Wishing Pearl

by Nicole O'Dell

  Tammy spun around. “Olivia. How did you like the service? Wasn’t it wonderful? I want you to meet Ben’s wife, Alicia.”

  As much as she wanted to dive right into her problem, Olivia shook Alicia’s warm hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Alicia grinned and exposed two of the deepest dimples Olivia had ever seen, then pulled her in for a warm hug. “It’s great to meet you, too, honey. I hear you play a mean oboe. Can’t wait to hear it.”

  “Thanks.” As difficult as it was to pull away, Olivia unfolded her comforted body from Alicia’s motherly arms and cast a glance toward the back of the church. “Listen. I don’t mean to be rude. But I have a little problem. My mom’s here.”

  Alicia looked around the emptying sanctuary.

  Tammy stood up on her tiptoes, shaking her head. “I don’t see her anywhere, hon.”

  Olivia searched the room. Rows and rows of empty seats, a few clusters of chitchatters and people praying, and someone wrapping up cords on the stage. Mom was gone. “Where could she be?”

  “Maybe she just wanted to see you, and then she left.” Alicia put an arm around Olivia’s shoulders and steered her toward the door. “Let’s join the others and try to put it behind us for now.”

  Could it be as simple as that? Had Mom come all the way there simply to make sure her daughter was okay, and then left without causing a scene?

  They headed through the lobby and toward the back door. Olivia glanced in every direction, expecting her mom to pop out from behind a door or a pillar and yell, Surprise! But they made it all the way to the exit and still no Mom. Maybe she had left. She knew it was against the rules for Olivia to have outside contact at this early stage in the Diamond Estates program. Maybe she was following the rules after all. Possible, but not likely.

  Olivia, Alicia, and Tammy entered the parking lot, and Olivia immediately noticed a crowd of people in the center of the parking lot. She bobbed her head to each side, trying to see through the crowd to find out what the attraction was.

  Then she heard it. The whiny shriek her mother used when she wasn’t getting her way.

  Then she saw it. Oh no. Olivia wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

  Chapter 18

  I demand access to my daughter, Olivia Mansfield, this instant.” Mom had her freshly done nails on her Donna Karan hips as she tapped her Louboutin stiletto on the pavement. They’d better watch out. Those things were a deadly weapon—she could poke someone’s eye out with those spikes if she wanted to. Like a ninja.

  “Mrs. Whitford, please calm down. You’re causing a scene. Let’s talk over here.” Ben put his hand on her arm and tried to steer her to the van and away from the cars queued to leave the parking lot.

  Mom shook off his hand, planted her feet, and pointed her finger at Ben.

  Olivia groaned and turned to Tammy and Alicia. “What do I do? I didn’t ask her to do this. Am I going to be in trouble? Will I get sent home?” Because I’m not going.

  Alicia pulled Olivia into a tight embrace. “Don’t worry, honey. You’re not in trouble. This isn’t your fault at all. But now we have to deal with it. We have two options for how to handle this. One, you get into my car that’s parked over there.” She pointed to a sedan near the side entrance. “We’ll leave and let Ben handle this and get the girls back to the center. Or, two, you go deal with your mom and try to defuse this situation once and for all. Your call.”

  Olivia wanted nothing more than to climb into the back of Alicia’s car, duck down out of view, and return to Diamond Estates without having a big public confrontation with her mom. She could let Ben handle Mom—he dealt with difficult people all the time. But that wasn’t fair to everyone else. Plus all the girls would get to witness even more of her mom’s temper tantrum when she realized that Olivia had left. Ugh! “I’ll go talk to her.”

  Alicia bobbed her short brown curls and squeezed Olivia’s shoulder. “Atta girl.”

  “Praying for you, sweetie.” Tammy gave Olivia a gentle prod.

  “Oh, thank God. There she is.” Mom turned on Olivia, tears filling her eyes. “Where have you been?” She looked back to Ben. “Do you just let these girls run loose?”

  “I was with Tammy and Alicia, Ben’s wife, Mom.” Olivia sighed as her heart softened. Mom wasn’t angry after all. She was hurting. Maybe even lonely. “Why did you come here? You know it’s against the rules.”

