“Oh. I see.” But from the tone of his voice, Chris could tell he didn’t see at all. “Gee, I wonder how she knows Eric Caulfield.”
“Oh, I introduced them.” That was true, in a way. If Chris hadn’t suggested that Susan take turns being queen of Centennial Week, she never would have met him. “And, um, I think you’d better not say anything to him about it,”
“Why not?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Again Chris’s head was spinning. “I just happen to know that he’s ... shy about that kind of thing. He’s the type of person who likes to keep his life as a reporter completely separate from his personal life.”
“Oh. Okay.” Jeff still seemed a bit confused, but Chris was pretty sure that she’d managed to sound convincing.
“So,” she said brightly, “why don’t we go sit over there?” She pointed to the opposite corner of Fozzy’s, to a table as far away from Susan and Eric’s as possible.
Meanwhile, Susan and Eric were having a similar conversation. “So how come you didn’t tell me you had a twin?”
“I told you I had a sister.” Susan tried to sound matter-of-fact.
“Yes, but you said she was older.”
“She is older. She’s seven minutes older.” She laughed, but Eric remained serious. He didn’t seem angry as much as hurt, she decided. And she suspected that his reasons for feeling that way had less to do with his relationship with her as a reporter than as a friend. Perhaps even as a boyfriend.
He was looking at her, his green eyes clouded, waiting for an explanation.
“I guess I was afraid that there’d be too much emphasis on the fact that the queen of Centennial Week had a twin if you knew. Instead of the town’s history or the research project or the honor of being chosen. Besides, Susan is very shy. I think she’d hate getting any kind of publicity.”
“She doesn’t look that shy to me.” He glanced over at Chris. Underneath the table, she and Jeff were holding hands.
“Not with boys. Or with anybody on a one-to-one basis. I’m talking about being in the spotlight. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Well ... I guess so,” Eric drawled.
“Oh, good! I knew you would!”
“Hey, how comes she knows Jeff Miller?”
Susan shrugged. “You know how small towns are: Everybody knows everybody?”
“Yes, but you didn’t know him until this week.”
“Just one of those things.” Susan flashed her biggest smile, then stood up abruptly. “Well, I’m stuffed,” she said. “I could use a brisk walk. Let’s go over to the park. I can show you some more of Whittington.”
“Don’t you want to introduce me to your twin?”
“Um, some other time. Susan and I had kind of an argument before. Right after dinner. We’re not exactly on speaking terms at the moment.”
Eric had barely finished his pistachio ice cream. But he, too, stood up, still looking wary.
He had a feeling there was something funny going on. Aside from whatever reporter’s instincts he liked to think he possessed, he was really beginning to like this girl. And that gave him extra insights into her. Yes, there was something peculiar in the air, although he was at a loss as to what it could possibly be.
He decided it was nothing more than a strained relationship between two sisters who happened to be twins. Maybe there was something mysterious in their past, some feud in the family that had never been resolved ... And it was quite possible that none of it was any of his business. Still, he vowed to keep his eyes and ears open. He didn’t like feeling as if he were missing out on something.
For now, however, he was determined to enjoy the rest of that evening. The mysterious twin at his side was already more than just the subject of his upcoming feature article. And if things worked out the way he hoped they would, the rest of the summer was going to be a lot better than he’d expected.
Well, Eric, he thought with a grin, you’ve certainly come a long way from kindergarten graduations and dog shows!
Chapter Ten
“Well, what do you think, Sooz? Have we gone too far this time?”
It was late Wednesday evening. The twins were in Chris’s room having a powwow. Chris was sprawled across her bed. Susan sat beside her in an old rocking chair that had been in the family for years and had only recently been appropriated by Chris for her bedroom.
“Boy, this was the longest, craziest evening of my entire life! I was already beginning to have doubts. But when I walked into Fozzy’s and saw you sitting there with Eric Caulfield ... I think you and I had better take a minute to sit back and see where we are, okay?”
“Sounds reasonable,” Susan agreed.
“Okay. First of all, we’re not even halfway through Centennial Week, right?”
“Well, you could look at it that way,” Susan said amiably. “On the other hand, you could also say that we’ve already managed to get almost halfway through Centennial Week without anyone catching on.”
Chris thought for a moment. “That’s true. I suppose that it’s all a question of how you look at it. On that point, anyway.”
“Definitely.” Susan nodded emphatically.
“Okay, Second of all, Jeff Miller, who happens to be a key player in this episode, is beginning to think that one Christine Pratt is totally off her rocker. If you’ll excuse the expression. I mean when we were at Fozzy’s tonight and I told him I wouldn’t introduce him to my very own twin sister because of ... of some stupid agreement we had, I thought he was going to burst out laughing!”
“But he didn’t.”
“No, he didn’t. But still ... I felt really weird making up a story like that.”
“Maybe,” Susan said calmly. “But the fact remains that Jeff bought it and that awkward, embarrassing moment passed.”
“Well ... yes.”
“And how are things between you two now?”
