Becky smiled sheepishly. “I know I’m not usually the girliest girl,” she said. “But this is kind of fun.” She smiled. “I’m glad you came with me, Del.”
By the end of the shopping spree, Becky had purchased a pair of pretty silver flats, a delicate silver necklace with a heart charm, and small silver hoops.
“You’ve upped the ante,” I said to Becky. “My old blue dress isn’t going to cut it anymore.” I laughed. “I’m impressed that you’re going all out just for me!”
I waited for her to laugh. But Becky just bit her lip and looked at me as if she was going to say something. But she didn’t.
Wednesday afternoon. The school day was done. I had somehow managed to miss seeing Bob, Ashley, and Hamilton. An avoidance trifecta!
I packed up my books quickly, threw my bag over my shoulder, and slipped out the side door, which is rarely used because it locks behind you. No getting back inside unless you go around the block to the front entrance. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue for me. But that day it was. Just my luck — it had just started to pour.
Sheets of rain lashed down from the sky, and the sidewalk was already running with rivers of water. And I had no umbrella, no raincoat, no nothing. My heart sank as I pressed myself against the metal door to avoid getting wet. If I ran around to the front entrance, I’d get soaked. I sighed. I’d have to wait it out. Either the rain would stop or someone else would come out the side entrance and I could get back inside.
The wind changed direction and I started to get pelted with rain. An image of myself on the living room couch, a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a book in the other made me sigh with longing.
I had just started shivering when I heard the delightful sound of the heavy metal door creaking open. I smiled, ready to thank my savior. I’d be back inside in no time. “Hold …” I started to say, but then my voice trailed off.
The person who had opened the door was Hamilton. He, of course, held an umbrella in his hand.
I was too shocked to ask him to hold the door for me. We stared at each other as it slammed shut behind him. Great. Now I was stuck huddling outside in the rain — with the person I least wanted to see. Can you say awkward?
Hamilton cleared his throat. “Del, I’ve been wanting to apologize to you,” he said.
“What you did was wrong,” I said, unable to make eye contact with him. I felt a steely hard anger inside me.
Wait a minute, I thought. Are you more mad because of the spying — or because of Ashley? I wasn’t sure and that made me feel even angrier.
I glanced up at the sky. Could I make a run for it? No, the rain was getting even worse.
Hamilton stared at his sneakers, then looked up. “But I just can’t apologize,” he said slowly. “I think I was right!”
I turned to him as a big, fat, cold raindrop fell on my head. “You’re right?” I sputtered. “How could you be right?”
“It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.
I looked at him, puzzled. Now what was that supposed to mean? He didn’t make any sense. I thrust my hands in my pockets and turned away. “You shouldn’t have done it,” I told him.
“I know,” he replied. With a sigh, he pulled his sweatshirt hood over his head.
“Del,” he started. “You’re making a terrible decision. There — I said it.” I stared after him, my mouth open in disbelief as he took off, jumping over puddles as he sprinted down the street. It was official. Hamilton Baldwin was crazy. What was he even talking about?
I waited for a while longer, in the hopes that someone else would come out of the building to let me back in. When no one showed up, I decided it was time to make a run for it, rain or no rain. Just before I left I looked down. And there, on the ground where Hamilton had just been standing, was his umbrella. He must have forgotten it, I thought. Too bad for him.
But as I walked home, sheltered from the driving rain by the roomy umbrella, another thought occurred to me. Maybe Hamilton had left the umbrella for me on purpose.
Hamilton got soaking wet so I wouldn’t have to.
I gritted my teeth. Why was he making it so hard for me to hate him?
Mom came home that night grinning from ear to ear. Rose, Aster, Poppy, and I had been having a secret discussion in the living room and we stopped talking as soon as she walked in the door.
I gave my sisters a warning look. It said, Keep your mouths shut. Rose and Aster nodded.
“What are you guys up to?” asked Mom, sitting on the couch and removing her shoes.
