“Don’t you fall for that, Semantha,” she warned, waving her right forefinger at me. “You have your self-respect. Good for you. Now, when the time comes, when the right boy is there, then things will be different.”
“How do you know who’s the right boy?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll know. This is good,” she said. “This is all very good. You listened well. I’m very proud of you. Tonight you were a true Heavenstone. Now, don’t you dare go to sleep feeling guilty about anything, understand? I won’t permit it.”
I said nothing. She paced a little more, looking as if she was talking to herself, and then she stopped and abruptly said, “Good night.”
She walked out and closed my door.
What did she mean when she said, “Don’t worry. We’ll know?”
What we?
Was she going to hold my hand throughout my whole teenage life?
What would she do when I went off to college and she was at her college?
I wasn’t going to sleep feeling guilty anymore. I was going to sleep feeling terribly confused.
And, without knowing exactly why, feeling a little afraid, too.
Tease
CASSIE SAID NOTHING more that weekend about my night with Kent, but when she looked at me, I could see she hadn’t forgotten a single detail. I wasn’t as angry at him as she wanted me to be, despite how he had behaved at the end of the evening. All weekend, I was hoping that he would call me to apologize for his behavior and maybe suggest that we try to be together again. I did feel bad about how I had behaved. I could just imagine how I had looked to him when I jumped up like that and insisted on leaving the stable. If I had a chance to explain, maybe he wouldn’t be so angry. Every time I heard a phone ringing, I prayed it was mine, but the only time mine rang was when Bobbi called to tell me how much she had enjoyed Eddie’s party and asked me how I had liked it.
I said, “Yes, it was fun.”
“It was fun? You don’t sound enthusiastic about it,” she quickly replied. I wasn’t sure if she was fishing for information or not. She gave me the impression that Noel had not spoken to Kent and then called her, because she seemed to know nothing about the way my night had ended. I kept wondering if this was an act, so I wasn’t very responsive to her questions.
“I guess you’re used to more elaborate, expensive parties, huh?”
“No.”
She waited, but I didn’t know what else to say.
“Okay. I can see you’re not in the mood to talk,” she said, and ended the call quickly.
I couldn’t help being very nervous on Monday morning. Surprisingly, Cassie was in one of her buoyant, happy moods. She was as nice to me as could be and even seemed pleased that Mother’s pregnancy apparently was back to being okay. She had nice things to say about the redecoration of what would be Asa’s nursery, too. Afterward, when we were on our way to school, she told me Daddy had promised to take her to see the work on the new store in Lexington very soon. She knew he hadn’t asked me, and Mother wouldn’t be going.
“It’s going to be our special day,” she said. “We’ll go to lunch, of course. And he’ll introduce me to all his important friends.”
She saw the look on my face and added, “And maybe next time he’ll take you.”
I wasn’t jealous, so I said nothing, not that she would have noticed if I had. She was on a tear about the Heavenstone business and how hard Daddy worked, and how little appreciation Mother showed him. She said the truth was that he talked to her more about the business than anyone, including Uncle Perry. This was one of Cassie’s favorite topics, and if I had heard it once, I had heard it a hundred times. I was st
ill in deep thought about Kent and really wasn’t listening all that closely to what she was saying, anyway.
When we arrived at school, I hurried in, hoping to see and speak to Kent before the bell for homeroom sounded. We were in different homerooms. I did see him talking to some of his friends. He turned and saw me, and I started in his direction but stopped when he turned away abruptly and started down the hall.
After that, I wasn’t going to initiate any conversation with him. I wanted to wait to see if he would speak first to me. He didn’t. In the classes we shared, he went directly to his desk and afterward either left before I did or after and didn’t catch up with me.
I was afraid it would be this way all day, and sure enough, at lunch, he sat at a different table and didn’t acknowledge me at all. By this time, everyone’s curiosity was at high pitch. Bobbi was the first to ask what had happened. The way she asked me caused me to think she already had Kent’s answer, an answer that certainly didn’t flatter me.
“I had the feeling you weren’t happy when I called you,” she said when I didn’t respond quickly enough. “Apparently, Kent didn’t have that good a time, either. Why not?”
I thought hard for a moment and then said, “I think he was disappointed.”
She smiled. “I’ll say. Too bad. You two looked good together. Maybe you just aren’t ready for a mature relationship.” She left to join Noel.