Whitney (10 page)

I thought about the private school I went to. I had always liked it there until the i’s had betrayed me. I wasn’t looking forward to going back. I wanted to go to the same school as Robyn and Caitlin. Of course, that meant going to the same school as Jake. And I wasn’t certain that I wanted to do that.

Although I was talking big about not going back to Paradise Falls because I didn’t want to run into Marci, the truth was that I was avoiding Jake.

How could I possibly look at a guy who had been paid to be with me?

The next morning, I was the first one to wake up. I slipped out of bed and nearly stepped on Robyn, who had spent the night sleeping on a mound of blankets on the floor. She reminded me of a kitten curled up there.

I knew I couldn’t hang out at her house all day. I was going to have to go home and face my dad. In the harsh light of morning, my reaction seemed a little over the top. I should have faced Dad and Jake right then and there in Dad’s library last night. I shouldn’t have run.

I didn’t think Robyn would have run. Caitlin, for sure, wouldn’t have run.

Dad wanted me to learn about the real world. That meant facing things that I didn’t like.

I sneaked out of the bedroom. I had left my cell phone downstairs. My plan was to get it and give Aunt Sophie a call. She would come and get me. Maybe she could help me decide my next step.

But when I got downstairs, I heard voices. Robyn’s house was small enough that the voices carried out of the kitchen. One of the voices was really deep. I recognized it immediately. It was my dad.

I walked to the kitchen doorway. Dad was sitting at the counter talking with Robyn’s mom. They each had a mug of coffee. The mugs didn’t match. It was an odd thing to notice, but I did. Just like I noticed that they were smiling at each other as though they knew each other.

“Great,” I said from the doorway. “This is just great. Tell me you didn’t pay Robyn and Caitlin to be my friends.”

Dad jumped off the bar stool as though
I’d caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. “Of course not,” he said. “I thought you’d be ready to come home this morning, so I came to get you. And met Ms. Johnson.”

“Like I’m supposed to believe that.”

Dad didn’t get after me for the sarcasm dripping from my voice. Normally he would have, but I figured right now he was feeling guilty that I’d discovered the truth. I could probably get away with a lot if I wanted. But I didn’t want to.

“Why don’t you get your things and we’ll discuss this at home?” Dad suggested.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to discuss it, but I didn’t want to be a burden to Robyn’s mom either. I knew I was being difficult. Dad would get embarrassed and angry. Then I’d get angry and hurt. He was right. The best thing to do was to go somewhere else to discuss it.

I went to the media room where I’d left my tote bag the night before. I grabbed it, then went upstairs and changed into my clothes.
Apparently the Johnsons had company a lot — or maybe they just liked being hospitable — because they had a little basket with unopened toothbrushes and toothpaste and all sorts of little travel things like you’d find in a hotel. I brushed my teeth really quickly and did what I could to feel halfway human.

When I came out of the bathroom, Robyn was standing near the door.

“Your dad’s here,” she said.

“Yeah, I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Go home.”

“Are you going to come to work today?”

“No.” As a matter of fact, I probably wasn’t going to go back ever again. What was the point? It wasn’t the real world. I was just playing at working, doing what I wanted to do. Everyone else carried the responsibility. Everyone pretended that I worked, and watched to pick up the slack when I didn’t.

“I’m sorry if you had to work harder at the beginning of the summer because I wasn’t doing my job,” I said.

“Puh-leez! I stood around and watched kids slide. How much work is that?”

I was embarrassed to admit it, but I said, “Sean was right. I couldn’t have done the CPR. During class, I did just enough to get certified and then I forgot it all. I thought it was stupid, that I’d never use it. No one had ever drowned at the park before.”

“Don’t keep beating yourself up about it. It’s over.”

But it was the same at P&E. I had ideas, but Charlotte and Lisa made them happen.

“I’d better go. Dad is waiting.” I headed for the stairs, stopped, and turned back around. “It was really weird, the way your mom and my dad were talking. Like friends. Are they, do you think?”

Robyn shook her head. “I don’t see how they could be. But Mom always tries to make people feel welcome.”

I nodded. She was probably right. That’s all it was.

When I got downstairs, Dad was waiting by the door with Ms. Johnson.

“Ready, kiddo?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I thanked Ms. Johnson for letting me spend the night.

“You’re welcome,” she said. “I hope you’ll come back.”

It was weird — the way she smiled at me, then smiled at Dad. The smile she gave him seemed brighter, more inviting. I knew Robyn’s dad wasn’t around, had left her mom years ago. Still, I didn’t want to think about my dad dating anyone. Not yet. Maybe never.

