Part 9 (2/2)

”I am going to insist on another rule,” added Graham. ”I would like you to be home by two-thirty on any night that you're out. Up until now I haven't cared, but I've been wrong. I have to deliver you home safely in September. After two-thirty, whatever is going on probably shouldn't be going on. At least not at your age. I think I owe it to your parents to make sure you're home by then.”

”Okay, sure,” Carrie agreed readily.

”Which brings me to another subject,” Graham continued. ”Drugs and drinking. I don't know if you know this, but I lost my first wife to drugs. She was a lovely woman, sweet and innocent just like you, but she didn't realize she was playing with fire. I care about you, Carrie. I think you're a good kid. But I care about Ian and Chloe more. I will not have that stuff in my house or anywhere near my children. That is firm, absolute. There are no second chances on this issue.” ”I would never have drugs around the kids,” said Carrie, horrified at the thought.

”I wasn't smoking last night, honestly. I've never, ever done drugs. And I never would.”

”We could see that you weren't stoned,” Claudia said. ”But even drinking can get out of hand. You have to watch yourself. Graham doesn't drink at all; I have a few when we go out but I limit myself to one an hour.” / learned that lesson the hard way, thought Carrie, but she said nothing.

”Time to talk about the shoes,” said Claudia. ”I loved those shoes. What the h.e.l.l happened to them? I hadn't even worn them yet.” Without going into detail, Carrie told them about losing the shoes at the studio. ”I figured I'd put them back and everything would be fine. I feel terrible.” ”You figured a lot of things that didn't turn out as you planned, didn't you?” said Claudia grimly.

”I guess so,” Carrie agreed sadly.

Suddenly Claudia threw her hands up in exasperation. ”You don't know how much I hate this whole scene!” she cried. ”I'm only twenty-five d.a.m.n years old. I was your age almost yesterday. I guess I'm angry because you're forcing me to be this major drag of an authority figure. We don't want to blow your good time, Carrie. But I can't have you leaving the kids, taking my things, lying to us.

This is my vacation. We hired you so we wouldn't have to worry about the kids.

I'll be d.a.m.ned if I'm going to have to babysit the babysitter!” Carrie felt humiliated. And more than that, she really felt bad. Graham and Claudia had been nothing but nice to her since she arrived. Now she'd upset them. ”I don't know what to say. I'm just so embarra.s.sed and sorry,” she said as tears splashed down her cheeks. ”If you give me another chance, I promise you won't regret it. I don't know what's the matter with me lately. I'm not like this at all. Not usually.” Graham and Claudia looked at each other. Carrie was surprised to see a look in their eyes that bordered on amus.e.m.e.nt. ”I guess love makes all of us do dumb things sometimes,” said Claudia.

Carrie wiped her eyes. ”How did you know?” she asked.

”It's not real difficult to tell that you and Billy have a thing for each other,” said Graham gently.

”You'd have to be blind to miss it,” Claudia added. ”That's what the new hairdo and makeup and all are about, right?” Carrie nodded. ”I've been a major jerk.”

Claudia and Graham smiled sympathetically. ”Some of the change has been cute, some of it has been a little extreme,” said Claudia. ”But I thought you looked real pretty the way you were.” ”Billy must have thought so, too,” said Graham.

”He couldn't stop looking at you all through the concert. As I recall, that was before the new Carrie showed up.” ”I wanted to be more like Kristy Powell,” said Carrie glumly.

Claudia threw her head back and laughed.

”Kristy Powell!” she cried, still laughing. ”Excuse me, Carrie, but you are a major jerk.” ”Claudia!” Graham scolded.

”I'm sorry, Graham, but Kristy Powell has been out with every boy on this isIand. And every boy on the island knows it. She's a supergroupie. Remember last summer, when we couldn't get rid of her?” Claudia turned back to Carrie and explained, ”I practically had to kick her in the b.u.t.t to keep her away from Graham. That girl is so screwed up. n.o.body takes her seriously. I mean, it's sad, really. I'm sure she could use a good shrink. But she's a mess and that's the truth of it.” ”Gee,” said Graham, holding his hand to his chest and pretending to be upset, ”I didn't know all this about Kristy. In fact, I thought she was showing remarkably good taste last summer. I was very flattered. You've burst my bubble.” ”Oh, shut up, Graham.” Claudia laughed again. ”He's kidding, if you couldn't tell. As I remember it from last summer, his exact words were, 'Let's ditch that dumb airhead before she drives me insane.'” ”I said that?”

asked Graham, keeping up his pretense.

”Yes, you did.” Graham looked at Carrie seriously. ”She's right. I did. Kristy Powell is n.o.body to model yourself on, believe me.” ”But don't you think I could loosen up a little?

I mean, I come across as such a goody-goody. I am a goody-goody. But I don't want to be.” ”If you want to spread your wings, take it slow,” Claudia advised.

She shook her head and laughed gently. ”At least take it slow until September, when I'm not responsible for you anymore, okay?” ”Yeah, please,” said Graham.

