“What starts?”
“Where do you think the term ‘cat lady’ comes from? I can see it now. You’ll be thirty and single and have, like, fifty cats,” I teased.
“Daddy agreed to let you take me to Prom. He said we have to go as friends,” Cassidy said to change the subject.
I guess she wanted to go to Prom more than she wanted to hurt me for making fun of her kitten master.
“That’s nice.”
“Pam said you would talk to Adrienne and get us dresses. She said you would want us to look nice. Brook agreed and said you should get her a dress too.”
It started to become clear why I wasn’t squirming on the sidewalk right now. It was also smart of Pam and Brook to have Cassidy ask me.
“Did they, now?”
“Yes. Brook said you should forget about saying no and just do it,” Cassidy said confidently.
“Well, if Brook said …”
Cassidy took off as fast as Dare had. I figured she was telling the girls because I heard Pam let out a whoop.
It seemed like everyone wanted something from me today. The good news with Adrienne was I knew she would just make the girls get their pictures taken in the dresses as payment. I also knew they would look fabulous.
I called Scarlet before I forgot about Dare.
“Hey,” I said when she answered. “Tell Megan she needs to be firmer with Dare. He told me she told him no on buying more stuff but gave him an out if he could convince me.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Scarlet promised.
“I’m not really mad, so go easy on her. Instead, I let Dare loose on Fritz. If Fritz calls and approves the outlay, have her go ahead.”
“Will do.”
“Did Lexi call you?” I asked.
“Yes, she said you were confused as to who your PA was. We worked it all out. Cindy and Kevin are driving over tonight. We should all be ready to leave as soon as you get out of school tomorrow.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I admitted.
“Oh, and Mr. Sullivan called. Your mom’s new car will be in on Friday.”
That sneaky …
“That’s great!” I said to not give away that I now understood why my mom had been nice to me. “Hey, I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow.”
I hung up and called Mr. Sullivan.
“I need your help …”
We would see how being sneaky paid off.
◊◊◊ Thursday March 23
Instead of running this morning, I was rushing around, packing for my trip. Last night, I’d come home to find the package from Chubby had arrived as promised. In it, I found the ticket to the charity masquerade ball/Red Cross fundraiser, along with a mask.
The mask was black with an intricate floral design in red on the outside edges and covered me from nose to forehead. It looked expensive. When I tried it on, Duke growled at me, and the boys weren’t sure who I was, so it did its job of hiding my identity.
Chubby had also included two tickets to Monte Carlo’s opera for Saturday night. They were playing the
Among the movies Rita James had given me to better my education on good filmmaking was the big-screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. While I was in Cuba, no one else wanted to watch it, so I waited until I got home.
After viewing the film, I understood why they didn’t want to tackle it: it was a two-and-a-half-hour movie. I did love the music, though, so I was excited to see what its inspiration was like in its original format on stage.
Paul scared the crap out of me when he suddenly appeared at my bedroom door.
“Sorry,” he chuckled. “Are you taking all this?”
“We’re going to be gone over a week, and I need clothes for different occasions,” I said to defend myself. “I can explain it all to you, or you can start hauling it downstairs.”
I figured that would stop him. No guy wants to hear about all the different outfits that I needed. I had to pack a wide variety that ranged from the tux I would need for the formal events, to sports jackets, to casual, to swim trunks and exercise gear. Inside, I cringed that I even thought of all that.
I was using this trip as a dry run for when I would travel the world shooting my movies this coming summer and fall.
When I finally finished packing, I took the last two bags down and put them in the back of the SUV. Duke had joined Paul when he stepped outside, and I found my hound romping around with Precious. I came in the back door to hear Paul bellyaching to my parents, Cassidy, and Peggy.
“Now I’m starting to worry I didn’t pack enough. I’m only taking a duffle bag.”
“The boy is a clothes hound. He’s the daughter we never had,” Mom said.
“I thought you were being nice to me,” I said, surprising them.
“Well, I always wanted a daughter,” Mom tried lamely.
“That’s how you win him over,” Dad offered and received a glare from my mother in return.
Paybacks are hell.
◊◊◊
School was a blur. I was focused on my travel plans and wasn’t listening to my teachers drone on.
