Sewing in Circles (16 page)

That night, when they were back at the hotel, Dad called to ask Zoey about her big night. She told him the great news: Her clothes were back-ordered in a few sizes already! They had to refill the rack from
the stockroom, and were going to arrange for a vendor to manufacture the clothes to keep up with demand!

“I'm really proud of you,” he told Zoey after she'd given him a rundown of the evening's festivities. “I wish I could have been there.”

“I know,” Zoey said. “I wish you could have been here too.”

“Listen, Zo . . . I've got some news. The Mystery Lady and I decided it's time for you all to meet.”

“Wow!” Zoey said, stunned by the news. “When?”

“I invited her for dinner tomorrow night, after you get back from the city,” Dad said. “She's really looking forward to it.”

“So am I,” Zoey said.

But after she hung up, she wasn't so sure. If Dad decided they should meet the Mystery Lady, things must be getting superserious. Zoey wasn't sure she was ready for that. First, Aunt Lulu was about to have a baby, and now Dad was getting serious with a woman she hadn't even met?

She dialed Marcus's cell.

“Hey, Zo, how was the shindig?” Marcus asked.

“It was great, but . . . did Dad tell you?”

“About meeting the Mystery Lady? Yeah.
Finally!
”

“I'm not sure I want to meet her,” Zoey confessed.

“What! Why not?” Marcus exclaimed. “We've been nagging him to introduce us for months!”

“I know . . . but do you think this means they're going to get married?” Zoey asked. “I don't know if I'm ready for a stepmother I've never met.”

“First of all, you're going to meet her. At dinner tomorrow,” Marcus said. “And as for the stepmother thing . . . I know what you mean, but I think we have to trust Dad. I mean, he picked Mom, right?”

Zoey hadn't thought of it that way, but once she did, she felt better. At least kind of better. So much was changing. She just hoped the Mystery Lady was all she was cracked up to be.

What a Gift!

Well, it's back to regular life as a middle schooler after a weekend of the fancy New York City fashion world! Sometimes I can't believe this is my life—it's like I won some lottery or some huge gift just by doing what I love—and then I get a pop quiz and come
back to Earth. I can see the book title now:
From Pop Quiz to Pop-Up Shop: The Sew Zoey Story
. Ha-ha. Anyway, I was so busy I didn't even have time to do a sketch for today's post. Instead, check out a sketch of those scarves and headbands I made with my friend's paintings for the gift fair. This time, I got his permission to use the images—lesson learned—and I hope you'll think they're as cool as I do! Also, these are the two pieces for sale in Daphne's shop—an origami shirt and flared skirt, courtesy of yours truly.

And now for more about last night. It was an
amazing
time: Mrs. Lovallo treated us to mani-pedis and blowouts, which meant my hair was perfect all night. How nice was that?! The event itself was less intimidating than I thought it would be, because there were other kids my age there—and I got to see Christophe LeFrak and Ceci Miller, my fellow judges from
Fashion Showdown
, as well as Oscar Bradesco, who hosted when I was a judge. I just missed meeting Daphne Shaw on that occasion—but now I have my clothes in her pop-up shop! It goes to show that you never know how one thing can lead to another . . . .

When Zoey got back to Mapleton on Sunday afternoon, she got a phone call from Ezra, who sounded superexcited.

“Guess what! Your friend Jan bought one of my paintings for her store!” he said. “I've never sold a painting before. . . . I'm officially a working artist!”

“Awesome!” Zoey said. “Looks like Marcus's postcards worked.”

“Thanks again for doing the scarves and headbands,” Ezra said. “I know I kind of freaked out at first, but I'm really glad you did it. We did pretty well with them, didn't we?”

“Yeah—I was nervous about not making enough to cover the cost of the booth, but thanks to your accessories, it wasn't a problem,” Zoey said. “That reminds me, I have to give you your share of the profits.”

“Do you want to get together after school this week? I want to hear all about the opening, too!” Ezra said.

They arranged to get together on Wednesday, and Zoey hung up just as Dad called, asking her to come downstairs and help him. He was busy
preparing for dinner with the Mystery Lady, and Zoey could tell he was nervous by the way he wanted everything to be just so.

“What tablecloth should I use?” he asked, holding up two different ones.

