When Monday rolled around again, Kim made sure to tell Ron that she would drive him to school. She watched him carefully as she offered this, to see if he hesitated, or tried to find a way out of it, but he just grinned and thanked her.
She hurried upstairs this time when she got home, ignoring her brothers and whatever they were building in the kitchen, only to find another present on her bed. With another rose.
Orange, this time. And next to the rose, a box.
A box containing a bottle of perfume.
Her perfume.
Not that she wore perfume very often, or had an occasion to do so, but when she did, this was the brand she chose. An airy, sweet scent, yet not heavy or sickeningly rich. And she never put very much of it on, refusing to marinate in the stuff the way some girls did.
But, who knew that was what she wore?
Her mom. But her mom would have left a note as to the reason, and since she was expecting a second gift from this admirer, it would have to be crazy coincidence for her mom to decide to give her a present on the same day.
Who else? The males in her family were woefully oblivious to anything 'girly'. As was Ron. When she complained about having run out of perfume one night, he had offered her his cologne instead, because wasn't all smell-good-spray the same?
So. Not Ron. And she had made sure to be with him all day, anyway.
Heading back downstairs, she poked her head into the kitchen. "Tweebs, has anyone been in my room today?"
"Nope."
She sighed. "A bomb could go off in the living room and neither of you would notice right now."
Jim looked up sharply, lifting the welder's mask. "Hey! We noticed you come running in the house sixteen minutes ago."
"And you didn't even wave at us," Tim accused.
"You're right. I just didn't want to distract you. Don't do any permanent damage, okay?"
Jim shifted the mask back over his face and went back to work, his twin supervising, and shooed her away with one hand before relighting the torch.
Kim walked back to her room, thoughtful.
It had to be someone at school, surely. But who knew her so well?
Another clue would be delivered next Monday, it seemed.
She couldn't wait.