He opened the lid of a small silver pot, and I saw a long-handled ladle bobbing up and down in some brown goo.
“Caramel,” Uncle Bob said. I nodded, and he leaned down to open a mini fridge located under the countertop that held the silver warmers. “Your cold toppings are kept in here: whipped cream, marshmallows, strawberries, pineapples, et cetera.”
The brunette girl turned to us, and my heart sank.
It was Aubra Stanton. A cheerleader from school.
I had a momentary flashback to that first day of school last year, when Principal Meeker had announced Kristen’s death to everyone during an assembly. Then Aubra and two other cheerleaders had stood up and acted like they were her BFFs and said they would miss her soooo much.
They hadn’t even gotten her name right.
A tortured groan slipped out of me before I could hold it back, but Uncle Bob must not have heard, because he turned to her with a big smile on his face. “Aubra, this is my niece, Abbey. She’s going to help us out. Abbey, Aubra will show you the ropes. She can take care of the cash register while you handle the customers.”
Rumbling noises suddenly emerged from the room where the freezers were kept. Uncle Bob cast a worried glance in the direction of the sound.
“That’s the freezer giving up the ghost. I’m gonna have to go check it out. Will you two be able to hold down the fort?”
No, Uncle Bob. Don’t leave me here with her! “Sure,” I said instead.
“Absolutely,” Aubra replied.
Uncle Bob gave us both a wide grin and then disappeared into the back.
Aubra and I turned to face each other, standing off like two skittish gazelles in the middle of a pack of lions, waiting to see who would make the first move. Aubra looked me up and down. “You look kind of familiar. Your name is Abbey?”
Here we go… “Yeah, we go to the same school.”
“Oh.” She tossed her head. Clearly now she was the lion and I was the gazelle. “And you’re the boss’s niece, huh? I hope that doesn’t make you think you’re going to get any special privileges. Cuz you’re not.”
Right. Because I’m sure she’s never used her position on the cheerleading squad, or her short skirt, to get special privileges. “I’m not—”
“Whatever. Look, just stay out of my way and do what I say, comprende?”
“Yeah, sure. Okay.” I sighed. The doorbell chimed, and a man and a little boy walked in.
Aubra sneered at me, muttered, “Nice shirt,” and then stalked away to go greet them. I looked down at my baggy shirt and pushed the sleeves up. This day needed to go by fast, or else I wasn’t going to make it.
I slipped behind the counter and waited while Aubra smiled and chatted up the man. He kept cocking his head to one side and bragging about his ride—probably a flashy red sports car that just screamed midlife crisis!—while his kid ran grimy fingers over the window that covered the ice cream tubs.
Finally, Aubra glanced over at me and told me to grab a scooper.
I reached for one, trying to fling off the beads of water that clung to it without spraying myself in the face, and stood by the cooler.
“What kind do you want, Billy?” the man asked.
Billy pressed his dirty face against the glass, then finally said, “Chocolate.”
Aubra glared at me. “You heard him. Are you going to scoop?”
I leaned down over the chocolate, digging the scooper into ice cream that was hard as a rock. I tried again, angling the scooper a bit more. That was unsuccessful too. So I started hacking at it. Eventually, little slivers of ice cream started flaking away, and I gathered several of them into a pathetically small ball.
“I want vanilla!” Billy suddenly yelled.
Pausing, I looked over to Aubra. “Vanilla with chocolate? Like two scoops?”
But the dad was already shaking his head no. “I told you only one scoop, Billy. Do you want vanilla instead of chocolate?”
Billy stomped his foot and shook his head too. Apparently, he wanted both. The father knelt down in front of him and took what seemed like forever to calm him down. My back was killing me from staying bent over, and the flakes of chocolate I’d managed to hack off were starting to melt.
“We’ll take vanilla,” the man said, standing to face Aubra.
I didn’t know what to do with the ice cream I already had, so I tried to put it back. The scooper refused to give it up though, until finally Aubra gave a disgusted sigh and reached over to take it out of my hand. She threw the scooper back into the water trough and told me to get a new one.
