The Bookworm Next Door: The Expanded and Revised Edition (18 page)

But that was before Kyle wisely interrupted with, "Have any of you ever seen
You've Got Mail
?" With the nodding of several heads, including David's, Kyle went on. "My mom made me watch that with her last night. I thought Joe Fox was a genius for befriending Kathleen before letting her know that they were e-mailing each other. She hated him and he managed to get her to trust him before he ruined what was possibly a good thing for the both of them."

The last bit was directed at David and he knew well enough to take a hint and the good advice that Kyle was giving.

Rolling his eyes, Kyle concluded his message. “I think my mom was trying to give me a message about being friends first, but my dad started dragging me to the weight room as soon as the credits started rolling.”

Jennifer, never one to miss an opportunity to say something she shouldn’t say, blurted out.  “I heard that your father was an ass.”

“Jennifer!” Delilah hissed.

“What?  I can’t help it if I overhear how much Mr. Goldman is a bastard.”  She looked around at her friends.

“See,” Penny sighed, “this is why I wish you guys wanted to try out my swear jar idea.”

“Swear jar?” Kyle asked.

Penny turned to answer his question, “My mom set up a broken rules jar at home, but mostly it’s used as a swear jar for every time my dad cusses.”  Sending a glare at her friends, “I’d suggested it a few years ago with the idea that we could use that money to do something fun with it once the jar is full.”

“But…” Delilah interrupted, “it wouldn’t have been fair to Jennifer who lets out a string of foul language at least once day, sometimes twice.”

“Although,” Wesley added with a smirk, “Grace would have given Jennifer a run for her money the other day when her younger brother backed her car into a concrete post.”  Thinking back on it, “I think she beat Jennifer’s record and Jennifer hadn’t even heard of some of the words Grace had used.”

“I saw that movie a few times,” Grace breathed.  She purposely was bringing the group back to the conversation Kyle had started and away from the swear jar and her uncharacteristic outburst on Wednesday.  She also didn’t like the way that Kyle was looking at Jennifer even though Wesley was talking about her. 

This feeling of jealously made her feel extremely uncomfortable.  Her! Jealous!  She was never jealous!

Penny, always the quick and observant one, "You are right.  They wouldn't have worked out if he hadn't of done that. Although, my mom made me watch the original,
Little Shop on the Corner
, and I have to say that it is better than the remake."

"Even Mr. Darcy did the same thing for Elizabeth Bennet," Delilah added. "He was falling in love with her.  Once he realized that he wouldn't gain her affection by his arrogant demeanor he changed, even though he knew that the chances of meeting her again were slim."

The table, except David and Kyle, groaned. They were used to the random
Pride and Prejudice
references from their resident Austen 'expert', but sometimes it got old when they were talking about other movies and books. Penny wondered if David's gift, because yes she had figured that out too based on the way David was looking at Delilah, of a different book by a different author would push her friend away from her Mr. Darcy obsession.

              Kyle found that he liked sitting with this new lunch table.  He hoped that Penny wouldn’t make him edit his articles every single day, but he respected her dedication to the newspaper.  It also meant that he got to meet Jennifer and Grace up close instead of at a distance.  Grace seemed sweet, but the pesky voice of his father in his head told him to get to know Jennifer better.  He imagined that she would fit nicely into the social world where his father constantly reminded Kyle to be diligent about appearances.  Jennifer’s golden brown hair and medium height would match nicely with his build and coloring. 

He would have thought differently if he could have heard what Jennifer had whispered to Delilah and Grace.  

Delilah held the red cover in her hands; the used paperback copy looked like a theatre curtain and the simple design appealed to her senses. The used stamp on the inside cover was enough to tell her that this secret admirer wisely had picked up the book from Mr. Ray’s bookstore, The Book Nook, which sold both new and used books.  She hated some of the new covers that one of the major classics publishers were putting on the books; she felt as if they were making the books seem shallow and superficial despite the depth of reading material that could be found amongst the pages.

Seconds later, after curling up in her favorite chair that overlooked the tree house in the backyard, Delilah cracked open the cover carefully.  She could feel the lack of resistance that only a well-loved book can create.  With enthusiasm she dove into the struggles of a second wife trying to find her footing with a household staff that adored the seemingly perfect first wife, Rebecca.

When the natural light started to fade as the sun settled behind the Carver’s house, she switched on a lamp and continued reading.  Delilah only put the book down to go downstairs for supper, finish some homework, shower, and then went to bed with the book back in her hands. The obsessed reader inside of her managed to get a third of the way through the book before falling asleep.

What she wasn’t aware of was that David was reading his own copy on his backyard patio waiting and hoping that Delilah would slip out of her kitchen door and head towards the tree house to hide away with what he hoped would become one of her new treasures.  Everybody in the surrounding area knew that the treehouse was Delilah’s favorite place to read.

