"You're kidding, right?" Kit asked, as they became serious again.
"Yeah, I'm kidding," Julia said, "but you should have seen the look on your face. The point is, what you want is someone who will love you for who you are, not for what they want you to be. Just be honest, be yourself, and you won't go wrong."
"I truly think you're beautiful, inside and out, but, we girls don't mind cheating a little when it comes to men. You might benefit from a few makeup tips. Nothing major, mind you, just a little liquid makeup, some blush, something to bring out those beautiful eyes and maybe some lip gloss." Julia said, now looking closely at the small crescent scar left on Kit's cheek by her run-in with Caesar.
"And you've got to stop letting guys hit you in the face. Scars on a guy can look cool, sometimes even sexy, but on a girl... not so much. A little concealer will take care of that. In the battle of the sexes, it never hurts to stack the deck in your favor."
"Julia, could you, I mean, would you, show me how to put makeup on?" Kit asked.
"Sure I could," Julia said, pausing to think, but then her eyes lit up, "But I've got a better idea. You know what we need?"
"What?" Kit asked, puzzled.
"What we need is a spa day; beauty treatments, facials, manicures, pedicures- the works. We'll have our pores opened, our skin exfoliated, our hair done and our eyebrows waxed. Call your mother, she's going with us too. It'll all be my treat."
At first, Celeste was reluctant, but Julia's excitement was infectious. Soon the three of them were reclining comfortably, side by side, receiving their facials. Celeste had to admit; she had never felt so pampered in her life.
After that, they all enjoyed manicures and pedicures. Kit got a new cut, styling and highlights in her hair and an aesthetician waxed and refined the arch of her brow, finishing by carefully tweezing the tiny hairs between them. The next step was make up. When they finally finished, Kit looked at herself in the mirror, amazed by the face that looked back.
"Wow, is that me?" Kit asked,
"You bet it is!" Julia said, looking over her shoulder. "And you know what? You're hot! Still think you're not pretty enough for David?"
"But do you think he'll like it?" Kit asked.
"Sweetie, he may not quite be a man yet, but he's still a guy. Trust me, he'll like it!" Julia assured her.
Celeste appeared from the hair and makeup area.
"Well, what do you think?" she asked them both, slowly turning in place.
"You look amazing," Julia said, "ten years younger."
Kit looked up and down at her mother. The tired look was nearly gone from her eyes, and her whole face looked refreshed. Her new hairstyle was also very becoming. Kit was in awe...
"Mom, you look beautiful." Kit said, hugging her.
"Well, you look pretty fantastic yourself," Celeste said, seeing the glean in Kit's eyes.
"Thank you Julia. That was a wonderful treat," Celeste said, as her eyes welled up.
"Now quit that," Julia said, "you'll ruin your makeover. Besides, it was my pleasure. I had fun too!"
The trio stopped for a quick bite then went their separate ways home. Upon arriving at the apartment, they found a familiar face sitting on the stoop.
"David, what are you doing here?" Kit said.
"Oh, I was just out for a walk and thought I might stop by and say hello."
Kit sat down beside him on the stoop as Celeste climbed the steps to the apartment.
"It's nice to see you again David," Celeste said.
"You too, Mrs. Collins." David said.
"Don't stay out too late Kit." She said, as the door closed behind her.
There was an awkward silence for a moment while they sat next to each other. Kit was nervously waiting for David to say something about her new look.
"Well?" Kit said, "What do you think?"
"About what?" David replied.
"Don't you notice anything different about me?" Kit asked, frustration rising in her voice.
"Oh, of course," David said, with exaggerated enthusiasm. "You got new Nike's. They look really good on you.”
"Don't you notice anything else?" she asked, now she was getting really irritated with him.
"Hmmm, no, I don't think so..." he replied slowly; his brow furrowed in mock concentration.
Kit was positively livid now. She seethed with frustration at the thought that he was so lacking in his powers of observation, that he didn't even see the change in her appearance.
