“WE’RE GONNA ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK TONIGHT!” bellowed Elmer, twirling his broom around the stage.
The music was upbeat and irresistible, and bit by bit everyone joined in. My brother paired off with Cha Cha. Dr. Calhoun danced with his daughter, Juliet, and Jasmine danced with Scooter. Calhoun took my hand, and the two of us began bobbing up and down to the music too. He’d grown since the last time I’d danced with him during cotillion last winter. We were almost eye to eye.
Dr. Calhoun was grinning broadly when we finished in a breathless whirl. “I knew the 1950s was the right era! If we can bring this same kind of bounce and energy to Gilbert and Sullivan, we’ll have the audience eating out of our hands.”
We all took turns picking songs as we continued with our cleaning. We sang along to the ones we knew and tapped our toes to the ones we didn’t. The rest of the evening flew by, and by the end of it the Grange looked as good as it was going to get without a complete renovation. The windows sparkled, the chandeliers and rafters were cobweb free, the floor was mopped clean, all the chairs were wiped free of dust, and the stage was neat and tidy.
“Good work, team!” said Dr. Calhoun. “You’ve earned a break. Juliet will hand out refreshments while I go over a few housekeeping items and give you a brief outline of my vision for the play.”
“Chocolate with chocolate ganache frosting or carrot cake with spiced cream cheese frosting,” whispered Juliet as she passed around a tray of cupcakes. “My father made them.”
“The operetta usually opens aboard a ship or a beach along the coast of Cornwall,” Dr. Calhoun continued. “But in this case, we’ll open in a 1950s malt shop.”
Lucas’s hand flew up. “What’s a malt shop?”
“Like a diner,” Dr. Calhoun replied. “With lots of ice cream on the menu. A malted is kind of like a milkshake. Anyway, I thought we’d name it the Rockin’ Mermaid to give it a nautical flair, as a nod to the traditional setting. As the prelude begins, a pair of pirates will wheel in the counter and stools, and atop the counter will be our own resident mermaid, Miss Truly Lovejoy, the Esther Williams of Pumpkin Falls!”
“Like a float in a parade,” whispered Scooter.
More like a fish on a platter, I thought in dismay, feeling my face flame.
“This will bring in another nautical element and help set the scene a bit.” Dr. Calhoun outlined his vision in broad strokes, from the pirates dressed in black leather jackets, white T-shirts, and a hairstyle called a ducktail, to the high school prom dance floor where the second act would take place. I tuned out after a while and focused on my chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache frosting. It was delicious. Dr. Calhoun really knew how to bake.
When he got to the finale, though, I tuned back in again big-time.
“It’s here that the pirates are revealed to actually be noblemen, and thus entitled to wed the daughters of the Major-General”—my brother hopped up and took a bow—“and then of course there’s the big smooch between Frederick and Mabel at the end.”
Dr. Calhoun added this last bit almost as an afterthought.
I sat in shocked silence. Scooter, being Scooter, gave a wolf whistle. Calhoun was expressionless in his seat beside me, staring straight ahead. Farther down the row, Cha Cha had gone beet red. This was clearly a surprise to both of them, too.
“I understand that this can be awkward for actors your age,” Dr. Calhoun told his son and Cha Cha, “so fake it for now during rehearsals. We’ll save the real thing for the performances.”
The real thing?
He couldn’t mean it!
But he did.
This was really truly happening! My crush was going to kiss my closest friend in Pumpkin Falls onstage right in front of me, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it!
CHAPTER 28
“It’s not fair!” I wailed, flinging myself into Aunt True’s arms.
“What’s not fair?” she asked, bewildered.
“Calhoun is going to kiss Cha Cha in front of everyone!”
“Oh, honey,” she said, patting my back soothingly as I explained what had happened. “It sounds like you need a cup of tea.” She drew me inside and shut the door behind us.
Hatcher and I and the others had all left the Grange shortly after Dr. Calhoun dropped the kiss bomb. On the drive home, I’d asked my mother if she could swing by Aunt True’s apartment above the bookstore.
“I forgot to show her where I put the shipment of new teas she ordered for Cup and Chaucer,” I fibbed. “I’ll walk home afterward.”
Now, as my aunt poured me a cup of her best Earl Grey, the floodgates opened.
“What if Calhoun likes kissing her?” I said, the tears starting up again. “I thought he liked me, but maybe he’ll like her better.”
“Well—” Aunt true started to reply, but I barreled on.
“And it’s not just the kiss—it’s everything! Being grounded. Mackenzie living so far away. The stupid mermaid stuff. Even Hatcher—all he wants to do these days is hang out with Cha Cha. My own brother likes her better too!” I was being irrational, but I didn’t care. My voice rose and cracked. “Plus, you’re getting married and you’ll probably have a baby and not even want to work at the bookstore anymore!”
My aunt nearly spat out her tea. She looked over at me, astounded. “Whoa, how did we get from misplaced kiss to baby and quitting the bookstore?”
I shook my head, too miserable to answer.
“Look, things do change, Truly, I won’t lie. Life is all about change. People grow up, people grow apart, they move on and move out of our orbit, or we move out of theirs. But not all change is bad, sweetie. There are happy surprises around every corner too. New people move into our orbit while others we thought were gone suddenly
