He looked frustrated with his attempt to express
himself.
"'Granny's always telling me I'm pretty,' I said. "'She's right of course, but I mean more. There
are lots of good-looking girls at our school, I guess,
but they're just beautiful on the outside. Your beauty
goes deep. Yours is where it really counts,' he said. "I thanked him again. He felt awkward so we
talked about dinner and set the table. Together with
the salad and some fresh bread he had bought, our pot
pies tasted pretty good. Afterward, we had the apple
pie and he had some ice cream to put on it. We both
had seconds.
"'I bet you think I'm a pig,' I said. 'I don't
usually eat like this.'
"'I think when you feel happy, you have a
bigger appetite,' he said. I agreed and I told him how I
thought sadness was like a sickness. I couldn't believe
how easy it was to talk with him now and how much I
wanted to tell him. The more we talked, the closer I
felt to him.
"'When we got up to put the dishes in the sink,
we stood really close to each other and we kissed. It
was just a short kiss. I call it a test kiss. You throw
your lips out there and see what happens."
"What happened?" Misty asked.
"We kissed again, longer, and then . . "You forgot about the dishes," Jade said with a
slow, know-it-all nod. Her eyes were bright and sharp
and full of her own experiences.
"Exactly," I said.
Misty's smile widened into a small laugh. Cat
looked like she was turning white from holding her