Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Hazel took a sip of the lavender tea that she’d made for herself, hoping it would help steady her nerves. She glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen, biting her lip. It was just a few more minutes until Samantha was going to leave for the school dance, and all of Hazel’s nervousness about the event had returned.
Two days earlier, Samantha had vaulted into the house after returning from school, looking wild with happiness. She’d squealed out the news that Austin had asked her to go to the dance with him. Hazel had been torn between happiness for her daughter and a sudden storm of worries about the event.
She listened to the sound of Samantha’s footsteps on the ceiling overhead. Her daughter seemed to be walking more heavily than usual, and in a more rhythmic way.
Hazel chuckled to herself, realizing that Samantha was probably practicing her dancing. Then she imagined Samantha dancing with Austin, and she pressed her lips together.
I wish I’d gotten a chance to meet him before all this , she thought, taking a frazzled sip of her tea. I think she’s really too young to be going with a boy. What kind of parents does he have? Are they encouraging this?
She shook her head. When Samantha had told her that Austin had asked her—describing the scene in minute detail, gushing over the way he’d approached her in front of her locker and handed her a card that said, Will you go to the dance with me? —Hazel had considered telling her daughter that she was too young to go with a boy, and she would have to just spend time with Austin at the dance, not go officially as his date.
But the ecstatic happiness of her daughter had convinced her not to do that, at least not during their initial conversation.
Afterward, she’d wrestled with the idea. She’d worried that she should have put her foot down right away or told Samantha weeks ago that she was too young to go with a boy.
But the more she thought about it, the more she remembered Julia’s advice that she needed to trust her daughter to make smart decisions. She didn’t want to push Samantha away by holding onto the leash too tightly. She knew how much it meant to her daughter that Austin had asked her to the dance, and she knew that she would be crushed if she had to tell him that she wasn’t going with him after all. Besides, there would be chaperones at the dance, and Samantha was a good kid going with a boy who sounded like he was a good kid too.
Hazel drank more of her tea, staring into space and wondering when Samantha was going to come downstairs. They’d spent the last hour together, getting her ready. Samantha had put on the pink dress that they’d found with the rest of the Owens women, and she looked as pretty as a picture in it.
Her cheeks were so flushed and her eyes were sparkling so much that she didn’t need makeup, even if Hazel would have allowed her to wear it. They’d found a pair of low pink heels to wear with the dress, and they matched it perfectly. Hazel’s heart had given a bittersweet pang when she’d seen her daughter wearing heels for the first time. Samantha had been practicing walking in them almost non-stop since they’d been purchased.
Hazel glanced at the clock again. “You’d better come downstairs in a minute, honey!” she called. “It’s almost time to go!”
“Okay!” Samantha called.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Hazel’s heart jumped up, wondering if it was Austin and his parents arriving. Samantha had told her that they’d offered to come pick her up, since Austin wasn’t old enough to drive yet.
She hurried through the living room to the front door and yanked it open. Instead of three strangers, however, she saw Julia standing there.
“Hey!” Hazel pulled her sister into a hug. “Thanks for coming over.”
“I figured you could use the company.” Julia smiled sympathetically. “I know you’re nervous about this whole thing.”
“Oh, gosh.” Hazel let out a long sigh. “I’m trying not to be, but you’re right, I am. Were we this into boys at her age?”
“Alexis was.” Julia laughed. “And I think I kind of was too. I don’t think you were until you were older, but you’d be the best person to answer that.”
“I honestly don’t remember.” Hazel ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s all become kind of a blur.”
“I hear that.” Julia stepped inside. “How are you doing?”
“Jittery. Drinking lavender tea.” Hazel laughed.
“Oh, really? Could I have some too? That sounds delicious.”
“You got it.” Hazel felt glad to have a task to do. “Come on into the kitchen and I’ll make you a cup.”
Julia followed Hazel into the cozy little kitchen. “So you’re nervous. Tell me about what’s making you nervous.”
“I just—I just have some misgivings, I guess. She seems so young to be going to a dance with a boy. But I know I have to let the reins go a bit so that Samantha doesn’t feel stifled and resent me.”
“Oh, I don’t think she’d ever resent you. I think she’s empathetic enough to understand where you’d be coming from, even if you did choose to be that strict.”
Hazel shook her head. “She couldn’t be, not really. She can’t understand why I’m afraid the way another adult could understand it. When she thinks about boys, all she sees is happily ever after. Until you get your heart broken, you think you’re invincible.”
Julia hugged her sister sideways. “I see what you mean. But I think you’re going to be able to find a healthy balance. Trust your instincts. No one is a perfect parent, and all you can do is your best. Talk to Samantha about your concerns, but also let her explore and have the adventures she wants to have. She’s got to learn to navigate the world on her own, and that training is starting now.”
Hazel groaned. “Oh, you’re right. I wish it wasn’t starting for another five—no, ten—years.”
Julia chuckled. “Just let her have fun today and let yourself have fun too. There’s nothing to worry about. She’s just going to a fun dance with a nice boy.”
“Yes.” Hazel smiled. “A fun dance with a nice boy. And I’m glad she’s so excited, I really am.”
“Speaking of Glinda the Good, where is she? Shouldn’t she be downstairs by now?”
