Chapter Eighteen
Things were getting out of hand. I was clear about that much when I woke up the next morning. And I'd reached that level of clarity because I'd been up most of the night. The other bad news was that the sky was gray and cloudy. I wondered if it had ever rained on the night of the Solstice Party before. If it hadn't, tonight would be a hell of a time for it to start. I had a bad feeling that bad weather would only heighten Mrs. Cheshire's powers. Not that she would do anything at the party. She probably wouldn't even come now. I hoped.
I rubbed my eyes groggily and tried to wake up. I had barely slept, mostly because an image of Mrs. Cheshire swooping into the entryway of the Roths' house and attacking people with knives and hammers made out of ice had kept me awake. Of course, I knew that was silly. Samuel's mom would never do that. Not with her son and all the rest of the family watching. Not to mention all the Roths. But still, I worried.
Holt had looked surprised when his mother had told him to take me home the day before, but he had put his arm around me and done what she asked. On the way back to Carley's he had explained that I wasn't in any danger from Mrs. Cheshire, that no matter what, she wouldn't want to hurt me. It didn't help, though, that Holt said it all in a way that sounded a lot like he was trying to convince himself as well as me. Mrs. Cheshire was most definitely a danger. She was the Winter Queen, after all, and clearly used to getting her way. I didn't think that anyone, me or Mrs. Roth or maybe even Samuel, could stop her if she was angry enough. In fact, Samuel had already suggested as much.
With those nice relaxing thoughts in my head it was no wonder I hadn't slept. Gloomily, I pulled myself out of bed and went into the bathroom.
A long shower later, I felt a bit better. The warm water had relaxed me, even if it hadn't helped wake me up. I blow-dried my hair so that it wouldn't make me colder on this chilly day, then put on jeans and my favorite blue hoodie and padded downstairs to check on Carley.
She was in the living room watching TV with her feet propped up on the sofa. Her toes were spread out with a tissue stuck between them as she painted her nails. Her head was wrapped in a green towel and she was still in her purple bathrobe.
"Morning," I said, plopping into a chair.
She sat bolt upright and looked at me in complete horror.
I raised my eyebrows at her. "Who died?" I wanted to know.
"What are you wearing?" she gasped. "Why aren't you doing your hair? Here, sit here," she said, clearing off a bunch of pillows from the couch. "I have the flat iron going if you want to use it."
"Careful or you'll spill the nail polish," I muttered.
I knew I should probably take her advice. My hair tended to frizz like I'd stuck a finger in an electrical socket, and I didn't want that to happen tonight. I wanted to look nice.
I sighed and got to work on my hair.
"My parents called," said Carley. "They said they talked to your mom and that you shouldn't go to the party tonight."
I stopped mid-comb. "So, why are you still having me straighten my hair?"
"Psh, you don't think I'm going to listen to them, do you? I mean, if we get caught we'll both be grounded, but it will be SO worth it." She grinned at me.
"Are you sure you want to take that risk?" I asked. I didn't want my friend to get in trouble for me.
"Oh, please. I do it all the time. What parents don't know won't hurt them," she said, and gave me an evil grin.
I smiled back. Carley could drive me crazy sometimes, like when she forgot to pick me up from the airport, but she really was a good friend.
"I should call my mom anyway," I said. "She's being completely unreasonable."
"She really didn't even tell you why she didn't want you to go?" Carley asked.
"Nope," I said. "I have no idea what's wrong with her." At first I had thought she had talked to Mrs. Fritters about my going and that's why she didn't want me to, but after my run-in with Mrs. Cheshire yesterday I wasn't so sure it had been Mrs. Fritters.
"What'd you think of Mrs. Cheshire?" Carley asked as she continued carefully painting her toes. "Scary, huh? I think she's a horrible woman. Maybe that's where Samuel gets it from."
Even if Samuel was cold, I didn't think he and his mother were anything alike, but I nodded. "She wasn't . . . pleasant," I said.
