Heart to Heart (From the Files of Madison Finn, 11) (11 page)

“The snack zone?” Madison asked. “What’s that?”

“It sounds like a made-for-TV movie,” Aimee suggested.

“When good snacks go bad,” Fiona added. The girls laughed.

9. Students must be in attendance for the full school day on the day of the dance.

“I overheard Ivy say that she was going to blow off her last class to go home and get dressed,” Madison said.

“Let’s hope she does it,” Aimee said. “Then maybe she’ll get busted.”

As if I could ever get that lucky, Madison thought. Having Ivy out of the whole dance equation would make life much mellower.

10. Proper clothing is required. Dances are a dress-up event. Denim jeans, baggy pants, tight pants, halter tops, and thick-soled or platform shoes are not permitted. Clothing should be free of all rips, tears, and frayed material.

“What do they have against thick-soled shoes?” Madison asked.

“Whatever,” Fiona said. “I’m wearing ballet flats, so I don’t really care.”

“Why would anyone wear torn clothing to a dance?” Aimee asked.

“No clue,” Fiona said. “Although Egg is going to be mad that he can’t go in his jeans. Personally, I don’t know what he’s griping about. I love to get dressed up.”

“Me, too,” Madison agreed.

“I just hope they play some good dance music,”

Fiona said. “The DJ at my old school was always so lame. Half of the songs he played were country and western.”

“That definitely won’t be happening this time,” Aimee assured her. “The DJ they hired plays mostly hip-hop and pop, with a little rock thrown in.”

“We’ll see if I can manage to drag Egg onto the dance floor,” Fiona said.

“Good luck,” Aimee said with a smile. “Egg hates dancing.”

“All guys claim they hate dancing,” Madison said.

“I’ve seen Ben dancing at parties sometimes,” Aimee said. Fiona grinned at her and she turned pink. “What?”

“Does this mean that you’re going to say yes to Ben?” Fiona asked.

Aimee shrugged, then giggled. “I think so,” she said.

Madison dipped her paintbrush in the water, turning the blue to purple. “We should start cleaning up,” she said quickly.

“Maddie, why don’t you reconsider going with Drew?” Fiona asked as she screwed the lid back on the tub of red paint. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be any big deal …”

“Yeah, Maddie,” Aimee agreed. “Then we can be on a
triple
date!”

Madison shrugged and smiled at her friends. “Thanks. But I just don’t think …” Her voice trailed off. The truth was, she had no idea what she thought. Maybe she was crazy to say no to Drew. But somehow, she just didn’t feel right saying yes.

“Okay, I have an idea,” Aimee said. “Why don’t Fiona and I tell Egg and Ben that we’ll meet them at the dance? That way, the three of us can show up together, and you won’t have to feel like you’re coming by yourself. And I promise I won’t ask Drew to come. That would be weird.”

Madison grinned at her friend. Sometimes, it was as though Aimee could read her mind. “That sounds great!” Madison said.

“Good idea,” Fiona said. “And we can meet at Madison’s house and do our hair together and stuff.”

“Yes!” Aimee agreed.

As she walked out the front door to the school with her two best friends, Madison felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her chest.

So what if she didn’t have a date for the dance?

She was going with her friends—and she was going to have a good time.

Dad picked Madison up a little early that night so they could run an errand before going to Stephanie’s house for dinner. The mall was practically empty as the two of them walked through Far Hill Shoppes. Madison didn’t see too many familiar faces.

As they walked past a store called Over Hair, something glittery caught Madison’s eye. She turned to see a display of all sorts of clips, barrettes, and other accessories. In the center of the window was a display of small tiaras. One of them was set with blue stones. Madison stopped to take a closer look. Poison Ivy had worn one to the
last
school dance, and even though Madison wasn’t wild about her personality, she had to admit that the enemy had fashion sense.

“What’s that?” Dad asked.

“Oh—just that little tiara,” Madison admitted.

“A tiara?” Dad asked. “Something you like?”

“For the dance, maybe,” Madison explained. “The blue one would go with my new dress.”

“So let’s get it,” Dad said.

“Oh!” Madison said, surprised by her dad’s offer. “Are you sure?”

“It would look beautiful on you,” Dad said with a grin. “As they say, diamonds are a girl’s best friend—and fake sapphires are her other best friends.”

