Chapter Two
"Carley, what's wrong?" I cried. Her eyes were fixed on Holt.
She shook herself awake as if she was coming out of a trance. "Wh-wh-at? Nothing!" she stammered.
Holt raised his eyebrows. Apparently he had no idea why Carley had just screamed at the sight of him.
"Holt, this is Carley, Carley, Holt is the person who gave me a ride from the airport," I told her. Carley couldn't even form a proper sentence. She just kept staring.
"Well, I should get going," Holt said, opening his car door. "I'll see you again soon." He waved goodbye. Carley stared after him as if she was in a stupor.
"What was that about?" I asked her.
"What?" she asked. "Oh? Nothing. I was just surprised. Sorry! Just forget about it. Anyway. You're finally here!!!!" she squealed, running toward me. "This is going to be the best summer ever," she went on, beaming at me as she hurried to help me with my luggage. As she grabbed my stuff, her curly blond hair flopped over one shoulder and her big brown eyes sparkled at me. Her lips were bright red to go with all the makeup she had on. After she'd ditched me at the airport she must have spent a lot of time getting ready instead of actually coming to get me.
Pushing thoughts of Holt aside, I grinned. I was happy to see Carley and happy to be at her house at last. She gave me a hug, and my nose bumped into her shoulder. She must have had a growth spurt since last time I'd seen her. Now she was just as much taller than I was as everyone else.
"It's beautiful," I said, pushing a strand of my light brown hair out of my eyes so that I could look around. "I've never seen so many flowers everywhere."
"Yeah," said Carley. "That's the Roths'. They love flowers."
"Who are the Roths?" I asked.
Carley grinned mischievously "You'll see. Anyway, my parents always wanted a summer place here," Carley commented she lugged my suitcase up her front steps. "They love Maine."
I could see why. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm but not humid, and all I could see in every direction was trees.
"Come on. We have to get you settled in so we can head over to the UP UP and Away. The lady who owns it, Mrs. Fritters, said that you could probably work there this summer."
Oh yeah, my parents wanted me to get a job this summer. Awesome.
We were inside now and Carley was chattering away about the house. It looked like the L.L.Bean catalog had exploded inside with a nautical theme. The furniture was striped blue and white, with wooden coffee tables and matching drapes. The rug was red. Very patriotic. The walls were covered with pictures of boats, and framed on the shelf was a piece of rope tied in some elaborate knot.
"Where are your parents again?" I asked, not remembering what she'd said in her last e-mail.
"Oh, they went to England to visit Charlie for a couple of weeks. They'll be back. Will your parents mind?"
I shook my head and smiled. "They can't mind what they don't know."
Carley raised her eyebrows, which were the same fine blond color as her hair, and gave me a playful grin. "You aren't going to tell them?" At this point we'd gotten through the living room with my luggage and Carley was leading me up the stairway.
"They're too busy fighting to notice," I replied. I was careful to keep my voice neutral. I didn't want Carley to think I was upset that my parents were talking about divorce, that they didn't want me around for the summer while they figured it out, and that I had to sit there and act like I wasn't bitter. No, not bitter at all. Not even a little bit.
Carley looked at me skeptically, but didn't say anything. "So, this is my room," she said, pointing to the room we were passing on our right. I stared. The room was small but cozy, with a pink chair in the corner, a dresser, and a pink cover over the bed, which was pushed against one wall. The floor was bare wood except for the pink rug that was right next to the bed. Stacked neatly in the corner were rows and rows of shoes.
"Nice," I said. I meant it. It was very Carley. We had known each other for four years, since we were twelve, and her favorite color had always been pink.
"Your room is next," said Carley as we headed further down the hall. My room, as it turned out, was at one end of the second floor of the house and had a slanted roof. Under the slanted part was my bed, with a green cover. Color coordination has to be a theme in her family. My mom would never do this. I actually liked my room. Carley set my suitcase by the dresser and beamed at me.
"What?" I asked, setting down my backpack and responding to Carley's unspoken excitement.
"It's just going to be awesome. Just the two of us!" she said. "I have a lot of friends around here. I'll be able to introduce you to some of them tonight."
