A Girl Named Summer (7 page)

“Want to ride on my shoulders to the park, Superman?” David asked.

When Michael nodded, David lifted him up over his head and placed him on his shoulders. Michael locked his boots under David’s chin.

“David, you’re really good with kids,” Summer said. She was secretly pleased that David wasn’t embarrassed by Michael’s attire. “You take things in stride.”

“Thanks. I like kids; they’re so natural and honest. You always know where you stand with them.”

“That’s certainly true of Michael,” Summer said.

David laughed. “There’s a swing set right next to the tennis courts. We’ll be able to keep an eye on Superman while we play.”

Summer found herself getting all nervous again. “Remember, I don’t know much about the game,” she said. “Oh…maybe when we get there you could find someone else to play with, and Michael and I could watch you. I mean, well…I wouldn’t want to slow you down.”

“I thought you said you’d played before,” David said while he readjusted Michael on his shoulders.

I would have said anything to go out with you
, Summer secretly admitted. But after his remarks about liking Michael because he was so open and honest, she instinctively felt that telling him the truth wasn’t such a hot idea. “I have played,” she blatantly lied, “but it was years and years ago. I’m not too coordinated when it comes to playing tennis. Maybe you could give me a few pointers.”

David was watching her closely, and so she tried to flutter her eyelashes the way Regina suggested, hoping she looked innocent and cute at the same time.

“Do you usually wear glasses? We could go back and get them,” David asked, leaning down to have a closer look.

Summer immediately quit blinking and shook her head. So much for cute! “No, I don’t wear glasses.”

“Don’t worry about tennis,” David advised, changing the subject back. “I’ll be glad to teach you. I’m not very good either. We’ll just take it slow and easy.”

Famous last words, Summer concluded an hour later. It had started out easy enough. Michael cooperated by playing on the swings with a couple of older boys. Summer was convinced that she was putting on quite a show, running like a graceful ballerina all over her side of the court. She even managed a few dainty back kicks and one rather spectacular spin. She missed hitting the ball, of course, but she was close to it. Acting as if she knew what she was doing was hard, exhausting work. Exhausting, but well worth it. David had to be impressed! Summer certainly was.

“Okay, Summer,” David yelled. “That’s enough warm-up. Let’s play a game now.”

She knew her mouth fell open, and she felt her knees try to buckle on her.
What have we been doing for the past hour?
she wanted to ask, but she was panting too hard.

“You serve first,” David instructed. He was tossing a tennis ball in the air with his racket, like a pancake on a frying pan, and looked completely relaxed.

Summer gritted her teeth, smiled, and nodded.

She glanced over at Michael, hoping she could use him as an excuse, but her little brother was calmly sitting on a swing, waiting for one of his new friends to give him a push.

The Fates were against her! Summer was good and stuck, and she knew it. Taking a deep breath, she
picked up a bright yellow tennis ball, give it a good glare, and then imitated what she thought was a pretty good serve. It jammed into the tennis net, and David promptly yelled, “Fault!”

“You don’t have to be so critical,” Summer muttered under her breath. She smiled at David and picked up another ball, wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and served again. “Double fault!” David yelled.

Summer felt like a three-day-old fish, spoiling fast. Her perky ponytail had definitely lost its perk; her blue shirt was stuck on her shoulder blades, and her tennis socks were losing their elasticity. In short, she was a mess.

And it was all downhill after that. David was patient as he yelled encouragement and suggestions. He tried to keep a straight face when Summer tripped over her tennis racket and landed on her backside, and he even jumped over the net to help her get back to her feet. However, a few minutes later, when she crashed into the net, he had to turn around so she couldn’t see him, but she could hear his laughter. She glared at his back until he recovered, but she could still hear a few choked sounds coming from his direction.

Then she stood up and squared her shoulders, aching from head to toe. When David turned around and looked at her, she yelled, “And just what is so funny?” He didn’t answer, and she, knowing in her heart that he would never, ever ask her out again, got good and angry. “Look, David, I told you I wasn’t good at tennis!”
She folded her arms in front of her and whacked her elbow with the tennis racket.

David jumped over the net again and jogged toward her, and she noticed that there wasn’t an ounce of sweat on him. Every hair was still in place on top of his beautiful head. He was grinning like crazy, and she felt her frustration slip away. “I played the best game I could,” she explained. “What more can I tell you?” she added, extending her hands.

David jumped out of the way of her racket in the nick of time and then grabbed it from her. “I never realized that a tennis racket could be a lethal weapon,” he said, chuckling, “until today.”

“Very funny,” Summer replied. She looked down at her socks, now firmly anchored around her ankles.

David continued to chuckle and threw his arm around her shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a great time playing tennis. You’re something else.”

“I try,” she answered. “At least I didn’t broadcast to the whole world every time you messed up,” she added.

“What?” David sounded confused.

“You didn’t hear me scream ‘fault’ at you, did you?” she muttered. “It really isn’t very polite to point out another person’s faults, you know.”

“I wasn’t criticizing you,” he stammered. He started laughing again, and she shook her head in exasperation.

He waited until he’d regained some control and
then said, “In tennis, saying ‘fault’ isn’t criticism. It’s just a way of keeping score. You’ll learn all that stuff when we play more.”

“You mean you want to play again?” she asked.

“Are you kidding? We’ve got to play again. I’ve had a great time,” he said. “And you’ve got potential. Really,” he added when she shook her head.

She could not contain her amazement. He really sounded as if he meant what he was saying. “You really want to try it again sometime?”

“Of course,” he replied enthusiastically. “Before you know it, we’ll be partners and playing in tournaments.”

