Chapter 25

The way she’d scheduled her days off, she could leave work early on Tuesday and drive up there that evening, arrive Tuesday night, and have a full five days before leaving Sunday night. The wedding was Saturday, so she’d give herself an extra day of sun and sand before heading home. Hell, she could even call in sick on Monday if she needed to recoup from the long drive. Lord knew she had the time. And if her boss tried to give her grief, she’d tell him it was a female problem. That always shut him right up.

There was still one problem, though. Where to stay?

She made a few investigative searches for hotels online, but soon found out what she already suspected—everything in Wildwood was booked for the summer. Oh, she could get a hotel room, sure, if her dates were flexible, but only after Labor Day, once the boardwalk closed for the season and the tourists left.

While she might be able to drop in on her cousin then, gift in hand, and apologize for missing the wedding, it would defeat the purpose of her trip. She wanted to relive her youth, if that were possible. She wanted to laze about on the beach, enjoy the ocean, and take in the nightlife. Not just the bars and dives Amanda frequented, but the piers and the rides and all the midway still had to offer.

But wait…

Picking up the phone on her desk, she quickly dialed her mother’s number. It seemed to ring a long time, but then again, her parents were retired and her mother tended to spend the afternoons gardening, cell phone in one pocket on vibrate, so Tara would be surprised if it was answered at all. “Come on,” she whispered, one finger hovering over the switchhook to disconnect the call as soon as the voicemail picked up.

Before that happened, though, her mother answered. “Hello?”

“Mom? Hey.” Tara sat back in her desk chair and coiled the phone cord around her hand. “You got a minute?”

“Tara? Is that you?”

Seriously, who else would it be?She could hear the hot afternoon in her mother’s voice. Though it was only June, the summer was already on its way to being a scorcher, and meteorologists predicted a heat wave to break all records for the coming months. Another reason to get away to the beach,Tara thought. It was always cooler down the shore.

Settling into her chair, she said, “It’s me. Listen, Mom, I got a question for you. Do you maybe still have Aunt Marlene’s phone number?”

“Aunt Marlene?” her mother echoed.

Tara stifled a sigh. It seemed the older her mother got, the more she answered anything by simply parroting the question asked. “Yes, Aunt Marlene,” Tara said. “In Wildwood?” She bit back the urge to add, Remember?

After a long pause, her mother vaguely replied, “Oh, I’m sure I have it around here somewhere.”

“Can you send it to me?” Tara asked.

“What for?” her mother wanted to know.

Obviously I want to call her.Again, Tara somehow managed to hold her tongue. “Amanda’s getting married. I thought I’d—”

“Oh, good for her!” her mother interrupted.

Tara waited a moment. When her mother didn’t continue, she started a second time. “I thought I’d—”

“You know,” her mother said, “I always liked her. Such a sweet girl. I wonder what she’s up to now.”

Tara sighed. “I think she’s a dental—”

“Do you ever talk to her on the computer?” her mother asked. “What’s that site called…MySpace, isn’t that where all the kids hang out nowadays?”

Yeah, no.But Tara didn’t have the energy to explain why MySpace was no longer cool, or to try talking over her to get a word in edgewise. Sitting up, she said, “Look, Mom, I’m at work, and I really have to get going. Boss is coming, you know how it is. But if you can send me Aunt Marlene’s number—”

“If I still have it,” her mother said. “I’ll take a look.”

“That’ll be great.” Tara made kissing sounds into the receiver as she hurried to hang up. “Love you lots. Tell Dad I said hi. See you guys soon. Thank you! Bye!”

As she replaced the receiver, she wondered if her Aunt Marlene would let her stay over for the weekend. She wasn’t a little kid anymore, and it’d be a crazy time, what with the wedding and all. With any luck, she’d simply be one more face in the crowd.