100 Days of Cake (26 page)

FishTopia is going out of business because, despite all the hours and hard work that Alex and Elle and I put into saving it, we raised around three hundred dollars. The weird kiss with Dr. B.; Veronica catching us and running away; Alex taking my hand when he dropped me off. Me running away and almost leaving my bike like Cinderella's extra-heavy glass slipper.

Crap.

A thousand pounds of bricks on my chest, I wonder how I was ever able to fall sleep last night in the first place.

More than anything else, I want to go back into the dream where Dad is alive and a part of our family. Where he would have ideas about how to save FishTopia, where he would make sure that Veronica and I never fought over guys or groundings or anything.

But Alex and I left FishTopia such a mess that it's not
fair to him if I completely bail. So I pull myself out of the sleigh bed.

Even though I'm dreading talking to her, I stop by V's room. I have to tell her
something
about what she saw between Dr. B. and me last night. But the truth is, I have absolutely no idea what she saw, what we were doing, and if it's even going to happen again. So yeah, not entirely clear how to explain that one.

She's not home anyway. The stone shower (an upgrade, of course) in our model-home bathroom is still beaded with water and smells of her lilac perfume.

I say a silent prayer that she'll “do the good sisterly thing” and not tell Mom about what she saw—exactly the way I
didn't
do the good sisterly thing when she came home drunk a few weeks ago.

It's a little after eleven by the time I get to the store, but Alex has already finished almost all of the cleanup from the party. On the counter are two clamshells of the house special lo mein from Wang's Palace (the yummy trifecta: baby shrimp, green onions, and red cabbage), and an episode of
Golden Girls
is frozen on the ancient TV screen, even though the back-to-back block doesn't start until the afternoon.

Seeing my confusion, Alex smiles and points to the TV. “So it turns out the VCR on this thing actually still works,
and I've been recording some of our favorite episodes for a while. I figured we could use some today.”

He pushes himself up so he's seated on the counter and pats the spot next to him for me to join.

I do.

And for a little while I forget that we couldn't save this place, and that Alex is with my sister, even if he did take my hand last night. I forget about the kiss with Dr. B., and V running down the stairs. Forget that everyone is leaving, that everyone except for me has grand plans to take over the world.

We're watching the one where Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose are arrested for prostitution the night they're supposed to see Burt Reynolds's show, when Charlie jogs in, punching the air in his kickboxing clothes.

Both Alex and I hop off the counter, though at this point I don't think either one of us is remotely concerned about being caught doing anything. What's he going to do, fire us?

“You didn't come last night,” Alex says, not even accusatory, a simple statement of fact.

Charlie offers a look as blank as grade-school paste, and then nods, seeming to remember. “Oh yeah, the big bash. Sorry about that; something came up.”

He doesn't bother asking if we raised the money or how things went, which I suppose is fine, considering. Neither
Alex nor I offer up details of our groan-worthy gala.

“I've got some news for the two of you, and I think it's ultimately good.” He makes this open-palmed gesture like someone in an old-timey movie trying to sell you something. “I know that I told you that we'd stay open for the rest of the summer, but the new owners want to get started on renovations as soon as possible. So your last day is going to be Wednesday.”

“But that's . . . ,” I start.

“Just four days away,” Alex finishes.

“That's the good part for you guys! The new owners asked if they'd be displacing employees, yada, yada, yada, and I told them I'd promised everyone that we'd stay open through the summer. I really fought for you.”

This seems extremely unlikely.

“So,” he continues, “they offered to pay your wages for the next three weeks as a severance package.”

Alex and I don't say anything. Canned laughter from the TV expands to fill the whole sales floor as Sophia refuses to bail the other girls out of jail unless one of them agrees to let Sophia go in her place to see Burt. I'm not even looking at the screen, but I've seen this episode so many times that I know exactly what's happening. Can even remember the purple-and-teal dress Blanche is wearing; it looks a little like some of the pastel butterflyfish we have.

Alex and I continue to stare at Charlie.

“Oh, come on.” Charlie is annoyed we're not thrilled with this arrangement. “What kids in retail get a severance package? Isn't that the dream, getting paid for not working? You're welcome.”

