“Oh,” Bea said. She set down the towel and perched on the edge of the guest bed, where Allie lay sprawled, petting the cat. “So . . . you honestly think she’s going to let me live here?”
“I think so. I’m not really giving her much choice. Not that I can force her, but . . . it’s just not something I’m going to back down on. And she feels so guilty. She owes me one. And she knows it. I think it’s going to be okay.”
Bea sat still a minute. Then she began swiveling her head. Looking all around the room. Even up at the ceiling.
“I didn’t really take all this in before. Because I didn’t believe I get to stay here. I’m still not sure. She’ll find a way to get me out.”
“Over my dead body,” Allie said.
Just before bedtime Allie’s mom came in and sat on the bed beside her.
Her mom opened her mouth to speak, then burst into tears again. For a moment she just sat and cried, and nothing was said.
Then she seemed to pull herself together some. At least enough to manage words.
“I am so, so sorry for what happened to you out there, Allie. And what could have happened. I know it’s not good enough to sit here and say it. But somehow I’m going to make it up to you. You watch. I’m not sure entirely how. But I will.”
“All you have to do is let Bea stay, and then we’re good.”
Unfortunately, her mom had no reply. So maybe Bea had been right after all.
Allie talked over the awkwardness of the moment.
“So, Mom. Two things I need to ask you. About my plans and all. When school starts again, I might be going around to some different schools in L.A. and doing some . . . talks. So other girls maybe don’t end up in that same kind of trouble. I don’t know how that’ll fit with my schoolwork. I don’t know a lot of things. I actually haven’t worked it out yet. Haven’t gotten like . . . official permission or anything. But I want to do it. And a cop told me I could do it. So I’ll do it. I just have to figure out the details.”
“I think that’s fine, honey. I like the idea. And I’ll help in any way I can. But what’s the other thing?”
“Oh, Right. Bea and I need to take a little trip sometime. It’s just like this loose end we want to tie up. We’re going to drive down the coast to the Mexican border. I mean . . . with your permission. Of course.”
Allie watched for a reaction. Her mom rocked back a little on the bed, but not much more. In the dim light from the hall, Allie couldn’t see the details of her mother’s expression.
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Why not?”
“Sometimes people go to Mexico for weird reasons.”
“We’re not going to Mexico. Just down to the border. We want to be able to say we saw the whole West Coast of the United States. We drove all the way up to the Puget Sound. And now if we just go from here to Mexico we will have seen the whole thing.”
“I don’t know, Allie. I have misgivings.”
“What kind of misgivings?”
“Like what if she has some illegal business in Mexico?”
“I told you. We’re not crossing the border.”
“But what if you get all the way down there, and it turns out you are but you didn’t know it?”
“She doesn’t even have a passport, Mom.”
For several moments, Allie lay on her bed in silence, trying to read her mother’s face in the dim light. Trying to find a way to turn this conversation in a better direction.
“If you’re so worried,” Allie said, “come with us.”
“Oh. I didn’t know I was invited.”
Another silence, during which Allie felt a softening of the energy between them. A lifting of tension.
“That would be nice, actually,” her mother added. “It might be kind of fun. Yeah. Let’s do that. Maybe next week. Meanwhile I have to ask you a question. And it’s important. So think before you answer. And please be honest with me. That story you told me . . . Where you were about to end up . . . That woman in the guest room, the one you’ve decided is your new grandmother . . . I mean, I know she gave you a ride and all. But did she have a big part in things not happening that way? As big as you made it sound?”
“Oh, definitely,” Allie said, not stopping to think as she had been instructed. “A huge part. She drove me out of there before the guy could get up and find me. And then she looked after me. Jeez, without Bea . . . I hate to think.”
Allie thought she saw her mother sit up a little straighter, but it might have been her imagination.
“Okay. Okay then, honey. Then she’s welcome here.”
She kissed Allie on top of her head and slipped out of the room.
Allie waited a minute or two, then climbed out of bed and padded barefoot down the hall to the guest room. She knocked lightly on the door, opened it, and stuck her head into the darkened space.
“Bea,” she whispered. “You awake?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Welcome home,” Allie said. At a stronger volume.
Then she put herself back to bed.
ALLIE AND BEA BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
1. At the beginning of the book Bea is called by a man who claims he is from the IRS. What painful choice is Bea forced to make after succumbing to this scam? Do you think she chose wisely?
2. After Bea takes to the road and starts living in her van, she quickly realizes she does not have the money to make it past the next few days. She makes the choice to steal a cell phone and pawn it. Are there some circumstances where breaking the law is justified? Is this one of them?
3. Allie and Bea perceive the world quite differently. In what ways do these views shift throughout the novel and become less black and white?
4. Allie’s childhood offered her everything money could buy, and yet circumstances left her just as homeless as Bea. In what ways did her parents’ drive for wealth lead to her situation?
5. Allie’s choice to be a vegan is based on her principles and beliefs, and she firmly adheres to them throughout most of the book. Do you agree with her choices despite her circumstances? Why do you think she stands so strongly by these ideals?
6. How does the kindness of strangers play a crucial part in both the outer and inner journeys of the main characters?
7. Allie suggests that they “just keep going” and turn their homeless plight into an adventure. How does this decision shape their overall outlook on life and help them both grow? Do you think putting a positive spin on a difficult situation can ultimately affect the outcome?
8. Despite Allie and Bea both being let down multiple times in their past by others, in what ways do they ultimately come through for each other?