"Guys are so stupid!" Kit raged, standing up, preparing to go inside.
As she started to turn, his hand clutched hers and pulled her back down. A powerful arm pulled her in close, cradling her, as David's mouth found hers. Kit struggled for just a few beats, then surrendered completely, mewing a muffled cry. Her arm went up, and around his neck and her hand ran through his soft brown hair. Their kiss lasted a good fifteen seconds. David pulled back a little, and looked into her eyes.
"Y-you noticed," Kit smiled, breathless.
"Of course I noticed!" David said, smiling back, then kissed her again.
Chapter 20 - A Horse Race
Kit awoke to the sound of something pelting her third-floor bedroom window. She glanced at the clock. It was almost 6:00 AM. Going to the window, she looked out to see David standing along the sidewalk below. He was using his slingshot to hurl tiny pebbles against her window. He barely pulled back the elastic band, lest even their small size, shatter her window.
"David, what are you doing here? It is six-o-clock in the morning. Did you even go home last night?" Kit said, trying to yell down in a whisper.
"Sure I did, but I'm from the country, where we get up a lot earlier than you city folk. Six a.m., is considered sleeping-in back there."
"What do you want?" Kit asked, as her hands ran through her hair, primping slightly.
"I want to take you someplace," David said.
"Where?" Kit asked.
"Get dressed, it's a surprise," David replied.
"My Mom isn't even up yet for work," Kit said.
"Leave her a note. Tell her that you went with me."
"Give me ten minutes." Kit said.
Kit rushed into the bathroom, hurriedly brushed her teeth, washed her face and brushed her hair. On the way out, she passed her mother getting up to get ready for work.
"Why are you up so early, it's summer vacation, or did you forget?" Celeste asked, yawning.
"David's downstairs. He says he wants to take me somewhere; He says it’s a surprise. I was going to leave you a note."
"It's okay baby; I trust him. Just don't forget to take your cell phone."
"Got it right here!" Kit held it up, and then stuffed it in her pocket.
"Thanks Mom, love you," Kit said, as she kissed her on the cheek, then flew out the door.
Celeste walked to the window and looked down. She saw Kit bound down the steps, jump into David’s arms, then watched them share a tender kiss. "Oh, to be that young again," she mused aloud.
"Okay, enough mystery," Kit said, "where are we going?"
"Alright, I guess I can tell you that much. We're going to Belmont Park."
"The horse-racing track?" Kit asked.
"Yeah, my Pa will be there. He's the trainer for two of the horses running today."
"Sounds cool. I'd like to meet your Dad," Kit said.
"That's kind of the idea," David said.
Kit and David arrived on the train at Belmont Park. David escorted Kit to the paddock area where he showed the guard at the gate a special pass for trainers and other people with a legitimate reason to be there. David led Kit down the rows of stalls. She marveled at the size and beauty of the animals.
"They're magnificent!" Kit remarked.
David stopped at one particular stall and greeted the horse occupying it with a gentle rub of the head.
"Kit, meet Xanadu Princess," David said, "she's one of the horses that Pa trains."
“Zanadoo, what’s Zanadoo?” she asked.
“Yeah, I had to look that one up online too. I guess it’s from a really old poem by a guy named Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree, blah, blah, blah,” he recited. “I remembered that we studied it in school.”
"She's just gorgeous, David."
"That she is," a voice said, coming from behind her.
Kit turned to see the man standing there. She guessed he was about forty-five, give or take, with the same hair as David. He had a touch of silver at the temples and carried the few extra pounds common in men of that age, but otherwise, was quite handsome and fit.
"So, are you going to introduce me to your friend David?"
"Sure Pa, this is Kit,” David said. "Kit, this is my Pa, Joel Tyson."
"Pleased to meet you Mr. Tyson," Kit said, trying to sound impressively formal.
"None of that Mr. Tyson stuff, Missy, Call me Joel." He said, with that same country charm that she had found so appealing in David, "pleased to meet you too."
