Acting Out (11 page)

Then Ginny looks at the clock on the wall and waves us all to follow her.

“It’s time to get into makeup. We need to be quick,” she says. “Come with me.”

They decide to do the boys’ makeup first. Josh sits through it just fine. David is in the second chair, squirming as though the makeup stings him. He can be so ridiculous. The girls go next, one after another. Maggie usually hates makeup, but I see her sneaking a small smile at herself in the mirror when she’s done. Finally, it’s my turn, and I like the results! My skin is glowing and my cheeks are pink. I bet I’ll look good on camera.

It’s time to go into the studio, and I can’t believe it, but I actually feel butterflies in my stomach. This is really happening. David and Josh push each other around as we walk in the hall. Sunita’s eyes are extra huge, and it’s not from the makeup. I feel bad that she looks so scared. Even Brenna is pretty quiet. Ugh. This is supposed to be fun for everyone, not torture.

I look around as we enter the studio. There are so many extra adults in the room. They must be employees because they have ID badges on cords around their necks. They look anxious, too. But I don’t see the famous James anywhere. Anchorwoman Ginny lines us up behind the two stools. I wonder why there are two. James needs just the one, I would think.

There is some kind of commotion behind us, but I can’t immediately see what’s going on. The camera blocks my vision.

“Who is that?” I hear.

One of the adults gasps, “It’s him.”

I turn around to see a tan guy with a tousled haircut, perfectly rumpled jeans, and a slightly too-small black T-shirt that hugs his biceps. Yep, he’s Hollywood all right. This must be James. I think I recognize him, actually. He’s been in a few movies. No wonder the studio is filled with employees. They all want to meet the famous actor.

And then—no, I can’t believe it. I see someone even more famous! Famous to me, anyway. My mother!

“Zoe! Surprise!” She races toward me and whips me into a hug.

I look up at her. It’s real. She’s here. She looks
gorgeous in a deep-purple blouse and fitted black skirt, with her hair and makeup all done up. My mom.

“Are you surprised?” She hugs me again. “Did anyone breathe a word about my coming?”

“Gran didn’t say a thing.” I look over to where my grandmother is standing with the TV station people. Gran gives me a thumbs-up. Mom squeezes my arm.

Anchorwoman Ginny rushes up. “Are we ready to start?”

Mom nods. “James, shall we?”

He stops shaking hands with the station employees and flashes her a smile. Then he jogs over.

“You must be Zoe,” he says exuberantly. “I’m so pumped to meet you. Your mom has told me so much about you.”

She has?

I hardly have time to process what’s happening when the cameraman says, “Okay, kids, you know your lines. We’re going to get a fix on you for the camera and then we’ll give you the go-ahead to start. And make sure you speak a little slower than you normally do. Most people tend to talk too fast because they’re nervous.”

Well, now I
am
nervous! Extremely nervous.
I never thought we’d be doing this in front of so many people. Including my mom. I glance at Maggie. She looks worse than I feel.

Then we begin.

We have to go through it twice to get it right. But then Ginny yells, “Cut!” and we’re done!

The Vet Volunteers cheer. James gives Mom
a hug. Longer than just a friend’s hug, I’d say. Maggie catches my eye. She saw that hug, too. I think Maggie and I have another popcorn-fueled cousin catch-up night in store.

After the taping, Mom and James take all of the Vet Volunteers (and Gran, of course) out for a great meal at the nicest restaurant in town. James tells us all about how the production team at the news station will edit the PSA. Once they’re done, we’ll all get a copy and they’ll let us know when it will air on TV. I still can’t believe it—the Vet Volunteers, on television! Then, after a night of gossiping with Maggie, I get to make brunch with Mom, just the two of us. Whole-wheat French toast with organic mixed berries—yum! Unfortunately right after that, Mom has to head back to Vancouver, and I’ve barely had a full twenty-four hours with her. I’m a little sad about it, but she and Gran and I spent some quality time with the calendar, writing things down and making plans. I’m going to visit Mom in Vancouver and we’re even going to have a getaway weekend in New York City. So that’s pretty good for now.

The next day, David comes to the clinic to take Rover home. The formerly frisky cat has made a full recovery. Maggie and I are handling Rover in the recovery room while Gran goes over the postclinic
care instruction sheet with David. Rover squirms and jumps out of Maggie’s lap, making a beeline for David. He drops the sheet, and as it flutters to the floor, Rover jumps and catches it in his mouth. The cat takes off, racing around the room with the paper dangling beneath his whiskers. It’s so good to see him back to normal.

“Rover, sit,” David calls. Rover sits. “Rover, come.” Rover trots right over to David, and David takes the paper from him. “Good boy, Rover, good boy,” David says with a big grin as he scratches his cat under the chin. I think David is back to normal, too.

“That is one strange cat you’ve got there,” I say to David.

“One of a kind,” David agrees, and lifts Rover into the cat carrier.

“One of a kind. Just like you, Zoe,” Maggie says, eyeing my outfit. What? My floral dress and moccasins are totally on trend.

David takes off with Rover, and Maggie and I head back to the house. It’s time for lunch.

“So, Maggie,” I say sweetly, “I’ve made a vegetarian quinoa bowl with cucumber, tofu, and avocado. It has a sesame-ginger dressing, and I’ve topped it with nori and sunflower sprouts.”

“That almost sounds good enough to try without
holding my nose,” Maggie says, poking my arm playfully. “Come on Gran, Zoe has whipped us up another treat.”

I grab a box of Pop-Tarts from the cupboard and toss them to Maggie.

“Just in case you don’t like it. We do have fallback food,” I say.

Maggie laughs and tosses the box up in the air and catches it again.

“I’m kind of getting used to your weird food, Zoe. I think we can stash these for now.”

Gran is pulling a pitcher out of the refrigerator. “Homemade iced pomegranate white tea,” she says, proudly holding it up for me to see. “Your mom told me it was your favorite. It wasn’t much harder to make than that instant lemonade I usually mix up.”

I beam at my grandmother. I love that my mom was thinking of me, and I love that Gran made the tea. The three of us get the table ready for lunch. Maggie pulls out the plates, I prepare the quinoa, and Gran pours our healthy drinks. And for the first time in a long while, I feel we aren’t just acting like a family. We really are one.

Turn the page to read a sample of another book
in the Vet Volunteer series…

New Beginnings

T
he tabby cat with black, gray, and white stripes is hanging out near the Dumpster behind our store again. I’ve seen him every day since we moved here a week ago. It’s getting late and I promised Mom I’d help with dinner, but I want to see if the cat’s okay. Yesterday, he had a tear in his left ear, but he was too jittery to let me look at it closely or to clean it.

“Hey there, kitty,” I say. “How’s your ear? Still no tags or collar?”

“Meow,” he says. He watches me, but keeps his distance, his ring-striped tail twitching from side to side. Aside from no collar or tag, and his ear, which looks like it’s healing okay, he doesn’t look
like a stray. His coat is short, thick, and shiny, and he looks well fed. In fact, he’s more chubby than sleek. Each day he comes a little closer to me and the water dish I set out for him, and twice he’s let me pet him. I’ve been changing the water daily. Maybe today he’ll let me pet him again and check his ear more closely.