Operation: Normal (8 page)

That thought sobered me. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage that kind of
affection. I could never think of Heath as anything but a friend. He just didn't do it for me. So
when he walked into the laundry room and opened up the stroller, I actually edged away from
him to avoid any accidental physical contact.

"Thanks," I murmured, quickly pushing the stroller into the living area so Minka could
put Kayly into it. We left the apartment shortly after and took the elevator to the first floor,
where we left the building. The clock on the bank said seven by then.

Pushing Kayly in front of us, we walked to a cool coffee shop that had patio tables,
about four blocks away. When our food got to the table, I dug some Gerber pears out of my
sister's bag and fed her with a spoon. I intended to give her a real meal once we got back
home.

After eating, we took our time returning to the apartment. Heath and Minka didn't come
upstairs with me, instead saying their goodbyes in the lobby. Kayly and I rode the elevator up to
five, then walked down the deserted hallway. Just as I pushed the stroller inside the apartment,
my cell phone rang. Guessing it was probably Mom, I quickly shut and bolted the front door.
Then I dug my phone out of my purse and answered it.

"You sound out of breath," said Mom.

"I am," I admitted, going on to explain about eating a sandwich downtown with my
friends and hurrying back so I could talk to her without distraction when she called.

"How's Sylvie working out?"

"Actually... I fired her today."

"What! Why?"

"Smoking around Kayly after I specifically asked her not to." I also told Mom about
how she'd been in my bedroom, trying on my clothes. I didn't mention that Sylvie had looked in
Mom's jewelry box and possibly taken something. I didn't want to overwhelm her with bad
news.

Mom sighed. "I guess you called the agency."

"Naturally."

"Are they sending someone else tomorrow?"

"Actually, I told them not to bother."

"Oh, Ally, I really--"

"Please let me say something before you start raising objections," I quickly interjected,
heading her off. "You do remember I'll be eighteen on Sunday, right?"

"I-- Yes, of course."

"And you know that's old enough to vote and to get married without parental
consent."

"Yes, but what's that got to do with Kayly?"

"Anyone with enough sense to vote and get married surely has enough sense to take care
of a baby. And it's not like I'm stranded on a desert island. Between Buddy and Esme, alone,
there are about a hundred years of child-raising experience just an elevator ride away." I referred
to Buddy Carlisle, another senior I sometimes ran errands for.

"Okay. You win." I heard Mom's smile.

Whew.
"So how are things in London?"

She hesitated. "Very, very hectic."

"More than you expected?"

"Much more. The crowds inside and out have been so big and noisy and intense that I'm
honestly overwhelmed. And the band's just so...confrontational. I simply had no idea."

Tactfully, I didn't mention that I'd told her so. "I saw you and the band on MTV music
news Monday night, arriving at the venue."

"You did?"

"Yes. The whole thing looked a little scary."

"It was scary. But we're safe enough, and I'll be home before you know it."

I suddenly decided not to mention the letter. I mean, she had enough on her plate, right?
I changed the subject to something neutral. "You won't believe what Minka said today." I went
on to share my friend's idiotic belief that Heath had the hots for me.

Mom didn't laugh as expected. "Do you return his feelings?"

"Mom! Of course not, I don't want Heath as a boyfriend."

"I admit I've wondered."

That was not what I wanted to hear. "You have?"

"Yes. Not that either of you have ever said or done anything to make me think you're
looking for romance."

"Exactly. Because we're not. At least not with each other. He's just not my type."

"So what is your type?"

She asks me this now? In the middle of a long-distance phone call? "Could we talk
about this when you get home?"

"I guess I can take a rain check, but only because I need some sleep." She went quiet for
a second.

I thought I heard a sniff, which disconcerted me. Surely she wasn't crying.

"I miss you girls a lot," she said, her voice oddly husky. "Love you both, too."

"Kayly will be glad to hear it," I answered, suddenly certain Mom now regretted her
decision to go to the UK and naturally hoping to lift her spirits a little. I never could hold a
grudge.

