The Gossip File (2 page)

After I spend the first hour of the flight to Florida replaying the world's worst kiss over and over in my head—ugh!—I finally switch to worrying about meeting my dad's girlfriend. What if she's an evil stepmother type, complete with British accent and nasty dog? Or what if she's a crazy Elvis impersonator? I can't deal with my dad kissing someone who has bigger sideburns than he does. Really, I don't think I can deal with my dad kissing anyone. Period.

Mom's new boyfriend is my middle school principal, which was awkward at first, but at least I had an idea of the kind of person he was. Ellie is a total question mark.

I try to distract myself by thinking about all the places I can't wait to visit with Dad over the next two weeks. When I was little, my perfect Florida vacation involved both of my parents taking me to every possible Orlando theme park. It didn't factor in the fact that my parents would be legally separated or that I'd be flying there by myself. Even though it's not the exact trip I always imagined, I'm determined to make the best of it.

By the time we land, I'm so anxious and excited that my stomach feels like it's a big bowl of jiggly pudding. It doesn't help that my “unaccompanied minor” badge has made the flight attendants treat me like a toddler throughout the whole flight. I'm starting to wonder if I'm even capable of walking out of the plane on my own or if it's better if they put me in a stroller.

I'm seriously considering darting back to the plane and begging the pilot to take me home when I spot my dad waiting for me at the gate. All my nervousness melts away the instant I see him grinning back at me.

“Dad!” I squeal. Even though I saw him a couple of weeks ago, his quick visit didn't do much to cure my withdrawal. I drop my bag and launch myself into his arms.

“I'm so happy to see you, Rachel Roo,” he says, squeezing me tight. Then he shows one of the flight attendants his pass and ID, like he's checking me out of the library.

“Where's Ellie?” I ask as Dad grabs my carry-on. After all those hours of worrying, I'm almost disappointed not to have met her yet. Maybe she's outside with her pack of evil dogs. They probably don't let you park those in the garage.

“She's waiting for us by the baggage claim,” he says.

I practically count each step as we make our way there, part of me enjoying that for now I have my dad to myself, the other part of me anxious to get the Big Meeting over with. I notice, suddenly, that my dad looks a lot more put together than he usually does. Instead of faded khakis and a wrinkled polo shirt, his clothes look pressed and brand-new. I have a feeling this must be Ellie's influence.

“Wow, look. Palm trees!” I cry, spotting a cluster of them through the airport window.

My dad smiles. “I'm glad you're finally getting to see the world outside New England.”

When we get to the baggage claim, my dad waves to a petite woman standing nearby. “Rachel,” he says, “this is Ellie.”

She looks head-to-toe fancy, from her perfectly bobbed hair to her flowy blouse and linen pants. My fashion-obsessed best friend, Marisol, would totally approve. I'm suddenly self-conscious about my faded T-shirt and wrinkled shorts. Why couldn't I have put on a dress or something?

Ellie rushes over, smiling like the sun. “I'm so glad to meet you!” she says with a slight southern accent as she furiously shakes my hand. Even her perfume smells expensive. I can tell right away why my dad likes her. She's as bubbly and friendly as he is. No sideburns or demon dogs. I feel myself relaxing as she beams at me.

Then Ellie turns and waves to a skinny boy who's about twelve, with a mop of hair hanging in his eyes and an iPad clutched in his hands.

“And this is my son, Caleb,” Ellie says.

My mouth flops open. What the Shrek? Ellie has a son?

Caleb does a one-shoulder shrug-wave without actually looking up from his tablet. I guess I would think it was rude if I wasn't also being totally rude from shock. I look at my dad, but he's grinning back at me like everything is normal. Did he purposely not tell me about Caleb, or did he forget to mention him? Dad can be pretty scatterbrained sometimes, but this is big even for him.

“Hey,” I finally manage to choke out.

Caleb shrugs again and starts frantically clicking something on his screen. I assume he's playing a game, although I can't tell what kind.

“Now,” says Ellie, clapping her hands. Considering how many rings she's wearing, I can't help wondering if it hurts. “Let's get you all settled at my place.”

“Your place?” I say as we start walking toward the exit. “I thought I was staying at my dad's apartment.”

“Not anymore!” Ellie chirps over her shoulder. “I told your father there was no way I'd let you sleep in that tiny box on my watch!”

“It's not that bad—” Dad breaks in, but Ellie keeps going.

“The resort is next door to where Caleb and I live, so you'll be able to relax there while your father and I are at work.”

“Rachel, anything you want to say to Ellie?” my dad asks softly.

“Thank you, Ellie,” I say, embarrassed that he had to pull it out of me. The thing is, I'd been hoping to finally spend some real time with my dad. How is that going to happen if I'm not even staying with him?

Ellie smiles. “No need to thank me. It's my pleasure. Once we get you settled in, we'll show you the resort. There are pools and tennis courts and spas—anything you could ever need.”

