Dex (5 page)

CHAPTER
six

“Geema, what time did Mom say she and Alicia would be here?” Dex checked the clock
on the wall as he methodically sprinkled crushed Oreos over his large impressive cake.

“Dexy, you’ve asked me the same question every fifteen minutes. They’ll be here soon.” Golda bathed the roast in pan juices and tossed in a few handfuls of sliced portabella mushrooms. “A few more minutes and this baby will be done.”

She looked over at Dex working at the counter. “The cake looks beautiful. Let it be.”

Dex stood back and like any artist assessed his work with a critical eye. “Are you sure there aren’t too many crumbs on the right side?”

“There aren’t too many anythings,” Golda assured him. “Why don’t you get out of this kitchen already and help your dad put up the rest of the decorations. He can’t do it all himself.”

Dex skulked away from the cake like a parent leaving a kindergartner on the first day of school. A quick look around the dining room and Dex realized Geema was right. Vince had done a great job on the balloons and streamers, but there was no way he could hang the banner alone.

Golda came out of the kitchen to set the table. She walked over to the antique wooden breakfront at the front of the room and ran her hand over the curves in the wood. It was a beautifully handcrafted piece that she remembered being in her grandmother’s dining room used to showcase the most elegant of her family’s prized possessions. From the time she was a little girl she was told that someday it would be hers.

When that day came, years later, it was too big to fit in her house. She and Poppy had decided to use it in the restaurant to store the better crystal, silver, and china for extra special occasions. It had a stately yet warm presence and gave Poppy’s Kitchen that extra dash of hominess that made guests feel like family. Golda shuddered to think about the restaurant being sold and the breakfront being used to help pay her insurmountable debt. Luckily, her focus shifted when she turned around and saw Dex sitting awkwardly on Vince’s shoulders hanging a homemade giant cloth banner spelled out in neon pinks and purples.

WELCOME BACK ALICIA!

Just as Dex pinned the last tack, Golda glanced out the window and saw Marla’s car pulling into the parking lot. “They’re here!”

Vince and Dex scrambled over to the entrance while Golda quickly smoothed over the rippling corners of the lace tablecloth.  Marla casually strolled in with a finger covering her lips to keep everyone quiet as Alicia trailed behind.

“Leesh,” Marla said over her shoulder, “I’ll be just a minute. Geema needs the big soup pot.”

Alicia waited for a moment as Marla walked in.

“Oh Alicia, it’s heavier than I thought. Could you come in? I don’t want to strain my fingers.”

Alicia smirked and walked in, confused to find everything pitch black.

“SURPRISE!!!” the group shouted as Dex switched on the dining room lights.

#

“I forgot how great the food is here,” Alicia said, taking another slice of the roast while still chewing what was in her mouth. “Everything in California is a smoothie.” She took another helping of potatoes. “I mean I like smoothies, but blueberry yogurt and kale have no business being married in a blender.”

Everyone laughed which gave Dex a chance to give Alicia a quick once-over before she could notice. She was still thin. Her hair was still long and reddish-brown, but did she look older
or something? She had only been gone three months but something about her face and the way she laughed made her seem different.

“I made a smoothie last week,” Dex recalled. “Oreo mocha. I thought of you.”

“That sounds awesome. You’ll have to make me one.” Alicia took a final bite of meat and pushed her plate away.

“I’d like to make a toast to our Alicia,” Vince said, raising a glass of wine. I’m so happy that you got home safe, and that I didn’t lose you to Johnny Depp.” Everyone laughed knowing Alicia had developed a huge crush on the actor after seeing him in Chocolat. She was even more into him now since they’d worked together for a couple of days.

“Anyway, I hope you enjoy every minute of making movies as much as I’ll enjoy every minute of watching them.” He took a sip of champagne. “To Alicia.”

“Thanks Daddy,” Alicia said, giving him a hug.

A brief silence followed that made Dex feel a little uncomfortable. Was it possible to get used to your own sister being away? It’s not like he’d enjoyed Alicia being gone, but now that she was back did they still have anything in common besides family? Maybe California changed her too much. She may have looked the same but she did say awesome like she was on The Hills or something. Dex didn’t want to think about it and jumped to his feet when Geema suggested they clear the table and set up for dessert.

Alicia looked like she was about to say something when her phone rang. Whoever called made her eyes light up and she dashed to the other side of the dining room to talk.

Before Dex could move, Marla stopped him with her gloved hand. “You alright honey? You look sad.”

“Sad?” Uh-oh, were his feelings that transparent? Not cool. “No, of course I’m not sad,” he said as if his mother had lost her mind. “I just hope Alicia likes the cake. That’s all.” Dex decided that wasn’t exactly a lie. It certainly sounded better than
I hope I still like Alicia
.

A knock at the back door in the kitchen gave Dex a way out of the conversation. “Liza and Kyle are here. They missed Alicia too so I invited them for dessert.” And before his mother could think of anything more to say, Dex went to answer the door before Geema had the chance.

“Hey! Hope we’re not too late,” Liza walked in ahead of Kyle.

