Synopsis:

Bobby struggles with his feelings about wearing borrowed girls clothes and a dinner conversation turns into an asparagus eating contest between him and Cori. What does Bobby have to gain (or lose) to such a contest, and why is Cori grinning like that?

Story:

Bobby's Rainy Day Adventure
Copyright 2005 by Heather Rose Brown

CHAPTER III

As we entered the small, brightly lit kitchen, Corina announced, "After a daring rescue from the bathroom and a dangerous journey through the wilds of the hallway and living room, may I present to you our special dinner guest, Bobby!" Corina's mom, Aunt Joan, and her sister, Terri, clapped and cheered as Corina led me to the table and pulled out my chair.

Until that moment, I had thought I could handle being seen in girl clothes. Now all I wanted to do was melt into the floor.

"Go ahead and sit down, sweetie." Aunt Joan titlted her head toward the chair. "Lasagna tastes as good cold as it does hot, but the asparagus won't." To my relief, the applause died when I sat down and Corina slid my chair in for me.

Terri reached across the table, picked the paper napkin up from beside my plate, and dropped it in my lap. "You look so cute in Cori's teddy bear top, Bobby. It's a shame Mom couldn't find the matching skirt."

"Theresa Anne Moreno." Aunt Joan's glare could have melted steel. "You're fourteen years old. You should know better than to tease someone like that."

Terri stared at her mother, her mouth hanging open. Aunt Joan silently stared back. Eventually, Terri closed her mouth and turned to me. "I'm sorry, Bobby. I'd meant to compliment you, but I guess it came out wrong."

Terri hadn't sounded like she had been teasing, which just made it more confusing when she'd said I looked cute wearing girl clothes. But the compliment had felt nice, and I couldn't think of a reason to be mad at her.

I looked down at the teddy bear on the front of my t-shirt and touched its fluffy fur. "To be honest, I don't think I'd be able to think of anything else to call this besides cute."

Aunt Joan sighed. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to find anything else for you, Bobby. None of Terri's clothes would have fit you, and most of what Cori has is a lot frillier than what your wearing."

"It's okay, Aunt Joan. It ain't like I'm wearing a dress or something."

Terri patted my shoulder. "You sound just like me, Bobby. I was a serious tomboy when I was your age. That's probably why Mom's had Cori in nothing but dresses."

"I do NOT wear nothing but dresses." Corina shoved her seat back as she stood up and threw her napkin on the table. "In fact, I'm wearing jeans right now. I can be as much a tomboy as you ever were."

Terri leaned back in her chair and smirked at her sister. "Really? While wearing that lacy pink blouse?"

"Being a tomboy ain't just about clothes. And for your information, this ain't pink; it's strawberry sorbet."

"Hah! That shows how much you know about being a tomboy."

"That's enough, girls. Corina, sit back down. " Aunt Joans firm tone wasn't especially loud, but it was enough to put a quick end to the argument. "This is no way to behave, especially in front of a guest. I think you both owe Bobby an apology."

After both girls apologized, Aunt Joan said grace. Soon the table was filled with the clink and clatter of a family enjoying dinner. As I took my first bite of the rich, gooey lasagna, Corina asked, "So how ya liking third grade?"

Aunt Joan and Terri jumped up as I started gagging, but Terri got to me first. It took a couple of sharp smacks between my shoulder blades before a piece of food shot from my mouth and landed with a soft plop on the table. "Sorry about that," I managed to croak.

Aunt Joan took the napkin from my lap, wiped my mouth, and then cleaned up the mess on the table. "No need to apologize, Bobby. Accidents happen. How do you feel?"

"My throat's a little sore, but besides that, I'm okay."

"That's good. Okay, take a sip of your iced tea." Aunt Joan already had the glass in her hand and was holding it to my lips before I could reach it. As I drank, the cool, sweet tea soothed the rawness at the back of my throat. Aunt Joan seemed satisfied after I swallowed a few mouthfuls, put my glass down next to my plate and carried the used napkin over to the trash. Terri, who had been rubbing the spot on my back where she'd just whacked me, brushed a few hairs from my face before strolling back to her seat.

"What happened, Bobby?" Corina looked confused and worried.

I remembered what had made me choke and frowned. "Third grade? What makes you think I'm in third grade?"

Corina frowned back. "Well, you seem a little too old for second grade."

Fortunately, I hadn't tried to take another bite, or I would have been choking again. "Second grade? You're waaaay off. I'm in FIFTH grade."

"Really? Then why did I see you sitting with the third graders at lunch?"

"I...I didn't know they were third graders."

Corina's frown turned into a knowing grin. "Not at all?"