“Homework,” I said, although we didn’t have any books with us. I hoped she wouldn’t notice.
“Planning a …” Poppy started to say. Rose quickly put her hand over Poppy’s mouth. Luckily, Mom was distracted.
“I was so busy this afternoon!” she said. “I didn’t even have a second to sit down!” Dad heard Buster barking joyfully at Mom’s return and came in to the room from his study. He sat on the couch next to her, and began to rub her feet.
“More high school kids?” Rose asked.
“Not just high school kids,” Mom said with a grin. “Lots more kids from Del’s school, too!”
I smiled. Amy had been right.
Mom shook her head. “I was taking down order after order,” she said. “There were so many kids coming in I could hardly keep them all straight.”
I leaned forward, my eyes wide. “Mom, you have to keep careful records. I hope you remembered to give everyone a receipt!”
Mom laughed. “Relax, Del, I’m just kidding. I was really careful. It was just all a big blur … except for this one kid from your school who came in to order a corsage for his date. He was just so sweet and nervous! It nearly broke my heart!”
“I wonder who it was,” I said. Then I smiled. “Oh, I bet it’s Carmine Belloni. He’s going to the dance with his dream girl.”
Mom scrunched up her mouth. “No, it wasn’t Carmine,” she said. “But whoever it was told me he was going to the dance with the smartest and prettiest girl in the school. And the flowers should be extra-special.”
“That is sweet,” I said. I wondered who it could be. Both the nice boy and his smart, pretty date.
“Well, that’s exciting,” said Rose. “Almost as exciting as the big party we’re going to, right, Aster?”
“Right,” said Aster, curling her feet underneath her on the sofa.
“I’m thinking that we should both wear these cute pink T-shirts with purple flowers and rhinestones on them,” said Rose. “I saw them at the mall. It would be like when we were little and Mom dressed us in matching clothes. Wouldn’t that be totally awesome?”
We all turned to look at Aster. She couldn’t possibly be excited at the prospect of wearing a pink shirt with purple flowers and rhinestones on it. And matching, no less? But Aster only shrugged. “Awesome,” she said.
My parents and I looked at one another, eyebrows raised. Life was certainly full of surprises.
Chapter Twelve
It was Friday, the day before both proms. Everyone at school was buzzing with excitement. I wondered if it was the same at the high school. Doubtful. They were probably too cool for that.
Heather couldn’t stop talking about how much fun she was going to have hanging out with Billy Walters and his friends on the soccer team. Jessica was happy to be going with Jackson. And Amy had given up on being asked by Brian, couldn’t get up the nerve to ask him herself, and was coming to terms with going stag with Becky and me.
Becky had been surprisingly quiet on the subject. I assumed she was excited to wear her new outfit and have some fun with Amy and me.
I was so happy about the flower orders that I was even looking forward to the prom. Just as long as I avoided seeing Hamilton and Ashley slow dancing together!
I hadn’t seen too much of Ashley the past week. I had been expecting her to gloat about going to the dance with Hamilton. But she hadn’t said anything about it at all. Something is very fishy, I thought.
&nb
sp; Luckily, Mom had gotten me out of gym class again to help out with the hundreds of corsages we needed to make that night. So I didn’t have to see Ashley or Hamilton that afternoon. I would see enough of them all tomorrow, that was for sure.
My entire family assembled in the store that afternoon and everyone had a great time gluing and designing and arranging. We also mapped out a plan for the next day: We’d get to the store bright and early to do the finishing touches. The only fly in the ointment was that Poppy had a birthday party that afternoon, so Dad would have to leave early to take her. But we’d be fine without them for a couple of hours. Afterward, he and Poppy would come back to the store, so Rose, Aster, and I could go home to get ready for our respective parties, and Mom wouldn’t have to be alone.
We closed up and walked home together, joking and laughing. Just as we stepped in the front door of my house, my cell phone rang. It was Amy.
“Hey, Amy,” I said. “What’s up —”
“Del, I don’t know how to tell you this,” she said. “I was at the mall tonight getting new shoes for the dance and I saw something … weird.”
