Chapter 1: Telling

A Chapter by Brooke

I felt as if I going to tell my dad that I wanted to spend my summer in Africa, not with my mom. I mean seriously, how many parents do you know who don't want to get rid of their kids for a few months. Even if they are never home, like my dad. See, my dad is the CEO of a major company here in, good old Portland, OR and is always traveling, at meetings, away from home you get the picture. Well, when I was three years old, my mom had had enough and ran off. She always told me the truth, about why she left, I mean. Ever since I can remember she told me that she wanted to live her dream, and my dad was holding her back. So with mom gone "pursuing" her dream -- which is, by the way, becoming a world renowned photographer -- I was left in the care of dad, not that he actually took "care" of me. My nanny, Rose, raised me, almost completely. Nanny is, and probably always will be, my best friend. We've done everything together -- learned how to swim, ride a bike, go to the zoo, everything you can possibly imagine, we've done. And we've done it together.

So, why, you ask have I decided to pack up my bags for the summer and visit my mom. Well, it's quit simple really. My dad allows Rose to take all of my summer vacations off and usually hires what he calls my "summer nanny". Not that I can't take care of myself, I can, it's just my dad doesn't exactly trust me to be alone in the house for more than twenty-four hours -- he's a little paranoid. And to tell you the truth, my house is so big that I would hate to be in it all by myself. Anyways, so this summer I decided that I would spend my free months with my mom, because I hadn't spent more than forty-eight hours with my mom since my eighth birthday, almost nine years ago. I decided this just after spring break, and put off telling my dad. I thought, "Oh, it's only April, I don't have to tell him." Well soon, April turned into May and May turned into June. And then as the last few days of the school year rolled around, I started to panic. See, my dad doesn't take sudden news very well. Like if I want anyone, who ever it is, even my best friend in the whole wide world, Amanda, I have to plan it at least a month in advance or he goes completely bonkers.

So, finally, on the second to last week of school, I puckered up enough courage to walk up the narrow staircase that leads to my father's private office -- the staircase I hadn't walked up in at least six months. I climbed the staircase as slowly as I could, saying over and over in my head exactly what I was going to say. Once at the top, and face to face with the brass knocker my dad had insisted on installing on the door when it was remolded just before we moved into it, I took a deep breath, let it out, and reached up to take hold the knocker. But just as I had my grasp firmly around the handle, my hand was yanked almost clear out of my socket. My dad had swung the door open to leave, but in doing so he pulled me with him. As a result I tripped and fell right into his paper-laded arms -- knocking the papers every which way.

"Liz! Dang It," my father screamed, "what are you doing up here! Now look what you've done -- now I'm going to have to go and organize all of those again!"

"Sorry, Dad, sorry, really I didn't mean to. I just came to talk to you -- but I guess this is a bad time, huh," I asked.

"Ya, think?"

"Sorry, I'll come back later then -- when you’re not busy, it just this is really important. And I don't think it can wait. And i really need to tell you. So maybe you could come find me when your done...or I could go with you to wherever you going and tell on the way or something. But i kinda have to tell you now or maybe I'll forget or you'll be busy later and I'll never get a chance to tell you or something --"

"Whoa, slow down there!" I have a tendency to ramble when I'm nervous.

"You can just tell me here I was only going down stairs to get a bite to eat, I thought you were already gone with Liz and Amanda." My dad and I have this system set up so he doesn't go bonkers and I don't either: I do something with my friends every Friday night -- and he expects this so we never, or at least not in the most two years since I started high school, have we eaten dinner together on a Friday night, with the exception of last Christmas which happened to be a Friday, and my dad is really big about Christmas because it's practically the only holiday he gets off. But whatever, that doesn't really matter -- what really matters is if I can just tell dad about my summer plans!

"Okay Dad, here's the dealy-o, I want to spend the summer with Mom."

But, I think I must have said it to fast, because my dad looked at me with this look on his face -- a mix between confusion and inpatients -- and then went "Again -- slow down! Now repeat, more clearly if you could."