Fresh utensil in hand, I bent down to get the vanilla.
“Watch it!” Aubra cried. “Your sleeves are getting into the ice cream.”
I looked down and saw my sleeve trailing through orange sherbet and mint chocolate chip. Impressive.
My cheeks flamed, and I pulled back. Aubra took the scooper from my hand again and scraped out a perfect ball of vanilla ice cream. Lifting a small cup from a nearby stack, she released the ice cream and handed it over to the boy. “Sorry about that,” she said to the dad. “She’s new.”
An obligatory eye roll and a sympathetic glance (directed at her, not me) passed between them, and she went to ring him up at the register.
I made my way to the bathroom to go clean up. Once safely inside, I told my mirrored reflection that this was only for a couple of weeks. I just had to keep reminding myself of that.
I blotted off my sticky sleeve with a damp paper towel, then tried to dry it the best I could. Finally, I rolled both sleeves all the way up. I looked like some wannabe jock heading to the gym to work out, but at least I wouldn’t be dangling my shirt into the ice cream anymore.
Making my way back out, I saw three more people lined up, and Aubra gestured impatiently for me to come over. It took several tries, but finally I got the hang of the scooper and was able to dish up the ice cream without any major mishaps. Aubra worked the register, and for anything more complicated than a triple scoop, took over my duties. We even managed to make it through a Little League baseball team that came in without anyone getting too upset.
After a couple of hours had passed, Uncle Bob came out and told us that he’d man the counter while we took a fifteen-minute break. I followed Aubra out to a little sitting area in an alley behind the store. I kept my distance from her, though, and she did the same.
Taking out my cell phone, I checked the time and saw that I still had three more hours to go. Wonderful. I scrolled through my missed-calls folder and noticed a strange number listed there. Was it Caspian? Had he used a pay phone or something to call me from?
I hit redial and listened with bated breath as it began to ring. A female voice picked up. “Hello?”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Hello?” I said. “Who is this? I mean, this number called my phone, and…”
“Is this Abbey? It’s Beth. From school.”
Right. The same Beth whose call I hadn’t returned before. I was completely embarrassed. “Oh God, Beth. Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t call you back.”
She laughed. “No big. I thought you’d appreciate the tip if you’re ever stuck with the Wilson kids again.”
“Oh yeah, I do. Those kids will eat you up and spit you out.” Aubra turned and glared at me, but I just looked the other way.
“Tell me about it. So listen, Lewis and I are going to a movie on Saturday night. Do you and Ben want to come?”
“Oh,” I said. “Ben and I aren’t—”
“I know,” Beth said. “We’re not a thing either. I’m giving Lewis a test run. Try before you buy. He’s cute and all, but does the boy have stamina? I need to know these things.”
I laughed. “Okay, I get it.”
“So will you come? I’ve already asked Ben, and he said yes.”
I hesitated. Beth was being really nice, but would Ben get the wrong idea? Would Caspian?
Beth must have heard my pause. “Please, please, please? You ca
n’t leave me alone with him, girl. What if it doesn’t work out and I need a quick excuse?”
“Let me check my schedule,” I said hesitantly. “Okay?”
She let out a whoop of joy. “I’ll be calling you, girl. Wednesday. Don’t flake on me.”
“All right, all right. I’ll talk to you then.”
She said good-bye, and I closed the phone. A movie did sound like fun. But what about Caspian? I wanted him to be there with me. Not Ben.
Aubra interrupted my thoughts. “We have to go back sometime. Come on.”
Reluctantly, I stood up and followed her in. A line of customers had formed in front of the counter, and Uncle Bob was frantically waving to us. I paused for a minute to roll my falling sleeves back into place and then went to grab a scooper. Only two hours and forty-five more minutes to go.
When the customer traffic finally died down, Uncle Bob came out of the back room and said that he’d found some new freezer parts he needed to go pick up. He’d be back in an hour. Two, tops.
