Ruby Reinvented (26 page)

“It's okay, Katie. You're allowed to be psyched to meet them.”

“Oh good, because I totally am.” Then she lets out a squeal and joins the other girls.

After apologizing to the other models for the big surprise and giving the same explanation I gave to Katie, I leave them to change out of their dresses. I walk Mom, Dad, and Ellie to the lobby. They've been traveling for the past twelve hours, and they're exhausted. I know they want to go to their hotel and collapse.

“Thank you for doing this,” I say as I hug Mom. “I'm sorry you had to cancel your taping. I know a lot of people were counting on you.”

Mom touches my nose. “
You
were counting on me.”

After Dad gives me a huge bear hug, Ellie takes my hand.

“You should be proud, bubela.”

“Thank you, Ellie.” And I don't just mean for the nice compliment. I hug her as tight as I can, and they walk outside toward their waiting limo.

“See you tomorrow!” I yell, and I don't even care who sees me waving to a limousine.

I collect my friends back at the dressing room, and we make our way to the cafeteria to grab a snack.

Within seconds of walking through the doors, I'm being swarmed. Kids I don't know are pushing and shoving to talk to me.

“I can't believe your dad is Zack Miller,” Timmy gushes.

“Yeah, I thought your parents were dead or something,” Shane says.

Before I can answer, Holly and a bunch of her friends have become my Midcoast bodyguards.

“Give her some space,” Holly yells. “Sheesh.”

“Yeah, let the poor girl get some food,” Tess chimes in.

Holly winks at me, and she and Tess shoo most of the kids away, whispering as they go.

“Thanks for that,” I say.

“Of course. I don't know why people are making such a big deal.”

And this is why I love Summer and her family.

“Have you seen Connor?” Summer asks Holly.

“No, but that was really nice what you guys did for him.”

I hope he thinks so.

After things calm down a bit, Summer and I join the end of the food line. Kids are definitely looking at me differently. In fact, they're definitely looking at me, period. Which isn't something they did much of before today.

Just as we're close enough to place our order, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

“Hi, Bea.” It's Cassandra, with a huge grin on her face.
She's got one hand on her hip and the other hand is holding a gold Coach clutch, which is a fabulous bag, but it completely clashes with what she's wearing.

“Uhhhh, hi.” If she hadn't said my name and tapped me on the shoulder, I would have sworn she had me mistaken for somebody else.

“So listen.” Cassandra touches me lightly on the arm. “About that whole Connor thing. I'm really sorry I made such a big deal out of it. It's so totally obvious that he likes you and not me.”

She's being very nice to me. Too nice.

“So, can you forgive me? Friends again?”

Before I can think about responding, my thoughts are flooded with Sophie and what I overheard that day at my party.
How long do I have to act like Ruby's best friend?

All of a sudden Cassandra has Sophie's face. But instead of feeling angry or upset, I feel perfectly calm looking at her. I know exactly why she's being nice to me today, when she hated me yesterday. “I'd like to be your friend, Cassandra, but only if you want to be friends with me.”

Cassandra flashes a lip-gloss-coated smile. “Of course I want to be friends with you.”

“Are you sure it's me you want to be friends with, and not my parents?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Cassandra's lips get pouty.

“It means that I'd like to be friends, but you may never meet my parents. You'll be friends with me. Not them.”

“But if we're friends, I'll meet your parents
eventually
.”

“Maybe not. Is that okay?”

Cassandra's smile is gone, and she's back to giving me her usual glare. “Why are you making such a big deal of this?”

“I just want to make sure that you want to be my friend for the right reasons.”

“And so because of that you're banning me from meeting your parents?” Her voice is higher and louder than it normally is. “What about Summer? Is she not allowed to meet your parents either?”

“Summer wanted to be my friend long before she found out who my parents are.”

“Yeah, well, you didn't steal Summer's boyfriend,” Cassandra says under her breath.

Summer rolls her eyes. “He was never your boyfriend, Cassandra. He—”

“It doesn't matter.” The words fly out of Cassandra's mouth like daggers. “It seems Bea doesn't understand that friendship is a two-way street.”

“We can start over,” I say. “Friends? True friends?”

Cassandra flips her hair. “Can I meet your parents?”

This tells me all I need to know, so I shake my head. “I'm really sorry.”

“You know what? Forget it.” Now Cassandra has both hands on her hips. “I wouldn't want to be your friend anyway. I'm glad Connor finally knows the truth about you.”

I smile. “So am I.”

 36 

I
SPEND THE next day showing my parents and Ellie around town. We visit the bookstore, the harbor, and the ice cream shop. Of course people whisper and point, and some even stop to chat, but mostly, everyone leaves us alone.

Summer's parents invite us over to dinner, and my parents are so fascinated with town that they decide to walk there.

“So, Bea.” Dad puts his arm around me as we walk. “Your mom and I are kind of in love with this place.”

“Yeah, Midcoast's pretty great.”

“And so is Maine. Everybody's been exceptionally nice. We're thinking about getting a house here,” Mom says.

“What?” I stop in my tracks.