“Nope. You’re right on time,” Dex assured her, crossing over to the drawer to get the sparklers to put in his Oreo and ganache masterpiece. He took out four, figuring that any more would make it look less like a cake and more like it was ready for take-off.

“Jordy couldn’t mmmm-ake it,” Kyle burped.

“He
got big bizzle on da page
,” Liza said, mimicking her cousin.

“He has what?” Geema looked perplexed as she took the sugar bowl out of the cabinet.

“Lots of homework,” Dex explained, surprising himself. It had only been a day, but he was already nearly fluent in ‘Jordese.’

“Really? If you say so,” Geema rolled her eyes, watching as Liza and Kyle lit the sparklers. Dex told them to bring in the cake to add to the surprise. Geema walked over to the main switches and turned off the lights again until nothing but the glow of the sparklers lit the path into the dining room.

“What’s going on?” Alicia asked through the darkness. In moments Liza and Kyle burst into the dining room carrying the sparkling cake.

“Surprise!” they shouted in unison. Liza placed the cake on the table in front of Alicia.

“Whoa! It’s not even my birthday!” Alicia exclaimed.

“True, but it
is
your welcome back party!” Liza cried.

Alicia went over to hug them leaving the cake to sparkle on the table. Dex noticed a few tiny embers escape and float up towards the ceiling, vanishing in the cool air. When Alicia returned to the table, she methodically took the sparklers out of the cake and held them until they went out. Everyone applauded and Geema turned the lights back on.

“That cake looks fabulous!” Alicia drooled.

“Yeah, but why does it smell like laundry?” Kyle sniffed.

“Burning laundry.” Marla sniffed too.

Dex looked up and saw the giant banner in flames just as the fire alarm went off. For a moment he panicked and couldn’t move at all. Was the fire his fault? He saw the embers, but they seemed to disappear.

Vince ran to get the fire extinguisher. That seemed like a smart idea. Marla clutched a menu and began to fan the banner frantically. That seemed like a good idea too. But Dex couldn’t think of anything to do. He looked at the table and saw a piece of the banner heading for his cake. Without a moment’s hesitation, he scooped up the platter and ran to the other side of the room. If nothing else, he had made the decision to save something.

“Ow!”Marla cried, looking down to find her glove burning at the tip. “Oh God! I burned my pinky!”

Dex watched as Liza got a glass of water for Marla’s pinky and Geema told Kyle where to find the first aid kit. There was no reason for Dex to feel purposeless; he was holding the cake, an important job. This whole party was about welcoming Alicia back with her favorite cake. Still, something was making him feel useless.

Vince finally set up the fire extinguisher and began hosing down the flames. Marla’s finger was soaking in a glass of water and Geema was snapping the cloth napkins from the table to keep them from becoming additional victims.

Alicia went over to Dex and patted his head. “You know, you’re my hero in all this.” She swiped a finger full of frosting and licked her lips. “You saved my cake. Clearly the best part of this whole party.”

Dex sighed in relief. Alicia wasn’t gone after all. She was still his sister, the only person who really understood him the way he needed to be understood.

CHAPTER seven

Alicia woke up with a start. She looked around confused, not seeing anything familiar. Then she remembered--she was home and even though she was happy to be back, it was going to take some time to readjust. She scanned her room and was amazed she still had two huge duffel bags to unpack. She got out of bed, unzipped the first bag and started pulling out one item at a time. Where had she had room for everything in the first place?

She yawned and looked at the clock. It was already eight. As an assistant producer some mornings she had to be in by five. That’s when she learned to live on lattes. She yawned again. If she were still in L.A. she would have been reviewing the prop list for the day’s shoot at the studio. It wasn’t the most exciting or glamorous job, but as she was often reminded, it was important.

Alicia, the director can’t orchestrate a proper breakfast-in-bed scene without a serving tray and a glass mug of steaming cappuccino. Preferably hazelnut, sweetheart, since we’ll have to smell it most of the day.

Her supervisors had certainly been a demanding bunch to please, but Alicia was smart and charming and had quickly learned how to make the situation work. After a few short weeks, she was the only intern who had been given the opportunity to direct a small scene in an independent feature film. That experience alone convinced her that she really wanted to be in the film industry and was pursuing the right career.

Getting a scholarship to attend the A.A. Neal School of Film and Fine Arts was just the opportunity Alicia had been hoping for. The fact that it was an easy car ride from home was a welcome benefit. There was no denying that she had enjoyed her time in L.A., but she was an east coast girl at heart and was glad to be back in time to see the leaves change colors and the snow paint the trees a glistening white.

The familiar sound of tapping fingernails at her bedroom door interrupted Alicia’s train of thought. “That you, Geema?” she said, trying to fit a photo of her standing on set with Johnny Depp into a frame. She put it down frustrated that each time the photo was upright it would shift from the center to the bottom of the border.

Geema walked in carrying a small black case. “How did you know it was me?”

“No one else knocks with their fingernails.”

