Two

MARSHA MAYFIELD CACKLED, tossing her head back, though what she saw wasn’t remotely funny. Poor Eloise had spilled pop on her pink polka dot dress. Marsha didn’t care of course. Anything and everything she did was all for attention. She wouldn’t even let Eloise inside her house to tend to the stain before it set in. Nope, Marsha pointed at a water hose behind the house.

When Peggy gasped in shock, Marsha chanted: My party, my rules. Then the witch cackled some more.

Why had Peggy listened to her daddy?

Marsha Mayfield’s father owned Larry’s Diner, and Peggy’s daddy wanted to be his beef supplier. Peggy had been sent to the party to make nice with Marsha, get on her good side and become best friends. In other words, kiss Marsha’s butt. Peggy’s father infuriated her. Using his own daughter to gain business… It was deplorable.

As if she’d ever want to be Marsha’s friend.

All anyone needed to do was observe Marsha to understand why Peggy didn’t like her. Like now. All the jocks were clustered around Marsha as if she were a Southern belle, like Scarlett O’Hara. Marsha twirled her silky brown locks, scrunching her nose and batting her eyelashes. Oh, she made Peggy sick, especially when Marsha played each boy against the other while the rest of the girls at the party were ignored.

How many boys did one girl need?

In all fairness, Marsha had always been this way. Even when they were in elementary school, Marsha treated their classmates like the scum on the bottom of her shoe. Peggy was no exception. Growing up in a small town had its positives and negatives. A negative was having Marsha in every single one of her classes since kindergarten. Peggy couldn’t wait to graduate in three days, so she never had to spend another day with Marsha Mayfield.

“I’m ready to leave,” Peggy muttered to Alice, her closest friend.

“I was ready to leave before I even got here.”

“Do you think Eloise is okay?”

“Would you be okay after spilling pop on your dress and being laughed at?” Alice asked and shook her head, glaring at Marsha. “I hate her.”

“You’re right. We should check on Eloise.” Guilt crashed through Peggy. She should’ve followed Eloise. They weren’t close friends, but they’d known each other their whole lives. She should’ve gone to help her.

“I don’t see her anywhere. She might have left.”

Peggy’s eyes darted around the backyard. It seemed Eloise had indeed left.

She sighed. “Let’s bug out before Marsha does something else to annoy us. We can walk to Foster’s Drive-In, grab a malt, and then I’ll call Daddy to pick us up.”

Alice bobbed her head and took Peggy’s hand. The two snuck away without being noticed.

“Three more days and we’ll be done with school. Did you ever think we’d get to this point?” Alice asked as they strolled down the street. It wasn’t dark yet, only a little after eight o’clock. Foster’s closed at nine, so the girls had plenty of time to improve their evening with a chocolate malt.

“Sure, eventually. I always thought I’d be in love and planning a wedding.”

“Me too. Something small with you as my maid of honor. But no, Gary just had to dump me after he graduated last year and joined the navy.” Alice growled and fisted her hands. “Still burns me up.”

“He wasn’t the one. When you meet the right guy, everything falls into place when you’re not looking.” Or so her mother had told her when she was young. Peggy would sure love to talk to her mother regarding her worries about the future.

She’d never had a boyfriend. Never been kissed. Her daddy shooed any boy away who came sniffing around her, saying no boy was good enough for his little girl, but Peggy knew better of it. He wanted her to marry a rancher, someone who could take over his cattle ranch so his legacy lived on. Peggy had no interest in ranchers. She wanted to marry a doctor and live in town, preferably the east side of town with the big, stately homes.

“You’ll probably wind up a spinster.”

“Hey!” Peggy elbowed Alice, and they both laughed. “You might jinx me.”

“Not a chance. You’re too pretty and sweet to never get married. You might need to lower your standards, give one of your daddy’s ranch hands a shot.”

Peggy groaned. “Let’s talk about something else. All this boy talk is bringing me down.”

“Fair enough. Do you know what you’re wearing for graduation?”

Peggy and Alice talked about clothes the rest of the way to Foster’s. It was a more pleasant topic than boys and marriage, and certainly more enjoyable than talking about Marsha Mayfield. Peggy hated how Marsha had made sure to corner the market with all the boys who had potential. The stingy girl. As if she could marry all of them. She was a greedy one all right.

Peggy would have to find her own boy, maybe in the next town over. Once her new car arrived, a graduation gift from her daddy, she’d be able visit the surrounding towns.

A funny feeling sprouted in her stomach. Not fear, worry, or excitement. Just a feeling something was coming.

Maybe it had to do with her graduating school and finally becoming an adult. More than anything, she wanted to live her life her way, make her own decisions. Only problem with this line of thinking was her daddy always found a way to steer her in the direction he felt she should go. She couldn’t fault him for it. She was all he had left in the world