The Book at the Top of the Closet

Chapter Forty

Believe in magic. It's ten o'clock at night, hours have passed since I read the good luck spell, and still those last words hang in my mind. I keep imagining the moment when I tell Veronica how I feel, and the feeling of having not lived that moment is overwhelming. I have to tell her.

It takes over four hours to drive to her hometown of Pflugerville, and while I technically have my driver's license, I haven't driven enough to feel comfortable driving that far, and especially not at night. Still, as I sit here, curled up on the couch at my parents' house, the idea of simply driving through the night to see her is infectious. It creeps into my soul and takes up residence, until I'm itching with nervous energy.

Whenever I've needed to get a crush off my mind, I always turn to a movie my dad introduced me to: John Wayne's McLintock. It's basically a retelling of Kiss Me Kate, which is, incidentally, a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. Go figure. Now, however, even this movie can't get my mind off of Veronica. I just keep looking at Maureen O'Hara on screen and thinking about Veronica instead. Flaming red hair, eyes that can freeze you where you stand. The resemblance isn't hard to see.

When my dad comes home from work, having been awake since probably five this morning, he finds me in the living room, demolishing a carton of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and watching the last half hour of McLintock with misty eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asks, sitting down on the couch next to me.

"Nothing's wrong," I say.

"You only watch this when you're having boy troubles. Or I guess maybe girl troubles," he says.

"Yeah, maybe. The thing is, there's this girl I really like," I say, then pause, assessing his reaction before I continue, "And I think I may have missed my chance to tell her how I feel. A lot can happen between semesters, and what if school starts back up and she's in a relationship?"

"Would this girl happen to be the redhead we met the other day at your school?"

"How did you know?"

"Well she definitely likes you. I don't know much about how it works with two girls, but I know the look, and she had the look."

"What should I do, then? I can't ask her out over the phone, and I don't want her to think I'm not interested."

"You said she lives in Pflugerville, right?" he asks. I nod. "Be ready to go in twenty minutes, and find out what kind of candy she likes best, we'll pick some up on the way."

I grin as dad walks away to get ready to go. He may be new to having a daughter who likes girls, and we may disagree on a lot of things, but at the end of the day he's the kind of dad who will come home from working more than twelve hours and still be willing to drive four hours to make his kid happy.

Mom shakes her head at us and smiles, and tells me for the umpteenth time that my dad always was the sappy one in the family. We're on the road by eleven, and we pick up a two pound bag of jellybeans (Veronica's favorite) on the way. I find myself dozing off after the first hour, and I'm amazed that my dad can drive after being awake for so long.

I wake up to the first glimmer of sunlight over the golden arches of a McDonald's drive-thru. It's not properly morning yet, but it's close enough to get breakfast. Groggy and suddenly ravenous, I order multiple McGriddles and the largest iced coffee they offer. We're just outside of Pflugerville, and Dad's been circling around because I didn't actually give him the address before I fell asleep.

Still barely awake, I text Veronica and ask what her exact address is, saying I've got a surprise for her and need to know where to send it. She isn't exactly an early riser, so by the time she texts back, I've finished my breakfast and Dad is squinting like he's very, very tired and possibly beginning to regret that we didn't wait until morning to leave in the first place.

I guess I know where I get my impulsive side, though.

Eventually, Veronica texts back, and we head toward the address she gives me. It takes only a few minutes to get to her house, which stands on a little cul-de-sac surrounded by nearly identical houses. I'd know which one was hers even without the house number, though, because in the middle of the perfectly groomed lawn is a giant, inexplicably purple flamingo.

Dad waits in the car while I go inside, saying that he'll just take a nap while I go live my rom-com. I grab the jellybeans from the backseat, then run up to the door before I lose my nerve. My heart pounds in my chest, and I ring the doorbell, feeling like a kid who's been dared to ring the bell of the haunted house.

Seconds tick by, and I'm afraid no one is going to come to the door. Just as I begin to deflate, turning to head back to the car, the door opens up. Veronica stands in the doorway, a silky robe hanging half tied over polka-dot pajamas I haven't seen before. I was expecting to have to explain who I am to her parents, but either they're still asleep, or they've already left for the day.

"How did you get here?" she asks.

"My dad drove me. I guess he's going to have to take the day off, but I was being angsty and he just... drove me here." As romantic speeches go, this is a rough start.

"Are you okay? Why were you being angsty?" she asks. Suddenly it occurs to me that it's a little strange and alarming to just show up at someone's door.

"Oh no, I'm okay, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you-"

"As long as you're okay, everything is great," she says, interrupting me with a hug.

I've rehearsed what I want to say to her a thousand times, but none of the poetic speeches seem right in this moment.

"Veronica?"

"Yeah babe?"

"I think I fell in lo- I mean maybe not love but-"

"I hope you mean love," she says, and I'm starting to really like it when she interrupts me.

"Oh?" I manage to ask.

"Because I am stupid in love with you." She actually blushes when she says this, and my entire world supernovas in a bright flash of euphoria.

I kiss her.

And she kisses me.

And I believe in magic.