport good-bye and turned it on its ear. Literally.
I’m still shaking as we go through the security checkpoint. When we get to the gate, my mom pulls me into a hug and starts sobbing into my ear.
“Mom,” I say meekly, trying to think of something comforting to say. I always freeze up when people get really emotional. “Um, at least there aren’t any sharks in Orlando, so you don’t have to worry about me being a shark attack victim, right?”
She lets out a little laugh and pulls away. “It’s not even on the water,” she says, wiping her eyes.
“Exactly. No sharks. So I’ll be fine. Will you be okay?”
Mom nods as she keeps sniffling. “I’ll have plenty to keep me busy with apartment hunting and all the new Ladybug Cleaners clients.” She leans in and kisses the top of my head. “Don’t worry about me. Just have fun with your dad.”
I feel bad that Mom is going to be working her buttons off and looking for apartments for us while I’m on vacation, but I couldn’t say no when my dad asked me to visit. Besides, it might be months before we actually sell our house, so I doubt Mom will find a new place without me.
“I love you,” I whisper as I give her one last hug. If we draw this out any longer, I’m going to start crying too.
When Mom finally lets me go, I can’t help peering back the way we came, even though Evan must be halfway across the airport by now.
I should feel like I’m at the start of an adventure. I should be excited to finally be leaving home and seeing my dad. But I can’t help wishing I could have one more minute in my regular life before I go.
Read more of Rachel’s adventures in
The Dirt Diary
More great reads by Anna Staniszewski
The Dirt Diary
My Very UnFairy Tale Life
My Epic Fairy Tale Fail
My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending
About the Author
Sedman Photography
Anna Staniszewski lives outside Boston with her wacky dog and her slightly less wacky husband. She was a Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the PEN New England Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna teaches, reads, and avoids cleaning her house. Visit her at www.annastan.com.
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