Calico Horses and the Patchwork Trail (21 page)

Brian shrugged and ran back to play with Kelsie.

Shannon watched her mom fumbling with her beach bag. She kept stitching and said nothing. Then her mom went to the hall closet and got some beach towels. Shannon loved the beach, but she really just wanted to stay in the house and sew today. She wanted to tell her about the list of clues she and Grandmom had made and about Lizzie’s cruel cousin, but she didn’t know how to begin. Telling parents stuff when they were busy wasn’t always the best plan. Maybe she should call Grandmom and tell her, and then maybe Grandmom would get on the phone with her mom and that would solve everything.

Shannon picked up the phone. “Who are you calling?” her mom asked.

“I need to tell Grandmom something.”

“She won’t be home. Today’s the day she volunteers at the hospital and she doesn’t get home until dinnertime.”

“Oh,” Shannon said, hanging up the phone.

“We’re meeting Aunt Ellie at the beach today. Go put on your bathing suit and tell your brother to get himself ready.”

Shannon gathered up her sewing and placed it into the special tote. Aunt Ellie and her mom were sisters. Going to the beach with Aunt Ellie meant she would be seeing her cousins, Fran and Jill. She smiled as she thought about the last family picnic when Brian fell into their fish pond. He was screaming about drowning until Uncle Glen told him to stand up. They all laughed as Brian stood in the shallow water and then plopped down crying. Uncle Glen got Brian to stop crying by telling him he needed more water in the pond and he always sent all crying kids out to the pond whenever the water level got too low. Brian didn’t think that was funny, so he ran and hid in the back seat of the car and fell sound asleep. Shannon loved being with Fran and Jill and forgot all about the lists and clues.

An hour later they were pulling a wagon loaded with beach gear and searching for their cousins. Aunt Ellie’s hot pink-fringed beach umbrella was always easy to spot. Brian saw it first, pointing as Shannon tugged the heavy load and trudged across the hot sand. Both moms hugged and the cousins threw their towels into a heap and raced into the water. “You’re all coming for the July 4th barbecue, right?” Ellie said to Jodi. “You never responded to our invitation.”

Jodi ignored the question and hurried after Shannon and Brian, who were about to jump into the water. She waved to the kids, but they dove into the ocean with their cousins. She shook her head and walked back to sit beside her sister. The sunscreen would have to wait.

“Sorry, Ellie. John hasn’t given me a straight answer. He’s busy with the fire company and the city parade all day and I’m not sure if we’re coming or not.”

Ellie said nothing, clearly unhappy. It was the same thing every year. Ellie and Glen threw a huge back yard bash and invited all their friends and neighbors. Jodi’s husband, John, liked to spend the holiday with his friends from the firehouse and go to the Ocean City fireworks in the evening. Sometimes if Jodi pleaded and begged she could get him to agree to go to her sister’s barbecue. Most of the time, though, she lost the tug of war and they ended up just hanging out with some of the families from the firehouse. She always dreaded telling Ellie.

The kids raced back to grab their boards. “Hold on, crew,” Jodi hollered to Shannon and Brian. “We forgot to put sunscreen on.”

“Hi, Fran. Hi, Jill. Are you enjoying your summer so far?” Jodi asked as she handed Shannon a bottle and began toweling off Brian.

They nodded and waited for their cousins to get marinated in goo. “Hey, Mom,” Shannon said, “are we going to Fran and Jill’s house for the July 4th barbecue?”

“Please, please, Mom, ple-eee-ease,” Brian pleaded as he jumped up and down. “Come on, Aunt Jodi,” added Fran.

“I don’t think so. Daddy has other plans,” she said to the groans of all of the children. Ellie shot her a look full of anger, got up, and walked down to the water. The kids all ran after her with their boards and splashed into the ocean.

Great, thought Jodi. I had to open my big mouth. I meant to say I
wasn’t sure
and now Ellie is going to be a wet blanket all day. She wasn’t certain if she should follow her sister into the troubled waters or sit there in the safety of her sand chair. She sat back and thought about all of the parties she had coaxed her husband into. Did she actually want to go to the family outings? Well, actually…yes
and
no, she thought. She loved her family and her nieces, but she didn’t like the loud, rowdy friends that she had nothing in common with—enduring forced conversations was so false and she always felt robbed of an evening that could have been more productive. No, she really didn’t want to go to this barbecue and it was wrong to pass it off on her husband.

