First Date (15 page)

A
s much as Cassidy was trying to treat her friends more kindly and respectfully, it was hard to respect Devon. Something about that girl just got under Cassidy’s skin. Not only in regard to the Dating Games, although by now Cassidy felt sure that Devon’s primary interest in creating the club had been purely self-serving. Beyond that, Cassidy suspected that Devon was using Emma, and sometimes it seemed that Emma didn’t even notice or care. But seeing Devon treating Emma so callously today—right on the heels of Emma losing her grandfather—well, it seemed inexcusable. Yet at the same time Cassidy knew she had to forgive Devon. It was perplexing.

Cassidy was well aware that Jesus instructed his followers to love their enemies and to pray for them. She knew she couldn’t use her general dislike and distrust of Devon as an excuse to blow her off or treat her badly. But as she went to jazz choir practice after school, she remembered something
else Jesus had said: “Be wise as serpents but innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Yes, that was how she intended to be with Devon. She’d treat Devon like a friend, but she’d be keeping an eye on her too.

Olivia Pratt stopped Cassidy as they were going into the choir room. “I hear that I have you and your friends to thank.”

“What?” She studied Olivia. Was she mad about something?

“Rolf Williams asked me to go to the homecoming dance today.” Olivia smiled. “He said it was because Lane had asked you and Isaac had asked Emma. Somehow you and your friends lit a fire under the guys. I don’t know how you did it, but thanks.”

“Uh . . . you’re welcome.” Cassidy wondered if anyone knew about their secret club. Probably not.

“I was so fed up with Rolf. I was about ready to say
fish or cut bait, boy
.”

“Huh?”

“You know, he was always hanging around and being friendly, but he’d never ask me out.”

Cassidy glanced around. “Didn’t you hear about the Worthington talk?”

Olivia waved her hand. “Everyone knows about that, but the guys don’t usually take it this seriously. Anyway, it looks like the spell’s been broken. I hear a lot of girls have been asked to the dance now.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I was afraid we might’ve been the only ones there.” Cassidy frowned. “It makes you wonder why the school would even bother to have a dance if they really don’t want us to date.”

“Exactly,” said another girl who’d been listening to them.

“I heard that even the faculty doesn’t agree on this,” Olivia confided to them. “It’s no wonder the guys are dazed and confused.”

The girls laughed as they took their places to start rehearsing. Cassidy felt relieved to hear others were going to the dance, but at the same time she felt uneasy too. Had the DG really undermined Worthington? And if they had, was it really something to celebrate? Fortunately, she didn’t have to think about that right now. Instead she said a quick prayer and focused on singing her part.

After practice, she was on her way to the parking lot when she noticed Emma standing by herself. It looked like she was making a phone call, and it looked like she was upset. Cassidy went over just as Emma closed her phone with a frustrated expression. “What’s up?” Cassidy asked her.

“Devon was supposed to give me a ride home,” Emma told her. “I stayed late to help mat pictures for the art fair, and Devon was supposed to pick me up here, but as it turns out, she completely forgot.” Emma looked close to tears.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Cassidy told her.

“Thanks.” Emma sniffed. “I don’t know why I had to fall apart like this.”

Cassidy put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you just lost your grandpa. It’s only natural to feel emotional, you know? It’s okay.”

“I guess.”

“I remember when our dog died, I was a mess for weeks. And Barkley was just a dog.”

Emma smiled. “Dogs can be pretty special.”

Cassidy sighed to think of the sweet golden retriever she’d grown up with. “Yeah. I loved Barkley more than some of my
friends.” She laughed at herself. “But I’m learning to love my friends better . . . I think.”

“That was cool what you said the other day,” Emma said quietly. “At the DG meeting. About wanting to be a better friend and stuff. I know I didn’t say much at the time, but I thought it was cool.”

“Well, I took a little personal inventory.” She paused to unlock her car. “I had to admit that I was lacking. I’d gotten into the habit of being so negative.”

“I think it’s just because you’re careful,” Emma said as they got into the car. “You really think about things, Cass. That’s nice.”

