Wanderlove

"Hey, doll." She smiled at me. "It"s about time you finally woke up. The festival already started."

I groaned. I really didn"t feel like getting up.

"Tough night?" Dakota asked me. "I heard one of the members of your troupe was here. Was he the guitar player?"

I nodded, a little sadly. I realized she must have known Luca through the images of my troupe performing that came to her when she touched me.

"No worries. It"s a new day and we"ll take your mind off of it. Look-- I brought you some iced coffee and I even picked out an outfit for you."

I looked to my right, seeing a mug of coffee sitting there and I picked it up, appreciative for the caffeine. I still felt like I needed to sleep for ten more hours.

Sitting up, I noticed a skirt and blouse had been laid out on the bed. "These should do."

Through the quiet of my bedroom, the sounds of people and music streamed in from a distance.

"How many people are coming to this thing?" I asked Dakota.

"A lot," she said. "That"s why this whole town talks about it. It provides an otherwise quiet place with a little bit of excitement."

Knowing Dakota was waiting on me, I hurried to shower and dress. I didn"t even bother putting contacts in; instead, I quickly put on my usual frames. Dakota had picked out a short-sleeved lavender cardigan, pairing it with a white tank top and a matching white cotton skirt. Both the tank top and the skirt had lacy hems. The outfit was feminine and yet perfectly Floridian, the fabrics light enough to feel breezes through. My hair was still wet when we left, but it was a windy day, so I figured it would dry quickly in the sunshine.

There were tons of people out on the beach. Some were swimming. Some were playing volleyball. And many were simply walking along the pier, drinking beer and laughing. Crowds were everywhere.

Dakota and I walked along the beach towards the Constantins" house. Which, even though it was the nearest house to ours, still took about fifteen minutes to reach by foot.

The house was ma.s.sive. Sort of palace-like in stature. They had one of those round driveways and there was already a line of cars pulling in, unloading at the front entrance. A valet staff was on duty, taking the cars to the garages for the guests.

"This feels like a hotel," I mentioned to Dakota.

She agreed, adding, "Miriam"s tiny beach house looks out of place sitting next to it."

I nodded, having thought the same thing.

When we entered, we had to give our names to the doorman and he directed us to the backyard. We walked through the grand foyer, my jaw dropping in awe. A large dome ceiling encompa.s.sed us as we walked in. We were led to a double staircase that curved into separate wings of the house. Underneath the staircase was the pathway to the veranda, which led out into the courtyard. The entire house seemed to have a Spanish-Mediterranean feel to it. The colors echoed the sea and the sky, with a mixture of turquoises, warm oranges and yellows painted along the walls, with warm terra cotta tiles. There were beautiful mosaic designs on the walls and the floors, mimicking the style of the Spanish Renaissance.

It might have been the nicest house I"d ever seen. Lina had danced for an Arabic prince once before and everyone in the troupe had been able to visit the prince"s palace for the event. As extravagant as his home had been, I actually preferred this house to that palace.

We made our way into the courtyard, which the house wrapped around on three sides. There were several guests in this area, most likely because there were buffet tables and bars scattered about in different sections. Dakota and I decided to help ourselves to a plate of hors d"oeuvres while we looked around.

"This is crazy," I said to Dakota, still awestruck. Curiously, I asked, "Hey, where is Miriam?"

After popping a stuffed mushroom in her mouth, Dakota said between mouthfuls, "I think she went into town to run some errands. She usually only attends the formal dance."

"Huh. I"m surprised," I said. "You would think this kind of thing would be right up her alley."

"If you think this is good, wait until you see it tonight. Their firework show is spectacular."

We left the courtyard to go out into the backyard, where the carnival rides were located. A small petting zoo was set up there, along with bounce houses, game booths, performers, magicians, jugglers, and the list went on and on. I think my jaw stayed in its dropped position the entire time I was there.