"No...at least, not at first. I'd just sat down at the first table I saw with an empty space. Rhianna and Tess were really nice to me and introduced me to the other girls sitting at that end of the table. It was a nice change from lunch at my old school. On a good day there the other kids ignored me, but I had some pretty bad days too."

"That's awful." Terri stabbed at her lasagna. " You're such a sweet kid and deserve better. I'm glad you were able to make some friends at your new school."

The smile on my face went all the way down to my toes. "So am I. It almost made it worth going to school today."

"You had problems at school?" Aunt Joan asked as she returned to the table.

I tried to think of anything I hadn't had problems with. "I really wasn't expecting to be taking all those tests on my first day here. Except for lunch and recess, that's pretty much all I did today. The reading tests weren't so bad, but I think I flunked most of the others."

"Don't worry about those tests, sweetheart. There are no passing or failing grades. They give them to all the new students to get a better idea of what you learned at your old school so they can find the best place to put you in your new school."

"That's a relief. I wasn't looking forward to explaining to my mom why I'd washed out on my first day at school." As Corina and Terri began telling Aunt Joan about their day, I started wondering what was making things different for me at my new school and lost track of the conversation for a while.

I was rolling a spear of asparagus across my plate, trying to get up the nerve to take a bite, when Corina poked me in the arm with the handle of her fork. "Hey Bobby, did you hear me?"

"Sorry, I missed it. What'd you say?"

"I said I bet I could eat twice as much asparagus as you."

Aunt Joan chuckled. "I thought you just said you didn't want to eat it."

Corina smiled at her mother. "Uh huh. And you said I should find a way of making it fun. What's more fun than a contest?"

"I'm not too sure about that. But if it'll get you to eat your vegetables, I guess we can give it a try."

Terri leaned across the table and patted Corina on the head. "That's my li'l sister, always coming up with zany ideas. So what are you putting up for the bet?"

Corina ignored Terri's love pats and tapped the edge of her plate with her fork as she concentrated on an answer. "It's gotta be something good to make it a real contest. How about a week's allowance?"

Aunt Joan's eyebrows popped up in surprise. "Are you sure you want to do that, honey? Once you agree, you can't take it back."

I could hardly believe it when Corina nodded. Money had always been tight at home and my parents were never able to afford to give me an allowance. "That sounds tempting, but I don't have anything to match something like that."

Corina grinned slyly. "How about I get to pick what we play after we're done eating?"

That grin made me nervous. But I'd seen the PlayStation when Corina had led me through the living room and figured I'd be able to handle whatever game she picked. I grinned back when I realized it was pretty much a win/win situation for me. "Okay, you're on."

I picked up a spear of asparagus and was surprised it felt firm and tender instead of limp and slimy. As I bit it in half, Corina shoved a whole spear into her mouth. The asparagus was buttery with a bit of lemon and something spicy, but when I began to chew...well, it was still the worst vegetable in the world. Corina began chewing too, barely making a face.

By the time I'd swallowed my fifth spear, I knew I couldn't handle another. How Corina had managed nine was beyond me. Terri began cheering her sister on. "You're almost there, sis. Your tongue must be numb by now, so ingnore the taste. Bobby's already stopped. Just eat one more and you'll win!"

Corina gritted her teeth and stared at the green death in her hand for a few seconds before she closed her eyes, popped it into her mouth and began chewing. I couldn't help admiring her determination and began cheering as she swallowed. "Wahoo! That's totally amazing. I really can't eat any more, so I guess that makes you the winner."

Aunt Joan began laughing and clapping. "Congratulations, baby. Looks like we have a new champion asparagus-eater in the house."

Getting into the spirit of the moment, Corina climbed out of her chair and did a victory lap around the table, waving her arms and smiling ear to ear. Aunt Joan grabbed Corina by the arm as she started going for a second lap. "Once is more than enough, young lady. Now take a seat or you'll miss out on the peach cobbler."

While Aunt Joan was pulling something sweet and spicy from the oven and Terri was carrying the dinner plates to the sink, Corina flopped down in her chair and looked at me with the same sly grin she had before the contest. "So, you still gonna let me pick what we play?"

"Of course, Corina." I couldn't imagine what kind of video game would make anyone grin like that, but I was pretty certain I could handle whatever she had chosen. "I would've expected you to do the same if I won."

"I'm glad. But please call me Cori. The only person who calls me Corina is Mom, and that's only when she's either mad at me or doing her formal introductions." When I nodded, Corina's...no...Cori's grin softened into a thoughtful smile, and I thought nothing more about the game when Aunt Joan and Terri brought plates of steaming dessert to the table. As the conversation picked up again, I began feeling more like I was having dinner with family rather than people I'd just met.

