Christy Miller Collection, Volume 1

by Robin Jones Gunn

  Tracy laughed and washed the dough off her hands. “Never mind. I’ll just have some water. I feel kind of sick to my stomach from all this dough.”

  “Me too. Let’s get these two cookie trays going so we can take them to Todd’s. You put them in the oven, and I’ll find a couple of boxes to put them in,” Christy said.

  She set to work lining two nice boxes with tissue paper. Within half an hour the boxes were filled with warm, soft, delicious cookies.

  “Should we take these over now?” Christy hoped Tracy wouldn’t think she was being pushy or acting as if she didn’t want to be with Tracy but only wanted to be with Todd.

  “Sure,” Tracy agreed without hesitation. “We can freeze the rest of this dough. That’s what my mom always does. We’d better clean the kitchen up, though.”

  “I’ll do the dishes,” Christy volunteered. “Do you want to get your box of cookies ready for your mystery boyfriend? Now, what was his name …?”

  “Christy, Christy!” Tracy said in a mock scolding voice. “I told you, I’d only tell if he showed interest in me on his own. I don’t like it when it turns into a game and everybody except the guy knows you like him. Then all your friends go up to him and say, ‘Guess what? Tracy likes you!’ And then the poor guy has to decide if he’s going to break your heart or play along with the game. I don’t want to play that game with—” She caught herself.

  “With …?” Christy prodded.

  Tracy covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe it! I almost said his name, didn’t I?”

  “Your secret would have been safe with me.”

  “I know it would, Christy. But haven’t you ever been caught in the middle of a relationship, and you suddenly look at it for what it really is, and you say, ‘Wait a minute! This is everyone else’s idea, not mine’? And you wish you could start all over and just be friends for a while without all the pressure everyone else puts on you to be boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  Christy pulled up a stool and sat down. “Tracy, I know exactly what you mean. There’s this guy at school, Rick, and I don’t know if I really like him or if I just like him because everyone keeps saying, ‘Oh, Rick asked about you today. He likes you—we can tell.’ So, yes, I know exactly what you mean, and I won’t bug you anymore.”

  “Do you like Rick?”

  “Yes and no. It’s not the same as it is with Todd. Like yesterday. Nothing turned out the way I thought it would when we made breakfast on the beach. Todd left without saying if he’d call or anything. I felt depressed about it, but I didn’t worry about whether or not Todd liked me anymore. I feel that the next time I see him, we’ll just pick up where we left off.”

  “Todd has that way about him, doesn’t he? He has to be the most loyal guy in the world,” Tracy agreed. “Once you’re his friend, you’re always his friend.”

  “Exactly! But it’s not that way with Rick at all. When I came up here a couple of days ago, he wasn’t speaking to me. I can’t even guess what things will be like when I see him again.”

  “Don’t you hate that?”

  “Yes!”

  Tracy pulled the last cookie sheet from the oven and turned it off. “And that’s why, even though I like this one guy a lot, I’m going to wait for him to show some interest in me, unprompted by all my well-meaning friends.”

  “You’re a good influence on me, Tracy,” Christy said as she returned to the sink and finished loading the dishwasher. “I don’t know if I ever thanked you for the Bible you and Todd gave me.”

  “You did. And speaking of Todd, I’m going to call him and make sure he’s home,” Tracy said.

  “Good idea!” Christy couldn’t wait to get going. “I’ll be ready as soon as I brush my hair and tell my uncle where we’re going.”

  Christy loved this feeling of independence, being able to bake cookies, talk so openly with Tracy as if they’d been best friends all their lives, and now go over to Todd’s house.

  That last part seemed too good to be true. After five months of being thousands of miles apart and carrying on a one-sided correspondence with Todd, he was so nearby that she could simply walk over to his house and see him and talk to him and be close to him.

  The painful part was that they had only a few days to be this close. Christy knew that every moment with Todd had to count.

  “Hold on a minute, girls,” Uncle Bob called as they headed out the door. “Almost forgot. I’ve got something for Todd too.” Uncle Bob appeared at the door with a gift bag all tied up. “Have fun, ladies!”