Kit extended her hand to shake, and, like David's, was again, struck by the way it was swallowed up by the immensity of his huge hands. There was no denying the genetic link between them.
"Well, I see you weren't exaggerating," Joel said, "She is a mighty pretty little filly!"
"You'll have to excuse Pa, everything that comes out of his mouth seems to relate to horses," David replied, "he gets a kick out of embarrassing me."
"That's okay," Kit said, "I think he's nice."
"See there David, she thinks I'm nice," Joel laughed.
"You like horses Kit?" Joel asked.
"Well, I think they're beautiful, but to be honest, coming from the city, the only horses I've seen much, are the ones the police ride."
"Oh, we'll have to fix that. If you intend spending time around David, you'll have to learn to ride, yeah, no doubt about it. We have some friends who live close to here that let us use their horses anytime we like. David can take you up there to learn. Later, you might want to take a drive up to Connecticut and David's grandparents. They have some fine animals." Joel said.
"I think I'd like that," Kit said, with genuine interest.
"Pa, I'm going to show Kit around a bit more, then we'll meet you up at the clubhouse before the races start," David said.
"Okay son, you two have a good time."
David continued giving Kit the tour of the paddock area.
"So, what did you think of my Pa?" David asked.
"I think he's great. You're lucky to have such a wonderful father. I never knew my Dad. He left before I was old enough to walk," Kit said.
"Yeah, I guess I am lucky," David said, "I know he misses my Ma something fierce, but he hides it pretty well."
"David, you told me she was sick for a long time, but you never said what she died from. I'll understand if you don't want to talk about it."
"No, it's okay Kit. I can talk about it now." David said. "She died from ovarian cancer. After trying everything else, Pa got so desperate that he took her to some faith healer in Mexico, hoping for a miracle. I stayed with my Ma's folks while they were gone. In the end, none of that mattered, she just wasted away. She died on her birthday. She was just thirty-six years old."
"That's terrible," Kit sympathized, "I'm sorry David; I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."
"That's okay Kit. She always said dying was just a part of living, and that if she had to go, she was glad she had the chance to know Pa and me."
Kit reached out and put her arm around David, holding him, and feeling his pain. She wished that she could say, or do something, to take that pain away. She knew that she could not.
"I wish she could have known you," David said. "I know she would have loved you. You're a lot like her."
Trying to steer the conversation in a happier direction, Kit asked when the horses that his Dad trained were scheduled to race. David pulled a racing form from his pocket and scanned it.
"Xanadu's Princess is in the second race, and JoAnn's folly is in the fourth."
"Do you think they'll win?" Kit asked, excited.
"Pa says Xanadu's Princess is a shoe-in to win, but the odds are pretty long against her. If she did, she'd pay about twenty-to-one."
"David, let's place a bet on her. I don't know why; I'm just feeling lucky. I think she'll win. I have faith in her."
"I don't know Kit, there's never any guarantees, but if you want, I suppose we could put a two-dollar bet on her."
"No David, I've got more faith in her than that," Kit said, pulling a hundred from her pocket. "Let's put it all down."
"I don't know Kit; that's a lot of money. Besides, we're too young to bet."
"But your Dad could. He'd place it for us, wouldn't he?"
"Okay, we can ask, but no crying about it if you lose. Pa always says, if you can't afford to lose it, you should never place the bet in the first place.”
David and Kit met Joel at the clubhouse and asked him to put Kit’s money on their horse.
"Well, It's against my better judgment, but if you feel that strongly about it, I'll do it. Sometimes you do have to trust your gut, and if the horse won when you felt that sure about it, and you didn't have money on her, well, that would be even worse."
Joel returned from the betting window and placed the ticket in Kit's hand.
"Little lady, I hope you're hunch is right, because I just put a hundred down on her too." Joel said.
"Dad," David teased his father, "you've never been a gambler."
"True, but I have faith in the little lady's hunch, and sometimes that's enough."
The track announcer's voice came over the P.A. system.
"The horses are approaching the gate for the start of the second race," the voice said.
