Stacey's Lie

  “All right,” said Mary Anne. “Have fun.”

  After Mrs. Braddock left, Mary Anne knelt beside Haley. With her mother gone, Haley was less guarded with her work. She sat up and stretched. When she moved off her paper, Mary Anne couldn’t believe her eyes! In red crayon, Haley had written: Beware of Vanessa Pike. If you are friends with her she will stab you in the back. Haley had done a drawing of a hand holding up a bloody knife. Mary Anne noticed that behind Haley were about ten other, similar signs. “What are you planning to do with those?” she asked.

  “Hang them up all over the neighborhood,” Haley replied. “The other kids need to be warned about Vanessa.”

  The Pikes live just a few houses away from the Braddocks, on the same side of the street. Mary Anne knew Vanessa was bound to see the signs. “Why are you so mad at Vanessa?” she asked. That was when Haley told her the part about Vanessa being a jealous, know-it-all, spoiled brat, traitor, creep.

  Haley gathered her homemade posters and began searching the house for thumbtacks. “Haley, you can’t hang those up,” Mary Anne protested. “They’ll embarrass Vanessa and hurt her feelings.”

  “So?” Haley replied. “She embarrassed me and hurt my feelings. She made me look so stupid by having the same suit. Nobody knows that she copied me.”

  “I bet it was an accident,” said Mary Anne. “When did all this start?”

  “She started it on Monday and she’s been acting like a creep ever since.” Haley found a card of tacks in the kitchen catch-all drawer.

  “Haley, friends fight sometimes. It happens. But it will pass and you’ll make up,” said Mary Anne. “Why don’t we put your signs away and play Clue Jr.,” Mary Anne suggested, trying to distract Haley. She knew Haley loved to play Clue Jr.

  It almost worked. Haley stacked her papers on the kitchen counter and looked thoughtful. Then the doorbell rang. When Mary Anne peeked out, she didn’t see anyone. Then she opened the door, looked down, and saw Pow, the basset hound the Pikes had adopted when the Barrett family could no longer keep him. (Marnie Barrett had developed an allergy to animal dander.)

  Looking all around, Mary Anne thought she saw something move at the corner of the house. She was sure she heard giggling.

  “Pow has something around his neck,” said Haley, coming up behind Mary Anne.

  “Sure enough, Pow was wearing a collar with a cardboard tube attached to it — you know, the way a cartoon St. Bernard dog wears a little barrel. Open this was written on the tube in blue Magic Marker. Mary Anne yanked on the piece of orange thread holding the tube to Pow’s collar. She pulled off the top. As she did, three red, white, and blue accordion-pleated strips of paper jumped out of the tube.

  “Ahhh!” Mary Anne cried, startled. She jumped back and dropped the tube. An index card fell out of the tube onto the floor. Mary Anne picked it up. “It says, ‘Haley, please —’ ” She cut herself off when she saw the rest of the message.

  Haley grabbed the card from her and read it out loud. “Haley, please wash daily. Because we think, you really stink! Help save our neighborhood from horrible odor. Signed, CASH — Citizens Against Stinky Haley.”

  Mary Anne sprinted toward the corner of the house, in time to see Vanessa, Nicky, and Margo Pike dashing away, with Pow in tow.

  “This is war!” Haley announced dramatically. She stomped back to the kitchen and grabbed her stack of papers. “I’ll be back in a little while,” she said, heading toward the door.

  “No!” Mary Anne said. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t let Haley paper the neighborhood with anti-Vanessa signs. “Haley, don’t stoop to her level,” she said.

  Haley frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that just because she’s being silly and hurtful, you don’t have to be.”

  “Why not?”

  Mary Anne sighed thoughtfully. “Because … because … it’s not a nice way to be.”

  “I’m not in a nice mood,” Haley said firmly, heading for the door again.

  “Haley, you need a permit!” Mary Anne said desperately.

  “What?”

  “You need a permit to hang up signs in Stoneybrook. If you put up those signs, a police officer will come and tell you to take them all down and maybe even make your parents pay a fine. I don’t think they’d like that too much.”