My little joke worked, thank goodness. She rang off a couple of seconds later, clearly
feeling more upbeat. I set my phone in the charger, leaving it on as always since we had no home
phone. When I focused on Kayly again, still in her stroller, I found her slumped to one side, fast
asleep. Poor baby. I felt a twinge of guilt for leaving her in there so long and carefully put her in
her crib.

She'd probably wake up hungry in an hour or so, I figured, thinking I'd feed her some
real food then. I returned to the living area and settled on the couch, from where I watched
television after channel surfing for a bit.

I thought about my mother for a minute, about how she sounded past ready to come
home. In retrospect, that really surprised me. If she'd honestly experienced a change of heart,
would she now be more receptive to a discussion about a career change, as well? I hoped so
since that would certainly assist me in my ongoing quest for normal.

I thought of Zach, too, and immediately grabbed my cell phone from the charger. It rang
in my hand. Grinning, I flipped it open and saw that our psychic connection wasn't a fluke. That
took my breath, proving I hadn't really believed it until this instant. Unfortunately, I still didn't
know what it meant.

"Hi, Zach."

"Hi. You girls okay?"

"We're fine. Safe and sound in the apartment with the door locked and bolted."

"Great." I couldn't believe how relieved he sounded. "Can you spare a minute?"

I can spare forever
. That crazy reply popped into my head so quickly and
clearly that for one horrifying nanosecond I thought I'd said it out loud.

"A minute, an hour... I'm all yours," I managed to squeak, which wasn't that much
better.

"I swear I won't keep you long," he said as if girls often told him they were all his. In a
way, that reinforced what I already knew. I was nothing more to him than Kayly's half sister, a
girl he didn't find one bit attractive and certainly didn't want to get to know better. Too bad I
couldn't say the same thing about him.

"I've been thinking about your list," he continued, "and I want to help you make it a
reality."

"Which list?" Addled as I currently was, I couldn't think which of the twenty or so lists
in my red diary that he referred to.

"How many do you have?" he asked.

If he only knew.

"Oh, that list." I faked a laugh. By now my face felt hot enough to be sunburned. I was
that flustered. I walked to the couch and plopped down on it, lifting my feet to rest on the coffee
table in a weak attempt to make myself relax. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Even the part about your dad?"

"I'll stand in for him."

My heartbeat quickened, and not because I was talking to the nicest guy in Texas,
possibly the world. "So you honestly think the list has merit?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be calling now, offering to help."

"That's so sweet of you," I murmured, ninety-nine percent thrilled. The other one
percent felt a little conflicted for some reason I didn't have time to analyze just then.

"So do you think we could get together tomorrow morning and talk about this? I'd like
to get the ball rolling before your mom gets home and puts the quietus on everything."

"Quietus?"

"Before she takes one look at me and vetoes our plans for normal."

"Speaking of my mom, I just talked to her, and she actually sounds almost homesick. In
fact, I think she has some serious regrets about touring with Blak Magyk." I told him everything
Mom and I said, minus my confessing Minka's crazy theories about Heath's loving me, of
course.

"Then you definitely need to have your ducks in a row. That way you can hit her with
the ol' one-two the minute she gets home."

"The ol' one-two?"

"That means--"

"I know what it means. I just don't know anyone under the age of, oh, seventy who says
it anymore. Same goes for
quietus, ducks in a row
, and
get the ball
rolling
."

Zach groaned. "I know. I get ribbed about my vocabulary all the time. What can I say? I
like old slang, modern slang, any slang. I collect it, actually."

I almost dropped my phone. "You mean you make lists of slang words?"

"Nothing that organized. I do write them down on whatever's handy the minute I hear
them, so my fridge is covered with deposit slips, sticky notes, napkins, that sort of thing."

"No wonder you're a Linguistics major."

"How'd you know that?"

Desperately, I thought back. "You told me."

"No, I didn't."

"Sure you did. This afternoon when we were talking. I mean, how else would I
know?"

"But I don't remember mentioning it."

