“Oh, thank God!” I leapt out of the chair, sending wet hair clippings flying. I took the carrier from the girl, and lowered my face to the straw on the cup marked with my name. I sucked that chocolate milkshake down so fast, I had brain-freeze, but I didn’t stop.
“Natalie!” My mother exclaimed with hands on her hips. “That was rude. Who on earth dropped those off for us?”
The slurping noise signaled the end of my much-needed meal. I set the carrier on the countertop and pulled my mother’s shake out. “Here’s yours,” I said. Then I climbed back into the chair.
Mom, the shampoo girl, and Victor stared at me like I had three heads.
Not a problem for me. I didn’t care what they thought. I was finally full. The craving was subsiding and I actually had the strength to smile at everyone. “Let’s do this thang,” I said.
Victor, never one to miss an opportunity, said, “You go girl!” With that rallying cry, he got back to work on my hair.
In the mirror, I saw a reflection of the window at the front of the store. For a few seconds, Matt stood there watching me. I could barely make out his lopsided grin. Then he was gone, but I couldn’t help grinning too.
I had it pretty bad for that boy. I knew I shouldn’t. I knew he was just a friend, but I still hoped. I could lie to myself, but I knew the truth. I wanted him to notice me as a girl. No, a woman. I wondered how many miracles that red dress could work. I’d opened hundreds of generic, cheap Valentine’s cards in elementary school while other girls opened boxes of chocolate. Last year, I’d watch delivery after delivery of red carnations to the girls in my classes. Was a real Valentine too much to hope for this year?
***
When Matt climbed through my window that night, I ran over to give him a hug. I almost knocked him over.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” I squeezed him tight. Then I let go and let him regain his balance.
“What was that for?” he asked. “I’m not complaining, but I don’t remember doing anything to deserve that kind of enthusiasm.”
“You saved me this afternoon,” I said. “I was so close to either taking a bite of somebody or running out in front of a bus.”
“So I’m a hero?” he asked. “Maybe you should hug me again.” He held out his arms, and I hugged him again.
This time, when I started to pull away, his arms tightened around me.
I giggled and swatted at his back. “Stop messing around,” I said. Then I looked up into his eyes and the laughing stopped. “Oh.”
Desire. I hadn’t seen desire in a guy’s eyes before, but I knew this must be it. I swallowed nervously, and then Matt’s eyes were back to normal. Shuttered and private.
He cleared his throat and released me.
I sat on the side of my bed. Matt sat next to me and took my hand in his. “Natalie, do you want to go to the dance with me?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Good,” he said. “Because I want to take you.”
Then he stood, pulled two bottles out of his jacket, set them on my nightstand, and said, “Set these on the window sill, and I’ll come back for them.” He left through the window.
I had to wait a minute to drink my dinner because drinking through a water bottle is really difficult when you are smiling so big.
I had total confidence in my little red dress. Valentine’s day was Tuesday. I didn’t have long to wait. I was going to go all out. I was going to do my nails and lips in red. Mom had some pretty crystal jewelry that would be perfect. When I closed my eyes, I could see myself in the dress. I couldn’t wait to see Matt’s reaction.
***
I bumbled through Sunday with my parents and brothers. The Johnsons were visiting Matt’s grandmother and they’d left me some synthetic powder packets under a rock in the back yard. I waited until my mother was busy chasing my brothers, and I snuck out to retrieve them. I drank them in a bottle of water, alone in my room. What if Matt decided to start dropping the powder in my yard on a regular basis? What would I do if I couldn’t see him every night?
***
I had dinner with the Johnsons on Monday night. His mother was ridiculously excited about the Valentine dance. You’d have thought she was going.
“What are wearing, Natalie? I cannot wait to see it. I bet you will look beautiful.”
“Mom made me buy a jacket and tie,” Matt grumbled.
I kicked his calf. “I shopped all day.”
He rubbed his shin and shot me a wounded look. “I brought you refreshments, remember.”