  “You’re right” Haley agreed. “They wouldn’t. Okay, I won’t put up my signs all over town. I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” Mary Anne called after Haley as Haley ran out the front door.

  Haley ran back. “I’m going to tack these onto the Pikes’ fence,” she said and then ran off again.

  Mary Anne let her go. It was better than having her plaster the signs around the neighborhood. “Just one sign,” she shouted after Haley. “Put up just one.”

  Sitting on the front step, Mary Anne waited for Haley to return. Matt came out and sat beside her. Matt signed: “Vanessa and Haley are fighting.”

  Mary Anne nodded. “Why?” she signed back.

  Matt shrugged.

  Once again, Mary Anne heard a sound from the side of the house. She got up and tiptoed over to investigate. Adam Pike nearly knocked her over as he was sneaking away from the house. “What’s going on?” Mary Anne demanded.

  Adam went pale. “Um … I was … uh … delivering a message for Vanessa.”

  “Show it to me,” said Mary Anne.

  “It’s by the back door,” Adam said quickly, and streaked off across the lawn.

  Mary Anne went around to the back. By now Matt had come to see what was going on. On the back steps was a shoe box. Remembering the paper springs, Mary Anne opened it cautiously. Inside were a lot of torn-up papers. Looking closer, Mary Anne realized it was a torn birthday card, a ripped-up photo, and a shredded letter.

  Mary Anne pieced together the photo. It was easy to see that it had been a Polaroid picture of Haley and Vanessa at a school picnic. Their arms were around each other and they were all smiles. The inside of the birthday card said, “Friends 4-ever, Love, Haley.” And the letter was one Haley had sent Vanessa when she went on vacation.

  What a shame, thought Mary Anne. How could such good friends become such terrible enemies?

  At that moment, Haley came stomping across the lawn. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her face was pink with fury. She was also soaking wet! “What happened?” Mary Anne asked.

  “Vanessa saw me putting the signs on her fence and threw water balloons at me from her bedroom window,” Haley sputtered. “Her brothers must have helped her fill them up because she had a ton of them.” Haley touched Matt on the arm. “Come on, Matt,” she signed furiously. “Vanessa isn’t the only one whose brother can help her. I have a job for you to do.”

  Mary Anne hurried after them as they went into the house. What could happen next? Would this feud ever end?

  Needless to say, Robert and I didn’t make it to the sunset sail. By the time I gave up trying to convince Claudia to open the bedroom door and talk to me, it was eight-forty-five. We’d missed the boat.

  When I went back outside, Robert was waiting. “What a mess.” I sighed.

  “Want to go for a walk on the beach?” Robert asked sympathetically.

  I nodded. He walked his bike as we went along the boardwalk. Off in the distance, I heard a seagull shriek. I had plenty on my mind, but nothing to say. Robert was silent, too.

  When we neared the beach, Robert leaned his bike against a tree and I slipped off my sandals. We walked onto the sand, just in time to catch the last of the sunset. “Sorry about missing the sail,” I said.

  “Sorry for showing up like that,” Robert replied. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

  “I should have told you,” I said. We held hands and walked with our feet in the surf. After a while, a fat full moon appeared in the sky, out over the water. It was very romantic but I was too upset about what had happened with Claudia to enjoy it much. Still, if I was going to feel miser
able, at least I had Robert to feel miserable with.

  Up ahead, I saw another couple walking along hand in hand. It was hard to see more than their dark silhouettes in the deep bluish dusk, but I could see they were headed toward us. The man stopped to kiss the woman, then they continued on.

  I looked out to the ocean. The waves crashed steadily, sending spray into the air. I wondered if I was to blame for what had happened with Claudia. I was only trying to keep her happy by spending time with her. It wasn’t my fault everything had gone wrong. I hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings. I’d cared about her feelings. That’s why I was in this mess to begin with.

  “What are you thinking?” Robert asked.

  I turned to answer him — but I was unable to speak. My jaw just hung open.

  “Stacey, what’s wrong?” Robert asked urgently.