“I suppose it’s good to think about things,” Cassidy admitted. “But not if it makes you worried and grumpy. In that case it’s better just to pray about them.”

“That makes sense.” Emma sighed. “My grandpa used to say something like that.”

“What?”

“He said worrying was like a rocking chair—it keeps you occupied but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Cassidy chuckled as she started the car. “He was a good man, Emma. You were fortunate to have him. My favorite grandpa died when I was little. The other one lives in Florida and I never get to see him much.”

“Well, at least you still have your dad.”

“Yeah.” Cassidy nodded. Sometimes she forgot that Emma’s dad left several years ago. That had to be hard. “I guess that makes it even more important for you to have God as your Father. Really, there couldn’t be a better father than God.”

“My grandpa used to tell me that same thing.” Emma
brightened. “You know, it’s almost like God is speaking to me through my friends. It was like that with Isaac today too.”

“That’s very cool, Emma.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty comforting too.” Emma sighed. “It’s really good to have friends. I mean
good
friends.”

“For sure.” Cassidy wondered if Emma meant that some friends, like Devon, were not particularly good, but she was so not going there. Not anymore—not if she could help it. And she could.

“When is the memorial service for your grandpa?” Cassidy asked as she pulled up to Emma’s house.

“Wednesday morning at the church. At 10:00.”

“I’ll see if I can get out of class,” Cassidy told her.

“Really?” Emma sounded surprised. “You’d come?”

“Absolutely. Your grandpa was a sweet, godly man, and I’d like to honor his memory.”

“Thanks.” Emma gave her a sad little smile. “And thanks for the ride . . . and everything. I really, really appreciate it!”

“I’ll be praying for you,” Cassidy promised. “Your family too. I know it’s got to be hard to lose someone you love that much. Even harder than losing Barkley.” She made an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I know that doesn’t even compare.”

“That’s okay. Sounds like Barkley was a sweet dog.” Emma waved as she closed the door.

Cassidy kept her promise as she drove home. She prayed for Emma and Edward and Emma’s mom and Emma’s grandmother. She prayed that God would comfort all of them in a big way.

Cassidy attended the memorial service on Wednesday, along with Abby, Bryn, and Devon. It was a good service with a good message, but Cassidy wondered if her friends had even listened to it, because afterward it seemed that the only thing they had on their minds was their “big weekend.” Or maybe that was just because Devon was monopolizing the conversation as they were leaving the church. Sometimes it was like the entire universe revolved around this self-centered girl. Did she not even care that her supposedly best friend was burying her beloved grandfather today?

“I keep assuring Jason that the dinner is going to be okay,” Devon said to Cassidy as they got into Cassidy’s car. She’d driven the girls to the church and was taking them back to school now. “He’s still not convinced. I’m afraid he thinks it’s going to be hokey.”

“It won’t be hokey,” Bryn said defensively. “I got my aunt’s recipe for this yummy Greek salad. It’s to die for.”

“And my dad’s grilling us his special surf and turf,” Cassidy told them. “Tri-tip sirloin and wild salmon.”

“My mom’s flourless chocolate torte is better than most restaurants’,” Abby told them.

“Emma’s bringing baked potatoes with everything to go with them,” Cassidy told her. “Plus there’ll be other things too.”

“Well, you just need to do everything you can to make sure it’s not a flop,” Devon said in a slightly snippy tone. “I don’t want Jason to be disappointed.”

“Hey, he’s getting a free meal,” Abby declared from the backseat. “What’s up with complaining about it?”

“That’s right,” Bryn added. “He could’ve been stuck shelling out a hundred bucks at the Cove. That’s where most of the kids are going, and trust me, it is not cheap.”

“Maybe he
wanted
to shell it out,” Devon said. “And maybe I wanted to let him.”

“Well, why not let him take you to the Cove?” Cassidy suggested a bit sharply. “You guys don’t have to come to our little dinner.” She almost pointed out that their dining table would be more comfortable with eight people anyway and that no one would miss them, but she knew that was crossing the line.

