The Gift 6

Stop!

Did you read my confessions Friday?

Did you read the special edition of Twirl?

What about the second candy animals and another set of confessions?

Ok.

Proceed.



To read the previous edition of the Gift, go here.



"Rouge?" Jeremy poked his head in from the other room. "Who's Rouge?"

"Rouge?" Cleo stumbled in from her room, holding a hand over her mouth as she yawned. "Who's Rouge?"

"Rouge?" Samantha stared at Ashley in horror. "No. It can't be."

"Yes, Rouge," Ashley repeated, jabbing her finger at the computer screen. She pointed to the Celtic love pendant image on the screen, then at the diamond and blue topaz version in her hand.

"It's got to be Rouge," Ashley repeated, dangling the pendant in front of Samantha's nose. Samantha snatched it away from her with a glare.

"Rouge? Who's Rouge?" Jeremy demanded, stepping into the kitchen with a scowl. "How come I haven't met Rouge?"

"Do I know Rouge?" Cleo asked, blinking sleepily up at Samantha.

Ashley shook her head as Samantha stared at the pendant. "Rouge was Samantha's best friend in high school and the first year or two of college," she explained to Cleo, ignoring Jeremy. "He came from Ireland with his parents in the ninth grade. All the girls in school were crazy about him. But he only had eyes for Samantha."

"No, he didn't," Samantha scoffed. "We were just friends."

Jeremy's forehead furrowed closer as Ashley laughed. "They were inseparable. The three of us went everywhere together. Even when Samantha dated guys, Rouge had to approve. Of course he never did, so the relationships never lasted long. They were voted Most Likely to Get Married at prom."

"It wasn't like that," Samantha protested. "We were just best friends. You're blowing this out of proportion."

Jeremy huffed and leaned against the wall. "I had a ton of girlfriends in high school," he muttered. "I dated the head cheerleader for a year." No one paid attention to him.

"Why don't I know him?" Cleo asked, running her fingers through her dark hair. "Did you two have a falling out?'

Samantha shook her head. "Sophomore year of college, he called me really excited and said a relative had left him a ton of money. He said he was going to drop out of school and do what he had always wanted to do. I tried to talk him out of it, but he said it would be perfect and I would love it. It was a surprise. Then I never heard from him again. I called him several times, but his cell phone had been changed and his parents had moved. No one knew where he went."

"It was really weird," Ashley agreed. "Samantha even got her daddy's big time government buddies to pull some strings, see if he had been deported or hurt or anything. But no one knew what happened."

"This can't be Rouge," Samantha protested. "I haven't seen him in almost four years! Besides, how would he know we're here in my parents cabin? They didn't have it until two years ago. Plus, we're two hundred miles from my hometown."

"You know, this plot you girls have cooked up is really ridiculous," Jeremy burst out. "I'm sorry about the DVDs, ok?"

Once again, the girls ignored him.

"Why don't we look him up?" Cleo suggested, moving toward the computer. "He's probably on Facebook or MySpace."

"I wish I'd thought of that," Ashley murmured, rubbing her stomach. "I need food to think." She looked pointedly at Jeremy. "Weren't you supposed to get breakfast?"

Jeremy shrugged. "Where am I supposed to get breakfast?" he whined. "I don't know this town."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Son, the workout DVDs are the least of your problems." Samantha snorted with laughter.

Cleo whooped and smacked the counter with her fist. "Bam!" she screeched, pointing at the screen. "I didn't even need his last name!"

The girls immediately flocked around the screen, ignoring Jeremy as he tried to peer over them.

"That's him!" Samantha cried, her voice giddy with excitement. "Oh my God! I'm so happy he's ok! He looks so good!"

"What do you mean, he looks good?" Jeremy asked suspiciously.

"Click on his profile," Ashley commanded. She elbowed Jeremy as he tried to lean over and he grunted.

Cleo clicked the mouse and squinted her eyes at the screen. "Oh my God!" she cried. "It says he owns a bar in your hometown. It's got it's own Web site." She clicked the mouse again and squealed. "Oh cute! It's a Irish-themed bar!"

Samantha smacked her head. "A bar!" she and Ashley said in unison.

"He was always wanting to re-create his grandfather's pub," Samantha explained, catching the confused look on Cleo's face. "He said in Ireland his family had always owned a pub until they ran into tough times. His grandfather sold the pub to give his parents the money to go to Ireland and give Rouge and his brothers and sisters a better education and opportunities. Rouge felt like it was his duty to carry on the tradition."

"We should go," Ashley said, her eyes gleaming. "We could leave after lunch, shop for a bit and be there right after dinner."

"They're having a band play tonight," Cleo added, a wicked grin on her face. "For ladies' night."

"I'm not going to a bar 200 miles away," Jeremy protested.

"Who invited you?" Ashley snapped. She leaned toward the screen and gasped. "Oh my God!" she whispered. "Samantha, look!" She pointed at the screen. "The club is called Until Sunset."

To be continued...

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have a heart-warming plea from our favorite Wuffler and Wednesday we've got a new Twirl. We've also got a new recipe and a date with the Fuzzy Duck and Rubber Chicken!