Hello There, Do You Still Know Me?. Laurie B. Arnold
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Название: Hello There, Do You Still Know Me?
Автор: Laurie B. Arnold
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Детская фантастика
isbn: 9781632260628
isbn:
“Well, aren’t you the most divinely observant man?” Florida gushed.
Thomas winked at Rosalie Claire before returning to the kitchen. I’m pretty sure she’d given him the heads up that he’d have an easier time with Florida if he buttered her up with compliments.
Florida sipped her coffee, chattering about her favorite beauty products, the nosy new neighbors who’d bought Rosalie Claire’s old house next door, and how her best friend Patsy had gotten fat.
Nobody could get a word in up, down, or sideways.
Finally, Rosalie Claire cupped her hand on top of Florida’s. “It’s wonderful you’ve come all this way to see Madison. How long will you be staying?”
“Oh, not long.” Her mouth pressed into a hard red line. “Actually, I have no idea.” Then she stared off at the Pacific Ocean.
“Is something else going on, Florida?” Rosalie Claire looked at her with those warm brown sugar eyes that made even the most hardcore liar want to take the witness stand and tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
My grandmother twisted her napkin.
“Is Jack OK?” Rosalie Claire wondered.
“Jack? Oh, he’s fine.” The flatness in her voice made it sound as if she didn’t mean it.
“Is something wrong with Grandpa Jack?” My grandfather lived a couple of hours away from Truth or Consequences, although he was never far from his phone. He kept me sane whenever Florida went off the edge. If something was wrong with him, I wouldn’t know what to do.
“No, he’s fine.” She exhaled a sad sigh. “The day after you left for summer vacation, he moved back in with me as an experiment. But after two-and-a-half months I deserve an angel’s halo for putting up with Mr. Can’t-Do-Anything-Right. I’m sure he’s thrilled that I’m gone.”
Florida drained her coffee, stuffed her balled-up napkin in the empty cup, and forced a smile.
“We’re all going to have ourselves a barrel of fun, aren’t we, honey? In fact, this place is so charming, maybe I’ll stay with you and your adorable little friends for the rest of your vacation!”
Violet rolled her eyes and kicked my shin under the table.
Noah shot me a look, waiting to see what I’d do.
And me? I sat there, in a state of shock. My grandmother had just crashed my summer vacation. I felt like jumping onto my surfboard and riding it far away across the sea.
We abandoned our surfing plan because Florida insisted that we show her the sights of Jacó. I could tell my friends were super disappointed, but they didn’t say a word, they were just quieter than usual. We’d only made it four blocks when my grandmother got all wobbly in the knees and turned as pale as eggshells.
“On second thought, maybe I need to sit down for a minute.” She sank to the curb and rubbed her forehead.
“Did you ever go to the doctor?” I asked.
“This’ll go away. It always does,” she said, waving away my question. “Honey, I need some Tylenol.”
“I’ll go find some,” Violet said, and Noah volunteered to go with her. We weren’t far from the Best Western. I gave them the 3,000 colones I found in my pocket, and they took off down the wide palm tree-lined driveway toward the resort’s gift shop.
Florida and I waited under the hot midday sun. Even though I felt like yelling at her for not going to the doctor, I couldn’t. Number one? I never yell. And number two? One look at her and I knew she felt as sick as a dog.
Violet and Noah returned with the Tylenol and a bottle of water. I offered her two pills. She insisted on three.
“We should just go back to the inn. Can you walk OK?” I asked.
“What do you think?” Florida snapped. “Do I look like I can walk?” She moaned and dropped her head into her hands.
See what I mean about those headaches making her crabby? Whenever she was nasty like that I wanted to hide, but I knew she needed help.
It was Noah who came to the rescue. “I’ve been running cross-country all year. I’m on it.” He took off like a shot back to La Posada Encantada.
He was super fast because not more than fifteen minutes later, he and Thomas pulled up in the red pick-up. They helped my grandmother into the front seat. Noah hopped in the back of the truck with Violet and me.
“She’ll be OK,” he said.
I hoped Noah could predict the future.
Back at the inn, we led Florida into the lobby. Sofia was behind the desk, so Rosalie Claire devoted her full attention to my grandmother. Her eyebrows scrunched up with worry. “Florida, you’re still ill, aren’t you?”
“I wish you would all stop your fussing. It’s just a case of the come-and-go flu. I’ve had it on and off for months. I’ll be better soon.” She slumped onto the sofa. “My goodness, could somebody turn down the air conditioning? What are you people doing? Trying to turn this place into the North Pole?”
The North Pole? Even with the fans spinning full blast, it had to be at least eighty degrees in the lobby.
Rosalie Claire felt my grandmother’s forehead and took her pulse. She told her she suspected this was no flu.
While Violet, Noah, and Leroy hung out by the swimming pool, Rosalie Claire and I led Florida back to Room Four. She fell into bed and I covered her with blankets.
Rosalie Claire unzipped her fanny pack, but all she found was a cool wet washcloth and her cell phone that she always kept in there. “How odd,” she said under her breath. She shrugged and spread the cold cloth on Florida’s forehead.
Whenever someone was sick, Rosalie Claire’s fanny pack usually delivered vials of tinctures and small pouches of healing herbs. Was a wet washcloth all Florida needed to get better?
My grandmother pulled the covers over her head and groaned.
“I’m calling the doctor,” Rosalie Claire whispered to me.
An hour later, when Dr. Morán knocked on Florida’s door, I let him in. His bushy dark beard and chubby cheeks made him look like a short, round Santa whose hair hadn’t yet turned white. He carried a beat-up black leather bag stuffed with supplies. I hoped something in there would contain a cure.
I went back to the lobby and hung out with my friends and Leroy while Rosalie Claire stayed СКАЧАТЬ