Cabin Girl (7 page)

“No problem,” Meira says. “It was good to have something to do.” She turns back to the plane. “Come on out, Jen. Don't be shy.”

A girl about my age climbs down from the Cessna.

“Everybody, this is Jen. Jen, this is April and Bailey—and Gabe, of course. He owns the lodge.”

April and I mumble hello, and Gabe shakes Jen's hand. “Glad to have you aboard, Jen.” Then he turns to April and me. “Ladies, Jen is going to be our new cabin girl.”

“Cabin girl?” I say. I thought I was the cabin girl.

“There are
two
cabin girls now?” April says what I'm thinking.

“No.” Gabe shakes his head. “Jen is taking over from Bailey. Bailey will continue working in the dining room.”

I'm sure April's jaw hits the ground. I know mine does. “Bai—Bai—Bailey's going to keep waitressing?”

Gabe nods. “Yes.”

“But—but why?” I can tell it's taking all of April's self-control to be reasonable. I bet she's screaming inside. If Gabe weren't there, she'd pounce on me like a feral cat. “Meira and I can handle the dining room,” she continues. “We always have. It's not a problem. To tell you the truth, Gabe, I don't think there's enough work for three waitresses.” April sends me a phony apologetic look.

“I agree,” Gabe says.

“What?” April is clearly stunned.

“I said I agree with you. The lodge doesn't need three waitresses. That's why there are only going to be two.”

April frowns. “I don't get it. You said Bailey is going to stay on as a waitress. That makes three—her, Meira and—”

A shuffling and bumping cuts April off, and we all turn back to the plane as a third passenger climbs out. It's a man. His face is hidden by a big brimmed hat, but once his feet are firmly on the dock, he lifts his head and smiles.

“Hello again, everyone.”

It's Dennis Savoy.

He points to his head. “Made sure I brought a hat this time. Unfortunately, I won't be staying long enough to try it out on the water. Maybe next time. Right now, I need to talk to April.”

“Me?” April exclaims. “Why do you need to talk to me?”

“It's a private matter,” Dennis Savoy replies discreetly.

Gabe clears his throat. “Meira. Bailey. We need to get the new guests fed. So head up to the lodge. Take Jen with you and show her the staff dining room. Bailey, after lunch maybe you can help Jen get settled in.” Then more quietly, “She'll be bunking with you.”

I'm in shock. “What about April?”

“Something has come up. She won't be staying.” Then Gabe turns to the pilot. “Come on, Jim. Let me buy you a coffee.”

“Sounds good,” Jim says. As he and Gabe head up to the lodge, Jim glances at his watch and calls to Dennis Savoy and April, “We'll be leaving in half an hour.”

I feel like a tornado has blown through camp and turned everything upside down. My head is spinning, and my legs are wobbly. Halfway to the dining room, I look back at the dock. April has never looked smaller.

I serve lunch in a daze. I have no idea what's going on. Meira has no clue either. If Cook knows something, she's not saying. Somewhere between soup and dessert, the plane takes off. Though no one has said so, I'm pretty sure April won't be back. Considering how she treated me, I should be doing a happy dance, but I actually feel a bit sad.

After lunch I take Jen to the cabin and tell her about camp life. I also promise to help her with cabins for a couple of days, until she gets comfortable with the routine. She seems nice. We could be friends, but I'm not going to rush into it this time.

In the middle of our conversation, there's a knock on the door. It's Gabe. I'm surprised. He's never come to the cabin before.

“I'd like to talk to you,” he says.

I turn to Jen. “Make yourself at home. I'll be back.”

Gabe doesn't waste any time. As soon as we step away from the cabin, he says, “Lodge staff come and go all season long, so no one needs to suspect April's departure is unusual. The official story is that she left for personal reasons—which is basically true. But because she was your cabin mate and because you knew something was going on with Dennis Savoy, I thought it only fair to tell you the whole story.

“Ed said you discovered Dennis Savoy is an investigator. You were one up on me. I didn't find that out until last night. However, he wasn't investigating the lodge—he was investigating April.”

“April? Why?”

“I'm sure you know that April was in a motorcycle accident last year.”

I nod. “The guy she was riding with died.”

“And April was badly injured. So badly, in fact, that her doctor deemed her unable to work. Because of that, she was awarded a large insurance settlement.”

I'm confused. “But April
was
working. Sometimes her hip hurt her, but it would always feel better after a night's sleep.”

“That's the issue. The insurance company heard she was working here and sent Dennis Savoy to see if it was true.”

“So now what?”

“April will have to appear at a hearing. If she can't justify the deception, she'll have to give the money back. She might also be fined. She could even go to jail.”

“Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Things start to make sense. “What if she had a good reason for what she did?” I say.

“Like what?”

“Like trying to better herself. I think April was saving the insurance money to open a flower shop.”

Gabe shakes his head. “It's good that she wants to improve her life, but she can't do it like that. That's part of April's problem. She plays by her own rules. She's got a chip on her shoulder. Sure, she's had a hard go of it, but so have a lot of people. That doesn't make it okay to abuse the rules and other people.

“This is April's third year at the camp. She's a good worker, but she has always had issues with people. As long as she's on top, she's sweet as pie, but if she's not, she can get nasty.” He pauses. “But then, you already know that.”

I blink at him in surprise.

He chuckles. “Not much happens at the lodge that I don't find out about, Bailey. I know about April's pranks on you. A little teasing can be fun, but she went too far. And, like I said, this wasn't the first time. That's why I let her go. Enough is enough. I only hope April learns a lesson from all this.”

I'm numb. I don't know what to think. What April did was wrong, but I still feel sorry for her, especially when I think that I told Dennis Savoy about her plans to open a flower shop. Without meaning to, I contributed to her getting caught. I thought April had her life totally together. When I told Dennis Savoy about her, I was so proud. I wanted to be like her. Now I'm grateful that I'm not. My parents may be overprotective, but at least they look out for me. April has no one.

“Anyway, that's the long and short of it,” Gabe says. “I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself.” He squeezes my shoulder. “Keep up the good work. You're doing a great job. But don't forget to have some fun too. There's still a lot of summer left. Make it one to remember.”

I sigh. “It already has been.”

Cabin Girl
is Kristin Butcher's fourth entry in the Orca Currents series. Her other Orca Currents titles are featured on recommended-reading lists such as the PSLA Top 40 (
Cheat
) and nominated for the YA Quick Picks list (
Caching In
). Kristin lives in Campbell River, British Columbia. For more information, visit
www.kristinbutcher.com
For more information on all the books in the Orca Currents series, please visit
www.orcabook.com
.