CHAPTER 13
Summertime Girls
My friendship with Mara flourished after Ty and I returned home from our beach adventure. She joined us on many of our outings, although we had to borrow their parent's car when she did. She was a lot of fun and always up for anything, except the Waffle House. Kind of snobby about where she could be seen, she insisted we pick her up after our breakfast ritual.
"I don't know why you love that place so much," she scoffed as she slid into the back seat of the exquisite red Scaglietti one overcast morning.
"Their eggs are fluffy and I love raisin toast with apple butter," I retorted.
Mara sighed audibly. "I have so much work to do with you."
Ty glared at her disapprovingly, but I just laughed. "Give it your best shot."
She shook her head.
"It's supposed to rain all day. We should do something uplifting to combat the dreariness, unless you already have something planned," I suggested.
"I did, but it involved being outdoors. We can always do it another time. Did you have something in mind?"
"Let's do a spa day," Mara proposed.
"We just did that when we were at Sea Island," I reminded her.
"Can you do too many spa days?" she asked rhetorically.
"I can," Ty concluded.
"What about bowling?" I suggested.
"We haven't been bowling in a long time, Ty. Let's do that," Mara said authoritatively.
"Okay. Do you want to go to the place in Savannah that we used to go to or would you rather find another one?"
"We can go there. I think they had pool tables, too, if I remember correctly. Essie, are you a good bowler?"
"I used to be decent, but it's been a while. That was always our rainy day boredom solution."
We arrived at Savannah Lanes just as it was starting to sprinkle. We rented our shoes and were assigned to Lane 3. As we approached, I eyed the balls in the ball retriever skeptically.
"What's wrong?" Ty asked.
"Um, I've never bowled with balls this big," I answered, confused.
"What do you mean? What other kind of balls are there?"
"Small ones with no holes in them."
"Never seen 'em."
"Then you've never been candlepin bowling in New England."
"That's a true statement."
I picked up a lime green ball with white swirls and put my fingers in the holes. "This is heavy," I noted. "I'm not sure how I'll do with this."
Ty had taken out his phone and was googling the difference between ten pin and candlepin bowling. He laughed out loud and enlarged the picture of a small, black candlepin ball in a man's hand for Mara.
"That looks ridiculous, Essie," she teased.
"I'm going to look ridiculous when I either drop the ball behind me or go flying down the lane when my fingers get stuck in the holes."
"If that happens, please don't get mad at me for laughing," Ty begged.
"You won't be laughing any harder than I will be," I assured him. "Why don't you two go first so I can see how it's done."
"Okay. I'll start," Mara said, picking up a pink ball. With perfect form, she approached the foul line, raising the ball behind her as though it was a balloon. When she let it go, it curved slightly to the right, then came back to the middle where it hit the one pin and knocked down all but the nine and ten.
"That was great," I cheered.
She smiled and picked up another pink ball.
"Hey, why are the pins resetting?" I wondered.
"They're not resetting. It's just clearing away the pins I knocked over," she explained.
"That's not at all how I learned to play. The pins aren't reset in candlepin."
She ignored me and readied herself for her second attempt. Making it look easy, she knocked down the remaining two pins and smiled proudly.
It was Ty's turn. Just like his twin sister, his form was flawless. He looked like a professional on his approach as his right leg dragged behind his left when he released the dark blue ball.
"Strike!" I yelled out, jumping up from my seat.
"Your turn. Would you like any assistance?" he asked as he strolled confidently toward me.
"Let me attempt it once and see what happens," I said as I chose the lime green ball I had put back in the ball returner.
I tried my best to imitate Ty and Mara's form, but their natural grace could not be replicated. The heavy ball dropped with a thud just a couple of feet in front of me and rolled slowly down the lane, drifting unhurriedly to the left, where it finally took out the four, seven, and eight pins.
"Not bad for your first time ever," Ty praised, trying hard to stifle a laugh. "It didn't go down the gutter."
"I think I'll take that assistance now," I said, embarrassed.
He chose a baby blue ball and handed it to me. "This one is ten pounds. The green one was twelve. Does it feel any better?"
"I'm not sure," I shrugged, as I turned it over and over in my hands.
"Lift it up behind you."
I did as instructed and could definitely feel the difference. "This is better, thanks."
"Now let's work on your approach. You want to take four steps. Begin with your right foot, like this." He demonstrated in slow motion and I paid careful attention. "You should start bringing the ball back on your second step; by your third step, the ball should be at the top of your backswing; the downswing begins with your fourth step; and, finally, release the ball as it's beside your ankle at the end of your fourth step. Does that make sense?"
I nodded.
"Let's see what you can do now that you've received expert instruction," he smirked.
"So it's all on you then," I quipped. I replayed the lesson in my head and counted the steps to myself. I let the ball go just as it was about to pass my ankle, realizing that that had been my error the first time around. I had released the ball too late, hence the thud. Releasing it when it was close to the ground allowed for a much smoother transition from my hand to the lane. I watched with glee as it rolled down the center and hit the one pin straight on, knocking down all the pins but the ten.
"Yay, me," I exclaimed, jumping up and down, my eyes still focused on the one remaining pin, admiring my achievement.