Ellie came out of the water and sat back down in her chair. “So, have you heard anything from Brenda?” she asked in a clipped tone filled with attitude.

“She’s arrived safely and they’re doing really well. She even sent us a postcard,” Jodi replied.

“A postcard, huh?” asked Ellie. “She rips her family apart, quits her job without even having another one to replace it, and goes running off into the sunset. Her poor daughter gets dragged along into this without having a say in any of it. Some people shouldn’t even be allowed to have kids,” she said in a huff.

Jodi said nothing. Ellie was obviously upset with her and spouting off about someone she barely knew.

“That little girl didn’t have a choice in any of this. Her mom leaves a perfectly good life and throws it away. How can she even look at herself in the mirror? I just couldn’t do that,” said Ellie.

“We don’t know the whole story,” Jodi said, hoping she could just change the subject. “So how’s it feel having the summer off? I’ll bet you’re enjoying a break from teaching.”

“Oh, I’m thrilled,” Ellie nodded, “but now I’m teaching Sunday school in my church and I feel busier than ever. I really didn’t want to do it, but I just didn’t know how to say no.”

“Wait,” Jodi said, shaking her head. “You teach thirty fourth graders all year long and you finally have the summer off and you sign up to teach more kids every Sunday?”

“Well, what do you expect, Jodi? How am I supposed to say no when everyone knows I’m a professional teacher? I wish for the life of me just once I could stand up for myself and say no, but I haven’t figured out how to do it.”

The kids returned, rummaging through beach bags until they found their favorite beach food—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and boxes of juice. Shannon asked, “Mom, why can’t we tell Daddy we want to go to the 4th of July party?”

“You’re right, Shannon,” said Ellie. “I’d like to hear the answer to that myself.” Jodi kept her eyes on her tuna salad and remained quiet. Shannon decided it was worth some negotiation. “Maybe we can go while Daddy stays home and does what he wants to do.”

Ellie looked at her sister, waiting for a reply. Jodi continued eating and said nothing. The kids finished their lunch and scampered away. Jodi turned and looked at her sister. “I love you, Ellie.”

Ellie looked at her thoughtfully and said quietly, “I love you, too.”

Jodi plunged ahead. “Sometimes we have to make decisions that people don’t understand, just like Brenda Anderson.” Ellie opened her mouth to say something and Jodi held up her hand to stop her. “I don’t know why Brenda felt she needed to move and I don’t know why some people get divorced. But I do know that just going along living life to keep others happy can be exhausting. Look at your own life and how you’re teaching a class when you should be relaxing. You just need to set up boundaries and say no, but you think you can’t do that.”

“This isn’t about me,” Ellie interrupted.

“No,” said Jodi. “You’re right—it’s about me. I love you, but I don’t like your big July 4th barbecue where I am stuck talking to people I don’t even know. Yes, I love that our kids adore each other. But John and I argue about it every year and to tell you the truth I just can’t do it anymore.”

Ellie looked away as she was beginning to tear up. “I invite you every year and each time it’s always a hassle,” she said. “So that’s it, you’re not coming?”

“I’m not coming because I am finally standing up and saying no, Ellie. There are plenty of other times when we share great family fun, but no, I won’t be coming to any more July 4th parties. You barely have time to even speak to me. Admit it, Ellie, you have so many guests to mingle with that you usually end up blowing me a kiss. John and I are stuck among your guests who are, quite frankly, complete strangers—and obnoxious to boot.”

Ellie got up, brushed off some sand, and walked down to the water.

Jodi took off her sunglasses and let out a big sigh. I feel as if I have just taken a huge weight off my shoulders. She looked up to watch her sister playing with the kids in the water and decided it was time for a swim.

