In Your Room (16 page)

Mollypop:
nope, not at all.

Mollypop:
your map was perfect.

Mollypop:
i fell asleep for a while on top of all those pine needles—so comfy, who knew?!

Mollypop:
when i woke up there was this amazing bird flying back and forth right out front.

Mollypop:
i’ve never seen one like it.

Snowpeak99:
what’d it look like?

Mollypop:
it was so beautiful…like a red robin.

Mollypop:
but only its stomach was red. he had a blue head and a green back…. it was the coolest thing.

Snowpeak99:
no way. sounds like you saw a painted bunting.

Mollypop:
of course you knew what it was! have you ever seen one?

Snowpeak99:
just once.

Snowpeak99:
they’re incredibly rare in colorado.

Mollypop:
really? well…it was definitely rare to me! this leads to my other news….

Mollypop:
after seeing the bird I suddenly got a design idea.

Mollypop:
and i literally just sat there for hours sketching.

Mollypop:
I didn’t even realize how late it was when i finished.

Snowpeak99:
that’s SO great.

Mollypop:
there’s more.

Mollypop:
i’ve decided to go for the internship.

Mollypop:
i talked to penelope about it and everything.

Snowpeak99:
AWESOME.

Mollypop:
she’s going to help me so i can get it done in time.

Mollypop:
i’m so excited!!! i know i keep saying that but it’s true.

Mollypop:
and it’s all because of you.

Snowpeak99:
i have to see you, molly.

Mollypop:
what do u mean?

Snowpeak99:
i don’t think i can wait till the end of the summer.

Snowpeak99:
i really want to meet u in person and i figured out a way.

Mollypop:
r u serious?

Snowpeak99:
completely.

Mollypop:
how?

Snowpeak99:
i’m going to utah for a weekend to visit my friend dan.

Snowpeak99:
his uncle lives in park city and we go every summer.

Snowpeak99:
it’s a big house with lots of room.

Snowpeak99:
i looked it up and it’s almost exactly halfway between boulder and L.A.

Snowpeak99:
so what i’m saying is…

Snowpeak99:
i really want you to come.

Snowpeak99:
and meet me there for the weekend.

Snowpeak99:
if you think you could get away.

Snowpeak99:
but i don’t want to pressure you or anything.

Mollypop:
wow.

Snowpeak99:
is that a good wow?

Mollypop:
when r u going?

Snowpeak99:
august 1.

Snowpeak99:
u don’t have to answer me now.

Mollypop:
that’s in two weeks…the day i hand in my application.

Snowpeak99:
even more reason to celebrate.

Snowpeak99:
it might seem crazy but I just really want to see you.

Mollypop:
tell me how to get there.

Molly burrowed under the blanket, where she came face-to-face with Yoda, the Jedi Master. She had dug Charlie’s
Star Wars
sheets out from the bottom of the laundry basket and put them back on the bed before going to sleep. They smelled just like his yellow T-shirt. Her spine tingled as she wrapped the sheets around her. In less than two weeks, Charlie’s arms would be enveloping her.

In less than two weeks.
It was real. It was happening. They had stayed up practically all night planning the trip, down to coordinating their arrival in Salt Lake City within an hour of each other. But there was so much to accomplish before Molly could even contemplate getting on that bus.

If she didn’t get started, she would never make it.

She sat up with a start when she heard the sound of an incoming instant message. She had fallen asleep next to her open laptop, which was becoming a habit.

DoctoRina:
I’M HOME!!!!!

Mollypop:
oh, reen! i’m so relieved…. even though i still don’t get to see you, it feels better knowing that you’re back on this continent.

DoctoRina:
so what’s the latest? i’ve spent the last month stuck with my grandparents and fifty thousand relatives so i need gossip.

Mollypop:
you’re never going to believe what’s happened.

DoctoRina:
tell me!!!! i’m dying over here….

Mollypop:
there’s so much, i don’t even know where to start…. first, i’m applying for the internship! i’m so excited, reen. i’m really doing it and i’m going to work my butt off for the next two weeks. penelope said she’s going to help and write my letter and everything.

DoctoRina:
GREAT, molls! you’re totally going to win too. i can feel it.

Mollypop:
there’s more. charlie asked me to meet him in utah for the weekend after i hand in my application.

DoctoRina:
NO. WAY.

Mollypop:
i know…it’s so crazy i kind of can’t believe it either.

DoctoRina:
your mom was cool with it?

Mollypop:
she doesn’t exactly know, and i kinda want to leave it that way.

DoctoRina:
how???

Mollypop:
well…i was hoping that maybe i could say i was with you and your family?

DoctoRina:
in utah??!!

Mollypop:
she’d never find out or have any reason to not believe me…. i’m not psyched about lying to her, but i really can’t risk her saying no.

Mollypop:
i can’t explain how much this trip means to me.

Mollypop:
so please, please, please could you do this one favor for me?

DoctoRina:
on one condition.

Mollypop:
okay…

DoctoRina:
i have to meet him first.

DoctoRina:
it’s not that i don’t trust you, please know that, but i’m the only person in the world who’s gonna know where you really are, so it’d make me feel better if you let me at least talk to the guy first.

Mollypop:
that seems fair…but please at least pretend you’re picking something up for me so he doesn’t think i’m spying on him or anything??

DoctoRina:
like what?

Mollypop:
how about the silver thimble in my sewing basket?

DoctoRina:
the one i gave you?

Mollypop:
yup! :)

Mollypop:
and reen?

DoctoRina:
yeah?

Mollypop:
please like him!

