The No Kiss Contract (Jensoo)

5

Jennie parked at the curb and double-checked the address on the invite before getting out: 14 Darling Drive. She was in an unfamiliar part of Elmdale, on a street populated by enormous houses with vast, verdant front lawns. So this is where Jisoo lives now. She gathered her bags—costume, camera, and tote—and surveyed the house, weighing her options for gaining entry.

The house was clad in light gray shingles with handsome white trim, kind of a country cottage style but on steroids, with wings extending from either side of the front facade and what looked like three levels. People and activity surrounded a catering truck in the driveway, so she dragged her belongings in that direction.

Jennie followed a caterer through a spacious mudroom and into an immense kitchen, a hive of activity, but no Jisoo. She wandered through empty rooms until she found her, on her phone, pacing and harried, in what Jennie guessed was the living room. It, too, was empty except for an Eames lounge chair and ottoman positioned next to a large fireplace.

She hadn't been noticed yet, so Jennie stood in the doorway with all her bags and watched. Jisoo stopped pacing and rattled off names of cases with her eyes closed and her fingers pressed against her forehead, as if she were pulling them out of her brain. "And ARCOA v. Colorado, try that one too. Find the fucking precedent. Why do I have to help you with this? This is your job. I want the brief on my desk by eight a.m. Monday." She ended the call without saying good-bye and lifted her head when she heard Jennie's garment bag slide off her shoulder. "Jennie?"

"Yeah, hi." She sketched a tiny wave down around her waist. The bags in her arms made her unable to lift her arms any higher.

Jisoo shifted her weight to her other foot. "Moving in?"

"God, no," Jennie said. "This is my costume."

"What are you doing here? The party doesn't start for another three hours."

"I thought I'd come early and see if there was anything I could do to help. There always seems to be a ton of things to do just before a party."

"Right." She still looked vaguely put out. "That's nice of you. Why don't you leave your bags here and follow me."

They stepped through the sliding glass door and out onto a multi-level terrace, surfaced in slate pavers and framed around its edges by a low stone wall. Round banquet-style tables were positioned throughout the first two levels, and people were setting chairs and unfurling white tablecloths with snappy precision. The lowest level, which abutted the lawn, was clear of all furniture.

Far from the terrace at the rear of the property, in front of a tall, dense hedge of cherry laurels, two burly men were setting up a giant rectangular trampoline. This wasn't your regular backyard Wal-Mart trampoline; it looked like it belonged in a gymnastics training facility. It was so huge, about half the size of a tennis court, it looked like fifteen people could jump around on it at the same time. Jennie put a hand on her hip. "That is some trampoline."

"I wasn't sure if Cherry and her guests would enjoy it, but I thought it couldn't hurt."

"If they don't use it, I will." Jennie knew Louis would love it. She was grudgingly impressed by the effort Jisoo had expended, despite the tiny voice in her head reminding her of all the years she had been a ghost in Cherry's life.

"Maybe you could take over for me with the catering crew? They need to know where the mobile pizza oven should go and where to set up the taco bar. I have a few more calls to make and then I can be fully present." She looked past Jennie. "If you'll excuse me, I have it on good authority that the balloon guy has arrived."

Jisoo walked toward a man holding two enormous bunches of helium- filled balloons of blue and green, Cherry's favorite colors. Jennie looked around at the preparations for a dream party that any fourteen-year-old girl would love.