What Alyce needed was a special someone all her own.
A boyfriend.
5
I could hardly sleep that night thinking up ways to introduce Alyce to L-O-V-E.
No hooking her up with a random guy. He’d have to be someone really amazing, who accepted her unique style and wasn’t easily intimidated by difficult mothers. He also needed to get along with Eli and me, too, so we could go on double dates.
Finding The Perfect Guy for Alyce would not be easy.
But I was up for the challenge, tossing and turning with whirling thoughts. I thought about the advice of a self-help book I had called Perfecting the Art of Perfection. The book advised accepting your imperfections; you’re only limited by your own expectations, so aim for the best. Still, none of my books offered practical methods for matchmaking, and I wondered if I should stop by a bookstore to search for one. Finally, at 5:20 a.m., I gave in to restlessness and got up.
Remembering how annoyed I’d been when Grammy wore the wrong kind of clothes for my body, I was true to Alyce’s creative spirit and slipped on a black ankle-length jacket over a dark-brown shirt, mid-length skirt, and knee-high, lace-up boots. As I turned toward the window to pick up Monkey Bag, my gaze drifted down to the front yard — to the driveway.
Something was wrong … and then it hit me.
Stupid, stupid! Why hadn’t I noticed last night that there was only one car in the Perfetti driveway? And it wasn’t Alyce’s piece-of-crap dented station wagon.
Alyce bought her junker car after winning a local photography contest. She thrived on complaining that the car drank gas and made noises that sounded like farts, the tires were almost tread bare, and the crack in the side window looked like a smiling skeleton. Alyce really loved her car.
So where was it?
Unfortunately, I could guess the answer. Damn and double damn.
Alyce must have driven her car to Green Briar but parked it out of sight, which was why I didn’t spot it. I needed to get Junkmobile back before her mother woke up and saw that it was missing.
But when I tried to call Grammy at my real house, I got an automated voice asking me to leave a message. So I tried a different number.
“Amber?” Dustin answered right away. Even at this insane hour of the morning, Dustin was manning his “Headquarters.” I heard the hum of computers and a soft jingle from the keys he had dangling from his ceiling. He worked part-time for a locksmith and had a hobby of collecting unusual keys.
“Yeah, I’m still Alyce.”
“What do you need?”
“I don’t only call when I need something,” I argued.
“So you’re just calling to say good morning?”
“That, too. And I need a ride.”
“Right now?”
“Please,” I said with exaggerated sweetness.
“I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.”
“You never eat breakfast.”
“That’s beside the point. I might have plans and leaving could be really inconvenient. You know, I do have a life too,” he pointed out.
“I do know. But I thrive on adding drama to it.”
“True. Should I thank you?”
“A ride would be enough.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“I think Alyce left her car near Green Briar and I need to get it before it’s (a) stolen (b) towed away or (c) mistaken for garbage and hauled off to the dump.”
He groaned. “Amber, sometimes you make me crazy.”
“Only sometimes?”
“Continually,” he amended. “All right, I’ll be there in a half hour.”
“Twenty minutes?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
Dustin was such a loyal friend that I’d be lost without him — literally. Not that I’d ever admit this to him. He already had a big enough ego and grand dreams of world domination.
After leaving a note for Alyce’s mother on the table saying I’d be back in a few hours, I stepped outside, shivering at the cold, misty air. The sun was creeping up through trees, a golden hue shivering through branches and casting strange shadows that brought back memories of the face I thought I’d seen last night.
That face. Could it really have been Gabe?
In the light of morning, this seemed ridiculous. I was just being seriously paranoid. All I’d seen was a neighbor crossing the lawn or someone out for an evening walk. Even if Gabe were around, he wouldn’t recognize me in Alyce’s body.
Dustin showed up in less than twenty minutes. I knew he’d come right away, both because once he made a decision, he acted immediately, and also because of his secret passion for speeding. Fortunately he also kept some highly illegal police-locating equipment in his car, which saved him from expensive tickets. I waved him down before he even came to a stop and jumped into the car.
Within a half hour, we’d found Alyce’s car, parked on a side street almost a mile from Green Briar.
Dustin leaned against the side of Alyce’s car as I pulled keys out of Monkey Bag. “Should I follow you back to Alyce’s house?” he asked. “Or are you off somewhere else?”
I hesitated, torn between the wants and the responsibilities of my assignment. I wanted to get started right away on finding a boyfriend for Alyce because I was sure this would solve her problems. But I couldn’t forget the list of locations and dates. I had a duty to follow through on her plans — and she’d planned to go to someplace called Liberty today.
When I explained this to Dustin, he — as usual — had a solution.
“Let’s go to my Headquarters,” he said. “I’ll do some checking on that list, find out if you’re right about those places being cemeteries. I don’t know of a city nearby named Liberty, but I think I’ve seen the name on a street sign or something. Then we’ll tackle the matchmaking issue.”
“Really think we can find someone great for Alyce?” I asked hopefully.
Dustin folded his skinny arms against his chest. “Do you want the truth?”
“Probably not, but you’ll give it to me anyway.”
“And you’ll ignore my advice.”
“Only the stupid stuff.”
“Stupid stuff would be a fitting topic for your matchmaking scheme.” He waved his hands expressively. “You may be inside Alyce’s body but you’re not thinking like her. If you set her up with some random guy, she’ll kill you.”
“But it’s not going to be a random guy. I’ll find the right guy.”
“Should I point out the serious flaws in your plan?”
I sighed as I leaned against the open door of Alyce’s car. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But I know this is the right thing to do. Love is the answer to Alyce’s crisis. She’ll never be lonely again if I can hook her up with TRG.”
“What if there is no Right Guy?”
“Pessimism is a hideous personality flaw and very unattractive,” I said, giving him a scolding shake of my head. “Don’t criticize unless you can offer a better plan.”
“How can I when I don’t know what’s going on with Alyce?”
“I told you — it’s all about love. Or lack of it. Maybe you should try it yourself, then you’d know all about love.”
“Oh, and you know it all?” He was mocking me but since I needed his help, I let it pass.
“Sure.”
“Ha!” He chuckled. “Okay, let’s say that Alyce wants a boyfriend. How do you propose to find one for her?”
I stared pointedly into his eyes. “I have this really brilliant friend who can find out anything with the click of a mouse.”
“He must be a loser if he doesn’t have anything better to do than play matchmaker for you.”
“Actually he’s a genius.”
“Never heard of the dude.”
I laughed, knowing from his half smile and the thoughtful twist of his lips that he was already mentally downloading ideas.