"Replica15 - Transformation - Kaye, Marilyn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaye Marilyn)

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Enticing smells wafted from the Candlers' terrace grill, and the picnic table displayed bowls of potato salad, cole slaw, chips, and macaroni salad. Dr. Dave Hopkins arrived with his specialty, double-chocolate brownies spiked with chocolate chips and covered with white chocolate icing. Tasha and Eric's mother produced a strawberry cheesecake.

Tasha arrived with a box, but the contents weren't edible. "I found some shoelaces at a flea market this morning," she told Amy excitedly. "Plaid! And I made some trades yesterday. Wanna look?"

"Yeah, I'll go get mine," Amy said, but she had something to do first. Eric had just given her a signal. It was time to hit up the parents for skates.

They had debated over when to approach their parents. Amy had suggested waiting until the last minutes of the cookout, when her mother would be more relaxed because the event had been a success. Eric vetoed that idea because he said his parents were never in very good moods after a great meal. They moaned and groaned about how they'd eaten too much and would have to go on a diet immediately.

So Amy and Eric had settled on the moment when people began to eat. Eric was heading toward his father, and Amy went to her mother.

She began with a compliment. "Everything looks great, Mom. And I just tasted your potato salad. It's the best ever!"

"Thanks, sweetie," her mother said happily. She gazed around at the group, which included a couple of neighbors and a colleague from the university where she taught. People were mixing nicely as they dug into the feast, and Nancy looked pretty pleased with herself.

So Amy plunged in. "Mom, I need my own in-line skates. The ones I rent are really crummy. They don't fit right and the brake pads are always worn. I don't even think they're safe to wear. Can I get my own?"

"Of course you can," her mother said promptly.

Amy's heart leaped.

"If you use your own money," her mother added.

Amy's heart plummeted even faster than it had risen. "Mom, they cost at least a hundred dollars! I don't have that much saved up."

"Then you'll just have to save some more," her mother replied. "Hi, Monica, I'm glad you could come!" She moved away from her daughter to greet the guest, and Amy stomped off to tell Eric the bad news.

From the look on Eric's face, she immediately knew he hadn't received a positive response either. "My dad says I have to buy them myself."

"Same for me," Amy said. Was it possible that the parents had anticipated the request and decided to form a united front? It didn't matter. "How much money do you have?" she asked Eric.

"Sixty-four dollars," he said glumly.

"I've only got forty-eight."

"Maybe there are sales," Eric mused. "Or I can ask around and see if there are any good secondhand skates. You'd better let me have your money, because if I find any, I'll have to buy them right away."

Amy agreed. She went back into the house to get the money she had stashed in a dresser drawer, and she also picked up her shoebox full of laces. Back outside, she turned her wad of cash over to Eric, collected her food, and joined Tasha on a bench to go over their shoelaces.

"I've got an extra pair of hot pink," Amy offered.

"No thanks, I never wear pink. You got any blue laces?"

Amy searched through the box. "Here's some navy ones. I'm looking for light blue."

"I don't have any light blue," Tasha said. "But I'll trade you olive green for the navy."