June 18, 2006

Texas Hold Her

Part I: Shelby

My best friend drives me crazy sometimes. Like tonight, she got this insane idea to go to her boyfriend’s house to hang out with him and his friends. Sounds a little fishy to me.

“Remind me again why I am doing this for you?”

“Because you love me,” she replied and dabbed on more blush. “And because I love you.”

Margaret Ann Moore, my best friend, was, okay, not a bit like myself. For starters, her hair was shoulder-length and a golden strawberry blonde color. Her eyes looked like a cat’s, and her face glowed the way those girls’ faces do in Olay commercials. It was clear she took care of herself and she cared very much about the way she looked.

Unfortunately, she seemed to care more about the way I looked too. Maybe because I needed it so badly. I was Shelby Marie Tulli. I had dark brown hair that was almost jet black, an amazing color, Meg always told me. Except that there were so many waves in it, I couldn’t even take a hair straightener to it. And more than anything on earth, I wanted Meg’s eyes. In fact, I wanted to be her, to not be single, to not share a name with a brand new sports car, and to have that beautiful vibe that just said, “Here I am.”

“Uh, Shelby, you okay?” Meg waved her hand in front of my face, looking concerned. “You look totally out of it.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, securing an earring. “Not too into this idea.”

“Why not?” She looked surprised. “You don’t wanna go with me?”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and sighed lightly. “It’s not you Meg.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, come with me to see Rob. We’re planning next week’s beach trip to Wildwood and you’re coming.”

“That’s why we’re going to Rob’s? To plan a beach trip?”

“No!” Meg laughed, grabbing her Coach bag off the table. She was not one to spend money lightly. “The guys are playing cards, and I want to see Rob anyway. Besides, he has his friends there.” She winked as we headed out the door, and I wondered once again what on earth she was expecting of me.

“Is this some kind of setup?” I demanded once we reached the sidewalk.

“You can think of it as a conspiracy,” Meg pressed a button to unlock her precious Eclipse and we climbed in.

“Meg, a conspiracy?”

“Yeah, you know, we’re all out to get you. To bore you to death with Blackjack and Hearts.”

I had to laugh a little at that one. “Are you playing?”

She snorted a little in amusement. “Uh, no! I’d much rather watch, wouldn’t you?”

I couldn’t really think of anything to say to that.

Meg explained. “There’s just something incredibly sexy about a man who plays cards, more so a man who is good at cards. You’ve never dated or seen a card game, I don’t think, so maybe you wouldn’t know.” I just stared out my window and watched the bright street lamps go by, my ears burning slightly from the knowledge that I had zero experience. “It’s watching them in the heat of a rough game,” she continued, oblivious. “Seeing them showing off for you, using their brains, taking control and knowing exactly what to do. And Rob has this thing.” She giggled suddenly and I got interested. “He always looks at me this certain way. I think it’s when he knows he has a good hand. Like we have our own beautiful little secret that we share across the room.”

For a moment I respected her for this insight. She was being open and honest and besides, it sounded pretty sentimental and sweet to me. But then she ruined it by adding, “But you wouldn’t know, would you? I mean, the best teacher is experience, isn’t it?”

Like Meg had so much more of that over me. Her three boyfriends to my dead love life meant nothing, right? Still, she did have a point. “Sure Meg.”

I panicked when I felt the car slow, and then it stopped completely at the curb. Meg’s eyebrow went up but she said nothing except, “Come on.”

I swear my heart rate went up as we walked up the steps to the door, and I felt about ready to pass out. Then when the door opened, I did what I had to do. I hiccupped.

Meg threw me a look. Then she smiled sweetly at the boy who had answered the door. “Hey Tom, we’re here.”

As if he couldn’t see that himself. His eyes went to me momentarily before saying, “Great. Come on in then.”

We followed him into a spotless living room and he said, “We have drinks down in the basement. Rob’s parents are asleep upstairs, but they know we’re here so…” he trailed off, then shrugged. “Okay, I guess we’ll go down now.” And we did.