Finally, we were finished with our good-byes, and Dad and I were heading home with the top off his black Lamborghini. I had tried to talk him into a red one, but he wanted black. So Batman-ish.

“You hungry?” he asked.

I hadn’t really stopped to think about it. I looked over at him. He was wearing sunglasses. The wind was lifting his dark hair. I wondered if Ms. Johnson thought he was attractive. He was. No doubt about it. He took good care of himself, except for all the hours he worked.

“Yeah, I am.”

Dad pulled into the parking lot of a pancake house.

It wasn’t until Dad had his coffee and I had my orange juice that he said, “Can I explain now?”

I guess he figured I wouldn’t go ballistic in a public place. He was right. I did have some pride. After what Marci had done to me, exposing my private moments to the world, I wasn’t going to do anything embarrassing with witnesses around.

“What’s to explain?” I asked. “You paid Jake to be my friend.”

Dad shook his head, took a sip of coffee, and grimaced. I didn’t know if it was the coffee or his conscience that he’d reacted to.

He sighed. “Ever since we lost your mother, I’ve worried, not only about you getting hurt physically, but emotionally. When Marci hurt you, I felt bad that I hadn’t been able to do anything to prevent what happened. I want you to be safe from all hurts.”

“Even I know that’s impossible, Dad.”

“You’re right. It is. But I know there are a lot of kids at water parks, a lot of older kids. Parents drop them off, and no one watches them. And I worried that there might be some bullies and that they might give you a hard time. I also worried that if any employees found out that your dad owned the park, they might get ugly. So, yes, I paid Jake to make sure that no one upset you.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “So he doesn’t work for the park.”

“No, he works for the park. They just know that wherever you’re assigned, he’s assigned. And I pay him extra.”

“How much extra?”

“A hundred dollars a week.”

Jake must have found watching me to be quite a burden to give that up.

“But he doesn’t want me to pay him anymore.”

“Because he doesn’t want to watch me.”

Dad cleared his throat, sipped his coffee, set the mug down, and tapped the handle. “I think there’s more to it than that. You
should probably talk to him when you get to work.”

The waitress set our plates of food in front of us.

“I’m not going to work,” I said as I poured syrup over my chocolate chip pancakes.

“What? It’s your day off?”

“Nope. I quit.”

“You can’t do that, Whitney.”

“Yes, I can. It’s a free country.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, well, Dad, neither is paying a guy to watch out for me. I’m not a kid anymore. Besides, it’s not the real world. Everyone pretended what I did was important because they didn’t want me to get upset. They figured if I was unhappy, you’d be unhappy.” I felt tears sting my eyes and blinked them back. “It wasn’t real, Dad.”

None of it was. Not my job. Not Jake liking me. Maybe not even Robyn and Caitlin being my friends.

“Are you sure you won’t be needing my services today, Miss Whitney?” David asked. He was usually so stern-looking, but now he seemed relaxed in his Dockers and polo shirt.

I was stretched out on the lounge chair by the pool in my backyard — taking in the sun, doing nothing, trying not to think about everything that was probably going on at Paradise Falls. It was Sunday and the place would be packed. We closed at seven on Sunday, which would give the party planners an hour to get things ready before Marci and her gang showed up for
the
event of the summer.

I peered up at David. Aunt Sophie was standing beside him. They were holding hands. Aunt Sophie looked so happy.

“I’m sure,” I told David. “I’m not going to do anything but stay here all day.”

“What about that big party that was being planned for tonight?” Aunt Sophie asked.

“They can handle it without me.”

“Are you sure —” David began again.

“I’m sure.” I waved my hand. “Go to a movie or something.”

“Okay,” Aunt Sophie said as she leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “If you’re sure you’ll be all right.”

“I’m fine.” All I wanted was to be alone.

As I watched them leave, I thought sadly,
At least someone in this family is experiencing romance
.

My little dog, Westie — who happened to be a Westie — came over, put his paws up on the end of the lounge chair, and started licking my bare toes. I should have been happy. I had no responsibility. I didn’t have to deal
with moms who thought their kids weren’t getting enough attention. I didn’t have to search for more party favors. I didn’t have to help Jake scoop ice cream when there were so many kids wanting some that he couldn’t keep up. I didn’t have to help dads figure out how their new digital cameras worked.

It was strange, lying there, realizing all the different things that I took care of. Charlotte always said that our job was to put out fires. Not literally, of course. But whenever a problem arose, we were the ones who were supposed to take care of it. Any way that we could.

So I’d taken care of little things, put out little fires. But I hadn’t saved any lives, hadn’t done anything worth remembering.