  “That’s my father,” I managed to say, despite my shock. Dad was only several yards away from us. And he wasn’t alone. He was walking hand in hand on the beach with some woman I had never seen before! He and she — whoever she was — were the couple who were walking toward us on the beach!

  Just then, Dad spotted me, too. His shoulders stiffened and he stopped short. For a moment, he turned as if he wanted to run away. He didn’t though. He kept coming toward us. What else could he do?

  “Stacey,” he said. Although he said my name, he was staring at Robert. Dad couldn’t take his eyes off him.

  “Hi, Dad … this is my … friend …”

  Robert stuck out his hand to shake. I guess he wanted to make a good first impression. “Hello, sir. I’m Robert Brewster. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Now Dad was shaking Robert’s hand but looking at me. “Is this the Robert?”

  “Well, yes,” I had to admit. “Who is your friend?”

  “This is my … uh … this is Samantha Young.” The woman smiled politely, but her expression was uneasy. She was very beautiful, with large blue eyes, thick, wavy brown hair, and a great figure. She was wearing a gauzy flower-print skirt, a crocheted top, and big, gold hoop earrings. In her hand dangled a pair of gold sandals.

  “Did you guys meet here on the island?” I asked.

  Dad blushed. He actually turned red at his temples! “Your father and I know each other from the city,” Samantha answered for him.

  “I see,” I said. “And did you just happen to run into each other here?”

  “No,” said Dad, starting to sound a bit annoyed. “Did you and Robert just happen to run into one another?”

  “No,” I replied. Dad and I stood glaring at each other.

  Finally, Dad turned to Samantha. “Would you mind if we call it a night?” he asked. “I think my daughter and I have some things to discuss.”

  “That’s all right,” said Samantha. “I’ll phone you tomorrow. I suppose that’s okay now.”

  “Sure,” said Dad, blushing again. “Come on, Stacey.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told Robert. “I’m sorry about this — about everything.”

  “No problem,” Robert said. “Nice to meet you, Mr. McGill, Ms. Young.”

  Dad mumbled something at Robert, and gestured for me to follow him. He didn’t say a word until we were home. Just inside the front door, he stopped and turned toward me. “So, let’s hear it. What’s going on? How did Robert get here?”

  There was nothing to do now but tell the truth. So, I did. As I spoke, I could tell Dad was getting angrier and angrier. “Why are you so mad?” I asked.

  “You used me, Stacey,” Dad said, folding his arms. “You took advantage of my offer to spend vacation time together so you could see your boyfriend. I suppose you’ve been seeing him behind my back since we arrived. Was Claudia in this from the start?”

  “No,” I said. “I didn’t tell her about Robert until we got here.”

  “Oh, very nice,” Dad said disgustedly. “You duped your best friend, as well. What has she been doing while you’ve been sneaking off to meet your boyfriend?”

  “Just hanging out,” I said.

  “Oh, how nice for her,” he said in the same tone.

  “Well, what about you?” I challenged him. “What’s Stu Majors been doing while you’ve been sneaking off to see your girlfriend?”

  “Stu has his own life to lead. He wasn’t counting on me to spend time with him.”

  “Maybe not, but you’ve been lying to me since we arrived, haven’t you?” I accused him. “All that time you said you were with Mr. Majors, you were really with Samantha.”

  “That’s different. I didn’t want to upset you. After all, Sam is the first woman I’ve dated since your mother and I divorced. I wanted to break it to you gently. I would have introduced you to her before the vacation was over.”

  “I’ll bet,” I sneered.

  “Don’t be fresh with me, Anastasia,” Dad snapped.

  “I’m not being fresh. You get all mad at me. You embarrass me in front of Robert. You make me feel terrible, but what I’ve done is nothing compared with you. How did you get her here, anyway?”

  “Stu pulled some strings and found a place for her to rent,” he mumbled.

  “What if I’d wanted to go to Paris?” I shouted. “Would you have found a place in Paris? Or in Montana? Maybe she’d have been camping out in Cinderella’s castle if we had gone to Disneyland!”

