I’m going to do now. My best friend has gone crazy.
“Okay, we can rule out the TV show. But, Jillian, this is totally something we can do ourselves. Organize your house. This can be our summer project. We can do the toys tonight and—”
I groan. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” I pull the headlamp off her head. I may have to call her dad for an intervention.
She smiles. “Gotcha!”
I miss a complete heartbeat before I catch on. “Chantal. I was beginning to believe …”
“I know. Scary, huh? I thought you were going to figure it out. There’s no show called Extreme Home Organizer. ”
“But the flood? And the power blackout?” She nods and tells me the order of tasks to come. We need to bag up the toys and label the bags and we’ve got a couple loads of towels to fold and put away. As she’s telling me all this I can’t help but wonder if she’s becoming her mother—a woman who seems to think purpose equals endless productivity. “But you didn’t have to do all this. You could have left it for me. It was enough that you babysat.”
“I had to fix it, Jillian. I imagined what it would be like for you to come home and find the disaster.”
I don’t know what to say because I feel strange. I’m not sure I want to team up to fix what really is my mother’s problem. Shouldn’t we be sitting at the kitchen counter polishing off the rest of the cupcakes? Yet, as Chantal starts bagging the toys into garbage bags I fold towels.
I’m definitely thankful that she cares, but she hasn’t even asked about Parker.
Parker
The Call .
M y cell vibrates in my pocket, for the fifteenth time since 7 P.M. and the fourth time in the last twenty minutes. It can only be one person.
“Will.”
“Dude. Where you been?”
“You know where.”
“Is she there?”
“Would I be talking to you?”
“Is that a score? Jillian and you? Chantal and me?”
“Snap.” It bugs me that I can’t stop thinking about her.
“You are the seducterizer, man.”
“Yeah, totally.” I don’t want him to come over, talk out strategy, plot ways in which he can fool Chantal into thinking he actually likes her. Whatever. I’m done for tonight.
“Look. I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow.” I sign off and start the car. I turn up the volume on my electro playlist. I need sound, lots of it. I let out the clutch, press the gas, watch Jillian’s house disappear in the rearview mirror. Some guys say the chase is the best part. It probably has to do with how the girls make it seem like we’re perfect for each other; they talk about soccer and hockey as if they
actually play it. Later though, when we’re watching a game, they interrupt as Sedin is about to score, to ask our opinion of their fingernail polish. That’s the girl’s game: bait and switch. That’s what dating is in high school, traps being set. I shouldn’t feel guilty. It’s nothing personal.
Chantal
Invincible .
I ’m feeling a bit fairy godmother meets Martha Stewart’s daughter as Jillian and I work alongside each other. It must be obvious to her, now, that I am a valuable friend. Not many friends would babysit six boys and help clean the house. Even Nigella would be impressed.
I’m labeling the second garbage bag when Jillian stops me.
“Sit.” She leans against the wall, sets a stack of towels next to her that, really, she should put away before she takes a break.
“I can put those in the linen closet first.”
“Chantal. Sit.”
“You haven’t asked me about my date.” And now I see her face more clearly. That’s not exhaustion. She wants more from me than tidy closets.
“Oh. Oh. I got so caught up. Tell me. Is he for real?” I laugh because this is really the only way I’m going to get through this. I mean, I don’t want Parker to exist, let alone hear about her date with him.
“I think so,” she says.
It’s going to take longer than I thought for her to see that a guy will make her life more difficult.
“And Chantal, they
“Okay, we can rule out the TV show. But, Jillian, this is totally something we can do ourselves. Organize your house. This can be our summer project. We can do the toys tonight and—”
I groan. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” I pull the headlamp off her head. I may have to call her dad for an intervention.
She smiles. “Gotcha!”
I miss a complete heartbeat before I catch on. “Chantal. I was beginning to believe …”
“I know. Scary, huh? I thought you were going to figure it out. There’s no show called Extreme Home Organizer. ”
“But the flood? And the power blackout?” She nods and tells me the order of tasks to come. We need to bag up the toys and label the bags and we’ve got a couple loads of towels to fold and put away. As she’s telling me all this I can’t help but wonder if she’s becoming her mother—a woman who seems to think purpose equals endless productivity. “But you didn’t have to do all this. You could have left it for me. It was enough that you babysat.”
“I had to fix it, Jillian. I imagined what it would be like for you to come home and find the disaster.”
I don’t know what to say because I feel strange. I’m not sure I want to team up to fix what really is my mother’s problem. Shouldn’t we be sitting at the kitchen counter polishing off the rest of the cupcakes? Yet, as Chantal starts bagging the toys into garbage bags I fold towels.
I’m definitely thankful that she cares, but she hasn’t even asked about Parker.
Parker
The Call .
M y cell vibrates in my pocket, for the fifteenth time since 7 P.M. and the fourth time in the last twenty minutes. It can only be one person.
“Will.”
“Dude. Where you been?”
“You know where.”
“Is she there?”
“Would I be talking to you?”
“Is that a score? Jillian and you? Chantal and me?”
“Snap.” It bugs me that I can’t stop thinking about her.
“You are the seducterizer, man.”
“Yeah, totally.” I don’t want him to come over, talk out strategy, plot ways in which he can fool Chantal into thinking he actually likes her. Whatever. I’m done for tonight.
“Look. I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow.” I sign off and start the car. I turn up the volume on my electro playlist. I need sound, lots of it. I let out the clutch, press the gas, watch Jillian’s house disappear in the rearview mirror. Some guys say the chase is the best part. It probably has to do with how the girls make it seem like we’re perfect for each other; they talk about soccer and hockey as if they
actually play it. Later though, when we’re watching a game, they interrupt as Sedin is about to score, to ask our opinion of their fingernail polish. That’s the girl’s game: bait and switch. That’s what dating is in high school, traps being set. I shouldn’t feel guilty. It’s nothing personal.
Chantal
Invincible .
I ’m feeling a bit fairy godmother meets Martha Stewart’s daughter as Jillian and I work alongside each other. It must be obvious to her, now, that I am a valuable friend. Not many friends would babysit six boys and help clean the house. Even Nigella would be impressed.
I’m labeling the second garbage bag when Jillian stops me.
“Sit.” She leans against the wall, sets a stack of towels next to her that, really, she should put away before she takes a break.
“I can put those in the linen closet first.”
“Chantal. Sit.”
“You haven’t asked me about my date.” And now I see her face more clearly. That’s not exhaustion. She wants more from me than tidy closets.
“Oh. Oh. I got so caught up. Tell me. Is he for real?” I laugh because this is really the only way I’m going to get through this. I mean, I don’t want Parker to exist, let alone hear about her date with him.
“I think so,” she says.
It’s going to take longer than I thought for her to see that a guy will make her life more difficult.
“And Chantal, they
Similar Books
