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  “How does he do that?” I wondered and smiled.

  We rode for about 45 minutes altogether and although Charlie made it look easy and I knew it would take me a good long time before I was even close to keeping up with him. I had so much fun and it was so exciting and I dearly hoped to try it again sometime soon.

  When we got back to the trailhead Charlie screeched to a stop and whipped his helmet off, “Are you sure this is your first time mountain biking?”

  I was breathless with exertion and the exhilaration I felt, “I’m sure, well, actually I can’t be sure-sure but as far as I know this is my first time. I don’t really remember much before I came to live with Aunt Margaret.”

  “Oh, right, sorry, the accident.”

  “You don’t have to apologize, Charlie. It sounds a lot worse than it was. Margaret has been super-good to me and I’m just happy to be here.”

  “Me too,” he said, “so is it love at first bike?” We both laughed and asked at the same time, “Do you want to go again?” Another hearty laugh ensued followed by a play by play discussion of our ride.

  Charlie gave me a few tips and plenty of critiques as well which spilled over into our drive home. As Charlie’s mom dropped me off I thanked her for the ride. I made Charlie promise to thank his brother for the loaner bike and told him to e-mail me the next time he would like some company on the trails. I waved as their car pulled away and hurried in to share my experience with Margaret.

  Chapter 13

  Charlie and Missy (who we’d discovered was Charlie’s date for the formal) and one other couple had decided to take Margaret and me up on our limo offer. Margaret made the reservation for us and got in touch with each of the parents to work out the other details while we were left to sorting out the times and locations for pick-ups and drop-offs. Dani was coming to my house to get ready, Zach would be at Charlie’s so we would pick them up then go to Missy’s, Christine’s, Jake’s and Patrick’s. I had everyone e-mail me their addresses and I printed them all up for Margaret to give to the limo service.

  Jake hadn’t said much to me since he learned we were intended to go together. It was awkward, I thought, for both of us. I didn’t know him well and based on prior impressions I really didn’t care to. Part of me believed that the only reason he agreed to the scheme when Zach broached it was to get back at Brooke in some way. She seemed to have learned of our plans and so far only had the courage to scoff in contempt at me whenever the opportunity presented itself. I wondered if she was plotting something but tried to ignore the thought.

  The weekend was coming and Margaret offered to take me and Danielle shopping for something to wear. She actually seemed to be looking forward to the formal nearly as much as Danielle.

  “I’m so excited for you,” Aunt Margaret would say whenever we had the need to talk about our plans.

  I would just smile and nod. I wished I could share her enthusiasm. I wished I wasn’t going with Jake. I wished there was someone else I was going with, someone I actually cared to go with.

  Some part of me knew it was all wrong, that I shouldn’t have been going at all. I was starting to feel envious of the others and that made it all the more difficult to stay true to my intentions. I was happy for Danielle and the way she felt about Zach and even though I didn’t feel more than friendship towards Charlie, I sometimes wished we were going together instead of me and Jake. They all seemed so natural and happy; Danielle and Zach, Charlie and Missy, holding hands as they walked to class or stealing kisses in the hallway. That was more of what I envisioned when I imagined myself at the Spring Formal; being there with someone I at least had significant feelings for.

  When Saturday and our trip to the mall rolled around Margaret let us run off to look for dresses while she did a little shopping for herself. We had two hours to hopefully find something suitable and to meet her back at the food court. Dani found a dress she liked in just about every store but I tried on one after another only to be disappointed each time. By the fifth store Danielle was clearly frustrated with me and I was getting a little antsy myself.

  “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just not in the spirit of shopping today.” I tried to apologize but it was a feeble attempt and Danielle wasn’t buying it.

  “Seriously? That is the best excuse you can come up with.”

  I tried to smile but Dani knew there was more to it than I was letting on, “Look I know Jake is worst case scenario in your opinion and that you are only doing this as my friend. I promise it won’t be as bad as whatever you are imaging. I’ve heard Jake talking to Zach and I know he is going to put his best foot forward. I actually think he might even like you.”

  “Ugh, anything but that!”

  “Come on, give the guy a break. He’s been out from under Brooke’s thumb for a few weeks now. Surely he’s bound to have improved at least a little bit.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Let’s try this one,” Brooke ducked into the next store.

  I browsed the racks for a few minutes and I was about to give up when the saleslady approached me. “That man over there wanted me to give you this,” she held out a full-length black slip dress. I turned to look where she was pointing but there was no one there.

  “Very funny, Danielle,” I thought to myself. I took the dress and headed to the changing room. I tried it on and it was like coming home. It fit perfectly, looked exquisite and I couldn’t get over how incredible I felt in it.

  I stepped out of my stall, “Danielle, are you in here?”

  “Wow,” she exclaimed from behind me, “that dress is amazing! Where’d you get it?”

  “Duh, I know you gave it to the saleslady for me.”

  “Uh, afraid not, I’ve been in here for the past 10 minutes,” she pointed to the stack of dresses she had been trying on.

  “Huh, that’s odd. I was browsing the racks and the saleslady came up to me and said that some man had asked her to give it to me. There was no one else in the store when she tried to point him out to me so I thought you were having a bit of fun.”

