Page 16 of When Sparks Fly
“No promises, Vicks. You still got it after all these years.”
She gave a startled laugh. “Careful about counting years, buster. You were only a year behind me.”
He straightened and turned away, but not before she caught his sly grin.
“I remember. That’s why you and I would have been such a scandal back then.”
She sucked in a breath. He remembered. Well, shehopedhe remembered, but neither of them had mentioned that nightever.Her one and only romp in the back seat of a Buick. Inanyback seat, for that matter.
And now he was going to be in her backyard for weeks. What could possibly go wrong?
“UM...” HAZELSTOODin the entrance to the living room, which used to be an eighties vision of beige on beige on beige. She blinked a few times, then turned to Zoey. “What did you do? And...how?”
Zoey couldn’t hide a proud smile. “WhatI did was paint. And how? With lots of help. Mary, Piper and Taneisha were here almost all day Saturday, and Tani helped me finish up yesterday. She also helped with the shopping.”
Hazel stepped into the room. She’d been calling it “the world’s most boring tunnel” since they’d moved in. It was long and narrow, stretching across the front of the house. And ithadbeen pretty boring, unchanged for decades. But now the wall facing the windows was dark teal, with the other three painted soft silver gray. The wood floors were worn and in need of refinishing someday, but a couple new area rugs with swirls of teal, white and green served as a distraction from that. A dark green sofa and love seat anchored one end of the room around the television. On the other end was a wall of tall white bookcases and a small writing table.
Hazel still hadn’t said any more. Zoey had really hoped for a more enthusiastic response, since her daughter followed dozens of “creatives” and “influencers” online. Then again, hoping for enthusiasm from a teenager was usually a mistake. Feeling a need to fill the silence, Zoey walked to the table.
“I borrowed this from Mary’s cousin, Kelly. I wasn’t sure if we’d want a desk in here, but I think it will be a nice spot for me to take care of household bills and stuff. And you can bring your laptop down and use it for homework if you want.” She gestured to the shelves. “Tani got us a great deal on these at the furniture store where she works. They were floor samples. I figure two readers like you and I can fill them up pretty quick.”
For now, her dad’s history books and reference books on metalworking were scattered on the shelves, along with a few knickknacks.
“You got all new furniture?”
“No, that’s Pop-pop’s old furniture with slipcovers on. Isn’t it great? No more brown and beige plaid. The curtains and rugs came from the Cost-Saver warehouse store in Rochester. Tani and I went up there a few weeks ago. Come on, Hazel. What do you think?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead she turned in the middle of the room, examining every detail as if she was judging that design challenge show she liked so much. A slow smile spread across her face.
“I like it.”
That’s it?Zoey’s shoulders fell. Hazel had complained nearly nonstop about the old house not feeling like home, not feeling likethem, still feeling like her grandfather’s house. Too old-fashioned. Too boring. Tacky. And worse.
And all she could say wasI like it?
“Is that really all you can say? Youlikeit? You showed me that video by the design influencer you liked, and it turns out Tani follows her, too. We all worked really hard on this...”
“Mom, it looks good. I like it.” Hazel seemed confused. “Why are you pressed right now?”
She ran through her mental file of current teen terms.Pressedmeantirritated.
“I’mpressedbecause...” Because her daughter didn’t react as expected. Which was totally on Zoey. She’d never get used to this whole Teens Are Never Impressed phase. “You know what? I’ll takeI like it.It’s definitely better than before, right? At least admit that much?”
Hazel gave her a reluctant smile. “It’s better than before.” She looked around. “The gray is a miss for me, but I like the accent wall.” She walked over and struck an exaggerated pose, with her arms open wide. “It’s spectacular, Mother!” Her arms dropped. “Is that better?”
Actually, it was better, but she didn’t admit it. “Whatever. I told you we could make this old place meet your very high standards. One room at a time. By the end of the year, it’ll be a whole new house. In fact, why don’t we doyourroom next?” The kitchen could wait.
That got Hazel’s attention. “Yes to doing my room next! But I want to makeallthe decisions.”
“We have a budget, young lady—that’s why I got slipcovers instead of new furniture. But you will definitely get to make your own choices...within reason.” She took Hazel’s hands. “Now tell me how the weekend was with your dad.”
Just like that, Hazel’s smile was gone again.Uh-oh.
“Uh...maybe we should sit down, Mom.”
“What happened? Did you and Dad argue? Was it Genna-with-a-G?”
“Mom.”They sat on the sofa and Zoey waited. Her parental radar was sounding all kinds of alarms in her mind. Did she need to be a mama bear for her little girl, or give her a shoulder to cry on?