Finding X

Chapter Five

Back home, Connie didn’t end up telling Mom about the incident at the store. But she did start threatening that she wasn’t going to take me anywhere anymore. I stared at my toes and pretended to be ashamed. But inside I was smiling. Connie wouldn’t be able to keep up this charade for long. She had a bad temper but also a soft heart, bless her.

            Up in my room, I was unloading my tote when I heard a knock on the door. Instinctively, I jerked it behind my back and said, “What?”

            “Psst! It’s me!”

            Ryan. As a precaution, I slid everything under my bed and then went to the door. Ryan was standing there, eyes wide behind his glasses. When he saw me, he said, “That was AWESOME!”

            “Shh,” I said, beckoned him inside, and shut the door. Then I wrapped him in a huge hug. “Bro, you rocked back there!” He stiffened under my hug.

            “Okay,” he said. “Don’t get mushy. Now show me what you got!”

            He sat down next to me and I presented the baseball first. He gasped when he saw the autograph. “That’s amazing!” he said.

            Even this close up, I wasn’t able to make out what it said. The writing was all squashed and tiny. “Do you know who it is?” I asked, squinting at it.

            Ryan shrugged ruefully. “No,” he said. “But whoever it is, it’s amazing. Anyway, I’m sure Max knows.”

            For the first time, I doubted my choice of present for him. “I hope so,” I said, cocking my head at it. Maybe if I looked at the name upside down I’d be able to decipher it.

            Ryan bent over the bed, his glasses falling off his face. “What about for Connie?” he asked. His eyes looked shockingly tiny without the glasses. He fumbled for them and put them back on his face, blowing a strand of hair from behind them.

            “Right,” I said and pulled out the small box. It was beautifully wrapped. Frog Woman did a wonderful job. I didn’t want to ruin her handiwork. “Er, I’d rather not open it right now. The wrapping is so pretty.” But I described it to him in full detail. He didn’t look nearly as enthralled as he had been for the baseball.

            “Okay,” he shrugged. “That’s good.”

            When I showed him the cards, he burst out laughing.

            “Shut up,” I hissed. “What’s so funny?”

            “These are so corny!”

            I glared at him. “What? No. They’re beautiful.” I showed him the one from Max. “This one practically made me cry.” Okay, I should not have said that because Ryan stared at me as if I lost my head.

            One bushy eyebrow raised, he said, “Sis, I seriously question your taste.” He stood up and stretched. “Anyway, good job. That was brilliant back there.” A mischievous light filled his eyes and I couldn’t help smiling.

            “Glad you came?”

            Obviously, he didn’t want to admit that he was. So he shrugged indifferently and left the room. I frowned at the cards staring up at me from the bed.

            Corny? I thought they were great, I thought. Hopefully Max does too.