Operation: Normal (2 page)

She leapt to her feet. "Well..."

"He wants to think about it. Then he'll call me when he's ready to talk."

She nodded speculatively. "Okay. All right. This is good... Isn't it?"

Heath, now standing too, hooted with derisive laughter.

"What?" I demanded.

"You honestly believe that guy is going to call?"

I looked uncertainly from him to Minka and back again. "I...uh...yeah. Why wouldn't
he?"

Heath just sighed, took Kayly from me, and abruptly left the building. Minka and I
exchanged a glance and hurried after him. Fortunately, it had stopped raining by then, so we
walked with Heath to where he'd parked his truck, puddle jumping en route. As he drove us away
minutes later, I peeked through the rain-sprinkled glass at the apartment building. I automatically
counted up four floors and looked where I thought the window to 4G should be. I saw the
silhouette of someone looking out.

Seth?
"I guess you two have a million questions."

"A million and one, actually," Minka said.

"Okay. Here's something to tide you over until we get to my apartment." I thought for a
minute. "You know that list I've been working on lately, the list of changes that must take place
if my sister's life is going to be more normal than mine?"

Minka eagerly nodded. Heath just drove.

"Well, locating Kayly's dad is one thing on it. The biggest one, I guess."

"Hottest one, too, I'll bet," said Minka with a sigh.

I could only agree. "Hot, but rude. Very rude. So how old do you think he is?" I rested
my elbow on the window ledge and pressed my flushed cheek against the cool glass.

"Twenty. Twenty-one, tops."

"That's what I'm guessing, too." I shook my head, still a little bewildered about what had
just taken place. "I don't have a clue how he and Mom could've hooked up. She's way too smart
for a fling with a university student. Way too busy, too."

"Well, he has got that whole bad boy thing going for him," said Minka.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know. That Edward Cullen quality that makes you want to take him in your
arms and say, 'Let me make it all better, baby.'"

We both burst out laughing at that. Heath, however, did not crack a smile.

"I'm guessing he owns at least one leather jacket," added Minka with a dreamy sigh,
oblivious to our male companion's sudden scowl, "and probably a Harley, too. I wonder what
he'd say if I asked for a ride on it. You know I've always wanted to do that."

Poor Heath,
I thought. Minka still had no idea he was crazy for her, and
boy-oh-boy was he. So much for the Harry-Ginny breakthrough I kept hoping for. Apparently it
wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"And weren't you just dying to touch his hair?" Minka continued. "It looked so good on
him. You know, there aren't a lot of guys who can pull off that look."

"No, there aren't."

"Seth's at least half Hispanic, don't you think?"

"At least." By then, our driver was fuming. I mean, I could see his window fogging over.
I tactfully tried to change the subject. "Um, Heath?"

"Yeah?" he as good as growled.

"Would you stop by the grocery store for a sec? I need to buy some meat."

He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "So that's why you chose tonight to pay a call
on Kayly's deadbeat dad. Your mom's hit the road again."

My vegan mom, Kat Mills, photojournalist and action junkie, had been stuck at home
since before Kayly's birth. That was quite a change for her, since she worked for Rock Guru, a
production company that produced rock-umentaries of exciting recording artists like Pink and
Gwen Stefani. Though I hated when my mom went on tour, I had to admit her job was way
cool.

"That's right. She left this morning for three weeks."

Heath's gaze locked with mine in the mirror for a few seconds before he looked away. I
couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, but I could guess. It made me squirm a little.

"How'd you get Seth's name, anyway?" said Minka.

"Off Kayly's birth certificate. I came across it when I was looking for something else.
Found mine, too."

Kayly wasn't the only daughter of Kat Mills with a dad MIA from her life. My dad was
a no show, too. At seventeen, nearly eighteen, I knew exactly two things about him: his
name--Clint Wilson--and the fact that he knew I existed. How did I know he knew this? Because he
magically transferred money into my bank account every month.