”We don't want to send you home with an alcohol or drug problem, or pregnant ...” ”Or with any horrible diseases,” Claudia added pointedly. ”So be smart and be careful. Okay? And I'll give you some free advice: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In other words, it's fine to experiment a little, but don't lose sight of yourself.” ”Okay,” said Carrie seriously.

”Okay,” Graham echoed. ”Then let's call this a wrap. If n.o.body minds, I'm going back to bed. I'm exhausted.” Looking worn out, Graham left the porch.

”I have a headache myself,” said Claudia. ”What a hideous fifteen hours these have been. It started with a fight between Graham and me, and progressed into an incredibly uncomfortable dinner with my ex-boyfriend and his new wife. I forgot what a putz Phil could be! Then I had a little pleasure trip to the local station house, spent a sleepless night, and for the last hour got to act like the princ.i.p.al of my old high school.” ”I'm so sorry,” Carrie repeated. ”Maybe you should go back to bed, too.”

Claudia got up from the table and headed into the house. ”That sounds like an excellent idea. It's too nasty to take the kids to the beach-just keep them reasonably quiet, though.” ”Is it all right if I take them into town?” Carrie asked.

”That's a good idea,” Claudia agreed. ”I'll give you some money before you go to buy them some goodies.” ”I have money,” said Carrie. ”I'd like to treat them.

It's the least I can do. Thanks for the second chance.” ”You're welcome,” said Claudia. ”Don't let me down.” ”I won't.” After giving them lunch, Carrie buckled Ian and Chloe into the Mercedes and drove toward town. ”Where did you go last night?” asked Ian.

”Out with some friends. It was dumb. I'm sorry,” she replied.

”You went out the other night, too, didn't you?” he said accusingly.

”I'm never going to do it again, Ian. I promise,” she told him.

”Sure,” he said sarcastically. ”I really believe you. Hey, I don't care if you do go out. I won't tell. I don't need a babysitter, anyway. Besides, I think it's cool to sneak out at night.” I've certainly set a fine example, she chided herself. ”It wasn't cool, Ian. It really was dumb.” Carrie parked the car and steered the kids down the street. A light rain had started to fall.

Carrie knelt to put up the hood of Chloe's yellow slicker and tie it in place. The narrow street along the bay was crowded with shoppers and browsers, as it always was on rainy days.

”There you go,” said Carrie. As she stood up, she was jolted by the sight of a van parked across the street. It was Flirting with Danger's van. Was Billy around? Would she b.u.mp into him? Did she want to?

For the next half-hour she browsed through the stores with Ian and Chloe. At a store called This and That she bought Chloe a Sunset Island T-s.h.i.+rt dress and a pair of pink plastic play high heels that Chloe had fallen in love with. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. Carrie smiled to herself as she paid at the cas.h.i.+er.

Ian found two posters he wanted for his bedroom. One was of a rock group; the other was of two very large, mean-looking wrestlers. ”What do you like about wrestling, anyway?” Carrie asked as she searched for the posters he wanted in the large bin of rolled, numbered posters that corresponded with the numbered posters on the wall.

”It's cool,” was his only answer.

”That explains it,” Carrie said with a smile.

On the way out, Chloe stopped to look at a purple plastic unicorn. Her lower lip stuck out in a pout as she patted the toy on the head. ”What's the matter?”

Carrie asked.

”I used up my presents, so I can't have the horsie,” she said. ”Why does he have a horn?”

”He's a unicorn,” Carrie explained. ”He's a magic kind of horse. Uni means one. He's a one-horned horse.” ”What does corn mean?” asked Chloe. ”Does he like corn?” Carrie smiled. ”I think it's another way of saying horn.” ”Maybe they thought his horn looked like a piece of corn,” Ian suggested.

”Maybe,” Carrie agreed. She picked up the small toy animal. ”Would you mind much if I got Chloe an extra present?” she asked Ian.

”No problem,” Ian replied. ”She's just a little kid. It's okay with me.” ”Oh, thank you!” cried Chloe, throwing her arms around Carrie.

Carrie paid for the toy and gave it to Chloe, who immediately showered it with kisses. ”Let's go,” Carrie said, holding the door for the kids as they left with their packages. Hard as she tried not to, she couldn't help but keep one eye out for Billy. And then she spotted him. He was across the street, heading toward the van with Frank, the lead guitarist.

He spotted her, too. Their eyes met, and then he looked away. She stood frozen on the steps where she was. Oh, please come over and say something, she prayed silently.

As if he heard her, Billy looked back. He began crossing the street toward her.

”Come on, Carrie,” Chloe called from the sidewalk.

”All right, sweetie, just one sec.” With a darting glance, she saw that he was still coming toward her. ”I ... um ... have to tie my sneaker,” she said, kneeling quickly to fiddle with her laces. It was awkward. She had to stall long enough to give him time to get to her without appearing to be standing there waiting for him.

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