Chris closed her eyes and smiled. A dreamy expression softened her whole face. “Couldn’t be better. I’m pretty certain that this king and queen are going to be continuing their royal relationship long after the glory of Centennial Week has passed.” She opened her eyes suddenly. “Unless, of course, something goes wrong.”
“In other words, the Jeff Miller situation is more or less under control.”
“More or less. Yes, I guess you could say that. But wait!” Chris went on, sitting upright. “What about Eric Caulfield?”
“What about Eric Caulfield?”
“Now he presents us with double trouble. First of all, there are the social aspects.”
“Meaning?”
“That you two are—if I read the signals correctly—embarking on a little romance of your own.”
Susan turned a pleasant shade of pink, and a small smile crept across her lips. “I’m not about to deny it.”
“Ah-hah! There it is! Another complication!”
“Another potential complication.” Susan was quick to correct her.
“All right. But that’s only half of it. And the lesser half, I might add. We can’t forget the fact that Eric Caulfield is a newspaper reporter. Sure he has his charm, and those big blue eyes of his ...”
“They’re green!”
“Blue, green, whatever. His job, my dear twin, is to tell the world about people who are doing things they shouldn’t be doing!”
“Yes, that’s true. But you’re forgetting one important thing.”
“What?” Chris blinked.
“First, he has to find out that people are doing things they shouldn’t be doing! And the whole idea of the Hot Fudge Sunday Affair is to keep that little fact a secret!”
“But he already knows we’re twins! I mean he knows that Chris Pratt has a twin.”
Susan still refused to become distraught. “Yes, he does know that. And as far as I can tell, that hasn’t made him the least bit suspicious. Unless, of course,” she added, wearing an expression of innocence, “you know something I don’t know.”
By this p
oint, Chris was scowling. “Sooz, I get the definite feeling that you’re unwilling to let me talk you out of us continuing with the Hot Fudge Sunday Affair.”
“I’m just giving you the facts.” Susan smiled at her sister sweetly. “You’re entitled to draw your own conclusions.”
“So what you’re saying, then, is that I’m getting all upset over nothing. That even though we’ve already ran into some difficulties—some pretty messy ones, too, I might add—we’ve both managed to work around them. And you’re saying that there’s no real reason to discontinue our plan.”
“Exactly.” Susan dragged herself out of the rocking chair and sat down beside her sister on the bed. “You’re the one who’s always talking about rising to meet the challenge and all that. Here’s a challenge ... so let’s rise to it! We’ve-come this far, and no one’s the wiser. We’ve both been having a blast being queen, you’ve got Jeff, and I’ve got Eric ... so why change anything?”
“I suppose.” Chris pondered what her sister had just said. It all made sense; everything Susan said always seemed to make sense. But she still wasn’t convinced. And she knew what was still bothering her. Jeff Miller.
“Sooz, what happens tomorrow? Here Jeff and I just had this lovely evening together”—the dreamy look came over her once again—”and tomorrow morning he’s going to be faced with an entirely different person who’s playing the part of his queen! What’s going to happen then?”
For the first time. since the beginning of their discussion, Susan, too, looked worried. “I guess you’ve got a point. In less than twelve hours, I’m going to be faced with a lovesick football star who mistakenly thinks I’m the object of his affections. That could turn into a confusing situation, all right.”
“I’ll say! I don’t want everything to get all mixed up again as far as Jeff and I are concerned.”
“I don’t blame you.” Susan was lost in thought for a minute. “And as far as I can tell, there’s only one way to handle it.”
“What’s that?” Chris was watching her twin eagerly. By now she was convinced that Susan had the whole thing in her complete control.
Susan shrugged. “We’ll just have to tell Jeff what we’re doing, that’s all.”
“What? We can’t do that, Sooz!”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, one of our original agreements was that we wouldn’t tell a soul about the Hot Fudge Sunday Affair.”
“That was your idea, not mine. Remember? And besides, I think you can see why that simply won’t work anymore.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right,” Chris sighed. Already she was trying to imagine how Jeff would react to the news that he had been courting two different queens all week. Still, he seemed to have a good enough sense of humor that he’d be able to laugh about it. He might even admire them for being so daring.
“So it’s settled, then,” Susan concluded matter-of-factly. “Tomorrow morning, first thing, I’ll tell Jeff what’s been going on. Just think: Not only will it end a lot of confusion and keep your social life from being ruined. It’ll also make the whole thing a lot easier. Jeff can actually help us.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. He can give us the high sign when we’re about to say the wrong thing and tell us the names of people we’re supposed to have met already ... things like that.”
“See? This is all working out for the best after all. But I’ll tell you something I’m beginning to realize.” Susan was suddenly very serious.
“What?”
“We’d better make sure that Eric Caulfield doesn’t find out! The more I think about it, the more nervous it makes me. And I’m not talking about my social life, either. I’m talking about the fact that not only are we trying to fool a whole town; we’re trying to fool a reporter whose job it is to watch us constantly!” She shook her head. “Oh, I don’t know, Chris. Maybe we have gone too far this time!”
Chris’s response was a loud groan. She took a pillow and hurled it at her sister.
“Get out of here before we go right back where we started!” she exclaimed, barely able to stop laughing. “I thought we’d just sorted all this out!”
