Isabella's Spring Break Crush

by Angela Darling

  Grandma frowned for a moment, but then her face brightened. “Let me call Rose,” she said. She dialed the phone. “Rose? It’s Miriam. Yes, I know, it’s going to be another hot one today. Could Jake spend the morning with Ryan? I need to take Isabella to the mall.”

  Isabella felt a pang of regret, thinking how much fun she could have had spending the morning with Ryan. But she quickly pushed the feeling away. Grandma had taken her shopping before, and it had been really fun.

  “Let me put on my walking shoes,” Grandma said, looking down at her sandals.

  A half hour later, they were walking through the entrance of the air-conditioned mall.

  “So where do you want to get these clothes? Should we go to Hamilton’s?” Grandma Miriam asked.

  Hamilton’s was a big department store that Grandma loved to shop in, Isabella knew. But the clothes for girls her age weren’t exactly cute.

  “Um, could we go to Sparks?” Isabella asked. “That’s the store Mom always takes me to.”

  “Of course! This is your day, Izzy,” Grandma said. She marched over to the mall directory. “Now, let’s see. . . . Here we go. Second floor!”

  At the top of the escalator they saw the purple, glittery sign for Sparks right in front of them. The store was packed with racks of cute summer clothes in bright colors. Pop music blared from speakers inside the store.

  Isabella practically ran inside. She made a beeline for the first thing that caught her eye: an adorable white, lacy, sleeveless sundress with a sewed-in fake leather belt around the waist. Isabella took it off the rack and held it up to herself.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

  “Beautiful!” Grandma said. “But you should try it on.”

  “Of course,” Isabella replied. This was why she loved shopping with Grandma. When she went with her mother, it could be stressful. She thought everything Isabella picked out was “too tight” or “too short” or “not appropriate.”

  The next thing she saw was the swim cover-up that Amanda had picked out. It was the same style, but this one was pale blue with green stripes.

  “So cute!” Isabella said.

  “That looks pretty skimpy for a dress,” Grandma said.

  “It’s to wear over your swimsuit,” Isabella told her. “But I don’t really need it. I can wear a T-shirt and shorts over my suit.”

  She put it back on the rack and kept browsing. She still had a few more days here. The sundress would be nice for dinner tonight, but she should probably get a few more nice things to wear before the week was over. She went over to the shirts and picked out a pale coral shirt with white stripes. It had an open back with a big white bow across the open area.

  “That’s very nautical,” Grandma remarked. “Very nice.”

  The next shirt she found was ocean blue with a white lace pattern in the front that reminded her of some of the Native American patterns she had seen in the museum. She picked that one off the rack too.

  “I should probably get a pair of shorts,” Isabella said thoughtfully.

  “How about a skirt?” Grandma asked. She held up a short blue skirt with cute pleats in the front. “This color would go with both the shirts you picked, I think.”

  “Grandma, it’s perfect!” Isabella cried. She took the hanger from her grandmother. “And it’s my size! You are a genius!”

  “Now, why don’t you go try some things on?” Grandma asked.

  A salesclerk helped Isabella into one of the fitting rooms, and she tried on the outfits. First the sundress. It fit perfectly, and the billowy skirt fell right below her knees. She came out and made a silly pose.

  “What do you think?” she asked her grandmother.

  “Just fabulous!” Grandma Miriam said. She turned to the salesclerk closest to her. “Doesn’t my beautiful granddaughter look like a model?”

  Isabella blushed. Grandma said that whenever they shopped together.

  “Absolutely. She’s got the height too,” said the clerk, a woman in her early twenties. Isabella blushed again. It was embarrassing, but kind of nice too.

  “Let’s see the rest!” Grandma said.

  Isabella tried on the skirt with the coral T-shirt first, and Grandma agreed that the two colors looked “just fabulous” together. The blue one was “just perfect” too.

  “And the shirts go with my denim shorts too,” Isabella said, as she did a runway walk for Grandma down an aisle of the store.

  “You’re a girl after my own heart, Izzy,” Grandma Miriam said. “You know just what you want. No hemming and hawing and taking forever.”

