“No, you’re not,” Summer said with heartfelt sympathy. She knew how awkward Regina felt about her height and wanted to help her feel better. After all, they were best friends. “When the boys catch up with you…”
“Summer, I measured five feet, eight and a half inches.” She visibly winced the admission. “Maybe I should try out for the boys’ basketball team.”
“Don’t be silly. You’d kill yourself. There isn’t a coordinated bone in your body,” Summer replied with complete honesty. She knew she wasn’t hurting Regina’s feelings. They were too close. Besides, it was the truth. “Anyway, you’re going to be a model, remember? And it’s good for models to be tall and thin, and—”
“—flat-chested,” Regina supplied, “which I most definitely am. Let’s change the subject. This is depressing. Where is everyone? It’s actually quiet.”
“Mom’s working at the flower shop with Dad, and Grandpa is—”
“—in the basement,” Regina added. She had the habit of finishing Summer’s sentences for her, and sometimes the trait bothered Summer, but not today. “Has he finished his remote-control vacuum cleaner?”
Regina understood about Grandpa. And she never laughed. That was one of the reasons she was her best friend, Summer acknowledged. She really understood.
“I think so, but he hasn’t tried it out upstairs yet. He’s working on car chains today.”
Regina nodded, and they both smiled. Yes, Regina definitely understood Summer’s family.
“Can I go next door and play with Andy?” Michael interrupted with a loud, proud burp.
Usually Michael went right down for his nap after lunch, but Summer wanted to visit with Regina before hassling with her brother. “For a little while, if you finish your sandwich,” she started to answer, but he was already running out the back door.
Summer turned to her friend. “There’s no easy way to tell you this, Regina,” Summer said. “Mom has to work with Dad all summer. Mrs. Nelson is going to have a baby, and she took the whole three months off.”
“You’re kidding! What about working at the Pizza Paddle?”
“I can’t,” Summer mumbled.
“Summer, do you realize how much time and effort went into my nagging Dad until he agreed to let us work there?”
Summer sat in dejected silence while she considered her bleak future. There wasn’t any hope, she decided. What other fifteen-year-old girl stayed home all summer? Probably none. And this was the summer that she and Regina had vowed they would make some new friends and meet some really cute older guys. They had both agreed to turn over a new leaf, too, starting with their looks. Summer had decided that her wardrobe was entirely too juvenile, for one thing. The money she’d been planning to make at the Pizza Paddle would have enabled her to buy some really great clothes. Well, that was definitely out now. Mom and Dad couldn’t afford to pay her more than a few dollars a week for baby-sitting. It would take her most of the summer just to have enough to buy new jeans!
“You’re going to be stuck here all summer?”
Regina made it sound as if Summer had been sentenced to Siberia. Of course, taking care of Michael and her grandfather was probably just as bad, Summer thought, then immediately felt guilty.
“But what about our plans?” Regina’s stubborn streak was asserting itself. She was just as disappointed as Summer, and that fact made Summer feel somewhat better. “You’ll never meet anyone if you don’t get out there and circulate. That’s what is so super about working at the Pizza Paddle. Everyone goes there on Friday nights. You know that!”
“I know, I know,” Summer said. “But there isn’t anything I can do about it. I tried to talk to Dad, but when he started his ‘A Family Is a Team’ lecture, I knew it was a lost cause.”
“Ann Logan is having a swim party next week,” Regina said, changing the subject.
“Oh, how splendid.” Summer’s voice reeked with sarcasm. Splendid was one of Ann’s favorite words, and Ann was one of Summer’s least favorite persons.
“Your claws are showing,” Regina said with a giggle. “Just because she stole Eric from you…”
“Don’t start,” Summer demanded. “And she did not steal him from me. I never had him to begin with, remember? That was all in your mind.”
Ann Logan was definitely a thorn in Summer’s side. As soon as Ann had found out Summer was interested in Eric, she’d moved right in. Eric was helpless before Ann’s practiced assault. He never stood a chance.