Susan headed for the door, squealing as she fended off the barrage of pillows that followed. “All right, all right! I’m going!”
“But seriously, Sooz, thanks for the pep talk. I really needed it.”
“No sweat, Chris. After all, what are sisters for?”
“Especially twin sisters.”
“Twins? Are we twins? Do you really think we look alike? Maybe we could actually pass for each other....”
Chris’s response was another pillow, punctuated by Susan’s giggles and squeals as she raced back to her own room.
Chapter Eleven
As she hurried inside City Hall on Thursday morning, Susan was actually looking forward to confiding her secret about the Hot Fudge Sunday Affair to Jeff. She felt relieved; in a way, as if something that was meant to be fun, but was threatening to become troublesome was about to be put under control. At least that’s what she hoped would happen.
Oh, dear, she thought, having momentary doubts. For all I know, Jeff Miller will expose us to the world.
But she didn’t really think so—and neither did Chris. He seemed like a good sport. And besides, he wouldn’t want to do anything to get Chris in trouble ... would he?
There was a small crowd waiting in the mayor’s office; Mayor Harris, Jeff, and Eric were already there, ready to go. Her little talk with Jeff would simply have to wait.
It was almost lunchtime when Susan got her first opportunity to talk to him alone. After a busy morning, the group stopped for a luncheon given by a local cooking school. As a large crowd of the school’s teachers and students mingled with their invited guests over delicious appetizers served by waiters carrying huge trays, Chris took Jeff aside.
“Jeff, I want to ask you something,” she began casually, “How do you feel about practical jokes?”
“Practical jokes? You mean people playing tricks on other people in real-life situations? Like those old ‘Candid Camera’ reruns?”
“Something like that.”
“Well ... I guess it all depends on people’s reasons for playing them. If it’s just for fun or there’s some good reason for it, I think they’re great. As long as no one gets hurt, I mean.” He looked at her quizzically. “Why? Are you about to tell me that somebody’s playing a practical joke on me?”
“Not exactly. I was just curious about how you feel about things like that.” She took a slow sip of the ginger ale she was holding. “Actually, I’m more than just curious.”
Susan took a deep breath. Might as well just come out and say it, she decided. “Jeff, there’s something important I want to tell you.”
“What?”
She bit her lip and stared at her glass. “I’m not Chris.”
“‘You’re not Chris.’ I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m Susan, Chris’s twin sister.”
Just as she’d expected, Jeff was flabbergasted. “What? You’re ... Who ...”
She couldn’t help giggling at his reaction. “Calm down, Jeff. People are beginning to look at you.”
“Chris ... I mean Susan ... I mean whoever you are, will you please tell me what the heck you’re talking about?”
“I’m glad you asked,” she said calmly. She was actually beginning to enjoy this. “It’s not really very complicated. You see, Chris—my twin1—was chosen to be queen of Centennial Week because of the research report she wrote on the history of Whittington. But the fact of the matter is I put a lot of work into that report, too. Somehow Chris didn’t think it was fair for her to get all the glory while I was left behind like Cinderella. So she came up with the idea of the two of us taking turns being queen.”
“I don’t believe this!” Jeff breathed.
Susan continued in the same matter-of-fact manner. “I had my doubts, too, at first. But actually it’
s not the first time we’ve switched places. That’s another story, though. Anyway, we decided to give it a try. So on Monday and Wednesday, Chris showed up and played the role of queen. Tuesday it was my turn, and I’m back again today. Simple, huh?”
Jeff continued to frown for another minute as he pondered what he had just been told. Susan watched him expectantly, anxious to see his reaction. Suddenly he broke into a huge grin.
“Far out!” he exclaimed. “What a great idea!”
“I’m so relieved you see it that way!”
“And that certainly explains a lot. Boy, I thought I was really off the wall when I saw how differently you acted on Monday and Tuesday. And then there was that business about art. I take it you’re the artist, not Chris. Yeah, I had the feeling something funny was going on. But I never would have guessed ...”
“Good. That’s the whole idea. You see, no one is supposed to guess. And so far,” she couldn’t resist adding, not without some smugness, “we’ve been doing such a good job that no one’s onto us.”
“Well, you did have a couple of close calls there,” he teased. “So how come you decided to tell me about your little scheme?”
“Two reasons, really. One is that we figured you could help us carry this thing off. To be perfectly honest, you’ve been the most difficult person to fool. And the other reason is that well, you and Chris seem to be becoming involved....”
“Yeah, yeah, I follow.” Jeff seemed anxious to change the subject. “So tell me what you want me to do, Susan. I mean Chris.”
“Rule number one.” She laughed. “Never call me Susan. Whoever you’re with all day is Chris, no matter what.”
“Got it!”
“Aside from that, just be on the alert. If somebody asks me a sticky question or if I don’t recognize someone I’m supposed to have met or if I forget myself and start talking about art class or something totally un-Chris-like, just jump in and bale me out. And remember: no one else is to know about this. Especially Eric Caulfield.”
“You got it. Hey, let me make sure of one thing.”
The Hot Fudge Sunday Affair Page 6