Madison beamed.

“But we’d better be quick. I don’t want to be late getting to Stephanie’s. She’s planning a feast.”

Dad bought the tiara and the woman wrapped it in paper and put it into a tiny shopping bag, which she handed to Madison. Just thinking about wearing it at the dance made Madison feel very glamorous. She swung the bag by her side as she followed Dad through the mall.

“I have one more pit stop,” Dad said, stopping in front of a store. Madison looked up. She saw the
JEWEL OF THE NILE
sign.

Help! Madison thought to herself. This was the store that Madison had seen her dad in the other day. Were they here to pick up the engagement ring? Bigwheels had advised Madison to ask Dad about the ring, but when the moment of truth came … she couldn’t ask much of anything.

“Mr. Finn, so good to see you,” the store manager said when he saw Dad. “You’ll be happy to hear that the engraving is finished.” The clerk’s face was perfectly round like a doughnut, and his smooth skin shone as he smiled.

“Thanks, Abe,” Dad said, “I can’t wait to see how it came out.”

The manager pulled out a small black box—
the
small black box—and handed it to Dad. Madison hovered in the doorway. She couldn’t bring herself to set foot in the store.

She watched as Dad pulled out his wallet and handed the manager a silver credit card.

“Do you want to see the best Valentine’s Day gift ever?” Dad asked, walking over to Madison.

Weakly, Madison shook her head no, but her father wasn’t paying attention. He undid the latch on the box.

Madison opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t get the words out. All she wanted to say was no. No—she didn’t want to see an engagement ring. No—she didn’t want to think about her father asking Stephanie to marry him.

No, no, no.

Madison’s mind reeled as her father pulled open the box to reveal what was inside.

“Earrings?” Madison asked, staring at the silver ovals.

“Cuff links,” her dad corrected. “It’s a gift for one of my clients—a terrific guy. He’s retiring on Valentine’s Day. Look, I had them engraved.” He pulled out one of the cuff links and turned it over so that Madison could see the back.

“Cuff links?” Madison choked on the words. She was so relieved, her eyes could hardly focus on the letters. She just started to giggle so hard that her shoulders shook.

“What’s so funny?” Dad asked. The corners of his mouth were curved into a smile, eager to share the joke.

Madison thought about telling him what she thought would be in the box, but rejected the idea. The last thing she wanted to do was put ideas into his head.

“Nothing’s funny,” Madison said, taking deep breaths to stop her laughter. “I just remembered something that Egg said, that’s all.”

Dad shrugged and signed the credit card receipt.

Madison smiled all the way back to the car.

“G
REETINGS!” STEPHANIE SAID
as she pulled open the door to her condo. “Come on in.”

A delicious smell wafted past Madison’s nose as she stepped into the apartment. It was sweet like apples and spicy like cinnamon.

Dad leaned over to give Stephanie a quick kiss on the cheek as Madison looked around. She had never been to Stephanie’s apartment before. All of her furniture was sleek, dark wood and leather, and it was very clean and tidy. There were no shoes or magazines lying anywhere.

“Mmmmm,” Madison said, as she followed Stephanie into the kitchen. “What are we having?”

“Moroccan stew,” Stephanie said, taking the lid off of a pot and stirring the contents with a wooden spoon. “I hope you like tangy food.”

“Sounds great,” Madison said warmly. She put her orange backpack on the floor. “Can I help with something?”

“You can chop up some veggies for a salad,” Stephanie said. “They’re in the fridge.”

“I can definitely handle that.” Madison walked over to the enormous steel refrigerator and pulled out some yellow bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers. Even the inside of Stephanie’s fridge was clean, and all of her leftovers were in tidy Tupperware boxes. “Do you like to cook?” Madison asked. For some reason, the idea surprised her. Maybe because she always saw Stephanie in restaurants, never bustling around a kitchen in a dark green apron, as she was doing now.

“I love it,” Stephanie said as she wrapped some crusty bread in aluminum foil and placed it in the oven to warm. Stephanie had the nicest stove that Madison had ever seen. It was steel too, like the refrigerator, and the gas flames licked the bottom of a large gray pot with steel handles. “Sometimes, if I’ve had a frustrating day at work, I just come home and cook up a storm.”

Dad was a good cook, too. He always said that some people relaxed with exercise, but he preferred to relax with good food.