I watched him go, feeling abandoned and slightly hopeless as I turned back to Aubra.
She exhaled loudly and said, “The store will be dead for a while now. Prepare to be bored out of your mind.”
Leaning on the counter, I stared out the window at all the people walking by and willed them to come in and prove her wrong. But she was right. Only twenty-two minutes had passed, and I thought I was going to die of boredom. This must be what it’s like for Caspian. Watching every second crawl by with nothing to help pass the time. No wonder he likes to read.
Finally I couldn’t take it anymore, and I glanced over at Aubra. She was texting furiously on her phone. “Does anything need to be done?” I asked. “Like the floors swept, or napkin holders filled or something?”
“No.” She never even looked up.
I wandered out from behind the counter. I thought about going back to Uncle Bob’s office and hanging out there, but I felt bad about leaving Aubra alone.
Grabbing a bottle of cleaner and a roll of paper towels, I headed to the tables. They weren’t really all that dirty, but it was something to do. I cleaned each one and the chairs, too, taking my time to make sure that every speck of dirt was gone.
The doorbells went off again and I looked up, happy to see a customer at last. But my happiness vanished when a guy in cargo pants and a looks-vintage-but-costs-five-hundred-bucks T-shirt walked through the door. A silver Rolex gleamed on his wrist.
His hair was different, black now instead of the carefully highlighted blond spikes, but I still recognized him. It was the jerk I’d met here once before during Thanksgiving break.
Aubra squealed and came flying out from behind the counter. The boy smiled at her, flashing a perfect dimple.
Immediately my hackles rose. I really did not like this guy.
“Baby!” Aubra cooed, jumping into his arms for a hug. He held her at a distance, being sure not to let her press too tightly against the front of his shirt. Aubra composed herself and flipped the OPEN sign on the front door to CLOSED. She glanced over at me. “Time for another break.”
I wasn’t going to argue. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t run the cash register on my own.
She started to walk away, then said sharply, “Abbey, come on.”
I looked up at her, surprised. “Me? I’m, uh, fine here. You two go ahead.”
Aubra planted both hands on her hips and gave me a cold glare. “You can’t stay out here.” She paused, and I could almost hear the “stupid” she wanted to add in there. “If people see you, they’ll think we’re open. Come on.”
Dropping the cleaner onto the table, I followed both of them. When we came to the room that held the freezers, she tossed her hair and said, “We’re going in here. You can go wherever. Just don’t go out front.”
I nodded and headed to Uncle Bob’s office. At least he had a couch in there. How long is this “break” going to last, exactly?
Several stacks of newspapers were scattered across the surface of the couch, but I just swept them to the floor. Stretching out, I closed my eyes to take a short nap. Let Aubra come find me when she was ready.
But I couldn’t sleep. Loud voices kept waking me.
“Fine!” someone shouted. It sounded like Aubra, and then there was a thump. Muffled noises came next, and it ended in weeping. I didn’t know what to do. Should I stay out of it? Or go check on her?
I shifted to a sitting position. But I didn’t have a chance to do any more than that, because Ex-Blondie-Turned-Goth-Boy suddenly appeared at the door.
He sauntered in and ran one finger down the edge of Uncle Bob’s desk as he came toward me. Never breaking eye contact, never missing a step. Which was an impressive feat in an office as cluttered as Uncle Bob’s. He stopped less than a foot away from the couch, holding up his finger to inspect it.
“Tsk, tsk. I do so hate a messy work area.” Neatly sidestepping one of the stacks of papers, he sat down next to me. My skin crawled, and I forced myself to let out a breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding.
“I like things neat and tidy,” he said. “Do you?” I nodded, and swallowed. “Have we met before? Aubra said your name was… Abbey?”
“Thanksgiving,” I heard someone say. Then I realized it was coming from me. “You dropped some papers off for my uncle, and I took them from you.”
“Ahhh, yes.” He extended a hand. “I’m Vincent.”