  “My friend Lilly does that,” Isabella says. “It gets sooooo boring.”

  “And now we have time for some more fun before lunch,” Grandma said.

  “Like what?” Isabella asked.

  Grandma’s eyes twinkled. “You’ll see.”

  They paid for the clothes and then left the mall. Grandma stopped in a strip mall a few minutes away and parked in front of Lovely’s Nail Salon.

  “What are we doing?” Isabella asked.

  “What do you think?” Grandma replied with a grin.

  A bell on the door tinkled when they went inside. An older woman with blond hair piled on top of her head was polishing a woman’s nails at a small table near the front of the shop. She looked up when she heard the bell and broke into a big smile.

  “Hey there, Miriam!” she said. “I’ve got two chairs open for you.”

  “Thanks, Lovely,” Grandma said. “Everyone, this is my granddaughter, Isabella, whom you’ve heard so much about.”

  The nail technicians all looked up from their workstations and smiled.

  “You get yourself over here, young lady,” said a dark-haired woman with friendly brown eyes.

  Grandma followed Isabella over to the station.

  “Isabella, this is Maria,” she said.

  Isabella smiled shyly. “Hi.”

  “Climb on up and take off those flip-flops,” Maria instructed.

  Isabella climbed up onto the big chair and slid off her flip-flops. Grandma Miriam climbed into the chair next to her.

  “Now dip your feet into the water, sweetheart,” Maria said.

  “Thanks,” Isabella said. “I’ve never had a pedicure before.”

  Maria laughed. “Wait, are you really Miriam’s granddaughter? She’s in here every week.”

  “Of course she’s Miriam’s granddaughter. She looks just like her pictures,” said the woman next to her.

  “She looks prettier than her pictures,” said Lovely, walking over to them. “Isabella, it’s such a pleasure to meet you. Your grandma goes on and on about you.”

  “Thanks. Nice to meet you too,” Isabella said, flashing her grandma a smile.

  Maria suddenly frowned. “Look at this. There was so much excitement when you came in that I forgot to tell you to pick out a color.”

  Grandma Miriam handed Maria a bottle of light blue polish. “I picked one out for her. All the young girls are wearing it. And it’ll go nice with those new outfits we bought, Izzy.”

  Lovely shook her head. “Let the girl pick out her own color, Miriam!”

  “No, it’s okay,” Isabella said. “It’s pretty.”

  “So,” Maria said as she began to shape Isabella’s toenails with a file. “How was your holiday dance recital?”

  Isabella was surprised. “You know about that?”

  Maria nodded. “Your grandma tells us everything.”

  • • •

  Isabella couldn’t stop looking at her toes when they left Lovely’s shop. They looked prettier than she had ever seen them. She started to walk toward the car, but Grandma stopped her.

  “They have the best Arnold Palmers here,” she said, nodding to one of the shops in the strip mall. The sign above the door read THE SUNSHINE CAFÉ. Little white tables with orange umbrellas were scattered outside.

  “What’s an Arnold Palmer?” Isabella asked.

  “Delicious, that’s what!�
� Grandma Miriam replied.

  Curious, Isabella followed her grandmother inside and watched her order two Arnold Palmers for them. The guy at the counter handed her two tall drinks in clear plastic cups.

  “Grab some straws,” Grandma said, marching outside.

  They sat down under one of the umbrellas. A small breeze was rippling through the air, making it pleasant to be out in the heat. Grandma planted one of the cups in front of her.

  “Guess!” she said.

  Isabella slipped in her straw and took a sip of the icy cold drink.

  “It’s kind of like iced tea,” she said. “Only lemony and sweet.”

  “It’s half iced tea and half lemonade!” Grandma cried. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  Isabella nodded, taking another sip. “It’s awesome,” she agreed. “Not too sweet like lemonade, and it doesn’t have that aftertaste that iced tea has.”

  Grandma nodded. “Exactly! And they make it the best here.”

  They sat back and watched the leaves waving on the palm trees around them, quiet for a moment.

  “It’s so nice to have company!” Grandma sighed, breaking the silence.