A few hours later, I heard the sliding glass door that led onto the patio open. Westie went to investigate. I knew it was Dad, and Westie knew Dad was always good for a little petting.

“You’ve got a phone call,” Dad said, holding the cordless phone out to me.

I couldn’t imagine who it might be. Anyone who might have called me would have called on my cell phone. Plus, anyone I wanted to talk to was at Paradise Falls, working. Of course, I guessed that Robyn or Caitlin could have been taking a break.

I took the phone from him, gave him a pointed look, and waited until he walked away. Then I put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Whitney, it’s Charlotte.”

The next-to-the-last person I wanted to talk to, Jake having the honor of being the
very
last person I wanted to talk to.

It was nearly time for the park to close. Had she just realized that I hadn’t come in? And why would she care? I was working in souvenirs now.

“First of all,” Charlotte said, “I want to apologize about the whole mix-up that resulted in you being sent to souvenirs.”

Even though I wasn’t there, they were still trying to make me happy. They were afraid of Dad. “It doesn’t matter, Charlotte.”

“I don’t think Lisa realized how much you really do. I know I didn’t.”

I was close to gagging. “Seriously, Charlotte, you don’t have to do this. I’m quitting. I’m not coming back, so none of this matters anymore.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Uh, I think I can. I mean, what are you going to do — fire me?”

Really, what could she do? Her options were pretty limited. Actually, her options were none.

“No, seriously,” she said, “we need you.”

“And I need to work on my tan.”

“Look, Whitney, Lisa had a family emergency. Her grandmother’s in the hospital, so right after the last birthday party today she went to be with her. I’ve got no one in charge of that stupid luau tonight. … I need you to come in.”

“How much did my dad pay you to do this?”

“What?”

“Look, Charlotte, I know the entire
summer has been a scam. Everyone’s been watching my back, making sure that I was given tasks I could handle all by my little self, and that someone was always there to make sure I didn’t goof up. So good try. But I know as soon as I get there, Lisa’s emergency will be over. She’ll come back and I’ll get pats on the back for saving the day — when I really didn’t do anything.” I was on a roll, trying to explain what I knew was going on. Dad and I were going to have to have another talk. He couldn’t keep doing this; he couldn’t keep arranging my life!

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Charlotte said.

“My dad paid you to have an emergency. I’m not buying it. Bye.”

“What? Wait —”

Only I didn’t wait. I hung up as though she was an irritating telemarketer.

And now I was mad at my dad all over again. I got up and walked into the house. I found him in his study, looking over the designs for a new water park. He had three
TVs turned on, one to CNN and the other two on baseball games. He looked up when I walked in.

“Good try, Dad,” I said. “But I’m not falling for it again.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Paying Charlotte and Lisa to have an emergency so I’d feel needed.”

“Want to explain
exactly
what you’re talking about?”

I told him about Charlotte’s call and Lisa’s “emergency.”

Leaning back, he tapped his Montblanc pen against the edge of his desk. “Whitney, paying Jake to watch over you didn’t disrupt the management of the park. He could do his job while doing what I was paying him to do. Paying someone to create an emergency situation, putting a burden on others so you can feel important? As much as I love you, Princess, and want you to be happy, I’d never do that.”

As I listened to him, I realized how silly I’d been. Of course he wouldn’t pay someone
to have an emergency. He wouldn’t do anything to put Paradise Falls at risk for not living up to its reputation of being the best water park in the area, or in the state. Our park had been featured on documentaries about the top ten best water parks in the world. What was I thinking to walk out, to quit, to leave them shorthanded?

“Can you drive me to work?” I asked.

Dad grinned. “Which car should we go in?”

*  *  *

When I got to the water park, I went to Charlotte’s office. She was leaning over her desk, studying diagrams and notes. She looked up when I walked in. “Thank goodness. It’s chaos around here. What does this mean?”

She pointed to a small X in front of Tsunami.

“That’s where we’re going to put the fire.”

“Right.” Her brow furrowed. “Where’s the wood coming from?”

“You don’t have the wood yet?”

“No. As she was heading out the door, Lisa said something about not having everything ready, but she was so worried about her grandmother that nothing made sense.” She held up her hands. “I know I should have been paying more attention to the plans. I just expected y’all to take care of it. Y’all do the work. I get the glory.”

I smiled. “You’ll still get the glory.”

“Right. Have you
met
the Spencers? They’ve been calling every hour to make sure that everything is good to go — even though I’ve been telling them that we couldn’t start to get things ready until the park closes.”