I hesitated for a moment, but didn’t want him to see how much I didn’t like him, so I capitulated. He reached past my hand and slid his fingers down my wrist before shaking. The sensation made me feel queasy, and my gut reaction was to immediately let go.
But he held firm.
“You won’t hold my earlier behavior against me, I trust. And I won’t hold it against you that you left me out in the cold.” He flashed a perfect white smile, but all I could see were sleazy car salesmen ads, infomercial hosts, and bad come-on lines all rolled into one. I was so not going to be another notch on his bedpost.
I pulled my hand free and resisted the urge to wipe it across my shorts. That could wait until he left. Instead, I stood up. “It was nice to meet you, Vincent. I have to go help Aubra now.”
He stood up too, in one fluid motion.
“I guess I’ll see you later, Abbey,” he said, pausing to flash me another smile. I followed him out, and watched as he stopped to talk briefly with Aubra, who was back behind the counter. She shook her head once, and then gave him a hug, all smiles again.
As soon as he left, I wanted to ask Aubra what had happened, and why she was with someone who was such a jerk. But she pinned me with a steely, slightly red-rimmed glare.
“This will be our little secret, right, Abbey?” She glanced away and went to go flip the CLOSED sign back around. “It better be. I wouldn’t want to see you accidentally “misplace” some money from the register drawer.”
So that’s how it’s going to be? Ignoring her, I went to gather up the cleaning supplies I’d left on the table. I should have known.
At ten after five Mom rolled up to the door, and I headed back to Uncle Bob’s office to tell him I was leaving. And that I wasn’t coming back.
After Aubra’s little boyfriend break, she’d given me even more of the cold-shoulder treatment and left me to clean up a huge pile of puke on the floor after some overeager kid had told his buddies that he could eat ten scoops of ice cream in a row.
He’d been wrong.
Uncle Bob was sitting at his desk, and he looked up as soon as I entered. “Mom’s here, so I’m gonna head out, and…” I lost my nerve for a second, but then looked down and saw puke remnants on my shoes. “I’m not going to be able to…”
He held up something and pointed to it. “Look what I still have.” It was the WORLD’S BEST BOSS mug I’d given him for Christmas last year. “I use it every day. It’s my favorite.”
All my thoughts of telling him that I was quitting instantly vanished, and I gave him a feeble smile.
“Glad to hear it, Uncle Bob. See you on Wednesday.” He beamed at me and I turned to leave, telling myself that no matter how desperate someone acted, in the future I was going to just say no.
Out in the car Mom asked me how my first day went. I flopped wearily onto the passenger’s seat. “Long. Never-ending. With an eternal time suck in the middle of the day.” As I said it, I couldn’t help but think of Caspian, who had nothing but time on his hands.
Mom patted my knee. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“You’re right,” I said. “It was worse.”
She turned the wheel and pulled away from the store. “I know what will make you feel better. The library is having a book sale. You can get one to bring with you for next time.”
I perked up. That actually wasn’t a bad idea, and I knew someone else who could probably use some new books to help pass the time too.
Chapter Seventeen
A FORGOTTEN DATE
Fain would I pause to dwell upon the world of charms that burst upon the enraptured gaze of my hero…
—“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
The rest of the week passed by in a blur of science sessions and long hours at Uncle Bob’s, until Saturday finally came. I’d only gotten to see Caspian once during the week, stopping by the cemetery to explain my prolonged absence, and I’d totally forgotten to bring the books with me. Or tell him about my evening movie plans.
But now I had time to remedy that, and I walked swiftly to the cemetery. I was glad I’d worn a long, loose, red cotton skirt and my sheer white peasant blouse. Thanks to that, I wasn’t turning into a puddle of sweat just yet.
Switching the small pile of books and some of Mom’s unused dinner-party candles from my left arm to my right, I passed by the gates and hurried toward the mausoleum. When I entered, Caspian was bent over his cardboard-box table, working on a drawing. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn’t hear me come in.
“Hey, Casper,” I whispered, leaning in close. He jumped and looked embarrassed, and I caught sight of what was in front of him.
The Haunted Page 18