As a result of his invisibility, I'd grown up believing that I lacked whatever qualities
kept dads on the scene. It wasn't until the birth of my half-sister Kayly nine months ago that it
occurred to me I might be wrong. That's because Kayly was absolutely perfect, yet my liberated
mom now had two children and zero husbands. Could that mean she was the reason for our
upside down world and not us?

I thought so, which was why I'd decided to turn our lives right side up. Changes had to
be made to accomplish this, changes I'd listed and finally gotten the nerve to discuss with my
mom on the way to the airport that very morning. She'd vetoed one of them outright--three
guesses which--but actually promised to think about all the others. I figured that while she was
gone, I would do what I could to make her decisions easier.

I caught Heath looking at me in the mirror again and felt another pang of guilt. Did he
know I'd broken my word to my mom, who'd made me swear to never try and locate the missing
dads? And how could I do such a thing, anyway?

Easily, actually. Kayly's happiness was at stake. That meant a big sister had to do what a
big sister had to do.

We got back to my apartment building around eight. Heath grabbed Kayly and one of
the grocery bags and headed indoors, dodging several of the elderly residents leaving the lobby. I
greeted each one by name as Minka and I followed.

She shuddered when we stepped into the elevator. "God, this building's full of old
people."

"Yeah," I cheerfully agreed, adding, "The location has a lot to do with it, you know.
Downtown Austin, within walking distance to almost anything you could possibly need. Too bad
most of the seniors in the building don't walk that well anymore."

"Yeah, well, they don't need to if you're anywhere around."

Heath caught my eye and winked. We'd secretly decided that Minka must've had a
serious run-in with a blue hair at the restaurant where she worked as a hostess.

"I need to stop on two," I said, handing the apartment key to Minka. Once I got off the
elevator on the second floor, I headed straight to Esme French's to deliver the items I'd picked up
for her at the grocery store. After that, I made a couple of other stops, lingering at Adele St.
Martin's for a few minutes. Mom wouldn't have approved, of course. Adele, a senior citizen
who'd moved into the apartment building shortly after we did sixteen years ago, was an
honest-to-goodness psychic. Since my mother didn't buy into the paranormal, she steered clear of the
lady.

I, on the other hand, was not a skeptic. In fact, Adele and I both thought I might have
some ESP of my own. That, and a secret wish to know my future--not to mention Mom's
past--kept me hanging around her. Unfortunately, she hadn't spilled the beans so far.

Since she was such a good listener and I had a lot on my mind, I must've talked longer
than I meant to. At any rate, Minka went off on me when I finally got to my apartment, which
was the only one occupied on the fifth floor due to remodeling.

She flung open the door. "Could you have taken any longer?"

"Don't mind her," drawled Heath from the couch. "She's had her thong in a twist all
day." I saw that he absently bounced Kayly on his knee, keeping most of his attention on the
Wimbledon coverage now playing on our flat screen TV.

Rolling her eyes, Minka began to help me put away the groceries.

Not for the first time, I noted with envy how pretty she was, tall and trim, with honey
blonde hair and golden brown eyes. Heath, a participant in every sport imaginable, stayed really
fit, too. His intense hazel eyes and almost black hair, worn all messy, just added to his charm. I
knew that he and Minka would make a striking couple...if they ever got there. I honestly couldn't
predict they would.

"So where did your mom go this time?" Minka handed me a package of bacon to put in
the fridge.

"Europe."

That got Heath's attention. "No kidding?"

I shook my head. "She's touring with Blak Magyk."

He jumped right up and walked into the kitchen area with Kayly in his arms. "Did you
say Blak Magyk?"

"Uh-huh...why?"

"What do you mean, why? You know why. They're wack jobs, Ally. Really bad
news."

"But Mom said she'd be perfectly safe," I answered coolly, going on to share what she'd
told me when she announced her plans, specifically her theory that the British were more tolerant
than Americans about radical rock bands.

Heath didn't buy a word of it, either, which put tight knots in my stomach. Should I be
worrying?

"Heath..." Minka's warning tone hinted that he should just shut up.

He walked back to the couch, and sat down again. I heard Kayly babbling to him a
second later.

