Page 67 of My Life with the Walter Boys
“Maybe we can arrange for some bleach to end up in your shampoo,” Jordan said. “I always thought you’d look good as a blond.”
“Boys,” Katherine cut in, giving her sons a warning glare.
“Hey, Jackie?” someone said, pulling on my sleeve. I looked down to see Benny staring up at me.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Can you get me a puppy for my birthday?” he asked. Everyone laughed.
***
“That was such a cool present,” Alex told me when we were sitting in anatomy.
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
The ride to school had been slightly uncomfortable. For once in his life, Danny couldn’t shut up. He wouldn’t stop talking about how awesome his present was, and everyone seemed jealous of him. I was starting to think that maybe the ticket had been too much after all.
“Truthfully,” Alex whispered excitedly, “besides the Xbox we all got for Christmas last year, that was best thing anyone has ever gotten.”
“Really?” I asked, feeling even guiltier. I didn’t want Mrs. Walter to be mad at me for getting her son a better gift then she could afford.
Alex nodded his head. “Flying to New York is going to be so fun.”
I finally giggled. “What’s so fun about flying?”
“I don’t know,” Alex said, grinning at me. “I always thought it would be fun.”
My smile dropped. “You’ve never been on a plane before?”
“Nope.”
“Don’t you guys ever go on vacation?” I asked.
“Yeah, we go camping all the time. Oh, and last year my parents saved up enough money to go to Florida for their twenty-first anniversary, but they drove down.”
At the moment, I felt unbelievably spoiled. Back home in New York, when it got really cold, my mother would take me to Miami for the weekend to soak up some sun. I never even considered Florida a vacation.
“Why? Where did your family go on vacation?” Alex asked me.
For a second I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to tell Alex that I had been all over Europe, South America, and even China.
“Oh, you know, just around,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
“Oh, come on. Tell me,” Alex said and elbowed me in the side. When I didn’t answer, he frowned. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I guess I just feel awkward. I didn’t know this was going to be such a big deal. Everyone seemed kind of jealous.” And I don’t know how to act around you anymore, I wanted to add, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Jackie,” Alex responded, staring at me seriously, “what you did for Danny was thoughtful, and sure, some people are probably jealous, but that’s not a bad thing.”
“You sure?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Yup,” he said. “It also means that I expect something cool for Christmas.”
I laughed. “And what would that be?”
“Just a Darth Vader helmet, dual signature edition.”
“What’s that?”
