Chapter Twenty-One
Hailey had never really minded rain, but by evening on this particular Sunday, she was wishing it would stop. She would have been perfectly happy to play outside in the warm showers, but her mother was less thrilled at the prospect of her daughter exposing herself to the elements for that long, so the house had become her prison for the day.
It was just as well, she realized, as she doubted her cousin would enjoy the rain as much as she did. Hailey doubted Erin would complain, but that was the problem; Erin would never ask to go inside when she’d had enough, as long as it looked like Hailey was still enjoying herself.
So the entirety of the Summers household spent their day inside, and nobody disagreed when Hailey’s father suggested that the family go out to dinner.
“Where were you thinking of going, dear?” asked Sue.
“I don’t know, how about somewhere like Friday’s?” replied Martin, looking at the faces of his wife, daughter, and niece to see if they’d like his suggestion.
He need not have worried. “Yeah, let’s go, let’s go!” shouted Hailey, letting her excited inner child get the better of her for a moment before she regained her composure with a sheepish grin.
“Although,” commented Martin, “it is Sunday. Shouldn’t eating at Friday’s on a Sunday be illegal or something?”
Both Hailey and her mother rolled their eyes, and even Erin smiled at the weak joke.
The parking lot was reasonably crowded, forcing Martin to park further away than he’d prefer to walk in the rain. Hailey had no complaints, however, and she quickly exited the car, allowing the precipitation to come down on her as her parents struggled with umbrellas.
Erin ducked under her Aunt Sue’s umbrella for the walk to the restaurant door. It wasn’t so far to the restaurant door that she wouldn’t be able to handle the little bit of water that would fall on her, but staying under the umbrella would save her the trouble of cleaning off her glasses once she got inside.
The restaurant lobby was no less crowded than the parking lot, and the family worked their way up to the counter.
“How many?” asked the hostess.
“Four,” answered Sue.
“Smoking or non?”
Sue leaned over to Erin. “Do you have any problems with smoke?”
“No,” answered Erin. “I’ll be fine.” Her stepmother didn’t smoke, but she’d had several friends who did. Erin didn’t find the smell particularly pleasant, but she could deal with it.
Sue turned her attention back to the hostess. “First available.”
“It’ll be about fifteen minutes. Can I get a name?”
“Summers,” replied Sue.
The hostess handed her a buzzer, and the Summers family (and its Anderson annex) found an unoccupied corner of the lobby to stand in.
“How did you manage to get so wet?” asked Martin, glancing down at his daughter. “We were only outside for about a minute.”
Indeed, it looked like Hailey had taken a shower with her clothes on; her shirt was soaked, and she was actually dripping a small amount of water on the floor. “I don’t know,” she replied. “I guess I’m just talented.”
She didn’t mention that she’d made a point to pause directly under the edge of awning above the restaurant’s entrance, exposing her to a veritable waterfall. If I wasn’t able to be outside all day, I at least was able to make up for it just now. It might not have been such a great idea, though; now that they were inside, the restaurant’s air conditioning was making her feel slightly cooler than she would have liked.
The buzzer began to vibrate and blink, and Hailey’s family yet again approached the counter.
“Do you need any kids’ menus?” asked the hostess. Martin looked down at his girls; Erin appeared to be indifferent, but Hailey was vehemently shaking her head from side to side.
“I think they’ll be okay with adult menus,” Martin informed the hostess.
Hailey felt warm inside. She’d been unable to finish her meal the last time she’d ordered off of the adult menu at a restaurant, so she was very happy that her father had decided to give her another chance at it. Such a simple act by her father shouldn’t make her feel so proud, but feel proud she did.
Hailey climbed into the booth first, allowing Erin to have the aisle seat, eliciting a mild thankful smile from Erin. Her parents sat across from them.
Erin immediately decided that this seating arrangement was less than optimal. She and her cousin, although a reasonably average size for their age, were still smaller than her Aunt Sue and Uncle Martin. To make the amount of personal space afforded everybody more fair, she should not be sitting next to her cousin. Still, she understood why her aunt and uncle would want to sit next to each other, and she had to admit that she’d prefer to sit next to Hailey more than any other living person. I guess feelings are more important than efficiency, she surmised, and began looking at the menu.
The prices that she saw alarmed her. Once she figured in the cost of her drink, any meal that looked good would cost at least half of a week’s allowance. “This stuff is all kind of expensive,” she said. “Uncle Martin, are you sure I shouldn’t have a kid’s menu?”
“Erin, I don’t want you to worry about the price. I’m treating my three lovely girls to dinner, and you can order whatever you’d like.”
Erin still wasn’t quite satisfied with that answer, but she could tell that Martin didn’t want to hear any more argument from her on the subject. Refusing to order off the adult menu now would be like refusing a gift, and while she’d never really understood why, she knew that many people disliked such actions. Well, at least I can order one of the cheaper things on here, and maybe I’ll get water instead of a soda.
