Double Date (22 page)

Authors: Melody Carlson

Tags: #JUV033200, #Dating (Social customs—Fiction, #Clubs—Fiction, #Friendship—Fiction, #High schools—Fiction, #Schools—Fiction, #Christian life—Fiction

BOOK: Double Date

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“Stop and put your feet right on those footprints,” she told Emma. “Hold very still and place your hands over your head like this.” She demonstrated. Emma followed her example, holding
her breath as she waited for the machine to do its thing, and then the woman waved her on out. Feeling somewhat relieved but still flustered, Emma went over to the other side, watching as Felicia calmly went through the same process.

Finally, they were both gathering their bags and things, hurrying to get out of the way of others now coming through. Felicia made sure that Emma got everything, including the Ziploc bag that she nearly left behind.

“See, that wasn't so bad,” Felicia said cheerfully.

“Thanks to you for helping me.” Emma felt relieved to exit the security area, scanning the terminal for her mom and spying her over by a nearby set of benches. “That was much more stressful than I expected.”

“Yeah.” Felicia slowly wheeled both their carry-on bags as Emma attempted to stuff her toiletries back into her purse, adjusting the purse strap which seemed to have come undone in the X-ray. “You reminded me of my little sister,” Felicia said quietly. “Sofia always gets flustered going through security. I try to help her too.” Felicia's dark eyes turned unexpectedly sad.

“Are you missing your family?” Emma took her carry-on bag from Felicia, studying her friend's expression and hoping that she wasn't the homesick type. Emma realized how close Felicia was with her family, but what if she regretted taking this trip?

“No . . . no, that's not it. Not exactly anyway.” Felicia's brow creased and her lower lip quivered slightly, almost as if she was on the verge of tears.

“What's wrong then?” Emma pulled Felicia aside, looking into her eyes. “I can tell you're upset about something.”

“I didn't want to say anything about it, Emma. Didn't want to spoil our trip.”

“What is it?” Emma demanded. “You have to tell me.”

“It's just that I'm worried about Sofia.” Felicia sighed deeply. “It's silly, really.”

“You mean because Sofia's been sick?” Emma knew that Felicia's little sister had gone through some bad bouts of flu this past winter.

“Yeah . . . She had some tests earlier this week.” Felicia lowered her voice. “For leukemia.”

“Leukemia?” Emma tried to take this in. “Really?”

Felicia attempted a half smile. “I'm sure the results will be just fine. They were supposed to come back this afternoon, but Mom didn't hear back yet. I really shouldn't have mentioned it, Emma. Not right before our big trip. The only reason they tested her was just to rule it out.”

“You were right to tell me.” Emma placed a hand on Felicia's shoulder. “Of course Sofia will be fine. She's just had some stubborn bugs, that's all. I heard this was a bad year for the flu.”

“Yeah.” Felicia nodded. “That's what my parents keep saying too.”

“But I'll be praying for Sofia just the same,” Emma promised. “For her to get completely well.” As they rejoined Emma's mom, Emma knew that she would keep this promise. She would pray for her friend's eight-year-old sister. Even though she felt certain that sweet little Sofia couldn't possibly have a sickness as serious as leukemia, she also knew that Sofia had missed a fair amount of school this winter. It was high time for Felicia's little sister to get well.

Melody Carlson
is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, including
The Jerk Magnet
,
The Best Friend
,
The Prom Queen
,
Double Take
, and the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. Melody recently received a
Romantic Times
Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books. She and her husband live in central Oregon. For more information about Melody, visit her website at
www.melodycarlson.com
.