  “What is it?” Christy asked, shaking the bag.

  Uncle Bob gave her one of his “twinkle-grins” and said, “A little something a guy like Todd might appreciate.”

  The afternoon was clear and warm, yet the brisk wind made Christy glad she had put on a sweatshirt. She wondered if Todd still wore the sweatshirt she got for him in San Francisco last summer. A bigger question was whether he would like the T-shirt she painted for him.

  “Did you get anything for Todd?” Christy asked Tracy.

  “Yes, I usually buy him a present. This year I got him a CD. The new Debbie Stevens one. Do you have it?”

  “No. I bought one, but I ended up giving it to Rick. I kind of wish I hadn’t because I don’t think he liked it.”

  “What did Rick give you?”

  “A stupid book. It was a joke. Some guys have such a strange sense of humor.”

  Tracy laughed. “Don’t I know it!”

  “I have a T-shirt for Todd,” Christy explained. “But I don’t know if I should give it to him. I painted a surfer on it. I was going to give it to him yesterday, but I completely forgot about it. It was probably a good thing, because he didn’t give me anything.”

  “Except the breakfast,” Tracy reminded her. “I was pretty impressed when I heard he bought the food and set the whole thing up. That’s a nice gift, if you ask me.”

  “You’re right. I should be more grateful. It’s just that the birds ate everything, and my little brother ended up spending more time with Todd than I did.”

  “Still, Christy. What girl wouldn’t love for her boyfriend to go to all that trouble for her?”

  “My boyfriend?”

  “Well, you know, Todd’s your friend, and he’s a boy. I don’t know what else to call him.” Tracy led Christy around a corner and down the street to where Todd lived.

  “You know what? I wish there was a word for something between ‘just friends’ and ‘boyfriend.’ ”

  “I know what you mean,” Tracy said. “And there needs to be a word between ‘like’ and ‘love’ too. Either you ‘like’ a guy or you’re supposedly ‘in love.’ There’s definitely a middle area, but there’s no word for it.”

  “Then let’s make up a word!”

  Tracy laughed. “Should we ask Todd to help us? This is his house.” She stopped in front of a narrow two-story house that faced the street, not the beach. From the outside it looked smaller than Bob and Marti’s, but newer.

  “Merry day after Christmas!” Christy said brightly when Todd answered the door.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” Todd said, welcoming them into the messiest living room Christy had ever seen. Newspapers, dirty dishes, and clothes were all over the place. The most obvious thing to her, though, was the absence of any Christmas decorations. No tree, no wreaths. No evidence that a family lived here or had celebrated Christmas.

  “Sorry it’s such a mess,” Todd apologized, clearing a place for them to sit on the couch. “The housekeeper hasn’t come yet this week. My dad’s in Switzerland.”

  “Switzerland?” Christy said in surprise.

  “How long has he been gone?” Tracy asked.

  “Four or five days. I think he gets back on Saturday.”

  “Todd!” Tracy looked as distressed as Christy felt. “What did you do for Christmas?”

  He turned to Christy and smiled. “Had breakfast on the beach and then hung out at Shawn’s.”

  Tracy hesit
ated and then said, “I bet they appreciated your being there.” She held out her bag full of gifts.

  Christy followed, handing him her bag and saying, “Merry Christmas from us a day late, or a year early, whichever you prefer. Go ahead! Open your presents!”

  Todd sat down and gathered the boxes on his lap. He opened Bob’s gift bag first. Christy groaned when Todd pulled out a handful of international cheese triangles.

  “Cool!” Todd said. “Is this the same kind we had for breakfast?”

  “Who knows,” Christy said, shaking her head. “We have such a variety of cheeses to choose from! My uncle sent them over. I didn’t know what he put in the bag. Open the box. I know you’ll like what’s in there.”

  “Oh, man!” Todd exclaimed, pulling off the lid and grabbing a soft cookie. “Did you make these?”

  “Tracy and I did. Just this afternoon. Do you like them?”

  Todd scarfed down two before answering with a garbled, “Definitely!”

