Celena floated into her house. She could hear her mom humming in the kitchen. She walked towards there. Her mom heard her walk in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Hi, Cel," Mrs. Holt said. "How was the game?" Mrs. Holt was flattening out dough with her hands. Isabella Holt was a prominent lawyer in Tulsa, who had immigrated from Italy as a teenager.
"It was great, Mom," she replied dreamily.
"It was? That's good. How's John?" Mrs. Holt was very well acquainted with John, not only from meeting him several times, but also from what Celena had told her of him.
"Great," Celena replied. "He asked me to go to the carnival with him, Chrystyne, and his friend Taylor tonight."
"Well, congratulations!" Mrs. Holt exclaimed.
"I'm so excited!" Celena said. "I'm finally going on a date with John Kempton!"
"OK. I know Chrystyne. She's the real athletic girl with blond hair. Right?" Mrs. Holt asked. Celena nodded. "But who's this Taylor person? I don't believe I've met him before."
"His name is Taylor Hanson. He's on John's soccer team. But its just his hobby. He's in a band," Celena replied.
"A band?" Mrs. Holt repeated.
"Yeah, with his brothers. He's really nice," she said.
"What does he look like?" Mrs. Holt asked.
"An inch or two taller than me. Skinny, with long blond hair. Gorgeous blue eyes," Celena responded.
"OK. I can't wait to meet him," Mrs. Holt said.
"Well, I gotta go upstairs and get ready. They'll be here in about thirty minutes," Celena said. She ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room.
Celena's room was large, with big windows on one side. There was a huge bed near the door and a desk across the room against one wall. There was a bookcase in one corner, filled with books of poetry and plays, and of astronomy. Beside it was a walk-in closet. She went into the closet and turned on the light. She spent ten minutes going through all her clothes. She decided to wear a thick rose colored wool sweater, a black skirt, and her leather jacket. She got dressed quickly and went into the bathroom. She ran a brush through her hair and touched up her makeup. She put on a rose colored lipstick and black boots right as she heard a car horn honk. She grabbed some money and ran downstairs. Shoving the money in her pocket, she open the front door.
"Bye, Mom!" she yelled.
"Bye, Cel! Have a good time!" her mother yelled back. Celena closed the door and ran over to John's car.
Taylor's palms began to sweat when he saw Celena open the door. She looked gorgeous. John rolled down the window.
"Ready to go?" he asked Celena.
"Sure!" She stood there for a moment, waiting for John to come open the car door for her. When Taylor realized John had no intention to, he got out of the backseat.
"Sit by me?" he asked.
"Sure." She got in the car. "Thanks, Taylor."
"You're welcome," he said getting in beside her and closing the door. At least Taylor's a gentleman, Celena thought to herself. John could stand to learn a lot from him.
"Now to pick up Chrystyne," John said, backing out of the driveway.
Celena sat in the backseat, while Chrystyne sat in the front. It would take at least half an our to get tot he fair grounds, because traffic was so bad. Celena felt that she should be sitting in the front with John since he was her date, but said nothing. Sitting next to Taylor wasn't so bad. He was actually very interesting.
"John says you like poetry," Taylor replied.
"Anything by Anna Akhmatova," Celena replied.
"Mom's made me read some of my writings," Taylor said. "I like how she combines feelings and emotions with nature. And her use of her few words. It leaves so much up to your imagination." Celena tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Taylor thought it was the sexiest movement he had ever seen.
"Cool! That's exactly why I like her," Celena said. "But why did your mom make you read?"
"My mom is my teacher. I'm home schooled with my siblings," he replied.
"Magnif! You said you were in a band with your brothers?" Celena asked.
"Yeah, with my brothers Isaac and Zac. You may have heard of us. We're called Hanson," Taylor said.
"No, actually I've never heard of you," Celena said.
"Wow...I finally met a girl who has no clue who my brothers and I are," Taylor said in awe.
"What kind of music do you play?" Celena asked.
"Pop rock. Isaac plays the guitar, Zac plays drums, and I play the keyboard. Are you sure you've never heard of us, and didn't know who played it?" Taylor asked.
"Nope," Celena replied.
"Awesome! What kind of music do you listen to?" he asked.
"Jazz/Big Band stuff, like Harry Connick Jr. I love the Carpenters. And the Beatles. You?" she responded.
"Aerosmith, the Wallflowers. I like the Beatles, too. Especially Strawberry Fields Forever. It rocks!" Taylor said.
"I love that song, too!" she exclaimed. "What's your favorite Shakespeare play?"
"Much Ado About Nothing," they both said at the same time.
"Awesome! We like a lot of the same things!" Taylor said.
"Yeah," she agreed. They smiled at each other.
They rode every ride possible before eating something. John got a huge meat pie. Chrystyne got a hot dog, and Taylor and Celena both got large pieces of pineapple pizza.
