Arcadia's Gift (Arcadia Trilogy) Read Online Free

and refuses to take any of it seriously.”
    “Do you think they will…get back together?”
    “I don’t know. Doubt it. With both of them running their own businesses, they never see each other. I have a feeling this ‘trial separation’ is really the first step in the divorce.”
    “Unfortunately, it usually is. Darn! I just heard the garage door, so Father’s home. I better run. If you need to talk this weekend, give me a call.”
    “I will.”
    After we hung up, I took a few minutes to check my email and my Facebook account. I find it hilarious that Lony has 847 friends on her Facebook, and I have thirty-two. Well, at least I actually know and talk to all of mine. I answered a few messages and poked around online a bit, but when I heard my mother come home, I logged off.
    “You don’t need to order pizza,” my mother was saying to Aaron when I entered the kitchen. “There’s leftover casserole in the fridge. Heat that up.”
    Aaron shuffled out of the room in his stocking feet, muttering under his breath. Mom had kicked off her pumps and stood on one leg, massaging the ball of her foot.
    “Hi, Mom,” I said, walking to the fridge to get a Diet Pepsi. “Busy day?”
    “Oh, aren’t they all? I just stopped to get the car-charger for my Blackberry. I have two houses to show in Asbury, and then I’m going straight to the football game to see Lony cheer. Do you have plans tonight?”
    Mom slipped her shoes back on and opened the junk drawer. She extracted a tangle of chargers for various electronics and began to un-weave the one she needed from the mass.
    “No plans. Just homework.”
    She leveled her gazed on me. “Cady, you do realize you are the only teen in the Tri-State area who voluntarily does homework on a Friday night, right?”
    “I have to get it done tonight, so I can help Dad move tomorrow.”
    “Oh, no you’re not! Your father and I talked about it, and we don’t want you kids in the middle of this. We want you all to go find stuff to do with your friends tomorrow and stay away from here. He has enough people to help him.”
    “But, Mom,” I reasoned, standing with my hand on my hip, “We’re already in the middle of this. I can’t let Dad do this alone.”
    Mom let out an audible sigh and rubbed her temple. “Arcadia Marie, don’t argue with me. Think of your dad. This is going to be hard enough on him, he doesn’t need an audience.”
    I gritted my teeth to keep from talking back. There was no use in arguing with her when she made her mind up about something. I poured my soda into a glass of ice.
    “Maybe you and Lony should go shopping tomorrow,” she suggested. “It’ll be good for you to spend some time together.”
    The last thing I wanted to do was spend the day at the mall with Lony, but just then Lony flitted into the kitchen, so again, I held my tongue.
    “Hey, Mamasita!” Lony said, giving our mother a peck on the cheek. “Still coming to the game tonight?”
    “Of course, hun, but I’ll have to meet you there. Got an appointment right now. See you later!”
    Mom waved good-bye and ran out the door with her charger in hand.
    “Are you coming to the game tonight?” Lony asked, grabbing two sodas out of the fridge.
    “I didn’t plan on it. I have some homework to do,” I answered, sipping on my drink.
    “Only you would do homework on a Friday night,” Lony complained, stalking back to the living room.
    I went to my bedroom and spread my textbooks across the bed. I took studying very seriously, but then, I had to. I wasn’t one of those naturally gifted people who absorb knowledge without trying. I make good grades, but I need to work very hard to do it. College was still two years away, but I really wanted to get accepted to a school out of state. I had been thinking about someplace in New England, but recently, California sounded good, too. Really, I just wanted to get out of Iowa. Dubuque’s not so bad, but I didn’t want to spend my whole life here,