The Flower Child

5. Dinner

I get in the car after school. My mom is waiting with a smile on her face. I get into the car and before I even buckle up my mom starts asking me questions.
"How was your day?" She asks me. "How do you feel about chicken for dinner?
     "Mom, chill." I tell her. She calms down. "My day was fine, chicken is okay. I have a friend coming over to work on a school project at 5." I tell her.
     "Oh what's her name?" She asks me.
     "His name is Tate." She starts screaming.
     "Oh my baby is all grown up! Inviting boys over!"
     "Mom, chill, he is just coming over to help with a project. You didn't act this way when Evan and I became friends."
     "That is different. You're a junior in high school now." She says it like it is obvious.
     "No mom, stop just stop." I say and she starts laughing.
     "Is he nice? When did you meet him? Is he cute?"
     "MOM! Stop." I yell. She quiets down and pulls up to Kimberly's preschool.
     "I'm sorry honey, I just don't get to spend a lot of time with you."
     "It is okay mom, but he is just a friend coming over to work on a school project." She nods her head.
     "I understand. I am going to get your sister I will be right back." She says getting out of the car. I pull out my phone and the slip of paper Tate gave me with his number on it. I text him.
Harley-
     Hey, it's Harley.
He responds right away.
Tate-
     Hey, what are you up too?
Harley-
     Getting my sister from school. Here is my address.
I send him the address and he waits for a moment before responding.
Tate-
     Thanks, I will see you at 5.
Harley-
      Your welcome.
He is cute I will admit but I go a lot going on right now. I don't need to date.
     "Harley!" I am snapped out of my thoughts by Kimberly's little arms wrapping around my neck. "I made you something in art class!" She says handing me a rolled paper.
She sits in her seat and buckles up while I take the rubber band holding the rolled paper together off. I put the rubber band on my wrist and I unroll the paper. It is a splatter painting.
"Why thank you. You did a wonderful job!" She smiles at me. I show my mom.
"Wow! That is amazing!" My mom says as I roll the paper backup.
     "I actually have a frame I could put this in." I tell Kimberly. She smiles at me again. I can tell that she is proud of her work. The second we get home I run to my room. Kimberly fallows me and sits on my bed. I know why she is in here.
I pull the frame out of my closet and open the back of it. I unroll the paper and place it into the frame taking extra care not to bend it or rip it. I put the back of the frame back on the picture then I place it on a empty nail in the wall.
     "There!" I tell her. She gets off of my bed and hugs my legs.
     "You're the best sister ever Harley." She says to me.
      "I know." She just rolls her eyes as I toot my own horn. 4:45 turns the corner and Tate will be here soon. I have searched through everything in my closet to find a new outfit to wear. I don't even know why I am doing this.
It is just a boy coming over to do a school project. In a week he will forget my name. No one at school hates me they just find it a little weird that I am a flower child. It is like I have fleas or something.
I finally settle on jeans and a regular shirt. I redo my hair but I take the flowers out. 4:55 shows on the clock as I tie my hair into place. I run to the basement and grab the tote of art supplies that we have.
We will work at the kitchen table. I look at my phone and the clock strikes 5:00. I take a deep breath. My mom comes up behind me.
    "Harley, I made you guys chocolate milk and pizza sticks." She tells me.
     "Mom, chocolate milk doesn't exactly go with pizza sticks." I tell her.
     "Chocolate goes with anything." She states putting a plate of pizza sticks and two glasses of chocolate milk on the table. I roll my eyes at her as the door bell rings. Kimberly goes to run for it. I grab her just as she is about to reach the door.
  I place her on my hip and answer the door. Tate stands there in the same clothes he was in at school.
     "Hi." He says to me.
     "Hi, come in." I tell him. "This is Kimberly, my sister." I tell him.
     "She is cute, she must get it from you." I put my head down and blush.
     "Who are you?" Kimberly asks him.
     "Tate, I am your sister's friend."
     "If you hurt her I will release fury on you." She says glaring at him. She looks at me. "Now put my down. Mom has chocolate milk!" I set her down and she takes off running to the kitchen.
     "I'm sorry, she is spunky." He laughs.
     "That is okay, I got an older sister. She does the same thing."
     "Umm, the supplies are in the kitchen."
     "Okay." We walk to the kitchen.
     "Oh hi! You must be Tate!" My mom greets him.
     "I am." He says.
     "I am Karla, Harley's mom! It is nice to meet you."
     "Likewise."
     "I made you kids some snacks." She tells him turning to tend to a impatient Kimberly who wants her chocolate milk. We sit at the table and get started on our project.
I hand Tate his milk. He takes it thanking me. We work on the project for a half hour. Kimberly starts getting loud and cranky.
     "Do you want to go to my room?" I ask him.
     "If you don't mind." He says as I finish cleaning up the art supplies.
     "That is fine." I put the tote against the wall for now. I take him upstairs to my room.
     "It is nice." He says to me.
     "Thanks." I sit on my bed.
     "You don't have any flowers in your hair." He says to me.
     "No, I take them out when I get home."
     "So it is just for show?" He asks me.
     "No, sometimes I don't wear them.  I just have since I could remember."
     "I wasn't kidding." He says.
     "What are you talking about?"
     "When I said Kimberly must get her cuteness from you." I blush once more.
     "She may look cute, but she is a little fireball." I tell him.
     "That's okay, is she a flower child as well?"
     "Yeah, we all are. I take her to march every weekend with me."
     "March?" He cocks his head to the side.
     "Yeah, we put on a dress and pants and shoes. We braid as many flowers as we can in our hair then we fill our baskets with flowers. We go to a park and people line up every Saturday to see us march. We hand out flowers and talk to the people." I explain to him.
     "That is so cool, could I go to one?"
     "Yeah, anyone is welcome. It is always Saturday morning at 11." I tell him.
     "Okay, I will be there." He tells me with a smile. My mom comes in.
      "Dinner is ready! You," She points at Tate. "You are staying for dinner." She closes the door once more. I shrug my shoulders.
     "What can I say?" I ask him.
     "You don't need to say anything."
     "Since my father died she has missed out on a lot. She works all the time and I usually take care of Kimberly on my own. She is excited that I am talking to more people than just my friend Evan and Kimberly."
     "How did your dad die?" He asks me.
     "The doctors said it was natural causes, that it was just his time. I suspect that there was more to the story but my mom would never budge. She still won't." I pick at my finger nails. We sit in silence for a moment. "We should go."
     "Yeah, we should." He agrees and we go to the kitchen to eat dinner.