Christy Miller Collection Vol 4 Part 5

"How does this look?" Katie stepped out on the deck wearing an oversized white T-shirt and shorts.

"Oh my!" Marti said, looking concerned. "Is that the best you can do?"

"Well, this was originally an invitation to go houseboating, not to the prom," Katie said sarcastically. "I would have brought my black sequined evening gown with matching gloves and mink stole if you had told me."

Christy glanced down at her own jean shorts and the rolled-up long-sleeved denim shirt with a torn pocket. I wonder why Aunt Marti didn't criticize my outfit? Does she think a person only has to look good when she's trying to get a boyfriend?

"Let's do this." Marti fussed with the long ends of Katie's T-shirt and tied them into a knot at her right hip. "Much more flattering. Shows off your flat stomach."

Katie laughed, startling Marti. "Thanks for the tip, but I'm not much of a knot-on-the-hip type of person." Katie untied it and let the now-wrinkled shirt hang naturally. "I did put on some makeup. Did anyone notice?"

In the dimming light of the evening sky, Christy hadn't. She and Marti both moved in closer to examine the makeup. It was hard to tell, but in a subtle way Katie's green eyes looked larger and more sparkling.

"There's always your personality." Marti stepped back and gave Katie another up-and-down scan. "You have a wonderful personality. Use it to your advantage, dear."

Then excusing herself to find the boys, Marti waltzed past Christy and Katie and into the bright lights of the houseboat kitchen.

"Use your personality, dear,'" Katie mimicked. "I think I just got slammed big time. What do you think?"

"I think we should both relax a little and enjoy my aunt's game of Enchanted Evening. What do you think?"

"I think..." Katie hesitated. "Never mind what I think. You're right. This could be a lot of fun. Just the four of us. No unexpected angels' dropping by. I hope."

"I don't think so. Natalie's houseboat pulled out while you were in the shower."

"So we just stand here and act casual until the guys show up?"

Just then the motor to the houseboat started, and Bob began to maneuver their way out of the cove and into the main part of the lake.

"What's going on?" Katie asked.

"My uncle wanted to be closer to the marina so we can check in earlier in the morning. Aunt Marti is going to serve our dinners while Bob floats our restaurant under the stars. Pretty fun, don't you think?"

Katie started to brighten up a little. "Yeah, I guess this could be kind of fun. It'd be even more fun if I didn't feel like such a fashion degenerate."

Christy laughed. "You look fine. Look at me though. I'm the slob of the year!"

"Hardly. You always look cute. Even in grubbies you look cute. How do you do that?"

"Do what? I don't do anything."

"That's what I mean," Katie said. "You're one of those people who looks good in anything."

Before Christy had a chance to return a compliment to her insecure friend, the guys entered the kitchen, filling the compact area with their presence. They immediately evoked Marti's laughter.

"What's so funny in there?" Katie asked, trying to peer through the mesh in the screen door.

The guys turned toward them and headed for the back deck. Apparently they had taken Marti's grooming threats to heart. Both guys had parted their hair in the middle and watered it down so that it stuck to their heads. They both had on T-shirts and shorts, but they had constructed bow ties out of paper towels and had somehow fastened them to their T-shirts at the neckline.

"Come meet your dates." Marti said with hints of laughter still tickling her voice. "Right this way, gentlemen."

Marti ushered them out to the deck, where Katie and Christy stood waiting. The guys smiled, and Christy noticed something dark on Doug's upper lip.

"Good evening," Doug greeted them, twitching his face a little and drawing attention to his painted-on mustache. "I'd like to thank whichever one of you left your mascara in the bathroom. I found it very useful."

They all laughed. Todd pulled out his chair and sat down. Doug followed his example. Under Marti's firm glare, Katie and Christy remained standing, waiting for the guys to pull out their chairs.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, miss." Doug caught on before Todd and rose to pull out Katie's chair. "May I?"

Katie graciously lowered herself into the folding chair and played right along. "Oh, thank you ever so much, kind sir. There's nothing like a man with a mustache to add that festive touch to any occasion."

"That's me." Doug pretending to twirl his mustache. "The man with the festive touch."

Todd pulled out Christy's chair, and Marti said, "Please make yourselves comfortable. Your salads are before you, and I shall return momentarily with a basket of bread sticks."

The houseboat slowly motored across the lake as the sun slid behind the hills. A gentle evening breeze rose from off the water.

"Look over there." Todd pointed to the hills to the left. As they watched, the moon rose like a prize-winning harvest pumpkin and lit their table the way a paper lantern lights up a garden party.

