Eternal Youth by Julia Crane

Callie Bishoff. Quit being facetious.” Her mother’s tone was playful. Then, her eyes went unfocused, and she murmured, “Although—”
    Callie rolled her eyes. “ No , Mother. No Antarctica.”
    Her mom just waggled her eyebrows.
    “You know what I mean,” Callie went on with a chuckle, tossing another shirt on the floor with a huff.
    Neither Emma nor Callie had bothered getting out of their pajamas that day. They’d spent most of the afternoon watching old Disney movies and eating junk food. As a result, her mother had happy crow’s feet at the edges of her eyes, and Callie was feeling lighthearted.
    Emma perched on the edge of Callie’s bed and surveyed the disaster zone. Clothes were draped haphazardly across every available surface—sweaters over the bed posts, blue jeans hung from the vanity chair, and an assortment of tanks, tees, and skirts littered the carpet. “Was this necessary?”
    “ Mom .”
    Emma lifted her hands in defeat and chuckled. “Sorry. Sorry.”
    “Just help. Please?”
    Her mother stood and stepped gingerly across the room, eyeing the various pieces of clothes. “Did you get that one nice sweater dress out of storage? The one we got at Macy’s?”
    “The green one?”
    “Yeah, that one.”
    Callie put a finger to her lips as she thought back to the day they’d gotten home from Guatemala. “Um. I don’t think so. I didn’t think I’d need it.”
    “What about those leggings with the see-through swirly pattern?”
    “I didn’t get any leggings.”
    “Black ankle boots?”
    Callie crossed her eyes and collapsed onto the bed. “You’re killin’ me, Smalls.”
    Her mother’s tinkly laugh filled the room. “Alright, throw a jacket on. We’re going to the storage unit.”
    Her mom was right.
    The sweater dress was emerald green and hung just past her bottom. It clung to the few curves she had and emphasized the color of her eyes. The leggings looked great on her legs, especially after she stepped into the ankle boots. A big black belt around her waist completed the outfit, and Callie felt like a million bucks.
    “Thanks for doing my make-up,” she told her mom as they said goodbye at the front door. “And for letting me take the car.”
    Emma shrugged and leaned against the door with a smile. “You look gorgeous, baby.”
    Callie blushed and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind an ear.
    Her mom touched her cheek. “When did you grow up?”
    “Sometime between Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka,” Callie quipped, and danced away as her mom swatted her on the arm.
    “Take your attitude elsewhere, missy!”
    “Love you, Mom.” As she said it, Callie realized it had been a long time since the last time she’d said so.
    Emma paused, a soft smile playing on her lips. “Love you too, baby. Have a good time. Call if you need me, okay?”
    Callie nodded. “Bye.”
    Her mom waited at the door as Callie climbed into the Beemer and backed out of the driveway. Callie waved before she headed for the highway.
    They had decided on a movie first, and then dinner after, which Callie should have realized was a sign of things to come. It seemed out of order to her—dinner should come first for talking and getting to know one another, then the movie.
    She let Jonathan convince her otherwise.
    He was waiting outside the theater with his hands shoved in the pockets of his black jeans. The generic band T-shirt he wore just barely reached the top of his pants and was tight across his lanky torso. His dark hair fell into his eyes in such a charming way that Callie could forgive him for doing the date out of order.
    “Hey,” he said as she clicked up to him on her boots. “You look great.”
    “Thanks. So do you.” Callie smiled, fighting the blush that wanted to rise in her cheeks. Squash the nerdy , she threatened herself.
    He gestured to the theater marquee with his head. “You like Sci-Fi? If not, we can go to the new Tom Cruise.”
    “Um…” Callie shrugged. She