That afternoon when I got home from school, I told Anne about my idea for Taylor's birthday party. "So...would you call Zac now?" I finished.
"Sure," she agreed. I followed her to the phone and watched her dial. "Hi, Zac...Yeah, it's me...Well, actually my sister wants to talk to you...I'll let her tell you." She handed the phone to me.
"Hi Zac," I said.
"Okay, what's up, and why don't you want to talk to Taylor? Did you have a fight or something?"
"No, we most definitely did not have a fight. I had an idea for a surprise birthday party for him."
"Ooh...I love surprises! What do you want me to do?"
"First off, where is Taylor? Is he there?"
"He and Ike are practicing. I was too, until you called. They made me promise to make it fast, so I could come back and practice again. So...let me hear the idea!"
"Well, the party will be over here, on Taylor's birthday. I thought we could have it from around 2 or so in the afternoon to around 6 or so. I know it's a Wednesday, but we have Spring Break that week. Now, what I need you to do is to talk to your parents and make sure it's okay with them."
"Okay, be right back." After a few minutes, he said, "Yeah, it's fine. But...how are we going to get Tay over there, and how will we already be there?"
I grinned. "This is the mean part. You don't have to do this if you don't want to, but it was the only thing we could come up with. Your family will plan to go see a movie or something. But then your parents will tell Taylor that he can't come, because of some chore or something. The rest of you will leave, but of course instead of going to a movie, you'll be coming over here. After you guys get here, I'm going to call Taylor and ask him to come over and help me study for History."
Zac laughed. "That is so mean!...I love it!!"
"Okay, I think you should go practice some more now. Oh...and tell Isaac about this. I guess if any of you have any questions about the party, call Anne, and she'll ask me. That way, Taylor hopefully won't suspect anything. Bye, Zac."
"Bye."
After I hung up and gave Anne the news, I went to my room to listen to music and think about what I could possibly give Taylor for his birthday.
I had put in Mariah Carey's "Ones" CD. After several of her other number one songs, I heard the beginning of a song I knew better than any other in the world. I sang along quietly. (Yes, Martha, I can sing quietly!) As the song faded, I found myself gazing at a picture on my desk. It was one my mom had insisted on taking, of Taylor and me right after the Mercury Records party. We were both smiling, and he had his arm around me. At that moment, I knew exactly what I would give my boyfriend.
Chapter 33
Love Takes Time
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