“Yeah, like a vacation home.” Dad takes a deep breath. “To get away from it all.”

“And, of course,” Mom adds. “To spend more time with you.”

“Really?” I look from Mom to Dad.

“What do you think about that?” Dad asks.

A few weeks ago I would have been totally horrified at the thought. But now I feel all warm and gooey inside. Like I just had a cup of hot chocolate—with marshmallows.

I can't wait to tell Summer.

Which I do as soon as she opens the door. I don't even make it past the entryway of their house when I start blabbing. She listens politely, but her eyes keep darting around the room. I'm not sure she's hearing a word I'm saying.

“Didn't you hear me? My parents want to get a house here.”

“I know, Bea, and that's awesome. It's just that I have to tell you—”

“Dinner's ready,” Veronica calls from the kitchen.

“Just a minute,” Summer calls back.

Eric comes in and ushers us forward. “Come on, girls. This is a very important night.”

I raise an eyebrow at Summer. I didn't think her family would make such a big deal about having my parents over for dinner. I thought they were too cool for that.

It's obvious that we're not eating on the couch tonight.
Tonight we're in the dining room. The table is set for nine. I wonder if Holly has a friend over.

Summer and I sit at one end of the table, and Mom, Dad, and Ellie are at the other end. Eric and Veronica are loading the table with plates of food. My mouth waters at the smells wafting from the dishes.

The front door opens, and Holly's voice echoes through the house. “Sorry we're late.”

“You're just in time,” Veronica says. “Wash your hands and take a seat.”

A minute later Holly bounces into the dining room.

Followed by Connor.

Veronica introduces my parents and Ellie to Holly and Connor. Connor smiles politely at them but never looks at me.

“I'm so glad you could all join us here tonight,” Veronica says once she sits down.

“Thanks for having us,” Mom says. “Everything smells delicious.”

“I hope it is.” Veronica picks up her glass. “But first, a toast. And an announcement. Or, an announcement, and then a toast.” She lets out a nervous giggle.

I look at Summer, but she doesn't meet my eyes. She's got a big goofy smile on her face, though. We all pick up our glasses and stare at Veronica, whose hand is shaking so much that her wine is sloshing around in her glass, threatening to spill over the top.

“This is a pretty big day for us.” She smiles at Eric, but her voice is as shaky as her hand. I can't believe she's making such a big deal of meeting my parents.

Eric waits for her to go on, but she can't seem to get the words out. “We wanted you all here to be a part of this.”

I glance over at Holly, who's positively beaming. Then I sneak a peek at Connor, who looks as confused as I do.

“Connor.” Eric turns to face him. “There's something we'd like to talk with you about.”

“Okay.” Connor's eyes dart from Eric to Veronica.

“We would like it very much if you would become an official member of our family.”

Connor's chin practically touches the table.

“We spoke with your uncle,” Eric continues. “We know you haven't had the best relationship with him, and he agreed that we're better equipped to raise kids than he is. So—”

Eric looks at Veronica and nods.

“So we'd like to adopt you.” Veronica's eyes are teary. “If that's okay with you.”

Connor's still holding his glass in the air. He doesn't move or say anything for what feels like hours. Finally, he puts his glass on the table and looks at Eric.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, Connor. We are very serious.”

“I'd live here?”

“You'd live here.”

“For real?”

“If that's what you want.”

I think everyone at the table is holding their breath. I know I must be turning blue by now.

Connor breaks out into a big smile, dimple and all. “I'd really like that.”

Veronica puts her glass down, scoots out of her chair and over to his, and wraps her arms around his shoulders.

“Welcome to the family.”

Eric gets up next, and Holly and Summer follow. They pull him into a group hug, while Mom and Dad sit across from them, clapping.

More than anything, I want to give Connor a hug too. But he hasn't spoken to me in days.

“Let's eat,” Eric says when everyone's back in their seats.

The food is incredible, and Mom and Dad talk with Veronica and Eric like they've known each other for years. They don't talk about Hollywood. They don't talk about major league baseball. They just talk. Holly, Summer, and I talk, and Holly, Summer, and Connor talk, but Connor and I don't say one word to each other.

After dinner Veronica calls us into the family room. “There's one more thing we'd like to do.”

Eric pulls a wrapped box out of the closet.

“This is for you.” He puts the box in front of Connor.

Connor stares at it, until Summer jumps in. “I'm going to open it if you don't.”

Connor tears open the wrapping paper to reveal a box with a picture of a telescope on it.

His eyes are almost as big as the box. “Is this—is this the Celestron NexStar Eight SE?”

“It is.” Eric smiles.

Connor picks the box up. “But it's empty.”

“That's because the telescope is already set up outside.” Eric points to the backyard. “We thought you could use it here until the observation deck's ready.”

“I can't accept it.” Connor shakes his head and pushes the box away from him. “It's too much.”

“Nonsense,” Veronica says. “Just think of it as a gift for all of the birthdays we missed before we knew you.”

I'm holding my breath, waiting for Connor to say something. He goes from staring at the telescope box to staring at Eric and Veronica.