Rick delivered Christy to her front door at five minutes to ten and stated for the fifth time that the movie was “sweet.”

“I’ll be over around one-thirty tomorrow,” he said. “Or do you want me to call first?”

“Better call just to make sure it’s okay for you to come for lunch. What do you want to do tomorrow?”

“I’ll check the list,” he said, grasping her by the shoulders and planting a hard, fast kiss on her lips. “You’d better get in there before the clock strikes ten and you turn into a pumpkin for another two weeks.”

“Good night, Rick,” she called as he jogged to his car. “See you tomorrow.”

“Did you have a nice time?” Mom asked when Christy stepped inside.

“Yeah,” she answered, not anxious to go into the details of the complicated day or to start answering questions about what the silver bracelet around her wrist meant. “I still have sand in my hair from the beach. I’m going to hop in the shower.”

As Christy washed her hair, Rick’s bracelet became tangled in it. She ended up yanking out a chunk of hair. Todd’s bracelet had never done that.

Thinking of Todd’s bracelet made her wonder where she had put it. The last time she saw it was when Rick took it off at the restaurant and she slipped it into her black purse.

After her shower, she pulled the purse out of her drawer and dumped its contents onto her bed. Lipstick, mascara, tissue, a quarter, and a pen. No bracelet. She felt around the inside of the fabric lining to see if it had caught there. Still no bracelet.

She went to the drawer where the purse had been and ran the palm of her hand inside the drawer in case it had fallen out of the purse. No bracelet.

She grabbed the Folgers coffee can off her dresser and emptied out the dried-up carnation petals from the first bouquet Todd had given her, remembering that she had buried the bracelet in there once before. It wasn’t there.

What did I do with it? I put it in my purse. Then I left my purse in Rick’s car, and he gave it back to me the next night. Could it have fallen out in his car?

Christy worked the purse’s clasp back and forth. It was strong and couldn’t have opened on its own.

She was beginning to panic. Scooping the dried carnations back into the coffee tin, she hurriedly returned it to its spot on her dresser.

The coffee tin collided with the blue pottery vase, knocking it off her dresser. Hitting the edge of her desk, the vase shattered into a dozen pieces on the floor.

Oh no! Not Rick’s vase! How am I going to tell him I broke it?

She gathered up the shards of jagged pottery, wondering if she could glue them back together. The roses had died a week ago, and Christy had tossed them out, not even thinking of saving them the way she had Todd’s carnations.

Todd, Rick, flowers, broken vases, lost bracelets—all like the pieces of broken pottery she tried to match up on the floor.

Christy gave up trying to piece the broken vase together and put it all in the trash can. She crawled under her covers and held her stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear that Todd had given her on her fifteenth birthday.

That was the night she had prepared herself for her very first kiss when Todd walked her to the door—only he didn’t kiss her. He did kiss her the day he gave her the bouquet of carnations. She was leaving for the airport to go back to Wisconsin, and Todd had kissed her in the middle of the street in front of a whole bunch of people. His kiss had made her feel fresh and free, not like he was trying to “magnetize” her.

For more than an hour she lay with Pooh in her arms, thinking through all the comparisons and differences between Rick and Todd. For so long she had wanted Todd to be the kind of boyfriend Rick was being to her now. Yet Todd would never hold her or pressure her or say things to her the way Rick did.

Now she had what she had wanted for so long—a boyfriend, Rick. Rick adored her so much he even sat through a “kiddie” movie with her. He held her and kissed her and said things that made her feel beautiful. Rick had made a list of possible dates, he had brought her roses, and he had given her a bracelet.

Rick wanted her in his life. Todd had left her. Sure, things were bumpy with Rick, but they kept working at their relationship, and that’s what really mattered. Things were getting better. Weren’t they?

Even though her relationship with Todd was over, it still bothered her that she couldn’t find his bracelet. She couldn’t explain why, but that bracelet meant more to her than Rick’s did. She had to find it.