Madison pulled a knife with a black handle from the wooden block on the countertop and began chopping the bell peppers on a white cutting board. Since her mom was a vegetarian, Madison had plenty of experience cutting up vegetables.

Through the kitchen door, Madison could see her dad lighting candles on the dining room table. Then he walked into the kitchen with a lit candle and placed it on the countertop. “A little ambience,” Dad said, dimming the overhead lights.

“How elegant,” Stephanie said. She opened a cupboard and pulled out two more candlesticks. “Let’s have a few more.”

Dad lit the candles and placed them around the kitchen. They lit the room with a warm yellow glow. Putting down her knife, Madison bent down to her bag and pulled out her new blue tiara.

“As long as we’re being elegant …” Madison said, putting on the tiara.

“Now I wish I had a tuxedo,” Dad said. “Since I’m surrounded by you two gorgeous girls.” He came up behind Stephanie and gave her a hug. Stephanie looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh, Dad,” Madison said. But unlike the night at Tamales, she didn’t feel so sick over it. Valentine’s Day was coming closer. It was okay for Dad and Stephanie to be acting all lovey-dovey tonight.

“Photo op!” Dad said, pulling his digital camera out of a small black bag.

First, he took a picture of Stephanie tasting the stew.

Then he turned to Madison, who smiled as she cut a carrot into small round slices. He showed Madison the picture of herself on the camera’s tiny monitor.

The warm candlelight made her skin glow pink, and the tiny blue tiara sparkled softly in her hair. Maybe she could look pretty for the dance after all? Maybe she could win Hart’s heart with her new blue tiara?

“I’ll e-mail you a copy of this for Mom,” Dad said.

“That would be great,” Madison said. “Actually, Dad, could I borrow your camera for the dance?” she asked.

Dad shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

“Mrs. Wing is looking for someone to be the event photographer. She’d like to have some pictures of the dance on the school website,” Madison explained.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Stephanie said.

“It’s all yours,” Dad said. “I can even help you post the photos on the site after the dance.” He leaned over and showed Madison how the functions worked and which buttons to press. Madison practiced her skills by taking a photo of Dad and Stephanie. They looked so happy together.

“It looks like we’re about ready,” Stephanie said, pulling together some final ingredients. She got out three bowls, and spooned some fluffy brown stuff into the bottom of each.

“What’s that?” Madison asked.

“Couscous,” Stephanie said. “It goes with the stew.” Stephanie ladled some stew on top of the couscous as Dad pulled the bread out of the oven and put it into a basket. Madison put the finishing touches on her salad, spreading the long strips of bell pepper into a circle. Stephanie and Dad raved about the salad.

“This is delicious,” Madison said, taking a bite of the thick spicy stew. It made her whole body warm.

“Stephanie is a great cook,” Dad said, reaching for Stephanie’s hand.

Stephanie blushed.

“I have a Valentine’s Day surprise for you,” Dad said as Madison took another bite of stew.

Madison looked up, and was surprised to see that Dad was talking to her, not to Stephanie. “What is it?” she asked eagerly.

“If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise,” Dad said. He pulled a large box out from beneath the table, and put it down beside Madison’s plate. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” Dad said.

Madison stood up and tore the paper off the box. She loved getting presents, but surprise presents were the best. She lifted the cardboard box lid and pulled out white tissue paper to reveal a large stuffed animal.

“A pug!” Madison squealed. She pulled it out of the box and gave it a big hug right away. “It’s just like Phin!” she said. “I love it!”

“Read the tag,” Dad said.

Madison felt around the dog’s neck, i
WOOF U
, the metal tag read. The letters blurred as tears grew in Madison’s eyes. “Thanks, Dad,” she whispered. “I’ve had so much fun tonight!”

“Me, too,” Stephanie added.

As Dad drove her home, Madison sat quietly, hugging the stuffed pug on her lap. Madison was happy that Dad had found someone like Stephanie. And she was happier than happy that there was no engagement ring …
yet.

“Here we are! Door-to-door service,” Dad said as he pulled up in front of Madison’s house.

“Good night, Dad,” Madison said, leaning over to give him a kiss.

“Madison,” Dad said, taking Madison’s hand and lacing his fingers through hers. “I hope you have a good time at the school dance. I hope that boy you like does ask you to go with him.”