The table was approached by an unfamiliar face. “Hi, I’m Josh, and I’ll be your server this evening. Can I get you all started with some drinks?”
They put in their drink orders. Hailey had always wondered why they had one restaurant employee lead her to her table while another one was responsible for the service. It seemed like it would be easier to just have the same person the whole time.
Sue looked across the table at her daughter, noticing the contrast in tone between the skin under and around Hailey’s watch. “It looks like you’re getting a little sunburned there, Hailey,” she noted.
Hailey took off the watch to get a better look. She proceeded to poke at the reddened skin surrounding the pale area left by her watch. “It doesn’t hurt or anything.”
“You should still probably use sunscreen when you’re outside,” Sue replied. “How about you, Erin, how’s your skin doing?”
Erin held out her arm, being careful not to get in the way of the waiter who was attempting to set their drinks on the table. Sue examined her niece’s arm, and apparently didn’t find anything wrong with it.
“Well, either you’re not outside as much as Hailey, or you’re just not as sensitive to the sun,” Sue finally admitted. “But since I don’t think I’ve seen you girls apart for more than ten seconds the whole time you’ve been here, I doubt it’s the former.”
The girls grinned at each other, and Hailey tossed her left arm around Erin’s shoulder. “That’s because I love my new sister,” she said.
“Love you too,” replied Erin. She paused for a moment, and then said, “And also, your wrist smells funny.”
Hailey removed her arm from Erin and brought it up to her own nose. “It does smell weird! I guess I’m sweating under the watch or something.” She placed her wrist against the condensation on her drink’s glass, and sighed, “Ahhh, much better.” Erin laughed, and Sue and Martin smiled at their daughter’s antics.
Hailey ultimately did end up finishing her entire meal, although she had to struggle to take the last few bites. Erin, too, seemed to have enjoyed her meal.
“Did you folks save any room for dessert?” asked their waiter, appearing at their table seemingly out of nowhere.
Both girls shook their head “no,” and Martin informed the waiter that they didn’t need any more food.
“Okay, then, I’ll just leave this check here; I’ll pick that back up whenever you’re ready.” The waiter left a black leather folder on the table in front of Martin.
Hailey didn’t want Erin to see the check — if she did, Erin would probably resume her complaining about how much her family was spending on her — so she quickly turned her head to face her cousin. “Erin, do you need to use the bathroom before we go?”
“That’s probably a good idea,” admitted Erin. They headed to the back of the restaurant and entered the women’s room.
The restroom was reasonably large and empty save for Hailey and her cousin. They both immediately noticed a significant rise in the volume of the restaurant’s background music as they walked through the door.
“Why do you think the music’s so loud in here?” asked Hailey, speaking slightly louder than natural in order to be heard clearly.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s just because it’s a smaller room and it’s echoing,” proposed Erin.
“Or maybe they did it so other people can’t hear you going,” guessed Hailey. “Though that’s kind of silly; I mean, if you’re in a bathroom, why should you care if people could hear you pee? It’s not like that would be unusual.”
“Well,” said Erin, “it would be useful if you had to, um, change.”
Hailey hadn’t thought of that, but Erin was right; the loud music could be used to mask the unusual sounds that would come for her stall if she were in that situation. That still didn’t solve the problem for how she’d throw away the old diaper if she was finished, since the only trash can big enough to hold a diaper was across the bathroom from the stalls, but it was a start.
“I guess so,” Hailey admitted. “Thankfully, neither of us has to do that now.”
“Come on,” prodded Erin, “I know you’re not thankful that you’re not changing now.”
Both of them knew that Erin was right, but Hailey felt no need to say anything further on the subject. The girls went into separate stalls and did their business.
“Hey, Erin, I can still hear you peeing, even with the loud music,” admitted Hailey.
“Yeah, me too,” replied Erin. “It’s still kind of loud in here, though, so it’s definitely harder to hear.”
They emerged from the stalls and washed their hands. As they exited the restroom’s corridor, they could see Hailey’s parents standing up at their table across the room; apparently, they had already paid. The girls and their guardians made eye contact, indicating to each other that they’d meet halfway.
“You girls ready to go?” asked Martin.
“We just did,” stated Hailey, grinning. Two could play at the bad joke game.
This time it was Hailey’s father rolling his eyes. “You know what I meant,” he said.
“Yeah, we’re ready,” said Hailey.
“And you’re going to try to stay a bit drier in the rain on the way back to the car?” asked Sue.
“No promises, mom.”
Sue sighed but didn’t press the issue. Her daughter was just weird when it came to rain.