  For the first time, Isabella wondered if her grandmother was a little lonely down here. She always seemed to be busy, but Isabella knew she did a lot of stuff by herself. The Clarks were all in Chicago, and since Mom was an only child, it wasn’t like there were aunts or uncles who could visit.

  “You know your mother and I used to go to tea every week!” said Grandma.

  Isabella nodded. “She told me. She said you both used to get all dressed up and you would take her to tea at a fancy hotel in downtown Chicago. That must have been nice.”

  “It was,” Grandma agreed.

  Dr. Clark worked on most Saturday mornings, and the rest of the weekend they were usually running around to practices and stuff like that. Isabella couldn’t imagine either of them having time to get dressed up and have a fancy tea.

  “Well, this isn’t fancy, but it’s tea,” Isabella said, and Grandma grinned and held up her cup.

  “Cheers, to a beautiful morning with my granddaughter.”

  Isabella tapped her cup. It was nice being alone with Grandma Miriam. In the past, Jake or her mom had always been with them.

  “I wish you lived closer, Grandma,” Isabella said.

  “Sometimes I do too,” she said with a smile. “But I’m glad you’re here right now. You can come visit me anytime.”

  Isabella thought about how disappointed she had been when Mom had announced they were spending spring break here. What had she been thinking? Sure, having Ryan around was a nice bonus. But when it came down to it, it was just nice spending time with Grandma.

  chapter 7

  GRANDMA STOPPED AT A HOAGIE shop and picked up sandwiches for everyone. While she waited for her order, she called Rose.

  “Bring the boys over to my house in five minutes,” she said. “I have lunch for us.”

  Isabella heard Rose say something on the other end, and then Grandma said, “Yes, you too! I can buy my friend a sandwich if I want to. And the walk will do you good.”

  When they got back to Grandma’s condo, Jake and Ryan were goofing around outside, waiting for them. Rose was shuffling down the street.

  “Yoo-hoo!” She waved.

  “Perfect timing, Rose!” Grandma yelled back. “Now, come on in and eat!”

  The boys dug into the bag of hoagies like hungry wolves and ate their sandwiches in seconds.

  “Are you boys ready for the pool?” Grandma asked.

  “I’ve got my suit on,” Ryan reported.

  “I just need to change,” Jake said, darting away from the table.

  “Jake! Clear your place first,” Grandma scolded.

  “Sorry, Grandma.” Jake quickly obeyed and went upstairs.

  “So how was shopping?” Rose asked.

  “Really good,” replied Isabella. “I got a new dress to wear tonight.”

  “I made our reservation for four thirty, so I need you all back from the pool early today,” Rose said. “You hear that, Ryan?”

  Ryan nodded. “Yes, Gran.”

  Isabella rose from the table. “I should put away the stuff I got and get on my suit. I’ll be right down.”

  Isabella brought her bags upstairs and noticed that there was one more bag than there should have been. She looked inside and saw the cover-up she had been admiring. She quickly ran downstairs.

  “Grandma, thank you! You didn’t have to do that!”

  “I’m a grandmother. I’m allowed to spoil my grandchildren,” Grandma replied.

  Jake raced past Isabella on the stairs. “What about me? When do I get spoiled?”

  Grandma held up a wrapped sandwich. “That’s why I got you an extra hoagie.”

  Jake’s eyes lit up. “You’re the best!”

  Isabella put on her bathing suit, pulled the cover-up over it, and then checked herself out in the mirror. It looked casual but not boring. Perfect! She slid on some flip-flops and headed downstairs. Then she gave Grandma a big hug.

  “Thank you so much. It’s perfect!”

  Jake glanced at her. “Why are you wearing a dress to go to the pool?”

  “Jake, you know nothing about fashion,” Rose said. “It’s a cover-up, and she looks adorable. Doesn’t she look adorable, Ryan?”

  Ryan blushed and stammered, “Yes, uh, I mean, I guess so.”

  “I think she looks great.”

  It was Andrew. He and Ashley had come in through the unlocked front door without knocking. Isabella blushed. Why had Andrew said that in front of everybody?

  Then Ashley made things worse.

