The Invitation

“Aaron pack a bag! We’re going camping!” cried her friend over the phone.

            “What? Right this second?”

            “Yes, we’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Bethany laughed. Aaron sighed and jumped off her bed; she hugged the phone to her head and made her way up the basement stairs.

            “Alright, let me go talk to my mom really quick. I’ll call you back,” Aaron smacked her phone shut and stepped into her mom’s private office. “Hey mom?”

            “Yes Aaron? What do you need?” sighed her mom from behind her oak desk. Aaron stared at her mom, wondering how she was even related to this person. Her mom sat in a tall, black leather chair in a crisp black business suit. Her hair was styled elegantly into a bun on the back of her head, pulling all of the hair away from her thin beautiful face. Aaron thought about how when her mom went to the store with her, men always threw second glances over their shoulders at her mom, not that her mom ever noticed.

            “Um, Bethany is leaving tomorrow morning to go camping with her family. Am I allowed to go with her?”

            “Actually that would be perfect. I have to go to Chicago for the weekend and I was worried about leaving you alone. When would you be back?”

            “Two weeks and a few days,” Aaron sighed, waiting for the shut down.

            “I guess that’s okay. You better start packing if you want to go. Just call me when you are on the way home and just make sure you’re safe,” said her mom, with that she turned away from Aaron and started digging around in her file cabinet.

            Shaking off the shock, Aaron raced out of the room and down the stairs to her bedroom. Flipping open her phone she dialed in Bethany’s number and resisted bouncing around the room as she waited for her friend to pick up the phone.

            “Hello? Aaron, what did your mom say? Are you totally shut out?” Bethany sputtered into the phone. Just like Aaron, she was expecting Aaron’s mom to say no.

            “Um B, you are not going to believe this! Mom said yes! She has to go in to Chicago for this big meeting thing so I think she was feeling stressed about that or something. I’m not sure but it doesn’t matter, I get to go!” Aaron laughed.

            “Dude! That’s great! Serena and I will be there to pick you up tomorrow morning around 6:30, okay?”

            “Yeah that’s fine. I’m going to go pack. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She threw the phone on her bed and ran across the basement floor and threw open her closet doors. She crouched down in the back of the closet and dragged a large suitcase out from under a shelf of shoes. Throwing the case on her bed she started taking armfuls of clothes out of her closet, folding them and fitting them gently in the suitcase. Brightly colored sundresses were piled in next to blouses and shorts. She opened her drawers and folded delicates into the folds of the suitcase. Five different bathing suits were laid across the top of her third huge suitcase. Aaron smiled, staring at the load of clothes in front of her; she still couldn’t believe that she was allowed to go.

            On the bed her phone went crazy, vibrating across her pillow. Jumping over her suitcases, she snatched up the phone, checked the caller ID and flipped it open.

            “Hey Beth, what’s up?” She smiled into the phone.

            “Nothing, um, we have a little issue.” Aaron’s smile dropped, a pit forming in the bottom of her stomach.

            “What’s going on?” she asked.

            “Serena’s boss just called, she can’t go anymore and all the other cars are full,” Bethany explained. Aaron resisted groaning, her mind whirling, trying to find a solution.

            “What if we found another driver?” she reasoned.

            “Well than obviously or problem would be solved but your mom is going to Chicago, you don’t have an extra car,” Beth said, thinking farther than Aaron’s mind had wanted to go.

            “Hold on. Let me go talk to my mom,” Aaron said. She kept the phone to her head and made the journey back up to her mom’s office. Sliding through the open door she stood in front of her mom’s desk and covered the bottom of her cell phone and lowered it to her waist.

            “Mom?”

            “Yes Aaron. What do you need?” Her mom sighed. Aaron was hit with a wave of déjà vu and stifled a laugh.

            “Are you taking the car to Chicago?”

            “I was planning on it. Why do you ask?”

            “Well Serena isn’t able to go on the trip anymore and she was going to be the one driving me and Beth.”

            “I do not see where the problem is. Get one of the other people going to give you guys a ride,” her mom said.

            “Beth thought about that. She checked with everybody going and, like, all the other cars are full. There is no more room.” Aaron gulped; saying out loud caused her to realize how hopeless their situation was. Her mom sighed, thinking of a plan of her own.

            “Aaron this has become a bigger problem than it started as,” her mom sighed. Aaron understood the saying, her mom was about to give up on her. “Alright. Hang up the phone. I have a solution.” Aaron swallowed the lump in her throat and placed the phone against her head again.

            “B, let me call you back,” she said.

            “Okay, call me soon!” Beth cheered. Aaron smiled at her friend’s optimism and flipped the phone shut and shoved it in her pocket. Her mom had risen from her desk and was standing next to her. Sensing the conversation had ended, her mom grabbed Aaron’s arm and led her out of the office. They moved across the house and out into the backyard. In the back of the yard was a large shed, when her brother came home from college he liked to do projects with Aaron in the shed. They’d made birdhouses, a doghouse, and they were working on building a dollhouse for their cousin’s daughter. Her mom led her across the yard and to the large metal door that stood shut and locked tight with a code pad. She stared at her mom in confusion, how was the solution in the shed filled with wood and tools.