“Do you think she uses something on her hair? It’s getting more and more streaked, I noticed.”
“Who cares? She still looks like a Barbie doll with that plastic smile of hers. And the way she bats those lashes, you’d think she had a tic or something.”
“Well, she has to be nice to me,” Regina said. “She still hasn’t given up on Gregg.”
“How can your brother stand her? Honestly, Michael has a better vocabulary than she does, and she acts so…phony. I don’t think she can hold a serious thought for more than ten seconds.” The disgust was obvious in Summer’s voice.
“Oh, all the boys like to have girls gush over them. That’s our problem, Summer. We just aren’t gushy enough. Anyway, I was invited to the party because of Gregg, that’s for sure. We both know she really doesn’t like me. She doesn’t like any girl, for that matter. Maybe I won’t go if you’re not invited.”
“You have to go. This will be the perfect opportunity for you to meet some new boys. With Ann’s reputation to maintain, I’m sure there will be an abundance of—”
“—gorgeous guys surrounding her,” Regina said. “We’re supposed to bring dates,” Regina added. “I guess I could ask Carl Benson. He’s tall enough. If only he didn’t tend to lisp…”
“He does not lisp,” Summer argued. “And if he does, it’s because of his braces. Besides, once you get there, you can—”
“—circulate,” Regina finished for her. “You’re right. I’ll ask Carl. I wish you were going though. I…Wait! I’ve got it! You can go with Gregg.”
“Oh, I don’t know—”
“He’ll do it,” Regina interrupted, a glint entering her brown eyes. “He owes me, Summer. I’ll tell him tonight.”
“Let me think about it first,” Summer stalled.
“Look, we both said we need to take advantage of every opportunity if we’re going to change our images. Hermits don’t meet many new people. Think about that.”
“Okay, okay.”
“I have to go. I’ll call you later.”
“Fine,” Summer replied. She followed Regina to the front door, dodging toy cars and trucks along the way. It would take her most of the afternoon to clean up Michael’s mess. And he’d made the clutter in less than ten minutes.
“Want to do something tonight?” Regina asked.
“Can’t. It’s bingo night.”
“Poor Summer…Maybe your grandfather won’t want to go tonight.”
When it snows in July, Summer thought. “No chance. And don’t say ‘Poor Summer,’” she demanded. “I feel bad enough as it is.”
Chapter 2
“Summer, honey, I’m talking to you,” her father said at the dinner table that night.
“Sorry, Dad. I guess I was daydreaming,” Summer lied.
“Couldn’t have been a good daydream, girl. You’re frowning yourself into an early set of wrinkles,” her grandfather bellowed from across the table. Since Grandpa had a bit of a hearing problem, he assumed everyone else did, too.
“I signed Michael up for swim lessons,” her father said. “He starts tomorrow. He’s to be at the park by ten, honey.”
“Okay, Dad. How long are the lessons?” Summer asked, trying to force some enthusiasm into her voice.
“A half hour each morning for two weeks, except Saturdays and Sundays, of course.”
“What about Grandpa?”
“I can manage on my own, girl,” her grandfather answered. “Now, hurry up and finish your dinner. I won’t stan
d for being late for bingo!”
It was a ritual. Every Monday night, regardless of the weather, Summer dutifully walked with her grandfather to the church hall two blocks away. While he played bingo, Summer helped Mr. Clancy at the snack bar.
If the truth were known, Summer really looked forward to bingo night, though she would have died before admitting that fact to anyone, even Regina. The reason was her grandfather. He seemed to come alive on Monday nights, and it meant a lot to Summer to help him enjoy himself so much.
Summer gave a salute, then went to the front door and stood patiently for a good ten minutes while her grandfather gathered up the tools of his trade: a green felt-tip pen, Scotch tape, and, of course, an extra pair of glasses in the event of an emergency. Grandpa took bingo seriously.
He was finally ready. Summer linked her arm through his and slowly began to walk. It was a lovely night, warm and breezy, the air perfumed with the scents of budding flowers.