“Oh Leeshie, I’ve missed you.” Geema watched as Alicia fought to keep the photo centered in the frame. “Hand me some junk mail, Leesh.”

“Junk mail?”

“It’s a trick Poppy used. It’ll fix exactly what you need.”

Alicia handed her grandmother an envelope filled with expired coupons.

“You put this on top of the cardboard that comes with the frame to keep the picture set. Now when you put the back on, it won’t slide anywhere.” Geema set up the frame and left it on the desk.

“Thanks, Geema. And thanks Poppy. That worked!” She hung the photo up on her wall.

“I’m so sorry your welcome back party didn’t go quite how we’d hoped,” Geema sighed.

“Are you kidding? It was great. Boss, they’d say back in LA. Especially the part when the firemen came and finished Dex’s cake.

“You’re boss, Leeshie,” Geema said handing the case to her. “I know you start classes soon. This is something Poppy would have wanted you to have.”

Alicia unfastened the gold hinges and pulled out an old video camera. “It’s still in great shape,” she marveled. “Geema, this is amazing. I might be too young to say it, but they don’t make cameras the way they used to.”

Geema laughed. “You’re right. They don’t. But I’m sure it could use a new battery.” She glanced wistfully as Alicia examined the camera.

“Your Poppy loved being behind the camera, just like you.” She paused in thought for a moment.

“
Unlike
you,” Geema continued, “he may have chopped off a head or two now and then, but you could still tell who was who.”

Alicia gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek.

“Leesh, I’m sure there are a ton of his movies in the attic. There were never enough hours in the day to watch all the hours he could film in a day. I’m not even sure what’s up there. Probably a bunch of you and Dex as babies.” She started walking out of the room and paused. “I think there are some blank tapes too. But I can never find anything up there.”

“I’ll go look,” Alicia offered and held up a t-shirt she had gotten for Dex at a novelty store on the Sunset Strip. “What do you think Geema?” It was a chef at home plate wielding a whisk instead of a bat that read:

STEP UP TO THE PLATE.

#

It was way too early for gym class. Dex rubbed his eyes trying to keep them open as the coach explained their next unit.

“Has anyone here ever heard of boot camp?” Coach Logan looked around for volunteers to answer.

“Yeah,” called out a wispy blonde without raising her hand. “That’s where Gucci tries out their summer line.”

A few kids laughed, but Dex just rolled his eyes. She probably wasn’t even kidding.

“Not even close, Janessa,” barked the coach. “Any other takers?”

Kyle raised his hand. “It’s where guys in the army go to get buuuuuff,” Kyle burped. There were a few snickers from his classmates, but not enough to stop him from finishing. “So they can fight all the enemies.”

“Close enough. You okay Kyle?”

“Yeah,” Kyle sighed as he pulled out the bottle of Tums from his pocket.

Coach Logan didn’t miss a beat. “Alright, we’re going to start off our ‘Boot Camp’ unit today. Let me show you the ropes.”

Within minutes Dex found himself about to climb the rope next to Sarah’s. If it had been anywhere but gym class he would have been thrilled to be paired with her, but this was just torture. The large, soft mat beneath them offered little comfort as Dex positioned himself to appear agile and confident.

“And...go!” directed the coach with a click of his stopwatch.

Sarah was almost halfway up the rope when Dex felt his shorts coming down. Each stretch made it worse. The choice was giving her a bigger lead or letting his shorts fall to his ankles. Dex stopped and adjusted his waistband with one hand. Sarah looked down at him with a little grin. Dex met the challenge and hustled to be even with her.

“Hey, how did you like Josh and Kayden’s risotto in Baker’s class?” Dex asked her eye to eye.

“Risotto?” Sarah chuckled. “I thought it was rice pudding!”

“Don’t worry,” Dex assured her, “Our couscous will be much better.”

Dex was feeling pretty good once class was over. He had conquered the rope and Sarah had seen his success firsthand. He went into the locker room ready for work. Gym class was one of his busiest times of the day. Everyone was starving and wanted cookies.

The line in front of his locker was longer than usual. Some of the guys hadn’t even gotten dressed yet. Dex understood. He was hungry too. He and Kyle were selling cookies as fast as they could. Between handing the cookies out and exchanging the money, it looked like they were running some kind of gambling ring.

Dex was just about to retrieve another box of cookies when Coach Logan’s door swung open. Everyone ran in different directions. Kyle stashed a box of cookies in his locker and motioned to Dex that he had to leave.

Dex quickly threw the cookies he had out into a bag in his locker, hiding them like they were a carton of cigarettes. He was selling cookies, but he still felt like a criminal.

“Dex. I’d like a word with you,” Coach Logan didn’t look happy. “I know what you’ve got going on, and I’m sure you’re well aware it’s against school policy.”

He pointed at Dex’s locker and pulled a pink slip out of his t-shirt pocket. Dex’s head fell forward as the coach began to write.

Busted. Dex was mortified.

Coach Logan handed Dex the slip. “So just fill my order and this,” he made a circle with his pointer finger, “will stay our secret.”