“That's very generous,” Alex says flatly. “Thanks for looking out for us.”

I don't say anything, because I'm floating above everything again.

Alex and I don't say much the rest of the day. We watch more of the taped episodes and then the ones that play on the Hallmark Channel in the afternoon. Ironically, one of the shows the network plays is the Burt Reynolds one, but we watch it anyway, despite having literally
just
seen it. We laugh even harder at the end when Burt himself makes a special guest appearance. The following episode is this weird sad one where Blanche's late husband comes back and explains that he had faked his death because he'd been framed by his business partner. Blanche is furious at him for leaving her, but eventually she comes around and forgives him, simply grateful that he's still alive and back in her life. Of course it turns out the whole thing is a dream.

I think about my own dream with Dad at the aquarium, wonder how my mom would react if he reappeared in our lives. I know I'd forgive Dad for sure.

I don't remember falling asleep on the counter, but I wake up forty minutes before we close, Alex nowhere in sight, his hoodie tucked under my head like a pillow.

Heart in my throat, I jump off the counter. FishTopia is ending, and I've missed nearly two of our last hours!

“Alex! Alex, where are you?” I race through the rows of displays, past the starfish and the yellow tangs, the sea horses with their curled tails and eyelashes.

Finally I find him in the back watching a tank of tropical fish. He's just studying them, his hand lightly on the glass like he's a little kid.

“You're awake.” He smiles.

“Why'd you let me sleep so long?”

“You seemed tired.” He shrugs.

We make our way back to the front of the store.

“Well, at least we've got time for one more episode,” I say, but Alex shakes his head.

“If it's okay with you, I'm gonna cut out of here a little early. Don't worry. I already cleaned all the tanks and took out the garbage—”

“Oh.” Seriously, he's leaving early during one of our last days ever at FishTopia? “Hot date?” I ask, trying to sound casual and not turned inside-out.

Alex looks at the linoleum flooring as if it might contain all the secrets of getting into a top tier college.

“Look.” I sigh. “You've got to stop acting like such a total
freak about it if you're gonna keep dating my sister, and you should prob—”

“What? I'm not—”

“. . . ably not hold my hand like you did last—”

“. . . dating Veronica,” Alex finishes.

It takes a minute to sink in.

“Wait, you're not?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “She's been going out with Chris since June. How do
you
not know that?”

All at once I've got this movie-flashback ability to perfectly recall the fight V and I had the night she told me to kill myself so everyone would be better off.
Now you only care because you think I'm dating him.
I guess she never technically said that they were dating, but it was pretty damn implied.

And what about Alex? He didn't exactly deny that they were hanging out either.
I don't want you to think that we were talking about you.
Okay, so maybe I could have let him explain things. Maybe I should have listened to what V was saying outside my door or read her note, but the whole thing is still really weird.

And how
could
I not know that my sister has had a boyfriend all this time? We used to know everything about each other. She used to come to me crying when someone hurt her feelings. How could Veronica hide her first real relationship from me? I'm the worst big sister in the history of time. . . .

No, no, I'm not.

“If you're not dating, then why were you at the movies with her that Friday night?” I'm all revved up again. Going to a movie together on a Friday night is the datiest thing of all time. The first time that Dr. B. got to second base was when he went to see
Say Anything . . .
at the theater with Lizzie Mapleton. “Just the two of you. Elle and I saw.”

Letting out a long breath, Alex tilts his head. “First of all, it wasn't just the two of us. Chris works there and he kept sneaking down from the projection room. At one point the whole film stopped because it got stuck and he had to run back up and fix it.”

Maybe what V and Alex were laughing about?

“Oh,” I say.

“But I told you, we
have
been hanging out occasionally.” Alex looks at the ground again. “Ronnie has been crazy worried about you and just wanted someone to talk to about it.”

“Oh.”

“And if you really want to know the truth, I
did
feel shitty about that at first, and I made it totally clear to her that I didn't want to talk about you behind your back. But then I realized she was really just looking for someone to tell her that you're gonna be okay.”

“Oh.” The SAT is going to be awesome, since this is now apparently the only word I know.