Always Waiting

Part 3

"So, Carlie, when exactly is this party?" I ask as we walk around Ralph Lauren. She picks out a yellow dress and holds it up to me.
"Tonight, of course. No, yellow isn't right for a nighttime party." She replies.
"Tonight? I need to ask my mom. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I exclaim, practically freaking out. I dig my phone out of my back pocket and hit the contact, "Mom".
"Hey mom, can I go to a party tonight with Carlie? Yes, it's in Manhattan. No, I will not be drinking. Okay. OKAY! Bye, love you!" I end the call as soon as Carlie is holding up another dress.
"Perfect! Okay, let's pay for this and then head out to Sephora." She says. I nod.
"Oh, and my mom says that I need to be home before midnight. Is that cool?" I ask.
"Ugh, okay. You can totally get to the subway by yourself, right?" She says, swiping her credit card.
"Um, yeah, I guess. Thanks for the dress."
"No problem, girlfriend. Now let's go to Sephora."
                            ••••
We leave Sephora with an eyeshadow palette, a dark pink lipstick, and a new mascara brush. Carlie is texting someone on her phone, and I smack myself on the head.
"Shoot! Carlie, I forgot that I need to go to the bookstore for my mom. Can we go in there real quick?" I explain. She looks up at me.
"Sure, but if we want enough time to get to my house and get ready, you only have 20 minutes." Only 20? Wow, I better hurry.
"'Kay. I'll be right back." I say, and dash into the bookstore. I grab a pasta cookbook off the shelf and pay for it, waiting in line for about 5 minutes. Then I run back to Carlie.
"Great. We have an extra 10 minutes. Let's go to my house!" She heads off into the direction of the subway, and I follow her.