“Weird?” I echoed.
“Very weird,” she replied. “I’m just going to come out and say it.” She took a deep breath. “IsawBeckywalkingoutofFleurwithacorsageboxinherhand,” she said all in a rush.
“What?” I said. My blood went cold.
“I saw Becky walking out of Fleur with a corsage box in her hand,” Amy repeated, more slowly this time.
“That can’t be,” I finally answered. “Becky said she didn’t want a corsage. Plus, she’d never go to Fleur. She’s my best friend.” I shook my head. “Are you sure it wasn’t someone else? Someone who looks like her?” I suggested hopefully.
“So someone who looks just like Becky borrowed her purple Converse high-tops, and turned around when I called her name, and then took off?” Amy asked.
“Yeah,” I said, my heart sinking. There was no denying it. My very best friend had betrayed me. But … why? Did she like their flowers better? Was she mad at me for some reason? Getting even with me for something I didn’t realize I had done? It just didn’t make sense. I thought for a moment. She had been acting weird lately — not answering her phone, being quieter that usual. What was going on?
“I’m sorry, Del,” said Amy. “I’m just telling you what I saw.” Then her voice brightened. “Hey, my new shoes are so gorgeous,” she said. “Wait till you see them. You want to go over to the dance together tomorrow? You could pick me up on your way.”
“Sure,” I said distractedly. “See you tomorrow.”
I hung up, frozen in disbelief. Why had Becky gone to Fleur? Especially without telling me? I tried to remember if there was anything I had done to make her turn on me like this. Nothing made sense.
But I did know one thing — her actions were completely inexcusable.
I flipped open my phone and pressed her number. But it rang and rang with no answer.
“Becky, it’s Del,” I said when her voice mail picked up. “I heard something weird from Amy. Will you please call me back? I think we need to talk.”
I hung up, and waited a whole five minutes, while all around me my family settled in and Dad called Jade Mountain to order Chinese food. When no text or call from Becky came through, I called her again. I could feel myself starting to get flushed with growing anger. Once again, I got her voice mail. Was she avoiding me?
“Becky, it’s Del again,” I said. I paused. “Um … so Amy told me you got a corsage at Fleur. I just don’t understand why you’d betray me like that. You told me you didn’t even want a corsage!” My voice began to get louder. “I thought you were my best friend. But I don’t think best friends act this way. I thought we didn’t keep secrets from —”
“BEEP! If you are finished leaving your message, press one. If you would like to rerecord your message, press two,” droned the chipper voice on Becky’s phone.
I couldn’t believe it! Becky’s voice mail had cut me off! Angrily, I pressed one and slapped my phone shut. I fumed all through dinner with my family, and didn’t even enjoy the moo goo gai pan. As I got ready for bed, I kept checking my phone, certain Becky would call me back to explain or apologize. But there was no word from her.
The next morning was crazy busy, which was good — I had less time to dwell on the Becky situation. (She still hadn’t called me back.) Mom realized we had forgotten to make a dozen boutonnieres, so as soon as we got to the store, we had to rush around to finish them before the middle and high school kids started coming in. I also checked all the corsages to see if they needed any last-minute fixes. When I wasn’t hot-glue-gunning errant sequins, I was trying to locate extra corsage boxes, and then lining up the corsages by order number so they’d be easy to locate.
The high school kids came in on their own and seemed pretty cool about everything. Most of the middle school kids came in with their moms and looked a little nervous. It was the first formal dance any of us had ever been to, so I guess it made sense. I smiled and waved to all the kids I knew from my school. Carmine proudly showed me the bluebell wrist corsage he’d picked out. “Look at this, Del,” he said. “Penelope told me these are her favorite flowers. She’s going to love it!”
“Great, Carmine,” I said. And I was happy for him. But I was going through the motions with a heavy heart. I was angry at Becky. That, coupled with the anticipation of having to watch master spy Hamilton and snooty Princess Ashley dance together, was almost too much to think about.