"Awesome," Doug said.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Katie asked. "What a perfect night. A *bella notte,' as they say. All we need is spaghetti and meatb.a.l.l.s and a couple of Italian waiters to sing to us."

"Why?" Doug asked.

"Because it feels like the night in that movie when the dogs are eating spaghetti, and the boy dog uses his nose to push the last meatball over to the girl dog."

"Why didn't you say so?" Doug playfully used his nose to nudge the cherry tomato from his salad off his plate and toward Katie. The tomato made it about halfway to Katie's plate before it toppled over the side of the card table and hit the deck with a splat.

"Now we know why they used a meatball in the movie." Doug said dryly.

They all laughed, and Christy felt happy. Very happy. She wondered if Todd was enjoying all this as much as she was. He looked downright silly with his slicked-back hair and paper towel bow tie. She would expect this kind of goofing off from Doug. It was a nice surprise to see Todd acting a little crazy.

Just one more reason to like him so much, Christy thought. I wonder if Todd enjoys being around me as much as I enjoy being with him? The way Doug is teasing Katie, I wonder if he's starting to get more interested in her?

Todd prayed for their food, and they dug in, chatting and dining under the moon. Marti appeared right on cue with two dinner plates steaming with the main course of rice, broccoli, and chicken with some kind of lemon-b.u.t.ter sauce and sprinkled with slivered almonds. Marti served Christy and Katie first and then returned with two plates for the guys.

"Is everything to your liking?" Marti asked.

"Great," Todd said.

Christy thought it looked great except for the nuts. She hated nuts. She'd tried some in the past and had thought they were okay. But now she was back to disliking them. Maybe no one would notice if she discretely sc.r.a.ped off the almonds and pushed them to the side of her plate.

"Do you happen to have any meatb.a.l.l.s?" Doug asked. Christy could tell Marti was a little perturbed that they were being so silly and not acting mature and romantic as she had planned.

"I'm going to put some music on these outside speakers," Marti announced. "Some soothing dinner music to help set the mood for you young people."

A few moments later, the strains of sweet violins surrounded them.

Katie burst out laughing. It's the Italian music we ordered!"

"I like it." Christy quickly defended the cla.s.sical music.

"Are you serious?" Katie asked.

"Of course I'm serious. I love this kind of music. Don't you?"

"Sure, in an elevator or at the dentist's office!"

"I like it too." Todd reached over and gave Christy's arm a tender squeeze. "This is music to touch the heart." He smiled at Christy, and she smiled back.

"Do you kind of get the feeling these two might want to be alone?" Katie said to Doug. "We could always take our dinner plates up on the roof. What do you think?"

Doug seemed to have sobered quickly after all the laughter. Instead of answering Katie, he lifted another bite of chicken to his mouth. "Good dinner."

"I made the rice," Katie said. "Well, actually I boiled the water."

No one seemed to think that was as funny as Katie did. They ate quietly, aware of Marti's ever-watchful gaze. She seemed pleased that the music had apparently tempered their silliness, and she tiptoed in and out as she served dessert.

The quiet must have been too much for Katie, because when the brownie with a cloud of whipped cream on top was served to Doug, Christy spotted a mischievous glint in her friend's eye.

"Eww," Katie said, looking at Doug's dessert and then at hers. "Can you smell that?"

"What?" Doug asked.

Katie daintily sniffed at her whipped cream. "I don't think we should eat this. Can't you smell it?"

"Smell what?" Doug sniffed his dessert. "I don't smell anything."

"Then smell mine." Katie lifted her dessert plate with one hand on the bottom and held it up for Doug to smell. Doug leaned forward. Then Katie let loose with her sweet revenge and shoved the whipped cream and brownie into Doug's unsuspecting face.

"Gotcha!" Katie squealed with delight as Doug peeled the goo off his face. "That's for flipping Christy and me off the raft the first day. Now we're even."

Doug licked at the whipped cream and felt the table in search of his napkin.

"Here you go." Todd removed his bow tie and offered it to Doug. "I knew these things would come in handy."

Katie was still laughing. Marti hurried outside to see what was going on. "What happened here? How did this happen?"

"Just a little accident." Doug said good-naturedly. Half of his pretend mustache had been wiped off by Todd's bow tie. The other half of his face still sported chunks of chocolate and whipped cream. "Could we order one more dessert and maybe a few paper towels out here?"

