Part 14 (1/2)
”You're not worried about the audition at all, are you,” I said.
”Nope.”
”Just the kids?”
”Yup.”
There was a moment of silence. Then the four of us began to laugh.
”Get through the audition first,” said Mrs. Walter.
”Yes, Mom,” Quint replied politely.
”Hey, Ma!” yelled Tyler from somewhere in the back of the apartment. ”Can we come out now? We can hear you guys laughing.”
Tyler and Morgan were allowed back in the living room.
I looked at my watch. ”Oh! I have to go!” I exclaimed.
”I'll walk you home,” said Quint. He turned to his family. ”See you later. I'll be back soon.”
Quint and I left the Walters' apartment. We stepped into the hallway. ”Will I see you tomorrow?” I asked as we waited for the elevator. ”I have to go back to Connecticut on Sat.u.r.day morning.”
”Sat.u.r.day morning?” Quint looked dismayed. ”I don't believe it. We're going to visit my grandparents tomorrow. We won't come home until Sat.u.r.day afternoon. Or maybe even Sunday.”
”That means we have to say good-bye now/' I whispered.
”Yeah.”
The elevator had not arrived yet. Quint and I were leaning against the wall, our shoulders touching. Slowly, Quint turned to face me. He took my hands in his. Then he tipped my chin up ... and kissed me gently.
My first kiss.
”We'll keep in touch, won't we?” I asked.
”We better,” Quint replied.
Stacey.
Chapter 22.
Our Friday outing with Alistaire and Rowena turned into quite an affair. First, Laine and the rest of my friends decided to come along with us. Mal and Claudia were finished with their art cla.s.ses and, after all, it was our last day together in New York. This was not the morning surprise, though.
The morning surprise began when Mary Anne and I entered the Harringtons' apartment to pick up Alistaire and Rowena. (The two of us went by ourselves. We thought we would overwhelm the kids if all eight of us showed up. Also, we wanted Mr. and Mrs. Harrington's permission for our friends to spend the day with us.) As you might imagine, Mary Anne and I were pretty nervous. We had to have ”the talk” with Alistaire and Rowena's parents. We knew we did. Rowena and Alistaire were being followed, and the Harringtons should be aware of it. What if the guy followed them back to England?
”Let's just hope Mr. and Mrs. Harrington are at home,” I said to Mary Anne as we waited for someone to answer the doorbell.
”Do we have to hope?” asked Mary Anne. ”I don't want to give them this news. It's too weird.”
”We already decided,” I said. ”We're going to do it.”
At that moment, the door was unlocked and opened.
In front of us stood Mr. Harrington.
”Hullo!” he said cheerfully.
I stiffened. Mary Anne took a step back.
Poor, poor Mr. Harrington, I thought. This could be his last happy moment. In a few seconds, he would find out that his beloved children were in mortal danger, being followed by a kidnapper, a dastardly criminal, possibly an international spy.
”Hi,” I said in a small voice.
Mary Anne and I entered the apartment. We stood rigidly by the door.
”Well, now. What's on the docket for today?” asked Mr. Harrington.
Mary Anne just stood stock-still. So I answered, ”Oh, a lot of things. But Mr. Harrington?”
”Yes?”
”Mary Anne and I need to talk to you about something.”
”Is it your pay?” asked Mrs. Harrington. She bustled into the living room, fastening her earrings as she spoke.
”Oh, no,” I said. ”I mean, we do need to be paid today, since we leave tomorrow, but the amount you mentioned is fine. See, it's . . . There's a little problem,” I said, faltering, and wis.h.i.+ng that Mary Anne would speak up. I knew she wouldn't, though.
”With the children?” asked Mr. Harrington, frowning.
”Well, yes - ”
”Are they misbehaving?”
”Oh, no! They're wonderful. The problem is ... well, it sounds sort of hard to believe. ... I guess the best thing is just to come out and tell you.” I paused. ”Someone is following Rowena and Alistaire.”
The Harringtons glanced at each other. I knew it. They thought I was crazy. If only Mary Anne would open her mouth, then they'd think she was crazy, too. I wouldn't be the only one. Oh, well. I'd started this and I had to finish it.
”It's a man,” I went on. ”We see him everywhere. But only when the children are with us. That's how we know he's following them and not us.” (The Harringtons were smiling by this time, but I continued anyway.) ”The guy wears sungla.s.ses and a rain hat, no matter what the weather. He's never done a thing to the kids - he hasn't even come near them - he's just always around. I know we should have told you about him sooner, and we were going to. Honest. But we weren't sure we were being followed, and we didn't want to accuse anyone of something awful like that if it might not be true.” I was rus.h.i.+ng on, talking like a record playing at fast speed. Frankly, I was blabbering. ”Maybe we should have told you, but we just weren't sure. I'm sorry if we put the children in any danger, and I hope you aren't mad at us. See, it wasn't until Monday that we thought about the microfilm and the diamonds and the airplane and stuff. And we were going to tell you that afternoon, but you weren't home and you didn't need us again until today and I guess we could have called you but we didn't because we thought we should tell you in person so - ”
”Stacey!” exclaimed Mrs. Harrington. Laughing, she held up one hand. ”Slow down. You and Mary Anne didn't do anything wrong.” She turned toward the hallway that led to the back of the apartment. ”Bill?” she called.
Bill? Who was Bill?
This man walked into the living room. I had never seen him before. He must be an over- night guest, I thought. ... Or a spy. Oh, no. Maybe the Harringtons were the bad guys. They were spies and this man was their agent and now the three of them were going to hold Mary Anne and me captive. Probably the housekeeper was in on the plot, too.