“Maybe I will,” Devon said.

The car got quiet, and Cassidy wondered if she’d hurt Devon’s feelings. “I mean, I’m not telling you we don’t want you at our dinner,” she backpedaled. “But if Jason’s not into that, why not just do what you want? What’s the big deal?”

“Yeah, it’s not like we have DG rules about
that
,” Bryn interjected.

“Although we were all going to ride to the dance together,” Abby reminded them. “The guys were going in together for a limo. Jason was supposed to chip in for it.”

“I’m sure he still will,” Devon said. “Maybe the limo can pick us up at the restaurant. That’d be cool to come out and have it waiting there. Kinda like celebrities.” She giggled. “I wonder if the paparazzi will show up.”

“Yeah, right,” Bryn said sarcastically.

It seemed settled. Devon and Jason would do their own thing for dinner. Since Devon had only offered to bring bread and soda for her contribution, it wouldn’t be difficult to cover for her. Really, it was probably for the best. Cassidy felt certain that the four couples would have a better time without Devon and Jason there.

Hopefully Emma wouldn’t be dismayed by this news. That is, if Emma had even made up her mind about going to the
dance. She hadn’t said anything for sure yet, but Cassidy thought she might be leaning toward going. She sure hoped she was—Emma needed something to cheer her up. And really, Isaac was good medicine. What would be the harm in going to the dance? Emma’s grandpa would probably feel bad if he thought she was missing out because of him. Maybe Cassidy would tell Emma that.

Besides, she realized as she parked at school, with Devon and Jason bowing out of the dinner party, if Emma and Isaac didn’t come either, that would shrink their “big” dinner party considerably. It would probably feel like a definite letdown to everyone. Especially her parents. Already they’d both gone out of their way, being so helpful with planning and preparations. Mom was acting like it was going to be such a big fancy occasion, planning for flowers and buying candles, and she’d even suggested they should polish the silver. She might be disappointed if only three couples showed.

M
y dad is acting like a complete Neanderthal,” Abby exclaimed to Bryn on the phone.

“Your sweet dad?” Bryn found this hard to believe.

“Yes.
My dad.
He says I’m not leaving the house in this—this dress.” Abby’s voice cracked as if she was on the verge of tears.

“What?” Bryn dropped a black satin-heeled shoe onto the floor and stood up straight. “This is so not good.”

“Tell me about it.”

Bryn looked at the clock by her bed. “We’re supposed to be at Cass’s in less than forty minutes, Abby. What’re you going to do?”

“Please, please, come over,” Abby pleaded. “Maybe you can help me talk some sense into the man.”

“What’s your mom saying?”

“I told you so.”

“Huh?”

“She’s saying ‘I told you so’ because she warned me right from the get-go that I should let Dad see the dress for approval. I know I should’ve shown it to him, and I was going to, but he was so busy . . . and, well, he’s so overprotective of me, not to mention his taste in fashion is way too conservative.” She let out a big sigh. “Yeah, I guess I thought I could sneak it beneath his radar.”

“But you got caught.” Bryn groaned, trying to think of a solution. “At the last minute too. What are you going to do?”

“Dad’s telling me to just wear my Christmas dress from last year. Can you believe it?”

“Oh, fabulous.” Bryn grabbed her shoe and shoved it on.

Abby let out a sob. “It’s not even a formal, Bryn. I’ll look like a total geek. Please, come over and help me. Maybe Dad will listen to you.”

“Right.” Bryn knew that was a long shot. Mr. Morrison was an academic man with strong opinions. Once he made up his mind about something, it was almost impossible to get him to change it.

“Please,” Abby begged. “Otherwise I might as well just stay home.”

“No way.” Bryn was concocting a plan—or at least trying to. “Okay, I’ll have Mom drop me at your house instead of Cassidy’s. But your parents will have to take me to Cass’s. Even if you can’t go.”

“I
have
to go!” she shrieked.

“I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.” She shoved her other shoe on. “By the way, what is it exactly that he doesn’t like about the dress?”