While Terri, Cori and I did just about everything but lick our plates, Aunt Joan was barely nibbling at her dessert. Terri gently touched her mother's elbow. "Something wrong with your cobbler, Mom?"

Aunt Joan looked up from her plate, "It's fine, honey. I'm just worried about Bobby's mommy. I'd asked her to call as soon as she reached her lawyer's office, but I haven't heard from her yet."

I glanced out the kitchen window and saw the storm was still in full swing. My blood turned to ice as I started imagining all the awful things that could happen on a rainy night like tonight. "Do you think she's okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine, Bobby. She must have had a lot on her mind when your daddy asked to see her about the divorce settlement. It's quite understandable that she forgot to call."

Aunt Joan's smile looked brittle and her voice seemed strained as she changed subjects. "Now Cori, since you set up the table, you can go play with Bobby; Terri will help me finish cleaning up."

I barely had a chance to finish eating before Cori was pulling at my arm. I dug my heels in when Cori led me through the living room and we started walking past the PlayStation. "Wait a minute, where are we going?"

Cori dropped my hand and turned around. "To my room to play."

"You've got video games in your room?"

Cori giggled. "I'd probably never come out if I did. All we have is here in the living room, but Mom won't let us play on school nights." Cori took my hand again and lead me out of the living room. "Let's go before she realizes she didn't ask us if we had homework."

"So, what did you want to play, then?"

Cori looked over her shoulder and smirked as she opened her bedroom door. "Mommy and Baby."

I was barely able to absorb more than a general sense of frilliness as we entered her room, since I was pretty busy trying to wrap my brain around her answer. "'Mommy and Baby'? What kinda game is that?"

Cori closed the door and led me over to a narrow bed with a lacy pink and white canopy. The box springs squeaked a little as she flopped down on the bed and giggled. When she managed to pull herself together enough to sit up, I realized the comforter spread across the bed had the same kitten I'd noticed earlier on the sneakers I had borrowed.

"You like Hello Kitty too, Bobby?"

"Hello who?" I was beginning to think that confusion was a way of life in their house.

"C'mon. Stop pretending you never saw her before and answer the question."

"What about my question?"

"Okay, I'll answer your question. But since you're a guest here, you've gotta answer mine first."

I really wanted to argue over such a dumb rule, but Mom had asked me to behave, so decided to play along. "I dunno. I guess so."

"That doesn't sound like a real answer."

"First off, just because I've seen her before doesn't mean I'd know her name. Second, you only see her on girl stuff. What kinda answer do you expect from a boy?"

Cori patted the space next to her and waited for me to sink into the soft, fluffy comforter. "I expect an honest one, Bobby." Her serious tone took me by surprise. I looked down at the pink shag carpet and tried to think of a decent answer. Cori gently rested a hand on my shoulder. "Is that why you had the necklace?"

Cold fear dropped into my stomach. "What necklace?"

Cori reached towards a fancy white nitestand, opened the drawer, and pulled out a thin gold necklace with a tiny Hello Kitty charm. "This one. Mom asked me to check through the pockets of your clothes before I started up the washer. I found the necklace in your jacket. Where'd you get it?"

"It was a prize."

"Really? How'd you win it?"

"You're probably gonna laugh when I tell you this." I quickly regretted what I'd said when I saw Cori's hurt expression. "Okay, maybe you won't. You see, I wound up going to recess with the girls I'd had lunch with and was playing against Tess in some jumping game. I forget what they called it, but there were a couple of girls with the rope stretched between their ankles and me and Tess had to jump in and out and stuff."

"You beat Tess at chinese jumprope?"

"Oh no. I was barely able to keep up with her, and I'm pretty sure she'd been going easy on me. I can't tell you how many times I got tangled in the ropes. But Rhianna had said I deserved an award for lasting longer against Tess than anyone else."

"I've never heard Rhi say something she didn't mean. If she told you that, then you must have been pretty impressive. So what happened next?"

"Well there was an award ceremony, which was a little embarrassing. I was totally shocked when Rhianna took off her necklace and put it around my neck. But then we started playing again and I forgot I was wearing it. When I got back from recess I nearly walked into class with it still around my neck. I'll hafta look for Rhianna tomorrow so I give it back to her."

"You might have been able to give it back if you'd borrowed it from her, but I doubt she'll take it back if she gave it to you; and she'd probably be pretty hurt if you tried."

"Wait a minute. How do you know Tess and Rhianna so well? They're both in the third grade."

"Tess is in my gymnastics class, and I'm in Rhi's math class."

I managed to hold back for maybe two seconds before I burst out laughing. "You're in a third grade class?"

