A Girl Named Summer

  “What did he say? Tell me everything. Don’t leave out a single word.”

  “He thinks you’re cute,” Summer told her, “and I think he’s getting ready to ask you out. He wanted to know if you were seeing anyone special.”

  Regina had a hard time containing her enthusiasm. “Then you really didn’t have an actual, for-real date at all. I knew you really didn’t,” she continued. “I didn’t actually believe Gregg at all.”

  “I hate all boys,” Summer stated. “They cause nothing but pain and aggravation.”

  “I don’t think it’s the boys’ fault,” Regina said. “They’re helpless around girls like Ann Logan. If Luke does ask me out, I’m going to keep him clear of Ann’s clutches. But what about you? Have you figured out a way to get David back?”

  “I don’t want him back,” she lied. “And I don’t want to talk about him anymore. It’s too depressing. Let’s run away and become hermits.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Regina chided. “You’d look terrible in drab colors. If Luke doesn’t ask me out soon, I’m hanging up my running shoes. Tomorrow will be his last chance.”

  “Want to spend the night so I can get you up in the morning? And by the way, I think you should be the first to know, since you are my best friend: I’ve decided that I’m going to win the race!”

  Getting Regina up and at ’em proved to be a real battle. Summer had to be quite ruthless and at one point felt like an army sergeant. “Come on, time to get up,” she said for the tenth time. “Luke’s waiting for you,” she added in a singsong voice.

  That did the trick. Regina staggered out of bed and planted herself in the center of the bedroom, blinking in confusion. She looked quite pathetic, but Summer continued to be heartless. After all, it was all for Regina’s love life. She grabbed her friend by the shoulders, propelled her into the bathroom, and left her hanging over the sink, muttering.

  “Meet me in the basement in five minutes, no later.”

  By the time Summer had dragged Regina at a snail’s pace to the park, she was decidedly disgusted. She wished she hadn’t invited Regina to run with her, and she was a little ashamed that she felt that way. Regina was her best friend, she reminded herself, and feeling irritated with her was somewhat of a betrayal, wasn’t it?

  Besides, Regina had stayed up half the night listening to Summer rehash her hurts over David.

  Summer took her frustration and guilt out on her run, leaving Regina by the pool as she raced into the beckoning wind. The simple truth was that Regina just didn’t understand what had happened to Summer. How could she? Summer barely understood herself. She just knew that running wasn’t a whim any longer. No, it had become compulsive. Running each day had become as necessary as her father’s second cup of coffee—and just as addictive. Summer was hard-pressed to explain it; she just knew that she felt better and more alive when she was running. And with all the misery in her life right now, she decided she needed all the help she could get.

  She passed Regina and was pleased to see Luke standing beside her. He yelled hello and held the stop-watch up, indicating that he had begun to time her. When she finished her run, he excitedly read off her time. She didn’t know what the numbers meant but assumed she had done a good job. Luke asked both Summer and Regina to go for doughnuts, but Summer declined, knowing that Regina would want to be alone with him.

  Chapter 13

  An entire two weeks passed without a word from David. She kept herself busy, running sometimes twice a day to fill the time, and feeling absolutely miserable inside. She vacillated between outright misery and anger. Every time she thought about David dating Ann, she was miserable; every time she thought about how stubborn and unforgiving he was turning out to be, she was angry.

  Early one afternoon, when Summer returned from swimming at Regina’s house, her mother met her on the front steps. One look at the bleak expression in her eyes told Summer some trauma was about to unfold. “What did Michael do now?”

  “I’ve lost your grandfather.”

  Now, another person would have at least blinked with that bit of news, but not Summer. It had happened before, and in all probability, it would happen again.

  “When did you last see him?” Summer asked. She was already walking toward the garage to get her bike.

  “It’s that new medicine he started taking last week,” her mother said. “It makes him a little confused.”