Carley snorted. "Not at all. Maybe she is if she likes you, like, maybe she's nice to her own children, but if you get on her bad side, watch out." Carley slammed one of her fists into the other for emphasis.
Talking about Mrs. Cheshire wasn't helping my nerves, so I tried to change the subject. "Anyway," I said, "where's Nick?"
Carley shrugged. "He said we wouldn't see him until tonight. He said he had big plans, and they didn't involve spending all day watching us play with our hair."
"Haha."
The doorbell rang.
"Who would that be?" asked Carley, frowning. "Could you get it? I'm stuck here." She pointed to the nail polish drying on her toes.
I got up and went to the door. Pulling it open, I was surprised to see Susan.
"Hi! Thought I'd stop by," she said with a smile.
"Hey," I said. Had she heard about yesterday?'
"Carley's in the living room," I said, inviting her in.
"Who is it?" called Carley.
We walked into the living room, where Carley had pushed herself up onto the sofa and pulled her robe tighter. "Hey, Susan," she said.
"Hi! Oh, are you getting ready for the party? I'm so excited," Susan gushed, sitting down in one of the chairs. Carley shut the TV off.
"Yeah, so are we," said Carley.
"Well, actually, I told Autumn I'd help her with her dress if she wanted," said Susan, "and since you live so close I thought I'd just stop by."
"I haven't even seen your dress yet, have I?" asked Carley, remembering that she hadn't gone with me to pick it out, which had turned out to be a good thing, because she had missed running into Crazy Cheshire Girl One and Crazy Cheshire Girl Two.
I shook my head. "It's cute," I said noncommittally. "Nothing to write home about, but I thought it looked nice." Also, after I'd run into the Cheshire girls I'd been done shopping for the day.
"Hey, you need better than okay," said Susan sternly. "You need perfection."
"I just wouldn't know where to start," I said. "I like it. It's just one night." It did occur to me that Susan might have an ulterior motive for being there, but I couldn't imagine what. Maybe she was just nice.
We spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon working on my dress. Well, Susan did most of the work. When she asked my opinion I gave it, and then she mostly did what she wanted to anyway.
The three of us chatted while she worked, but because Carley was there we didn't have a chance to talk about anything related to Fairies or Mrs. Cheshire or princes.
When Susan finished at last, it was time to get ready for the party.
I had to admit, the dressed looked stunning. Carley had seen how good Susan was at sewing and had even asked her to make a few alterations to her own dress.
After Susan left Carley said, "She's amazing. And so nice."
I agreed.
We had a snack to tide us over until dinner, then we both showered, and finally it was time to put our dresses on. I was a little nervous, because I'd been so upset the day before I had never actually tried the dress on, and though Susan had said it matched my measurements exactly, I still wasn't sure how I'd look when I put it on.
Taking a deep breath, I slid the white dress over my head, zipped it up, and looked at myself in the mirror. I had thought it looked pretty hanging in the store, but Susan's changes had made all the difference.
I met Carley in the hall. Her dress was the palest purple and fell a few inches above her knee. It complemented her pale skin and blond hair perfectly. "You look wonderful," I said.
"Wow, so you do. Look at the dress. I love all the sparkles she added," Carley said. And it was true. Susan h
ad added a lot of sparkles, but it wasn't until Carley said it that I realized she'd done the sparkles in a specific design.
"She drew a rose on your dress," Carley pointed out in awe.
I looked down. Yes, that's exactly what Susan had done. I took a deep breath. This was going to be a very interesting night indeed.
Nick finally came over, and the three of us walked to the Roths' together. Nick looked great in khakis, a blue button down, and a jacket. "It's the only one I have," he said sheepishly. I told him he looked wonderful.
He had brought each of us a small bunch of flowers. I put mine in a vase before we left, but Carley decided to take hers with us, which Nick seemed pretty happy about.