"Don't laugh too hard, Bobby. If you did as bad as you said on those tests today, you may wind up being in there with me."

That stopped me cold. "You mean they'd send me back two grades?"

"Not unless you did bad in all the tests. Most of the time, when you're having problems with certain subjects they'll just put you in the classes where you'll be able to get the most help on those subjects."

I was trying to decide how I'd feel about taking classes with Tess, Rhianna and the other girls when Cori dangled the necklace from her fingers. "But getting back to my question...do you like Hello Kitty?"

The coldness in my stomach felt like it was seeping into my lungs. I could barely breathe. I nodded, not trusting myself to be able to speak the words.

"I thought so." Cori kicked her sneakers off and scooted up onto the bed until she was kneeling behind me. I nearly jumped from the bed when she started to gather my hair off my shoulders. "What are you doing back there?" I tried turning my head to see was going on, but only managed getting my hair pulled.

"Oops, sorry Bobby. You'd better hold your hair."

"Huh? What for?"

"So I can help you put your necklace on."

Cori had called it my necklace. And it WAS mine. But it couldn't be; shouldn't be. As much as I wanted the necklace, one really important reason why it could never be mine popped into my head. "But...it's a girls necklace."

Cori let go of my hair and looked over my shoulder. Even though we weren't touching, I could feel the warmth of her skin. Her faint flowery and baby-powder scent mingled nicely with the bubble-gum and clean, soapy smell left over from my bath.

I wasn't too sure how I felt being so close to her. I had seen girls who were good friends sitting this close when they were talking and wondered if Cori thought of me as a girl, a friend, or both. It wasn't really bad, but experiencing first hand what I'd only seen before was a lot different than I'd ever imagined.

"And?" Cori's simple question bounced around my head.

"'And'? How can you just say, 'and'? I'm a boy. People will think I'm weird if they see me wearing it."

"No they won't. They'll just see a girl wearing a pretty necklace."

I should have dropped the argument right there, but the question fell out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Who would take me for a girl?"

"I know Terri does. She wouldn't have fixed your hair like that if she thought you were a boy."

I reached up and carefully touched my hair. "It feels weird having it all fluffy like this."

"You don't like it?"

"I dunno. It feels nice, but it's a lot different from what I'm used to. Nobody ever did my hair like this before."

Goose bumps broke out on my arms when she ran her fingers though a few stands of my hair. "It does feel nice; very silky. Terri did a good job. It really looks nice on you. Maybe you could ask your mom to fix it for you like that when you go to school tomorrow."

"Are you kidding? Everybody would laugh seeing me with a girl's hairstyle."

"I don't think they would, Bobby. I know at least some of the kids at school think you're a girl."

"Right...name one."

"Well, when I had gymnastics class this afternoon with Tess, she'd been telling me about a new girl named Bobbi she met at lunch."

"Tess thought I was a girl? Even after seeing me up close?"

"Yup." Cori leaned away from me. When I twisted around to see what she was doing, I found too many expressions drifting across her face to make sense of them. The odd look only lasted a moment and was quickly replaced with a small smile. "But that's not really the point. Instead of worrying what people would think about you wearing your necklace, you should be thinking about how YOU feel about wearing it."

"I think..." The coldness in my stomach turned into a fluttering and my fingers started to tingle as I worked up the courage to answer. "I think I'd like that."

"Then quit fussing and hold up your hair." Cori helped me gather it up at the back or my head and tucked a few loose strands in my hand before she drew the chain around my neck and fastened it at the back. She then slid off the bed, stood in front of me and adjusted the charm so it dangled just below my collarbone. "Oh Bobby, you really do look...would you mind if I said pretty?"

For a long moment, I barely dared to breathe. "I...ermm...what I mean is...I dunno."

"That's okay. I guess it ain't an easy question for a boy to answer."

"Speaking of questions, I think it's your turn to answer mine."

Cori's smile was both warm and playful. "Fair enough. Playing 'Mommy and Baby' is pretty easy. It's kinda like playing house, where one of us is the mommy and the other is the baby. Me and Terri used to play it all the time. So which would you like to be?"

"Couldn't I be the daddy?"

Cori's smile faded a little. "I suppose, although it wouldn't be 'Mommy and Baby' anymore. You don't look too much like a daddy right now, but we could probably borrow one of Mom's hats to hide your hair and maybe one of her blazers. Are you sure you wanna play a daddy?"

I thought about Dad, and what it would like to pretend to be him. "Maybe not. But I dunno about dressing up as a mommy, either. Would it be okay if I was the baby?"

Cori squealed and nearly choked me as she hugged me around the neck. "Of course! Terri hardly ever lets me be the mommy. We're gonna have loads of fun!"

Notes:

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