  “Mom, Grandpa hasn’t been confused in a long, long time. I think he just went on an errand or something. Don’t worry.”

  Summer searched the neighborhood, stopping to ask children and adults if they had seen her grandfather pass by. Everyone knew him, but no one had seen him today. After an hour, she had talked to almost everyone she could think of and was about to turn her bike toward home when one of the gas station attendants said he had seen her grandfather just a few minutes ago. Summer hurried off in the direction he pointed. Gliding to a stop in front of the ice cream store, she spotted her grandfather through the tinted glass. She almost fell off her bike when she noticed who was sitting next to him. David! David—and Ann Logan.

  “What a mess,” she muttered. She became angry with herself when she felt her hands begin to tremble.

  Plastering a smile on her face, she entered the shop and went directly over to her grandfather. “Mom’s looking for you,” she stated a bit briskly.

  She looked only at her grandfather, concentrating on his face in her bid to completely ignore David and Ann. It was rude, but she didn’t care.

  A part of her brain registered the fact that her grandfather seemed completely aware of where he was and what he was doing. His expression didn’t look the least bit confused.

  “Why would your mother be looking for me?” He didn’t appear to want an answer as he dug into his pocket for some change. “David, nice to see you again. Come by the house sometime and I’ll show you my latest invention. I miss your visits.”

  So do I, Summer wanted to say. But of course she didn’t and couldn’t, not with Ann hanging all over him. Ann wore the smile of the contented, the smile of the victorious. She knows how miserable I am, and she’s relishing it, Summer thought.

  “Nice to see you again, David, Ann,” Summer finally said, pleased that her voice sounded just right, not too surly. She still couldn’t look into David’s eyes, but she got close, staring at his shirt collar while she spoke.

  Grandpa was ready to leave, and without a backward glance, Summer followed him out the door.

  “Mom didn’t know where you were. She got worried,” she said. She walked beside her grandfather, pushing the bicycle between them.

  “Just doing a few errands. I left her a note,” Grandpa replied. “No need for her to get upset.”

  “You know Mom,” she answered. “She likes to get uptight. Keeps her slim and trim.”

  Grandpa laughed at Summer’s astute description.

  “Did you sit down with David and Ann? Or did they come in and sit down with you?” For some reason, her grandfather’s reply was terribly important.

  “Why, they sat down with me,” he answered. “What difference does it make?”

  “I just wondered. I didn’t want David to feel funny…since we aren’t dating anymore.”

  “That Ann girl have an eye ailment?”

  Summer turned to her grandfather with a frown. When he saw he had her complete attention, he started batting his eyelashes furiously, and Summer broke into gales of laughter. His imitation of Ann was priceless.

  “The boys all seem to like the way Ann flirts,” she said. “I think she looks like she has a problem.”

  “Your claws are showing, kitten,” her grandfather admonished. “You’re very pretty, as pretty as Ann, and you’re Irish besides. David will come around. You mark my words.”

  Wishful thinking, Summer concluded.

  “Just hope you find a little confidence in yourself soon, girl. After you win the race, we’ll have to concentrate on that area.”

&nbsp
; “So I’m going to win the race, am I?” she teased.

  “Of course,” her grandfather answered immediately. “Bet a fiver on you with Clancy. Easy money. Course I had to talk him into betting against you. He finally gave in, though.”

  “I think I have a good chance,” she said, “but I haven’t seen the competition. They might all be pros.”

  “Nope. The pros, as you call them, don’t stand a chance against you. Now, I’ve got a few suggestions for increasing your speed just a wee bit more.…”

  “Summer! Wait up a minute!” The summons came from David.

  They turned and watched David jog toward them. Out of the corner of her eye, Summer noticed the smug expression on her grandfather’s face.

  “Hi, David,” she said in a breathless little voice.

  David seemed to be having a little trouble looking directly at her. In fact, he seemed downright fascinated with the part in her hair. She reacted by nonchalantly tossing her hair back over her shoulder.

