It was Tami and her mom. It was her birthday, and it looked like her mom was buying her a car.
“Why doesn’t it surprise me that they’d put you out here to welcome the public?” Tami told me as she gave me a kiss.
“So what are you ladies in the market for?” I asked them.
“I see, all business,” Mrs. Glade teased, and kissed my cheek. “Okay, I’ll quit teasing you and see if you can help us. We’re looking for dependable ...”
“... and cute ...” Tami interjected.
“... and cute, cheap transportation. Something she can take to school and back and not have it break down.”
“They took a Chevy Spark trade-in earlier today. That would be cute and inexpensive. Let me get Larry and maybe he can show it to you.”
I introduced them to Larry and explained that they were VIPs. He took care of them. Tami and her mom drove out with the little Spark, smiles on their faces. I was told to be at the Andersons’ house by seven o’clock that evening, as Beth was throwing Tami a birthday dinner. She told me Mr. Anderson would be filling the pool, so I should bring my swimsuit.
At the end of the day, Mrs. Sullivan told us we all could have Sunday off because we did such a good job. We’d actually done everything she needed to be done this weekend. She paid us for a day and a half of work and promised she’d do the same next weekend if we worked just as hard.
Ty and I had talked. We didn’t want to get paid. Ty explained why to Mrs. Sullivan.
“Even with working, some of the guys are going to be strapped for cash. We don’t want them to feel like they need to borrow money from a friend or to do without on the trip. Could you take our pay, and put it on a prepaid debit card? Then give it to one of the chaperones?”
Our two checks added up to almost two hundred dollars. She called Mr. Sullivan over to discuss it with him. They said they would match it. I gave them another hundred so it would be around five hundred dollars. We agreed any extra funds would be donated to the Booster Club.
Ty was working with everyone next weekend, so he would have spending money of his own.
I FOUND MOM.
“Can you help me get all of Tami’s gift to Beth’s? She’s having Tami’s birthday dinner there.”
“Sure, but aren’t there about a gazillion boxes?”
“Yes, and they’re all in my apartment.”
“Why don’t I get a nice box and we put one complete place setting in it? That way you only have to take one box. Tami can come over tomorrow and get the rest.”
“I knew there was a reason I keep you around,” I told my Mom.
She tried to whack me, but I dodged her. Dad smacked me on the back of the head as he came to get a soda. It was just not fair that there were two of them. I went up, got one of everything for a place setting, and took it to Mom. She used Saran Wrap and newspaper to keep everything from moving around and then stuffed the box with confetti. I just taped it shut. Tami would call me a wimp if I wrapped it because she knew I was terrible at wrapping presents. She said it devalued them.
I was able to walk with just the one box. When I rang the doorbell, Mrs. A answered.
“Good Lord, David, when are you going to learn to wrap a present?” she asked me, as she hugged me and kissed my cheek.
“I believe ‘it’s the thought that counts,’” I shot back.
Tami walked up behind Mrs. A.
“What did you get me?” she asked.
I handed her the box and she peeked inside. She gave me a big hug and kiss.
“You did good. Now tape it back up, and I’ll act surprised,” Tami told me as she went out back.
“Ah, I see. What’s the point if she’s is going to peek?” Mrs. A surmised.
I just nodded. I followed her out back and found Jeff and Alan. Besides the ’rents and Beth, we were the only guests. We four had been best friends ever since Tami moved here. I remember the guys had tried to warn her off from becoming my friend when she first met us. It was a good thing she never listened to them.
I found her showing Jeff and Alan all the college materials she’d collected.
“Right now, we like Cal Berkeley,” Tami said.
“Are you getting everyone to go to the same college?” I asked her.
“Yep, and you’re going to buy a giant house so we can all live together,” she informed me.
“Better yet, I should buy an apartment complex.”
“Whatever. You handle the details, I’ll handle the big picture,” she told me.
I wasn’t really sure if she was kidding or not. If she was, I needed to get busy and make more money, especially if we ended up in California. She could see I was worried, and she sat down in my lap.
“Don’t worry about it, David. If it’s meant to be, you’ll get it worked out. You just need to find the right people to help you. Remember, you’re a doer, not a wanter. We talked about this. We have plenty of time.”
I could tell she had our lives planned out for us. I just wished she would clue me in.
After dinner and opening gifts—and yes, she acted surprised—we put on our swimsuits. I had on board shorts because I was tired of wearing a Speedo. Jeff and Alan pushed me into the pool. It was freezing. Greg had helped Mr. Anderson fill it today, so it hadn’t had time to warm up. It was good that I didn’t have a Speedo on, because I think there was major shrinkage. Of course, I jumped out, picked them both up, and threw them in.
“What are you, the Hulk? How strong are you?” Alan complained.
Tami and Beth shoved me in with Alan and Jeff. It was on. The girls sprinted to Mrs. A for protection. I stalked them and Mrs. A put up her hand, so I stopped. Tami and Beth gave me satisfied smirks.
“Now, no running,” she told me.
I thought about it for a moment, and then I grabbed Tami and threw her over a shoulder. Beth went to hide behind her dad. I scooped her up under my arm and jumped into the pool with the both of them. By the time we were done, I think there was more water out of the pool than in. We were almost blue, we were so cold. We crawled into the hot tub, and Mrs. A made us hot chocolate.
I looked up as Cassidy walked in with her dad. I glanced at Tami.
“Did you invite them?”
“Nope, and she doesn’t look happy. Let’s go see what’s going on.”
We got out, Cassidy saw me, ran into my arms, and burst into tears. Coach Hope just shrugged and went to talk to the adults. I saw Mr. Anderson hand him a beer, so I figured this could take a while.
Cassidy did that girl thing where she says about five minutes’ worth of stuff in thirty seconds. I looked at Tami to translate. She just shook her head. She had no idea either. I pulled Cassidy off me and we sat down by the pool.
“Take a deep breath, and let’s try that again,” I encouraged her.
“Jim broke up with me, and it’s all your fault,” she informed me.
I looked at Tami and she was even more confused than I was.
“Come again?” I asked.
“All the guys broke up with us today. They said they wanted to do the ‘just friends’ thing like you do.”
Tami got it. I was still lost. Eventually, she explained it to me.
“Your dumbass friends figure they can sleep around this summer. They see you doing it with your ‘friends with benefits.’”
“Oh, shit. Oops, sorry. You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said as I took Cassidy’s hand. “I’ll talk to the guys and get this straightened out. Jim’ll be begging for forgiveness by the end of the weekend.”
“Don’t bother. The girls have all talked. If the guys are this stupid, we don’t want them back,” Cassidy said, crossing her arms across her chest.
“I’m so sorry they hurt you girls. I wish there was something I could do to help,” I said.
“Funny you should say that. We all decided that, since it was your fault, you’d just have to cut us all the same deal you do your other ‘friends.’”
I think that was the best birthday gift Cassidy could have given Tami. She took one look at the shocked expression on my face and burst out laughing.