Holly's Heart Collection Two (11 page)
“Aw, she’ll get over it,” he said, pulling a John Wayne video out of his pocket. I wished I could approach my relationship with Andie the way Stan did.
Eager to order a ticket, I picked up the portable phone. First one recorded message then another came on the line as I followed the directions, pushing the correct numbers for additional information. Finally an actual person answered.
“I’d like to reserve one ticket for the concert at McNichols Arena in Denver tomorrow night,” I said, twitching with delight. Jared would be
so
excited.
“One moment, please,” the woman said as recorded music greeted my ear.
I waited, visualizing the trip up and back on the church bus. It would be so fabulous, laughing and talking with Jared.
“Miss?” came the voice.
“Yes?”
“That performance is sold out,” she said coldly.
My heart sank. “Thank you,” I said as a wave of disappointment descended over my heart.
SECOND-BEST FRIEND
I hung up the phone.
No tickets? Not a single one?
If Andie and I had been on speaking terms, I would have called her right then and cried on her shoulder. But no, she was busy doing her joint project with Christiana. Besides, it wasn’t time for me to break my vow of silence.
Dejected and alone, I trudged downstairs and returned Stan’s money. His eyes and attention were focused on his latest John Wayne video. He stuffed the money back into his wallet without saying a word.
It made me think of my missions project. I was eager to send the money, but I’d have to wait till Goofey was settled in a new home.
I shuddered at the thought. Heading for the kitchen, I heard the phone ring.
Carrie got it. She stuffed another cookie in her mouth. “Iths fer you.”
“Who is it?”
She shrugged.
I took the phone from her sticky fingers. “Hello?”
“Holly?”
It was Paula.
“I can’t talk now,” I said and hung up.
“How rude,” Carrie said, sliding off her stool.
“Just stay out of this.”
The phone rang again. I let it ring and ring. At last, it stopped.
“What’s wrong with you, Holly?” Carrie asked, staring at me.
“Brat,” I said.
“I’m telling Mom,” she hollered.
“Fine.” I headed for a sink full of dirty dishes.
Carrie stomped off. “I’ll be in my room, and I’m not coming out as long as you live in this house!”
“Perfect.”
Stacking the dishes in the dishwasher, I thought about Paula. Why was she calling? Was the message from Andie
that
important?
Stan called from the family room. “Dad just phoned. They’re on their way home. He said to take some meat out to thaw for supper.”
I hurried to the freezer, thinking of the bone-thin child on the church bulletin board. Was it right for me to spend money to keep Goofey in the kennel when there were kids starving to death in the world?
I debated about staying in bed all day when Mom knocked on my door the next morning. “It’s a beautiful day in the Rockies,” she sang.
Groaning, I rolled over. Everyone in the world was going to hear Mandee Trent tonight. Everyone except me. I dragged myself out of bed and stared at my face in the mirror.
Hopeless.
Mom peeked her head into the room again. “Holly-Heart,” she said, “let’s plan to go shopping, maybe next week after school?”
I knew what she meant. Mom and I always went shopping after I’d accumulated birthday money from relatives in Pennsylvania and California.
I shrugged my shoulders. It was time to divulge my secret. I’d kept it from her too long.
“My birthday money’s gone,” I admitted, spilling out the whole story of Goofey’s whereabouts.
Mom’s mouth dropped open. “You used your money on a cat?”
I nodded ruefully, bracing myself for the lecture.
But she just sighed and said, “Well, it’s your money. I guess you should spend it the way you want to.” She frowned a bit, though.
Nothing more was said about Goofey, so I told her my plans for next month’s allowance. “I want to sponsor at least one starving child,” I announced, “and one of the missionaries on the bulletin board at church.”
“But you shouldn’t be giving away all your money,” Mom said gently. “You need some of it to do things with your friends and family. And don’t forget you need to start saving for college, too.”
“I know,” I said. “But I want to do something for other people.”
Mom pulled me close. “You’re all heart,” she whispered.
Mom left, and I got dressed for the day. I felt better…at least about telling Mom where I’d spent my birthday money. But I kept thinking about the Mandee Trent concert I was going to miss. Nothing could make me feel better about
that.
The phone rang during breakfast. Uncle Jack licked waffle syrup off his fingers and reached for the portable phone. “Meredith-Patterson residence. Jack speaking.”
A short pause, then…”Holly, it’s for you. Paula Miller’s on the line.” He passed the phone to me.
Carrie snickered at me across the table. She knew there was no way I’d hang up now. Not on Uncle Jack’s business partner’s daughter.
I took a deep breath. “Hello?”
“Please don’t be mad, Holly,” she began. “I had to call you early. Just listen—”
I interrupted, pretending to answer her. “Okay, I’ll see you at school.”
“But, Holly—”
“I have to go now,” I said.
Politely.
For Uncle Jack’s sake. And Mom’s.
“I’ll wait for you at your locker,” she said before hanging up.
“Good-bye,” I said, beeping the phone off.
“That was an early morning phone call,” Carrie taunted, grinning at me.
“Must be mighty important,” I muttered under my breath.
I took my time getting off the bus and walking up the steps to the school. It was nearly time for the first-period bell when I arrived at my locker.
A yellow Post-it was stuck to my locker
. I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU! Paula,
it read.
Mission accomplished,
I thought as I peeled it off and crumpled it into my pocket.