There were a lot of last second jostling as the horses were placed in the gate with, one horse in particular, being especially difficult. It was Xanadu's Princess!
"The horses are at the post, the flag is up, and they're off,” the track announcer yelled, loudly enthusiastic.
Kit, David and Joel watched the race, loudly cheering their horse on. Xanadu's Princess, was at the rear of the pack but slowly moving up. Kit was getting hoarse from screaming, "Go, Princess, Go," she cried out. The lead horse started to fall back, and Xanadu's Princess started to make her move around the outside. She was now fifth, then fourth. They were in the home stretch, when Xanadu's Princess moved up sharply, as if her rider had suddenly shifted gears. She pulled ahead and accelerated to third, then second. She was running even with the lead horse, and in the final few seconds, pulled ahead to win by half a length. Kit grabbed David and kissed him and they all started jumping up and down like crazy people. Joel grabbed Kit and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"From now on, you are officially, Lucky Lady," Joel said, shouting a roaring, “Yeee-haaw!”
‘
Kit and David boarded the train for the return trip to the city. Kit sat next to him and laid her head on his chest as he slumped down in her seat.
"Tired?" he asked her.
"Just a little," she answered lazily.
She found the steady rhythm of the train's wheels clattering over the tracks soothing.
"Thank you David,” Kit said, snuggling deeper against him.
"What for?" he asked.
"For a wonderful day," Kit replied.
David turned, smiled and kissed the top of her head, as he breathed in the sweet fragrance of strawberries from her shampoo.
"Anytime, Babe," he said, "Anytime."
Chapter 21 - Nothing Like Riding A Bike
Kit waited by the door for her mother to get home. She paced nervously until she heard the sound of Celeste fumbling for her keys and opened the door. Celeste had a grocery bag in one arm and appeared startled, but grateful, for her help.
"Oh thanks Kit, I just picked up a few things at the market for dinner. I Hope you're hungry. I'm making spaghetti."
"Mom," Kit interrupted her, panic in her voice. "My paintings a
re gone!"
"Oh that?” Celeste replied, “Will you relax? Sybil knew you completed the paintings and sent her man over to pick them up. Something about getting them framed for your exhibition. Why, is something wrong?"
"Yes, something's wrong. He took all of them."
"Wasn't he supposed to?" Celeste asked.
Sybil was just finishing her evaluation of the paintings her assistant had picked up earlier that afternoon.
"Sybil, you have a call on line one from Kit Collins," her assistant said.
"Hello Kit, this is Sybil. How are you, child?"
"I'm good," Kit replied. Did you get a chance to look at my paintings?"
"Yes, I'm doing that right now. They're even better than I hoped. This is fabulous work."
"That's great. I'm glad you like them."
"Yes, I asked for ten, and you gave me twelve. You must have worked your tail off. The last two are especially good. Looks like you really put your heart into them."
"Yeah Sybil, that's what I was calling to talk to you about. Those two, were picked up by mistake when your man came for the others. They aren't for sale."
"Kit," Sybil said, "You can't get attached to a particular painting if you're going to be a serious artist. I know they're the first paintings you've done of David, but you can paint more. We need as many of your works for this exhibition as we can get. Besides, they are some of your best effort."
"You don't understand Sybil. I will only paint one first painting of him, and the second one, of the two of us together, is very special to me. I planned to give it to him as a gift. So you see, I can't sell either of them. I just can't."
"Okay Kit, I understand. Will you at least allow me to have them for the exhibition only? I promise that they will be displayed only. After the show, they go right back to you."
"Do I have your promise?" Kit asked.
"Scout's honor!" Sybil pledged. "Oh, and one other thing, I need you to come into the gallery tomorrow. I have a photographer coming out to take some publicity shots of you. And right after that, the Times is sending someone over to do a piece about you for the Sunday Arts section, so wear something nice, okay?"
"Tomorrow?" Kit asked, "No, tomorrow's no good. I'm sorry; I have plans."
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