Inevitable and Only(26)

“And then the Meyerhoff,” Josh was saying. “We might even get rush tickets for the symphony tonight!”

I smiled at him. “That’s great. By the way, that second Bach suite you’ve been practicing all week sounds fantastic.”

Josh said nothing.

“Are you nervous about the competition?”

“Nah.”

“Well. That’s good.”

He nodded, then got up to put his bowl in the sink.

I grabbed the hem of his shirt as he walked by. “Hey. What did I say?”

“Nothing.”

“But you clammed up. You were all excited, and then I mentioned the Bach and you stopped talking.”

“I’m supposed to be practicing Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody for the competition. Not Bach.”

“Oh. Well, do you already know the Hungarian Rhapsody?”

“No. But I’ll learn it. It’ll be fine.” Suddenly he was red in the face. He twisted away from my grip and ran upstairs.

I followed him up to his room, but as I passed the bathroom, the door opened and Elizabeth came out in her bathrobe, and crashed into me.

“Oops, sorry,” she said, just as the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get that,” I said.

I heard Josh start practicing arpeggios at breakneck speed as I ran back down the stairs and opened the door. Raven was on the step, and Ruby and Renata waved at me from the car.

“Leaving!” I yelled, grabbing my bag from a hook, and banged the door shut behind me.

“Hey,” Raven said as we buckled ourselves into the back seat. “You don’t think we should’ve invited Elizabeth, too?”

“Nah, she’s taking a tour of Baltimore with Dad and Josh today. I don’t even think she’s going to the Fall Ball.” But my stomach sank. I hadn’t thought to ask Elizabeth about the dance at all.

Renata looked back at us from the passenger seat. “Who’s Elizabeth?”

“My secret illegitimate half sister,” I said, and Renata’s eyes widened. “It’s a long story. She just moved here. And she’s probably not going to the Fall Ball because she’s practically a nun.”

I felt a little bad about making fun of Elizabeth, especially after not inviting her on our shopping trip. But then I remembered Proud Dad Voice from the night before and didn’t feel quite so bad. After all, she had Dad for the day. And I didn’t. Not that I couldn’t have gone with them, if I’d wanted to, but I didn’t, because I had better things to do, and—oh my god. I pressed “stop” on that loop in my head before it got out of control.

Renata had a million questions, and I told her all the details as we drove.

“Oh, that poor girl,” she kept murmuring. “Oh, your poor mother.”

I didn’t mention how much I hated sharing a room, or how much my stomach hurt when I thought about Dad sleeping on the couch every night, or how Elizabeth was a natural at driving and perfect at pretty much everything else. All of that would’ve sounded like complaining. Plus it might’ve made my eyes water.

We were going up to the thrift stores in Roland Park first, because that’s where all the rich people live, so the castoffs are more exciting. Then we’d circle back down York Road, and finally hit The Avenue in Hampden. I love shopping with the Woodburys. Ruby has a knack for finding treasures and bargains, and Renata is a big fan of ice cream pit stops at the Charmery.

By the end of the day, we’d found a slinky teal flapper-style dress for Raven that looked drop-dead gorgeous with her red hair and green eyes, and a strapless cream-colored A-line for me that Ruby promised would look stunning once she sewed scraps of black lace and multicolored beads all over it.

Raven, Renata, and I had squeezed into one tiny dressing room in Charm City Consignment, our fourth stop of the day.

I tugged at the top of the dress, staring at myself in the mirror. “I don’t know how I feel about a strapless dress.”

“Well, you’ve got the boobs for it,” Raven said.

“I wish I didn’t have them,” I said. “They’re heavy, you know. And all my clothes are getting tight.”

“And I wish you’d share,” Raven grumped, pressing her hands to her own flat chest.

Renata sighed, turning to look at the back of a mostly backless black cocktail dress she was trying on. Her skin was just as pale as Raven’s, and she was bony-thin. “You got that from me, dear, I’m sorry.” To me, she said, “I’m sure Ruby can sew on a pair of straps, if that would make you more comfortable. But Raven’s right. It looks lovely on you.”

Ruby was waiting outside the dressing room. “Well, let’s see!” she called, and I opened the door to show her the dress.

“Fits you like a glove,” she declared. “We’ll take it.”

She insisted on buying the dress for me. “I consider it an art project,” she said, waving my wallet away. “It’s what keeps me young.”

We stopped for dinner at Tamber’s, an Indian fusion restaurant, which means that in addition to chana masala, saag paneer, and naan, they also serve burgers, fries, and milk shakes. Classic Baltimore.

Ruby took my dress home with her to start working on it—“Only three weeks till the dance!”—so I was empty-handed when I walked in the door.