I felt Ty's arms around my waist. "You're a natural," he whispered in my ear. I shivered, like I always did when he did that. "I love that I give you chill bumps."
"You need to stop before Mara..."
"Do you two mind?" she groaned as she hip-checked us.
We played three games - Ty won the first one, Mara won the second. Of course, they couldn't leave the bowling alley having tied. They insisted on playing a third game, claiming that it was to give me a chance to win one. While Ty's coaching had helped tremendously, I was not even close to playing as well as they. I knew, of course, that it was only so that one of them could claim victory. They were very competitive. When it came to sports, I always thought it was about having fun, not necessarily winning, and that indifference used to drive Jane crazy.
Ty was in the zone now and beat Mara handily.
"Who's the greatest at everything?" he taunted as only a brother could do.
"You were just showing off for Essie."
"Always bitter, Mara."
At that remark, she punched him in the arm.
"Children, behave or I'll have to put you in time out," I scolded as I took their hands and led them toward the door.
It was still raining so we decided to go back to Ty and Mara's house. After watching three awesomely bad shark movies back-to-back on the SyFy channel, Mara invited me to spend the night when Ty had momentarily left the room.
"Your parents won't mind?"
"Not at all. You know they love you."
"But I mean... well... Ty and I are dating."
"You're not sleeping in his room, silly. You'll stay with me."
"I didn't mean..."
"I know. Hush already and stop worrying about perception. It's all good, sister," s
he said as she leaned over and gave me a comforting hug.
"What's going on?" Ty asked as he reappeared in the living room, mid-hug.
"I invited Essie to spend the night. Now we can watch SyFy all night."
"Great idea," he grinned.
"Don't get any ideas, bubba. I'm keeping her safe in my room," she joked playfully.
"Whatever," he said dismissively. "I'm calling to order pizza so we don't have to go out. Essie, is there anything you don't eat?"
"Anchovies. I think that's it."
"Does anyone eat those things?" Mara wondered aloud.
"Someone must, but not anyone I've ever known," I answered.
While we waited on the pizza delivery, Mara took me to her room, a majestic space fit for a princess. She had a king size, four poster bed, complete with canopy and sheer curtains. The bed and dressers were made from a dark wood, while the carpet and bedding were cream colored. Throughout the room were placed muted pink accent pieces. I noticed an antique styled chaise lounge in a vignette set apart in a corner, a narrow window at the head of the chair providing a sliver of light. Next to it she had placed a round table with claw feet, on top of which sat a small candelabrum. What a lovely place to sit and read, I thought, envy suddenly creeping in as I recalled my many failed attempts to read just one whole chapter in my bedroom without being interrupted by a sibling.
"Let's slip into something more comfortable since we're in for the night," she said as she threw a pair of yoga pants and a matching top my way. Mara had a huge walk-in closet filled with more clothes than my entire family owned, combined. She was always trying to give me stuff that she was no longer using. I appreciated the gesture, but she was very fancy and I was very plain. I often had to remind her of my list of no-no's - no bows, no metallics, no bedazzled, no shiny, no low cut, no sheer, no crazy patterns, no polyester, no neon.
When we had both changed, we returned to the living room and found that Ty had had the same idea. He was now wearing grey gym shorts and a Braves t-shirt, looking a little more like your average high school senior and a little less like an Abercrombie & Fitch model.
"I love when you two dress down like this. I don't feel so much like the pigeon among peacocks."
"I must not have told you lately how beautiful you are. Forgive me," he said sweetly. "Essie Claire, I think you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He kissed me lovingly on my lips.
"I wasn't trying to elicit a compliment."
"And I wasn't trying to flatter you, just making sure you know the truth."
"You're impossible."
"I can't be impossible; I exist," he said seriously, quoting Sheldon.
"Good one," I giggled at his reference.
The doorbell rang, announcing the pizza delivery person's arrival. Ty got up to get the door and led the guy back to the living room. He set the warming bag on the coffee table and took out three large pizzas.
"Wow. How much do you two eat?"
"I just wanted a variety," Ty said as he paid the guy and escorted him back to the front door.
Mara and I opened each of the boxes to see what he had ordered. Thin crust vegetarian, hand tossed meat lovers, and a deep dish with extra cheese and extra pepperoni. Sweet. Mara took one slice of the vegetarian and I took one of each.
"How do you stay so skinny and eat like that?" Mara asked, sounding cranky.
"Ignoring the fact that I'm not skinny, I don't know. Just lucky, I guess."
Ty rejoined us and squirmed his way into the non-existent space between me and Mara, forcing us to move to either side.
"What do you think you're doing, bubba?"
"Just wanting to sit between my two favorite girls." He settled in, putting an arm over each of our shoulders.
"Wait a second. Did you just call him bubba?"
"Uh, huh."
"Why?"
"When I was little I couldn't say brother and that's what came out. It slips out from time to time, mostly when he's being a pain in the butt."
"I thought I heard you say it earlier, but then I figured I was mistaken. That's so funny. Bubba," I repeated. "It does not fit you at all."
"I know. She does it just to annoy me."
