My goodness how time can pass by so soon and yet so slowly in the same instant. It was now June 11th. Tomorrow was a very special day. Fiona's sixteenth birthday. We all had gone to Shiloh National Park again. That's were she wanted to be. She said she loved it and promised not to go off too far this time. Which is more than I could say for my brother's lover girl. She had a way of wondering off.
And the increasing tension between her and the still present Annie made matters worse. As of this moment, Daria was outside of my door, knocking in a quiet way and her voice spoke of the want to talk.
" Hey," She said as she sat on the edge of my bed, "What's wrong?"
I tried to back away from that question, but she knew something was up and there was no need for me to deny it.
" I want to tell her so much. I'm just so scared, Daria. What if she turns away from me? Then what?"
"Carey, you're never afraid of anything. If you start to be scared of something like this, then even I won't know what to do. Your trust and lack of fear is one of the things that make me strong. I'm your best friend right?"
" Of course,"
" And what's one of my mottos?"
" Never say die,"
" So, now you know what to do,"
And with that, she got up and left. Wow! That really gave me a boost of confidence. I decided to get up and go be helpful finally. When I got to the door, I heard Daria yelling at Annie, again. The only part that I heard was one that she directed towards Molly.
" Blood is thicker than pop," She said darkly and then ran off. Jack started after her, but Molly stopped him, " She'll be okay. She knows to be back before dark,"
I just shook my head. I knew she would get over her mad in due time. I just wanted to get something to do.
" Hey dad, you got something for me to do?" I asked
" Sure you could chop this wood," He said jokingly
" Okay," I agreed. I needed something that needed a lot of work to get my mind off of things.
The June heat soon began to catch up with me in the short fifteen minutes I was working, so I stripped off my already clinging grey t-shirt. The girls were talking, catching up I guess, while the adults finished setting up the tents and Jack, to no success, tried to start the fire.
Clu soon came over and showed him that he had the wood stacked wrong and the fire lit up quicker than you could turn around. Of course, it was drenched in lighter fluid and the only reason he knew how to do it was because of Fiona and Daria's years in girl scouts and the skills they shared.
I could see Annie and Fi looking my way. I knew they were talking about me. They weren't as discrete as they thought, but I don't really think they cared. Fi whispered and smiled one more time. God! That smile made me melt and want to cry at the same time.
" Oww!" She yelled, " Look at that sexy thing," . I know my whole face turned about as red as her shirt. Then I looked up at her and smiled a little smile.
The sun was setting and I soon heard the yelps of my brother. I knew exactly what was up. Daria had this knife she carried with her when she was out and about in the wild and she had scared him with it by sneaking up behind him and holding it to his neck and covering his mouth at the same time, before kissing him on the cheek and smiling her huge and bright smile.
I walked up to her and said " Where have you been?"
" Hey sweaty boy," she said pinching me on the right side of my chest.
" Ouch. Don't do that," I said. She then gave me an inquiring look. I shook my head in the reply and then she jerked her head in the direction of her beautiful cousin. And she arched her right eyebrow and gave me a ' Go talk to her' look. So I just gave her a look that read 'FINE!'
Clu had no idea what was going on and that was basically the whole point. I slowly made my way over there as I slipped my dried out shirt back on. I went up behind her and poked her in the ribs. That's the spot that always made her jump about two feet when you did it.
She turned around with a sour look on her face, obviously thinking Jack did it, but then her face lit up, which is always a good sign. Her eyes then went to Annie, silently telling the pop princess to leave us be.
" Hey Carey. So, learn any new songs lately?" Fi said in her fake uppity voice.
" Yeah, actually, I've got a few Bon Jovi songs under my belt. The latest being This ain't a love song," I answered.
" Cool," Fi mused as she started to hum part of her favorite song.
" I really wish you would sing more often. I love it when you do," I said, having no idea in the world what the hell I was doing.
" Well, Daria's got me and Jack doing the choir thing. So, I'm sure that you'll be hearing a lot more from me,"
" You know there's a new place that has an open mic night every Tuesday night, back home. You and Daria and maybe I could do that song there. Since you love it so," I said, putting it all out.
" Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun," She said, looking me right in the eye and then looking down quickly and then softly said "Thanks Carey,"
" Don't worry about it. I'd do anything for you. You know that,"
" Yeah, you are one of my best friends Care Bear," She said.
Wow, what I always wanted. To be one of the best friends of the girl I loved
