Page 11 of Pages of Amber
“It’s fine. We were about to leave. You didn’t have to come. I told you I was leaving with the girls.”
“I’m sorry, Amber. A different order was made and I was told to return this afternoon.”
Her stomach fell. Her hand shook on the door.“Don’t say it.”
He obliged her but it was easy for her to figure out what he hadn’t said. She had known Nigel for years. He had driven her to school every day since she had started at Redmington. With so many car rides spent making jokes, exchanging stories or simply sitting in silence, Amber could read him as easily as he could her. The apologetic expression on his face did nothing to soothe her, it only made her feel worse.
“Amber. What’s happening?”
Oh god. She almost didn’t want to face her friends. They would know immediately that something was wrong, if they hadn’t already sensed it. When she didn’t answer, Lexi opened her door and stepped out.“Nigel, what’s going on? Say something.”
Nigel fidgeted in his spot, his hands running down his charcoal suit jacket.“I’m afraid Amber won’t be joining you this evening. Prior engagements have been scheduled and Mrs. Coleman is expecting her presence to meet with a guest.”
“A what?”A disbelieving scoff left Beverly.“I thought you told her we would be spending the afternoon out.”
“I did,”Amber reassured her friend, despite feeling uncertain herself. Her stomach pinched as she remembered the conversation with her mother.“Maybe she forgot. She’s been really busy with work and probably–”
“You’re not leaving, right?”
She couldn’t look at her friends because deep down, she knew. Her mom hadn’t forgotten. Yes, she had brushed over Amber mentioning the surprise to her but she hadn’t told her she shouldn’t go or expressed anything more than a disapproval of her friends. So why was she sending Nigel over?
Beverly was not pleased with her silence. She turned on Nigel and Amber winced at the fierce glare she hit him with.
“She won’t be leaving with you, Nigel. She’s coming with us, whether you like it or not.”
“I understand this may be upsetting, Beverly but Mrs. Coleman has asked for her daughter. My instructions were to pick her up from school and drive her straight home. I’m not to return unless it is with her. I can hardly disobey that order.”
“Of course you can. She can, too,”Lexi jumped in.“She’ll do it right now. Amber deserves to have fun for once. She’s earned this time out and we’re going to give it to her.”
“She’s going with us and that’s it. Tell him, Amber.”
The stone sized clog in her throat wouldn’t let her. She hated making tough decisions. Unfortunately for her, there was no right answer to this one. Her friends had been so excited to plan this –whatever it was –that Beverly hadn’t stopped talking about it since Amber returned. She had been so excited to hang out with them and find out what the surprise was.
But this wasn’t a request from her mom. This was an order. Amber could choose her friends now but she would still go home to face her mom later. She resisted a shudder at the thought of her mother’s disappointment and anger if she disobeyed her. She couldn’t leave Nigel to suffer the brunt of that anger either. Her mother had called her home and ordered him not to return without her. Wasn’t she putting Nigel’s job at risk if she went with her friends?
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”Lexi demanded.
Amber took a deep breath and faced her best friends. It only took seconds for them to realize why she was quiet. Beverly gasped.“No. You can’t be serious? You’re gonna blow us off?”
“I’m sorry.”Her words rushed out. She attempted a cheery smile as she said,“You and Lexi can go and have fun. You don’t have to cancel anything. We can plan another outing for all of us.”
Lexi folded her arms and said,“We won’t be going toRiong’swithout you, Amber.”
“Lexi!”Beverly screeched.“Why would you tell her? The whole point of the surprise was for it to be kept a secret!”
“She needs to know where we’re going if she’s going to stay, Bev. This is important to you.”Lexi refused to back down from Beverly’s glare. She was always so easygoing and laidback that seeing the fire in her eyes threw Amber for a loop.
She saidRiong’s.Earlier, Beverly slipped that they had reservations. Amber wanted to smack herself as it all clicked into place. Beverly had talked for months about her favorite cousin finally embracing his dream of opening a Chinese restaurant with a nod to Sichuan and Hui cuisine, Bev’s favorites. She’d been itching to go to the opening for months, constantly checking on its progress and suggesting dates for the opening that corresponded with the Chinese calendar.
Beverly sighed, her fingers pinching at her nose. Under her breath, she said,“My cousin finally got everything ready and he opened the restaurant a week ago. I’ve been dying to go but I thought,‘why not wait until Amber gets back so we could all go together. It’ll be more fun with all of us.’”
The sick feeling in Amber’s stomach only got worse. How could she have forgotten how much Beverly had wanted to go for the restaurant opening? She mentioned it every chance she got and had even once brought a draft menu to show Amber and Lexi.
Beverly continued,“My cousin got us a spot. Best table of the house. We’ll be one of the first people to dine there. He was so happy that I got my friends to support him, he kept saying he couldn’t wait to meet you and Lexi.”She looked away from Amber.“A part of me wanted to believe you were playing along for the surprise, but you didn’t even guess it was the restaurant I’ve been talking about for months. I get that you were busy and that it may not have been important to you, but it is to me. You haven’t given us an answer, but we’re your best friends. We know you. If you’re going to back out on this like it means nothing, at least have the guts to say it to our faces.”
Amber had never felt as horrible as she did then. Despite standing in a half empty parking lot, it felt like walls were closing in. Maybe the afternoon sun was getting to her too.Stuck between a rock and a hard place.More like being crushed by a boulder and then a mountain.
She hated that she had already chosen. Beverly must have known that too. The longer the silence lasted, the harder her friend’s gaze got. Beverly crossed her arms.“What’ll it be, Amber?”