  “There should never be rules that keep me from my daughter. That’s just wrong.” She dabbed a silk handkerchief at the corner of her eye.

  Olivia stepped forward and took her mother’s hand. “Listen. The rules are there for a reason. If I follow them, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you or need you. But what I do need is for you to let me do this right, Mom. It’s the best thing for me—for us. Trust the program, and let me make it through the best way I can.” Olivia squeezed her hand. “Please.”

  Mom stared at Olivia’s face for a long moment then nodded slowly. “You’re right. I’m sorry I came. I’m just … I’m so—” She dropped Olivia’s hand and started backing away. “I’m sorry.” She pivoted on one spike and ran toward a waiting taxi. She climbed in the backseat and rode away.

  She never looked back.

  “So health food isn’t a real concern around here, huh?” Olivia scraped the remains of someone’s fried chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese into the trash bin. A dollop of barbecue sauce dripped from the plate and plopped onto her sock. Ick.

  Tricia groaned. “I totally know what you mean. You have to watch yourself or you’ll blimp up.” She patted her slightly chunky hips. “I’m still working on the eight pounds I gained in my first few months here. I’m afraid they might be here to stay.”

  “T, get over it. You’re skinny, and you’ll always be skinny. Eight pounds … right.” Ju-Ju added a wad of used napkins to the garbage and turned to Olivia. “Just don’t let them catch you dieting. We’re not allowed, you know.”

  Olivia’s jaw dropped. “Not allowed to diet? That’s pure crazy.”

  Skye pointed to a poster on the wall. “All meals meet the state requirements like school-lunch programs have to. And they don’t like for us to diet because, quote”—she wiggled her fingers in the air beside her face—” ‘Moderation should make dieting unnecessary.’ Unquote.”

  Olivia smirked. “Okay. That’s plain absurd. I, Olivia Mansfield, am from this moment henceforth officially on a diet.”

  “You’ll do anything to buck the system, won’t you?” Ju-Ju chuckled and dried the counter she’d just scrubbed.

  “I don’t think I’m purposely trying to.” Olivia shrugged. “But when the system makes no sense, it just begs to be bucked. I mean, I could stand to lose five pounds already. Heavy breakfasts, bread baskets at every meal, and desserts twice a day won’t help that mission at all.”

  “Well, diet or not, no one’s forcing you to eat that stuff.”

  “I’ll tell you who’s always on a diet.” Skye gave Tricia and Ju-Ju a knowing look. They nodded and all said one word at the same time: “Donna!”

  “Donna’s probably the only one who doesn’t need to be on a diet.” Olivia scowled.

  “Yeah, but she’d tell you that she only stays slim by being very careful. You’ll never see her with bread or sugar. Ever.”

  “But I thought dieting was against the rules.”

  Ju-Ju shrugged. “A lot of things around here are ‘Do as I say, not as I do,’ but not really in a bad way. I mean, I can sort of see their point. We’re still growing. Blah, blah, blah.”

  Skye swiped a cloth at a stray crumb on the countertop. “And the counselors don’t have any privileges they need to earn. They aren’t in trouble like we are.”

  “I guess that’s true. But all I know is I’m hitting the treadmill as soon as I can tonight.”

  When the game room opened for free time, Olivia put on a pair of sleek yoga pants and grabbed her running shoes. “You guys coming?”

  “We’ll be i
n there in a minute, but not to run.” Ju-Ju laughed. “I’m allergic to sweat.”

  Tricia smoothed her sleek hairdo. “And if you’d spent an hour straightening your hair, you’d avoid it, too. Besides, I’m not feeling well—pretty sure that dinner is what did it. Ju-Ju, you and Skye go on ahead with Olivia. I’ll join you in a little bit.”

  Skye flipped her legs out and hopped off her top bunk. “Yeah. I, for one, am not hanging around here. Maybe there’s a good movie on or something.”

  “Hope you feel better, Trish,” Olivia called over her shoulder as the three girls stepped into the hallway and hurried to the game room.