"Great," I said. I tried to sound convincing, but I wasn't so sure how this summer would go. I liked Carley; she was one of the few friends I could stand for long periods at a time. But her family clearly did things differently from mine, and I wasn't sure how that would turn out.
Carley left to go get ready, and I unpacked. I sent my mom a quick text to let her know I was there. There was no point in calling; she'd be too busy arguing with my dad to talk anyway.
Luckily, my room had its own bathroom. This time there was a fish theme, with literally a shelf of yellow rubber ducks over the sink. I took a shower, put on a white t-shirt and jean shorts, and stuffed my feet into sandals. I checked myself out in the mirror. I had big brown eyes, which at the moment were framed by my wet, brown curls. I put on some makeup and pulled my hair back into a ponytail.
"You ready?" Carley yelled from somewhere downstairs.
"Coming," I yelled back.
Outside, the sun was just starting to set and the sky was a riot of pinks and oranges plus a little blue. The breeze had picked up, but it wasn't cold yet. I stuck my face into the wind to enjoy the smell of sea air and flowers. I wondered who the Roths were. I wondered if I'd see Holt again. So many questions and I'd only just gotten there.
Even though Carley's house was by itself down a little dirt road, we were only a couple of blocks from town. As we walked through the outskirts of Castleton, Carley explained every house and shop. She talked about neighbors who had passed down their summer cottages from generation to generation and store owners who had had their shops for decades. We passed a store called Mike's Market, and then another called Last Stand Reading. A clothing store called Lady Lou's had only white dresses in the window.
I only half listened to her chatter. I knew I wouldn't remember a lot of what she said, and anyhow I was too busy staring at the town. Castleton looked like something out of a storybook. Buildings were painted in pastel colors, most with white shutters and doorframes. Many of the people walking around looked like they were on vacation, with straw hats and khaki shorts. I looked down at my white t-shirt and jeans. I definitely didn't fit in.
"After this street there are some family houses. Plus, the Roths' house, and then we'll get to Mrs. Fritters' place," Carley was saying as she walked. "It's an easy walk from our place to the caf?."
I nodded absently. Somewhere ahead I could smell flowers. The next street wasn't lined with lots of houses. Instead, the block included just one property. Set back from the road was an enormous white house, with four pillars in front and enormous windows. The house was beautiful, but that wasn't what caught my attention. It was what was in front that took my breath away. The most stunning garden I had ever seen blanketed the front lawn. Every color flower was there, from blues and purples to reds and yellows to whites and pinks. It was like fireworks had exploded into flowers and scattered them over this yard. At the front of the garden, an archway leading up the drive was covered with vines and yet more flowers. I didn't know the names of any of the flowers except the lilies, but I had a sudden pounding desire to learn about them. Without meaning to, I gasped.
Once I got my breathing under control I said, "Wow. I've never seen anything like that before."
"Oh, so now you're impressed?" said Carley smugly. She had stood and waited patiently while I g
ot myself calmed down a little. "Yeah, that's the Roths' place. They come every summer. They're kind of weird, but really nice. I hardly ever see any of them around, but they have the best party of the summer. In two weeks, literally the day before Mom and Dad get home, they have the Solstice Party." Carley had come to a stop at one corner of the property instead of walking past the front yard and down the street.
"Who are they?" I asked, still staring at the gorgeous flowers. I had no idea why the flowers fascinated me, but I couldn't take my eyes away from them.
Carley shrugged. Whenever she did that her shoulders got lost in her mass of blond curls. "They've lived there in the summers for as long as anyone can remember. They keep to themselves. Not really sure why, but I never see them at the beach. They know the Cheshires pretty well, though," she added, brushing hair out of her brown eyes.
"The Cheshires are?" I prompted.
"Oh, they're sort of like the Roths. Ridiculously nice house, but it's on the other side of town. They don't have a nice garden like this, though," she said, waving her hand at the splendor in front of us. But I got the idea from the way her voice went high at the mention of the Cheshires that something about them made her uncomfortable. "Anyway, come on, this way," she said, her voice returning to normal. Before I could ask anything else she ducked under the white fence surrounding the Roths' property.