I noticed Mom doing some last-minute tinkering with a snap-on corsage that was so lovely it took my breath away. Pink and purple hydrangea florets and stephanotises surrounded by delicately gathered tulle, and set on a thick pink ribbon for tying around the wrist. In the middle, perched as if it were in mid-nectar sip, sat a tiny gossamer butterfly. I had never seen anything quite so adorable in my life.
I gave Mom a curious look. She grinned. “I kind of went all out on this one,” she said. “I couldn’t resist. This is the one for that boy I told you about. The one who is going with the smartest and prettiest girl in your middle school?” She smiled. “I mean the smartest and prettiest girl after you, of course!” she added.
“Oh, Mom,” I said, shaking my head. What a goof-ball. I took a closer look at the delicate corsage. “You really outdid yourself,” I said.
Mom seemed touched by my compliment. “Thanks, Del,” she replied.
“Where is he?” I wondered. “I’m really curious about who this mystery boy is!”
Rose was behind the counter, fidgeting and checking the time on the wall clock. She was raring to start getting ready for the slumber party. I, on the other hand, was perfectly happy to postpone going to the prom indefinitely. But we had to wait for Dad and Poppy to get there. We were keeping the store open an hour late for any last-minute pickups and we all agreed that Mom shouldn’t have to handle a rush all by herself.
Rose turned to Aster. “Which pajamas are you planning to wear tonight?” she wanted to know.
Aster shrugged. “My usual,” she said.
Rose blanched. “Not that old Smiths T-shirt and the saggy long johns!” she cried in disbelief. Rose took her sleepwear seriously — pink, cute, and always matching.
Aster bit her lip. I guessed that was exactly what she had planned on wearing.
“I wonder what’s keeping your father?” Mom said worriedly. “It’s time for you girls to go home and get ready.” She smiled. “And I really want you to come by the store so I can take your picture, Del! I can’t wait to see you all dressed up for your very first formal dance!”
I looked around, slightly mortified. Luckily, the store was empty. Mom was making such a big deal out of this. But I couldn’t argue, since I was picking up Amy and our store is on the way to her house.
“I’ll be here,” I told Mom.
Just then the phone rang, and Mom answered. “Petal Pushers,” she said. She listened for a moment. “Oh my poor baby. That’s terrib
le. Oh, give her a big kiss for me. You stay there and take care of her. I’ll figure something out….” She hung up and looked at the three of us, her mouth set in a grim line.
“That was Daddy,” she explained. “Girls, I have bad news. Poppy ate way too much candy at the birthday party. She has a terrible stomachache and Dad’s afraid she’s going to throw up!” She grimaced. “So he can’t come in to help me with the last pickups tonight.” She gave us a pleading look. “I hate to ask this, but could one of you stay here for a while?”
Fine with me!
“Sure!” I said to Mom. “No problem.”
At the exact the same time, Aster practically jumped in the air and said, “I can do it!”
Rose stared at Aster, her mouth open. “This is the most important party of the school year,” she said. “You have to go, Aster.”
I gaped at Rose. I couldn’t believe it — she was making the ultimate sacrifice. What a sister!
“So let Del stay,” she concluded.
I snorted. I should have known.
“Actually, Mom, I don’t mind staying at all,” I spoke up. “I’ll just call Amy and tell her I’ll meet her at the dance later.”
Aster leaned over and grabbed my arm. “No, Del,” she said firmly. “I insist.”
Rose shook her head emphatically. “No, Aster, if you’re late you’ll miss the makeovers! It’s the best part!”
The word makeovers seemed to seal the deal for Aster. She took a deep breath and turned to her twin. “Rosie, I love you and I love that you want me to go to this party with you. But frankly, I would rather lick the bottom of the flower cooler than go to a girly-girl slumber party.”
I stared at Aster. That was a lot of words in a row for her.
Rose’s face fell. “But … I don’t get it. You seemed so excited!”
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