Promise?

Part II: Chapter 11

"Come on, Noah!"

Noah turned, her long ash brown hair fanning behind her in thick silky waves. She smiled at the girl motioning to her. The girl reached out and tapped at her wrist reminding her of how late it was. With eyes twinkling and a halo of warm golden light cast over her head, Noah rolled her eyes at the sight of the impatient girl.

"I'm going, I'm going." She laughed turning the key in the lock to the front door of the baby blue two-story house, jiggling the knob once to make sure it was securely locked before finally making her way down the five cobblestone steps leading down the front yard, cutting across halfway through the verdant green grass to dash into the waiting bright red car.

As she got in Noah suppressed the urge to snicker as she caught sight of the girl rolling her bright emerald green eyes, the impatience and slight annoyance rolling off of her in small waves. She chose to say nothing though, at least not yet... not until they were well on their way to their destination. She didn't want to give the infamous Tiger-Lily a chance to change her mind and leave her stranded without a ride. They were on their way to the mall. Somehow Noah had convinced Lily this time, a young woman notorious for her impatience and sharp-tongued attitude but also the only person she could call her best friend, to accompany her to look for an early birthday present for her mother.

Although Noah was usually good at those sorts of things for some reason, this year she was different. Even after those first few months of mulling ideas over, weeks of going back and forth between one thing and then another, nothing felt right. There was no lightbulb going off in her head like past years and struggling as she might be Noah didn't want to ask her father either... he had enough on his plate looking for his gift. If anything, he might be the one in need of her help... Noah smiled remembering what he'd gotten for her mom last year- a pair of tickets... for bungee jumping.

The look on her mother's face had been priceless.

Noah giggled at the memory.

"What?"

Noah blinked suddenly reminded of where she was. Her cheeks reddened slightly... curse her bad habit of letting her mind wander.

Lily nudged her arm with an elbow as she smoothly pulled onto the onramp of the freeway. "Come on, if it's a joke I want it."

Noah shook her head trying hard but failing to suppress the smile on her lips. "No, it's no joke..." She frowned then thought about it. "Or actually... I don't think it was."

Lily laughed. "Um, what?"

"Well, I was just remembering Dad's gift to Mom last year. Bungee jumping passes." She shook her head. "Not sure if he was serious or if it was meant to be a joke. You never know with him. One thing was for sure, mom didn't think it was all that funny."

Nodding Lily chuckled. "I bet. But then again your dad is a strange one, isn't he? I would think she'd expect those kinds of things from him."

Smiling Noah could only nod in agreement. She was right... it didn't help though that her mother could sometimes prove to be a bit gullible when it came to her father.

As Lily drove down the long expanse of the highway, expertly maneuvering into and out of lanes Noah surfed the radio stations. When she found one playing a song she liked she sat back into her seat and sighed, the need to find the perfect gift weighing heavily on her. Lily, as always, picked up on the shift in her attitude, completely attuned to her and whatever it was she was feeling.

"So, still don't know what to get huh?"

Grimacing Noah bit her lip. "Yeah. It's just hard y' know? Like I always know what I want to get her but this year's different. Flowers are too cliché. Perfumes and clothing are out of the question and I'm not sure jewelry is in my budget... I guess I just want something different this year. Something unique."