Whoever said it doesn’t rain in California has obviously never been here during an El Nino year. It wasn’t just raining, there was water slamming out of the sky. I was actually sorry I’d given my umbrella to that homeless guy at the bus stop. Okay, no I wasn’t, but I was sorry I hadn’t replaced it.
Street parking was a disaster on rainy days and I had to park two blocks away, which meant that I was completely drenched by the time I got to the car. “You owe me big time, Bailey,” I muttered under my breath.
* * *
“So.How's life treating you, Paige?” My mother sat at the kitchen island drinking a cup of tea.
It was pretty obvious from my damp clothes and hair and the scowl on my face that life was not treating me well at the moment. But I forced a smile on my face and said, “Things are great, Mom. Thanks for asking.”
I glared at the stairs. What was taking Bailey so long? We weren’t going to prom together. It was a concert.
“Any luck on the job search?” Mom asked.
I did not want to talk about this, so I just said, “Yes. I have a few leads.” I then looked at my phone and yelled at the stairs. “Comeon, Bailey. Traffic is bad because of the rain.”
I didn’t really care about being late for dinner, but I wanted to get away from my mother’s inane questions.
Finally, I heard her clomping down the stairs. I was surprised. She wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup, and had on a pair of sweats and a hoodie. This was what I’d been waiting for? An overstuffed backpack completed the ensemble. Frankly, she looked more like she was going camping for the weekend than to a concert.
I didn’t care. I just wanted to leave. “Do you have everything??
“I think so. Let’s bounce.”
I was so ready to bounce I could have tried out for the Lakers.
* * *
We were pullingout of the driveway and I could barely see a thing through the rain. “You were smart to wear a hoodie. This weather is crazy.”
Bailey just grinned at me and pulled the hoodie over her head, revealing a skimpy tank top. Of course. Why hadn’t I seen that coming? The old “cover up for the parents” trick. My guess was that she had a miniskirt under the sweats and makeup in the backpack.
“So where are we meeting these people for dinner?”
“It’s this Italian place on third street. La Passarella. Lily says it’s one of her favorite places in town.”
Great. Just my luck. The pimply-faced kid wants somewhere nice and I’m dressed for a night out at Chipotle. Since when do kids eat at fancy Italian places?”
“When you’re done with that eyeliner, can you enter the address into the GPS?” I could barely see the cars in front of me because of the crazy rain. At least one of us would look good tonight.
* * *
Forty-five minutesof bumper-to-bumper traffic later, we were on third street. We were twenty minutes late for dinner and I couldn’t find parking. “Why don’t you get out and meet them and I’ll park the car?”
I had to admit, Bailey looked gorgeous. Her blonde hair was down and brushed, her makeup was gorgeous, and she looked happier than I’d seen her in a long time. Whoever this new friend was, she was having a positive influence on Bailey.
“She’s just so real, Paige,” she’d said on the drive over. “She hasn’t had an easy life. Her parents were killed in a car accident but she’s keeping it together. She’s dating this older guy and even though he says he loves her and all, she’s waiting until they move in together to have sex. She says she wants to make sure the guy means it.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. How old was the guy? Was having sex at sixteen so common? Did this mean Bailey wasn’t a virgin? There were too many questions so I said, “Sounds like she’s got a good head on her shoulders.”
Now, as she slammed the car door shut and ran into the restaurant, I realized that she was closer to being a woman than she was to being a girl. When did that happen?
* * *
I got completely drenched againfrom the car to the door of La Passarelli. Everyone else had umbrellas and raincoats and I looked like something that had washed ashore.
Whatever. I’d have some dinner, drop the kids off at the convention center, and go home.
The smell of garlic bread hit my nose as soon as I walked in the place, making me realize that I was starving. I hadn’t had a decent meal out since I moved to La Playa. This was the kind of restaurant I went to all the time in Verde Hills. Upscale, with a warm family vibe.