"You started it."
"Oh, my gosh. You two are worse than Hollie and Danny."
Mara picked up the tv remote and turned the volume up really loud. I just looked at her. She looked at me, then at Ty, and turned it down. I guessed that was her way of having the last word.
The movie theme had switched from sharks to natural disasters, my personal favorite. We got to see what would happen during a meteor apocalypse, an asteroid apocalypse, and when a super storm meets a tornado. By the end, we had consumed most of the pizza, Ty and I eating the lion's share.
Tired and full, I needed sleep. "Come on, Mara. I'm beat. Let's go to bed."
"It's still early," she whined. "The next one is about an earthquake. We can't go to bed yet."
"I can. You two can stay up all night and do whatever vampires do," I joked as I left them sitting on the couch and made my way to Mara's room. I went in to her private bathroom to wash up and found that she had left an unopened toothbrush, toothpaste, and facial cleanser next to the sink for me. I was just going to put some toothpaste on my finger and do the best I could, but I should've known better by now. The Gregorys always had everything covered.
When I had finished with my nightly bathroom routine, I crawled under the covers on the left side of Mara's bed. I assumed she slept on the right since the alarm clock was on the nightstand to the right of her bed.
"Oh, my goodness," I gasped aloud. This was the most comfortable bed I had ever been in. It felt like I was lounging on a cloud. I extended my arms and legs as far as they could go in every direction and pretended I was making a snow angel. No bed could be more plush than this. I was in heaven.
"You are adorable."
The words startled me and I bolted straight up. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness and I could see Ty, on his knees, his chin level with the bed.
"What are you doing in here?" I whispered as though there were anyone around to hear. His parents were in Brazil and Mara was either invisible or still downstairs. I laid back down on my side, propping up my head with my left hand so that we were eye to eye.
"You didn't kiss me goodnight."
"I'm sorry. I figured we'd already annoyed Mara as much as was allowable for one day."
"That was thoughtful of you, but I won't be able to sleep without a goodnight kiss. Not knowing that you're so close..." he trailed off as he brought his face to mine and kissed me. Our lips met and parted over and over again until I thought that I might roll off the bed and into his arms.
"Do I need to get a hose?" Mara reprimanded as she turned on the light.
"Goodnight, sweet Essie."
"Goodnight," I breathed, closing my eyes and pulling the comforter over my head.
Two seconds later, Mara jumped on the bed and pulled the covers off me. "You're not going to sleep after what I just witnessed."
"What?"
"Don't what me, sister. That was more than a goodnight kiss. It's a good thing I arrived when I did."
"I'm sorry, Mara."
"What are you sorry for? You don't have to apologize for being into my brother. I love seeing him happy like this. I told you before that he has never liked a girl the way he likes you. But he told me what happened the night I left you with him in Savannah, and we don't need a repeat of that."
"When you texted me that night, you said he was upset but that he wouldn't tell you what happened."
"He wouldn't tell me that night, but I got it out of him after you got back from Sea Island, when he was happy again. He felt really bad about it, so you shouldn't put him in a similar situation where it's easy for him to misinterpret your intentions. Unless, that it, your intentions have changed?"
"Mara!"
"Well, have they? You were alone at the beach house and you spend practically every waki
ng moment together."
"Is there no topic that's off limits for you?"
She laughed. "Not one that I can think of. But nice attempt at changing the subject. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. Your intentions..."
I sighed loudly. "I have no in-ten-tion," I enunciated, "of allowing myself to take things too far. It's just that when he kisses me, Mara, my whole body tingles and sometimes I feel like we're melting into one being. Does that sound weird?"
"What is weird is me listening to you talk like that about my brother."
"Seriously? You're the one who..."
"Just kidding. Not about it being weird, but, that aside, I'm glad you're confiding in me. So let me tell you, from my experience, you cannot kiss a guy like that and not expect him to want more. I know that Ty is your first boyfriend so this is new to you, but you're going to have to set some boundaries for yourself or you might find that you've done something you'll regret. Not that there is anything to regret about my awesome brother, but I get the feeling that you're a 'wait till marriage' kind of girl. Am I right?"
"I thought I was. Wait. I take that back. I am. Have you ever..."
"Just once."
"What was it like?"
"Awkward. It just kind of happened, a heat of the moment thing. So I know what I'm talking about as far as regrets go."
"What happened between you after that?"
"We went out a couple more times, but that's all he wanted to do, so I broke up with him. He was in a fatal wreck a few days later. It was sad."
Only she didn't say it like it was sad. It came out matter-of-factly. I wasn't sure what to make of it. But, then again, I was never sure what to make of Mara, so I let it go and moved on.
"Hey, would you mind if we watched 'Red Eye'? I'm wide awake now and it's just about 3 a.m."
"Sure. What's 'Red Eye'?"
"It's the only news show I can watch without getting upset or bored. It's three best friends, plus three guests, who talk about the news of the day. But they're hilarious, especially Bill. He has crazy hair and he usually stares off into space when he's introduced. You'll love it."
We watched tv for the rest of what was left of the night. And with the morning's light came a fresh perspective. I would be more careful with Ty in the future.