Maybe it had fallen on the floor in Rick’s car. Maybe Rick had it and just hadn’t told her. She decided she would ask him tomorrow.

Christy’s parents agreed that Rick could come for lunch, and Mom kept the meal warm in the oven, waiting for him to call.

He finally phoned at two o’clock, saying his racquetball game had run late. He suggested they go ahead and eat since he still had to shower and wouldn’t be there for another forty-five minutes or so.

The family ate the dried-out chicken and cool mashed potatoes without much conversation. Dad retired to read the Sunday paper and take his customary snooze on the couch. Christy did the dishes and then went out front to wait for Rick. She didn’t want him bounding up the steps and waking her dad.

She had Rick’s bracelet in the pocket of her cutoff jeans. She hadn’t worn it all day because she wasn’t ready to answer the questions it would have raised at church or with her parents.

Christy waited patiently on the top step of the porch. Fall was definitely coming. The night-blooming jasmine that covered the trellis above her head had withered, and the vine was filled with hundreds of tiny brown squiggles where fragrant white flowers had once bloomed.

She could hear Rick’s Mustang before she saw it turn the corner of her quiet street. She hurried down to the street to meet it.

“Hi,” she said brightly through the open passenger window. “Who won?”

“Do you need to ask? I did, of course. My brother’s ticked too. He’s three years older than I am, and he hasn’t been able to beat me at anything for the last six months.”

“I can believe that,” Christy said. “My dad’s asleep, and I think my mom is sewing. Do you want me to see if we can go somewhere?”

“Sure. We’ll go over to my house. Hey, where’s my bracelet?”

“In my pocket. I’ll be right back.” She ran in the house, grabbed a sweatshirt, and asked Mom if she could go to Rick’s.

“As long as you’re back before six,” Mom said. “And do you have any homework you need to finish this weekend?”

She had forgotten all about her mound of homework. “Some. I’ll do it when I get back. Bye.” She quickly scooted out before Mom had time to say anything else.

Once in the car with Rick, she tied her sweatshirt around her waist and, pulling the bracelet from her pocket, explained how it had become tangled in her hair the night before. A hair strand was still twisted around the clasp.

“Here,” Rick said. “I’ll put it back on you. You’ll have to be more careful when you wash your hair.”

Rick locked the clasp and then started the car. They had driven about three blocks toward the expensive side of town, where Rick lived, when Christy decided to ask Rick if he had come across Todd’s bracelet.

“Rick, I wanted to ask you something,” Christy said cautiously. The last thing she needed was for him to get mad because she was talking about Todd.

“Good.” Rick pulled the car into a parking lot behind a complex of doctors’ offices. “Because I wanted to ask you something too.”

He turned off the car and reached his arms around her, then kissed her slowly and gently. Pulling back, he asked, “How was that for ‘light kissing’? I’m getting better, aren’t I?”

“Rick,” Christy said, thinking she had better talk fast before her emotions clouded, “remember the night we went to that Italian restaurant?”

“You looked gorgeous. I loved you in that black dress.”

“Rick, come on! Let me ask this and get it over with. That night you took off my gold ID bracelet, and I put it in my purse. I left my purse in your car. Then you gave it back to me the next night when you drove me home.”

Rick leaned against his door. “Yeah, so what?” He sounded defensive.

“I wondered if you saw the bracelet after that. I thought it might have fallen out of my purse onto the floor or something. Have you seen it?”

“You don’t need it anymore.”

“But I don’t like not knowing where it is. I’d feel awful if I lost it.”

“Why?” Rick challenged. “Why do you even want to know where it is?”

“Because it’s a valuable bracelet, and I don’t like to go around misplacing valuable things.”

“Calm down.” Rick put his arms back around her. “You don’t need to get all upset about such a little thing.” He spoke softly in her ear. “You’re my girlfriend now. You don’t need to worry about that jerk anymore. You have me.”