  “Maybe it was your fairy godfather here to help you get ready for the ball,” Dani teased.

  “Whatever. Well, I don’t care how it got to me, it’s mine now, or at least it will be once I pay for it. Are you getting anything here?”

  “No, I think my favorite is back at the second store. You get yours and we’ll head back.”

  “OK.”

  I hurriedly changed back into my clothes and brought the dress to the register. “Oh, yes, here you are,” the saleslady handed me a bag from behind the counter.

  “What’s this?”

  “The man that told me to give you the dress, he already bought it. Here’s the receipt.”

  It was a cash sale, so there was no name from a credit card printed on it. “Are you sure? I don’t know anyone who would do something like that. It’s really weird.”

  Danielle came over and I gave her a quick rundown of what had happened.

  “Wow, I wish something like that would happen to me!”

  “Are you crazy? Some stranger stalks me in the mall, buys me a dress then disappears and you think that is OK and something you want to happen to you.”

  “Well, not when you put it like that, no. Hey, what’d this guy look like, anyway?” Danielle turned back to the salesperson.

  “Oh, you know, tall, dark; stunning actually.”

  “There, you see, nothing to worry about, I haven’t seen a stunning guy all day. Now let’s go get my dress.”

  I thanked the saleslady for her help and shamefully left the store. I knew I shouldn’t take the dress but I couldn’t bear to part with it either. I kept seeing myself in it over and over again. I couldn’t wait to show Margaret.

  “OK, wipe that grin off your face, you look like a lunatic.”

  “Sorry, I’m just a little,” I shook my head, “overwhelmed, I guess. This isn’t exactly a common occurrence you know.”

  “Eh, whatever. Don’t look a g
ift horse in the mouth, that’s what I say.” Dani hurried into the second store we visited and bought her dress.

  Margaret was a minute or two late so Danielle and I passed the time over a smoothie. “Let’s not mention this to Margaret,”

  “Sure, whatever,” Danielle shrugged.

  When she found us I saw that Aunt Margaret had picked up a few new clothes for herself and a little something from the cooking store as well. “So how’d you girls make out?”

  We each held up our shopping bags. “Would you like us to model them for you when we get home?” I asked.

  “I would love that,” Margaret smiled.

  We all gathered our respective bags and headed for the car. I couldn’t help but peer at every man’s face as we passed them by. I wondered who bought the dress and I prayed that it was just a generous, indiscriminate gesture. I hoped it was one of those random acts of kindness you sometimes heard about on the news. I hated to keep thinking about it, because the more I did, the more certain I was that I had made the wrong decision.

  “How did he guess my size, or did he just assume the saleslady would exchange it if it didn’t fit?” I wondered to myself.

  I was starting to lose some of the earlier exuberance I felt at finding such a great dress. I also felt badly knowing I was again keeping something from Aunt Margaret that I was sure she would care to know. After a few more minutes of self-crimination I started to become visibly irritable. Dani nudged me to improve my expression as we journeyed home.

  “Everything alright Lily?”

  “Yeah, fine, I was just thinking that Danielle got the better dress,” I sighed.

  “Right, we’ll see about that when we get home. Can you be an impartial judge Mrs. Donovan?”

  “You bet,” she smiled back at us both.

  Once we were home Dani and I ran up to my room. We both scampered into our dresses and fished through my closet looking for shoes for each of us. She was a bit more petite than I was and my shoes were a size or two too big but she managed to find a pair that looked well with her dress. She slung them on two fingers, hesitant to try navigating the stairs in them and we headed to the kitchen to model our outfits to Aunt Margaret.

  She was sipping a cup of tea with her back to us but spun around as she heard us come into the kitchen.

  “Oh my,” she said, “you two look just lovely. She studied each of us for a moment and I couldn’t help wondering if she was somehow disappointed in the dress I was wearing.

  “Don’t you love it?” I asked.

  “I do, dear, I do but, I guess I’m just being motherly. You look so grown-up and so elegant. I’m not used to seeing you like this. It reminds me that in another year or so you will be off to college and that my time with you is almost up.”

  “Oh, Aunt Margaret, don’t say things like that. You’ll make me cry.”

  Hearing Margaret talk like that was very upsetting, especially with all the other variables that were in play. Danielle and I went back upstairs and changed into our regular clothes. I put my dress on a hanger and pulled the bag over it before I hung it in the closet.

  “Do you want to go for a walk?” I asked Danielle.

  Kaley perked right up. She was quite familiar with the word and was always ready to go.

  “Sure, why not. Hey, what’s Margaret making for dinner?”

  “Why would you like to stay?”

  “Is that even a question?”

  I grinned, “I’ll ask Margaret before we head out.”

  Kaley raced ahead of us and took a position at the front door. I let Margaret know what we were up to and when we would be back. I asked what we were having for dinner.

  “Chicken tenders,” she said, “Would you like to join us Danielle? I’m sure there will plenty for the three of us.”

  “I’d love that. Can I call my mom just to be sure?”

