Could you get that, Mari?” Mom calls from upstairs. I am cleaning up yet another weekend breakfast mess after losing an arm wrestling wager with Jon. Now all the kids have invited me to an arm wrestling challenge with dreams of being chore free for the rest of their young lives.
I head to the front door and look in the security monitor. Kayla. Then I look down at my messy apron, frayed jeans, and broken flip flops. Oh, great. She will pretend to not know me all over again with this getup.
Kayla enters the door by first poking her head in, as if checking to see if the coast is clear of kids. She seems relieved until she spots me standing by the soda fountain bar holding up a spatula.
“Goodness, Mary. They’ve put you to work.”
I don’t correct her. She knows my name—just as I know hers. “That’s right, Kale. But you know what hard work volunteering can be, don’t you? After all, you’ve taken on my mom’s campaign out of the kindness of your big heart. It’s not easy to be so generous.”
She fluffs the back of her hair with platinum adorned fingers. “Well, thank you. It is worth every backbreaking minute of it.”
“I’m here, Miss Impatient Pants.”
I turn to Mom to thank her for the humiliating nickname, but when I see her beautiful outfit, all I can do is praise her. “Is that what you bought last week? It’s wonderful. That jacket is very stylish, and the necklace is fantastic.”
“Those were my selections, Marsha,” beams Kayla.
I stare at Mom, giving her a “see what she does?” look. But Mom is on an adrenaline high and does not tune into her daughter’s hypersensitivity to being called by the wrong name.
Kayla does a quick check of Mom’s makeup and outfit and her notes. “Perfect. They will love you at the Friends of the Library function. This group represents people we want to back us all the way.”
“To the White House?” I ask mischievously. Mom is running for city council, not a senate seat, for goodness’ sake.
I get a kiss from Mom and a sideways glance from Kayla.
“Have a good time on your field trip, Mari,” Mom calls back.
I hear Kayla say, “That is so cute, a field trip,” as they walk down the front steps.
“Oh!” I yell when they are out of earshot.
“Don’t worry, dear. Nobody can replace you.”
“I’m not worried about that.” At least I wasn’t. “I know her and she knows me, but she won’t admit it. That is just strange behavior.”
“Did you like her back then?”
“Not particularly.”
“Maybe she wants to start over. Your mom seems to like what she is doing for the campaign. Think of it differently?”
“Okay. Thanks, Dad. Will you round up the kids for me?”
“Marcus has got that covered. They are all out back doing drills. He wanted to wear them out a bit before driving them in the van.”
“I’m taking them. Me. Not Marcus. I planned this field trip to Williamsburg.” I start counting off all the things I have done to prepare for this day. “I researched places to go, I arranged stops with the restaurants and retailers, I scheduled the colonial reenactment actors…”
“This is your show. But you know how we were talking about your mom and me being a good team—it is out of necessity. You don’t take fourteen kids on a field trip alone. For one thing, it is not even legal according to our center policies, and two, it is much more fun to blame another adult if something goes wrong.”
“Good point.”
Dad turns as quickly as his body is able these days and snaps his fingers. “Say, didn’t you go by the name Chanel last year for a while?”
I huff defensively. “It was for my job at the resort. What’s your point?” Though I think I know.
He raises his eyebrows. “That is just strange behavior,” he says, mimicking my words.
With a grumble to hide my smile, I gather my stuff together and walk to the back door. Just as I am about to open the screen door, I hear Alf “shush” everybody. Marcus stands up straight and keeps his hands behind his back. The kids do the same.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Ms. Hamilton,” they say in practiced unison.
I wag my finger at them all. “I will find out one way or another what you are up to. Now get in the van!” I pull a whistle from my pocket and give it three short blasts.