"So, Taylor, you said you were home schooled with your siblings? How many siblings do you have?" Celena asked.
"Six. Isaac, who is 17; Zac, 13; Jessica, 9; Avery, 7; Mackenzie, 4; and a new baby sister, Zoe. She's two weeks old," Taylor replied. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"I have an older brother and sister. They're twins, Marco and Bella. They're 19 and sophomores in college. Marco is going to be a reporter for the Tulsa Star, and Bella is going to be a historian. Marco goes to U of O, while Bella goes to LSU. I also have a younger sister, Ailani, who's 12. She lives with my dad in New Orleans," Celena replied.
"So, you're sort of an only child?" he asked.
"Yeah. My parents divorced when I was 10. Marco and I live with Mom, while Bella and Ailani live with Dad. Marco moved out last year, and so did Bella. Ailani and I switch places during the summer months," she replied.
"Oh. Well, I'm stuck sharing a room with Isaac and Zac. I would really love to have my own room sometimes. Isaac snores...and Zac...well he's just annoying," Taylor said.
"Aw, Tay, will you please stop talking about yourself," John whined. "Nobody cares! So, how did I do today, Celena?"
"Great," she said, smiling insincerely. How rude to interrupt someone when they're talking, she thought.
"Yeah, I was great, wasn't I?" John responded. "Hey, Cel." He let out a loud belch. Celena and Taylor both grimaced at the sound. Chrystyne, however, was quite amused.
"I bet I can burp louder and longer than you can!" Chrystyne exclaimed. She let out an even larger belch.
"Chrystyne!" John exclaimed. "I never knew you had it in you!" He laughed hysterically. The foursome got up and threw away their plates and cups. They walked through rows and rows of game and craft booths. They came upon a baseball toss. The object was to throw a baseball and try to knock down the six milk bottles stacked in a pyramid.
"How much is one ball?" John asked the man behind the counter.
"Fifty cents for one ball, seventy-five for three," the fat bald man answered. John handed him three quarters, and in return the man handed John three balls. He missed the bottles on his first two throws. On the third, he knocked down three bottles.
"Nice arm, Kempton. But I can do better," Chrystyne said, handing the bald guy a dollar. On her first try, she knocked down four.
"Hey! Good job! But I can still do better!" John said. He handed the bald man another seventy-five cents. Taylor yawned and looked over at Celena. She was staring at the Healey Auditorium, where the sounds of jazz music wafted out of the door.
"Want to go dance?" Taylor asked, breaking Celena out of her trance.
"Sure," Celena answered. Taylor took her hand, and they walked over to the doorway of the auditorium. Harry Connick, Jr, was on stage crooning, while a bunch of old people were dancing around.
"May I have this dance?" Taylor asked. Celena nodded, and he took her in his arms. They swayed to the music.
Lovers are dreamers,
And I ‘ve been walking in my sleep
When I wake I'll never take the chance that I can't keep.
A thousand first times never add up to last.
And I've been told a heart of gold melts away too fast.
But I didn't count on you
Running into me.
No I didn't count on you.
I could learn to love you.
I could get used to this.
I could learn to love you,
And the shelter of your kiss...
Celena layed her head on Taylor's shoulder, as Taylor began to sing along with the song. His voice was quiet at first, then it became rich and loud.
The day's not as hard as trying to go through it alone.
And in the end you can't depend on any love but your own.
Sometimes the impossible shows up undeclared.
That's when the impossible,
Shows you that its possible,
Maybe even beautiful,
To double what you've dared.
But I didn't count on you
Running into me.
No I didn't count on you.
I could learn to love you.
I could get used to this.
I could learn to love you,
And the shelter of your kiss.
(Music and lyric credits: Harry Connick, Jr. from his album To See You)
The song ended and everyone began to clap as Harry Connick, Jr. bowed. Taylor and Celena stood there wrapped in each other's arms, looking into each other's eyes. It was as if they were trapped in a fantasy world, and no one was there but them.
"Hey! There they are! I told you they walked off somewhere, Chrys!" John said, ruining the moment.
"Alright, alright! We've found them, now let's go," Chrystyne said. They walked to the parking lot where John's car sat. John turned on the car, and they sped off. They took Chrystyne home first, then Celena.
They pulled up in front of Celena's house.
"Good night, Celena," John said. He didn't get out of the car.
"Good night," Celena responded.
"I'll walk you to the door," Taylor said. He got out and opened her door, then helped her out. They walked to the door.
"Thanks, Taylor. I really appreciate your manners," she said kissing him on the cheek.
"You're welcome. Hey, can I call you sometime?" he asked.
"I'd love that. My number is 871-9427. Bye!" she said opening the door to her house.M
"871-9427. Okay! Bye!" he said. He walked away smiling as she stepped inside her house and shut the door.