"I'm sure everything will be okay." Minka gave me a smile of encouragement and a box
of Cokes.

"I hope so." I put them in the refrigerator before I went to the sink and washed my hands
so I could rescue Heath and check Kayly's diaper. Since it was soaked, I headed to Mom's
bedroom. Minka trailed after me. She automatically sat near Kayly and held onto her ankle while
I dug a dry diaper out of the package on the night stand.

"What gives?" I asked, guessing Minka had something on her mind besides
Harleys.

"Greg March called me last night."

"You swear?" Greg was just the hottest senior at Austin High. He was also nice. A killer
combination. "What'd he want?"

"He asked me out."

My jaw dropped. "What about Laura?" She was Greg's long-time girlfriend.

"They broke up."

Sorry, Heath,
I thought as I tossed Kayly's wet Huggie and put a dry one on
her. "And Greg turned right around and called you?"

She grinned and nodded.

"Wow. Are you going to go?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," I told her and meant it. Greg's name was on my list of guys I'd like to know
better.

Another list? Yes, actually. I was famous for them, since I believed that writing things
down was the best way to stay organized. That's why I kept a red leather diary locked and under
my pillow, not to record my secret thoughts in, but to keep track of all my lists. I admitted to
being little compulsive, but that wasn't all bad. Those logical lists were actually the only thing
keeping me sane at the moment.

My friends and I sat around talking for awhile, once Minka and I got back to the living
area. They asked a lot of questions, such as how did I get Seth's address? What did I want him to
do? What were my plans for my own dad?

I told them as much as I could without giving everything away. Some details of my life
were so embarrassing they were better left unshared.

Minka and Heath left around nine, with a promise to come back Monday night to watch
the original pilot of the
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
series, which the Sci Fi channel was
going to start rerunning in order from the beginning.

I put Kayly right to bed and messed around the apartment until ten, when I suddenly
thought of my dad, something I'd been doing a lot lately. Only this time felt different. Not ten
seconds later, my cell phone rang.

I jumped up from the couch and grabbed it off the bar. "Hello?"

"Kat?"

"This is Ally, actually."

Dead silence greeted that.

"Hello?" I said again.

"Ally. Wow. I meant to call your mom. This is Clint Wilson--"

My phone hit the floor with a clatter. Dropping down on all fours, I scooped it up, then
sat down right there, my back against the bar, trying to catch my breath. My hands shook so
badly I could barely raise my cell to my ear again.

"Allison?" My dad's voice sounded deep and rumbly, just the way I'd imagined it would.
"Are you still there?"

"I'm here," I barely managed to croak.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Y-Yes."

"Has anything out of the ordinary happened?"

What a question. "Besides this phone call, you mean?"

I heard a cough...or was it a laugh? "Er, yeah. Besides that."

"No." My brain went nuts trying to get around the shock of my dad calling my mom.
That was a first as far as I knew. "Why are you calling?" The line crackled loudly, and for a
moment I thought I'd lost him. "Mr. Wilson? Clint?" Neither sounded right, but
Dad
sounded way too...familiar, I guess.

"I'm here, but I've really got to go."

"You're hanging up already?"

"Have to, honey."

Honey? Caught off guard by the endearment, I fought the sobs that clustered in my
throat and threatened my composure. How could he call me that as if he'd been in my life every
single day since I was born?
How could he
?

"Be careful, okay?"

Careful? "Of what?" I blurted. I mean, could this call get any weirder?

"Nothing. Everything. Don't trust anyone."

I didn't know what to say to that.

The line went dead.

"Hello? Hello?" I cursed like a rapper and instantly pulled up his number on my cell. I
had to blink to clear my vision and stared at those digits forever, seriously considering calling
him back.

But what would I say?

Abruptly losing my nerve, I saved the number to my contacts under
Dad?
I
walked to the couch and flopped face down on it, my head about to explode with every detail of
the day, from the shout fight with my mother at the airport to that first ever phone call from my
own dad. Then there was that forbidden face-to-face with Seth...