Christy’s anger flared. Todd was a lot of things, but he was not a jerk. True, she had called Todd names before in her mind, and jerk had been one of them. But that was different. She could call Todd a jerk, but Rick couldn’t.

“Pretty good trade, don’t you think? Me for Moondoggie. My bracelet for his.”

Rick’s last phrase played again in her mind like sour organ notes in a monster movie. My bracelet for his.

Grabbing his wide shoulders and looking him in the eye, she demanded, “Tell me the truth, Rick Doyle. Did you take my bracelet out of my purse?”

He put on an easygoing grin and said calmly, “Come on, Christy, relax. You didn’t need that thing anymore. You have my bracelet now.”

“You did! You took my bracelet! You had no right to do that. You can’t just go into a girl’s purse and take what isn’t yours and keep it. How dare you! Where is it? I want it back right now!”

Rick looked shocked at her outburst. Then he opened fire on her. “You know what your problem is? You aren’t mature enough to handle a real dating relationship! You want to keep all your childhood trinkets and let a perfect relationship go out the window.”

“Where’s my bracelet, Rick?” Her voice had changed to a low growl.

He stuck out his jaw and looked away from her.

“Where’s my bracelet?”

“You’re really making me angry, Christy.”

She spoke her words with staccato force. “Where. Is.

My. Bracelet?”

“I don’t have it, all right?” He drew himself up straight in his seat and pointed his finger at her. “You decide right here, right now. Who’s it going to be? Me or that surfer jerk? You decide right now, and that’s it! Who’s it going to be? Tell me!”

Christy had never seen him this angry, and it terrified her. She acted on impulse, opening her car door and taking off running.

“Fine! Go ahead and run. Only this time, Christy Miller, I’m not running after you!”

Hearing his car start, she ran between the buildings so he couldn’t follow her down the sidewalk. She stopped at a bench in the deserted office complex and caught her breath. Once it sounded like his car was gone, she started to walk home.

I can’t believe this is happening! Did I do the right thing by jumping out of the car? He’s so mad he probably won’t speak to me for a week. What if he calls? What will I say? I can’t help it! I’m still mad he took Todd’s bracelet.

When she reached the front of the office complex, there was Rick leaning against his parked car. “This is crazy. Why are we doing this? Come on, get in the car. Let’s talk this through.” Rick’s voice was calm and persuasive.

Christy stood still, staring at her shoes. She didn’t want to get in the car. She felt too shaken to let him smooth this one over.

Without looking up, she calmly restated her question. “Where’s my bracelet, Rick?”

“You know,” he said in a broken voice, “I thought I was doing the best thing for us. I really did.” He sounded like he was about to cry.

Christy battled with whether she should keep her distance or go to his side and comfort him. She stayed several feet away but spoke softly. “What did you do, Rick?”

“I didn’t want anything to come between us. I had no idea that bracelet meant so much to you. I took it to the jewelry store and traded it for the one I gave you.”

“You traded it?” Christy said in a whisper. Then with firm, angry words she said, “You had no right to do that.”

“I know. I realize that now. At the time I thought it was the best thing for our relationship. I’m sorry.”

She couldn’t tell if he was truly sorry or only sorry the trade had backfired on him.

“You don’t have to compete with everybody in the world, Rick. You don’t have to be jealous of Todd. He’s thousands of miles away.”

“No, he’s not. He’s still in your head. I can tell. He’s competition. He always has been.”

“I can’t believe this! Rick, I’m dating you, not Todd. Can’t you see how much I’ve wanted to be with you?”

“What is it about him? Why is he still so important to you? Did he write you love poems or make big promises about your future?”

Christy couldn’t help but laugh. “No. Todd has never written me a letter or note of any kind. And he is about the most noncommittal person I’ve ever known.”

“Then what’s the deal with him? What makes you so drawn to him?”

Christy had to think about it. Rick was right; some kind of bond existed between her and Todd. How could she explain it?

“I think it’s the Lord,” Christy said finally. “I think what makes Todd unique is that he prays with me and—”

“We can pray. Is that what you want?”