DoctoRina:
if you do, i’m sure he’s great.

• • •

Molly arrived at the store an hour early so she could get right to work on her application. The designs she’d sketched in the cave had come out so well that now she just had to narrow them down to her top five for her portfolio. From that group, she’d select her favorite to make as the prototype for her collection. She took out her key to unlock the shop’s door, but it was already open.

It was dark inside, except for a glow coming from the back room. “Hello?” she called out.

Penelope emerged a minute later with a broom and cloth in hand.

“What are you doing here so early?” Molly asked, relieved that it was Penelope and not some burglar.

“There you are. Just in time. Come here, I want to show you something.”

Molly followed Penelope into the storage room and stood, mouth agape, at the door. It was unrecognizable. All the boxes had been unpacked and cleared out. The once cluttered shelves had been tidied and lined with vintage accessories from costume jewelry to handbags. But best of all, a large drafting table had appeared and now sat in the center of the room with a sewing machine placed on top. “I can’t believe all this. Penelope, it’s…I don’t even know what to say.”

“Well, good, because there’s no time to chat. We need to get going. I made a list of all the fabric stores in the area. If you don’t find anything there, we can close early and head into Denver. They have a much bigger selection.”

“Thanks, but I kind of was hoping I could use something from here and, you know, recycle the fabric.”

“Honey, you can use anything in this store—whether it’s for sale or hanging off my back—but are you sure you don’t want to pick exactly what you had in mind?”

“This
is
what I had in mind. There are so many beautiful things here right in front of us.” She took a white cotton eyelet dress off the rack and held it up. “I mean, look at this. I could dye the fabric and use it to ruffle the collar. Oh, and I decided which dress I want to make.” She walked over to the table and opened the sketchbook to the correct page. “It’s this one here.”

Penelope looked at the design and smiled. “It’s perfect.”

“Guess who I’m going to see, little guy,” Charlie said, rubbing Cheese’s chin. “That’s right, your favorite person!”

He’d double-checked the Greyhound schedule from both L.A. and Boulder to Salt Lake City and then bought their tickets online. He made sure his bus got in first so he could get Molly flowers and scope out a place to eat when she arrived. They were going to have an hour together before catching the bus to Park City, and he wanted to make sure they could spend it somewhere nice. It was weird to think that in twelve days he’d be sitting right in front of her, face-to-face. He’d finally be able to touch her smooth, pale skin and see her dark, mysterious eyes up close.

“Charlieeeee! There’s someone here to see you,” Heather screamed from downstairs.

Charlie turned to look at Cheese, who was sitting on the pillow next to him. He still hadn’t left the room or gotten out of bed, and it was almost
noon. “Who could it be, gray man?”

He threw on a pair of sweats and had a shirt halfway over his head on his way out the door when he ran smack into someone standing on the other side. “Oh, man, are you okay? I didn’t see you.”

“I’m sorry, your sister told me to come up. I was about to knock.”

He pulled the shirt all the way on and saw who it was. He recognized her immediately. “Wait, you’re Rina, right?”

She nodded. “I suppose Molly told you I’d be dropping by.”

“She didn’t, but I’ve heard about you,” he explained. “And you’re all over the wall.” He pointed toward Molly’s collage.

“Right, the wall. Oh, hey, Cheese.” Rina ran over to pick him up, but he darted away and took refuge behind Charlie’s legs. Rina tilted her head and squinted at Charlie. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought she was sizing him up. “Wow, he likes you.”

Charlie shrugged. “So did Molly send you to vouch for me?”

She looked up, busted. “Actually, it was my idea. I kind of insisted on it.”

He smiled and sat down on the bed. “Well, ask me anything you want.”

Rina blushed. “This seems so awkward now.”

“Don’t worry—I get it. I’m glad Molly has someone like you, looking out for her and everything.”

Rina paused. “Are you for real and do you have a brother?”

Charlie laughed. “I’m not as great as I seem, but I guess I shouldn’t be telling you that.”

“Now I see why you two get along so well. You both have that modesty thing down to a tee.”

“So, do you have any tips for me? For when we meet?”

“I don’t think you need my help.” She looked around the room and suddenly remembered Molly’s request. “Oops, I almost forgot, Molly actually did want me to get something for her.” She pulled the sewing basket out from under the desk and rummaged through until she found it. “Her lucky thimble.”

“Her lucky thimble?” Charlie repeated, laughing.

“That’s Molls. She has her quirks,” Rina said, sliding the basket back under the desk. “Well, it was great meeting you—”

“Rina? Is that you?” Celeste sauntered into the room and tossed her bag on the bed before coming over to hug Rina. “When did you get back?”

“Last night. I’m so incredibly jet-lagged. I was in India,” she explained to Charlie.

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “Oh, cool.”

“What are you doing here?” Rina asked.

Charlie braced himself for Celeste’s response, hoping she wouldn’t say anything that Rina would misinterpret and relay back to Molly.

Celeste pointed at the closet. “Borrowing a Molly special for an event tonight.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “What about you?”

“Picking this up for Molly,” Rina said, holding out the thimble.

“Awesome,” Celeste said. “That hopefully means she’s making something new I can borrow!”

While Celeste was perusing Molly’s wardrobe, Charlie walked Rina to the door. When he got back to his room, Celeste was standing half-naked, wearing only a black lace bra and matching underwear. “Um…what are you doing?”

“It’s nothing you don’t want to see.” She caught his eye in the mirror’s reflection.

“Put some clothes on,” he said, turning away.

“What’s
your
problem today?” She put her shirt back on. “You can turn around now.”