Kali and I are having lunch with Liza and Tara when I notice Syd walking through the cafeteria toward our table.
‘Don’t you have Spanish?’ I ask as she joins us.
‘Mendoza thinks I’m in the can,’ she explains. ‘Anyway, I’m only jumping the bell by ten minutes. There’s something I need you guys to see.’
Kali and I excuse ourselves and follow Syd back through the halls to one of the girls’ restrooms. Inside, someone is locked in a stall, apparently sobbing and smoking at the same time.
‘It’s Hollis,’ Syd whispers, as the person inside sputters and chokes on the cigarette. ‘She was bawling at the sink when I came in earlier.’
‘Go away,’ Hollis says now. ‘I already told you I didn’t want to talk.’
‘Yeah, and then you told me that your pinhead boyfriend broke up with you and dumped your bag in the hall,’ Syd says. ‘Tampons and all.’
Hollis hiccups. ‘People were just walking all over my stuff, and he didn’t care.’
‘Hollis, there’s no nice way to say this,’ Kali begins. ‘Fletcher is a bully.’
‘A bully who cheats on you,’ Syd says. ‘You know that.’
‘You can’t put up with this anymore,’ I say. ‘Time to cut him loose.’
A few more puffs of smoke drift from the stall before we hear the toilet flush. Hollis steps out. Her makeup is running, and her eyes are red and puffy.
‘We break up all the time,’ she says, looking at us through the mirror as she washes her hands. ‘And we always get back together. I’ve been with him nearly two years – one-eighth of my life. I don’t think I can live without him.’
‘You’re stronger than you think, Hollis,’ I say. ‘Who else could have survived two years with Fletcher?’
Hollis actually laughs. ‘No one.’
‘So make this break stick,’ I say. ‘Just do it.’
She mops at her face with the wet wipes and sighs. ‘I guess if you can stand being single, I can too.’
Kali rolls her eyes and says, ‘I’m sure you won’t be single long. Remember that guy at Blue Velvet? The one who liked the dress?’
‘He said I looked amazing,’ Hollis says, brightening.
‘Moving on?’ I say.
‘Moving on,’ she says, dusting her face with powder.
Kali, Syd, and I exchange glances, knowing it’s futile to expect a thanks. But one day, after Hollis has shaken off Fletcher’s influence, we might find there’s a decent human being beneath the barbed wire.
The door bursts open and Señora Mendoza appears. ‘Aha!’ she says. ‘I thought I smelt smoke.’
There’s no way she smelt smoke from her classroom in the next hallway. She’s just doing a routine spot check.
Hollis continues to stare at the mirror as she slicks on lip gloss. ‘I tried to tell them, Señora. Smoking is never going to make these losers cool.’
Kali is chatting up a sales clerk from Hollister’s when I meet her at the mall. With less than three weeks to go before Christmas, the place is packed. I have Love, Inc. money to burn on gifts this year, but my list isn’t that long – Kali and Syd, Morgan and Shanna, Dad and Saliyah. Mom only celebrated the holiday for Dad, so I know there won’t be a Christmas tree in her house this year.
‘So what are you shopping for, other than boys?’ I ask, leading Kali away.
‘Perfume,’ she says. ‘Destination: Sephora. I’m hoping an exotic scent might attract more interesting guys. Things have been kind of dull lately.’
‘What happened to the guy from the water rally?’ I ask.
She snorts. ‘He wants to become an organic farmer. I can’t be with someone who’s tied to the land. My guy needs to carry my suitcases when I go on tour.’
She peers over her shoulder and waves at the Hollister guy. ‘That one wasn’t for me. I’m just trying to build my Love, Inc. roster.’
‘He’s not my type either,’ I say, in case I’m the target in mind.
At Sephora, she picks up a bottle of the new Burberry scent and sniffs at the nozzle. ‘Before we get down to business, Z, I have to tell you I’m honored you’ve agreed to let me help you in this pivotal, life-changing moment.’
‘It’s just a preliminary discussion, Kal. Don’t get carried away.’
‘Don’t downplay it, Z. This is huge.’ She grabs my right wrist and spritzes it with Eternity. ‘You are saying yes to love.’
I roll my eyes. ‘I’m saying maybe to a date, if you can find someone normal who isn’t a client.’
‘My database is full of non-client possibilities, don’t you worry.’ Kali grabs my other hand and sprays on Viva la Juicy. ‘That’s why I’m always on the lookout. Even if people aren’t in the market now, a lot of them are glad to hear from me when I call with a prospect later.’ She shows me a price tag with the Hollister sales clerk’s name and number on it. ‘He could be perfect for someone in January.’
‘Do you seriously just call people out of the blue and say, “Have I got a girl for you”?’
