As we were getting back in the car, I received a text from Ali asking me to call her as soon as I could. I showed Garrett the message and called her before we’d left the parking spot.
“Hey, Ali,” I said when she answered.
“Salem! Oh, my god, listen to this. I’m in the emergency room—don’t worry, I’m fine. We think I sprained my ankle.”
“Oh, no! What happened?”
“It’s extremely juvenile and quite embarrassing. I was playing in bed this morning with Sam and Josh. Anyhow, I was jumping on the bed and rolled my ankle. It’s huge! It looks like a bowling ball,” Ali explained.
In the background, I could hear Josh say, “No, it doesn’t. It looks like the ankle of a girl who doesn’t have good balance.”
“Shut up, Josh!” she hissed at him.
“Anyhow,” Ali came back to our conversation. “I won’t be able to come to the mall this afternoon. But I’m still going to be at the birthday dinner. I’ll make Josh carry me if I have to.”
“I’ll just put you in a sling and carry you on my back. Have you seen those baby backpacks that parents put their kid in? It’s like a sling to them. You’re not much taller than a baby, and you sure act like one,” Josh commented in the background.
I smiled while trying to stifle the laugh. I covered my mouth and tried not to let Ali hear me laughing.
“Okay, I hope you feel better this afternoon and that the swelling goes down,” I said to her.
“Sam said it would be fine. But I’m supposed to elevate it this afternoon so I can come to dinner with everyone.”
“That’s good to hear. I look forward to seeing you guys tonight.”
“You know, if you wanted a friend to go to the bear factory, I bet Brandon would go,” Ali offered.
“Oh, yeah! Bran would dig the bear factory,” Josh enthusiastically said in the background.
“You think so?” I asked.
“Brandon would love it,” Ali confirmed.
“Okay, I’ll talk to Garrett, and maybe we’ll see if he wants to go.”
“He will. We’ll see you tonight, Salem.”
I ended the call with Ali and told Garrett about her ankle and how she’d hurt it. I told him she sounded like she was still meeting us for dinner tonight.
“Sam will keep her off her ankle today and make sure she’s rested for tonight.”
“She mentioned that she thought Brandon would like to go to the bear factory.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. In fact, even Josh agreed.”
“Would you like Brandon to come along?” Garrett asked.
“Yeah, I know he’s skittish, but I understand why. He might like expanding his friend list to some girls.”
Garrett pulled his phone out to call James, and though I couldn’t hear exactly what was said, it sounded like James welcomed the invite.
“It’s a store where people can make their own bears or stuffed animals. Salem said she’s always wanted to make one, but never had anyone to go with her in high school. So it’s what we’re doing this afternoon.”
There was a pause while James was talking, and then Garrett spoke again, confirming the time and location. When he was finished, he set his phone down on the center console and said that James and Brandon would meet us there.
Garrett and I killed some time by walking around the mall until it was time to meet James and Brandon. As it neared our meeting time, we stood in front of the store, looking at all of the stuffed animals on display. There was so much to consider when deciding what to make. Tons to decide on. Suddenly, I grew nervous to take three guys into this store. Would they have the patience to wander with me while I decided on what bear to make?