  “Listen, you did say you were going to help with the project, and I’ve got over thirty posters that need to be delivered. Ann’s going to take ten, and I’ll do ten, and—”

  “I’ll be happy to take ten,” Summer interjected. “Anything else?”

  “Well, the T-shirts are just sitting in boxes at Ann’s house. She was supposed to sell them yesterday at the grocery store, but she couldn’t. Ann’s very busy, you know,” he added.

  Sure, she is, Summer thought. She’s always busy when real work is involved.

  “Look, David, maybe Regina and I could sell them this Saturday.” A sudden inspiration penetrated Summer’s brain. “Uh, you know, that is, Regina is going to have this party, and if I bring the shirts, maybe I could talk some of the kids into buying them. Regina could even make it a T-shirt party or something.”

  David perked up over that suggestion. “When is it?”

  “Next Friday—no, I mean it’s next Saturday, I think. I’ll have to check with Regina and let you know.”

  “I should probably go to Regina’s party,” David said. “Since I’m in charge of the T-shirts, that would probably be the smart thing to do.” He was addressing her feet now, having apparently lost interest in her hair.

  “Oh, I agree,” she said a little more enthusiastically than she intended.

  “I’ll come by tomorrow with your posters, and you can tell me when the party is.”

  “Fine.”

  “You might as well ride with me to deliver them.”

  Summer nodded, and David left. Grandpa started chuckling. He never said a word about the conversation, only gave her a broad wink that told her he was mighty pleased.

  The rest of the trip home was spent discussing her strategy for increasing her running speed. She barely listened, planning her own strategy with one David Marshall.

  When the pair entered the house, Summer’s mother was so relieved that Grandpa was behaving rationally that she hugged him and planted a big kiss on his ruddy cheek.

  “Read my notes before you get yourself all worked up,” her grandfather chided. His expression was firm, but the gentleness in his voice suggested he liked the fact that she was concerned about him.

  Summer felt very close to her family all of a sudden. They were caring people, and even if they were a little weird most of the time, they belonged to her; and no one, not even Ann Logan, could take them away.

  “Summer, please help me set the table,” her mother asked.

  “She needs to call Regina first,” Grandpa interjected with a wide grin.

  “Why?” Summer and her mother asked in unison.

  “Don’t you need to tell her she’s having a party?”

  Chapter 14

  Loaded down with posters, David rang the doorbell of Summer’s house with his elbow.

  “Do you have time to go with me now and deliver some of the posters?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she said, but she tried to keep her expression neutral.

  They made two stops, the first at the bank and the second at a dry cleaners, before he said a single word. “What’s that book you’ve got with you?”

  “It’s a joke book,” she explained. “There are some really great jokes in here,” she lied. Well, it wasn’t an actual lie. She hadn’t had time to open the book, but she was sure it had wonderful jokes inside. “Want me to read some of them to you?” she suggested eagerly.

  David agreed, and she immediately began reading. She could tell, after the third joke, that David was beginning to relax and enjoy himself. She considered switching the subject to their fight and was trying to figure out how she could apologize for yelling at him—and lying to him—without groveling, when David launched into a rather long joke of his own.

  Summer decided that no matter what, she was going to love it. As soon as David paused, Summer laughed. She even dabbed at her eyes the way Ann did when she laughed.

  “You’re supposed to wait for the punch line before you laugh,” he told her. He was looking at her as if she had one too many heads, and Summer wanted to slip under the seat.

  They didn’t say another word until all the posters had been delivered and they were back in front of Summer’s house.

  “The party is Saturday night,” she mumbled as she opened the car door. “Don’t forget to bring the T-shirts.”

  “Okay,” David said.

  He smiled, and she decided to go for broke. “David, if you want, you could go to the party with me. I’ll help you carry in the boxes of T-shirts and…stuff.”

  He looked embarrassed, and Summer wanted to kick herself. “Ann already suggested that we go together. I told her about the party,” he explained in a halting voice.