  Once our dinner plans were settled we headed to the greenway and took our walk.

  “Don’t worry about the formal,” Dani began our conversation. “It’s going to be perfect, you’ll see.”

  “I hope so, I really do. I’ll make an effort anyway.”

  “Well, even if things don’t go well with Jake you are going to look amazing in that dress. I bet every guy in the school will be noticing you and not their dates.”

  “Let’s hope not, I’m inviting enough trouble as it is.”

  We walked for about 20 minutes in one direction and then made our turn to head back. It was very nice out so we took our time and walked at an easy pace. We talked about school; neither of us could believe that there were only a handful of weeks left before the end of the year. Summer would be there before we knew it and we talked about our plans for the long break we would have before we started our senior year.

  Margaret had mentioned the possibility of getting a beach house for a week or two, if she could find one that would allow us to bring Kaley. I couldn’t bear the idea of putting her in a kennel, especially since she was so big. I was certain that a dog her size would find absolutely no comfort in any place that would be willing to board her.

  “Do you think you’d like to come with us if we do go?”

  “Do you think Margaret would mind?”

  “Nah, I’m sure she’d love to have you join us. Nothing is definite yet, she is looking for a place that will let us bring Kaley.”

  “It will have to be a big beach house then!” Danielle emphasized big and gave Kaley a hearty pat on the back.

  Dinner was ready by the time we got in. Margaret, Danielle and I all sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed the homemade chicken tenders Margaret had made for us.

  “Mmm, so good Mrs. Donovan. You’ll have to give me the recipe so I can have my mom make them sometime.

  “Of course. They are very simple, really,” and Margaret went into a brief discussion of how they were prepared.

  Dani was not interested in cooking whatsoever. Thankfully, she was too thoughtful to give any indication of this and even managed to ask a few relevant questions to keep the conversation going.

  “You know,” I paused, “I’ve been thinking, now that we are on the topic of food. I’m starting to feel like I might rather go to culinary school than college.”

  “Wow, really?” Danielle could not fathom why anyone would want to do such a thing.

  Margaret’s response was a little different. “I think that’s an excellent idea,” she said.

  I was actually taken aback and surprised that she would support it. “You do?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s something that you enjoy doing and some chefs go on to have really great careers. I think you would do really well and find plenty of opportunities if you went through with it.”

  I was ecstatic. It had been on my mind almost all school year. The councilors were always questioning us about our post-high school plans. I never really offered a clear intention and I had considered a few other things but cooking was what I always came back to. When I thought about telling anyone though, it seemed foolish. I was sure all my friends were rattling off the typical doctor, lawyer or other high profile career when they were questioned about life after graduation, so chef seemed like an unworthy occupation.

  We talked a little more about my goals and then turned the conversation to Danielle and her plans for the future.

  “Well, I’ll definitely go to college but other than that, I am at a loss.”

  “What do you like to do Danielle?” Margaret asked.

  Dani rattled off a few things, none of which had a career ring to them.

  Margaret took a different approach, “OK, so what subjects do you excel in?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say I excel at anything,” Danielle laughed.

  We bantered back and forth offering suggestions for Danielle’s future. Some of them were pretty funny, like professional bull rider; some had merit like meteorologist and some were just off the charts like astrophysicist.

  “Well, it’s too bad you don’t like cooking, i
t’s going to be a shame when you two break-up.”

  “I know. Can you imagine a life without us joined at the hip?”

  “No, I cannot,” Margaret said and turned to me, “it’s getting late, Lily, let’s clean up so we can get Dani home."

  Chapter 14

  “You can’t be serious?!” I could not keep the anger from my voice. It was Friday, the night before our Spring Formal and I was looking at Danielle, Charlie and Zach each in turn. We had all gone out for a bite to eat; a treat from Dani to wish me a belated Happy Birthday. Little did I know that there was more than one motive. My friends wanted to get me somewhere public so I wouldn’t explode at any one of them had they approached me privately. “So Jake and Brooke just got back together today and he is dumping me as his date. Then add insult to injury and you tell me he expects to take her in our limo?”

  “He said his mom helped pay,” Charlie put in.

  “Oh, Charlie, there is no way to justify this. It’s, it’s,” I was fighting to find the right word, “it’s heinous!!”

  “I’m sorry,” Danielle was trying to sound reassuring, “I can just imagine what you are feeling but it’s the Spring Formal, we’ll still have a great time. I’m sure there will plenty of others going stag and you’ll have your pick of the litter.”

  “Pick of the litter, huh? From a litter of leftovers who couldn’t otherwise find a date! I can’t believe this is happening.”

  Zach was shaking his head and even though he was friends with Jake he knew this was totally not cool.

  “You know,” I tried to master my anger; “this is going to affect us all. You are all going to have sit through the night with this hanging over your heads. Tell him we’ll give him his money back and to get his own damn limo!”

  “We suggested that,” Charlie said.

  “We did,” Dani added, “but he said he already tried and everyone is booked because it’s prom season.”

  “So what am I supposed to do, ride with three happy couples, my ex-date and his new date and watch you all paw each other to death while I sulk in the corner?”