“Do you like living with us, Grandpa?” Summer asked.
“Never a dull minute,” her grandfather answered with a chuckle. “More like living in a zoo with all the commotion going on. Still, it’s much better than that nursing home your daddy rescued me from.”
“But you were the one who insisted on going there,” Summer protested. “Dad says you just wanted to give up after Grandma died. I’m glad you didn’t like it there,” she confessed. “And that you moved in with us. It’s where you belong.” Her grandfather smiled at her. There was a special bond between them. Summer could tell him anything and he never became impatient, even though he would occasionally fall asleep in the middle of a sentence. It wasn’t from boredom, he always assured Summer. He just needed his rest.
“You still moping because you didn’t get to go on a trip with that rich girlfriend of yours?” her grandfather asked bluntly.
“Grandpa, I wasn’t…Well, I was moping, but not anymore,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. “And Mary Lou isn’t the rich girlfriend. You’re thinking of Regina.”
“Regina, the big girl with the pool in her backyard?” her grandfather asked. At Summer’s nod, he continued. “She’s a nice girl, even if she isn’t Irish.”
Summer laughed and shook her head. It was a fact that her grandfather set great store in his heritage.
“It would be nice to be Irish and rich, don’t you agree?” she asked.
“You are rich, girl. You’re healthy and belong to a caring family. What more could you ask for?”
Summer didn’t have time to answer. They had reached the entrance to the church. As he reached for the iron handle on the heavy wooden doors, her grandfather threw his shoulders back and straightened his spine, and then he marched into the hall with a dignified stride and headed toward the bingo cards. After he had selected the ones he wanted, Summer helped him get settled in his spot right next to John Abrams.
There already was a crowd in front of the snack bar, and Summer hurried to help Mr. Clancy. Only when she had rounded the corner to get behind the counter through the side door did she realize that Mr. Clancy wasn’t alone. Standing right next to him was the most handsome boy Summer had ever seen.
She blinked. He was still there. He was lifting the large coffeemaker that he’d just filled with water and didn’t see her standing in the doorway. He was tall and slender but had an athletic build. Summer couldn’t help but notice his broad shoulders as he lifted the heavy pot. Dark curly hair just brushed his collar, and his well-defined cheekbones, straight nose, and square jaw reminded her of one of those classic Greek statues she’d seen at the museum.
For over a year she had been the only person under the age of fifty at bingo night and had every right to be surprised. Who was he? she wondered. And why hadn’t she worn her good khakis instead of these faded cutoffs? And her hair! It was in a ponytail instead of down. She looked positively gross!
The realization that she was actually standing there flash-frozen with her mouth wide open finally penetrated, and Summer struggled to regain some of her composure. It was easier said than done.
“Am I late, Mr. Clancy?” Her voice sounded like a squeaky chair.
“Not to worry, dear,” Mr. Clancy said, beaming. “Summer, I’d like you to meet Frank Marshall’s grandson, David. David, this is Summer Matthews.”
“Nice to meet you,” Summer replied with as much dignity as she could muster. It was hard work; speech was a little difficult, for David had looked up to smile at her and he had the most startling green eyes. He’s beautiful, she thought, and I look hideous.
“Hi,” David said.
“You two take care of the customers while I make more coffee,” Mr. Clancy said.
The next fifteen minutes were busy. Everyone was in a hurry to get refreshments before the first round of bingo, and Summer was relieved. She felt all tongue-tied and panicky. What would she talk about? Her mind spun with a multitude of questions she could ask him, but they all would have sounded as if she were interviewing him for the school paper…not just talking.
Did other girls feel this awkward around boys? Summer wondered. Ann Logan would know just what to say, and be cute and coy at the same time.
“What school do you go to?” David had solved the problem.
Summer stopped wiping the countertop with the dishrag and turned to him. “Regis,” she all but blurted. She lowered her voice so she wouldn’t interfere with the bingo calling and continued. “Where do you go?”
