Part 14 (1/2)
”I was surprised you kept going back. I actually thought you'd made up your mind the first time you saw it.”
”I had. But he was being really hard-a.s.sed about price. I thought if I kept going back he'd get the message that I really wanted it.”
”Yeah?” Callie said, not catching on. ”How does that help lower the price?”
”I wasn't sure it would. But I wasn't going to pay more than I thought it was worth. I hoped that my coming back to see it again and again and then barely increasing my offer would show him that I wanted it, but I couldn't or wouldn't pay much more.”
”Cool. I never would have thought of that.”
”I d.i.c.ker over prices every day. I've gotten a lot better at it over the years.”
”Should I come help you move or do you still want me to visit over your birthday?”
”Hmm, that would normally be a tough choice, but I don't have a whole lot to move so I don't really need help. I'd rather have you come for my birthday. Can you stay for a week?”
”A week! You'll be sick of me in half that time. No one should ever visit for a week.”
”No, I won't. Besides, I have lots of plans. We'll go to P'town for a long weekend, then we'll hang around here for a few days. It's like two separate vacations.”
”P'town?”
”Yeah, yeah. Provincetown. You've never heard of it?”
”It sounds kinda familiar...”
”It's at the end of Cape Cod and it's mostly gay. We're gonna go for Women's Weekend. You'll love it. I guarantee it.”
”Gay...women...how can I argue? I'm not ready to jump into the dating pool yet, but it couldn't hurt to look.”
”I don't think I'm even ready to look, but I love being around a big group of women. It's nice to feel like we're the majority.”
”We are,” Callie said, chuckling.
”Lesbian women, not women in general. It's nice to be around hundreds and hundreds of lesbians.”
”I don't think I've ever been around hundreds. Well, I went to a WNBA game once...”
”Very funny. You're gonna love it. And you can meet my family and see the restaurant. I'll have to work when we're here, but you can do some sightseeing during the day. There's a lot to see around here.”
”I looked Scituate up on the net. There's a whole lot of history around you. I'm really excited.”
”Your mom teaches history, right?”
”Yeah. American history. She made all of us fans.”
”Is there a...lot of American history in Phoenix?”
”Sure.” Callie waited a second then blew a raspberry. ”No! There's a lot of Native American history, but I'm into Jefferson and Franklin and those guys.”
”Then you're gonna love New England. We're lousy with history.”
”I'm counting the days.”
”Me, too. I found a nice B&B for us in P'town. Is that okay?”
”Sure. I'm doing well on finances, so I can pay up to $100 a night. Will that cover it?”
”No problem. This place is tiny but it's only seventy-five dollars a night.”
”Really?”
”Yeah. You don't mind sharing a room, right?”
”I'd prefer it. Heck, I'll sleep on the floor if you can find a third.”
”Two's enough for me. How about a bed? They say they'll try to give us twins, but they might only be able to manage a queen.”
”No problem. I'd always rather save a few bucks. Just tell me when to arrive and I'll make my reservations.”
”Come on Thursday before Memorial Day. We'll drive to P'town on Friday and come back on Monday afternoon. Then we'll hang out around here.” She paused for a second. ”Stay through the next weekend. Then I'll be able to take you into Boston and show you around. It's silly to come here and not see the city.”
”I don't want you to get tired of me. I'm being serious. You probably like having some time to yourself.”
”No, I'm not like that. I like being around people. Actually...even though I'm looking forward to it... I'm kinda worried about living alone.”
”Really?”
”Yeah. It's good for me to try it, but I don't think I'm gonna like it. After a month of being alone, I know I'll love having you around, and since I'll have a fast internet connection, you can't claim you have to be home to work.”
”I'd love to stay for a while. But only if you're one hundred percent positive you won't get tired of me.”
”One hundred percent. I'm absolutely positive I won't want you to leave even if you stay a month. Now, go make that reservation and start your list of things you want to see.”
”Will do. Congratulations, Regan. I can't wait to see you and your new house.
Callie had two months to plan her trip, but as the day approached, she still felt like she hadn't done nearly enough research.
On the day she left she spent the morning packing up the last of her things while her father watched, teasing her unrelentingly. ”I thought you were going on a vacation for pleasure, not for research. Are you writing a travel guide?”
”You never know.” She smirked at him while she found a place for the binder she'd made of the ”must see” places she'd discovered. ”You know I like to be prepared.”
”I'm surprised you've never been to Boston. Actually, I'm surprised your mother never took you there.”
Callie glanced at him, always puzzled by his inability to understand how little money the family had after he left. A week-long trip to Boston for the four of them with hotels and meals would have cost more than her mother made in a month; it was a trip they would have never considered. But her father had a blind spot about money, seeming to think he was the one who suffered the most financially from the divorce. Once in a while she had the guilty pleasure of fantasizing about telling him about the things they did without-about never having what the other kids had, about how jealous she'd been when her friends went to Disneyland, about her mother's having to tutor the rich kids all summer just to make ends meet. But she never would have told him those things. He wouldn't have understood, and it was too late to fix it now.
She banished the dismal thoughts, ”We all love history. Mom was great at making it come alive for us. I've read so many books on the colonists and New England that I feel like I've been there. I just hope I don't have my expectations set too high.”