They spent the rest of the day splashing and playing in the ocean. Ellie swam with the kids and didn’t go back to sit on her chair. Jodi sat and read her book. The afternoon sun began to reach that point in the sky when moms know it’s time to tell their children to come dry off. The frolicking kids begged several “just-five-more-minutes” from Jodi and Ellie and finally sat down on the blanket to dry off. Buckets and shovels were collected and returned to their rightful owners, and flip flops were slipped on as they all began to say their goodbyes. Ellie came up to Jodi and hugged her. “I’m sorry about everything,” she said.

“It feels so much better to just be honest with each other,” Jodi replied. “I never meant to hurt your feelings.”

“It’s okay,” Ellie said. “You set me thinking about some stuff.”

“About what?” Jodi asked as she gathered the towels.

“I’m calling the church today and getting myself
out
of that job!”

Chapter 38

Thursday, July 3:

Flannel and I slept over Milla Spencer’s house. She’s a really cool artist. She let me have a painting she did of Flannel and I’m gonna frame it and hang it up. It’s really early and I’m on her couch and Flannel is still sleeping. Milla found a baby horse that she named Hope. It lost its mom in a car accident and it may not live. Her dad took it to a place where they take care of foals. The lady in charge is gonna call us and let us know if Hope is okay. I showed Mr. Spencer some ancestry stuff about his family on the computer. He never knew about his relatives and I think it made him real happy. If my mom wants me to come back today I’m gonna ask if Milla can come with me.

Carrie closed her journal and laid her head back against the pillow. She must have fallen asleep with her clothes on. She didn’t mind because she didn’t pack an overnight bag and she wasn’t sure if she could fit into anything of Milla’s. They might be the same size, but girls can be touchy about lending clothes and Carrie didn’t want to ask. She heard someone moving about and waited to see who it was. Flannel sat up and looked toward Mr. Spencer’s room. Carrie was hoping it was Milla because she was a bit shy around Mr. Spencer. That’s how it was with all her friends’ dads. She never knew if they would be funny and tell dumb jokes or be silent and grumpy. Dads could be tricky. The door of the bedroom opened and Mr. Spencer came out looking like he hadn’t brushed his hair yet. Carrie pulled the blanket up to hide her grin; it reminded her of his baby photo. Yep, he still looked the same.

He looked over and saw that she was awake and smiled. Flannel went over for a morning pat on the head. Devon reached for her leash and the two of them went outside. Geez, it felt kinda weird watching someone else take her dog out.

Carrie’s eyes moved to the back window overlooking the mountains. It was the same range she saw from the bungalow, but from a different angle. I guess we don’t live that far apart, she thought. We won’t be able to ride our bikes to each other’s houses, but it was close enough to get our parents to drive without a lot of griping—like when she stayed at her dad’s back in New Jersey. She hadn’t spoken to her dad in a few days and thought maybe she would try calling him today. He mentioned something about going away July 4th. Hey, wasn’t today July 4th? No, it can’t be. It didn’t feel like it. She looked up the street and noticed flags decorating the homes in Milla’s neighborhood. She had been so busy with everything she had forgotten all about the holiday. No family barbecues, no parades, no beach, no sparklers—and especially, no dad. Carrie swallowed hard; she hadn’t realized how awful it would feel to be far from her father and everything she had known during a summer holiday.

A few minutes later Milla shuffled into the kitchen. She had fallen asleep in her clothes, too, and this made Carrie feel a little better. Devon opened the back door and Flannel ran to her empty dish. Carrie patted the dog and lifted the red plastic bowl to fill it with kibble.

“I’m having granola,” Milla said. “You want some?”

“Sure,” Carrie sat down at the kitchen table.

Devon looked at the collie chomping down her breakfast. “Not much difference between what you’re eating and what they’re having,” he said.

“My dad’s not a fan,” Milla explained as she handed Carrie a blue cereal bowl filled with granola.

“My dad’s breakfast consists of cold spaghetti and coffee,” Carrie countered.

“I like him already,” Devon said.

The phone rang and Milla dashed across the kitchen to pick it up. “It could be about Hope!” Her dad had longer legs and beat her to it. He smiled at his daughter as he picked up the phone and walked out of the room. Milla snooped behind him, trying to hear the conversation. Carrie continued eating, trying her hardest not to listen in. Flannel didn’t care about manners and followed at Devon’s heels.