The Blind Date (11 page)

“That's right,” Mrs. Jacobs said as she returned to sewing.

Devon thought about Bryn's grandmother's words as she waited for her to finish fixing the dress. And when Devon thanked Mrs. Jacobs for helping her, she knew that she was partially thanking her for the unexpected little talk as well. Oh, she didn't want to say the words aloud and she didn't even like to admit it to herself—but she knew she needed to hear that. It was good, sound advice and she'd probably be smart to take it. The problem was that Devon was pretty sure she wouldn't.

A
fter Gram's mini-lecture to Devon yesterday, Bryn was having second thoughts about having everyone meet up with their blind dates at her grandparents' house. Really, what had she been thinking? As Bryn carried her friends' overnight bags down to the basement—for the sleepover they'd be having afterward—she wished she'd thought to host the pre-party down here instead. Because, really, what if Gram and Grandpa decided to give everyone a little pep talk or reminded the guys about minding their manners or how ladies should be ladies or any of that stuff?

As she trudged back up the stairs, she knew it was too late to change things now. Gram was expecting them. Also, Bryn's dress was over there and she'd promised Gram that she'd come early to get ready there.

“All set?” Dad asked as Bryn came into the living room. “I think your mom's ready to kick us out now.”

Bryn held up her big Dolce bag. “Hopefully, I've got everything I need.”

Mom emerged from the kitchen. “I wish I didn't have to get the house ready for bunko or I'd go with you.”

“That's okay.” Bryn blew Mom a kiss. “Have fun with the ladies. We should be back here around midnight and I have my key.” She glanced at Dad. “I'll try to keep everyone quiet until we get down to the basement.”

“And I'll put the bunko leftovers in the fridge down there,” Mom promised. “Have fun, sweetie!”

As Dad drove to her grandparents', Bryn felt fairly certain that she would have fun tonight. How could she not have fun wearing such a fabulous dress? She couldn't wait to see how everything looked all together now that the dress was completely finished.

“Make sure they get lots of photos,” Dad said as he pulled up to his parents' two-story brick house.

“No problem.” Bryn kissed him on the cheek and then hurried up to the front door. Gram had hung jack-o'-lantern lights around her front porch and about a dozen pumpkins were lined up along the steps leading to the door. Very welcoming and festive.

“Come in,” Grandpa said, opening the door wide.

“Wow, it looks great in here,” Bryn said as she noticed even more colorful Halloween decorations throughout the house. No one did holidays better than Gram. “And it smells good too.” Maybe it wasn't a mistake to have the pre-party here after all.

“Gram's in the kitchen.” He smacked his lips. “She's made some killer crab cakes and lots of other goodies for you and your friends. But for some reason she's banned me from any more sampling.” He made a mock frown.

Bryn patted his cheek. “Hopefully you'll get some left
overs.” She went into the kitchen just as Gram was setting cheese puffs onto a platter. “Mmm.” Bryn reached for a hot cheese puff. “I better make sure these are okay.”

Gram chuckled. “You and your grandpa.”

“Yummy.” Bryn kissed Gram's cheek. “And the house looks fabulous too. Thanks so much for doing this.”

“Oh, I'm having fun,” Gram assured her. “Makes me feel young. And I can't wait to see all your friends in their costumes.”

“Speaking of costumes.” Bryn glanced around the kitchen. “Where's my dress?”

“Up in the guest bedroom. I thought you could finish getting ready up there. And your girlfriends can use that room if they need to make any last-minute wardrobe adjustments too.”

“Cool.” Bryn snagged another cheese puff, then grabbed up her bag and hurried upstairs. Everything seemed to be working out just fine. And when she found her golden dress hanging in the closet, she couldn't have been happier. With every bead in place, it glittered and shimmered like something out of Hollywood. To think that Devon had actually suggested trading this dress for the old Juliet one. Ha! Bryn didn't mind that Devon assumed she was still miffed about the Juliet dress, but Bryn never would've given up this dress—no way!

She took the heavy garment off the hanger and carefully slipped it over her head. Naturally, it fit perfectly. She peered at her image in the mirror and smiled. It looked perfect too. She swayed from side to side, watching how the skirt moved so gracefully and elegantly, how the beading caught the light and glimmered. She could not wait to show this off on the dance floor tonight. And since she'd warned everyone in the
DG that she expected a blind date who could really dance, she fully expected that her friends would cooperate. Why wouldn't they?

