Chance Of Rain (2 page)

“Hey, Thelma!” Bri called out from behind the huge, dark, Hollywood glasses that took up half her face. She was such a diva. Her thick locks of auburn hair added to her movie star persona.

“Hey, Louise!” I played along as I threw my gym bag into the backseat.

“One of these days, we’ll take a road trip just like them—minus robbing convenience stores,” Bri said with a laugh.

“And the whole driving-off-the-cliff thing would really bite too,” I added.

Today we were on yet another quest to help Bri trim down and firm up.

“You ready to shake it, girrrl?” she asked.

“I guess,” I said with zero enthusiasm.

We had signed up for a trial class that was meeting for the first time at the gym we just joined. It was supposed to be a small group of beginners. And the
best part was that it was for women only. Bouncing around in front of a class full of men—yeah, I don’t think so.

Bri glanced at the large plastic mug that was squished between her meaty thighs. It was a gift from the hospital when she’d had her appendix removed a couple of summers ago. “See that? That
was
thirty-two ounces of water. In the next few minutes, it’ll be like Niagara Falls over here if I don’t get to a restroom!”

“I take it this is part of your latest diet?” I asked, smiling.

“Sixty-four ounces a day.” She smiled and turned the radio up as loud as it would go when she realized her favorite song was on then began to sing along.

Reluctantly I joined her.

I was like a teapot screeching on the stove. Instead of releasing steam, though, with every chorus I let go of a problem, like my parents’ separation and Chase’s new interest in my mother. As quickly as the thoughts entered my mind, they blew away with the fifty-five-mile-an-hour wind. Bri had done it again. I felt like my old self; I was happy. My insides were smiling, even if it was only temporary.

A few minutes later, we grabbed our bags from the backseat and headed into the massive gym. It was freezing inside.

“Do they hang meat in here or what?” I asked. Luckily it still smelled new inside. I couldn’t stand how our gym at school reeked of body odor and sweaty feet.

“Speaking of meat…” Bri whispered to me.

I followed her eyes to several young men who were wearing tight T-shirts and standing at the free weights. Their bodies were covered in hard, wet muscles.

“Dare me to walk up to Mr. Big Pecs in the corner and tell him you’d like his number?”

“
Uh
…no.”

Bri took off. I wanted to die. I looked around for a place to hide.

Just as she reached him, she turned around and smiled at me. She then cut past Mr. Big Pecs and headed into the women’s locker room. I exhaled. She was going to be the death of me.

On the way back to my house, I tried to distract Bri from noticing that we were about to pass Freezie Treetz. Who was I kidding?

“I’ll just get a
small
vanilla cone,” she said, as she pulled up to the menu in the drive-through. “No chocolate shell,” she added, as if that made it OK.

I rolled my eyes and tried to hide my grin.

“I bet I lost two pounds with all that sweating I did. I’ve earned this.”

Crunch!
She bit into the crispy cone as soon as the cashier handed to her.

After a few more bites, it was as if it never had happened.

“Too bad we didn’t join the gym sooner. That place is a market,” she said as she drove.

“We’re not going back to that class, are we?” I whined.

“The class—no. The gym—definitely.”

I frowned.

“We’re going, Ash! You can thank me later.”

“Let’s take it easy next time, though,” I said, “and do the treadmill.” I made her promise.

Bri let her Chevelle coast down my long driveway.

My house was small and old but charming. It was made of stained cedar and large round rocks. It also had lots of windows and a covered front porch. A cobblestone path ran from the driveway to the door, and woods surrounded the house; it looked like a cottage. I often thought Snow White and her seven little friends would have liked it here. I
used
to love it here. Now when I came home, I cringed.

Chase was a family friend who worked with my dad. I’d known him forever. I thought he would have stopped coming by when my dad had moved out, but it had gotten worse recently. I didn’t know if he had a thing for my mom or what. It was like he was trying to impress her by being overly helpful and nice to me. “I’ll drive Ashley to the mall.” “I can take Ash to work.” He was so annoying; I avoided him like he was contagious.

His obnoxiously large truck was parked in the middle of the driveway like he owned the place. No consideration for anyone else who may have wanted to park there as well. So what if my mom’s car was parked in the garage and I didn’t have a car? It was still rude, I thought.

Bri knew how I felt without my having to say a single word. “Do you want to come stay at my house tonight?”

“It’s OK. Go spend time with your mom. You’ll be back for me a little later, though, right?”

“Do you have to ask?” Bri smiled then quietly backed out.

I walked as slowly as I could, trying to put off the inevitable. I even grabbed the mail to stall a little longer. I sneaked inside the house as silently as a ninja. I saw my mom and Chase relaxing in the den. She was reading on the sofa, and he appeared to be listening to the TV from the recliner while staring intently at something on his BlackBerry.

Chase was huge—not fat, just big. He was sitting with his long legs spread far apart, all sprawled out and comfortable, again like he owned the place. It was like having his F-350 parked in the living room. He took up more space than his fair share. He had thick brown hair that he wore in a short buzz cut that never moved, and he was always clean-shaven.

I almost made it to my room. “Ashley, is that you, hon?”

Busted!
“Yeah…it’s me.”

My mom met me in the kitchen. “You’re back early. Did you and Brianne have fun at your class?” Looking at my mom was like looking into a mirror twenty-five years from now. I could also see how my hair would boing about if I ever decided to chop it off at the top of my shoulders.