  “Now try the fudge!” Tracy opened her box, and Todd complied, stuffing the biggest piece into his mouth.

  The girls laughed as he tried to swallow and compliment Tracy on the fudge at the same time.

  He opened the CD next and said, “Thanks, Trace. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

  “One more,” Tracy said, handing him Christy’s box.

  Christy felt queasy. Would he like it? Would he ever wear it? Should she have given him a CD too, like Tracy had?

  “Cool!” Todd held up the shirt, and Tracy added her oohs and aahs.

  “Do you really like it?” Christy asked.

  “Definitely!” Todd said, giving her a deep, warm look.

  “That is really good, Christy,” Tracy said. “She painted it herself, Todd. Did you know that?”

  “No way! Really?”

  Christy felt her cheeks turning red. She nodded, feeling relieved that he really seemed to like it.

  Todd stood up, stepped over a pile of newspapers, and gave Christy a hug around the neck and then gave Tracy the same. “Thanks, Christy. Thanks, Tracy.”

  He snatched up another cookie and headed for the kitchen. “Either of you want something to drink? We’ve got cranberry juice and 7-Up.”

  “Got milk?” Tracy asked with a laugh.

  Todd stuck his head back into the living room with a grin on his face. “Nope. Drank the last of it this morning.”

  “Then I’ll have 7-Up,” Tracy called to him.

  “Me too,” Christy echoed.

  “I have a strong urge to find the vacuum cleaner and go to work on this place,” Tracy whispered while Todd was still in the kitchen. “It’s such a mess.”

  For the first time ever, Christy felt sorry for Todd, and it surprised her. For so long he had made her feel all kinds of emotions, but she had never pitied him. Now seeing him in this messy, expensively decorated house and knowing he had been all alone for Christmas made her heart ache for him. How could his parents abandon him like that? And on Christmas?

  Perhaps their breakfast on the beach had been a dream for him as well. She was seeing a whole new side of Todd, and she wanted so badly to tell him how deeply she cared for him.

  “Can I put the CD on?” Tracy asked when Todd stepped back into the living room.

  “Sure.”

  Tracy turned on the elaborate stereo and took out the CD that was already in the CD player. She looked at it before putting the new Debbie Stevens CD in and then yelled, “Todd! Why didn’t you tell me you already had this CD?”

  “It’s cool,” he said, handing Christy a can of 7-Up. “I’ll keep one in the house and one in Gus the Bus.”

  “Did you put a CD player in Gus?” Tracy asked.

  “No, but I plan to. One day.”

  “Well, Todd, if you hadn’t taken the cellophane off, I could have taken it back and bought you something else. A different CD or something.”

  Todd stood next to Christy and said, “It’s a Christmas present from you, Tracy. I would never take back anything one of my all-time friends gave me.”

  “Now that’s good,” Tracy said, turning to Christy. “ ‘Alltime friends.’ What do you think of that?”

  Christy thought for a moment. “It’s all right, but not exactly it.”

  “Not exactly what?” Todd asked, plopping down next to her on the couch.

  “On the way over we were trying to think of an expression for whatever it is that comes between ‘like’ and ‘love’ or between ‘just friends’ and ‘in love.’ Got anything better than ‘all-time friends’?”

  “Not me. I’m not the writer in this group. You are, Christy.”

  Christy put up her hands as if defending herself. “I don’t have any great ideas.”

  “We’ll have to work on that one,” Tracy suggested. “And you know what else I’d like to do this week while we’re all together? I’d like to talk about stuff in the Bible. You know, maybe everyone can read the same thing and then talk about it when we get together.”

  Todd and Christy both looked at her as if they weren’t sure what to make of her suggestion.

  “What do you want us to read?” Todd asked.

  “How about Philippians? Or First John? Or some of the Psalms?”

  “First John sounds good,” Todd said.

  “All right, good.” Tracy looked pleased with herself.

  “Do you want to do something tomorrow?” Christy blurted out. Todd and Tracy both looked at her, waiting for her to go on.

  “I mean, you guys could come over, or we could all go do something together.”

  “Sure,” Todd said without hesitating. “What do you want to do?”