  They walked in, Olivia with her water bottle filled and a towel draped over her shoulder. A group already milled by the theater area, digging through the stacks of DVDs. Someone wanted to watch a classic and the others were arguing for a comedy. On the other side, girls were clustered around the Ping-Pong table, where it seemed a tournament was already under way. They sure hadn’t wasted any time.

  Olivia groaned when she turned toward the exercise area. All of the machines were in use. She’d have to come earlier next time. She wandered over to the treadmills and skipped past the gasping, red-faced runners to approach the walking girl who was breathing steadily. She’d be easier to talk to. “Hey, do you know if there’s a sign-up sheet for people who want a machine after you guys are finished?”

  “Sure. Kira’s got it.” The speed walker nodded in the direction of her. The crying girl from the bathroom. Her name was Kira? Olivia had done all she could to avoid the little blond ever since she’d arrived at Diamond Estates. Now, there she sat, holding court on a stool with her panting minions standing around her, seemingly waiting for her to toss them some crumbs.

  Now what? Forget exercising or approach Kira? Olivia shook her head at her internal struggle. Nope. She was done giving in to bad people. If Kira wanted to be a jerk, that was her choice. Olivia had some running to do.

  Tugging at the ends of the towel hanging across her shoulders, Olivia jogged over to Kira. “Mind if I sign up for a treadmill?” She reached out for the clipboard.

  “I don’t know. How bad do you want it?” Kira’s steel-blue eyes looked Olivia over from head to toe. “Then again, from the looks of things, you sure do need it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, I’m only kidding. Lighten up, Petunia.” Kira snapped her gum and high-fived one of her followers.

  Petunia? Who was Kira trying to impress, and how did she think that would do it? “Um, riiight.” Olivia yanked the clipboard away from Kira and scrawled her name at the bottom of the list.

  Thirty minutes later, the first group finished their session. Kira stepped up to the machines, her royal subjects close behind.

  Olivia looked the list over and saw they had, indeed, signed in before her. What were the chances they would run for only thirty minutes and then give her a turn? No way. They’d never vacate a machine knowing Olivia wanted to use one. They’d run until they had a heart attack if it would keep the new girl from getting what she wanted. What had Olivia ever done to them anyway? Or more precisely, what had she done to Kira?

  So it was true. Alarm clocks did work even in the middle of the night. They should have some sensor that at least required the sun to be up before they let off their cacophony and destroyed peace. Olivia rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head. It felt alien to try to pry her body from her bed. It wasn’t like they had to start school at any certain time. Why couldn’t the powers-that-be move the whole day back an hour or two and let them sleep in a little bit?

  Light flooded the room.

  “Oh, Skye.” Tricia groaned and covered her head.

  Skye laughed. “Race you to the bathroom.”

  Olivia pulled herself halfway up and rested back on her elbows. “How can you be so chipper this early in the morning?” She shook her head.

  Ju-Ju moaned from under her pillow. “No kidding. I took my shower last night, so leave me alone for ten more minutes.”

  Olivia padded to the bathroom and stepped into the shower while thinking about Ju-Ju. She really was a contradiction. So motivated and focused on the rules, yet she had the biggest chip on her shoulder and toughest attitude Olivia had ever seen in someone her own age—actually, Ju-Ju wasn’t even quite her age yet. There was a story there, and Olivia couldn’t wait to hear it.

  The thirty-minute primping allotment dwindling rapidly, Olivia finished her shower while Skye and Tricia readied at the sinks behind the partition. She towel-dried her wet hair and then twisted the damp mass into a clip. No time for blow-drying. A little bit of lip gloss and some mascara, and then she’d better get dressed fast or she’d be facing the day naked. She chuckled at the thought of showing up to the prayer room with no clothes on.

  At least the house was all girls—unless she counted Ben—and she didn’t have to worry about what she wore. Her mom had seemed enamored by Ben’s rugged good looks, but Olivia didn’t really see the appeal now that she’d gotten to know him. He was handsome, sure, if you liked that sort of thing. Kind of annoying with all of his rules and regulations though. And too spiritual. Way too spiritual.

  His son, on the other hand—he was another story. But, thankfully, Justin had his own school and didn’t hang around all day for a bunch of teenage girls to make fools of themselves over him. If he did, Olivia would have to get up at five o’clock to get ready.

