Melinda’s Story

When I was back on the ground, I saw Walter standing in a hatchway at the back of the plane, handing suitcases down to his father on the ground.

I couldn’t believe the amount of luggage. “How long were you in Florida?” When Pat didn’t answer, I turned around. I was talking to myself. My mother and Mrs. Evans were walking towards the reception area. Pat and Joey were looking at the plane parked beside Mr. Evans’s.

Meghan was making her way down the stairs. “Only a couple of days. That’s not all ours, though.”

I sent her a quizzical look as she came to stand beside me. “Uncle Vinny and his family came to Florida with us. When we decided to come home a day early, they asked us to bring some of their stuff back.”

“But don’t they have to go to Chicago tomorrow, too? How are they gonna get there?”

Meghan shrugged. “Uncle Vinny has his own plane.”

“So you guys don’t—I wanna say carpool, but does it count when it’s a plane?”

Meghan giggled. “Why not? Sometimes we fly together, but we didn’t this trip. We knew we were stopping back here to drop off me and Walter.”

I watched Walter throw the last suitcase at his father, then close the hatch from the inside of the plane. A few minutes later, he was by my side. He nodded towards his sister.

“Dad’s buttoning up the plane. Are you all set?”

Meghan shrugged the shoulder holding her duffel. “I guess so. Pat’s still over there.” She gestured in the vague direction of the other side of the plane.

Walter muttered a curse. “Why don’t you bring Melinda to the car? I’ll go get Pat.”

I followed Meghan towards the reception area. “Are we leaving? Cuz, I should probably say goodbye to my mom.”

Meghan smiled. “Don’t mind my brother. He’s excited to tell you something he doesn’t want Mom to know.”

I mentally ran through the list of things Walter could want to share. It probably had something to do with a girl. Maybe he had met someone at his grandparents’ retirement community.

I shook my head at the thought as we exited the building. My mother was standing by the trunk of a red sedan talking to Mrs. Evans. My backpack and duffel were by her feet.

I was confused. I had packed my backpack with my bathing suit and Pat’s Christmas present, but I had not packed my duffel. I had no idea where it had even come from.

Mrs. Evans turned to me and Meghan as we approached.

“All set?”

Meghan nodded, pressing a button to unlock her car. Stowing her bag in the trunk, she turned to her mother. “Walter said Dad’s buttoning up the plane. He went to get Pat and Melinda’s brother. They were looking at some of the other planes in the hangar.”

Meghan rolled her eyes in my direction. I understood her completely. Boys. What’re you gonna do with them?

I gestured to the bag by my mother’s feet. “What’s with the bag?”

She smiled. “Well, Kara invited you to spend the night. Would you like to?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My eyes opened wide, and I was pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. “Seriously?”

My mother nodded. “Mrs. Evans will go over the rules with you. You’ll be staying in one of the guest rooms.”

Meghan put her hands on my shoulders. “Oh! Can’t she stay with me?”

“I’ll think about it.” Mrs. Evans’s pursed lips suggested she didn’t think it was such a good idea. I could understand why. The guest rooms were on the first floor, while Meghan’s room was upstairs, near Pat’s.

My mother gave me a hug. “You behave yourself. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

While Meghan threw my bags in the trunk, I watched my mother head back to the car. Pat and Walter stopped to talk to her briefly as they returned Joey to her. Mr. Evans rolled two suitcases to the red car. He called to his sons as he hefted them into the trunk.

“Boys! I could use some help.”

The boys politely excused themselves, dragging suitcases behind them to their father. After depositing their duffels into Meghan’s trunk, they returned to the hangar.

As my mother pulled out of the lot, the boys returned with two more suitcases each. Mrs. Evans shook her head.

“My sister-in-law couldn’t bring her own Christmas presents home.”

I stared at the bags. “Those are all presents?”

Meghan nodded. “Uncle Vinny decided to go to Florida for Christmas Eve. Santa visited there. Then, Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids toys and clothes. Aunt Margaret didn’t want to have to lug all this stuff to Chicago, so she sent it back to Connecticut with us.”