Behind me, Caleb mutters something under his breath, not looking up from his iPad.

“What was that?” Ellie says. “Speak up, sweetheart! And get that hair out of your eyes.”

“I said,” Caleb mumbles, not touching his hair, “does ‘anything you could ever need' include a sinkhole?”

I stop walking. “A sinkhole? As in, the ground disappears and stuff falls into it? Doesn't that only happen in disaster movies?”

“Oh, Caleb is being dramatic,” Ellie says. “Yes, there was an incident at the resort last year, but it was only a tiny hole, and no one was hurt. They assure us it's perfectly safe now.”

“Business has been a little slow to pick up since then,” Dad says. “Still, they hired me to do scuba-diving tours for them, so it can't be that bad.”

I manage a weak smile as we start walking again. We've only been in Florida for a few minutes, and already this trip has been full of surprises.

“I'm so glad you're here!” Ellie says suddenly, squeezing my arm. “Teddy has been buzzing about your visit all week!”

I blink. No one calls my dad Teddy. Most people call him Edward or Ted. But I guess if he doesn't mind, then why should I?

Dad gives me a grin as Ellie drapes her arm around my shoulder. Normally, I'd be totally uncomfortable about a stranger—my dad's girlfriend, no less!—being so touchy-feely with me, but Ellie seems so genuinely excited that I'm actually okay with it. Besides, how can I be unhappy when I'm finally with Dad again? Before he left, he and I shared everything. Now I only get to talk to him on the phone once a week, and I feel like all I've been doing is hiding the crazy stuff going on in my life. I can't wait for us to go back to how we used to be.

“Dad,” I say as we pile into an elevator, “how do you do scuba diving when we're so far from the ocean?”

He shakes his head. “You'd be surprised how many folks think this whole state is on the beach. That's why we do half-day and all-day trips. We pack up passengers in a van and drive a couple hours to the coast, do some diving and snorkeling out there, and then drive back.”

“Sounds like a long day for you,” I say.

“It can be, but I promise I'll make time for you.” Dad glances over at Ellie and smiles. “For all of you.”

The way he looks at her makes something shift inside me. Like a sinkhole opening up in my chest.

“So when are we going to Disney?” I ask. “I can't wait to stand on top of the Epcot shiny golf-ball building! I know they probably don't actually let you go up there, but maybe we could—”

“Whoa!” Dad says. “Let's leave the planning for later. For now, let's get you settled in.”

When we leave the airport and step outside, a wall of heat slaps me in the face. For a second, I can't breathe. It's not hot. It's steamy. Like when I open the oven after it's done preheating. My T-shirt instantly feels plastered to my skin.

I'm actually panting by the time we get to the other side of the parking lot. No one else seems to even notice the suffocating heat. I guess they're used to it. Maybe my mom was right about Florida in the summertime.

We pile into Ellie's gleaming SUV while my dad loads my bags in the back. Caleb winds up sitting next to me, which is beyond awkward since he doesn't say a word the whole time. Every once in a while he glances up from his iPad and shoots a look in my direction, like he's trying to decide if I'm friend or foe.

Meanwhile, Ellie tells me about her job at the resort. She certainly likes to talk. “I used to be a nurse, back in the day. But after the divorce, I needed a change of pace, so I moved to Orlando and got a job answering phones at the Four Palms Resort. That didn't last long! I bounced around from job to job at the resort until they found one for me that was a good fit. Now, I'm the staffing manager. When we're looking to hire someone, people come to me. That's how I met your father, Rachel.”

She gives me a sparkling smile in the rearview mirror. “Our scuba instructor had just quit after all the bad press from the sinkhole incident, and I was looking for someone to take his place. I signed up for one of your dad's trips, and the minute I met him, I knew he'd be perfect for the resort. It took a little while to convince my boss to hire him—”

“He was worried about my lack of experience,” Dad explains.

“But Mark finally saw what I see in your father, that he's amazing!”

I can't decide if I should be happy or embarrassed to hear her saying things like that about my dad. It doesn't help that I have her son glaring at me from mere inches away. How can someone as bubbly as Ellie have a son as grumpy as Caleb? I try to focus on the scenery zipping past—hotel, hotel, Waffle House, hotel—but it's not much to look at.

I send Evan a message telling him I've arrived in one piece. I blush as I think about the ear kiss again. Hopefully next time he tries to kiss me, I'll be able to keep ears, elbows, knees, and other nonessential body parts where they're supposed to be. That is, if he even tries to kiss me again.

I shake the thought out of my head as the car slows down and Ellie announces: “There's the resort. Isn't it a beauty?”

My first glimpse of Four Palms Resort and Spa actually makes me gasp. It's like something out of a movie. Clusters of palm trees, sparkling white buildings, and cascading fountains.

