“Can I get you something? Are you feeling ok?” I asked her.
She came into my room and sat on the bed. “Where are you guys going?”
“There’s a dinner tonight for Charlie’s swim team.” I gestured at my closet. “I’m looking for something to wear.”
“I saw Charlie in his tie. He looks cute.”
“He looks like you,” I told her. “You, with blonde hair.”
“The curls are mine, the color is all Dad.” She reached up and touched her hair. “Charlie reminds me of Dad, sometimes.”
God forbid.
“What are you wearing?” Cassie asked.
I sighed. “Jeans, I guess. I don’t have anything fancy.”
She studied me for a minute. “What about my black dress?”
“You’d let me borrow it?” I was shocked. In my whole life, I had never, ever been allowed to touch Cassie’s things.
“It would fit you, I think. But it’ll be short. Go get it and try it on.”
I brought it in from her room, and it did fit. She helped me pin up my hair into a messy bun, with pieces framing my face, and looked at me critically and told me which eyebrow hairsto pluck. I had so much fun, I didn’t want to leave when I heard the doorbell ring.
“Thanks, Cass,” I told her softly.
“Sister stuff,” she said. “You look pretty good in that dress, even if your ass doesn’t fill it out like mine did.”
Well, nothing was ever perfect.
Charlie and I went to open the door, and Luke was there with Danny Bob. Charlie shrieked and grabbed the dog, twirling around with him, then running to put him back in his usual place on the bed. “You probably can’t tell, but he’s pretty happy to see Danny Bob,” I explained. “Just a little. Thank you for bringing him home.”
Luke looked me up and down. “Wow. You look beautiful,” he said.
I shook my head. “It’s a nice dress.”
“It’s you.”
I smiled at him, feeing really shy, and he bent and kissed my cheek. So despite my verbal puke into his voicemail, maybe he still liked me. I put on my old coat as Charlie came back down, and I nudged him into thanking Luke for returning his dog BFF. In the car over to Annie’s, we peppered Luke with questions about New York. Had he gone to the Statue of Liberty? Eaten a hot dog from a cart (that was Charlie’s dream)? Seen the Museum of Natural History (mine)? Sadly, he hadn’t done any of these interesting things.
“I was busy doing boring stuff,” Luke said. “In fact, I’ve always been busy with boring stuff in New York. I’ve never done any of that.”
Charlie was aghast that Luke had let the opportunity of eating from a cart pass him by. “Maybe we could go together, someday,” he suggested. Nothing like inviting yourself.
“I’d like that,” Luke told him. I frowned at him, and he shook his head at me, not understanding. He couldn’t raise Charlie’s hopes like that. Or mine.
We turned into a long driveway. “Oh my,” I breathed, when the Whitaker/Rendics’ house finally came into view. It was totally modern, with huge glass windows and flat, straight lines, grey with some blonde wood and dark steel mixed in. And it was huge. Like five of Nana’s houses, combined.
“People LIVE here?” Charlie demanded, stunned. I had to agree.
“Macdara and her mom and dad live here,” I answered.
“Who else?” he asked, and Luke laughed.
A valet came up to the driver’s side, and we all got out. “Why is that man taking Luke’s car?” Charlie whispered to me.
“He isn’t stealing it,” I whispered back. “I’ll explain later.”