  “That was a fun double date last night,” she said, grinning at Jake.

  “It was not a double date,” Isabella said, annoyed—and probably too loudly. Embarrassed, she fled to the bathroom. “I have to put my sunscreen on.”

  “Everybody needs to put sunscreen on,” Grandma Miriam told the others.

  When everyone was properly sunscreened, they headed to the pool. Isabella ignored Jake’s “Last one in is a rotten egg!” cry and marched to a lounge chair far from the others. She lay down on it, closing her eyes.

  Double date? She looks great? Why do those Shelby twins spoil everything? she wondered.

  She got bored pretty quickly, and the sound of the kids having fun in the pool was tempting. She looked at her phone and saw two texts from her mom. As she answered them, she spotted Mr. Stern sleeping just a few chairs away.

  She quickly snapped a photo of him and sent it to Amanda.

  Here’s my view at the pool, she typed.

  OMG! He’s orange! Amanda texted back.

  :-P

  Where is cute boy? Amanda asked.

  Still here.

  More pics!

  Isabella knew she couldn’t just take pictures of Ryan without it looking weird. She got up and walked to the pool.

  “Hey, everybody, get together!” she called out. “I need to take a picture for my friend Amanda.”

  Everyone in the pool obeyed. Andrew made a silly face, and Ashley started splashing Ryan, and then he and Jake splashed her back. Isabella took some pictures and sent them to Amanda.

  Who’s the blond? Amanda asked.

  Ashley.

  No, I mean the boy.

  Andrew. Her twin bro.

  He’s cute 2!

  Yes, Isabella started to text. She wanted to say, “But he’s really annoying,” but before she could type, Andrew swam up to the end of the pool and started splashing her.

  “Hey, I’m on the phone!” she yelled, blocking her face with her hand.

  But Andrew kept splashing.

  “I’ll stop when you get in the pool!” he yelled back, grinning.

  Sighing, Isabella set down her phone on the table, got up, and jumped into the water. Andrew was still splashing her.

  “Hey, you said you’d stop if I got in!” she complained.

  “Oh, right,” Andr
ew said, putting his hands at his sides.

  Isabella smiled wickedly and started splashing Andrew.

  “Ha! Got you!” she crowed.

  Jake jumped between them. “Splash fight!”

  “You kids stop splashing like that!” yelled Mr. Stern, who had woken up from his nap.

  Giggling, Isabella stopped splashing. She dove under the water and swam to the other end of the pool without coming up once for air until she reached the end.

  As she shook the water out of her ears, she heard Ashley’s voice outside the pool.

  “I knew it!”

  Isabella looked up. Ashley was holding her phone and looking at the screen.

  “I knew you had a crush on my brother,” she said.

  Isabella was horrified. She climbed out of the pool and grabbed the phone from Ashley. “What are you doing?”

  “I just wanted to see the pictures,” Ashley protested.

  Isabella glanced back in the pool. Andrew was smiling like crazy, and Ryan was swimming in the opposite direction.

  Is he mad? she wondered. She turned back to Ashley. “You shouldn’t have read my texts. That’s like reading someone’s e-mail.”

  “Hey, it was right up on the screen,” Ashley said. “Relax.”

  Then she must have seen how angry Isabella was. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess I shouldn’t have read that. Or said that. But it really was right there.”

  Isabella couldn’t even speak. She put on her cover-up, grabbed her towel, and headed back to Grandma’s condo.

  She heard Ashley, Jake, and Andrew calling after her, but she kept walking. She did not hear Ryan saying anything.

  “Izzy? Everything okay?” Grandma asked as Isabella came inside alone.

  “I just don’t feel like swimming anymore,” Isabella replied glumly. “I’m gonna read in my room, okay?”

  “Whatever you want. It’s your vacation,” Grandma said. But she looked worried.

  Isabella stomped up the stairs. Having a crush on Ryan had felt simple and nice. But thanks to the Shelby twins, everything was a confusing mess!

  chapter 8

  ISABELLA HUNG OUT IN HER room for a few hours, lazing around and reading a book. Then she heard the front door slam, and Jake burst into her room a few seconds later.