The Entirely Fabricated Story of Lizzie Nickerson

Chapter 35

Nikki Patterson was surprised at the number of responses she'd gotten to the ads she'd placed for what remained of her late father's belongings. She never imagined anyone would be interested in vintage leather luggage, an old steamer trunk, and his ancient record collection, but multiple buyers were scheduled to come by Saturday and Sunday to make their purchases. Not only would she pocket much more money than she expected but the boys would be grateful not to have to carry the items down two flights of stairs and load them into their rental van.

An online bidding war broke out for Frederick Gibbs' antique Persian rugs and his upholstered leather chair. Appraisers begged Nikki to hold off on selling the rugs until they had an opportunity to examine them, offering (on the low end, sight unseen) $25,000!

When Lizzie met Scott on the second-floor landing, she gave him a little wave, the kind of wave she saw her female classmates give to the cute guys (the cute part being debatable.) Lizzie practiced the wave in her bedroom mirror, hand waist-high, waving rapidly back and forth a few times, usually accompanied by a cocked head and a flirty grin.

She did a reasonably good job of replicating the 'cute girl wave' but the flirty grin was her hang-up and she worried about it. When you don't smile much (and Lizzie didn't) it doesn't come naturally and there are few things more off-putting than a forced smile.

Apparently, she'd succeeded because Scott didn't run away or divert his eyes. Instead, he said, "Hey, Lizzie. Guess what? We're staying overnight."

Lizzie's face was luminous. Her heart pounded rhythmically like a dog's tail wagging against a hardwood floor. She wished she could think of words to express what she was feeling but none came to mind.

"My mom's gonna sleep on my grandad's bed," he said. "Caleb's gonna sleep on the couch and I'm gonna sleep on the floor. It'll be like camping out."

"Oh," was the best she could manage.

After an uncomfortable pause, he said, "How's Buddy? The fish?"

"Good."

It was happening again. She was generating some weird energy (as Indigo would say) and killing the vibe.

She blurted out, "I missed you," which caught them both by surprise. To make matters worse, Caleb happened to be squeezing past them just as she said it. As he trundled down the stairs toward the front door, he made loud kissing noises.

"What an." Scooter stopped short. He was going to say 'ass' but substituted 'jerk.' He caught his breath and said, "Yeah, I was thinking about you, too."

Nikki approached the apartment doorway, about to step onto the landing when she saw Lizzie lean forward and kiss her son. 

Scooter's eyes grew big and wide as though he'd just swallowed a lit cigarette.

"Oh, excuse me," his mother said. "Scott, I need your help."

"Yeah, sure," he said, red-faced, and then followed his mother into Mr. Gibbs' apartment.

Lizzie stood there for a minute wondering if she had done something wrong. Caleb came through the front door carrying a few empty boxes and climbed the stairs two at a time. He winked at Lizzie and then went into the apartment.

She took a few steps backward and sat on the stairs, deflated. She didn't watch TV or movies so she had no exposure to teen romance or romance of any kind. The only romantic interactions she'd ever seen were when Indigo and her male friends started kissing and grabbing and doing all that passionate heavy breathing and moaning on their way to the couch. Lizzie would retreat to her room when the shirts and jeans hit the floor. 

She waited a few more minutes but neither Scooter nor his mother came out of the apartment. Lizzie got to her feet and climbed the flight up to her aunt's apartment.

When she entered, Sonya turned with a surprised expression and asked, "What are you doing back so soon?"

"Oh, geez. Do we have any of those dorky Girls Life magazines around here?"

Sonya recognized Lizzie's agitated state and replied, "I think you threw them all away. Is there something I can help you with?"

"I kissed Scooter."

"You did?" An embarrassed laugh burst from her lips before she choked it down. 

"It's not funny."

"I know. Did he kiss you back?"

"Yes."

"Did he say anything?"

"His mother said he had to go into the apartment with her. So he didn't talk to me."

"Oh."

"Was that a mistake?"

"I don't, uh, I'm not sure about what happened."

"He said they were staying overnight and I said I missed him and he said he did too and then, oh, geez, I didn't know what to say so I kissed him."

"He probably wasn't expecting that. He wasn't mad about it, was he?"

"No, but I think I made his mother mad."

"Don't worry, Lizzie. We'll figure this out."

"Oh, geez, Scooter is the only friend I have and now I ruined it."

"Things like this happen a lot when you're a teenager."

Lizzie took long strides across the kitchen and down the hallway.

"What are you doing?" Sonya called.

"I think there might be a couple of magazines under my bed."