He had four more books – two titles - hidden safely away under his bed, still in the bookstore bag. Two of them were books he’d planned on putting in Delilah’s locker and the other two was his own copy to read while Delilah, hopefully, read hers
. Pride and Prejudice
had been finished on Thursday night and in a vague attempt at ‘improving his mind,’ Delilah’s words from long ago, and making himself worthy of Delilah's attention, his words, he started reading the book he had given Delilah.  David was finding
Rebecca
as more of a ‘what not to do in trying to win over the fair maiden next door’ guide.

It wasn’t until his mother called him down for dinner that he had a bigger surprise than he had expected. He became aware of two things at almost precisely the same time: Aimee was sitting at the exact same spot in the living room where she had been sitting a couple of nights before, and his mother saw the book that was still in his hands.

Aimee simply smiled at David with her practiced and perfected ‘there are parents nearby’ smile while ignoring his grimace and playing at being an innocent bystander. "I was just asking your mother if everything was okay. You’ve been acting so strange lately."

Mrs. Carver observed the pained expression on her youngest son's face and how he was bending and twisting the book with his hands. She could think of only one bookworm that her son could possibly know, but she was obsessed with Austen and the puzzle pieces that were her son just weren’t connecting together.

"Aimee, dear, what do you like to read?" She would almost swear that her son had hidden the poor, mangled book behind his back as soon as she asked that question.

Aimee laughed her parent laugh.  It was a sweet and innocent sound that managed to hide all of her previous ugly thoughts and misdeeds that had gone undetected.  "I don't have time to read. With cheerleading and my friends, all I have time for is
Seventeen
and
Cosmo
. It would make homework easier if I was well-read, but
Beowulf
and
Wuthering Heights
bore me."

The girl’s eyes went wide when she noticed the displayed copy of
Wuthering Heights
– it was a present his father had given his mother.  There was a giant bookcase loaded down with books that was displayed prominently in the living room.  It made things very difficult for anybody to miss that a reader lived in that house; even when people were sitting with their back towards it.  The large mirror on the other side of the room reflected the wall of books.

She had been trying so hard to win over Mrs. Carver so that David would like her and realize that he was making a mistake by fawning over Delilah Davis.  She had been perfectly fawning and the ideal girl… until that moment. 

"Mother, I'm not feeling well," David interjected, feeling as tense as his words implied.

He was well aware of the mistake that Aimee had just made; it was two-fold: image was everything when trying to impress parents and
Wuthering Heights
was his mother's favorite book. 

Rebecca Carver, managing to cover her shock and disappointment, reacted instantly, "Of course. Aimee, this might not actually be the best time for you to stay for dinner.  I'll let David inform you when you can come over again." Her tone mimicked her son's. She was so stiff that she appeared icy.

David wondered if Aimee was secretly taking notes on mastering that expressionless look; she used a similar one enough at school, but her look had nothing on the one his mom currently wore.

Well aware of her dismissal, Aimee looked stricken before slowly recovering with her practiced sweet smile and artless expression, but the damage had already been done. Bidding Mrs. Carver and David good night, Aimee disappeared out of the front door and decided to go back to the drawing board.

David knew that there was no way that Aimee was finished plotting; if only he could figure out what she was planning to do next. It made no sense for her to come over when she had so easily and willingly helped destroy his social life.

"Oh that girl!" Mrs. Carver exclaimed once she heard the door shut.  She had trouble understanding how anybody could find
Wuthering Heights
boring.

Okay, certainly the first five chapters dragged along slowly, but after that the plot picked up and she could barely put the book down. Even today she would skip those five chapters and dig right into Cathy and Heathcliff's complicated romance.

              Pulling over to the side of the road as soon as she was out of sight, Aimee parked the car in an attempt to regroup.

              “Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn,” she shrieked, pounding on her steering wheel with each word.  “How did that fall apart so quickly?  I had his mother eating out the palm of my hand!”

              Pulling out her phone, she dialed a now familiar number, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that his mother loves to read?” 

              “Most phone calls begin with a, ‘hello’ or other sort of greeting before getting down to business,” Will retorted. 

              “Screw that!”

              Will rolled his eyes, more amused than worried and grateful that she couldn’t see his eye roll. “I haven’t been over to David’s house in weeks.  How am I supposed to remember something like his mother liking to read?”

              “She has an entire wall in the living room that is only built-in shelves!  These shelves are loaded down with books!  There are books in front of and on top of other books!”

              “It’s not my fault that you failed to notice that wall before running your mouth,” Will mumbled, barely coherent.  “This isn’t just your non-existent relationship that is on the line here; it seems like David was well-liked and was keeping my popularity going because he was my friend.  I can’t have Kyle and Wesley snubbing me after practice like they did yesterday.” 

              Aimee growled and suddenly Will was thankful that he was on the other end of a phone connection instead of having this conversation face to face with her.  “This has nothing to do with your inability to control the people who are supposed to be your friends.  David is mine and the sooner everybody realizes it the better.  Fix this!” 

              Without waiting for another word from Will, she ended the call and threw her phone into the passenger seat. 

              Will stared at his phone for a moment, watching the screen fade to black.  For the first time ever, he wondered just how obsessed Aimee was with David and if he should be concerned. 

              Then he remembered his agreement with Aimee.  David for Hannah.