“Chalmers,” David answered. Summer was impressed. Chalmers was a boys’ prep school. No wonder she had never seen him before. “I’ll be a senior in the fall. What about you?”
“Lowly sophomore,” Summer replied with a grin. She hoped her dimple showed when she smiled. Regina had often said it was one of her best features. “We might as well sit down over there and wait for intermission,” she added, and gestured to the small card table set up against the back wall.
Neither said a word until they were facing each other across the table. Summer was still nervous; the palms of her hands were actually sweating, and she fervently prayed that David wouldn’t notice. She realized she was still holding the dishrag, and placed it on the table.
I’m being so silly, Summer decided. After all, he can’t possibly be interested in me. A Chalmers boy, as handsome as David, and a senior at that…No, Summer was sure he must have a dozen girls interested in him. He was just being nice and polite while they worked together. For some reason, Summer relaxed. Since she didn’t stand a chance with him, why try? She would just enjoy this evening and be herself. Besides, she really wasn’t any good at gushing anyway. It wasn’t her style.
The pressure was off. Summer found herself talking freely, telling David all about the co-ed school she attended. They discussed the merits and drawbacks of both schools. David seemed so relaxed and actually looked as if he was interested in what she had to say.
“Why are you here tonight?” Summer asked at one point. She decided she’d sounded too blunt, and hurried to add, “I mean, I come every Monday night and I was just wondering why I haven’t seen you here before.”
“This is my first time,” David replied. “My grandfather has a heart condition and can’t drive the car anymore, so I volunteered to bring him. He likes to play bingo.”
“My grandfather loves bingo. He plays at least twenty cards at a time,” she exaggerated.
“So does my grandfather,” David said, and then chuckled. “Has your grandfather ever won a jackpot?”
“No, but he says he’s always close. Too close to give up,” Summer replied. “I walk with him to the church every Monday night, rain or shine. He wouldn’t miss bingo for anything,” she confessed.
“Will you be here next Monday helping out again?” David asked.
“Sure,” Summer answered. “What about you? Will you be coming back?” she asked the question as casually as she could.
“If you’re going to be here, I will be.”
David seemed embarrassed at what he had jus
t said; his cheeks actually turned pink, and Summer’s stomach did a double flip.
“Yes, I’ll be here,” she answered quickly. Inside she was screaming with joy.
The rest of the evening went by in a blur, and soon it was time to collect her grandfather and start home. David offered to drive them, but before Summer could agree to that plan, her grandfather stated that the walk was his only exercise. Summer hid her disappointment. She was on cloud nine…David had asked her for her phone number!
Chapter 3
The next morning Summer was running late and had to race to get Michael ready for his swimming lesson. He looked terribly silly walking beside her in a lemon yellow swimsuit and his red winter boots, but Summer didn’t have time to argue with him. At least he had promised to remove the boots and the red towel when he was in the pool. Summer only had time to put on a pair of her mother’s sunglasses and hope that no one recognized her.
They were standing on the corner of High Drive and Meyer Boulevard when Summer heard her name called. She recognized the singsong voice immediately. Ann Logan. So much for the disguise, Summer thought with a sigh. She removed the sunglasses and squinted at Ann.
“I’m so glad I spotted you,” Ann said, leaning out the window of her sports car. “I wanted to invite you to a little swim party I’m having next Wednesday. I do hope you can come.” She giggled. “Of course, you’ll have to bring a date,” she added with a smirk, “but if you can’t find one, call me and I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’m sure I can find a date, Ann. Thank you for inviting me,” she said sweetly. She wanted to add “Why did you invite me?” but thought she knew that answer. Ann liked an audience to stand on the sidelines while she reigned as Miss Popularity with the boys.
The stoplight changed, and Ann waved a dramatic farewell before gunning the motor. Both Summer and Michael watched her zoom off. Ann Logan was one of the few sophomores who had turned sixteen and had a driver’s license. The sports car was a sweet-sixteen present from her parents. That was ironic, Summer decided, for there wasn’t a darn thing sweet about Ann Logan.