“She should.” Hazel glanced toward the staircase with a chuckle. “She’s probably twirling around again. I would be too, if I was her age and I was wearing a dress with a skirt like that.” She started toward the staircase, intending to go up it and remind Samantha that it was nearly time to go.
At that moment, however, the doorbell rang again.
“Oh, that must be the boy and his parents,” she said, feeling suddenly flustered again.
“Don’t be nervous!” Julia called after her, laughing a little, as Hazel hurried over to the front door.
She opened it, but to her surprise, Samantha’s best friends, Willow and Natalie, were standing on the doorstep. Both girls were clearly ready for the dance—Willow was wearing the Wicked Witch inspired outfit that Samantha had described, and Natalie was wearing a beautiful silver dress.
“Hey, girls!” Both of Samantha’s best friends were great kids, and Hazel was always happy to see them. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re here to pick Samantha up,” Willow said, grinning from ear to ear. “My mom’s over there in the car waiting for us.”
Hazel’s lips parted, and she felt a flop of worry that Samantha had forgotten to tell her friends about her plans with Austin. She didn’t want Willow or Natalie to feel badly that Samantha wasn’t going to the dance with them. She decided not to say anything yet, however. It was possible that Samantha’s carpooling plans had changed and she just hadn’t told her mother yet.
“She’s almost ready,” Hazel said, smiling. “Why don’t you two come inside for a moment?”
The girls stepped into the house just as Samantha was coming down the stairs. The moment she saw her friends, Samantha squealed with delight and raced to hug them.
“You guys made it! I thought you were going to be late!”
“No, my mom drives even faster than my dad does,” Willow said, shaking her head as if she was wondering how she would ever get her mother to behave properly.
Julia and Hazel exchanged a quizzical glance over the girls’ heads.
“Hey, honey,” Hazel said quietly to her daughter. “What about Austin? I thought you were going with him?” She pressed her lips together, worrying that Austin had changed his mind and Samantha was already dealing with the pain of rejection.
“I’ll see him there.” Samantha was grinning, clearly not upset in any way. “And I promised to dance with him?—”
“Ooh!” her friends squealed.
“—but I decided that I wanted to go the dance with ‘The Rosebuds.’” She said the name with infinite pride, and then all three of the girls struck dramatic poses.
Julia and Hazel exchanged another glance, both of them clearly trying not to laugh.
“What are ‘The Rosebuds’?” Hazel asked.
Samantha’s eyes danced mischievously. “Mom, Aunt Julia, take a seat on the couch for a second.”
“My goodness, this is exciting,” Julia said.
Hazel sat down beside her sister, feeling both delighted and extremely relieved. Samantha wasn’t nearly as boy-crazy as she’d thought. If she was choosing her friends over being chosen by a boy, that was setting a healthy pattern for her future. It was clear that Samantha didn’t think she needed a boy to complete her, she was perfectly happy to be her full self with her friends.
“Ladies and—ladies!” Samantha began to speak in a dramatic announcer voice. “Thank you for coming to the concert of ‘The Rosebuds,’ the best girl band in Rosewood Beach!”
Samantha and her friends began to sing a popular pop song, going back and forth from solos to group singing and changing up which one of them was singing as a soloist every few lines. They were giggling a great deal and some of their pitches were a little flat, but they all performed with gusto and an impressive amount of confidence.
As soon as their final note ended, Hazel and Julia burst into applause.
“Amazing!” Hazel said, grinning. “You girls sound great together. How long have you wanted to be a band?”
“Uh, a couple of days?” Willow glanced at her friends, frowning a little in concentration.
“‘The Rosebuds’ are a new band, but we are committed to it.” Samantha nodded emphatically, her eyes shining. “We’re going to rehearse every Tuesday night for a couple of hours.”
“Yeah, in my garage,” Natalie said. “Because real bands rehearse in garages.”
“Sounds fantastic.” Julia grinned. “I’d ask for an encore, but we don’t want to keep your mother waiting too long, Willow. And besides, you girls don’t want to be late for the dance.”
“You’re right!” Samantha ran to her mother and hugged her tightly. “Bye, Mom! Love you. I’ll see you later!”
“Have an amazing time!”
The girls vaulted out of the house, and Julia and Hazel watched them go from the windows, smiling over how cute the girls looked in their beautiful dresses.
“Oh, well, that’s a relief,” Hazel said with a big sigh as she watched Samantha hop into Willow’s mom’s van.
Julia laughed. “I guess that crush was short-lived! Girls her age are into something one minute and then off to something else the next.”
“Clearly.” Hazel chuckled. “And I’m so glad that she’s more excited about having fun with her friends than going to a dance with a boy.”
“You seem to be in the clear for now. Sorry you had all that worrying for nothing.”
“Oh, I don’t think it was for nothing.” Hazel shook her head. “This way, I’ll feel more prepared when boys inevitably come back around someday. But this was my first test in practicing letting go. Hopefully next time it won’t feel so hard.”
“Hopefully.” Julia nodded sympathetically. “And at least now you know that it’s coming.”
“And when it does come, I’ll be more ready to trust my daughter and let her make her own choices.” Hazel smiled. “I can’t help hoping she’ll be a little older the next time she gets this excited about a boy, but however old she is, I’m going to remind myself that she’s smart enough to make her own choices about some things.”