Katie had dropped her fork during her attack, and as she bent down to pick it up, Doug lifted his empty plate to hand it to Marti. Somehow, the moment Katie's head came up, Doug's long arm swung out, connecting with Katie's face. The plate and his hand slammed into Katie's nose. The plate crashed to the ground, and Katie let out a wail and grabbed her nose. Christy sprang from her chair.

Doug, still wearing his dessert, jumped up and frantically said, "I didn't mean that, Katie. It was an accident. Really. Are you okay? You guys, tell her it was an accident!"

Katie seemed to be trying not to cry, but the tears came and so did a gush of blood from her nose.

"Don't tilt your head back." Todd jumped up and grabbed a corner of the tablecloth to apply to Katie's nose. "Here, put your hand on this and press right here."

Christy stepped back and let Todd take over. The sight of blood on Katie's white T-shirt made Christy feel kind of woozy. It all had happened so fast. The cla.s.sical music still played in the background in cruel contrast to the frenzied activity around the table.

"Don't hold your breath," Todd said, his voice calm and steady. "Try to breathe normally through your mouth. Christy, could you bring me some ice in a plastic bag?"

"Sure." Christy sprang into action and slid past her aunt, who seemed to be frozen in place next to the screen door. Christy grabbed a plastic bag from the cupboard and filled it with ice cubes. She was glad Todd knew what to do. He had probably seen lots of b.l.o.o.d.y noses during his years of surfing.

"Everything okay back there?" Bob called from the captain's seat at the front of the boat.

"Nothing major." Christy called down the hallway. "Katie got a b.l.o.o.d.y nose. It's under control. I think." She slipped out to the deck and handed the bag of ice to Todd. "Can I do anything else?"

"No. thanks. This ought to do it. Hold this ice right here. Katie, with one hand. Good. Now give me your other hand." Todd guided her finger to a pressure point on the gum under her top lip. "Press here. That's good. It should stop bleeding in a minute."

Todd was right. Within a few minutes the crisis had pa.s.sed. Doug wiped the rest of the brownie off his face and said, "Hey, it was totally an accident, Katie. Honest. I didn't see you there."

Katie said in a garbled voice, "That's probably because you had brownies in your eyes."

Everyone let out a short, relieved spurt of laughter. Everyone but Marti. She seemed completely undone. They had ruined her plans for a perfect evening.

"Do you want to share my dessert?" Christy asked, not sure what to say to Katie.

"I'm not exactly hungry anymore." Katie wiped her cheek. "I think I'd better go change."

Even though no one told them to clear the table, the three remaining dinner guests started to gather up the dishes and tear down the romantic dinner for four. The moon was now high above them as Christy blew out the candles and wadded up the soiled tablecloth.

The bella notte had not exactly turned out the way she had hoped.

"No, it's me," Katie whispered to Christy in the darkness. "I know it is."

"No, it's not," Christy immediately responded. "It's the circ.u.mstances, or the guys, but really, Katie, it's not you."

The two of them had traded sleeping quarters with the guys for their final night of the trip and were lying in their sleeping bags on the roof of the houseboat. Nothing was above them but the inky sky flung with thousands of diamonds. The moon had taken its curtain call for the night and slipped behind Mount Shasta.

"I know you're saying all this to be nice to me, Christy, but I'd like to think our friendship is past the point of us lying to each other in the interest of being polite."

"I'm not lying. You don't have a boyfriend, but not because of anything you're doing or not doing. The *right guy just hasn't come along yet. That's all."

"In almost eighteen years not one right guy' has come along, and you think it's not because of me? Think again."

It was silent for a few minutes except for the lulling sound of the water lapping on the houseboat's sides and a few late-night crickets and frogs saying good night to each other.

"Maybe we should pray about it," Christy suggested meekly.

"You mean the way you pray for your future husband and have a shoe box full of letters to him stashed under your bed? I don't think so, Christy. That's not me. I could never write a letter to someone I don't know. And what am I supposed to pray? *G.o.d, bring me a man-now'? I thought really spiritual Christians prayed for patience and stuff like that. Not for boyfriends."

"But, Katie, if G.o.d knows all about us and if He cares about everything that happens to us, then of course you should pray about everything. Even about a boyfriend. G.o.d already knows what would be best for you too."

"I hope you know how easy it is for you to say all that," Katie said quickly. "You have the perfect boyfriend of the universe. Of course you believe G.o.d is giving you His best. It's harder to believe stuff like that when you're like me and no answer to your prayers is sitting next to you holding your hand. I mean, what if G.o.d's best for me is that I don't get a boyfriend?"

"G.o.d still cares, Katie."