slamming the door shut behind her.
I just looked at her. I donât tell Callie anything anymore, so why would I tell her about Mr. Green?
But Callie didnât even wait for a response. âI mean, itâs weird your mom is dating anybody, right? And itâs a teacher on top of that? Seriously, how are you okay with that?â
Callie sounded genuinely sympathetic, and suddenly it was like we had never stopped being friends.I mean, we had spent almost every day together practically since the day I was born. (Callie is three months older.) She used to know every detail of my lifeâevery hope and every secret.
I sighed and sat down on Callieâs bed. âIâm not sure if Iâm okay with the whole thing,â I confessed. âI mean, itâs weird. And Mom told Jeff about me before I knew he was Mr. Green.â
âJeff? You get to call him Jeff?â Callie asked.
âOnly when weâre out of school,â I answered. âSee what I mean? Weird!â
âSo I guess your mom really likes him, then,â Callie said. âI donât think she would put you through this if she didnât.â
âI know, and thatâs good, but itâs also bad,â I said. âIf she likes him that much, they might get married. And I might have to move. Or share my room with his daughter.â
âDid she say she was going to marry him?â Callie asked.
I shook my head.
âThen donât stress just yet,â Callie said. âYour mom waited this long to get a boyfriend. Sheâs probably not going to jump into marrying somebody right away.â
âTrue,â I admitted.
âAnd I bet your mom wouldnât make you move if you didnât want to,â Callie said. âShe loves you, Katie. Youâre, like, her whole world.â
âI was her whole world,â I corrected her. âNow Jeff is part of that world. And, lately, it feels like heâs the Pacific Ocean or something and Iâm just a tiny little island.â
âThatâs not true. Youâre still the most important thing in her life,â Callie said convincingly. âAnd at least Mr. Green is supernice. And cute!â
I rolled my eyes as Callie giggled. âYeah, because I care about a cute stepdad,â I said. And then I started giggling too.
Thatâs when Mom knocked on the door. âGirls, the food is ready,â she said, and then she saw us both laughing. âWell, thatâs a nice sight to see.â
I had to agree. It was nice to laugh with Callie again.
Mom went back downstairs, and I got up from the bed.
âI havenât told anyone else about Mr. Green,â I said, knowing Callie would understand.
Callie nodded. âCome on, letâs get a burger before my dad eats them all.â
And, suddenly, things werenât weird anymore, just like that. Because when it came right down toit, Jeff was really nice. Mom was really happy. And Callie and I were good.
Maybe things are going to be okay, I thought. Maybe I was thinking about this all wrong. I immediately assumed the worst when I found out my mom was dating Mr. Green, but what if it turned out to be just the opposite? Maybe things would just keep getting better and better. Only time will tell.
CHAPTER 9
The Secret Is Out
T he rest of the day was pretty fun. We all played volleyball together, and I found out Jeff is just as bad as I am at playing volleyball. (In fact, Iâm so bad that George calls me âSilly Armsâ after that sprinkler with a bunch of arms that wave and wiggle all over the place. I guess thatâs what I look like when I play.)
When Jeff dropped us off at home, Mom and I showered and got into our pjâs and ate leftover taco dip while we watched the food channel. So it was cool we could have Jeff time and then Mom and Katie time all in the same day.
Thatâs why I was in a pretty good mood at school the next dayâuntil lunch,