Even before the Roths' house came into view it was clear that there was a party close by. Cars lined the streets on both sides. Nick, Carley, and I passed families and other men and women all dressed up and all walking toward the same destination.
"I feel like I'm going to prom or something," I said.
Carley grinned. "Trust me, this is going to be way better than prom."
Nick nodded. "I just wish they'd have one every week."
"We'd get sick of it if they did," said Carley.
"I wouldn't," said Nick. "The Roths have every video game imaginable. It just sucks that Logan Roth is so good at them. I wonder if he'll be there this year. I haven't seen him yet."
"He will," I said absently. "I saw him a couple of nights ago."
"When did you? oh never mind," said Nick, realizing that he knew exactly when.
"Nothing wrong with Autumn having friends," said Carley, linking her arm with mine. "They just happen to be cute guys."
Yeah, and neither of them wants to be friends.
By that time we'd reached the front of the house. It looked so splendid it made me gasp. Just the night before it had looked like an ordinary house. Now it looked like some incredible castle you'd see in a Disney movie. There were colorful decorations everywhere. Flowers were strewn on the walkway and draped like garlands over the walls. Little lantern lights hung from everywhere, and somehow there was now a fountain in the middle of the driveway.
"I have no idea how they pull this off in one night," said Nick. "It's like magic."
Not exactly.
Holt had already given me a demonstration of what Fairies could do, but if he hadn't this would have been enough. Summer Fairies really knew how to make something beautiful. I wondered fleetingly if any of it was an illusion. It was pretty hard to believe that a fountain had just suddenly sprung up in their courtyard, but there it was. As we passed I stuck my hand over the running water and felt its coolness wash over my fingertips. If it was an illusion, it was a perfect one.
Nick and Carley both knew a lot of people in the courtyard, and we stopped several times to chat for a bit. It was just after seven and I hadn't seen any sign of the Roths. Instead of going up to the front door, which was open, Carley and Nick steered us around back. Now it was time to walk through the flowers again.
It was the first time I'd been out there since that fateful day with Holt when he had told me everything I had wanted to know, but this time walking into the garden didn't make my heart race, nor did I feel disoriented. I breathed a sigh of relief.
The back of the house looked just as incredible as the front. The center space, paved in stones, was filled with tables covered with platters and bowls of food. My stomach instantly started growling and Nick said, "I'm starving. I could eat all of that."
The three of us stood around one of the tables for a few minutes, filling our plates. There were small dessert dishes of strawberries dipped in black or white chocolate. There were bite-sized cupcakes of every variety and color I could imagine and some I couldn't. There was every kind of seafood (of course, it was Maine) and every kind of cheese. Even the neatly cut and prepared vegetables looked delicious.
Carley looked around in wonder and said, "You know, every year I think I won't be surprised next time, but every year I am."
"Agreed," said Nick.
I was about to say that I thought it was incredible when I heard soft music. A band had been setting up while the guests arrived, and now they started to play. The men and women in white jackets sat in a half circle on one side of the back courtyard, surrounded by flowers.
"Isn't it great?" Holt asked from behind me. I turned so fast I almost dropped my plate of food.
There he stood, dressed in a black suit with an open light blue shirt underneath. He looked splendid.
"Yeah," I said. "You look amazing."
I blushed. Couldn't I keep my foot out of my mouth just once with him?
He beamed at me. "Thank you, so do you." I noticed a slight flush on his cheeks and it made me smile.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked.
"What? No one is dancing," I said, looking around.
"We'll be the first. Come on. It's custom for someone in my family to start us off."
He gently pried the plate of food out of my fingers and Carley took it off his hands, saying, "I'm making no promises that this food will be here waiting for you when you come back. Now you two go on."
Feeling like I might faint, I let Holt lead me onto the dance floor. I'd never felt so wonderful. Between the dress, and the beautiful garden, and everyone dressed to perfection, and the music, and Holt, I wasn't sure anything in the world could make me happier. I couldn't imagine anything ruining it.