"Dad. I. Would. Like To. Spend The. Summer. With. Mom." I even said it like that too -- like each word was is its own sentence. When I got the word Mom, my dad did something complete wacko (or at least for him) -- he smiled. Like really smiled, I haven't seen a real smile come across my father's face in at least four years, if not more.

"Of course you can spend time at your mother's this summer! Actually that would save a lot, because I still haven't found you a summer sitter. Wait, have to talked to your mother about this -- or did you want me to?"

"No!" I practically screamed. See here's the thing whenever my parents have a conversation of any kind it always ends up the same way -- screams. Also I have to live with the aftermath; and it ain't at all pretty. My dad sulks, for like, days after talking to her. It's like totally impossible for him to anything what so ever for about a week after he's talked to mom. And when he gets behind in his work, I suffer, cause guess what -- when he's like that he does NOTHING and then all these phone calls start coming in and blah, blah, blah. It's so annoying.

But Anyways... So I went on saying, "I'll call her don't worry -- just wanted to check."

"Great sweetheart, talk to you later -- or what is it you kids say now, ttly or whatever?"

"Never mind Dad," i said with a laugh. So with that weight off my shoulders, I hopped downstairs to my bedroom. Once safely in my room, I picked up my cordless from my bedside table. And proceeded to call my mom -- she, of coarse, picked up on the first ring.

"Sweetie! How are you? I feel like I haven't talked to you in ages! How's your dad? And Rose? What about Amanda? How's school going," You can see where I get the fast-talking.

"Hey Mom, Everyone's great, school's great, everything's great. How are you?..."

After a few minutes of catch up that was long over due, I got down to business. "Hey mom, do you have plans this summer?"

"Funny you should ask because this summer I'm opening a new shop in this quaint little town called Rockaway Beach! It's perfect!"

"So you're moving?" I fought the urge to add 'Again' because my mom has moved dozens of times to 'pursue her dream', lately though she's been sticking to the coast. Last I heard she was living in Seaside -- guess she wants to quiet down a little.

"But of coarse! I've already bought the house -- it's the cutest, you should come down to be it!"

"Well, Mom, I was thinking that, if it alright with you, I could come down and spend the summer with you"

"Oh," my mom practically blew my ear off, "That would be amazing Liz! I would just love it!"

"Okay mom, great, um...when would be a good time to come? School will be out in a couple days."

"How about you come late next week -- how about this -- you can take the greyhound to Tillamook and I'll pick you up there -- I have two cars at the house, so that won't be a problem -- and we can go out to eat at this great pizza place! Oh, this is going to be wonderful, just wonderful!"

"Okay, mom, I'll talk to you later -- love you!"

"Love sweets -- ciao." My mother's departing lines were always different; never bye, and never see ya -- always some weird way of saying goodbye. You never know what's going to come out to her month next. But anyways, after I got off the phone with mom, I quickly started up my laptop. My laptop -- which is amazing by the way -- has built in web cam, as does Mandie's so I, like I always do, started a video chat with her.

"Hey Mandie! What's up?"

"Nothin' much, you?"

"I just got off the phone with M" (we call always my parents M and D and hers C and H -- which stand for Carol and Harry because they insist on everyone calling them that, and I do mean everyone they even make there employees do it, it's a little weird but other than that they're pretty cool.) "I'm spending the summer with her."

"Oh, really, that's cool and M lives in Seaside right?

"Not, she move -- big surprise there -- she moved to this town called Rockaway, ever heard of it?"

"Rockaway Beach?! You have to be joking, that is so cool!" If you could see the look on Mandie's face right now you would just be rolling around and around and around in your chair from laughing so hard -- her face looks like the little kids at Disneyland who are seeing the Almighty Mickey Mouse for the first time, their eyes like saucers.

"Why is that so cool," I sputter through giggle intervals.

"Because C & H are making me and the encourage go to our vacay condo in none other than Rockaway Beach, OR for two weeks -- I thought I was going to be so bored, but I guess not, with you down there! That is, like, infinitely cool!"

"Yeah, amazingly so,"

"So yeah -- I better go, ya know lots to do before the last day of school! Talk to you later tonight."

As I hung up the phone, my body was washed over with a weird sense of dread.

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