Free Masquerade of Lies by Wendy Hinbest Page B

over and put her hand on my shoulder.
    “It’s okay,” she said. I froze. “What I don’t understand is why you felt you had to hide that from me. I thought we were friends?”
    I looked at her with fury in my eyes. “That was private! You had no right!”
    I finally got the dress off and threw it on her bed. As I reached for my clothes and began to get dressed, Claire just stood there watching me. My watery eyes met hers.
    “You have no idea what I’ve been through, and I’d appreciate it if you kept this to yourself,” I said.
    An awkward silence lingered between us for a moment.
    “Of course…God…but I want you to know you can be real with me,” Claire said. I nodded my head and wiped the tears off my face. She gave me a closed-mouth smile in response. “Good. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s find you some shoes.” She went into her closet and came back with a pair of silver Gucci heels and a couple of jeans and tops, then tossed the clothes on the bed. “Here, try these on,” she said, dangling the shoes from her fingers.
    “What are the clothes for?”
    “I was just thinking…if you’re gonna hang with us, you can’t wear your clothes. You need a make-over.”
    I looked down at what I was wearing. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
    She put her hands on my shoulders and said, “Trust me.”
    I put on a fake smile and took the shoes from her hand, then sauntered over to her bed. After I sat down and slid them on my feet, I stood up and walked back and forth to break them in. After a little while, they didn’t feel that bad. Marisa would die if she saw me right now.
    “What do you think?”
    “I think you’re gonna drive all the boys wild,” Claire said with a smile.
    I looked at the time on my Motorola. “Shoot! I gotta get home for dinner! Can I get a ride home?”
    “Where’s my gas money, beeotch?”
    “What?”
    “I’m just kidding! Ohmigod, you should see your face!”
    I smirked as I tucked some hair behind my ear. After I grabbed the clothes off her bed, we left.
    ***
    When I got home, a savory smell hit me in the face. My mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
    “Hi, Mom.”
    “Hi, sweetie. Did you have fun at Claire’s house?”
    “Yeah, I guess. She has a beautiful house. What’s for dinner tonight?”
    “Meat lasagna.”
    “Mmm…can’t wait!” I noticed the table was set for three people. “Mom, are we expecting company? Is Dad coming over for dinner?” I asked, excited.
    “No.”
    “Then who?”
    “You remember the manager at Starbucks?”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Are you okay with that?”
    “Whatever. It’s your life.” 
    The truth was, all I wanted was for her to be happy. Obviously, I’d like my parents to be together, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen, so I had to accept that. When my parents were dating, they hooked up one night and my mother got pregnant with me. Shortly afterward, my father proposed to my mother and they got married. Did they marry for love, or because they thought it was the right thing to do? Did they settle? Sometimes I blamed myself for all that had happened.
    All of a sudden, the doorbell rang.
    “He’s here! How do I look?” my mom squeaked. She was so excited; it was like watching a high school girl going on her first date.
    “You look beautiful, Mom.”
    Her hair was pinned up, and she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a white fitted shirt, and a blue scarf. She opened the door, and there he was. He had on dark blue jeans and a black golf shirt. His wavy hair was gelled back.
    “Hello,” he said.
    “Hi, Hank. This is my daughter, Hanna.”
    “Hello. I remember seeing you with your mom at Starbucks. It’s nice to officially meet you.”
    “You, too,” I said. I guess .
    Shortly after Hank arrived, we sat down at the table for dinner. My mom scooped a piece of lasagna on each of our plates, and I could see the steam rising from it. My mom also prepared a bowl of Caesar salad,