Sweet Lantern

Chapter 6

Darry

After I drop Alice off at her house, I drive next door and pull down my long driveway. I get out and go inside, "Mom?" I call out. No answer. "Beth?", still no answer. "Dad? Is anyone here?" still silence. I guess they're out then. I walk to the refrigerator and grab a soda, then head up to my room. I'm exhausted and nervous, I need to relax. I go to the closet and pick out a green t-shirt and pull a pair of my favorite loose-fitting jeans off a hanger and toss them both on the bed behind me. I walk out of my room into the hall and call for someone again, anyone. Still no answer. They must really be gone, I shrug. Oh well, quiet house, need to relax... bubble bath! I think to myself. So, I go down the hall and open the first door at the top of the stairs. I step in and close the door behind me, making sure to lock it, just in case anyone comes home. I turn on the water and search for the bubble bath. I know it's here somewhere; I just saw it the other day. I look through cabinets and under the sink, nothing. Finally, I think to look in the closet right outside of the bathroom door; Eureka! We have bubbles! I think to myself and pour them into the running water.

I can't stop thinking about tonight. I know I want to give her the necklace before we leave, but I hope everyone won't make a big deal out of it. I don't want to embarrass her or anything. And then I don't know how to approach the subject of telling her how I feel. Should I just blurt it out? Should I tell her in the car, while we're alone? No, she might feel like I've cornered her if I tell her like that. I have to tell her when we are at the bonfire somehow. Maybe I'll ask her to dance? Yeah! That'll work. She will have space to walk away if she feels like it. We can have some sort of privacy still. But really, I'm secretly hoping that if it's in front of people we both know, she will think twice before slapping me or kneeing me in the groin.

I lay in the bubbles for a few minutes more, I like how they feel against my bare skin. I know it's getting late, so I get out and towel off, wrapping the towel around my waist. I walk over to the mirror and brush my teeth and then I make sure to spray some of the cologne that I know she likes, right in the middle of my chest, where I know she will smell it. I smile at the thought of being that close to her.

After I'm dressed, I grab the throw blanket off the foot of my bed and head downstairs. I grab my wallet and my keys from the kitchen table and head out to my car. I drive to pick up Alice next door. It's not a long drive but it definitely feels longer tonight. The excitement at the possibility of how tonight could go has me a mess. She could feel the same way, right? She has to, man, she just has to. I don't think I could live with myself if she shot me down. Anyone else but her.

I pull into her driveway and jump out of the car, forgetting the gift box, I turn back around and reach in to grab it. Ready now, I walk up her porch steps and open the screen door, then the main door. No need to knock, this is my second home. I walk inside and walk toward the voices. Everyone is sitting in the den, including my family. No surprise there, it's their second home too.

I sit down on the couch across the room from Alice and my Mom and her mom, Cathy. Her dad is sitting next to me on the couch and Robby and Beth and my Dad are sitting on a love seat by the fireplace. I look at Alice and tell her she looks nice, but she's missing something and toss her the box. She looks at me confused and surprised, maybe? She opens the box and pulls out the necklace. Her face lights up and she smiles, first at the necklace, then at me.

I jump up to help her put it on. I snap it in place, and I can hear both of our moms seething to get at her. She tells me thank you and I tell her it's nothing. I thought of her when I saw it, it matches her eyes. I sit down and make room for the moms. Yep, as soon as I sit down, they swoop in admiring the necklace, ohhhing and awwwing. Mr. Wilson leans in next to me and pats me on the back and tells me her approves. I just nod and tell him it's no big deal.