Dakota eventually found some of her old high school friends and introduced me to all of them. While she was caught up in the rapture of conversation, I continued to look around quietly.

It took me by surprise when I felt a pair of hands cover my eyes. In a whisper near my ear, I heard, "Guess who, fellow abandoner?"

I smiled as I turned out of his grasp. "Cam," I replied, laughing. Once facing him, I said, "So I had no idea you lived like such a commoner. Really, your house was much smaller on the inside than I imagined."

Cam chuckled. "What? It"s not up to your usual RV accommodations?"

"Mmm. . .not quite." I smiled.

"Have you seen the pool?" he asked.

I shook my head in the negative.

"Come on, I"ll show you it then. Maybe it will change your mind."

I motioned to Dakota, who had just caught my eye, that I would be right back. Then I followed Cam towards the pool. He led me to a bright blue oval, where a rocky, man-made waterfall overflowed into the sparkling water.

"Would you like something to drink?" Cam asked politely. A server pa.s.sed by with refreshments, who Cam signaled over to us.

"Sure," I said, looking up at the tray. "Water is fine."

The server handed me a bottle and Cam tipped the man before he ambled away.

"Thank you."

"No problem," he replied. "So, have you seen anyone from school yet?" he asked, attempting to start conversation.

"No, not yet. Did you?"

"I only ran into a few Frightwell students. But I"m sure more will turn up tonight."

I cracked open my bottle of water as he spoke.

"Are you coming tonight?" he asked me.

I nodded, gulping the water. "Dakota bought me a dress so I kinda have to."

He raised a brow before I realized my blunder. "Not that I wouldn"t want to, anyway-- of course! I hear your family throws one heck of a party."

Cam laughed quietly. "It"s okay. I"m not usually one for formals, either. And to be honest, Molly does all of the party planning. She"s the one who has the talent for it. " He gestured outwardly now. "All of this was because of her."

"Wow," I said. "And to think she is only a senior in high school."

"Impressive, right? I told her by her twentieth birthday, she"ll probably be planning presidential inaugurations and the Academy Awards. Hey, have you met Molly yet?"

"No, I haven"t had the chance."

"That"s her over there." He pointed to the small, wiry girl I recognized from school. "Come on, I"ll introduce you. She gets along with your cousins really well, so I"m sure she has been dying to meet you, too."

I quietly groaned as Cam pulled me alongside him towards his sister. Molly was standing a few yards away, holding a small, bichon frise puppy in her hands as she spoke to the group of people surrounding her.

"Hey, Moll," Cam called to her. "There"s someone I"d like you to meet."

Molly politely pardoned herself from her guests. She was very pretty in a delicate sort of way. Pet.i.te, blonde and fair. A cla.s.sic beauty. I noticed she resembled Cam more closely than she did Gabe.

I almost kicked myself. I couldn"t go an entire day without thinking of him. Although, I suppose I could excuse myself for today since I was attending his family"s party. Thoughts of Gabe were bound to enter my mind sooner or later.

"This is Lola, Miriam"s granddaughter. You may have seen her at school."

Molly moved the puppy to one arm and extended her other hand to me. "Delighted to meet you, Lola."

I shook her hand hesitantly. I couldn"t explain why, but her overtly saccharine smile seemed insincere.

I tried to brush it off. I was probably making much ado over nothing, but I just couldn"t shake the feeling that this girl secretly despised me.

"Cute dog," I commented, trying to ease whatever tension I was feeling.

"Thank you," she replied sweetly. "She is my new puppy. I"ve named her Pooky. It"s silly, but it fits, don"t you think?"

"Sure," I said, nodding. "She looks like a Pooky, I guess."

Molly eyed me up and down. Or did I just imagine that?

I fidgeted nervously and pushed my lenses closer to my eyes.

"d.a.m.n," Cam suddenly said. "I forgot the band is supposed to arrive now. It"s time to start setting up in the ballroom and I"m supposed to go meet with them. Moll, can you take care of Lola? Show her around and stuff?"

