It Finally Happened: Part XVII
Kim was busy trying to make up her mind what she wanted to wear that night for their date, meaning, she was rifling through her closet, alternately throwing clothes on the floor or onto her bed, often narrowly missing Monique. Her friend lay there on her side, watching as the piles grew and the clothes actually remaining on hangers diminished.
"Now, let me get this straight. Ron is tapped out, broke, busted, out of claude?" Monique asked, picking through the clothing that actually made it to the bed, considering its style merits.
"Pretty much, Mon." Kim pulled one of her green tanks out, rolled her eyes and hung it at the far end of the closet.
"And you know this how?" She took Kim's navy dress, which had been laid out first and threw it in one of the floor piles.
"We talked about it at the mall yesterday. He's been running pretty slim on his allowance, especially since that fiasco last spring tore a big chunk out of both our savings."
"But you said he's going to get some money to live on from this BN deal."
"It's going to take a while for that to start rolling in. What do you think?" She was holding her yellow peasant shirt and a pair of navy slacks up."
"Ug. Uh-uh, no way girl, you are most definitely not wearing pants on your second date."
"I don't want to wear a dress…what do you mean 'second date?'"
"Second as in number two, second as in the date that follows date number one."
"Monique, we've been dating for, what, twenty-six days and we've seen each other almost constantly. We've gone to the mall, we've gone to movies. We almost got lost after we went off alone at Lake Middleton since we forgot a flashlight."
"Nope, none of that counts. You two are a special case, you've been doing all that, save the kissing part, for as long as I've known you. That's not a date, though if something's happened during that time and you're holding out on me…"
"MONIQUE!" Kim hissed.
"Just playin' you girl. For you two, the rules are different. A date is something planned, you have a time, a place and you dress up for it."
"I just didn't want to go too dressy."
"Well, let's see what we have to work with. I don't know why I've never noticed this before, but for such a style slave, you really don't dress up girly-girly."
Kim held up a pink top with a heart on it, eying her friend dubiously.
"Yeah, that's girly alright…if you're ten. Okay, just how many dresses do you own? and I'm not counting that blue church thing any more."
"Um…three?"
"So, let's see. LBD? Nope, that one's ruled out of bounds. Cream one? Too soon, that one's been tagged as the 'first date' dress." Monique hopped off the bed and examined the final choice. "No way." She proclaimed, holding the leaf green thing at arm's length. "Girl, we are going to have to do some serious damage control at Club Banana after tonight."
"I still don't want to wear a dress tonight. Dresses are so…formal for me."
"Then let's see what you've got in skirts." Monique started in on the first pile of rejects. "Not much to work with…too fall," she tossed a brown knee length skirt aside. "Here, this is it. Girly and just a touch sexy." She held up a willowy white summer skirt, "Now, here, combine it with your peasant shirt. Now, if your Ron is so destitute, how's he going to swing tonight's festivities?"
"I'm taking care of it all."
"Uh huh. Kim the independent woman, paying for her dates. I can so see that."
"That's not exactly what I mean, at least this time. I'm not about to let Ron pay for everything and I'm sure not going to demand all sorts of high class dates like our first one. Besides, I think 'hanging out' dates are just as important as the big fancy stuff."
"I'm glad you think so. I want somebody to sweep me off my feet."
"Monique, you want somebody who worships at your feet."
"No, I just want someone who know I'm one fine baby girl. How he shows it is totally up to him. At least with you off the market we won't have another repeat of Haircut-san."
"So not the drama, but even though I'm totally with Ron, I can still look."
"Planning on making Dude-boy jealous?"
"Not on purpose. Not after the way he was jelling over that you-know-what."
Monique finished off Kim's date ensemble with a pair of white strappy sandals before helping her clean up the pile of clothing. "So, what is the big plan for tonight?"
"I told Ron we're going to a new place. Hopefully that'll occupy his mind for the afternoon while I get everything ready."
"Ready? Girl, what are you up to?"
"Mom and Dad are taking the Tweebs to Denver for some kind of advanced aptitude testing, so I've got the house to myself all day long. I know Ron can't afford a real dinner out and I so don't want another dinner at Burger Prince or Pizza Shack so I thought I'd treat him to dinner myself."
"House to yourself, treating him to dinner. Why do I HABFAT?"
"HABFAT?"
"Have a bad feeling about this." Monique eyed her girlfriend warily.
"There's nothing to worry about, Monique, I've got everything under control. Ron taught me a lot, so I think I can handle some home-made Nacos."