  “Right.” She couldn’t get out another word. She nodded good-bye and started running toward the house.

  “Summer? We could come by and pick you up,” David yelled.

  “That’s okay,” Summer said. “Uh…Gregg asked me to be his date, but I thought I would help you out with the T-shirts and all. I’ll just call him back and tell him okay. No big deal, David. See you.”

  She wasn’t even able to wait until she got to the bedroom. She was crying before she reached the front door.

  “Summer, you’ve got to come over here and see me. I look great.” The boast was bellowed through the phone the next afternoon.

  “Yeah, Yeah…you always look great.”

  “No, I mean it.” Regina replied. “I got my hair cut, and it looks incredible.”

  “Terrific,” she said. “Look, Regina, I’m in a terrible mood. The whole family is hiding from me. If I come over, I’ll ruin our friendship.”

  “Don’t argue. Come over and tell me what’s happening.”

  She did exactly that and, after pouring out her heart, had to admit she did feel a little better.

  “Do you or do you not want David back?” Regina demanded.

  “I do,” she admitted. “But I don’t know why. He’s stubborn and…”

  “Enough of that. We’ll plan our strategy. He’s coming to the party, right?”

  “With Ann,” she reminded her friend.

  “Okay,” Regina replied. “I seem to remember your telling me that you were going to become a flirt and dethrone Ann. The party’s a good time. I’m going to ask Luke to be my date,” she added.

  “You’ll look beautiful with your new haircut,” Summer said. Regina did look good. Gone were the long, limp strands, replaced by short, cropped layers that ended just below her delicate ears.

  Regina’s enthusiasm was contagious. “Confidence is the name of the game,” Summer decided. “That’s what Ann has and I’m going to get.”

  “How?”

  “That’s the tricky part, Regina. I’m not sure.…”

  “I always feel more confident if I’m wearing something new. Let’s buy new clothes for the party.”

  “Okay,” Summer agreed. “We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”

  “Remember, Saturday we attack,” Regina announced. S
he sounded just like a general.

  Chapter 15

  “Mom, could I get a loan?” Summer waited while her mother dried her hands on the dish towel before rushing into her prepared explanation. It wouldn’t be half as convincing unless she had her mother’s full attention.

  “Regina is having a party, and I don’t have a thing to wear,” she began. “I’ll pay you back real soon.”

  “You don’t have to pay me back, Summer. You’ve been such a help. This will be my treat.”

  “Honest?” Summer could hardly believe her ears. “I thought things were tight right now,” she said.

  “We aren’t poor, honey,” her mother answered. “We budget our expenses like everyone else. I’ll give you some money tomorrow.”

  Regina’s mother insisted on driving Regina and Summer to the mall.

  “I’ll pick you both up in exactly two hours. If you can’t find something suitable to wear in that amount of time, it’s just too bad,” she told the girls.

  “Mom, quit treating me like a baby. I’m fifteen,” Regina said.

  “Now, behave yourselves.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Summer answered. She used the same tone of voice she used when talking to her own mother, for she had realized a long time ago that all mothers were basically alike. They all loved to worry and give orders, and they all said the same things.

  “Your mother is a carbon copy of mine,” she said when she and Regina walked into the mall. “Do you suppose they all read a special manual or something before they have children, so they all say the same things?”

  Regina laughed and nodded. “All mothers have the same traits, and they’re all hung up on hygiene. Ever notice that?”

  “You mean, ‘brush your teeth,’ ‘comb your hair’?”

  “Exactly,” Regina replied. “And they all go crazy if they find any holes in anything—especially underwear.”

  “Regina, that’s disgusting. True, but disgusting.”

  “Heaven forbid if I was in an accident and had on anything with holes in it. Whatever would the doctors say?”

  “Tears, rips, holes,” Summer said, “are a direct reflection of incompetent motherhood.”