Before I get to today’s report, I’d like to point out, yet
again, that I’m only ELEVEN. Violet
didn’t verbally answer me when I asked her about the dance set-up last night;
but her expression made it clear that she, Stephanie, and Aunt Leanne were all
in on that little matchmaking moment.
Yes, I’ve occasionally been complicit in other matchmaking efforts, but
not with any eleven-year olds; and though Violet was set-up with Dillon for
that March Break dance; I had nothing to do with that at all. The ‘shoe on the other foot’ argument does
not apply here.
I started with that to get it out of my system, but also
because that’s about where my day started and ended. The only difference between this morning and
tonight is that I was dry this morning – at least I was when talking about it
with Violet when she, Rowen, and I were getting ready for the day between Tai
Chi and breakfast.
The rain did come off and on today, but there were a few
times when it was coming down hard – once this morning; again late in the
afternoon; and one last blast of extreme wetness tonight. We were still at home when the first little
storm rolled through this morning, but we got a bit wet before we could take
cover this afternoon; and those of us who did not get a ride with Ethan and
Ehlana in the van when we left the dance got soaked during our walk home. Rowen and I were in that second group, but I’m
jumping ahead again, so let’s wander back to this morning.
The morning rain storm made for a later-than-planned start
to our day at the fall festival, but that worked out better for everyone except
the people actually working there. When
we did get to the park, with the ‘we’ including Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam,
Aunt Leanne, and Dillon; we started out with a tour of all of the exhibit and
event pavilions. Ethan and Ehlana
especially loved the puppet and kid’s music shows; the talent contest; and the
displays of everything from prize-winning giant pumpkins to baking and crafts
of all kinds. By the time we made it to
the midway, the rides were mostly dried off, and we were able to play for
nearly an hour before the next round of rain showers moved through.
That was pretty much how the rest of the day went for us –
switching between playing outside and hiding in pavilions whenever it
rained. Rowen and I spent the morning
with Ethan, Ehlana, and our favorite grown-ups, but were on our own from after
lunch until dinnertime. The twins took
Mom and Dad home for an afternoon nap so they’d all be ready for another
evening at the festival, but we had a big group together for dinner that
included Naomi and her parents; Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah; and the Drapers.
More festival food, shows, rides, and games kept us busy
until the dance started, and it was then that the weirdness resumed for Rowen
and me. The top news stories for Grade
Seven students were that Tim and Nora were officially a couple, while word
among the girls was that Vanessa had given up on Michael, and was now in search
of a brighter, more mature guy. Since
Michael was currently the only unattached boy in our grade at our school; that
meant looking in the direction of visiting guys of appropriate age, or the few
single boys in Rebecca and Jenny’s class.
Since we saw her dance with several boys tonight, I’d say that Vanessa
is well on the way to being over her disappointment with Michael not being all
she wanted him to be.
This is the point where I’ll mention that I really wish
she’d waited a bit longer before giving up on him. You probably don’t need more than one guess
to know why. That’s right, my dear Aunt
Leanne orchestrated a second set-up at the dance tonight, and even worse; she
recruited Miranda for her co-conspirator.
I’ll give Dad the benefit of the doubt, since he looked as surprised as
I was when Miranda smoothly made the partner switch. So there we were, dancing again for the
second time in two nights, and I’m stuck playing my usual cheery self so I
don’t hurt Michael; when what I’d like to do is find anywhere else to be so my
favorite matchmakers can’t continue to put me in these situations.
At least it was more than half-way through the dance by
then, though it had been shortly after the Stones got to the dance after
closing the Inn for the night. I’m sure Aunt Leanne continued to look for
other opportunities, but I was a lot more careful after that, and Rowen helped
keep me out of any matchmaking trouble for the rest of the dance too. That pretty much brings us back around to the
wet walk home. Aunt Leanne and Uncle
Adam were with Rowen and me; and we had Stephanie, Jake, and the rest of his
family with us as far as the Stone’s house.
Violet and Dillon got the last two spots in the minivan, according to
Aunt Leanne, because she didn’t want to be responsible for ruining their cuddle
time because of being too wet.
It was because Aunt Leanne was there that I included Michael
in my part of the quick round of goodnight hugs we shared before they all went
into their house, but my attempt to keep her from teasing me if I hadn’t hugged
him too didn’t work out. She instead
teased me about not kissing him goodnight too until Rowen and I were able to
escape at my house while Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam continued on to their
place. I’ll pretend that I don’t know
what they’ve been doing to get warmed up and dry.
Rowen and I both wanted to get warmed up too, but we took
turns doing that in my Jacuzzi, so we weren’t dry until after our baths. Mandy kept me company while Rowen took her
turn in the bathroom first, and then she cuddled with Rowen while I was in the
tub. We thought about watching a movie
once I was ready for bed too, but decided to just cuddle in bed with Mandy and do
a little repeat of last night’s telepathic chat and computing. We spent a little time talking about the kid
and teen news of the day, and about whether there was anything I could do short
of using a little Magi power to keep Aunt Leanne from continuing her
matchmaking efforts, but mostly we just talked about the best parts of our day
– which had turned out to be a lot of fun despite the rain and occasional weird
moments.
There’s still one more day of festival to go, and we’re
going to call it a night now so we’ll be ready for another blast of fun before
we need to get back to the real world again on Monday.
Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.
“Goodnight, Cassie.”
