Wedding Drama (8 page)

“But you used all the sugar. Why didn't you tell me?”

“I don't know,” she says in a small voice, looking down.

“Never mind about that now. What's done is done. But no more making anything in this kitchen unless you get
my
permission.”

Nikki nods and starts for the door, but her mother stops her with, “Do you have any petit fours left?”

“I have a lot left.”

“Well, let me see how they turned out.”

Nikki gets her backpack and pulls out the plastic container. She'd planned to sneak the whole thing outside to the trash can, dump the cakes, wash the container in the bathroom, then sneak it back into the kitchen cabinet.

Now she opens the container and sets it on the table.

“My...” Her mother peers at the jumbled mound of hardened cubes. She plucks one out and attempts to bite down. “Whoa, that's pretty hard!” she exclaims, trying to chew. When she's finally able to swallow, she says, “Honey, next time let's do the baking together.”

 

The rock cakes are forgotten the next morning when Nikki runs down the stairs. Saturday has finally come. She gets to go to the mall and look for a party dress and new shoes and a present for Ms. Shelby! Her feelings from yesterday have faded, but she's still mad at Deja for not coming to her defense when everyone was laughing at her. She thinks about how Deja has to go look for fabric and a pattern so Miss Ida can make her dress. Nikki can't help smiling. She gets to buy something from Rendells. That gives her a special satisfaction. As Deja would say, “Hah, hah, and
hah!
”

 

The mall is full of shoppers. Nikki's mom has already decided where they will be going first. “We'll check the registry, and then we'll look for shoes and a dress for you.”

That sentence alone fills Nikki's stomach with butterflies. It's so exciting to do all this shopping for herself and her teacher.

“Housewares with the bridal registry is on the third floor,” her mother says, consulting the store map and then leading the way to the escalator. Nikki is always a bit careful about getting on escalators. They can be tricky. Before she can lose her nerve, her mother takes her by the hand and leads her on.

Housewares is full of...
housewares.
So much to choose from. Nikki's mom seems to be an old hand at registries. She knows just where to go. There's a kiosk next to the register that has a kind of computer attached. She pulls the invitation out of her purse, checks it, and then begins to type something on the screen. Before she knows it, Nikki sees a printer spit out a long white sheet.

“We'll go up to the café to look at it,” Nikki's mom says, heading toward the escalators again. Nikki feels another flutter of excitement. While they sit in the café and pore over the list of possible wedding gifts, her mom drinks coffee and Nikki gets to drink hot chocolate. She thinks,
This is the most wonderful Saturday morning I've ever had.

There are all kinds of things on the list: a queen jacquard embroidered comforter set in dusty green print; a plush gray towel set; a Bella Cucina juicer; special extra-firm pillows; a panini grill; a jumbo griddle; china settings (you can buy one place setting or more); a crystal goblet; a fancy silver fruit bowl; a special kind of spice rack; a collection of serveware; a silver frame; china vases ... it all makes Nikki's head spin. She knows, more than anything, that she absolutely, absolutely,
absolutely
must have a big wedding when she grows up. She can't think of anything greater than giving her guests a long list of everything she wants. And them having to buy stuff from her list. What could be better?

They decide on the panini maker. “The next person who uses the registry will see that the panini maker is already bought,” Nikki's mother explains. “That way your teacher won't get more than one.”
This is marvelous,
Nikki thinks.
Everything about weddings is
wonderful!

After that, they head to the girls' department, then straight to the dressy dress section. Immediately Nikki sees the dress she wants. It has a wide satin sash and bodice and a chiffon skirt. It has little cap sleeves—which her mother likes—and comes in two colors: peach and lavender. In the dressing room, Nikki tries on the lavender first. Then she comes out so her mother can see it.

“It's perfect,” her mother says. “That was easy. Take it off so we can buy it.”

“I'm not getting it,” Nikki says. She had made up her mind in the dressing room. “I'm going to get the peach one. Lavender is Deja's favorite color, and she can't get a new dress. Her aunt has to have one made for her. She'd only feel worse if I got the lavender one.”

Nikki's mom looks surprised; then she smiles. “Good thinking,” she says. And they're off to the shoe department.

“But I'm still mad at her,” Nikki adds. She feels she has to get that in.

 

As they're heading for their car in the parking lot, Nikki holding the bag with her new shoes, and her mother holding the garment bag with the new dress in it and the bag with the panini grill, they run into Deja and her aunt heading to their car. Deja is holding a bag with L
U
A
NN
F
ABRICS
written on it.

“Look who's here!” Nikki's mom says, smiling down at Deja. Nikki knows she's acting extra happy on purpose. Nikki's mom and Auntie Dee give each other a quick hug.
Why do women do that all the time,
Nikki wonders,
when they see each other unexpectedly?