Somehow I managed to avoid Paula all day. And I wouldn’t have to see her after school because she and the other church kids had gotten permission to leave class early for the Denver concert—during sixth period.
Before Jared left math class, he whispered, “I’ll call you tomorrow, Holly-Heart.” I could see Billy Hill and a bunch of kids waiting for him in the hallway. My heart sank. I could’ve been out there with Jared. If only…
“There will be no assignment for the weekend,” the math teacher announced as the classroom door closed, shutting out the view to the hall.
No assignment, big deal. A small trade-off for being left behind.
Deserted and alone, I plodded off to my locker. Feeling low enough to crawl through the cracks at the base of my locker, I leaned against the door. Something poked into my forehead. I looked up. It was a note.
I pulled hard, finally retrieving it from its hiding place. Unfolding it, I discovered Andie’s message in the form of a note.
Dear Holly,
Since you won’t talk to me on the phone, I’m telling you straight. I had nothing to do with stealing your clothes on your birthday. It was Christiana’s idea. I didn’t even know about it till after school.
I don’t blame you for being mad. I would be, too. Wish you were coming tonight!
Your friend,
Andie
I folded the note, feeling gloomy. Instead of riding the bus, I walked home in the freezing cold. The brisk air might clear out the cobwebs in my brain and the disappointment in my heart.
Jared was on his way to Denver without me. Tears sprang up in my eyes. Quickly, I wiped them away with my gloved hand. The wind chill was cold enough to freeze miniature icicles on my face. Another bus stop was two blocks ahead, but I chose to pass it up. Determined, I pushed my way through the ice and snow.
The first thing I did when I arrived home was to gather up my dirty clothes. It had been days since I’d done my laundry, and the hamper was swollen and overflowing. Besides, I owed someone a clean pair of jeans and a sweater. The cat killer.
Sorting through the white and colored clothes, I remembered the crazy dream I’d had. I could still see the images of designer labels and my clothes flying out of Andie’s hands, plastering themselves against me, cold and unfriendly.
I sat down in the middle of the floor, hills of laundry piled on either side of me like mountains closing in, smothering me. Christiana and her scheme to steal Andie, Paula driving me nuts, and poor homeless Goofey…
Goofey.
What was I going to do about him? The clinic couldn’t keep him any longer; I’d inquired about it. Even if they could, I was broke. I couldn’t bear to think of losing my sweet cat. Tears rolled down my cheeks. What if nobody wanted him? What if he had to be put to sleep?
I brushed away my tears. Lost in self-pity, I gathered up the whites and carried them down to the laundry just off the family room. Stan and the rest of the kids were playing a computer game. I sneaked past them unnoticed.
Back upstairs, I rummaged through all my jean pockets, cleaning out junk. My fingers found old tissues, loose change, and a tube of lip gloss. In the last pair, I discovered a piece of blue stationery with golden flecks, folded in two.
I studied it. The paper wasn’t familiar, so I held up the jeans. They were Paula’s.
This must belong to her,
I thought, setting it aside, debating what to do with it.
My curiosity won out. Slowly, I unfolded the paper.
Dearest Grandma:
In response to your last letter, I have made no progress recruiting friends. Kayla seems satisfied with her one and only best friend—me.
Being nice to Holly Meredith just isn’t working. She has only one thing on her mind. That’s Andie and her foreign exchange student, Christiana.
Ever since we moved here, Holly has been upset with me. It was my fault, because I had a crush on the same boy she likes, Jared Wilkins. But even when all that changed, it didn’t seem to matter to Holly. She won’t give me a chance and it hurts.
Lately I’ve done everything imaginable to be nice to her, Grandma, hoping she’ll change her mind. But she’s not interested in me as a friend, and I’m so lonely sometimes I cry.
I could read no further. Paula felt left out because of
me.
My unkind words, snide remarks…all of it bored into my soul.
The letter shook in my hand as the realization of who I was and what I’d done pierced through me. I was treating Paula exactly the way Andie had treated me. Ignoring her, rejecting her…
Carrying the letter to my window seat, I knelt down on the floor as tears streamed down my face. I didn’t want to read the rest of her letter. Paula Miller had painted a deft description of Holly Meredith. Pathetic as I was.
SECOND-BEST FRIEND
I confessed my sins to God in prayer, then got up and recorded the event in my journal. I titled my entry and began to list the things I intended to change about myself.
MY “MOMENT OF TRUTH” LIST
I resolve to do the following:
_____ 1. Make friends with many different girls.
_____ 2. Say only good things about others, even behind their backs.
_____ 3. Forgive Christiana for taking my clothes—and my best friend.
_____ 4. Invite Andie, Christiana, and Paula to go skiing.
_____ 5. Trust God for Goofey’s future.
_____ 6. Forget the idea of a number-one best friend.
_____ 7. Practice Matthew 5:44 every day of my life!
That done, I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge in the scene where he flings wide his window on Christmas Day. If only my friends were in town, I might hire a Goodyear blimp to broadcast my news. HOLLY MEREDITH COMES TO HER SENSES it might say. Or, A FABULOUS COLORADO WELCOME TO CHRISTIANA DERTNIG.
I floated downstairs on a cloud of transformation, greeting and hugging my family, including Carrie, who gave me a wide-eyed, cynical reception.