Monique looked like she had been shot. Her eyes got wide as saucers, her pupils dilating. "No way!"
"Oh, chill Mon. It's so not the drama."
"It is so the drama. Tell me, who was it again who got dragged down the hall by a rampaging mixer? Who was it that proved you can burn water?"
"Monique! That happened because some whack wannabe mad scientist thought he could separate hydrogen fuel from water with a hand-held beam. I can't help it I was trying to boil water at the time."
"Kim, Nacos look really simple, if you're ordering soft tacos and nachos, but that's all pre-fab food-style glop. You've still got to cook a lot of the stuff yourself if you're making them here."
"Got it all under control. You'll see."
"Oh, you're right I'm gonna see. I'm not going anyplace until I'm sure we won't have to call the hazmat team."
"Aw man, not again, no! I'm not…aw!"
"What's the matter, Stoppable? Can't get past level one without the cheat codes?" Felix taunted his friend from his chair, chomping on his slice of pizza while Ron's on-screen character expired once more.
"Hey, who told you about that?" He said as he hit the reset button again.
"You did, just now. Gotcha! Now pay attention. This is a single player game so I can't get your back, just listen to what your little fairy has to say and you'll get past the Gohma."
"Felix, I've been playing this thing for an hour and I've already gotten sick of that little bug. How is this supposed to be such a classic game, the graphics aren't even that good."
"Oh, you have to get into the story and yeah, that fairy gets on my nerves too, a lot. There, see, you get to start over fighting the boss again, you don't have to do that whole tree level over again."
"Small favors. So, have you heard about some badical new place opening today?"
"Not a thing. Did you try Wade?"
"Yeah, he couldn't come up with anything either. I even called Ned and he gave me a couple numbers to call and all, and it seems like the only place opening any time soon is Bueno Nacho."
"I know you are so there for that."
"Got that right. Actually I've got to be there, I'm part of the ribbon cutting ceremony and all." His eyes drooped into a bit of a scowl, though not too badly considering the staple of his diet was going to return. "I don't know about tonight, though. I'm just about tapped out and if this place KP wants to go to is expensive, I just don't know if I can swing it."
"Maybe since she's picking the place she's going to pick it up."
"Uh-uh, no way, forget it. There is no way the Ron-man is going to have his lady paying for their dates."
"Dude, she pays all the time. What's the deal with a date?"
"That's just it, Felix. Now that we're dating it's supposed to be my job to pay for things. Kim can be all independent and stuff with the missions, but when it comes to the two of us I want to treat her like a lady."
"Even if it means…whoops, here you go! Shoot it in the eye with your slingshot…oh! Lookout! Okay, back up and watch, it's going to lay some eggs, just whack them with your sword. Good, now wait until it opens the eye again. I was saying you can't be much of a gentleman if you can't pay the bill. That'd be worse than her paying for it to begin with."
"I guess you're right, but to hear Kim describe it, this place sounds expensive."
"So what can you afford that she'll like?"
"She likes Sizzler Barn. That's doable, if we're careful."
"Okay, so, why don't you just go over early before she gets ready and tell her…now! Whack it with your sword while it's stunned! Go over early and tell her the truth, tell her you can take her to nicer places when the money's better. That's it, now back off and watch."
"Watch what? I hit it with my sword? What's the deal? And how am I supposed to tell her I can't afford to take her out without coming off like a cheapskate?"
"One, you have to repeat that three times before you beat it and two, you're already a cheapskate, Stoppable. Kim loves you anyway, don't stress it."
"I guess you're right, Felix. I'll run over there about five thirty, before she starts getting ready."
"Um, red really is a good color on you." Kim said with a sheepish smile.
Monique was just about ready to admit defeat and throw in the towel. The whole kitchen was filled with a slight haze where the taco meat had started smoking. Kim thought the instructions had been clear. Brown meat, add seasoning, reduce heat and simmer. She'd done just that, not realizing that she had forgotten to both drain the meat and add a cup of water to the mixture, coupled with the fact she had reduced the heat to medium, not low.
It wasn't quite a fire, but it still filled the room with smoke. The meat was most definitely going to be a little on the crispy side. Ron liked crispy in his Tex-Mex, didn't he?
Trying to help keep the smoky mess from turning into a grease fire, Monique had failed to notice the jar of Mexi Salsa Roja Kim had left on the stove near the burners until it was too late. There was a slight popping sound, followed by a horrified squeal. Kim turned back from the table and the cheese she was trying to grate to see her friend covered in bright red taco sauce.
