As I shove my stuff into my suitcase, I keep replaying my conversation with my dad over and over in my head. So much for convincing him to give me another chance.
Maybe it’s a good thing I’m going home. Coming here has made me lose my mind. I bet it’s from the heat melting my brain. How else could everything have gotten so messed up?
I jump as someone knocks on the door. When I open it, I’m surprised to see Ellie standing there looking sadder than I’ve ever seen her. I would have thought she’d be bouncing off the walls now that I’ll finally be out of her hair and she’ll have my dad all to herself again.
“Can I come in for a minute?” she asks.
“It’s your house,” I say with a shrug. Then I go back to packing as she perches on the bed.
“Rachel, I wanted to ask you about the notes that Caleb found.”
“I already said I was sorry,” I say. “It was stupid of me to write that stuff down.”
“But what were they for? I’m trying to understand how things went so wrong during your visit, and that’s one part that just doesn’t add up.”
I sigh and try to think what to say. I guess I do owe Ellie an explanation since some of the stuff I wrote was about her and her family. “It was just for this stupid book at the café,” I say. “All the new employees do it. You have to write down some resort gossip. I didn’t know what to write, so I scribbled random stuff down.”
“A book at the café?” she asks.
I shrug. Since I’m leaving today, I guess it doesn’t matter if I keep the Gossip File a secret anymore. “Yeah, it’s just some notes shoved into a book. It’s not a big deal, and it’s not meant to hurt anyone. The whole point of the book is to show that even though the resort looks like this perfect place, there’s a lot of imperfect stuff going on there.”
She gives me a long look. “Is the book a mystery novel?” she says, a hint of a smile on her face.
I put down the shirt I’m folding and stare at her. “How did you know that?”
She laughs. “Because I’m the one who started it when I worked at the café.”
“You what?”
“It was years ago,” she says, shaking her head like she can’t believe how long it’s been. “I’d just gotten almost-fired from my job answering phones, but luckily a spot opened up at the café. I hated it there, seeing all those couples and families coming in and out, laughing and talking together when I had no one. I’d just gotten divorced, and my own son didn’t want to live with me. I’d left a good job as a nurse to work at a resort that didn’t seem like a good fit for me. I was miserable, and I guess the only way I could make myself feel better was to write down all the not-so-flattering things I saw about those around me.”
I stare at her, speechless. I can’t believe Ellie started the Gossip File. “And did it help?” I ask finally.
She thinks about that for a minute. “I suppose it did at first. It helped get some of that frustration out, even frustration at myself. I don’t know if you saw the notes about me in there, the ones I wrote.”
I choke. “Wait, you’re the one who wrote all of that stuff about not being perfect? Why?”
“Because it was true.” She laughs. “It still is. But I think what helped me the most was showing the Gossip File to the other people at the café and getting them interested in it. After a while the gossip wasn’t the point. All that mattered was that we had something to talk and laugh about together. It helped me to start trusting people again.” She shakes her head in wonder. “I didn’t realize that book was still there. I figured someone would have thrown it away long ago.”
We sit in silence for a long while, and as each second ticks by, I feel worse and worse. “I really am sorry,” I say. “I would never have written any of that stuff down if I’d known someone else would see it. I guess I was feeling pretty lonely too.”
“You know, Rachel, I never meant for you to feel like I was taking your father away from you. I wanted there to be room for both of us in his life, and I think there can be.”
She gives me a smile, and for once it seems real instead of the forced, perfect smile that she always puts on for show. I wish I’d gotten to see this side of her more often. Maybe then I wouldn’t hate the idea of her being with my dad.
There’s a knock on the door and Dad comes in.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. “I thought you had to go back to work.”
He shakes his head. “I couldn’t leave after what you said to me. It’s been playing over and over in my head. And you’re right. I’ve been so busy working and trying to make everyone happy that I’ve missed out on a chance to spend time with you. If you leave today, I know I’ll regret it. So, will you stay?”
I blink at him. “Really? You want me here?”
“Only if you really want to be here, and if you swear that there won’t be any more trouble. I promise I’ll make more time for you from now on. My job can do without me for a few days. My family can’t.”
I throw my arms around him and squeeze as tightly as I can. “You won’t regret this!” I tell him.
When I finally pull away, he wipes tears from his eyes. “So are we still on for our Disney trip?” he says. “I took tomorrow off.”
“Yes!” I say.
“Great. And, Ellie, you can still do tomorrow, right?”
Ellie nods and squeezes his hand.
My excitement fades a little at the thought of her coming with us, but I try not to let it show on my face. My dad’s giving me another chance. I’m not going to ruin it this time.