“Can I help you find something?” he asked.
“No, no, just fine, just getting some ice cream,” I said. I held up the pint and then dropped it into my basket. “Pretty much…have it covered,” I gasped, with a tiny whimper.
He didn’t say anything else. He just walked away and I stood there, grimacing. Once he was down the aisle, I considered sticking my foot back into the freezer to ice down the swelling. Great, first Gretchen had lost a leg, and now me.
Eventually I limped up to the checkout, where the guy was bagging groceries. I decided to skip his aisle and take the next one over. I had paid and was picking up my bag when he asked, “Need any help out to the car?”
“No thanks. I should be good,” I said. “The pain’s going away and I just have the one bag, so…”
He stared at me. “I wasn’t asking you.”
I turned to see an elderly woman behind me. “Oh. Right! Well, I can help her,” I offered, because there was a long line forming behind me.
“I prefer Conor,” she said to me in a snooty voice.
“How are you doing, Mrs. Whitman?” he asked as he went over to pick up her shopping bags.
I couldn’t get out to the car fast enough.
Some people you were glad to bump into again. Other people? Not so much.
As soon as we got home, I turned on my computer and checked my email. The first thing I saw made my heart sink.
FWD: RESERVATION/DEPOSIT
REQUIRED
Hey—it’s time to send in your reservation for Groundhog Getaway! We need final totals this week so we get a big enough cabin. Fill out and print attached form; mail by Friday with check or credit card # for deposit. Or call the rental agency; info attached below.
Thx—Emma
Okay, so it was the day of reckoning—on a small scale, anyway.
Should I go by myself? Should I bluff and sign up for two spaces? Or should I throw in the towel altogether? That would be a lot cheaper. I could tell everyone that Gretchen still needed me, that I couldn’t possibly come.
Of course we were getting a pretty good deal, seeing as how not everyone considered Groundhog Day the perfect weekend for a vacation up North.
I decided to see if Jones was online. She was, so I messaged her right away.
Hey Jones. Kirst here. Feeling especially Cursed.
I went into the grocery store and who do I see but that guy from the skating rink, the one who returned my hat, and I make a complete idiot out of myself, AGAIN.
My sister just insisted that I clean the living room of all my “junk” before I even thought about watching a movie.
Why am I here? Again?
Please remind me because if you don’t I’m going to run straight home.
Cursed, there is a reason you are there. You are being the good sister. You are doing the world a service. There is another more important reason you are there.
There is? What is it? Besides embarrassing myself in front of guys.
Finding a guy for GG. If I can, you can.
Yes, but you actually have guts. You actually asked someone out before.
So did you. Remember fifth grade?
FIRST grade. We went trick-or-treating together.
So? He said yes, didn’t he? This is silly. Get your phone.
My cell started ringing about two seconds later, and when I picked up, the first thing Jones said was that she had bad news. “I was talking to Keira at school today—”
“What’s wrong? How is she?” Keira was another friend of ours. We played on the soccer team together, and our moms had been good friends for a long time.
“Nothing’s wrong with her exactly. Well, yes, it is. Something’s wrong with her head. She told me she started seeing someone over the holidays. And then, you won’t believe this, but she told me that it’s Tyler. She’s dating Tyler,” Jones announced.
“That is bad news. For her,” I added. “It’s good for you, because you were next on his hiton list—”
“And then she told me that she’s already invited him to the cabin,” Jones added.
“What?” I gulped. “No way.”
“Yeah. Way,” Jones replied.
“Why would she…”
“I know. It’s totally weird. Girl has obviously lost her mind.”
I laughed. “No, I didn’t mean that—I mean, Tyler’s not a totally bad guy. He has his charms.”
“Oh, yeah, sure he does. I felt like telling her that the cabin was overbooked and she’d have to drop out,” Jones said. “I didn’t. Of course. She was in on this from the beginning, so it’s not like we can un-invite her.”
“Great.” I tried to smile as Jones told me some funny stories about her own attempts to find a guy for Groundhog Getaway, but as we said goodbye and I clicked off my phone, I felt this tightness in my chest. Now that Keira was seeing Tyler, I was really under pressure to find a date for the weekend.
I picked up my phone again and dialed the number for the cabin rental company. When a woman answered, I gave her Emma’s last name, and told her I would need space. For two people.
Sean’s image immediately came to mind. I could so easily see the two of us hanging out, having a good time. And I could see Tyler looking at us and having a huge pang of regret because that could have been him with me. Sean and I would skate together, we’d hold hands, we’d snuggle by the cabin fire…
“You’re all set,” the woman on the phone said.
“Great.” I tapped my credit card against the desk and stared out the bedroom window. Now which house exactly was Sean’s?
Chapter 5
Early the next morning, I was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.
I started to dash for the front door, hoping it might be Sean. I didn’t know why I thought he’d be dropping by, but that didn’t matter—I was either hoping, or praying, that it might be him. I didn’t stop to be rational.
But then I paused and checked my reflection in the hallway mirror before I answered the door, the way Gretchen told me that I should. When I finally took a deep breath and opened the door, I saw a FedEx truck parked out front, and a woman in uniform disappearing down the front walk. “Thanks!” I called to her as I spotted the box she’d left on our doorstep.
She turned around and gave me a small wave as she climbed into the driver’s seat.
So much for worrying about being put together nicely with my hair brushed.
The package was addressed to both me and Gretchen, and it was from Mom. There were about a dozen “Fragile” and “Perishable” stickers on the box. When I opened it, I wasn’t surprised to see a big rectangular Tupperware container full of cupcakes. Mom’s number-one choice for care packages. She’d sent them to me at summer camp at least twice.