"Daphne, come, on, we've been here since eight in the morning, and it's four now. You've just about bought out every store in the mall." I complained, straining my walk and struggling to hold my bags. My back had been hurting for the past two hours.
I had the right to complain. Daphne had bought a pair of hiking boots and snow shoes, snow pants, two pairs of jeans, two sweatshirts, four t-shirts, a snow cap, socks, and two sport bras. Now she was looking for a ski-jacket.
I, on the other hand, had purchased a pair of jeans, two t-shirts, a jacket, and a satin jade bra and pantie set.
"All I need to find is a ski jacket, the we can go home. I told you, I need these because my family and I go to the mountains in California every year." she stated.
"I know that. But, how about I call someone and have them come pick me up here and you can finish your shopping." I bargained.
"No!" she whined.
"Why not? My feet are killing me, I'm tired, I have a baby-sitting job tonight, and I've got a project in English due Monday." I complained.
"I need a second opinion. Besides, I like your fashion taste. It's helping me find my own."
I crossed my arms and sighed. I thought and looked at her. "No." I simply stated.
"Okay, fine. Just leave me here in the mall alone to fend for myself while you go find a ride and go home without helping your friend." she said, trying to pull off a guilt trip.
"Okay see ya!" I replied quickly and turned around to find the nearest pay phone before she could change her mind.
"Oh no. You're coming. And I don't care if that guilt trip worked or not. Look, I'll make it up to you. What do you want me to do?"
"Hmmmm, what do I want you to do?" I asked myself and her. I thought, tapping my finger on my chin as well as my foot. A smile, sly and secretive, formed my mouth.
"Uh, Kim, maybe I should just make this simpler." she suggested, on a second thought.
"Oh no, Daphne, you're not getting out of this," I said, "You're going to buy me....condoms." I said.
"Oh no no no no no no no no no no! Those are way too embarrassing to buy. I can't buy tampons without wearing sunglasses in a store." she spilled.
"That's right, it's payback time." I replied. In the back of my head, I thought and pleaded, Please don't ask why I want them.
A look of panic rose upon her face. "What the hell, it's worth it." she said, throwing her hands up in the air.
I started to walk to the nearest mall exit, when Daphne pulled me back.
"After we get a ski jacket." she ordered.
"Hmmmm...." I whined, and followed her to Sears, where they were having a sale.
"God, I thought we'd never find a jacket. Now we can go to the drugstore." I said, plopping down in the passenger seat of Daphne's Lexus.
"Can I do something else, please? This is too embarassing. And besides, you agreed to come with me." she tried to get out of her mission.
"But you didn't tell me what you were planning on purchasing." I argued.
You didn't ask!"
"And you expect me to be a fortune teller?"
"You're into that stuff."
"No, I'm into zodiacs, not psychos."
There was silence as Daphne turned into the parking lot for Rite-Aid. She put the car in park and grabbed her purse, sighing as I handed her money. "Do you have a prefernece of brands?"
"No." I replied glumly.
She got out of the car, and walked into the store. Without her sunglasses.
Then she came back out no later than ten seconds ago. "I forgot my sunglasses." she stated, and walked back into the drug store.
"Damn," I whispered. "Oh well."
Curious as George the monkey, I opened up her glove compartment and rooted through it. It was calling out my name. "Kim! Open me up Kim! Find out what Dirty Daphne hides in me!" I couldn't resist.
I spoke of her contents out loud to myself. "Gum, pens, map, "Sex for Dummies," nail pol- "Sex for Dummies?!" I yelled horridly. "Now why would she have this book? Are her and Joseph having sex?" Then I found some condoms in the glove compartment. One package was open and empty. "I guess so."
I filpped throught the book for a minute, coming across some odd subjects.
"Foreplay is one of the most commonly confused words in the sexual dictionary. It is used solely for one partner and the other to enjoy themselves before they get into their fornicating. It is the most fun and intense diversion for sexual satisfaction," I read to myself. "I could learn from this. I'll just borrow it from Daphne for awhile." Then I saw her walk out of Rite-Aid, her cheeks read as a rose. I hid the book in one of my bags quickly in the backseat.
"Here's your stupid condoms." she said when she opened the driver side door, throwing me a small paper bag. I peeked inside of it. "Trojan?" I asked.
"Hey, you said you didn't care. Besides, you're not having sex. I know you just wanted to get me back for today." she defended.
"Hey, all I said was Trojan, nothing else."
"Yeah, I know what you meant. Oh, I forgot to tell you," she said, and pulled a flyer out of her shopping bag and handed it to me. "I guess the mall is hosting an ice-skating contest/charity type thing."
"Oh yeah, I've known about this for two months or so. I'm entering it, of course."
"Well, I wouldn't blame you. You've been ice-skating for who knows how many years, and you'll do anything for charity."
"Of course. You always gotta give something back." I said.
"It's not for a charity, actually. It's one of those marathon-type things. The contest, well, it's not really a contest, it's more like a show. But anyways, the show will be broadcasted on our local TV station, and people who aren't coming to watch can call in and pledge money. There will be a small fee if you're coming to watch, but it'll be worth it, since this will probably be an annual event, if it turns out to be successful. All the profits will go to the children's hospital here in Tulsa." I explained.
"Do you know how many performances there will be?" she asked.
"So far, as far as I'm concerned, there's around thirty-five, but the contest is about 6 weeks away, just before Christmas day. People who still want to enter have only two weeks to decide. Mr. Hawkins, my teacher, helped organize it when I was in Australia. My routine is perfect except for a couple of stunts."
"What's your routine's theme?" she questioned.
"I'm skating to the song, "American Pie" from Don McClean. The outfit is going to be an American flag design. I can only tell you that much; you have to watch the show to see the rest of everything." I said.
"You know I'll come and watch." she noted.
We turned onto my street where I instructed her to drop me off at the Hanson's because I was going to baby-sit Avery, Mackenzie, and Zoe.
"Hey Kim?" Daphne asked as I stepped out of the car.
"Yeah?" I asked, gathering my bags.
"Thank you. For going shopping with me."
"I'll quote you on that." I winked, and walked away.