“Oh, right.” I smiled. “I take it back.”
“It’s a little too late for that.”
“We got a red tie,” his mother interrupted. “Will that work, or will we need to get another color?”
“Red will work,” I admitted.
“You know I wouldn’t wear a monkey suit for just anybody.”
“It’s not even a suit. You said it was a jacket.”
“Same difference.”
“What are you guys doing for Valentine’s?” I asked his parents. “Anything special?”
“Not really. I guess we’ll go out another night this week.”
“The dance only lasts until nine-thirty,” I said. “We could babysit and you could go out for a late dinner.”
“Good idea,” his father said with a glance at Mrs. Johnson. “What do you think?”
“We’ll discuss it,” she said.
“It’s very kind of you to offer, Natalie,” his father said.
“Fool,” Matt whispered. “Have you forgotten what she’s like?”
I shook my head. “You’ll be here too. I think we can handle it.”
“I’m on strike,” he said. “I’ll just sit and watch you deal with her.”
“Fine, Matt,” his sister said with a smirk. “Me and Natalie are on the girls’ team. So you are the one who will suffer.”
“Enough arguing, kids,” Mr. Johnson said.
“You’re on my team,” Matt whispered.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Mrs. Johnson said.
“We’ll discuss it,” her husband said. Then, he winked at me, and I knew we were definitely babysitting.
“She goes to bed at nine on a school night,” Matt told me on the ride home. “She’ll be asleep.”
“Thank God!”
“That was nice of you. My parents probably need some time alone.”
He pulled up in front of my house, and I opened the door.
“You do realize that they aren’t the only ones who will have some alone time tomorrow, don’t you?” His evil leer sent me running from the car.
Time alone? I couldn’t wait.
School lasted forever on Tuesday. I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t concentrate. Most of the teachers gave up on trying to teach and focused on keeping us quiet.
When the
y called me to the office at two, I didn’t care how much trouble I was in. I was just glad for a distraction.
I was surprised to see my mother standing in the office. “I’m checking you out,” she said. “We’re getting your hair done.”
“We are? You didn’t tell me.”
“I thought you’d argue.”
“Just spring me from this place before I go nuts.”
Mom put her arm around my shoulders. “Finally, the quiescent daughter I’ve always dreamed of.”
“No need to be snarky, Mom.”
“Back to the plan. Are we going with the hair up or down?”
“I want it lavender and styled like Katy Perry’s.”
“Who?” Mom asked.
“Never mind.” My mother was hopeless.
***
When we got to the salon, I took control. “I’ll go with the updo, but only half as big as the last time. Up but not so do.”
Mom gave me a frown, but she didn’t protest.
“Sounds like a plan,” Victor said. “One scaled-down updo.”
I almost winked at my reflection in the mirror. I was proud of myself.
Then Mom said, “After this, Lily is doing your nails and lips. Red to match the dress.”
The girl in the mirror mouthed a cussword.
Two hours later, I was released from salon hell. My nails and lips were the color of my dress, and I actually loved my hair. Since I still had jeans on, I looked a little silly as we walked to my mother’s car.
“You must eat before you put your dress on,” Mom said. “You can’t risk dropping something on it.”
“I could just eat red stuff. Then if I spilled, it wouldn’t be a big deal.” Blood was red. Blood matched the dress. I could eat blood. My stomach growled.
My mother glanced over and laughed. “I guess we should run through a drive-thru.”
I didn’t want to spend the evening with my stomach full of heavy food that I couldn’t even digest. “No, it’s okay. I’ll just eat something at home.”
With a shrug, my mother said, “Suit yourself. Just as long as I have time for pictures when Matt picks you up.”
“Pictures? Did you find your camera?” We’d hidden her camera because she couldn’t figure out how to work it. On Christmas day, we’d spent hours of torture, and she’d only gotten twenty photos.
My mother snorted. “I know you guys took it. I may be completely incapable of operating that thing, but I’m not an idiot.”