“He says it’s
strapless
.”

“But it has a strap.”

“He says one strap is not enough.”

“Oh.” Bryn looked at her image in the mirror. Her sapphire blue dress had two straps, but they were pretty skinny. What would Mr. Morrison think about that? She could offer to trade dresses with Abby—although only for Mr. Morrison’s sake, because a dress swap really wouldn’t work since they were different sizes. Surely he’d think Abby’s dress had more coverage than this one.

One way or another, she had to come up with a solution. As she gathered up what she needed to continue getting ready at Abby’s house, she wondered if there could be a creative answer to this problem. What if they could construct something to work as another strap? She looked through her closet now, going through belts and scarves and throwing a few random pieces into her bag. Somehow she needed to remedy Abby’s dress, and she needed to do it quickly. After all, she was the one who’d encouraged Abby to get the gown. Oh, bother!

She hurried downstairs, explaining to Mom that she needed to get over to Abby’s ASAP. “She’s having a wardrobe emergency,” she told her.

“Oh dear. Poor Abby.” Mom frowned. “Do you need my sewing kit?”

“Yes! Good idea.” Bryn waited for Mom to return with it.

“You look beautiful.” Mom kissed her cheek. “Dad said he’ll drive you over. He’s just getting his keys. And then we’ll see you later at the Banks’s.”

“That’s right,” Bryn said. “I forgot that Mrs. Banks invited the parents for dessert.”

“And for a photo shoot,” Mom said. “This is so exciting.”

“Yes, as long as we get Abby straightened out.”

“You girls are still coming back here after the dance?” Mom asked. “For the sleepover?”

“That’s the plan, Mom.” Bryn reached for her bag. “All the girls dumped their stuff downstairs earlier today.”

“Five hyped-up kids raising Cain down in the basement all night,” Dad teased. “Reminds me of the good ol’ days.”

Before long, Bryn was in Abby’s bedroom, studying the sleek purple dress and trying to think of some way—any way—to fix it. “That color is so gorgeous against your skin tone,” Bryn said as she pulled various accessories out of her bag. She held up a black-and-white striped scarf, thinking it might work for dress straps, but it looked cheesy. She tried a brown suede belt, hoping it could be transformed into straps somehow, but that was all wrong too. Finally, she examined the single strap that went over Abby’s shoulder and came down in the center of the dress’s bodice.

“Hey, this is so wide that I’ll bet I could cut it and use some of the fabric to make a second strap.”

“But wouldn’t it ruin the dress?” Abby frowned.

“I don’t know for sure. But I do know this dress is useless if you can’t go to the dance.”

“Good point.”

“You’re certain your dad won’t let you wear it as is?”

“He really put his foot down.” Abby scowled. “He’s convinced this dress will get me kicked out of the dance. And that would be so humiliating
for him
.”

“That’s ridiculous. Girls have worn dresses like this at Northwood before.”

“According to my dad—he looked up the dress code on
the school’s website—a dress must have at least two straps to be acceptable. He’s certain that if I go like this, I’ll be cast out to the streets or thrown in prison, or maybe the earth will slip off its axis.”

Bryn unzipped the back of the dress. “Slip out of it and let me have a good look. I took sewing in home ec back in middle school. Let’s see if I can remember anything. In the meantime, you get your hair and makeup done.” She pointed at Abby’s face. “I can tell you’ve been crying, girlfriend.”

Abby sniffed. “Wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah. Probably.” She pulled out Mom’s seam ripper and began to pick apart the seam inside the strap. She hoped this would work. After she got it apart, she pulled out the scissors. “Say a prayer,” she told Abby.

“Huh?”

“For this dress.” She cut into the fabric, removing a long section of fabric from underneath the strap. “Voilà.” She held up the long strip. “Strap number two.”

Abby frowned. “But now strap number one looks like a mess.”

Bryn ignored her as she threaded a needle with black thread. “Just be patient.” She proceeded to sew the strip of fabric into a narrow strap, trying to keep the stitches on the underside, which looked like a mess but hopefully would never be seen. She did the same thing to the existing strap so that now it was only about an inch wide, instead of two or more.

