Once I Was a Beehive Page #2

and just over four days,

but I appreciate the hyperbole.

You seem to know a lot about me.

What's your story?

I'm Phoebe Valentine,

and this is my dog, Roxy.

I didn't know you could bring

a dog to a rehearsal dinner.

Oh, Roxy's a service animal,

so she's allowed anywhere.

Aren't you, Roxy?

Yes, you are.

She's so tiny.

What kind of service

could she possibly do?

I have something called anxiety.

Have you heard of it?

Yeah, I have.

It's a very general term,

but I have lots of different

manifestations of anxiety,

so it makes it easier to keep it

under one umbrella.

You can just take her

wherever you want to?

Yup.

That's awesome.

It has its peaks and valleys.

I mean, the entire seventh grade

thinks I'm crazy,

but I get to bring my dog

to social studies,

so what are you gonna do?

You know, I don't blame you

for hiding out in here.

These people

give me anxiety too.

Oh, no, I

love all these people, actually.

I came in here in case

there's an earthquake.

- You're kidding, right?

- I wish I was.

But there's been a spike

in tectonic activity lately,

and I doubt a building this old

has been retrofit

to seismic code.

If the big one hits, this closet

is the safest place

to be in the entire building.

Everyone else would be

crushed like grapes.

Good to know.

Phoebe, can

you come and join us?

Oh, hi.

I didn't know you were in here.

Oh, hi, mom.

This is Lane,

my new cousin, kind of.

Well, almost my new kind

of cousin, after tomorrow.

I'm Holly.

Tristan is my brother.

- Hi.

- Your mom is so amazing.

We've been dying to get

to know you too.

Thank you.

Phoebe, can you come

and get some dessert?

'Cause we're gonna

go pretty soon.

I doubt I could enjoy dessert

knowing the ceiling could cave

in on us at any moment.

It's creme Brulee.

I'll risk it.

Um, thanks for being

so sweet to her

and talking to her, and...

She did all the talking.

Well, I hope you can

get used to it,

because there's gonna be

a lot of it

for the next three weeks.

What do you mean?

It's 2:
00 in the morning,

Lane.

If you were gonna blow

off your curfew,

you could at least

tell me where you were.

I forgot.

You forgot?

Kind of like how you forgot

to tell me you were gonna ship

me off with a bunch of strangers

for three weeks.

We meant to tell you

about it sooner,

but things just got crazy,

and we just finalized everything

with Holly today.

I'm sorry.

We, uh, thought it would be

a great opportunity

to get to know your new cuz.

She's not my cuz.

And I'm not spending my whole

summer with these people

that I don't even know

while you two

go cruise the Mediterranean

for forever.

It's 21 days, Lane.

23, including travel.

Who cares?

It's still freaking forever.

I mean, who goes on a cruise

for that long anyway?

We got a killer group on for it.

We know it's a long time, Lane.

That's why we thought

it would be safer

if someone was

watching out for you.

Mom, this is insane.

I'm 16 years old.

I don't need a babysitter.

Can i... can I just stay

here and take care

of myself, please?

Maybe she's right, babe.

Maybe we just...

Sweetie, your mother and I

don't feel comfortable

with you being here

without supervision.

Well, maybe I don't feel

comfortable

with you marrying my mom.

Look, uh...

I know this is hard for you.

We're all just trying

to figure it out,

but I think with Patience

and if we focus on the good

in each other,

over time I think

we'll be able to build

something together,

something new.

Stop trying to fix

everything, okay?

My dad is gone,

and you will never fix that.

I think... i think I should go.

No, please stay.

I think it's best that I leave.

See you tomorrow?

I'm sorry.

Mom.

So, did I ruin everything?

I don't know.

He hasn't texted me back yet.

He said he loves me,

and he's sorry

for overstepping his bounds.

You sure he didn't say

he hates my bratty guts?

He's not allowed.

I birthed those bratty guts.

Are you gonna be okay with this?

Yeah.

I mean, it's only three weeks,

and I'm gonna have

the car, right?

Yeah. But I mean

with tomorrow...

The wedding, and Tristan and me.

Honestly, I don't...

I don't know, mom.

- It's been really hard.

- I know it has, sweetie.

You think you could just

give it your very best?

I promise I'll try.

Can I sleep in here tonight?

Duh.

I said I would try.

What did that mean?

Try to replace the memories

of my father with something new?

Try to not imagine every day

what life would be

like if he was still here?

But I knew I had to.

For her, at least.

Here they come!

I didn't cry like

I thought I would at the wedding.

Something gave me the strength

to deal with all the fear

I had surrounding that day.

I could tell by my mom's smile

that she was truly happy,

and it felt good.

I was actually feeling okay,

like somehow I could find the

strength to deal with all this.

And then she left.

And I pretty much lost it.

Suddenly, it was real.

In my head, it finally clicked.

My morn was gone,

taken away by a cheesy

Mormon dude with perfect teeth,

and I was left

at the mercy of strangers.

I wanted to run away,

but my legs

wouldn't listen to me.

Everything was disconnected.

All I could do was sob

like a newborn.

And like a newborn, I literally

cried myself to sleep.

But the last thought

that went through my mind

before I faded away

was one of hope.

A hope that somehow, some way,

this was all a horrible dream,

and it would all go away

in the morning when I woke up.

I had no such luck.

Here it is.

There's a table

of contents in the front.

It's annotated,

and there are footnotes.

I know you've only been

my counselor for a week,

but I feel like I

can trust you implicitly,

so don't pull any punches.

I have no ego attached to this,

so whatever you say,

I will not be offended.

Does anything jump out

that doesn't quite work,

logistically or otherwise?

- Um...

- What about doctrinally?

Does everything seem sound?

I'm... l'm sure

it all checks out.

It's really good, Carrie.

It... It's almost too good.

I know, right?

Oh, I'm so glad you think so.

Oh, this is gonna be the most

uplifting camp these girls

have ever been to,

thanks to this

dynamic duo right here.

More like you

and sister Rockwell.

I'm just happy to help.

Did you guys work out

your little disagreement?

Oh, yes, Nedra and I had

an amazing talk,

and we really feel

like this plan

realizes all of her goals

as the camp director,

as well as ours

as the young women's presidency.

We really came together

on this year's "trial of faith."

I think it's gonna

be our best one yet.

Wow.

Good morning.

Well, afternoon technically.

It's 12:
34.

You slept just over 14 hours.

You're suffering from mild

to moderate dehydration.

You lost a lot of fluid

last night.

Here, I brought a backup.

Thanks, but can I actually

just get some cereal right now?

- I'm kind of starving.

- Okay.

Hi, I'm Carrie Carrington.

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