That was because I'd heard it from Minka, who'd heard it from Cin, of course. "Well,
you must've. You know," I then said, trying to change the subject. "I don't remember you using
any old-timer expressions earlier today or even yesterday, either, for that matter."

"I was holding back."

Holding back? "Because?"

"I didn't really know you."

I smiled so big it hurt my face. "Thanks, Zach."

"For...?"

"Offering to help with my list. And for feeling comfortable enough around me to just be
yourself."

He laughed at that. "So where do you want to talk tomorrow? Your apartment?"

"No, let's go to the park," I said. "I'll go stir crazy--which means I'm already sick of this
place--if I can't get out during the day or at night."

"Thanks, Ally."

"For...?" I deliberately echoed his earlier response.

"Passing on the baseball game. I know you wanted to go and spend time with your
bo--um, friends--and I had no right to ask you to stay home."

"You're welcome."

"What time tomorrow?"

"Nine?" That'd give me a chance to grab a newspaper and look at it.

"Works for me. I'll come up and get you. Goodnight, Ally."

"Goodnight," I replied, snapping my phone shut.

For several minutes I sat perfectly still on the couch, thinking about everything that
Zach said. I felt oddly on the defensive, almost as if Mom and I weren't good enough to own
Zach's little sister. Like he agreed that our lives were too unconventional and wanted better for
her. Why that bothered me I had no idea.

I totally agreed.

I considered what to do next. It was only eight-thirty, too early for bed. I couldn't think
of a thing I wanted to watch on television. So I got on Mom's PC and downloaded a ring tone for
Zach, even though I didn't need one to know when he called. I chose "Accidentally in Love" by
Counting Crows from
Shrek 2
. Not that I really loved the guy, or anything. I'd just met
him, after all, and I didn't believe in love at first sight. But the spirit of the song seemed to fit
since he was such a nice surprise, and I couldn't get him out of my head.

Once I got that done, I showered, pulled on my sleep clothes and crawled into bed,
where I retrieved my red diary from under the mattress. Absently, I unlocked it and flipped
through my lists to see if any needed updating. I decided to start a new one: Zachisms. I wrote
down the four he'd used tonight, smiling as I did so.

I liked the guy. I really did. I liked the way he looked, the way he dressed, the way he
talked. I even liked the way he smelled, and getting to know him better was going to be so much
fun.

Just as I put the diary away, I heard a soft thump. Thinking it must be Kayly, who
sometimes scooted up in her crib and bumped her head, I jumped up and ran to her room. Sure
enough, she lay with her curls smashed against the bed, but still slept soundly. I gently slid her
back to the middle of the mattress and straightened her blanket.

For at least a minute, I just looked at her. God had never made a sweeter, more perfect
baby, in my opinion, or a luckier one. So what if her dad didn't want anything to do with her?
Mom, Zach, and I would more than make up for that in the years to come. And Kayly would
never lack for anything as long as the three of us were around.

Thursday morning after I dressed and put on a little make-up, I picked up Kayly and
went downstairs to get a newspaper from the rack in the foyer. That's where I ran into Esme and
Adele, both of whom were apparently down there for the same reason.

"Hello, girls," Adele said, kissing Kayly's cheek and then hugging me. She smelled like
bath powder, a soft floral scent.

I smiled. "Hello. How are you ladies this morning?"

"Just fine," Adele answered, her brown-eyed gaze penetrating.

I saw her frown slightly and wondered if she'd picked up on a nervous vibe or two.

"I'm better than fine," said Esme. "I'm ecstatic." She bounced from one foot to the other
like some little kid, which put her silver bun in jeopardy. Her hair was a little on the fine side, so
pins wouldn't stay in it. "I'm finally getting e-mail."

"Go, Esme!" I exclaimed in surprise, sharing a high-five with her. "When are you
getting it?"

"As soon as you pick up my computer at PC Station. I was just going to call you this
morning to see if you would. Roy ordered it for me online days ago, using my credit card. They
built it to his specifications--he's so smart!--and called me yesterday to say it was ready."