Dusk Til Dusk And Back Again
Chapter Three- Bigamy and Debbie Harry
I ran full speed back home. I fully believe Kate when she said she’d leave without me. I didn’t really care about the stupid party but I did want to get to the music store in the mall.
“Where have you been?” said Kate in an accusing tone.
“I went for a run.”
“Yea you smell like it.”
“Thanks.” I said glaring at her. I went into the kitchen to find my mum baking what looked like an apple pie. She was going through a cooking channel phase. We’re hoping she’ll get over it soon ‘cause frankly she isn’t that gifted with a spatula.
“Mum, I met the new people who moved into that house on Wicker Lane. She wants to met you sometime.”
“Ooo any sons?” piped in my sister
“Um…” I didn’t actually want to tell her but she knows when I lie to her about possible boyfriends “Yea two.” I said after a while “Both too young for you.” I added quickly.
“Oh.” She said with a sulky face
“Kate why are you always so mean to poor Jason. He loves you so much and you have been dating for ages.”
“He needs to learn that I can’t be tied down to one person.” Said Kate matter-of-factly “I am a free woman”
I left the room quickly and left mum and Kate to argue a bit more about her boyfriend and her two-timing qualities with flawed feminist backups.
I showered in the bathroom on the second floor and then went up to my room. I turned on my stereo and danced around to The Bangles as I got dressed in the first things I picked up off the floor.
I then checked to see if the coast was clear i.e. Mum was back to her baking and Kate was…being Kate. Seemed like things had calmed, Mum was yelling at the TV about how she had burnt her pie even though she had followed the instructions carefully and Kate was reading about bikini waxes in a Cosmopolitan magazine. May I present the stereotype of our generation, everyone!
Though it may not seem like it to the untrained eye, I get on pretty well with my sister. Well enough that I don’t harbour a secret desire to go into her bedroom while she sleeps and cut off all her hair, but I wouldn’t say we were best friends.
She proved this fact by looking up from her ‘educational’ article, looking me over, giving me an ‘I’m hoping she’s adopted look’ and saying in a flat tone
“I think I need to pick you out a new wardrobe.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I said indignantly looking down at my outfit. I had on my favourite skinny dark grey jeans with a tight fitting white singlet top with an inverted print of Debbie Harry on it and my ‘worn’ black Converse sneakers. I had my hair pulled into a messy ponytail and I had even secured it with a few bobby pins, which is very unusual for me. I thought I looked good.
Kate apparently did not think so highly of my ensemble.
“It’s so…drab.” She said making a face “I can’t let you wear that.”
“Well you’ll just have to live with it cause I like it.” I said with an attempted finality in my tone. She gave up.
“Okay lets go. I want to stop in at Marian’s Salon and get an appointment. My nail beds are worse than…
“Britney Spears’ acting?” I suggested “Dolly Parton’s face lift? McDonald’s salads? American Idol? Actresses turned singers? Mum’s baking?”
“I was going to say ‘ever’.” She gave be a look like she smelt something bad “Why do you have to be so… cynical?”
Wow she knows what cynical means. And can use it in a sentence… Sort of.
“Let’s just go now.” I said before I started myself on a rant that would be long, imaginative and probably graphic in one-way or another.
We finally left the house twenty minutes later after Kate decided that she needed to re-do her make-up because ‘all the stress’ had made it lose it’s ‘freshness’. I made the mistake of rolling my eyes –a common habit of mine- and I earned a lecture on how important it is to respect your make-up.
Kate made sure that the soft top on the Mustang was down so that everyone in the neighbourhood could see her. Actually the person she wanted to make sure saw her was Chase Davis who Kate had ‘a thing’ for and with now I think about it, he was the one hosting the party tomorrow night.
When I voiced this Kate just replied
“Jose, I have a boyfriend. Duh.” As if that actually meant anything to her.
When we drove down Wicker Lane Gerard and Mikey just happened to be still unloading boxes from the back of a SUV.
“Ooo are they the new guys?” said Kate “That one with the black hair is hot! Is he single?”
“You have a boyfriend remember?” I reminded her pointedly
“Oh don’t be so old-fashioned, Jose!”