“By the way, thanks for the dinner, Uncle Martin,” said Erin as her uncle pulled the car into the garage. He had refused her offer of paying for part of her dinner with her own allowance money, but she could at least offer thanks.
“Yeah, thanks,” added Hailey.
“You’re welcome, girls,” Martin replied.
Hailey reached for her door handle, and saw the pale spot on her wrist. My watch! She looked around in front of her seat, and finding nothing, began to check the seat itself.
In the meantime, everyone else had managed to leave the car; Martin, curious about his daughter’s delay, remained in the garage as the rest of the family went into the house. He opened her car door.
“What’s wrong, Hailey?”
Hailey was frantically checking the floor again. “My watch, I can’t find it! Where is it? Do you see it anywhere?” She started breathing heavily.
Martin placed his hands on his daughter’s shoulders and faced her towards him. “Hailey, calm down. I’m sure we’ll find it, but there’s no need to get worked up about a watch.”
“You don’t understand, dad! That’s the watch that Erin gave me for my birthday! I can’t lose that!”
“I do understand. But, Hailey, panicking isn’t going to help you find it any sooner. Calm down, and let’s try to think where you last saw it.”
Hailey took a few deep breaths. “Well, I had it on when we left for the restaurant, and… oh, I took it off at the restaurant! It’s there! We have to go back and get it!” She appeared agitated again.
“Hailey, we’ll go try to get it. But I need you to stop being so excited. I know that Erin’s gift means a lot to you, but you’re a big girl now, and you need to keep in control of yourself. Do you understand me?”
She gasped once, and then managed to say, “Yes, dad.”
“Do you think you can be grown up for me and stay calm?
“Yes, dad.”
“Good girl.” He patted her shoulder. “Now, how about you get yourself buckled into the front seat. I’ll be right back; I’m going to tell your mom where we’re going.”
Hailey nodded, and her father went into the house. She climbed into the front seat.
I can’t believe I did that, she thought. I just threw a tantrum like a kid half my age, and now my dad’s mad at me for it. And he’s right to do so, he’s trusted me to be grown up a lot recently, and now I have to go blow it.
A single tear trickled down her cheek. I was upset enough about the watch that I was about to cry? I just freaked out over a watch. I’m so dumb, I’m so immature, why did I do that?
It wasn’t just a watch, though. To her, it was the most important thing she owned, simply because Erin had given it to her. It’s important enough to search for, but my dad was right, panicking about it wasn’t going to help me find it any sooner. I need to stay calm and in control, like he said.
Her father climbed into the car and started it up. “I called the restaurant and they said that they did find a watch on one of the tables, and they’ll hold on to it so we can come pick it up. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” said Hailey, a wave of relief washing over her.
Martin threw the car into reverse and backed out of the garage into the rain.
“Dad, I’m sorry I acted like that. I understand why you’re mad at me…”
“Mad? I’m not mad. I just know you’re capable of acting so much more rationally than you were.”
“Well, I’m sorry that I disappointed you, then. You’re right, I was acting immature, and I’m sorry for that. It’s just… well, that watch really means a lot to me, and I kind of let my emotions take over.”
“Hailey, there’s nothing wrong with letting your emotions out, but you need to do it in a constructive way. Panicking wasn’t helping you find your watch; in fact, it was making it harder for you. You’re a smart girl, and as soon as you calmed down enough to think, you figured out where it was.”
“Yeah.” She paused. “I know you’ve been treating me more grown up recently, with the allowance and letting me be more responsible for myself and everything else that you do. I just want to say that I really like it that you’re doing that, but… but I’ll understand if you don’t think I’m mature anymore and you have to stop doing that. But I really hope you can forgive me for that outburst!” she quickly added.
“Part of being mature means admitting your mistakes, girl. I’m not going to let one little slip-up change what I think about you. You really are remarkable, and you’ve been a tremendous help with your cousin since she arrived; I don’t know if many people your age could make her feel more welcome than you have.”
“Erin’s pretty remarkable too,” admitted Hailey.
“I know. I’m very lucky to have both of you,” admitted Martin. “And I’m glad you were not only able to look past her troubles, but also were able to actively help her out.”
“I couldn’t imagine doing any different.”
“That’s my girl,” said Martin. “I know your mom and I are expecting a lot from you, but we wouldn’t expect it if we didn’t think you were capable. Keep up the good work, Hailey.”
“Thanks, dad.”
Hailey felt much better for the remainder of the trip to the restaurant. Her father could have very well been mad at her, but he seemed to have forgiven her instead, and she was glad. It was good to know that he trusted her.
I can’t imagine what he’d think though if he found out about what I’m doing with the diapers, she thought. He’d talked about how much he wanted her to remain in control of herself and act mature, but giving into her desires like she did went completely contrary to that. For his sake, she couldn’t bear to let him know.