“Don’t get your hopes up. What you see is what you’ve got.”

“I like what I see,” he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

Before she had a chance to answer, Michael came running toward them. “Summer, I’m tired,” he whined. “I want to go home right now!”

“I guess I should get going, too,” David said.

“I had a great time,” she said. She helped David pick up the duffel bag and the rackets and didn’t mind at all when he took hold of her hand.

“So did I,” he said softly. “I won’t be able to take you out again until the swim party.”

Summer must have looked disappointed, she decided, because he hurried to add, “I’ll see you at Mike’s swim lessons, though, won’t I?”

“Sure,” Summer answered, smiling.

“I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay.”

He squeezed her hand, and Summer felt her heart pick up a beat. She was so happy she thought she was in heaven!

Chapter
6

T
ime dragged, time sped. One minute it seemed an eternity before Ann Logan’s party, and the next, Summer was ready to go. David was picking her up at six, but she was ready by five. She had to be. She would need an extra hour to rehearse the family. A queasy feeling lodged itself in her stomach as she sought out her mother. She wasn’t sure if she was nervous about the party or about her family. Probably a little of both, she decided.

“My, don’t you look lovely, dear. Since you’re ready to go, why don’t you give me a hand and set the table?”

“Mother, plan on eating right at six, okay?” Summer hoped that they’d have their mouths full of casserole and not be able to do more than wave when David arrived.

“Maybe I’ll wait for David on the porch,” Summer suggested once she had finished with the table.

“Don’t be silly,” her father admonished from behind the evening paper.

“You’ll look a bit eager, don’t you think?” her mother called from the dining room.

There was truth in that, Summer decided.

“Well, don’t make us stay and visit again, Daddy, okay?”
Please, Dad
, she silently prayed,
try to understand how nervous I am
.

“All right, Rosebud. Don’t worry so. It will be fine. You’ll see. We’ll all behave.” Her father’s face was still hidden behind the paper, but Summer knew he was smiling. She could hear the teasing tone in his voice.

“And, Daddy? Please don’t call me Rosebud in front of David,” Summer said. “That’s just for family,” she added in case she’d hurt his feelings.

When Summer opened the screen door for David, everyone but Grandpa was seated at the dining room table. They all appeared calm and decidedly normal as they greeted him. It was too good to be true. Even Grandpa cooperated—although he wasn’t aware of it—by staying in the basement.

Summer had just turned to walk toward the front door when it happened. The sudden, grinding explosion of noise literally shook the rafters. A less wise person might have thought a jet had just landed in the living room, but not Summer. She knew better.

David jumped and then grabbed Summer by the
shoulders, pulling her to his side as if to protect her. She sighed in defeat. She was vaguely aware of the iced tea glasses rattling on the table, Michael’s delighted yelps, and David’s horrified expression. She noticed that her father was calmly folding his napkin with that resigned expression on his face, but before she could propel David out the front door, a runaway vacuum cleaner whizzed right past them, crashed into the china cabinet, turned, and zoomed past them again. It was like watching a tennis tournament; all of them were frozen in place with only their heads moving back and forth as they followed the progress of the vacuum. Its speed defied all the laws of nature, including the law of gravity, for it suddenly launched itself halfway up the living room wall, and if Summer had so much as blinked, she would have missed the entire show. A resounding crash, and it was over. The vacuum lay in a heap, and everyone stared at it a long while. Silence reigned supreme.

“Just needs a few minor adjustments.” The bellow came from the doorway to the basement, and everyone automatically turned to stare at Grandpa. He wore a sheepish grin and held a remote control in his hand.

Could someone die of embarrassment? Summer was sure that if no one had yet, she was about to be the first. She couldn’t look at David, who still held her in a possessive grip as if he were too stunned to move. The low rumble in his chest alerted her that he still lived. He was trying hard not to laugh.

“You two better get going. Enjoy yourselves,” Summer’s
father called. He was back at the dinner table, calmly scooping tuna casserole onto his plate as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

She had to lead David to the car. “It’s okay; you can laugh.” Summer placed her towel and swimsuit between them on the front seat, folded her hands in her lap, and looked straight ahead.

David was very obliging. He laughed until tears ran down his cheeks. It soon became infectious. She finally laughed along with him. It was heady relief from a bad case of nerves.
He may never ask me out again, but at least he’s still taking me to the party
, she thought. Not too many boys had the stamina—or courage—to actually date someone with a loony-tune family.

“That was really something,” he said when he calmed down. “Do you think your grandfather would let me help him with his work sometime? I wouldn’t get in the way, and I’d do whatever he told me. I’m good with electronic stuff. Will you ask him please?”

She was too shocked to reply. He was serious! He wasn’t laughing at Grandpa and really wanted to help him. “Sure,” she stammered. “I think he’d like that.”

The party was in full swing when she and David arrived. Right away, Ann Logan took one look at David and began to bat her eyelashes furiously.

David didn’t know a soul, but within fifteen minutes he was eagerly discussing the coming football season with Regina’s brother.

Where was Regina? Summer hunted inside for her for a good five minutes and had started back toward
the pool when she finally spotted her. Her friend was standing near the cabana and something was very, very wrong. The tightly clenched fists and the furious expression on Regina’s face shocked her. Summer knew that look. Regina was going to make a scene. Having recognized the signs, Summer immediately went into action. She grabbed Regina’s arm in an iron grip and literally propelled her around the crowded poolside, oblivious to the stares directed her way. She didn’t stop until she had maneuvered her onto a secluded redwood deck on the side of the house.