“We decided not to join.”

“Why not?”

“It almost killed Bri, and the classroom has a giant window for a wall.”

“Yikes!”

“No kidding. Everyone in the gym could see us. Some people even stopped to watch!”

“That’s too bad.”

My mom looked at the envelopes in my hands. “Oh, yeah, here,” I said, handing her everything. “I got the mail for you.”

“Ashley, I told you to let me do that!” she snapped. “I have so many things to keep up with, and I don’t want anything getting lost.”

Recently, my mom had become psycho about the mail. She told me a million times that it was off-limits. I think it was because my dad used to take care of the bills; now everything was up to her, and it was stressing her out.

“Are you two still going out tonight?” She changed the subject and tried to smile.

“Bri’s going to pick me up later. We’re heading to the Road House like we talked about earlier. It’s the last weekend of summer. There should be a huge turnout.”

“
OK
,” she said with a sigh.

Oh, brother. Not this again
. I hated whenever she did this.

“What is it, Mom?” I asked, feeling obligated to do so. “We already discussed this. You said I could go.”

“Just remember, you promised you’d stay out of the fairgrounds. It’s not safe for two girls to be out alone at night wandering around.”

“OK,” I said, even though I already knew Bri and I were going to the fairgrounds first. There was no way we were missing out on the carnival.

“Hold on just a second.” She quickly padded to her bedroom in her socks and returned with her wallet. She gave a quick smile to Chase, who now stood in the kitchen as well. She handed me a twenty. “I know it’s not much, but I want you to take it. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to take you and your brother anywhere for summer vacation. It’s the least I can do.”

We both knew it might as well have been a hundred-dollar bill. She couldn’t afford to give me either. But I knew how much it meant to her to be able to do something nice for me. I needed to accept her gift.

Reluctantly I reached out and took it. “Thanks,” I said.

She smiled. I turned to go to my room, and then I spun back around and put my arms around her. It had been a while. Thank God Chase had enough sense to return to the den and give us some privacy.

My eyes welled up.
This can’t happen
, I thought. “You know I’m not going to spend it tonight, don’t you?”

She smiled and dabbed at her eyes. “Let me guess—your schnoz fund?”

I smiled. “Exactly.” I recently had decided my nose could use some tweaking. I’m not shallow. In fact I never really put much thought into what I looked like until that wench Lacey had pointed out that it wouldn’t hurt if my nose was “a tad more perky.” Stupid witch! What did she know? But then there was that little voice inside me that said,
She’s gorgeous. If anyone knows about beauty, it’s her
.

“Oh, Ashley. What’s gotten in to you? Your nose is just fine. You’re beautiful. I wish you could see what I—and everyone else for that matter—sees.”

“I have to shower,” I told her. “Bri will be here soon.”

I loved my room. It was off to itself, the way I liked it to be, in the back of our little one-story house. It was an afterthought of the original owners. They’d added it on as a sunroom, so I had windows on three walls. Minus the fugly burglar bars my dad had installed right before he left, I had a great view of the fields and forest out back. When it was cool out, I lifted all the windows, and a nice, steady breeze blew through. It was like being outside, without the bugs. Sometimes I’d lie in bed and stare out for hours.

I was so grateful I had my own bathroom. My parents had added it when we moved in. I didn’t really see what the big deal was when I was eight, but now I didn’t know what I’d do without it.

French doors led to my own private patio. It was small, but it was big enough for me, my lounge chair, a small freestanding clay fireplace my dad had bought me one year for Christmas, and…a telescope. Yes, I’m a bit of a nerd.

It always took me forever to wash my hair. It was dark and curly, so I kept it long, almost to my waist. The weight helped my curls behave; otherwise I would have looked like Medusa when the humidity was high.

I hopped in and out of the shower pretty quickly. As I towel-dried my hair, tiny soft ringlets began to take shape down my back.

I carefully applied my makeup then scanned my closet and found my favorite pair of Miss Me faded capri jeans. The pockets sparkled beautifully.

I chose my white camisole because it made me look tanner than I really was, and Bri said it made my green eyes pop. I heard all the time that I looked like my mom did twenty years ago. I figured it would probably be a little chilly out, so I decided to wear the matching long-sleeve blouse-like jacket that went with it. I smiled. I was going to be both warm and fashionable.

My phone dinged with a text from Bri.

B there in 10!

I hid the twenty my mom gave me in my desk then grabbed my cell phone and a few bucks and shoved everything into my pocket. I latched my silver, floating heart necklace and clasped my charm bracelet to my wrist. I had put a new coat of polish on my fingernails yesterday. They were finally getting
stronger and longer and made my rings look nice. I wore only one ring on each hand so I wouldn’t look gaudy. Finally I slid on a couple of toe rings and slipped my hot-pink toenails into my blingy sandals. One squirt of Tommy Girl, and I headed to the front porch to wait for Bri.

I thought I heard my mom in the kitchen, so I called out, “See ya M—”

I stopped midsentence when I realized it was Chase. He was pouring a glass of juice. He looked up. “Hey, Ashley.”

“Hey.” I didn’t try to make conversation. I almost asked where my mom was, though, when she stepped into the room.

“Are you heading out, sweetie? You look beautiful.” She smiled.

Honk! Honk! Honk!