[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter Thirty-Three
Point of View: Narrator

Kayla surprised Zoe by having spaghetti and meatballs already made when she got home that night. "We have our first rehearsal tomorrow," Kayla said, grinning, "I'm so excited for this part, it's going to be great. And there could be some really great repercussions from it, like for my career," she added, "The lead guy apparently has been on the radar of a local record company for sometime, so their rep will probably be there."

Zoe lowered herself down into a seat at the kitchen table. "That's marvelous, honey," she said, smiling at her niece. Kayla had tied an apron around her waist and was straining the spaghetti over the sink. Her reddish hair hung in a messy pony tail and her hips, while not as petite as someone like Krystal Armaletto's, were nice. She could picture her on stage, really could. So much she'd given up her life in Maine. And Zoe missed it.

Zoe missed a lot of things.

But in Maine, Zoe had her niche. Her family had been out there - or what was left of them, anyways - and her friends. She'd had the driving school, she'd been known, and nobody - nobody - had ever considered her subpar for her disabilities.

That had only begun once they'd gotten to LA, the land of the walking Barbie dolls.

These things had been going through her mind since Nick's meltdown in the car over the frogs. Somewhere over the span of the day, not only had Nick's frog rescue become less crazy seeming, but she'd begun to realize that maybe there was a reason that Nick was drunk that night when he'd had his accident.

And she was determined to find out what that reason had been.

"What's up, Aunt Zoe?" Kayla asked. She'd been standing there, talking away, and realized suddenly that Zoe wasn't answering.

Zoe snapped back to reality. "I'm okay," she replied, "I'm sorry. I was thinking about something that happened this morning."

"What happened?" Kayla asked, putting the spaghetti into two plates. As Zoe and Kayla ate, Zoe shared the story about the frogs. Though it didn't come off as hilarious as it had in her mind when she'd imagined telling Kayla the story. Kayla had started to laugh at first, but as soon as Zoe got to the part where Nick had gotten upset in the passenger seat, Kayla's eyes had softened and started to water up. "Auntie Zoe," Kayla puckered out her lower lip, "He's sad."

Zoe took a deep breath. "There's definitely something more to Nick Carter than I ever would have believed," she said.

Kayla sighed, "So what are you going to do?" she asked, twirling with her fork.

"Part of me wants to help him," Zoe answered, "But I guess I already am doing my part. I mean, what good is a limp old woman like me going to do for him?" she laughed, "He's got psychologists and actual friends - and young women, too, I'm sure - for that." She shrugged, "I'm just going to teach him how to drive so he doesn't kill his little frog-like self, I guess."

Kayla nodded, "That makes sense." She ripped a piece of bread from a loaf she'd bought and smeared butter on it. She pointed at Zoe with the butter knife as she added, "But you know, Aunt Zoe, maybe it's not just him that needs to think about the frogs."

Zoe sighed, "I did think about the frogs," she said, "I thought about the damn frogs all day." She looked at her crutches and frowned.

Kayla looked at them, too.

"I really miss your mother," Zoe said.

Kayla nodded. "I miss her, too."

Zoe took a deep breath as she finished off the plate of spaghetti and dabbed at the sauce with her piece of bread. "You look so much like her, Kayla," she smiled, looking up at her, "So stunning and always smiling."

Kayla blushed, "I wish she could see all the work I've been doing. The play, the changes in my voice, everything." She smiled sadly.

"She can," Zoe answered, "You know she's watching you."