  Watch that tone of voice,” Dad warned. “For your information, I was originally going to take this vacation with Samantha. Alone — just she and I. But then I realized that I really wanted to spend time with you, too. And I worked things out so that I could do both. I did a lot of arranging and spent a lot of money so that I could have this time with you.”

  “You mean so you could have time with Samantha,” I shot back.

  “I could have spent it with Sam very easily, without going through all this,” he replied angrily.

  I turned away from him. I didn’t want to hear any more. Hot tears sprang to my eyes. How could my father have lied to me like this? He was carrying on this whole secret life right under my nose. It was as if I didn’t even know him.

  “Stacey,” Dad began. “Listen —”

  “Don’t speak to me,” I cried, pushing past him toward the stairs. “I’m not talking to you.”

  What I’d written was true. I couldn’t wait for Kristy, Mary Anne, and Shannon to arrive. I was looking forward to having some company. Claudia wasn’t speaking to me. And I had no desire to even see my father.

  When I woke up, I saw that the weather fit my mood perfectly — the sky was the first rainy day we’d had since we arrived, and it was fine by me. I pulled on a pair of jeans, a denim shirt, and a sweater and headed out to meet Robert.

  While walking Robert to the ferry, I told him what had happened with my dad the night before. “I’m sorry you had to find out about Samantha that way,” he said. “But I guess your father was shocked at seeing me, too.”

  “Please,” I groaned. “It is not the same thing.”

  “Samantha seems pretty nice,” he said. “She and I walked part of the way home together. She felt bad about what happened.”

  “I don’t even want to hear that name,” I said. “The thought of my dad having a girlfriend is too weird.”

  After Robert got on the ferry, I bought postcards and sat by the ferry dock writing them. That took half an hour. Then I bought myself a roll for breakfast. Eating that on the ferry dock took up another fifteen minutes. After that, I leafed through a fashion magazine. By the time I’d read the articles, taken the personality quiz, and finished the crossword puzzle, the ferry was pulling back into the harbor.

  “Stacey, have you been here the whole time?” Robert questioned when he met me on the dock.

  “How could you tell?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I just had a feeling.”

  “I can’t stand to go back to that house,” I told him.

  Robert shook his head sadly. “I feel like this is my fault.”

  “No, it’s not. And
it’s not my fault, either. If Claudia wasn’t so pigheaded and selfish everything would be fine. And if my dad wasn’t such a sneak things would be fine with him, too.”

  “I don’t know,” said Robert. “That sounds a little harsh. You know, maybe if you had just —”

  “Robert!” I cried, cutting him off. “Whose side are you on?”

  “I’m on your side, Stacey. One hundred per cent.”

  “I know,” I said, leaning against him.

  “Oh! Here are Claudia’s pictures,” he said, reaching into the front zip pocket of his slicker. “They came in along with my friend’s photos — the guy who had them developed for me — so he brought them to me this morning.” Robert took three packages of photos out. Two of them were torn open. “The guy ripped them open by mistake,” Robert explained. “He thought they were his.”

  If they hadn’t already been open I wouldn’t have looked at them. But it was too tempting not to take a peek. They were Claudia’s sand-castle pictures, and they were so truly beautiful. Real works of art.

  The photos reminded me of all the unique, creative things I love about Claudia. Some of the many qualities I would miss if we were never friends again.

  Never friends again? Was that possible? I pushed the idea from my brain. I couldn’t think about it now.

  Half an hour later, Robert went back to work. I had run out of ways to avoid going back, so I headed slowly toward the house. As I’d hoped, Dad had gone out (probably over to see Samantha). Claudia was there, though. She had papers spread out on the kitchen table. She was working out the mechanics of her float.

  She continued her work without looking at me. I tossed the envelopes with her photos on the table and went to my room. Plopping down onto the bed, I started reading a Nancy Drew book Claudia had lent me before our fight. (Nancy Drews are her favorites.)

  That afternoon, I went down to see Robert twice more. On my second trip, the black clouds let loose a torrent of rain. I had to run back to the house for my red rain poncho. Then I raced down to the dock, splattering through puddles and not stopping until I reached the gangplank.