“How come we’re the ones doing all the work?” Walter complained.

I patted his arm. “Because you’re big and strong.”

Pat’s eyes still didn’t reflect the smile he flashed me. A moment later, his father approached with two more suitcases.

“That’s the last of it, in any case.”

Walter turned to his mother as she climbed into her car. “Can we stop for ice cream on the way home?”

She eyed him suspiciously. “I suppose. I want you guys back at the house by seven, okay? And let me know if you’re not having dinner at home.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Pat opened the front passenger door, gesturing for me to get in.

He closed the door, bringing my crutches to the trunk. As Meghan sat behind the wheel, I nodded towards Pat. “Is he okay?”

Meghan’s face clearly showed she had no idea what was bothering her brother, either. As soon as Pat sat behind me, Walter again brought up the subject of food.

“Okay. Who wants ice cream?”

Meghan shook her head. “Do you ever stop eating?”

Walter shrugged. “Flying makes me hungry.”

Meghan turned around, not to look at Walter, but at her other brother. “You let him fly? I thought he was just sitting with you guys.”

Pat shook his head. “No. Dad let him fly.”

I was beyond confused. “Start over. Like, way over. Are you guys telling me you were actually flying the plane? Like, you were the pilots?”

When Walter beamed at me, I realized this was the news he had been dying to share. “Dad learned to fly about—wow, probably like, ten years ago. Then, a couple of years ago, he started teaching Pat. Last summer, he started letting me sit in the jump seat.”

“The what?”

“It’s a little seat in the cockpit that folds up. I was allowed to sit and observe. Pat was doing most of the flying then. Once Dad felt comfortable letting Pat do all the flying, Dad let me co-pilot. He still watches us, of course, since neither of us is licensed to fly the plane by ourselves.”

“I thought you said you were hanging out in that little room in front.”

“Well, I used to until this past summer. But Mom doesn’t know I’ve been hanging out in the cockpit. She isn’t thrilled with Dad flying. She hates Pat flying. I asked her once if I could sit with them, and she freaked out, saying I would distract Pat. Dad suggested it one day, and it wasn’t until we were in the air that he told me Mom didn’t know about it.”

I just shook my head. “I have no idea what to say.”

“She thinks we’re egotistical and conceited,” Pat spat.

We all stared at him. “What?”

I shook my head. “I never said that!”

“You said the plane was pretentious.”

“Is that why you’re so moody? Pat, I don’t even know what pretend-us means. I just liked the way it sounded when you said it. What?” I turned to look at a giggling Meghan, but Walter was the one who answered me.

“You said pretend-us. You meant to say pretentious, which means showing off because you think you’re better than everyone else.”

“Oh! No! That is so not what I meant!” I sighed. “Pat asked me what I thought of the plane. I said I needed you,” I pointed at Walter, “to help me find the right word. It was big and unnecessary and showy. But I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“Grandiose?”

“What does that mean?”

“Um, more complicated than necessary.”

“Yes! Exactly that! See? That’s why Larry calls you Walterpedia.”

“So, you don’t think we’re a bunch of arrogant celebrities?” Pat asked slowly.

“Well, I’m starting to think you might be.” I crossed my arms, turning back around to face out the front window.

 Walter attempted to change the subject. “So, ice cream.”

Meghan rolled her eyes. “Walter, it’s twenty degrees outside. If that. It was seventy when we left this morning. I’m already an icicle. Ice cream is the furthest thing from my mind right now.”

“Well, I want a snack. And, I don’t wanna go straight home. Ooh. How about bowling? Who wants to go bowling?”

“Doofus! How is Melinda supposed to bowl?” Pat said. Judging by the sounds I heard emanating from the back seat, I had the suspicion Pat had smacked his brother on the head.

“Well, what do you wanna do?”

Meghan looked at me. “Any ideas, Melinda?”

I was still too upset with Pat to think clearly. I pulled out my phone. “Lemme think about it.” I used the map to search for ice cream locations, finding the new place my brother had told me about.

“Oh! I’ve got the perfect place.” I excitedly entered the address into Meghan’s phone. “It’s this new fro-yo bar, but it also has coffees and sandwiches. It’s not far from here.”

---

When we arrived at Java Twist, I waited in the car for Pat to grab my crutches. I could hear everyone talking outside, but with the lid of the trunk raised, I had no idea what was going on. A moment later, Pat climbed into the driver’s seat and I saw Walter and Meghan walking briskly towards the building, since neither of them had worn a jacket.

Pat reached for my hand. “I’m sorry about before.”

“Shouldn’t we go inside?”

Pat shrugged. “Meghan said if I promised not to drive anywhere, she would give me five minutes to apologize for being—”

“An idiot?”

“That’s not the word my brother used, but let’s go with it.” Pat gave a half-smile.

“What’s going on?” I did my best to play with Pat’s hair using my free hand. He inched as close to the center console as he could, tracing circles on the back of my hand, staring at it as he replied.

“I haven’t had a lot of friends growing up. Not close friends. Before Hartfield, I’m not sure I’d even actually been to a friend’s house before.”

“How is that even possible?”

Pat shrugged. “I’ve been to some Hollywood homes of other child stars, but they were never good friends. If I were filming a movie, we may visit each other’s rented houses or hotel suites. Here in Connecticut, I had some homeschool friends, but we usually met up at libraries or parks or went on field trips.”

“I’m still not sure I understand what’s bothering you.”

“I’m getting there. Frank and Zach were my first really close friends, and I’ve never been to their houses. Frank lives in Washington. The state. I’ve never had reason to visit there. Zach? Well, he prefers coming to my place. I’ve never questioned it. I’ve been to Chloe’s place, but she lives in a three-story Manhattan penthouse. Then, last month, you invited me to hang out at your house.”

“And that upset you because?”

Pat looked at me. “I’ve never once questioned the size of my house. I’ve never questioned the fact that my dad has thirty cars and a private jet. Because we were still normal and humble. But when I saw your house, it made me start questioning mine.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of money.”

Pat shook his head. “It just started feeling so extravagant.”

“But, Pat, that was weeks ago. Why is it bothering you now?”

“It’s been in the back of my mind since then. You were our first real guests on the plane.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”

Pat shrugged. “The band’s been on, of course, and some other family. But, they’re family. They don’t count. Dad has had people to help him pilot or the occasional flight attendant. But we’ve never had a friend aboard just to say hi.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “And you said it was big and showy and unnecessary. It made me think that maybe you thought we were like that.”

“Pat, you guys are so normal, it’s—I don’t know how to finish that thought.” I giggled, pleased to see Pat smile. “One of the things I like about you is that you’re not this fat-headed celebrity. Most of the time. You’re a regular guy.”

He ran a hand through my hair. “Are we okay?”

“We’re fine. Are you okay?”

Pat shrugged. “I’m actually really annoyed that my brother gets to hang out with you and I can’t. But that’s not your fault. Stupid movie.”

“You don’t mean that.” I shook my head, stroking Pat’s hand. “You love this movie.”

“Yeah, I do.” He sighed, kissing me quickly before hopping out of the car. After opening my door, he passed me my crutches and helped me from the car.

Pat’s Story

Joey and I went to look at the single-engine plane parked beside us. I pointed out some of the features I knew about it, such as the fact that it could only hold three people. Joey was more interested in things like how the propeller was taller than me or why the lights on the wings were different colors.

I answered his questions patiently. He reminded me a lot of when Walter was eleven. I wondered if maybe that was why Melinda and Walter were such good friends. That made me wonder if she would still be friends with him after seeing the airplane.

Walter came over to us and immediately started whining. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Back in the airplane?” Joey asked excitedly.

I shook my head. “I want to go home. We just had a few pretty boring days in Florida visiting our grandparents.”

“My grandparents live in an RV,” Joey explained as I picked up my duffel and a random suitcase from the pile Walter and Dad had left near the cargo hold.

We brought the luggage out to the car, stopping to see Melinda’s mom on our way. Joey seemed disappointed that he had to go home, but his mother promised to drop him at a friend’s house on the way and that made him brighten slightly.

“Boys!” Dad called to us.

Walter and I excused ourselves and brought Dad the suitcases. I dropped my bag into the trunk of Meghan’s car and went to get more suitcases.

I wouldn’t have minded if they were ours. But five of these suitcases were Christmas presents Uncle Vinny had sent home with us, so he wouldn’t have to lug them to Chicago. Dad was actually going to drive an extra hour to drop them at Uncle Vinny’s house before turning around to come back home. I didn’t think I would do that for my brother. I probably would just smack him and make him carry his own bags.

“Can we stop for ice cream on the way home?” Walter asked as Mom climbed into her car.

Mom looked at Walter suspiciously. I think she was trying to figure out whether he was actually hungry or up to something. Ultimately, she gave us permission and told us to let her know if we wouldn’t be home for dinner.

Apparently, Melinda was spending the day with us. I was glad, although I was still angry about what she had said about the plane. I helped her into the car and put her crutches in the trunk. I was heading towards the driver’s seat when Meghan reminded me she was driving.

As I climbed in behind Melinda, Walter again brought up the subject of food. “Okay. Who wants ice cream?”

“Do you ever stop eating?” Meghan asked.

Walter shrugged. “Flying makes me hungry.”

Meghan glared at me. “You let him fly? I thought he was just sitting with you guys.”

Why was she mad at me? I wasn’t the one making the decisions in the cockpit. Well, not those kind, at least.

I shook my head. “No. Dad let him fly.”

Melinda turned to look at us. “Start over. Like, way over. Are you guys telling me you were actually flying the plane? Like you were the pilots?”

Beaming, Walter explained how Dad was licensed to teach Walter and me to fly.

She shook her head. “I have no idea what to say.”

“She thinks we’re egotistical and conceited,” I blurted out.

I had six eyes staring at me and three jaws dropping open. “What?”

“I never said that!” Melinda insisted.

“You said the plane was pretentious.”

Melinda sighed. “Is that why you’re so moody? Pat, I don’t even know what pretend-us means.” I saw Walter smile out of the corner of my eye and Meghan started giggling. Melinda didn’t seem to notice at first. “I just liked the way it sounded when you said it. What?”

Walter smiled at his friend. “You said pretend-us. You meant to say pretentious, which means showing off because you think you’re better than everyone else.”

“Oh!” Melinda looked at me. “No! That is so not what I meant!” Melinda sighed and looked back at Walter. “Pat asked me what I thought of the plane. I said I needed you,” she pointed at him, “to help me find the right word. It was big and unnecessary and showy. But I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“Grandiose?”

I could tell Melinda was hesitant to agree. “What does that mean?”

“Um . . . more complicated than necessary.”

“Yes! Exactly that!” Melinda smiled. “See? That’s why Larry calls you Walterpedia.”

I looked at her. “So, you don’t think we’re a bunch of arrogant celebrities?”

“Well, I’m starting to think you might be.” She turned to face the front window, folding her arms across her chest testily.

“Soooo,” Walter drew out the word in an obvious attempt to change the subject. “Ice cream.”

Meghan was annoyed. I could hear it in her voice. “Walter, it’s twenty degrees outside. If that. It was seventy when we left this morning. I’m already an icicle. Ice cream is the furthest thing from my mind right now.”

“Well, I want a snack. And, I don’t wanna go straight home. Ooh. How about bowling? Who wants to go bowling?”

I smacked my brother on his head. “Doofus! How is Melinda supposed to bowl?”

Walter shot me a rude hand gesture that I don’t think the girls saw. “Well, what do you wanna do?”

