Page 30 of Guiding Little Gabi

Gabi’s body flashed hot, then cold. The stiffness of Raleigh’s body behind her revealed everything she needed to know about the level of his anger. Even so, he squeezed her hand in three pulses. It was a signal they’d shared for years. She wasn’t even sure why they did it, but all she knew was it made her feel better.

A niggle of familiarity scratched at her mind, but she couldn’t grasp it. Those three short squeezes meant something important, but what was it?

“Um, well… I might have said something like that. It’s hard to remember exactly. I’m sure it wasn’t important.”

Master Derek’s eyes flashed. “Oh, I beg to differ, little girl. I think it is very important. It has a bearing on the consequences your friends may face, not to mention your own. And it could be important to whether you head back to your room after we’re done here, or if you only stop off there to pack. Now, tell us what you said.”

Suddenly, Gabi felt exhausted. She was weary of playing whatever role she needed to play for whoever she was with at the moment. She was tired of worrying about whether people liked her or not. She was simply worn out.

Remember what your Daddy said. People don’t like you for what you do. They accept what you do because they like you.

Beetlebrenda’s reminder was exactly what Gabi needed. Turning to her friends, Gabi stopped trying. “Sadie, Hayleigh, Wren, Pippi, I owe you all an apology. I lied. Not a straight-outlie, but when you assumed I was a lawyer, I let you think that was true.”

“Wait,” Wren broke in. “You mean you’re not a lawyer? What the heck?”

“Let her talk.” That instruction came from the man standing behind Wren. Gabi remembered Wren had said her Daddy was Master Travis. The last time she’d seen him had been when he and Wren had walked out of this very office.

Shaking her head, Gabi stopped lying. “No, I’ve worked in Raleigh’s law office for four years and worked my way up to being his administrative assistant.”

“But why would you do that?” Hayleigh asked. “We trusted you.”

“We got punished for it, too,” Wren added.

“That’s right, and I got double,” Pippi interjected, which drew Gabi’s eyes to the man and woman standing behind their Little girl.

“I thought we were besties.” Sadie crossed her arms over her chest, as if daring Gabi to deny it.

The pain in her friends’ eyes almost made Gabi change her tune. But the Gabi she wanted to be wouldn’t do that. “I know. You’re right. It isn’t enough to just give you words, but they’re all I have. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”

Derek leaned back in his chair. “I’d like you to answer Hayleigh’s question, Gabi. Why did you lie?”

Taking a deep breath of courage, Gabi stopped hiding. “I grew up dirt poor. No one liked me for who I was. Any new kids who came to school might hang around for a day or two, but then someone would tell them who I was, and suddenly I was back to being friendless. So, I started playing parts so people would want to be my friend. I guess old habits are hard to break.”

Raleigh drew closer to her and squeezed her hand three times quickly again. What did that mean? The answer lingered near the surface of her memories, yet she still couldn’t grasp it.

She jarred back to the present when a gentle hand touched her arm. Startled, she saw that Pippi had crossed to stand beside her.

“Thank you for telling us that,” she said. “I know how hard it is to start believing the good things other people tell you about yourself. If you ever want to talk, just call on your friends. Friends like me.”

And then Pippi did the most wonderful thing. Leaning in, even after Gabi had lied to her, Pippi hugged her.

Fighting back her tears, Gabi started really living.

“Group hug!” Sadie cried.

Before she knew what was happening, her new friends gathered around her and gave Gabi her first group hug.

After a moment, Derek said. “I’m impressed, Gabi. Thank you for being honest. Before we go further, I’m going to turn this over to Chef Connor.”

Heads swiveled to where Hayleigh’s Daddy stood, glaring at them. He simply crooked a finger at them –and that wasn’t ominous, not at all--and turned to leave the room.

Gabi looked to her Daddy, but Raleigh simply inclined his head toward the Chef. She felt a bit like a baby duckling, or rather a baby flamingo, as she obediently fell in line, following the rest of her friends and their Bigs as Connor led the group from the office. She couldn’t blame the guests and staff scattered across the lobby for the gasps and titters of laughter as the long line paraded across the wooden floor. After all, how often does one get to see purple Littles?

When Chef Connor opened and stepped outside through the same door her Daddy had led them through earlier, Gabi shot a glance toward Wren, whose brow was slightly furrowed as sheshrugged her shoulders. Evidently, her friend had no clue as to what was about to happen. As they crossed the courtyard toward the hot tub, curious onlookers, some of whom had simply been sunbathing by the pool, surrounded them like spectators at a sporting event.

The line broke up to form a half circle around a table that hadn’t been there earlier. Catching sight of several cans and cloths sitting on top had Gabi biting back a sigh. She supposed they should have expected that they’d be assigned the chore of scrubbing the concrete and hot tub until all evidence of their bath bomb blitz was washed away.

When Chef Connor picked up the first can, Gabi held her hand out automatically. The tall man shook his head. “Not on your life, little girl. It’s our turn.”

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