‘Not out of the blue. I keep in touch to nurture my contacts. You know, a text here, a Facebook message there. And then when I’ve got a prospect, I let them know. If people are single they can’t resist hearing more.’
‘So what do you do then?’ I ask, watching as she sprays her own wrist with Stellanude.
She lets the perfume dry for a second before taking a deep sniff. ‘I send over the specs and we chat.’
‘Specs? You are not sending anyone my “specs.”’
‘I hate to break it to you, Z, but no one you’d want to date would go out with a girl sight unseen,’ Kali says. ‘Men are visual creatures. They need a photo. Why are you worried, anyway? You’re gorgeous. Better than that, you’re unique. No one else has your coloring.’
That, unfortunately, is quite true.
‘Plus, you have this way of studying someone as if they’re the most interesting person on the planet,’ Kali continues. ‘Guys love that. It confirms their own opinion of themselves.’
I laugh. ‘You’re just saying that.’
She eyes the Sarah Jessica Parker testers and blasts her other wrist with Covet. ‘As your friend, I might just say that. But now that you’re my client, I have to be honest. And you have to be honest too, or this won’t work.’
There’s no money changing hands, but I’ve agreed to cater two dates of her choice in exchange for her services. ‘OK, let’s get this over with before I change my mind.’
‘I was hoping for some enthusiasm,’ she says.
That’s asking too much. I’m only doing this because of what Brody said. As usual, his delivery sucked, but he had a point. A mediator who can’t make a relationship work for herself isn’t setting much of an example to her clients. It’s fine for Syd to stay single when her specialty is revenge. And it’s fine for Kali to flit from guy to guy when her focus is on the match. But for me, being alone suggests I don’t walk my talk. So, no matter how nervous I feel about it, I need to get serious about the game.
‘It’ll be fun,’ I say. ‘Like a migraine. Or cramps.’
Rolling her eyes, Kali grabs my wrists and sniffs. Then she sniffs her own. Finally she decides on the Juicy and takes it to the register, along with a tube of her favorite lip gloss.
Afterward, we head back through the mall to the Apple Store, where Kali snags one of their test computers. ‘Are you sure you’re ready for this?’ she asks. ‘Are you completely over what happened with Eric?’
‘Probably not. But Love, Inc. has shown me that not all guys are cheaters, and at some point I’m going to have to try again, right? Otherwise, Eric wins.’
‘You have to go in with an open mind, Z.’
‘I’ll do my best; that’s all I can promise.’
Satisfied, she reaches over and squeezes my hand. ‘This is so great. It’s taking us to a whole new level of friendship. It means a lot that you trust me like this.’
‘I’ve always trusted you. You’ve had my back from the beginning.’
‘This is different,’ she says. ‘It’s personal.’
I guess it is. She understands better than anyone except possibly Syd how difficult it will be for me to take this leap. I don’t trust myself to make the right choice, but I do trust Kali. I know she has my best interests at heart. In fact, Kali and Syd are my friends and my family now – framily. We’re bound together by loyalty, trust, and responsibility, not to mention trade secrets.
‘You’re safe in my hands,’ Kali says, putting a memory stick into a port. ‘I already filled in your survey, but I want to ask a few more questions. First, what’s really important to you, besides the obvious – hot, nice, and trustworthy?’
I struggle to come up with an answer. ‘Brains? Sense of humor?’
‘How about values?’
‘Yeah, I’m all for them. I especially like it when guys know that cheating is wrong.’
‘And?’
‘I don’t know, the normal things. Decent. Honest. Kind.’
‘OK, so with everything I know about you, I’ve narrowed the choice to three preliminary prospects. I even have photos, but since you’re above all that, I’ll just describe them to you.’
I jab her mouse hand. ‘Get clicking.’
She’s prepared a PowerPoint presentation, with my picture occupying the top of the first slide. It’s a photo Syd took on Congress Avenue after we watched the bats fly away, and I look excited and happy. Below the photo, my ‘specs,’ or interests, appear one by one: baking, pop culture, reading, movies, business, and art.
‘Business and art? That’s stretching it.’
‘You’re helping your mom with her business and you seem to like it. Plus you’re good at graphic design.’
She clicks her mouse and my specs disappear. Under my picture, another box slides into place. ‘Since I couldn’t use real clients, my information is still a bit sketchy on the first two guys. If you like them, I’ll call and go through the survey. According to my program, Option One is sixty-eight percent compatible, Option Two is seventy-seven percent, and Option Three is ninety-two percent. Since no one’s a perfect match, the last guy’s obviously a very lucky find.’
‘Can’t we proceed directly to Mr Ninety-two?’