“We haven't used a tablecloth since . . . I can't remember when,” Zoey said. “But if I had to choose, I'd say that one.” She pointed to the cotton one with embroidered flowers.

“Can you and Marcus set the table and make it look nice?” Dad asked. “Make sure you use cloth napkins and not paper ones.”

Marcus and Zoey exchanged glances.

“Sure, Dad,” Zoey said. “Real napkins it is.”

“Uh, Dad?” Marcus said. “It's just dinner, not a presidential banquet.”

“You might just be right,” Dad said, “but I really want tonight to go well.”

“Chill, Dad,” Zoey said. “It'll be fine.

“It's actually kind of cute how nervous he is, isn't it, Zo?” Marcus said.

Dad laughed.

“Go ahead and tease,” he warned. “I'll remember
this when you both are nervous about introducing
your
significant others to
me
!”

When the doorbell rang at six o'clock, Dad jumped up to answer the door before Zoey and Marcus could even think about it. They waited in the kitchen, hearing muffled voices as Dad greeted his guest.

“What's taking them so long?” Marcus whispered to Zoey when they hadn't come into the kitchen after a few minutes.

“Do you think she changed her mind about meeting us at the last minute?” Zoey whispered back.

“No way,” Marcus replied in a low voice. “We've waited too long.”

He called out into the hallway, “Hey, Dad? Are you coming? We don't want dinner to get overcooked!”

“Be right there,” Dad called back.

Zoey's heart started beating faster in anticipation of seeing the woman who might, one day, maybe, become her stepmother.

Dad walked back into the kitchen. Behind him was . . .
Ms. Austen
?

Zoey was confused. Why was her principal visiting her house at dinnertime on Sunday? She couldn't think of anything she'd done wrong at all, much less something that would be bad enough to require a home visit from the head of the school.

Zoey was in the middle of admiring Ms. Austen's flouncy dress—which was tailored and tasteful but less buttoned-up than her usual attire as school principal—when suddenly it dawned on her that something big was happening. “Wait . . .
Ms. Austen
is the Mystery Lady?” she blurted out.

“I am,” Ms. Austen said, smiling as Dad put his arm across her shoulders. “I hope you both understand now why your dad and I felt like it was best we kept things discreet until we had a better idea of where this was going.”

Zoey couldn't have been more surprised. But then she thought back to the day when her dad and Ms. Austen shared an animated and very smiley conversation in the parking lot at school when Dad was waiting for her . . . and how the person who picked the baby present for Aunt Lulu's shower had such great taste . . . and how Dad had a date at the
art museum . . . and suddenly the pieces fell into place.

“It
does
make more sense,” Zoey admitted.

“Yeah, I can see how it would be awkward for you—and for Zoey!” Marcus said. “But I've only heard great things about you, Ms. Austen, for the record.”

Ms. Austen smiled warmly. “Likewise, Marcus. And you can call me Essie, if you want.”

Marcus shrugged, and Zoey stepped in. “Can we stick with ‘Ms. Austen' for now?” Zoey asked. “This is already kind of weird, and I think it'll be weirder to call you by your first name!”

“Whatever works for you,” Ms. Austen said kindly.

Zoey remembered when she'd first seen that name way back when she'd first learned about the change in the uniform policy in a letter from her school's new principal, Ms. Esther Austen. She never would have guessed that this one person could change so much in her own life in a short time, and maybe for the better.

As they ate dinner and she watched Ms. Austen
and Dad smiling at each other, Zoey wondered if her school principal—who apparently went by the name “Essie”—was going to be her new stepmom.

It wouldn't be so bad,
Zoey thought. She loved Ms. Austen, and they had a lot in common—they both loved fashion and, it seemed, her dad. And she hadn't seen her dad this happy in as long as she could remember.

But how weird would it be to have your stepmom as a principal? Especially as
your
principal? Zoey had no idea how that would work—but if Ms. Austen made Dad this happy, Zoey was going to try really hard to make sure it did! So much was changing with Dad and the now not-so-Mystery Lady and Aunt Lulu's baby on the way. Zoey had no idea what her family was going to look like in the future, but of one thing she could be certain: They would all be
very
well dressed!

Don't be fashionably late! Look out for the next book in the Sew Zoey series: