Fay sat on my bed, laughing as I tried to curl my hair. “What is the problem here?” I said, examining the curling iron. The thing went up to four hundred fifty degrees, but no matter how much hairspray I used or how long I held it in my hair, I couldn’t get more than a very slight bend in my hair.
“It’s the price you pay for having such gorgeous hair that lays perfectly with only the touch of a comb. I don’t feel bad for you at all.”
“Yeah, but you’ve always been a brat.”
She grinned and scratched Osa under her chin. The kitten stretched out her stubby neck as far as it would go.
“Well, I give up. Want me to put some eyelashes on you? I bought some new ones that look mostly natural,” I said.
“What’s the point of false eyelashes if they look natural?”
“They don’t look that natural. Just not quite as bold as some others I have.”
“Nah, I’m just hanging out at Malcolm’s tonight. Speaking of, I better take off.” She scooted to the end of my bed and dumped Osa to the floor. “Have fun with Paulie,” she said, blowing me a kiss on her way out.
After she left, I put on some tight jeans and a loose top, and contemplated wearing heels. I had one pair, and rarely got to wear them. There was no snow on the ground, so it could work. I didn’t know where Paul was taking me, but “out to dinner” sounded a lot like heels to me. I slipped them on just as the doorbell rang.
By the time I got to the living room, Mom had answered the door and let Paul in. He grinned when he saw me, and walked over for a kiss. “What time do you want her back, Mrs. Y?”
I looked at Mom, who was smiling softly. She waved her hand at him. “Oh, it’s a special night—how about twelve?”
He grinned and walked me to the door. “Twelve it is.” He pulled me out the door and closed it, and before I could ask what was so special about tonight, he pushed me up against the door and looked down at me, his eyes on fire. “Celia, I’m going to kiss you a lot tonight.”
“Okay,” I said, breathless.
“There’s going to be so much kissing.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to start right now.” He put one hand on my neck and one hand in my hair, and put his mouth on mine. He pressed me harder into the door, and I moaned at the delicious way it felt. Before I’d had enough, he pulled away. “Unfortunately, we need to get going. I don’t want to be late.”
I followed him down the steps of the porch, feeling lightheaded. Feeling light. “Late for what? Did you make a reservation or something?” I didn’t know of any restaurants around here that even took reservations.
“No more questions,” he said, and opened the truck door and boosted me in.
“How was your mom?” I asked, once he climbed in and started the engine.
“She was so good, Celia. So good. And she was glad to see me.” He paused and swallowed thickly. “That place is really great for her. She says she wants you to come next time.”
I scooted over to the middle seat, so I could be right next to him, and buckled up. I put my hand on his knee. Whenever he didn’t need to use the gear shift, he placed his hand on top of mine.
Two minutes later we pulled up in front of Malcolm’s house, and he smiled over at me. “I need to grab something I left here earlier. Come in with me and say hello?”
“Sure.”
I followed him out of the truck and he led me across the yard and through the front door. He never knocked before entering this house. The living room was dark, and he flipped the light switch.
“Where is everyone? Fay said she was coming over here.” I looked down the hall, and my eyes traveled up. Colorful balloons hugged the ceiling, spilling out of the kitchen. “What’s happening?”
Paul smiled and wrapped his hand around mine and we walked toward the kitchen. When we rounded the corner, a handful of my friends jumped up from behind the table, which held a huge cake. “Surprise!”
I jerked, startled, and then had to laugh because the rush was amazing. I looked up at Paul, who grinned down at me. “What is this?”
“This is your surprise sixteenth birthday party.” He squeezed my hand.
I furrowed my brow. “But my birthday was two months ago. It’s almost Christmas.”
“This is a redo,” Fay said, her hands clasped in front of her in glee. “You had two bad birthday celebrations. Third time’s the charm.”
I blinked back tears, looking around at my friends. “You didn’t have to do this,” I said softly, amazed that they had gone to the trouble.
Paul shrugged. “Okay then, I guess I’ll have to keep your gift until next year.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket.
“There are gifts, too?” I snatched it off his palm and opened the lid, aware that our friends were watching. I looked down into the small box. It was a silver sun pendant. I turned my face up to Paul.
“A sun to go with your rain. Life’s a little bit of both.”
I threw my arms around his neck to hide my tears. Paul had seen me cry a million times by this point, but that didn’t mean I was okay with all my friends seeing. I wiped my eyes while hidden in his neck, and then pulled away from him. He took the pendant from the box and walked behind me, unclasped my necklace and slipped the sun onto it. It slid down the chain and rested next to the rain, both of them right beside my heart.
The End
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