  A quick glance in the mirror disgusted her. Olivia could honestly say she hadn’t left the house in a warm-up suit with her wet hair pinned up and hardly any makeup on in, well, ever. She’d have to get up earlier tomorrow. She couldn’t live like this. A girl had her pride.

  Tricia, perfectly made up and dressed to kill in skintight jeans and a flowing tunic, stumbled toward the door like a half-asleep zombie. She picked up a folded piece of paper that someone had slipped under the door. “It’s the new counseling schedule.” She glanced down the list. “Olivia, you’re today. I’m tomorrow.” She passed the paper to Skye and looked at Olivia. “You’ll go to Tammy’s office—the first one of those office doors off the dining room—right after school.”

  Oh great. Sounded like loads of fun. Olivia nodded. What could she say? The work was about to start. That was what she’d come here for, right?

  What would they talk about? How would she know how much to say to Tammy? Better yet, how could she avoid saying what she didn’t want to? There was no way Olivia could tell her everything. If she did, Jake and Mom would find out. She couldn’t let that happen.

  But if she weren’t honest, she’d never get the help she needed, and wasn’t that what she was there for? She’d start slowly and see what happened. If Tammy was as smart as everyone said she was, she’d know how to get Olivia to open up.

  Olivia imagined Jake’s face if he knew what Charles had done to her … many times. No way. She’d rather die than tell anyone about that. Even if it meant she never got help.

  Even if it meant she carried it alone forever.

  No matter what, no one could ever find out.

  After a light breakfast of toast and a banana—Olivia passed on the bacon and cheesy eggs—the girls filed down the hallway toward the library, ready for their school day. “I’m really curious about how the whole school thing works.”

  Tricia’s long, french-manicured fingernails clicked on the heavy library door she held open for Olivia. “Think of it like being homeschooled. Most parents who do that aren’t actually teachers—that’s kind of how Tammy, Donna, and Patty do it here with us.”

  “I guess.” Olivia didn’t really care about the teachers. She could handle the work on her own if she had to. “My only concern is my oboe. I used to be able to go practice every day during study hall. We also had band practice twice a week, and then symphonic band practice two other times each week. I was hoping to try for a scholarship to a music school.”

  “If you’re serious, you should really talk to Tammy about it. They always do their best to
work out something important like that.” Tricia sat down at a table and unzipped her backpack.

  Olivia nodded. Tricia was right. If life after Diamond Estates included a music scholarship, she needed to have disciplined practice times. “I’ll talk to her about it today during our counseling appointment.” Besides, maybe that would get her out of some of the dumb stuff like snowshoeing. Then again, Justin had gone snowshoeing.

  “I’d tell them I need time to practice my flute. But they’d just laugh at me since I haven’t touched the thing in weeks.” Tricia gave a wry grin.

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve gone this long without playing my oboe in years.”

  “Okay, girls. Let’s get settled down so we can start on time.” Patty stood in front of the two rows of wooden tables where the girls had taken their seats. “We’re going to start the day off with math drills, so everyone take out your most current workbook.” She counted heads and scribbled a note. “Once you’re done with the assignment, pair up for the drill portion. Olivia, why don’t you come on up here and have a seat by the desk so I can fill you in on how things work?”

  Olivia joined Patty at the front of the room and sat in the wooden chair beside her desk. “Are you the teacher every day?”

  Patty shook her head. “No one here is actually a teacher. We all take turns facilitating your self-directed studies.” She piled seven—no, eight—books and papers on her desk and slid the stack in front of Olivia.

  “Based on your grades and the classes you were enrolled in at your last school, we’ve determined that these courses are the best places for you to start.” She flipped open the social studies book. “See here? There’s a checklist at the beginning and end of each chapter. You must do everything on that checklist before you may take the test to pass on to the next segment.”

  Oh boy. This should be interesting. “What if I have questions?”

  “Oh, I’m sure you will have questions from time to time.” Patty smiled. “You can always feel free to ask the person in charge that day. If we don’t know the answer, we always know how to find it.”