Who cares about extreme humidity, sinkholes, and unfriendly boys? I have officially arrived in heaven.

Ellie's apartment is as nice as her clothes and her car. It's sleek and bright and museum-like. I can only imagine that Caleb's room is a dark cave compared to the rest of the place.

“This is amazing!” I say when Ellie shows me the guest room where I'll be staying. It has a giant bed, its own bathroom, and—the kicker—a balcony that overlooks the Four Palms Resort next door. I have a feeling I'll be hanging out there for hours (with a very cold lemonade in my hand so I don't pass out from the heat). Even though it's early evening, the air is still hot and sticky.

“You'll be sharing this balcony with Caleb,” Ellie says as we go to check it out. “His room is right next door.”

“Most of the other apartments here have balconies way bigger than this,” Caleb mutters. “They should have designed it so that all of them were the same size.”

Ellie pats him on the shoulder. “Caleb is interested in architecture, just like his father. Aren't you? Tuck in your shirt, dear. It looks sloppy.”

Caleb just grunts and keeps tapping away on his iPad. These two certainly have a weird relationship.

I glance at my dad to see how he's dealing with Caleb's “cheery” mood, but he's grinning at us like everything is perfect.

“What are those tents for?” I ask, spotting a couple of brightly colored canopies set up inside the resort.

Ellie smiles. “They're for a little event we're putting together next week, a mini Renaissance festival. We thought it might help to bring in some business.”

“Wow, does that mean you'll have jousting and stuff?” I ask, remembering a festival my dad took me to when I was little.

“Jousters, musicians, jugglers—you name it!”

“And catapults,” Caleb chimes in. For once he actually looks up from his tablet. I realize that his eyes are the exact same shade of gray as Ellie's. “There's a design-your-own-catapult competition for kids,” he goes on, his face suddenly full of excitement. “I'm going to win it.”

“Now, let's not brag, dear,” Ellie says.

But Caleb is already back to tapping on the screen.

“Ellie, why don't we let Rachel settle in and then we can go get some dinner at the resort,” Dad says.

“Oh,” I say. “I was hoping we could go to one of the restaurants at Downtown Disney tonight. Remember, Dad? We always talked about checking it out. It's free to get in.”

Dad opens his mouth to answer, but Ellie jumps in. “But it's Sunday. We always eat at the resort on Sundays. Don't we, Teddy?”

My dad nods and gives me an apologetic smile. “Ellie's big on traditions.”

“They make families strong!” she chirps.

I can't help feeling disappointed, but I have to remind myself that it's only my first night here. It won't kill me to wait a day to dive into all the stuff on my list.

We all start to go back into the room, but suddenly Ellie reaches out and grabs my arm. “Stay out here with me a minute,” she whispers.

I stare at her in confusion. Do I have something in my teeth and she's too embarrassed to tell me in front of the others?

When Dad and Caleb are inside, she pulls me over to the corner of the balcony and says in a loud whisper, “I wanted to tell you how much your father means to me, Rachel. He's the best thing to happen to me in a long time.”

“Oh. Good,” I say. My cheeks are already flushed from the heat, but they're suddenly even hotter.

“I can't wait to marry him,” she says, her eyes shining.

My jaw drops. Marry him? Is she saying that she and my dad are engaged?

“But shhh,” she adds. “Don't say anything to your dad, okay? I want it to be a huge surprise when I pop the question.”

Before I can stammer out an answer, my dad calls from inside: “Rachel? Ellie? What are you two doing out there?”

“Just some girl talk!” Ellie calls back, giving me a big wink. Then she squeezes my shoulder and hurries indoors.

I'm in a daze as I stumble back into the frostily air-conditioned room. Caleb's already disappeared and Dad is lugging my bags into the corner.

“Roo? Are you all right?” he asks when he sees what must be a stony look on my face.

Am I all right? I have no idea what to make of what Ellie told me. Part of me hopes I hallucinated the whole thing. Heat makes people do that sometimes, doesn't it?

“Yeah,” I say, forcing myself to smile. “Just tired.”

He pulls me into a quick hug. “I'm so glad you're here, Roo. You have no idea how much I've missed you.” A pained expression flashes across his face, like having me here actually makes him sad for some reason.

“I've missed you too,” I say.

“We'll let you relax for a little while, and then we'll get some dinner. Okay?”

I nod as he leaves the room. Then I stand there, still dazed, replaying what Ellie said. My parents aren't even divorced yet. How could my dad get engaged again? And when Ellie said she's going to “pop the question,” did she mean sometime in the far-off future or did she mean tomorrow? Oh my goldfish. What if she does it while I'm here? Even if she seems nice, how am I supposed to be okay with that? It's totally bizarre!

But I guess if they're happy…

Are they happy? Ellie certainly seems that way, but Dad? He was smiling a lot, but now that I think about it, he hasn't laughed once since I got here. That doesn't seem like the dad I know at all.