Chapter 22

The call with Dale left me so stunned that I barely noticed when Wes sat down beside me at dinner. I couldn’t keep up with the conversation among my friends. I clutched my phone in my hand and waited, hoping for it to ring or buzz with a text. What could have happened that my mother’s husband didn’t want to tell me? Why was it so difficult for her to call me and tell me what was going on?

A horrible thought occurred to me. What if she was in jail? I’d had to bail her out once before—with the help of a drunken neighbor—but most of the time she didn’t take things that far.

I closed my eyes and tried to force the thought to disappear. 

“Fi, aren’t you going to eat?” Wes nudged my tray toward me. 

“Uh—no.” I glanced at him and noticed for the first time how close he was to me. “I’m not feeling well.” 

“Delayed seasickness.” Candy pointed her fork at me. “I’ve seen it before. Eat nothing but crackers or you will regret it.”

“Maybe.” I nodded.

I looked down at my plate. The food blurred together.  

“She’s just nervous because I told her about the dance.” Maby smiled. “And she agreed to go.”

“You did?” Wes grinned as he looked over at me. 

“She didn’t leave me much choice.” I shrugged. 

“Yes!” Apple clapped her hands enthusiastically. “I will take you to my favorite dress shop. The designer isn’t very well known, but she’s brilliant!”

“Uh...” I poked my fork into my food. “We might need to be on a smaller budget.” 

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay upfront. Your stepdad can send a check.” Apple smiled. “You’ll love it, trust me.”

Stepdad.

I closed my eyes as my mind swirled again. 

“Fi, are you okay?” Wes leaned closer to me. 

“Actually, I think Candy is right. I’m just going to go lie down.” I stood up from the table and carried my tray to the trash. I felt a wave of guilt as I scraped the untouched food into the garbage. How many nights had I wished to have more to eat? I set the tray on the counter, then headed out of the cafeteria.

With my mother’s fate pressing on my mind, I didn’t notice anyone behind me until I jumped when I felt a hand on my back. I spun around. 

“Wes!” I met his eyes. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He took a step back. “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.” 

I was tempted to tell him everything—about the conversation with my mom’s husband, about my concerns for her—but Maby’s warning flashed through my mind. 

“I just need to go lie down, that’s all. It was such a great day.” I smiled some. “Thanks to Maby—and to all you guys. I think I’m just a little worn out.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” He shifted closer to me.  

“Thanks, Wes.” I nodded, then continued toward my room. His kindness reminded me that he did want to be my friend, and although that meant a lot to me, it also reminded me that he didn’t want to be anything more. 

I sprawled out on my bed and tried not to think about anything but the lights that had floated across the ceiling.

At some point I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of laughter outside my door. Dazed and half-awake I walked toward it. 

“Hello?” I opened the door and peeked out. 

“Oh, sorry!” Apple clasped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

“It’s alright.” I smiled at her and Candy, who was perched on the sofa beside her. 

“It’s about time you got up.” Maby grinned as she handed me a bowl of cereal. “Eat fast, we have a lot of ground to cover today.”

“Are you feeling better?” Candy frowned as she looked at me. 

I thought about Maby’s confession that Candy had once dated Wes. Knowing that made me wonder if it would bother Candy that I was interested in him. It was pointless to pretend that I wasn’t at this point. Not that it really mattered. 

“I’m feeling better, thanks.” I carried the cereal bowl over to the table and sat down. “Are you sure you want to do this? I really don’t need to go to the dance.”

“You really do.” Maby sat down at the table with me. “It’s going to be great, trust me. There’s even going to be a live band, and something outrageous always happens.”

“Happens?” Candy grinned. “Don’t you mean someone always orchestrates it?” 

“Yes, okay, but it’s still fun.” Maby smiled. “Let us do this for you, Fi. It’ll be fun, I promise. ”

“Pedicures!” Apple stuck her feet out and wiggled her toes. 

“What?” I laughed. “I’ve never had one of those. Isn’t it weird to let people touch your feet?” 

“Not if you’re paying them to do it.” Candy grinned. “It’s nice and relaxing. It’s a little weird at first, I guess.”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve been getting my nails done with my mom since I was still in diapers.” Maby grinned. “And to me, it’s always fun.”

“I guess I could try it.” I looked down at my bare toes. “Though I might scare them off.”

“Trust me, they’ve seen worse.” Candy winked at me. 

Once we were in the cab, there was no turning back. I was surrounded by friends. It was something I had never experienced before. But the closer we got to our first destination, the more tense I felt. I didn’t have any money to buy a dress. How could I explain that to them? They had probably always had the money to buy anything they wanted. 

“You know, one of my favorite things to do is go to a thrift store and hunt for awesome vintage stuff.” I lied a little. I did shop at thrift stores, but without any particular style in mind. I just bought whatever I could afford. 

“Oh yeah, I’ve had some friends that like to do that.” Apple scrunched up her nose. “But I mean, they’re still clothes that were worn by someone else. That’s the part I don’t like.”

“I’ve found some cool stuff hitting yard sales with my grandma.” Candy smiled. “She has a good eye for fashion.”

“Yard sales?” My eyes widened as I looked at her. “You go to yard sales?” 

“Sure.” She shrugged. “Why not? Usually we pay much more than what they’re asking. My grandma calls them our random acts of kindness. It’s kind of fun. Like a treasure hunt.”

“I’d be willing to do a thrift store crawl with you one day.” Maby met my eyes. “But not today. Today we are going to find you a brand new dress and have it tailored to suit your figure.” 

“Tailored?” I shook my head. “That seems like a lot.” 

Maby looked straight into my eyes and smiled. “Everything has already been taken care of. This is my treat.”

“What?” My eyes widened. 

“It’s time you had a little princess treatment.” She patted my knee. “You deserve it.”

“It’s too much, Maby.” I shook my head. “Really, I can’t accept it.”

“Oh, you can and you will.” She laughed. “Girls, tell her.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to say no to Maby. She’ll make you regret it, and when I say regret it, I mean ‘crawl on the floor sobbing your eyes out begging for her forgiveness’ regret it.” Apple winced. “Don’t ask me how I know that.”

“Apple, would I do something like that?” Maby offered a sweet smile.

“Yup.” Candy shuddered. “Just go with it, Fi, trust me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the horrified look on Candy’s face. “Thank you, Maby.”

“You’re welcome.” She pointed to the store the cab had stopped in front of and lowered her voice. “But don’t expect me not to have some input on what dress you go home with.”

“Okay.” I smiled nervously as I followed the others out of the cab. It was strange for me to be given so much, and although it made me a little uneasy, I promised myself I would do my best to enjoy it.

After hearing Dale’s voice on the phone, I doubted that it would last much longer. I paused outside the door and sent a quick text to my mother. 

Where are you? What did you do? Are you alright?  

I tucked my phone back into my pocket and let my friends lead me into a world of white plush sofas and floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The dresses on display were far different than anything I’d ever seen in a thrift store.

As I watched Maby survey one in particular, my stomach flipped. Would she expect me to wear something as fancy as that?

Soon I was surrounded by three girls with three different dresses—each with an eager smile. 

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “I guess this means I’m going to have to shave my legs?”

The horrified look in their eyes told me everything I needed to know.

I was definitely entering uncharted territory.