She slipped into the expensive gold shoes, carefully fastening the straps and then checking them out in the mirror. More perfection. She'd already done her hair at home. Smoothing it back so it looked sleek and glossy, she had pinned it into place so that it resembled a flapper hairstyle. She'd actually considered cutting it, except she couldn't bear to part with her long hair. However, she'd cut a bit off the sides to make two perfect curls that went right alongside her cheeks. Now she picked up the glittering hair band that Gram had helped her make and slid it onto her head, using bobby pins to secure it. It too was perfect.

Bryn had studied the makeup from
The Great Gatsby
movie and did her best to imitate it. She was putting on a pair of fake diamond teardrop earrings when she heard a knock on the door. Abby quietly entered the room. “Your grandmother told me to come up.” Abby's dark eyes grew big. “Wow, Bryn, you look gorgeous.”

“Thanks.” Bryn studied her image in the full-length mirror, trying to determine if any detail was missing.

“Seriously, you look even better than Carey Mulligan did in the movie,” Abby assured her.

“Well, thank you very much.” Bryn grinned.

“And since we just watched it, I know what I'm talking about.” Abby made a face. “Although I still don't get why you'd want to imitate Daisy Buchanan. The woman was a mess, Bryn.”

“A
tragic
mess,” Bryn said in defense. Okay, the truth was Bryn had been caught off guard by the movie. She'd been so
wrapped up in the glamour and costumes that she'd completely forgotten how violent and sad the story was. “And poor Daisy was caught in the middle of it. She was a tragic character.”

“Caught in the middle? Tragic character?” Abby frowned. “Daisy was the cause of all the tragedy.”

“How can you say that?”

“Think about it, Bryn. First Daisy breaks Gatsby's heart by marrying the rich dude—all because Gatsby is poor. Then she cheats on her rich husband to be with Gatsby because Gatsby suddenly has money. And then she's actually the hit-and-run driver who kills her husband's mistress. And finally, after Gatsby does all he can to win Daisy back, she goes back to her husband, who blames Gatsby for killing his mistress, and Gatsby gets shot—all because of selfish Daisy, who just heads off on her merry little way as if she did nothing wrong.”

“Wow, someone is in a bad mood tonight.” Bryn stared at Abby, trying to figure out why she was acting so grumpy.

“I'm just saying it like it was.” Abby adjusted the strap on her quiver.

“Hopefully you don't plan to use your weapons on anyone tonight.” Bryn paused to study Abby's costume. It was actually pretty authentic looking. “Cool jacket,” she told her.

“Thanks. It was my mom's,” Abby said in a slightly grumpy tone.

Bryn touched the side braid and smiled. “Nice touch. You really do look like Katniss. And you look like you're about to kick some serious—”

“Hello,” Emma called out as she opened the bedroom door. “Your grandma said you guys would be up here.”

“Look at you,” Bryn gushed as Emma came into the room
dressed in a blue-and-white striped gown and wearing a broad-brimmed bonnet trimmed with pale blue ribbons. “You look so sweet. Just like something out of a Jane Austen film.”

“That's the idea.” Emma removed a dainty pair of white gloves. Then her eyes got wide as she stared at Bryn. “You look absolutely beautiful,” she told her.

“Abby said I look even better than Carey Mulligan,” Bryn bragged.

“Carey who?”

“From
The Great Gatsby
movie,” Abby explained. “She played the notorious Daisy.”

“Notorious?” Emma frowned.

“Never mind,” Bryn said quickly. “Abby's in a bit of a snit for some mysterious reason. She wants to take it out on Daisy.”

“Your costume is great,” Emma told Abby. “It's really similar to the one in the movie. I love this jacket.”

Bryn decided to attempt some congeniality. “And she even did the braid. But are you sorry you're wearing pants? Is that why you're a little out of sorts?”

“Not at all,” Abby assured her. “And I'm not out of sorts.” She sat down in the chair by the window, putting her feet up on the ottoman and her arms behind her head. “Unlike some people, I can actually relax in my outfit.”

Bryn slipped a glittering bracelet onto her wrist. “You have a point there, Abs,” she cheerfully admitted. “With all these beads, this dress isn't really designed for sitting.”