Christy realized that during the entire time she had known Rick and had been dating him, they had never prayed or even talked about the Lord or spiritual things. “Yeah, I’d like it a lot if we prayed together. But it’s not just that. It’s …”

In trying to find the words to explain Todd’s uniqueness, she remembered how Todd would look when he talked about God. It was a contented, vulnerable, strong-as-a-rock look. That was it. Todd loved Jesus more than anything. How could she explain that to Rick?

“Come here.” Rick held out his right hand. “Do you want to try praying with me?”

Christy placed her hands in his. Rick bowed his head and closed his eyes. “Our almighty heavenly Father, we come to You asking for strength and direction in our relationship. Please grant us Your blessing and help us to work through all our problems. Amen.”

He lifted his head and looked at her like a little kid waiting for approval. It wasn’t anything at all like the way Todd prayed. Nothing about Rick was like Todd. She suddenly realized nothing ever would be. Rick was Rick. Did she really want to be his girlfriend?

“Do you want to go over to my house now? We can pretend all of this never happened and start over,” Rick said.

“Actually.” Christy forced herself to finish her sentence before she chickened out. “I think we should break up.”

Rick looked at her as if she had told a bad joke. “But we just prayed. And I told you I was sorry about the bracelet. Why would you want to break up?”

“Because I don’t think I’m ready to be your girlfriend. I don’t think I’m ready to be anybody’s girlfriend. I want to go back to being your friend. We got along so much better when we were friends.”

Rick ran his fingers through his hair and looked frantic. “I don’t get it. I’m trying to do everything right. I’ve never, ever tried this hard with any girl before. What am I doing wrong?”

“It’s not you. It’s me. You’ve said it a couple of times: I’m not ready to have a serious dating relationship. I’d like to slow everything down. It seems like you went from being my buddy to my boyfriend overnight, and that’s too fast for me. I think it would be better if we built up our relationship slowly.”

“We have been building it up slowly,” Rick said. “Or did you forget the nine months I waited to date you?”

“That’s exactly it though. I thought you were waiting to date me, not possess me. I’m not ready to go steady—with anybody. I need time for myself, and I want to spend time with my girlfriends without feeling that I have to ask your permission.”

Christy thought of other things she wanted to say, but Rick looked so wounded she decided to stop there. He obviously got the point. It surprised her how calm and peaceful she felt for someone who had just broken up with her boyfriend, especially since none of this had been planned or decided ahead of time.

“You know,” Rick said, drawing himself up to his full height and looking down on Christy, “I have a lot of pressures on me with starting college and all. I think we should slow things down and give each other a chance to catch up with everything in our lives. I don’t know when I’ll be back up here for the weekend. Thanksgiving, probably not before. I’ll give you a call then. Maybe we can get together and go somewhere just to talk. The time will give us a chance to reevaluate our relationship.”

Christy thought it was kind of funny to watch Rick take control of the situation, speaking smooth words like the closing lines of a movie. The way he restated everything, it sounded like he was the one breaking up with her.

“I’ll look forward to your call.”

Rick looked at her as though she were patronizing him.

“No really, I will! We still have a whole list of dates that you thought up, remember? And I’d like to go on them with you. We can take them one at a time instead of trying to do them all in one week.”

Christy tried to sound as light and positive as she could because her emotions were catching up with her prior burst of logic, and she felt a major storm brewing inside.

“I think you should have the bracelet back. I’m always going to be your friend, Rick. But I can’t be your girlfriend right now. Could you help me take it off?”

Rick picked the clasp with his thumb and held the bracelet in his fist. “I’m holding on to this,” he said tenderly, “because I still think it belongs on your wrist. One day I want to put it back there.”

His last statement felt like a clap of thunder, releasing the storm inside Christy. She lowered her head as tears fell on the pavement.

“Can I give my friend a hug?” Rick asked.

Christy nodded without looking up.

He wrapped his big arms around her and hugged her good-bye.