Just Another Girl (23 page)

Lily's cast makes getting her ready even more of a challenge, but I try to stick to the plan that Mom and I have agreed on. I encourage her to do as much for herself as possible. And when she complains, I point out that she is getting to do a very grown-up thing today. “You are going to the library with George while I go to a meeting at my school. It's going to be just you and George, Lily. And I expect you to act very grown-up.”

“Is it a date?” she asks with wide eyes.

“Sort of like a date,” I tell her. I figure this can't hurt since Lily doesn't really know what a date is.

“Cool.” She smiles at her reflection in the mirror as she
makes a good attempt to get the brush through her hair with her good hand.

Soon we're in George's car, and I'm a little worried that Lily might freak over seeing me dropped off without her, but to my amazed relief she simply waves and smiles. Very grown-up.

The meeting goes better than I could've imagined. Naturally, the recruiter can't make any promises, but she gives me all the paperwork and encourages me to follow through on everything.

“I hear you play soccer too,” she says as we're leaving.

“I do, but it's not like I'm a star.”

“Well, we have a solid women's team, but they're always looking for new players—not stars.” She winks. “And you'll have to come visit us next fall. I put the brochure about that weekend in your packet.”

“I have a friend who goes to Branford,” I say as we leave the meeting room.

“What's her name?”

“It's a guy. George . . . George . . . you know, I can't remember his last name.” The truth is, I don't even know his last name. “But he's from New Zealand, and he's a really nice guy.”

“That has to be George McBride. And you're right, he is a really nice guy.”

When I get outside the school, I see that old burgundy car parked in front. And Lily is sitting in the passenger side of the front seat, waving out the window with her good arm and grinning like a cat that just ate a canary.

I jog over and see that George is grinning too. “Sorry, Aster, but you've been demoted to the backseat.”

“That's fine,” I say as I climb in. Then I throw back my head and start laughing. I laugh so hard that I practically have tears coming.

“What? What?” Lily demands. “What is funny? You laughing at me,
Aster?
”

“No, not at all.” I wipe my eyes and catch my breath. “I'm just laughing because I'm so happy, Lily. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I just realized that today is my birthday! I am seventeen!”

“Happy birthday, Aster!” Lily shouts.

“Happy birthday,” George adds. “That makes me think we should go out and celebrate. Anyone here want some cake and ice cream?”

“I do! I do!” Lily shouts.

“Me too!” I shout back. “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.”

“Stop! Stop!” Lily yells. “Stop the car!”

Without questioning her, George puts on his signal and pulls over. “What's wrong, Lily?” he asks calmly.

“
Aster
!” she yells. “It really your birthday?”

“Yes,” I answer. “I just told you that.” Suddenly I remember how jealous Lily can be about my birthday. It comes a couple weeks before hers, and she always thinks it's unfair that it's not her birthday too. In fact, I often share my birthday with her.

“Get outta car!” Lily yells.

“Why?” I ask.

“It your birthday—you sit in front.”

“Oh, that's okay, Lily.”

“No, Aster! It your birthday. You sit in front!” Now she's trying to undo her seat belt with one hand. “Come on,
Aster!
”

“I'm coming. I'm coming.” So I hop out, open her door, and help her to unbuckle and get out of the car. Then I notice that George's old car has a bench seat in front. “Hey, there's room for three,” I tell Lily. “We can all sit in front.”

“We all sit in front!” Lily says.

So I slide in, and Lily slides in next to me. I close the door and buckle her back in, then turn to look at George. “Is this okay?”

His face breaks into a big grin. “Absolutely.”

“I scream, I scream,” Lily cries. “I scream for ice cream!”

“That was close,” I tell her. Then I repeat the silly rhyme the right way so she can try again. And as George pulls back into traffic and Lily chants about ice cream, I realize that once again I am stuck in the middle. But this time I'm liking it.

I lean back into the seat, listening as my sister and George break into a very off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday,” and I realize that my life really is good. Oh, it might not always go smoothly. Okay, it hardly ever goes smoothly. And it'll probably never resemble anything close to normal. But it's my life—and I thank God that he is in the middle of it.

Melody Carlson
is the award-winning author of around two hundred books, many of them for teens, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series. She and her husband met years ago while volunteering as Young Life counselors. They continue to serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon today. Visit Melody's website at
www.melodycarlson.com
.