“Because bigamy is so in right now.”
“Well I want to met them.” She said starting to turn into their drive way behind the SUV.
“Kate no!”
“Too late.” She said as she put on the hand break and slid from the car –especially so she didn’t wrinkle her mini-.
“Hey I’m Kate, Jo’s sister.” She said with a cheesy ‘look at me’ smile.
“I’m Gerard.” He said raising his eyebrows at me over Kate’s shoulder. I shrugged apologetically.Gerard looked confused. “You’ll see.” I mouthed
“and I’m Mikey” said Mikey leaning against the car with two large boxes piled in his hands.
“We were just going shopping for tomorrow night’s party. Are you two coming?” asked Kate with over-the-top eyelash batting. “To the party I mean.”
“Err…no we’re not.”
“Awww! Why not?! It’ll be fun with you there.” She casually placed her hand on his arm. Oh she’s good.
“We are …still setting things up here. And we don’t know anyone yet.”
“Oh well you know me!” Kate said with a beauty-queen laugh “and Jo and I will introduce you to people. They’d get along with Frank don’t you think?” she asked me looking for her shoulder to where I was sitting on the front of the Mustang.
“Um…yea sure. I mean they both… have y-chromosomes…” I said and when Kate gave me a ‘God you’re so weird’ look I added, “Well it’s a start!”
“Yea thanks but I think we’ll have to pass.”
“Oh.” Kate said with a pouty face.
“Nice top.” Gerard said to me “Hanging On The Telephone a definite best but One Way or Another a close second.”
Boy knows 80s pop. Always a good sign.
“Who is it?” said Kate with a slightly disgusted look at my top.
“Debbie Harry.” Gerard, Mikey and I said at the same time. I smiled at them. Kate continued to look confused.
“From Blondie” dumb look continues
“It’s a band.” And again
“From the 80s” intelligence is limited in my family
“Okay never mind.” I said finally and she giggled like she was in on a joke and smiled at Gerard.
“Okay well we have to go.” I said, “See you two at school.”
“I’m so upset you won’t be there tomorrow.” Cooed Kate
“You’ll live.” I mumbled
We got back in the car.
“And that is why I don’t introduce you to people.” I said
“What?” she said innocently.
“Where have you been?” said Kate in an accusing tone.
“I went for a run.”
“Yea you smell like it.”
“Thanks.” I said glaring at her. I went into the kitchen to find my mum baking what looked like an apple pie. She was going through a cooking channel phase. We’re hoping she’ll get over it soon ‘cause frankly she isn’t that gifted with a spatula.
“Mum, I met the new people who moved into that house on Wicker Lane. She wants to met you sometime.”
“Ooo any sons?” piped in my sister
“Um…” I didn’t actually want to tell her but she knows when I lie to her about possible boyfriends “Yea two.” I said after a while “Both too young for you.” I added quickly.
“Oh.” She said with a sulky face
“Kate why are you always so mean to poor Jason. He loves you so much and you have been dating for ages.”
“He needs to learn that I can’t be tied down to one person.” Said Kate matter-of-factly “I am a free woman”
I left the room quickly and left mum and Kate to argue a bit more about her boyfriend and her two-timing qualities with flawed feminist backups.
I showered in the bathroom on the second floor and then went up to my room. I turned on my stereo and danced around to The Bangles as I got dressed in the first things I picked up off the floor.
I then checked to see if the coast was clear i.e. Mum was back to her baking and Kate was…being Kate. Seemed like things had calmed, Mum was yelling at the TV about how she had burnt her pie even though she had followed the instructions carefully and Kate was reading about bikini waxes in a Cosmopolitan magazine. May I present the stereotype of our generation, everyone!
Though it may not seem like it to the untrained eye, I get on pretty well with my sister. Well enough that I don’t harbour a secret desire to go into her bedroom while she sleeps and cut off all her hair, but I wouldn’t say we were best friends.
She proved this fact by looking up from her ‘educational’ article, looking me over, giving me an ‘I’m hoping she’s adopted look’ and saying in a flat tone
“I think I need to pick you out a new wardrobe.”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I said indignantly looking down at my outfit. I had on my favourite skinny dark grey jeans with a tight fitting white singlet top with an inverted print of Debbie Harry on it and my ‘worn’ black Converse sneakers. I had my hair pulled into a messy ponytail and I had even secured it with a few bobby pins, which is very unusual for me. I thought I looked good.