“Any ideas Melinda?” Meghan asked. Sure, she was nice to Melinda.

“Lemme think about it.” I thought I saw Melinda fiddling with her phone. A moment later, she stole Meghan’s phone off the dashboard and started typing an address into the GPS. “Oh! I’ve got the perfect place. It’s this new fro-yo bar, but it also has coffees and sandwiches. It’s not far from here.”

---

Meghan pulled into the parking lot at Java Twist and I was surprised to see it slightly crowded in the middle of winter. When I went to get Melinda’s crutches, I pulled Meghan aside.

“Can I have the keys?”

“Why?” she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Because I want a few minutes alone with Melinda. I want to apologize.”

Walter called me a vulgar name. I glared at him. “I just want to tell Melinda I’m sorry and I want to be able to turn the car on if it gets cold.”

She dangled the key in front of me without letting go. “No driving.”

“No driving,” I promised.

“You have five minutes,” she said as I grabbed the key. “Then I send Walter to come check on you.”

“Thank you!”

While my brother and sister went to get ice creams, I slid into the driver’s seat, reaching for Melinda’s hand. “I’m sorry about before.”

“Shouldn’t we go inside?”

“Meghan said if I promised not to drive anywhere, she would give me five minutes to apologize for being—”

“An idiot?”

I smiled. “That’s not the word my brother used, but let’s go with it.”

“What’s going on?” Melinda reached out to play with my hair.

I tried to get closer to her, although the console made it a little difficult. Glancing at her hand, I traced tiny circles on the back as I did my best to explain. 

“I haven’t had a lot of friends growing up. Not close friends. Before Hartfield, I’m not sure I’d even actually been to a friend’s house.”

“How is that even possible?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been to some Hollywood homes of other child stars, but they were never good friends. If I were filming a movie, we may visit each other’s rented houses or hotel suites. I had some homeschool friends, but we usually met up at libraries or parks or went on field trips.”

“I’m still not sure I understand what’s bothering you.”

“I’m getting there. Frank and Zach were my first really close friends, and I’ve never been to their houses. Frank lives in Washington. The state. I’ve never had reason to visit there. Zach? Well, he prefers coming to my place. I’ve never questioned it. I’ve been to Chloe’s place, but she lives in a three-story Manhattan penthouse. Then, last month, you invited me to hang out at your house.”

“And that upset you because?”

Chancing a glance up, I saw nothing but concern in her eyes. “I’ve never once questioned the size of my house. I’ve never questioned the fact that my dad has thirty cars and a private jet. Because we were still normal and humble. But when I saw your house, it made me start questioning mine.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of money.”

I shook my head. “It just started feeling so extravagant.”

“But, Pat, that was weeks ago. Why is it bothering you now?”

“It’s been in the back of my mind since then. You were our first real guests on the plane.”

“Really?” I could see her surprise.

“The band’s been on, of course, and some other family. But, they’re family. They don’t count. Dad has had people to help him pilot or the occasional flight attendant. But, we’ve never had a friend aboard just to say hi. And, you said it was big and showy and unnecessary. It made me think that maybe you thought we were like that.”

“Pat, you guys are so normal, it’s—I don’t know how to finish that thought.” Her giggle made me smile. “One of the things I like about you is that you’re not this fat-headed celebrity. Most of the time. You’re a regular guy.”

“Are we okay?”

“We’re fine. Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “I’m actually really annoyed that my brother gets to hang out with you and I can’t. But that’s not your fault. Stupid movie.”

“You don’t mean that.” Melinda stroked my hand. “You love this movie.”

“Yeah, I do.” I sighed and gave her a quick kiss before walking around to help her out.

Melinda’s Journal

Friday, December 29

 (Author note: I am not sure what this journal entry should be about. Any suggestions? Leave a comment below.) 

Attention Hammerheads

Melinda is always trying to build her vocabulary. What were some words in this episode that were new to you? She will add them to her vocabulary journal.