Something Old Read Online Free PDF Page B

Lil shoveled down several bites of tossed salad. “So we just meet those conditions.”
    Katy shook her head. A part of her wanted to grab Lil by the arms, squeal, and dance with her in a circle as if they were a couple of kids, or at the least do the garbanzo shimmy. But if she didn’t tamp down her friend’s enthusiasm, Lil would never understand the gravity of the stipulations. And if Katy had to bear this trial, she wasn’t going to bear it alone. She pointed a carrot stick at Lil. “Three conditions, to be exact.”
    Holding her fork at eye level, Lil stared at a chunk of gooey brownie. “Give ‘em to me. One at a time.”
    “First, he wants to see the bids and the financial stuff.”
    “Easy enough. What else?”
    “He wants to persuade Ivan Miller to keep an eye on us.”
    “Yuck. Oh fine. We can deal with it, I guess.”
    “You think that one’s bad, listen to this.” She leaned and whispered, “I have to go on three dates with David Miller before Dad will agree to it.”
    Lil’s lips spewed brownie crumbs, and she slapped her palm over her mouth until she could spit into her napkin to keep from choking. After blotting her face, she stared at Katy. “No way!”
    “You heard me.”
    “Your
dad came up with that? Your dad, who’s on the elder board?” Lil never missed an opportunity to rub it in that Megan and Katy’s dads both served on the elder board. Lil’s dad was too busy farming.
    “With the help of my mom. They’re real smug about it, too.”
    “But are they serious?”
    “Dead serious. That’s why you’ve got to come up with those bids fast.” Katy lowered her voice to a whisper again, “Because if this whole doddy house thing isn’t going to fly, then I for sure don’t want to go through with all three dates.” She worried her lip. Mostly, she didn’t want to hurt David’s feelings.
    “But…then you’re going to do it?”
    “Well yeah. He’s actually a sweet guy. Good-looking, too.”
    Lil stared at her with stricken eyes. Her face paled. “You like him?”
    Feeling uneasy at her friend’s unwarranted fear, Katy replied, “No. Of course not. But he’s been asking me out for a while.”
    Lil crumpled her napkin into a ball and tossed it onto her plate. “Well, he’s not your type.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean? Wait a minute.” Katy narrowed her eyes. “Do you like him?”
    “No–o. You just need somebody with more spunk. Since you’re so…inflexible.”
    Katy instantly bristled. She wasn’t a goody-goody like Lil always insinuated. And she was tired of hearing that she was stubborn, too. Lil pushed sometimes just to see how far she could push. Like the time she actually wore a toe ring to foot washing. Katy still cringed over that. She’d covered it with her palm and slipped it into her pocket while Lil snickered. Giggling at foot washing was a sin in itself. Katy often overcompensated to keep Lil in line. But this wasn’t the time to make a case of it, so she turned the heat back at Lil. “Did you ask your folks?”
    Lil pushed her plate back and took a sip of her soda. “I did. Round one down. About two more to go, and then we’re good. Honestly, Dad seems preoccupied for some reason. And Mom’s lost her fight lately. Now I can tell them what your dad said”—she lowered her voice—“without the David part. So don’t worry about them. You know that even if they don’t agree, I’m going to do this.”
    Dread rippled through Katy’s stomach. She hoped Lil didn’t end up in a fight with her parents, although that had happened often enough in the past. Their relationship seemed to survive somehow. It was good Lil wasn’t the oldest in her family. Her folks at least had practice before she came along. She glanced sideways.
    Lil was rubbing her temples, staring down at the table. “I guess this can work.”
    Thinking of David’s feelings again, Katy’s meal turned sour. She whispered, “It doesn’t feel fair to David. Think I need to