"Girl, if I did not love you like a sister…" she growled, the mess starting to drip onto the floor.
Kim took a dish towel and started mopping the mess out of her hair. "Ew, better go upstairs and wash this stuff off before it gets in your eyes or something."
She watched her head up the stairs, hearing the shower start amidst the further grumbles of her enraged girlfriend. Feeling humiliated and on the verge of defeat, Kim turned back to her work, taking the meat mixture off the range to cool. The jar of now overheated salsa was still two thirds full, so that wasn't a total loss. She thought she had enough sharp cheddar and Monterrey jack grated for her attempt at Muy Caliente Cheesidillas, so that left just heating up the cheese sauce and sticking the tortillas in the oven. Maybe this was going to work out after all.
The microwave beeped, so she opened the door to retrieve the cheese packet. Too late she realized she was supposed to have cut a small slit in the bag.
Kim joined Monique in wearing part of the evening's dinner in her hair. Growling, she stomped off to the downstairs bathroom, hoping she could get the stuff out with a quick rinse.
Oh, this is how I want to show up for my 'big official date' with Kim Ron thought as he pedaled his old purple mountain bike to her house. It was either ride it or walk since both his parents were still at work, leaving him without either car. If Kim's parents weren't home, he didn't know what he would do once he got there. Even if he could talk her out of dressing up for a big dinner, there was still the problem of getting to Sizzler Barn. It was on the edge of town, right at the main exit off the interstate, making it a little far for even a bike ride.
He really wished he could at least go ahead and get another scooter. It was pretty late when his parents had come home the night before but he still sat down and talked to them. He took Kim's advice and tried to keep an even temper while they talked. She was right after all that they really had no choice about what they had done, so he kept his argument about being left out of the loop in the family.
"I tell you what, Ronald, if you can save your money, I'll help you buy a car. I'll even go one further with you. Save enough money to guy a scooter and I'll release enough money from the trust to buy one, then you can put that money in your car fund."
It sounded like a really good deal, a good deal that would take a couple months. If he was careful and just a bit lucky he could be one with the blacktop just in time for school. In the mean time he still had to borrow the car when he could and ride his bike when he couldn't.
Transportation had never been such an issue with him before. Kim could usually ring up Wade and something would be waiting for them, usually within minutes. Otherwise, everything they ever needed up to this point was within easy walking distance. Kim was just a couple miles away, the fast food district was close by (it was always a good thing to walk those types of meals off) and even the mall could be reached on foot. Suddenly, however, there were other needs. One simply did not show up at the nicer restaurants on two-wheelers. Then there was the whole thing about 'parking.'
Something started screaming 'warning' at his senses as he approached Kim's house. Right off the bat he knew something was truly amiss. The garage door was open, the mini-van gone but the Jaguar was still sitting there. That was odd. If it was gone this time of day either Mrs. Dr. P. couldn't get away from the hospital or the whole family had gone somewhere. A bit of hormonally charged fantasy hoped for the latter.
Then other senses started chiming in, changing lusty anticipation into alarm.
Ron could smell the slight twinge of smoke.
Slowly the gears in his head clicked into place, mimicking the poorly tuned drive train of his bicycle. Kim wanted to go to dinner at an apparently non-existent new place, a place where they would get 'the best table.' There wasn't a new restaurant opening, the table was right there in her house!
She was cooking him dinner!
He couldn't get his key out fast enough. He burst in the door, heading first for the kitchen.
There was still a haze in the air of slightly burnt meat and brown, crusted over cheese sauce. Red salsa covered part of the stove, some of it having formed a crust on the glowing eye that had been left on. Fortunately the meat itself, still swimming in un-drained grease was off the heat.
He surveyed the damage, wondering how the salsa had managed to explode. Ron knew all too well what his favorite (well favorite outside of Diablo Sauce) Mexican salsa could do if you got it in your eyes. His worry got worse when he realized he could hear the shower going upstairs.
Sprinting, he managed to get up the main staircase in just three bounds. Covering his eyes, he poked his head into the bathroom. "Uh, KP, are you okay?"
Not hearing any answer, he peeked though his fingers…
…just in time to see Monique snap out of her 'deer-in-the-headlights' trance as she snatched a towel from the rack.
Kim was just coming out of the downstairs bathroom, patting her hair with a towel as she saw a streak of blonde hair and red jersey come flying down the stairs, a towel wrapped and thoroughly infuriated Monique just a few steps behind.
"You better run!" She screamed, leaving an open mouthed Kim in her wake.