‘Nope,’ she says, grinning. ‘I’m taking you through my entire process.’
It’s nice to see Kali from a client’s perspective. She’s a positive force, a zealot for love – or at least for the initial hookup.
Option One’s photo slides into view. He’s attractive, with dark hair and eyes and cocoa skin that suggests we might have more in common than his love of pop-culture blogging.
‘Is he an MOT?’ I ask Kali.
‘A half-and-halfer, like you. I figured he’d relate to the pressure you’ve been under from your grandparents.’
I’m becoming cautiously optimistic about this process. ‘OK, who’s next?’
Kali advances to Option Two, and a familiar blond giant comes into view: Andrew.
‘I’ve done some digging,’ Kali explains. ‘You two like a lot of the same bands and movies and the same subjects at school. And you already know he’s adorable.’
I point to the screen. ‘It says here he has an interest in extreme sports. What if he wants to go hang gliding on our first date? Have I mentioned my fear of heights?’ I shake my head. ‘No. Show me what’s behind door number three.’
She hesitates for a moment. ‘You’re keeping an open mind, right?’
Uh-oh. ‘He’s part chimpanzee or something, isn’t he?’
‘Z, they all are. Accepting that will help you move on.’
She clicks, and the photo slides into view. It’s Brody. Brody!
‘This is a joke, right?’
‘Ninety-two per cent compatible,’ she says.
‘That’s impossible. We have nothing in common. Except you.’
She counts off our mutual interests on her fingers. ‘You read the same magazines, like the same Web sites, watch the same movies – over and over, I might add. Believe it or not, he even likes to cook.’
‘Kal, you told me to be honest, so I have to say that your brother is a jerk. Feel free to dis any of my family members in return. You’ve got plenty of ammo.’
She just laughs. ‘You and Brody got off on the wrong foot. Actually, if you think back to the first time you met, he was flirting with you.’
‘Flirting! He made fun of my hair.’
‘Like I said, flirting. You’d know that if your hormones hadn’t been knocked off-line by Eric.’
‘Brody is rude to me ninety-two percent of the time.’
‘He was thrown by our slam on Eric, that’s all. I know my brother’s a pain in the butt, Z, but he’s also a really good guy. We’ve been through a lot together and he’s always been there for me.’ She stares at the screen as an excuse not to look at me. ‘Remember what he said about my running away with the band? That wasn’t the first time I took off, but it’s the only time Mom knows about because Brody always came after me. I mean it when I say he’s put up with a lot. Because he went through everything I did with Mom, and had to help me, too.’
Her eyes well up, and this time I take her hand and ask, ‘Things are better now, right?’
Nodding, she pulls a napkin out of her bag and wipes her eyes, blurring the name of another of her prospects. ‘Partly because of you and Syd, and Love, Inc.’
I try out my new term. ‘We’re framily now – friends and family.’
‘Yeah,’ she says, smiling. ‘I like that. But Brody deserves a nice girl like you. And in case you haven’t noticed, he’s funny, smart, and cute.’
That may be so, but he doesn’t seem like the cherishing type, and he certainly doesn’t accept me for who I am. Nani’s advice might be corny but at least it’s a starting point. ‘I don’t know, Kali. Isn’t he seeing someone?’
‘Brody dates a lot, but it’s never serious,’ she says. ‘He had a girlfriend in ninth grade, but she moved away and that was really hard on him. He’s played the field ever since.’
‘What makes you think he’s ready to get serious now?’
‘I know my brother,’ she says. ‘Ultimately, he’s the settling-down type. And did I mention a ninety-two percent probability of success? How can you settle for less?’
‘Easy. Seventy-seven is my lucky number.’
She sighs, but the smile is back almost instantly. ‘Well, the customer’s always right. And Andrew is going to be very happy.’
‘Hey, Kali? Thanks.’
She shrugs. ‘We’re framily. I’d do anything for you. In fact, I’ve already got your first date planned.’
She slaps two tickets in front of me for a balloon ride – the ones Stacey gave us as a bonus.
‘No way,’ I say. ‘I am not going airborne for any guy.’
‘Gee, who was just bragging about pushing boundaries in group?’ Kali says, pretending to think. ‘Right. That would be you.’
I slide the tickets back to her and cross my arms. Walking my talk can still mean keeping my feet on the ground.
The pilot pulls on the handle. There’s a sudden whoosh! as the two burners ignite, filling the enormous purple-and-yellow balloon with enough hot air to send our little basket up, up, up, to cruising altitude, four thousand feet over Austin.
I scream. A few times. They sort of run together in a continuous shriek. Luckily, one of the other passengers – an eighteen-year-old Canadian girl – shrieks even louder. Well, that’s not so lucky for Andrew or the pilot, or even the girl’s best friend. But it makes me feel better.