Abby peered over her shoulder. “Interesting. But where will you attach that other strap?”

“Put the dress on again,” Bryn commanded as she rethreaded the needle with more black thread.

With Abby wearing the dress with the one now thinner
strap, Bryn played with where to put the second strap. Finally she decided to attach it in the middle so the two straps made a deep
V
that started in the middle, then went across
both
Abby’s shoulders.

“Hey, this looks kind of cool,” Bryn said after the strap was pinned into place. “Look.” She spun Abby around to the mirror.

“Wow!” Abby’s face broke into a huge smile. “That’s even better than before. Seriously, you could be a dress designer.”

Bryn grinned. “Well, I’ve always had a passion for fashion. Now take it off carefully, and I’ll sew the second strap into place to please your sweet old daddy.”

By the time Bryn had finished the dress, they had only minutes to finish getting ready. “You look fabulous,” she told Abby as she reached for her makeup bag. “But I still haven’t done my hair or finished my face.”

“Why don’t you just wear your hair down,” Abby suggested as Bryn brushed on some blush, then quickly applied some mascara. “It looks beautiful.”

Bryn looked at Abby’s alarm clock. They should be on their way by now. “I don’t think I have a choice.”

“All because of me.” Abby looked sad.

“Hey, it’s worth it.” Bryn smiled at her. “I’d go with my hair in a total mess as long as I have my best friend with me.”

“I mean it, though. Your hair really does look beautiful,” Abby assured her as they went downstairs.

“Let’s just hope your dad doesn’t put the kibosh on the dress.”

“Daddy,” Abby called out sweetly. “Hurry to see how Bryn fixed my dress.”

Mr. Morrison emerged from his study with a book in hand,
frowning as if he expected to be disappointed. But when he saw his daughter, a slow smile crept onto his face. “See, there, Abigail. I knew you could fix it if you tried.”

“Bryn fixed it,” Abby informed him as she called for her mom. “Now someone needs to get us to Cassidy’s so we can help get dinner set up.”

“Oh, Abby,” her mom said happily. “Look at you.”

“It was Bryn’s doing.” Abby gave a little spin to show off the dress. “Isn’t she brilliant?”

“Absolutely.” Mrs. Morrison patted Bryn on the shoulder. “Thank you for coming to our rescue. I am hopeless with anything remotely connected to sewing.”

“We gotta go, Mom,” Abby urged.

“Just let me get my purse,” Mrs. Morrison said. “I’m coming.”

Soon they were on their way, and even though Bryn’s hair was not in the sophisticated updo that she’d imagined, she was happy to sacrifice it for Abby’s sake. It would’ve ruined everything if Abby hadn’t been able to come tonight. Bryn just hoped that the dinner would go smoothly.

She knew there were only going to be four couples after Devon and Jason had bowed out—and the truth was, Bryn had been secretly relieved. It wasn’t that she was jealous about Jason. Oh, maybe she’d been a little miffed at first. But after hearing more about his character—or lack of it—she felt certain she’d dodged a bullet. Whether he was great looking or not, she did not want to go out with a guy with only one thing on his mind. Devon could have him. Besides, Bryn really did like Harris, and she was looking forward to getting to know him better. Maybe he wasn’t as hot as Jason, but he would probably have better manners.

Mostly she was relieved that Devon wasn’t going to be at their dinner tonight. That was only because Devon had been acting like such a total brat lately. It seemed like she’d gotten bossier than ever these last few days. Ever since she’d landed a date with Jason, she’d acted like the queen bee, like she should be ruling the world. Not only did she take all the credit for the DG, but she kept acting like none of them would’ve gotten dates without her precious help. Really, Bryn was just about sick of it. She wouldn’t miss Devon a bit tonight. Maybe when it was all said and done, she would suggest they discontinue the DG permanently. Who needed it? After the night was over, they would have experienced their first dates. It should be smooth sailing from here on out. Shouldn’t it?