The Secret of the Stone

Don't Worry, Be Happy -[Chapter 12]

 “Don’t worry about them” Carolyn said as she walked me home. She probably read the expression on my face, one of concern and doubt. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Is what Griffin said true? If something better comes along, will Des and I stop SPing?”

“Um.. well..” Carolyn stammered. “I can’t lie on that one. SPing CAN be broken.”

“Oh” I said. 

“Are you worried about Lydia?” Carolyn asked.

“Um..yeah”

She laughed. “Don’t be! Lydia is just jealous of you. She never really cared for Des until now.”

She looked at me seriously. “And what you and Des have is strong. I can feel it.”

I smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Hey can I hang for a while?” she asked. “It’s only 9:30. The night is young!” She laughed.

“Okay”, I laughed along with her.

We walked inside my house. “Hello, Rosie!,” my dad exclaimed when he saw me. “Where have you been?” He looked behind me to Carolyn and smiled. “Ah, I see you’ve made a new friend. Introduce me.”

I laughed. “Actually, FRIENDS. Des introduced me to them. We were getting pizza. And Dad, this is Carolyn.”

“Ah, what a pretty name” my dad said. “Well, you two girls have fun upstairs.” He went back to the living room and settled watching TV. I walked Carolyn up the stairs. She gasped at the house as I led her through it. 

“This is chic” ,she commented.

“Thanks. My dad designed it”, I said proudly.

“No way!” ,Carolyn gasped again “That’s WAY cool!”

I led her into my room. “How do you manage?”, I asked.

“What do you mean?” she said, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

“Lie to your parents all the time.”

“Ah” ,she laughed. “My parents are keepers too. I think it’s genetic, except for the AK.”

“Oh”, I said, disappointed at her advantage. 

“You know” Carolyn said as she spread on my bed and flipped through one of my magazines,“Your sister could be a keeper too.”

“Really?”, I asked, bewildered. “An all keeper like me?”

“Oh no” Carolyn laughed. “Your an original, one time offer. At least for a hundred years or so. But I’m just saying” ,as she flipped a page, “It’s a distinct possibility.” 

Just then, there was a knock at my door. “Rosie, you got any perfume in there?” It was Lilly. 

I opened the door. “For what?” I asked. Lilly blushed.

“I..I have a date.” I swung open the door. 

“A DATE!? That’s awesome! Is Dad excited?”

“Hysterical. But since he’s been through it with you, he’s not making a big fuss.”

Carolyn joined me at the doorframe. “Where are you going?”

“Um.. the movies.”

I laughed. “Ah, first kissing. Let’s give you a MAKEOVER!”

“Really?” Lilly asked, eyes wide.

“Of course!” Carolyn said, eyes laughing. “I’m Carolyn by the way.”

We took her by the hand and sat her down in front of the bathroom mirror from a stool in my room. I reached down to reveal a cabinet full of perfume,makeup, and hair styling products.

“And let the session..BEGIN!” I announced. 

“Okay” ,Lilly laughed “But I have the date in an hour.”

In an hour, we had washed,combed,styled, and blown dry Lilly’s hair. We had applyed enough makeup to make it look natural. We had also given her many tips on her date.

“No lip gloss.” Carolyn instructed.

“Why not?” asked Lilly.

“Because if you kiss him, you don’t want it to be all goopy and sticky. But Chapstick is necessary.” 

She laughed.

When we had finished, she looked stunning. Her hair was soft around her face and her makeup made her glitter. 

“But naturally”, I said as I winked.

Suddenly, she bolted out of her seat. Where was she going? She hugged us. I breathed in the soft smell of lavender we had sprayed on her.

“Thank you thank you!”, she said, her voice muffled as we hugged her back.

“No problem kiddo.” Carolyn said.

Lilly smiled up at us. “You're the best.” Then, the doorbell rang. We accompanied her down the stairs. She opened the door to reveal some thirteen year old boy. I remember my first date. I hope Lilly had a great time. I saw the boy smile warmly at Lilly.

“You look great” ,he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Me and Carolyn tried to stifle our giggles from down the hall. 

“Thanks” ,Lilly said.

“Let’s go”, said the boy.

As he took her hand and led her in the direction of the road, she turned around and mouthed ‘Thank You’ to us. I winked at her as she closed the door.

“Awwwww! And that was so fun!” Carolyn said. 

“Ditto”, I said, grinning. “Want some pizza?” 

“Oh yeah!”, Carolyn said.

And so we spent the night at my house, until Carolyn got picked up by her mom at 11:00 PM. We laughed on my bed, flipping through magazines, telling stories of zany dates. I couldn’t do this with Vicky. She hadn’t had that much experience in the dating area. 

I realized I had kind of been neglecting Vicky. But she could have made an effort to call as well. So I decided we were even, and we would just talk tomorrow. 

At 11:15 PM, Lilly walked up the steps. I walked into her room.

“How was it?”, I asked.

Lilly fell into her bed. “Amazing”, she whispered. I left her there to contemplate the night. And I fell into a deep slumber.