Kate apparently did not think so highly of my ensemble.
“It’s so…drab.” She said making a face “I can’t let you wear that.”
“Well you’ll just have to live with it cause I like it.” I said with an attempted finality in my tone. She gave up.
“Okay lets go. I want to stop in at Marian’s Salon and get an appointment. My nail beds are worse than…
“Britney Spears’ acting?” I suggested “Dolly Parton’s face lift? McDonald’s salads? American Idol? Actresses turned singers? Mum’s baking?”
“I was going to say ‘ever’.” She gave be a look like she smelt something bad “Why do you have to be so… cynical?”
Wow she knows what cynical means. And can use it in a sentence… Sort of.
“Let’s just go now.” I said before I started myself on a rant that would be long, imaginative and probably graphic in one-way or another.
We finally left the house twenty minutes later after Kate decided that she needed to re-do her make-up because ‘all the stress’ had made it lose it’s ‘freshness’. I made the mistake of rolling my eyes –a common habit of mine- and I earned a lecture on how important it is to respect your make-up.
Kate made sure that the soft top on the Mustang was down so that everyone in the neighbourhood could see her. Actually the person she wanted to make sure saw her was Chase Davis who Kate had ‘a thing’ for and with now I think about it, he was the one hosting the party tomorrow night.
When I voiced this Kate just replied
“Jose, I have a boyfriend. Duh.” As if that actually meant anything to her.
When we drove down Wicker Lane Gerard and Mikey just happened to be still unloading boxes from the back of a SUV.
“Ooo are they the new guys?” said Kate “That one with the black hair is hot! Is he single?”
“You have a boyfriend remember?” I reminded her pointedly
“Oh don’t be so old-fashioned, Jose!”
“Because bigamy is so in right now.”
“Well I want to met them.” She said starting to turn into their drive way behind the SUV.
“Kate no!”
“Too late.” She said as she put on the hand break and slid from the car –especially so she didn’t wrinkle her mini-.
“Hey I’m Kate, Jo’s sister.” She said with a cheesy ‘look at me’ smile.
“I’m Gerard.” He said raising his eyebrows at me over Kate’s shoulder. I shrugged apologetically.Gerard looked confused. “You’ll see.” I mouthed
“and I’m Mikey” said Mikey leaning against the car with two large boxes piled in his hands.
“We were just going shopping for tomorrow night’s party. Are you two coming?” asked Kate with over-the-top eyelash batting. “To the party I mean.”
“Err…no we’re not.”
“Awww! Why not?! It’ll be fun with you there.” She casually placed her hand on his arm. Oh she’s good.
“We are …still setting things up here. And we don’t know anyone yet.”
“Oh well you know me!” Kate said with a beauty-queen laugh “and Jo and I will introduce you to people. They’d get along with Frank don’t you think?” she asked me looking for her shoulder to where I was sitting on the front of the Mustang.
“Um…yea sure. I mean they both… have y-chromosomes…” I said and when Kate gave me a ‘God you’re so weird’ look I added, “Well it’s a start!”
“Yea thanks but I think we’ll have to pass.”
“Oh.” Kate said with a pouty face.
“Nice top.” Gerard said to me “Hanging On The Telephone a definite best but One Way or Another a close second.”
Boy knows 80s pop. Always a good sign.
“Who is it?” said Kate with a slightly disgusted look at my top.
“Debbie Harry.” Gerard, Mikey and I said at the same time. I smiled at them. Kate continued to look confused.
“From Blondie” dumb look continues
“It’s a band.” And again
“From the 80s” intelligence is limited in my family
“Okay never mind.” I said finally and she giggled like she was in on a joke and smiled at Gerard.
“Okay well we have to go.” I said, “See you two at school.”
“I’m so upset you won’t be there tomorrow.” Cooed Kate
“You’ll live.” I mumbled
We got back in the car.
“And that is why I don’t introduce you to people.” I said
“What?” she said innocently.