“Well, you might regret that before the night is over,” Abby said.

“What time is it?” Emma asked. “Shouldn't the others be here by now?”

“It's not even 7:00.” Abby pointed to the alarm clock by the bed. “Lots of time. The guys won't be here until 7:30. Remember?”

“That's true.” Bryn gave her hair one last spritz of hairspray. “But we still have to come up with a plan for how we're going to meet the guys.”

This had been the big discussion at lunch today. It seemed everyone had a different idea of how this should be accomplished. Bryn thought all the girls should go downstairs together and meet their dates as a group. Because of their costumes, it would be obvious who went with who. Devon had partially agreed, but she wanted it to be even more casual than that. No coming down the staircase together—they would simply be mingling in the house when the guys arrived.

However, Cassidy had different ideas. She wanted them to meet their dates one by one, giving everyone a chance to actually visit with each other and to “acclimate,” Cassidy had said—like they were all part of some unpredictable weather system. Abby had actually backed Cassidy's idea, except that she'd taken it a step further, suggesting that the couples should all go to different parts of the house for an allotted amount of time, before they all came back together for the limousine ride to the school. Emma had actually seemed to be leaning toward Bryn's direction, but because the lunch break ended, they never had a chance to put it to the vote. So they agreed to make the decision tonight—before the guys arrived at 7:30.

“Hey,” Devon said as she entered the room with her head held high. Bryn blinked in surprise to see that Devon looked fabulous in the Juliet gown. Not only did the dress accentuate all of Devon's curves—and the girl certainly had them—but
the rich jewel-tone colors really seemed to set off Devon's auburn hair, which was piled on top of her head in attractive, loose curls. She made a very romantic Juliet. Not that Bryn planned to tell her that.

“You look beautiful,” Emma told Devon. “Very elegant.”

“Your aunt did a great job on your hair,” Bryn told her. “Very pretty.”

“I hope my Romeo appreciates all this,” Devon said as she stepped in front of Bryn to admire herself in the full-length mirror. She patted her curls. “At least I won't have to worry about keeping my hair straight and smooth tonight. Especially since it's starting to rain out there.”

“You both look really glamorous,” Emma told them. “I'm starting to feel pretty boring compared to you two.”

“I think you look very pretty, Em,” Abby called from where she was still sitting by the window. “And I'll bet you're more comfortable than either of them.”

“That's probably true,” Emma agreed as she sat primly on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap.

Bryn laughed. “You don't just look like you're from a time gone by, you act like it too.”

“Hey, I'm trying to get into character,” Emma told her.

“Good idea,” Bryn said. “We should all get into character before the guys get here.”

There was a tap on the door and Bryn called out, “That better be you, Cassidy Banks!”

The door opened and “Dorothy” stepped into the room, sporting a wicker basket on her arm with a stuffed black Scotty nestled inside. “It's just me and my little dog too,” Cassidy said.

They all gushed over her outfit and ruby-red shoes while
Cassidy examined their costumes. Finally Bryn clapped her hands. “Okay, people,” she said loudly. “We need to make a decision here. How are we going to meet up with our blind dates?”

“I think we should all go downstairs and hang out until the guys get here and then just let whatever happens happen,” Devon said. “No big deal.”

“I want to make a motion,” Cassidy said.

“Is this an official meeting?” Devon demanded.

“It is now,” Cassidy declared. “And I move that we all meet our guys individually and we go with them to a separate part of the house, like Abby suggested at lunch. We can prearrange for who goes where. And then we all spend fifteen or twenty minutes alone with our blind date.”

“I second that motion.” Abby got up from the chair.

“All in favor?” Cassidy asked.

Abby and Cassidy and Emma all raised their hands.

“Opposed?” Cassidy asked.

Now Devon and Bryn raised their hands.

“The yeas have it,” Cassidy announced.

“Yeah, we noticed.” Bryn shrugged. “I don't really care
how
we do it. Mostly I just want to get this dress out on the dance floor ASAP. So I suggest we keep our little blind date meeting time to fifteen minutes. And grab your appetizers before then.” She pointed to the clock by the bed. “That means we'll have until 7:45 to visit. Then we all come back to the living room for photos. And we should be in the limo before 8:00 and at the school a little after that.
Okay?
”