  “We could go to the movies,” Tracy suggested. “That is, if there’s anything worth seeing. Or we could rent a video and watch it at my house.”

  “Do you guys ever go ice-skating?” Christy asked. She had ice-skated every winter since she could remember, outside on the frozen pond with all her friends. California had to have indoor rinks somewhere where they could all go.

  “That sounds like fun!” Tracy said. “Let’s get everybody together and go tomorrow to that rink in Costa Mesa. If we all pitch in for gas, will you drive, Todd?”

  “Sure. When do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know. About one or two. We could all meet at my house,” Tracy said. “Let’s meet around noon for lunch. My mom won’t mind. Then we could all leave from there.”

  “Sounds cool. What time is it now?” Todd asked.

  Tracy looked at her watch. “Oh, no, Christy! It’s almost five.”

  “I have to go too,” Todd said. “I’m going over to Doug’s. I’ll tell him about ice-skating tomorrow.”

  “Could I go with you to Doug’s?” Tracy asked.

  “Sure. Come on, Christy. I’ll drop you off on the way.”

  They all hopped into Todd’s old VW van, “Gus the Bus.” Both girls squeezed into the front seat, with Christy closest to Todd. Christy couldn’t help but smile to herself with memories of last summer when more than once she had been jealous of Tracy because Tracy had been the one sitting in the front seat and Christy had been in the back. Now they were sharing the seat and sharing their friendship with Todd. The three of them really, truly were “all-time friends” together. It was a wonderful thing to Christy, and it made her feel good deep inside.

  When Todd pulled up in front of Bob and Marti’s, he thanked Christy again for the shirt and cookies.

  “I’m glad you like them,” Christy said. She wanted to reach over and hug him and tell him she was sorry he’d been alone for most of Christmas. She wanted to whisper in his ear that she couldn’t wait to see him again tomorrow. But all she did was smile and look into his clear, blue eyes and say, “Thanks for the ride.”

  Todd tilted his chin back, gave her his usual “Later,” and then drove off with Tracy.

  Christy stood on the curb and waved good-bye to her two “all-time friends.” When she turned to walk back into Bob and Marti’
s house, her heart was full of anticipation. So what if her breakfast with Todd hadn’t been all that special? Tomorrow they would go ice-skating, and he would hold her hand. He’d have to. It’s very natural for people to hold hands when they skate. She knew how wonderful it felt to slip her hand into his. Even though it had been months, she remembered exactly what Todd’s hand felt like. Tomorrow she’d feel it again: strong and warm and wonderful.

  Smiling widely to herself, Christy opened the front door and stepped inside. Todd and I really, truly are more than “in like.” I just know it. Maybe we’re even on our way to “in love.”

  That evening at the dinner table, David squished his green beans with his fork and gave his opinion of shopping with Aunt Marti.

  “She made me buy a pink shirt, Christy. Pink!” He scrunched up his nose in his favorite hamster look.

  “David looks very good in muted colors. It isn’t really pink. I’d say it was a light mauve tone,” Aunt Marti said.

  “It’s pink,” David muttered. “And the McDonald’s we went to didn’t even have a playground.”

  “You’re getting a little too old for playgrounds, don’t you think, dear?” Aunt Marti’s smoothly made-up face seemed to twitch just a bit. Christy wondered how awful the experience had actually been. Who had been the most ornery—Marti or David?

  “I know a playground down at Balboa for big kids,” Uncle Bob said. “Why don’t we go there tomorrow, David? If I can still play there, so can you.”

  David nodded and smiled, his mouth full of baked potato. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “Then Christy and I will spend the day shopping,” Aunt Marti stated.

  “I kind of already made some plans for tomorrow,” Christy said slowly. “Tracy invited me over to her house at noon, and then a bunch of us are going ice-skating. Todd said he would drive. Would that be okay?”

  “Sounds like fun,” Uncle Bob said.

  Aunt Marti put down her fork with an exaggerated thump. “I’m surprised, Christina, at how quickly you’ve managed to fill up your social calendar this week. Do you suppose you’ll have any time to fit us into your plans?”