"Of course, I can," Molly a.s.sured him. "Go on. I want tonight"s party to go off without a hitch."

Cam gave me an apologetic smile before rushing off. I watched as he ran back to the house, wishing I could have gone with him.

"So do you like animals, Lola?"

I turned back to Molly now, a little unsettled at the prospect of being left alone with her. I would have rather been simply left alone.

"Yes," I replied.

"We practically have a whole zoo full of them here today. My favorites are the little billy goats." She pointed towards a fenced off area where children were being allowed to pet and feed different farm animals. "They"re cute, aren"t they?"

I nodded. "Yeah, they"re real cute."

"So what"s your favorite animal?" she asked me. The conversation seemed a little immature, though I answered her, anyway.

"Um, I never really thought about it before. But if I had to choose a favorite-- I guess maybe the panda bear."

Molly opened her mouth and then covered it with her hand. "That"s wonderful!" she exclaimed, with a newly developed enthusiasm. "We had a panda shipped in for this year"s festival!"

"Really?" I asked, actually surprised. I was almost positive even the Tampa Zoo didn"t have pandas on display.

"Yeah, we really do!" She pointed towards the backside of the house. "It"s just through that gate over there. You should definitely go check him out. He is totally adorable!"

"I will," I said. Her excitement was beginning to rub off on me. "I"ll go right now. Thanks for telling me."

"No problem." She laid her big smile on thick again. I was starting to feel a little ashamed for judging her. Maybe she was only trying to be nice. Besides, if Dakota and Annika were friends with her, than Molly was probably all right.

I walked quickly to where she had directed me, almost in antic.i.p.ation. I really did adore panda bears. They were sort of cuddly and I liked watching them eat their bamboo.

The gate I walked through shut behind me with a resounding click. Jolted by the noise, I turned, realizing it couldn"t be re-opened. I wondered why they would put one of the animals on display here, where you couldn"t re-enter the backyard.

It didn"t take me long before I realized I had been tricked. I looked around the side of the house, my mouth parting from the shock of it.

There was no panda. There was nothing but a few patches of gra.s.s and some scattered palm trees.

"What a little beast," I muttered to no one in particular while I turned about, searching for another entrance. But there wasn"t another way in. I"d have to go all the way to the front of the house and back through the main entrance again.

I started walking, simply because I had no other choice. I was practically stomping as I walked; the whole time wondering what I had done to gain the only female Constantin"s hatred. I had never even spoken to the girl before today, let alone had the opportunity to p.i.s.s her off. Even though Gabe was frequently rude to me, he"d still had the decency to show me a little kindness. And I was pretty sure he would never do anything so low as this.

I didn"t get it. All I knew was if I came face to face with Molly Constantin, I might have to smack her stupid smile right off of her face.

TWELVE.

Instead of going back to the party, I decided to go home and defuse my temper by taking a nice, long bubble bath. I picked out chamomile aromatherapy oil that said it was meant to "de-stress and calm." I poured the entire bottle in the bathtub, just for good measure.

Later, just as I was getting out of the tub and had tied my robe on, Dakota came bustling into the room.

"Where have you been? I"ve been looking everywhere for you."

I considered telling her the truth, really wanting her opinion about why Molly would want me to leave the party. But I decided against it. I had only just calmed down and I didn"t want to relive my anger.

"I"m sorry," I finally said. "I wasn"t feeling well."

The lie didn"t feel right on my lips and it was obvious Dakota doubted me from the look of her skeptical expression.

"It"s fine," she said. "But you"re coming to the party tonight. And this time you"re staying for more than five minutes."

I gave her a little salute. "I"ll be there."

She smiled and then breathed in through her nose. "It smells good in here, by the way. Like chamomile."

When it was nearing evening, the whole house seemed to be full of curlers, makeup, hairspray, perfume and other girly things. I felt like we were all getting ready for a grand ball in some kind of fairy tale.