She, on the other hand, gives Deja as tiny a “hello” as possible.

Deja returns a tiny “hello”; then her eyes settle on the garment bag and quickly move to the bag in Nikki's hand. She looks down. While the grownups gush and talk about the usual things women talk about—Nikki isn't really listening—she and Deja just stand there, not speaking.

Finally Deja breaks the silence with “Are those your new shoes?” The question makes Nikki feel a little bit guilty.

“Yeah,” she says.

Deja's eyes go to the garment bag again. But she doesn't need to ask, it seems. She says nothing.

After they part, each walking her own way, Nikki wishes she'd remembered to say to Deja about her new dress, “It's not
lavender!
”

 

On Tuesday morning Deja is sitting in the back of Auntie Dee's car, staring out of her window. Nikki is sitting beside her, but not very close. She's staring out of the opposite window, again. As usual, Nikki has almost nothing to say to Deja. Yesterday, Deja noticed that Nikki was sidling up to ChiChi at morning and lunch recess, and they'd gone off on their own to the jump rope area. In response, Deja purposely brought out her SSR book so she could read on the bench and not pay any attention to Nikki and her new friends.
Who cares?
Deja thinks. She isn't about to show that she notices that Nikki's been hanging around with someone else.

She thinks about Saturday morning at LuAnn Fabrics. Suddenly she feels a little scared. She and Auntie found a pattern for her dress for Ms. Shelby's wedding. They found beautiful satin and chiffon material. The word
chiffon
makes Deja think of pie heaped with whipped cream. There was lavender chiffon, and peach chiffon as well. Deja chose the peach because she suspected that Nikki had gotten her dress in lavender, even though she knew it was Deja's favorite color. Deja was determined not to be twins with Nikki.

“Not lavender?” Auntie had asked, holding up the lavender chiffon.

“No, I want the peach,” Deja said.

She thinks about Miss Ida now, wondering if she'll really be able to follow the pattern's directions and make her dress look
exactly
like the picture on the front of the envelope. What if she can't? What if she makes it real sloppy and Deja has to wear it anyway?

 

At morning recess, Deja brings out her SSR book again and settles onto the bench to read it.

“What's wrong with you?”

Deja looks up, surprised to see Nikki standing before her.

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you sitting over here by yourself?”

Deja supposes Nikki is just rubbing it in—that she has people to play with and Deja doesn't. “I feel like reading my book, that's all,” Deja replies.

“Whatever,” Nikki says, turning to get back to her friends in the jump rope area.

Deja sits there stewing. Nikki's probably happy that Auntie Dee lost her job. No, she probably doesn't even
remember
it. Hah, hah, and
hah,
that she got a two on her little cakes. Deja smiles, thinking back on it. She almost laughs.

At lunch recess, for the second day in a row, Nikki runs out ahead with Keisha and ChiChi to the jump rope area. Deja decides she'll jump rope, too. Why not? They don't own the jump rope area. Besides, she's good at jumping rope. She plans to jump and jump until the freeze bell rings. When Deja reaches them, they're already jumping double dutch: Nikki and Keisha are turning the ropes and ChiChi is jumping. Deja can't believe her eyes. Nikki, who has no rhythm, is turning the ropes—in rhythm! Who taught her that?

As if reading Deja's mind, Nikki says, “I can turn now. ChiChi showed me how.”

“Well, la-di-da,” Deja says, crossing her arms.

All three girls look over at Deja. Then Keisha and ChiChi look at Nikki, as if waiting to see how she's going to react to this.

Nikki, with ropes in hand, can only manage to roll her eyes.

Deja gets in the jump rope line. She'll show them.

“Regular,” Deja says when it's her turn to jump.

Keisha and Nikki begin to turn with one rope. Deja steps back a few feet, then follows the rhythm of the rope with the palms of her hands until just the right moment. She jumps in and begins to chant: “
All last night and the night before, twenty-four robbers came knocking at the door. I got up to let them in, and this is what they said ... One, two, three...
”

Deja is jumping with ease. She could do this all morning. When she gets to fifty-four, she feels the rope jerk beneath her foot, causing her to stumble.

“Out!” Nikki says. “Your turn, Ayanna!” Ayanna is next in line.

“I'm not out! You pulled the rope!”

“I did not!”

“You did, too!” Deja insists.

“Keisha, did I pull the rope?”

Keisha shrugs, as if she doesn't want to get in the middle of it.

“Out, Deja!” a girl from Mr. Miller's class yells. Then everyone in line begins to chant:

“
You're out, Deja! You're out, Deja! You're out, Deja!
”

Deja would like to punch that girl. She is not even in her room area. Room Sixteen has tetherball this week. She should tell Mrs. Butler on her. She should try to get that girl benched. Instead, Deja stomps off to Room Ten's lineup spot. She's tired of jumping, anyway.