Everblue

Chapter 15 - Ash

ASH

 

I spun around in front of the mirror, wearing my new emerald-green gown. A solitary sequined strap crossed over my collarbone and looped around my neck, hugging my shoulder like a big hook. Never did I imagine a sleeveless dress would complement my overly muscular shoulders, but it did. The soft silk against my skin and the elegant way it hung to the floor made me feel like royalty. For a moment, I wished Senior Ball could have been tonight—not in two weeks.

The girls waited noisily downstairs for the fashion show as I slipped on my shoes. With small steps, my ankles wobbled as I traversed down the stairs. When I came into view, Mom brought her hand to her mouth and Lucy gasped.

"Aye, aye, aye," Gran said with a golden gleam. "Aren't you a picture?"

I smiled—just the reaction I'd hoped for.

"So who's your beau?" Gran asked after I came into the room and twirled a few times.

I twisted my lips and looked at Mom. "Bow?"

"Beau is another word for your date, or guy friend," Mom said, as she walked over and tugged on the seam under my armpit. "Is that comfortable?"

I nodded and she inserted a straight pin from her pincushion.

"His name is Callahan. He's the pitcher on our baseball team and a really good snowboarder." Joy burst from my heart as my feelings flowed freely from my mouth. For once the conversation revolved around me and not Lucy, who was still mute at the moment. "He's got brown hair and big brown eyes—" I daydreamed for a second, imagining us dancing together in the center of a dimly lit room.

 "Well, in my day," Gran said with a sparkle in her eye, "things were very different. My parents were strict. In high school, they wouldn't let me go to a dance alone with a boy, but I could tag along with my older brothers."

I looked at Lucy and smiled evilly. She'd die if Mom and Dad did that to her when it was her turn.

Gran put her hand on Lucy's knee and squeezed. "So, I'd go with my brothers and meet up with your grandpa at the dance. We didn't do the wild moves you kids do now, more like dancing cheek-to-cheek or jitterbug. I was pretty good, but your Grandpa . . . he wasn't coordinated. Maybe it was his big feet, but we'd have a good time anyway."

"I've never heard this story," Mom said, pausing from pinning up my hem.

"Oh, I'm sure I've told it before," Gran laughed.

And this is how her stories surfaced. Out of nowhere Gran would pop out a story none of us had heard before, as if she kept them for special moments such as these. I'd resorted to studying the pictures scattered around the house to fill in some gaps of what their life was like together. The sparkle in their eyes told me they loved each other very much back in the day.

"Did you ever wear any pretty gowns like in the movies, Gran?" I asked while eyeing a particular picture where Gran pushed Mom in a baby stroller while Grandpa walked next to her, arm draped over her shoulder.

"Oh, no," she said with a chuckle. "We wore our everyday dresses and saddle shoes, not those—" she waved her hand at my strappy ones. "But I would have loved to. Boy, are you stunning."

I felt my cheeks grow hot. "Thanks, Gran."

"Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you." She rose from the couch and headed toward her room.

I looked at Mom who smiled knowingly. She returned with a brown garment bag. From inside she pulled out a white fox stole. "It was my mother's. I'd like you to wear it on Saturday."

My mouth dropped open as she draped the soft silky side over my shoulders and fastened the jeweled clasp front. I rubbed my cheek against the luscious fur, instantly enveloped in warmth. "Really?"

"Of course. The weather is supposed to be dreadfully cold, so it's perfect."

"Can I wear it?" Lucy asked, standing up and dragging her hand across the front of the stole.

"When you have a special occasion, darling, I'll let you borrow it as well." Gran took her arm and guided her back to the couch. They sat and she pulled Lucy into her shoulder. "Isn't your sister lovely?"

Lucy's sallow skin matched her sour expression as her eyes raked over the fur. She reluctantly nodded. I held my shoulders up and smiled, enjoying every second of the attention.

"I'm done," Mom said. "Go ahead and carefully take off your dress so I can sew it before the weekend."

I gingerly pulled the edge of my dress off the floor and did a Miss America wave. "Thank you everyone for voting for me."

Mom chuckled and looked at me with pride. "I can't wait for your father to see you."

"Me, too." And Callahan. I bit my lip and grabbed the garment bag before floating upstairs on a cloud of glee. Would I really be doing that the night of the dance? Did I have a chance to win?

In front of the mirror, I held up my hair to simulate an up-do. Georgia had offered to practice hairstyles on me Friday night since my little stash of cash was all gone. "Tiara hair," she called it.

What would Fin think of me now? No longer the plain girl next door. I smirked, wishing he'd be home when the limo pulled up and I walked out, drop-dead gorgeous on another guy's arm. I peered out the window towards his house, plotting my evil deed and spotted Colin pacing back and forth in front of Fin's Jeep, tapping something on the palm of his other hand. I gasped as he shoved the tool down into the window slot and pulled upward, a Slim Jim. With a flip of the handle, he opened the door.

"Don't you dare mess with Fin's Jeep," I said and positioned my index finger and thumb so I could pretend to squish his head.

He turned, looking down the street toward my two-story window as if he heard me. The hair prickled on my neck as I moved out of view. Through my chiffon curtains I watched him stare with a peculiar smile. He proceeded to crawl inside and dig around for something on the floor boards before he slammed the door and walked back into the house.

My breath came out choppy for a moment, feeling caught. How could he have heard me? I stayed rooted to my spot, wondering why he was breaking into Fin's Jeep. What was he looking for? If Fin knew he'd touched his Jeep, let alone broken into it, Colin would be dead.

I bit my lip, remembering how beautiful his eyes were—clear and blue like Fin's. And that an overwhelming desire to kiss him had flooded me. How could that have slipped my mind so easily? But did he actually say he hoped Tatchi didn't come back?

Suddenly, my blood boiled and I wanted to smack his sassy smirk right off his face. He knew where the family was and if I didn't hear anything from Tatchi tonight, I'd be paying him a visit tomorrow.