With five people, a fire extinguisher, and four fuel tanks, the four-by-five foot basket is a bit cramped.
The pilot cuts the gas, and all is quiet aboard our little craft.
‘Zahra,’ Andrew says gently, ‘you should try facing out. The view is fantastic. I can already see the Enchanted Rock.’
From the moment the ground crew released our drop line, I’ve faced Andrew’s chest. Since he’s so tall, it’s been quite an effective barrier between me and my fear of looking down. But I’ve committed to pushing myself out of my safety zone today, and that means turning – slowly and cautiously – until I’m staring out at the horizon.
‘Wow.’ To my right, Austin is spread out below, its buildings bathed in a soft golden light against the evening sky. ‘There’s the Capitol dome! And the UT tower!’
Lake Austin looks beautiful, shimmering in shades of blue and pink. The traffic over the bridges is congested, and I think about Dad driving home.
‘I told you the view was worth it,’ Andrew says, pulling my fuzzy blue hat snugly down on my head and wrapping his arms around me. The brochure wasn’t kidding when it said it was a lot cooler up here than it is on the ground.
I lean back against Andrew’s puffy down jacket and smile. It’s such a strange, wonderful feeling to be soaring above the earth in a little basket. This is an oasis of tranquility over a bustling city.
We lose a little altitude, and once again the pilot fills the balloon. As we drift northwest, away from the city, I catch a glimpse of Lake Travis and the small sprawl of houses that makes up Anderson Mill, just to the right.
Tracking along the Pedernales River, we pass ranches and reserves, and in no time we reach Fredericksburg and the Enchanted Rock park. The pilot brings the balloon down so we can admire the enormous rock face, nestled among the trees and glowing deep red like a hot coal in the last of the day’s sunlight.
I lean over and pull the video camera I borrowed from Syd out of my backpack. Staring at the screen, I zoom in on the rock, where a few hikers have stopped to wave at us. I wave back and pan the camera to catch a flock of grackles silhouetted against the rosy sky. The flock turns and flies toward us, and I track them with the camera.
‘Aren’t those birds getting a little too close?’ I ask, lowering the camera.
The pilot is already trying to change course, but the birds are coming fast and steady. Cursing as he ignites the burners, he explains that we’re going to have to climb. ‘Hang on, everybody,’ he says. ‘It’s gonna get a little windy.’
The Canadian girl lets out a scream as the first current hits us and the basket pitches and sways. Andrew puts one gloved hand on the edge and keeps the other firmly wrapped around me. I try hard not to panic when the basket pitches again and tips a little toward the ground. The Canadian girl is losing it. ‘I want out!’ she shouts, lunging to the other side, making the basket wobble even more.
‘Keep her calm!’ the pilot snaps, as he works to steady the craft.
Instinctively, I yank on the girl’s hand and pull her to the floor of the basket with me, where she can’t see the horizon. Since there’s only room for two people to be down here, Andrew stands, resting a hand on my shoulder.
‘This will be over before you know it,’ I tell the girl. ‘It’s going to be OK.’
The basket wobbles again, and she screams. ‘We’re going to die!’
‘We’re not going to die,’ I say, glancing up at Andrew with a silent, ‘Are we?’
‘Not today,’ he says. His blue eyes are an ocean of calm, as if he’s stared death in the face before and knows this isn’t it. That calm must come from experience with even more extreme sports.
‘Get her to focus on her breathing,’ he says. ‘In … out …’
I do as he says, breathing in through my nose for two counts, and out through my mouth, encouraging the girl to do the same.
‘You’re doing great,’ I tell the girl, already feeling much calmer myself.
A few minutes later, Andrew tells me that we’re clear of the grackles and coming down for a landing. The pilot radioed his ground crew, and they’re going to pick us up near Fredericksburg.
The landing is surprisingly gentle. The girl has stopped crying, but it takes her friend and the pilot to get her out of the basket. My legs have turned to rubber too, but Andrew helps me upright and half carries me into the field, where we’re surrounded by curious cattle. The minute he lets go of me, I sit down in the grass. It still feels like the world is shifting under me.
We’re quiet for a moment, then Andrew says, ‘You have to admit, it was fun up to a point.’
‘And then it wasn’t,’ I say. I won’t be ballooning again anytime soon, but I’m still glad I went. It feels good to know I faced one of my biggest fears and survived.
Andrew looks down at me and laughs. ‘You’re keeping your feet firmly on the ground from now on, aren’t you?’
A cow bellows behind us, and I start laughing too.
‘Yup,’ I say. ‘Till the cows come home.’