            “James and I were planning on giving this to you for your 16^th birthday, considering you need this now and you’ll be away for your 16^th birthday this year. We’ll celebrate when you get back and you get one of your presents now,” her mom explained, her voice softening from the cold, professional tone she had adopted as a habit of her job. The knot in Aaron’s stomach relaxed, this couldn’t be all bad.

            Aaron watched her mom’s slender fingers punch out a code and stood back, watching the heavy door lift up. Inside was an unfamiliar sight, a large object covered by a heavy sheet. Her brother’s workbenches had been pushed aside to make room. The half finished dollhouse was stored delicately in the corner away from the large object. Black rubber wheels stuck out from under the white cloth.

            “No way! Mom!” Aaron screamed. She spun out of her mom’s grip and engulfed her in a hug. Awkwardly, her mom hugged her back and then shrugged out of her arms, indicating that she should ‘unwrap’ her present.

            Aaron rushed forward, tearing the cover off the car. Underneath sat a shiny, black 1967 Ford Convertible Mustang. Aaron rounded the side of her new car, hand running along the side of the glossy finish. She couldn’t believe this was happening! What were the odds?

            “Happy early birthday Aaron,” her mom smiled and without saying anything else, she walked back across the yard and into the house to give Aaron time to ogle at her new prize. Wiggling her phone out of her pocket, she punched in Bethany’s number and waited.

            “Hey? Anything new?” Bethany asked, hopeful.

            “For sure! You’ll never believe it. I can’t even believe it,” Aaron laughed.

            “Well? Tell me!”

            “No way. You, my friend, will have to wait until tomorrow morning. I will pick you up at 6:00 cool?”

            “Fine whatever, but that is not even fair.” Bethany giggled and clicked off the line. Aaron shoved her phone back in her pocket and stood staring at her car in disbelief. Then it hit her, where were the car keys? Her jaw dropped, her mom wouldn’t be that malicious would she? Aaron flipped down the sun visor, nothing; the seat cushions, nothing; the glove box, JACKPOT! The keys sat gleaming on a folded up map of Ohio. Aaron laughed and snatched them up. She checked the time, she had time. Sliding into the driver’s seat she clicked the key into the ignition and turned. The car roared to life, lights flaring on the dashboard.

            Carefully, Aaron pulled out of the workshop and through the backyard, watching for her mother’s flowers. She bounced out onto the street and took off towards the OSU campus. She crossed the river, turning off onto Cannon Dr. and stopping in front of Morrill Tower. She flipped open her phone and dialed her brother’s number.

            “Hey kid, what’s up?” he said, picking up.

            “Hey where are you right now?”

            “Tower, why?” he asked, confused. She stifled a laughed and stared up at where she knew his room to be.

            “Come down, please,” she stretched out the please, making him laugh.

            “Why should I?” he joked but she could hear him moving around.

            “Because I am asking you to and you love me,” she smiled. People walking past on the sidewalks stared at her, she stared back but her dark sunglasses hid her eyes.

            “Alright kiddo, I’m on my way down the elevator now.”

            “Good,” and without another word, she snapped the phone shut. She waited, picking at the thin Razr phone in her hand. She had a thing for flip phones and she loved her Razr. The bright blue color shimmered in the sunlight. She glanced up and watched as her brother walked out of the tall building. She’d heard from almost all her girl friends that her brother was a hunk, not that anybody said hunk anymore. He had sandy blonde hair cut close to his face with a strong square jaw. He was tall, a gift from their father, over 6’7” with a lean, muscled body from playing football in high school. Catching sight of the obviously familiar car, he smiled and waved at her behind the wheel.

            “You weren’t supposed to find out yet!” he called across the yard. She laughed. She couldn’t help but notice the heads that turned back to glance at her brother. She herself earned a few jealous glances. He skipped across the grass, sliding up to the passenger side of her car.

            “Early present,” she laughed.

            “How so?” he asked. She explained the situation to him, he listened quietly nodding every now and then. She finished her story and there was silence. James still stood outside her car, hands resting on the door.

            “Are you getting in or are you just going to stand there?” she asked jokingly.

            “You’re not going to be home for your birthday?” there was no laughter in his voice.

            “No but mom said we’re going to celebrate after I get back,” she reasoned.

            “It’s your 16^th birthday though Aaron.” Her heart dropped, he called her Aaron; he only did that when he was mad at her. She sighed.

            “We’re spending time together right now, I mean, it’s not like I’m not coming back.” She could hear her voice pleading with him, begging him to forgive her but wasn’t sure there was something to forgive.

            “Maybe now isn’t enough!” he growled, turning a few heads. Despite his anger, he pulled opened the door and slid into the car. She waited for him to pull the seatbelt across his chest before she pulled away from the tower. They drove in silence, well as silent as it can get in a convertible with the top down. Her dark crimson hair whipped behind her head and her dark Aviator sunglasses hung lightly on her cheekbones. She could feel James gaze flicker on and off her face. 

Author's Note

I just thought of this story line and I'm not sure whether to run with it or not. This is just what I have so far. Let me know what you think!

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[Sylvana]

Ich mag, ja? (;