The receptionist peered inside the room. “A guy is here. Says he needs to know where to set up the
laser light show
?”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling; even when she told us something, she made it sound like a question, like maybe she wasn’t sure why he was here.

“Yeah, that’s Michael. The band is going to set up on one side of Tsunami. Are they here yet?”

“No?”

I looked at Charlotte. “I’m going to need some people to help me.”

“Get whoever you need.”

“Can I have Lisa’s list?”

“Sure, but I don’t know how you can read it.”

She handed it to me and I looked at Lisa’s notes. Most of them were abbreviations like what I used when I text-messaged. How old was Charlotte anyway not to be able to figure these abbreviations out? The clambake was a no-go, but I saw notes for a lot of the other things that I’d suggested.

“Charlotte, do you know where the leis are?” I asked.

“In the storage room.”

“Would you be okay taking them to the front gate so we can pass them out to people as they come through?”

“Good idea. What are you going to do?”

“Take care of everything else.”

Then I went to find my very special team.

I went down the hall to the marketing office and stuck my head in the door. Sean was working at his computer.

“I need you,” I told him.

“Looks like you’re here to work.”

I guessed the fact that I was wearing my Paradise Falls uniform gave it away.

“Yeah, we’ve got the luau. I need you to find Jake. Since he has a truck, I need you guys to locate some wood that we can use to set up a small bonfire near Tsunami.”

“I’ll get on it.”

I was walking back down the hallway when he caught up with me and put his arm around my shoulders.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “You know how to throw a party.”

“Just wish I had more time to get this one ready.”

“Whatever you need, you’ll find people willing to help.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Come on, Whitney, your dad’s paying them.”

I scowled at him.

He grinned. “It’s called a salary.”

I pushed him away from me. “Very funny.”

“Seriously,” he said. “They’ll help because they like you.”

As we parted when we got outside, I wanted to believe his words, but I remembered some of the looks that I got yesterday — the last day that I’d worked. The truth was out. I guess I was going to find out if it made a difference.

I ran into Michael as I was heading toward Tsunami.

“Caitlin said you weren’t working today,” he said.

“I wasn’t. Now I am.”

“I’m glad. I liked working with you when we did the light show before.”

I walked him over to the pool and showed him where we were going to set up the band. Things were going my way because they
showed up while I was still talking to Michael. They were a local band, wanting to make it big. I explained where they were to set up. Michael was familiar with the area because he had worked with his dad on the laser light show that we’d had on the Fourth of July, so he took charge of not only the light show but the band setup.

“Thanks,” I told him.

“Not a problem.”

I noticed the lifeguards standing around at the first lifeguard station.

“Caitlin!”

She moved away from the crowd. “I knew you couldn’t stay away,” she said. “I should have bet you another pair of shoes.”

“Like you would have let me pay for them.”

“You never know. Maybe I would have.”

I didn’t think so. “I could really use your help here,” I told her.

“Sure. Just tell me what you need.”

“We need to move all the lounge chairs and tables back some so we have more room
for a beach. And when Sean and Jake get back with the firewood, I need you to help them get it set up in the middle.”

“Are we going to party afterward?”

“No, not tonight. But I have an idea brewing.”

“So spill it.”

“Later. We gotta get this done.”

“We’ll take care of it.” She pointed to the group of lifeguards behind her.

I left them to create the beach atmosphere that we wanted.

I knew as soon as the park closed that the Kiddie Zone crew would start barricading off their section because it wouldn’t be open to our guests. I headed over to that area of the park. I saw the lifeguards and ride attendants putting up metal barricades. A couple of people would stand guard to make sure no one entered the forbidden area, but the rest of the crew would help us take care of the party guests. I asked a few of them to go to the front gate and help Charlotte. If
enough people helped her, maybe she could even get out of lei duty.

Robyn spotted me about the same time that I spotted her.

“Hey!” she called out and hurried over. She hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Why?”

“Because people have been asking about you. They think it’s cool that your dad owns the park and that you’ve been working with us all summer.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So are you here to help with the luau?”

“Pretty much. I need you to do something for me. Come on.”

We walked over to the main pavilion we used for birthday parties. I took her back to the storage unit where we kept all the little party favors. I opened the door.

“These are for little kids,” Robyn said. “You’re not thinking of using them for Marci and her group, are you?”

“No, but I saw something the other day … here it is.” I held up the little treasure chest. It was like the one that I’d seen in the souvenir shop window. Only inside were fake gold coins. “Scatter these around the park. We’ll tell the guests that each one is valued at a dollar. They can trade them in for a souvenir at the Treasure Chest.” I’d gotten the idea from the skee-ball prizes.