After the Thanksgiving dinner I am gonna wait at the bottom of your street. I will wait from 8 to 8:30, and if you come to meet me I promise to take you to Camel Lot and tell you why I named it that.
Is everything smoothed over with you and Joy? Did she hear about the “rumor”?
Christopher had the audacity to accuse me of having a sexual relationship with you. Q even believe? You’re losin’ your virginity to Joy. I’m no fool. But don’t worry, Matt. I didn’t tell him anything. Not about the kiss or anything. It’s not my fault I have feelings for you. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s your mom and dad’s . . . ’cuz they created you. Maybe I should yell at them. J to the k, Matt.
I feel bad about Christopher but . . . He’s so many things, but you he is not. I could work wicked hard to make it work with him (the way my parents have with each other for, like, a billion years), but what life is that? Is that my destiny?
Oh, I pray it snows when I pick you up after Thanksgiving dinner at the bottom of your street.
We need to go to Camel Lot together to escape the chaos, Matt.
Again, I am sorry for my terrible mistake.
Your “friend,”
Tara
Dear My On-a-Break Boyfriend,
I have received your apology note, and I admire you for it.
I appreciate that you are speaking to your lesser-than “friends” and telling them to back off. Thanks.
Is it okay with you that I’ve become buddies with Matt Bloom? Or did you want me to be nice to him and hate him? I’m confused, Christopher.
I will take your note into consideration. I still love you very much, but this whole event has really made me take pause.
So, I ask for your patience as I take stock of my life. Can you give me that, Mr. Accusation?
Look, do I miss bein’ naked with you? Yeah. Do I miss dancin’ around your room in your hockey jersey? Yep. Why do I miss those things? Hmmmmmmmmm . . . BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.
But my heart is real, Christopher. It’s a beating, pulsing thing, and you broke a piece of it. So it needs to mend. And unlike my Cabbage Patch Kid, Theresa Louise (who broke her braid six years ago and I took her to the Cabbage Patch Kid Hospital), there is no hospital for a broken teenage heart.
Respectfully yours,
T
Tara,
Time is all I got, baby girl. I will wait for you as long as you need. How long do you think? No pressure. But how long??
I’m horny.
Love ya,
C.P.C.
Hey Kath,
We’re all set. Tara is definitely not coming over during Thanksgiving break, so we are on like Donkey Kong.
You can live out all your Varsity Hockey–player fantasies . . . wear my jersey, put on my skates, etc., etc., etc. . . .
Can’t wait to see you.
Signed, Best Hockey Butt in New England . . .
Chris Caparelli
DECEMBER 1991
Dear Kathy—
Hey, girl! How are you, and what are you up to these days? How was your Thanksgivin’? Do anything special??
I just wanted to write to say that your skin looks amazin’! Whatever product you’re usin’ should win an award because, oh my god, you look like a different person! I would ask you what the product is but I’ve never had skin issues. I know, insane, right? Like, not even one zit. I probably just jinxed myself!! But seriously I always wanted braces, but unfortunately the orthodontist refused me every time I went in ’cuz he was like, “Tara, you have perfect teeth.” So I did the paper-clip, tin-foil thing and pretended I had braces. Same thing with my skin. No one knows this (but you and I go way back), but I bought Oxy Pads with benzoyl peroxide at Medi Mart just to use them even though I had literally nothing on my face to clear up. I know . . . I’m so quirky. But your face, Kathy . . . flawless now! (Don’t walk into a modeling agency unless you are prepared to sign the contracts, ya know?!)
Oh my god . . . I heard you’re not even applyin’ to colleges ’cuz you’re just gonna stay workin’ at Coconuts. I bet you’ll be manager there in no time ’cuz you’re sooo good at retail. So jealous of people like you. Would I trade bein’ incredibly talented for bein’ amazin’ at retail? I’d honestly have to think about that one, Kath.
Do you get wicked good discounts on CDs? I bet it’s awesome to work at a music store. I mean, for me it would be, as I am a huge fan of music. But I’m sure you know that as everyone knows that about me. Yep, that’s always me blastin’ songs in my Wagoneer (tee-hee, tee-hee). I am obsessed with “Rush, Rush” right now. And that video with Keanu Reeves!!! Come on! If I met a guy who looked like Keanu Reeves I would dump Christopher in one second. Not that a Keanu Reeves–lookin’ guy would ever be anywhere close to our town, but just sayin’. But you know how much I love Christopher (MORE THAN LIFE), so I guess it’s a win-win for everyone that there are no Keanus around this tri-state area.
Anyway, Old Glowing-Skinned Friend, when I’m at University and you’re manager at Coconuts (or OWNER—who knows, right?) we will always be able to look back at that time in life when we were kids and teenagers together, growin’ up, makin’ mistakes, learnin’, fumblin’, tumblin’, livin’!
Can you believe 1991 is crawlin’ to a close? You know what, Kathy? Maybe we
