Willa by Heart Read Free

“cute” grates on my ears. I’m sick of being cute. Nobody calls Tina cute. People call Tina gorgeous. She has a face like a movie star’s and long, silky blond white hair, like the angel wig I wore in the kindergarten Christmas pageant.
    â€œTina, wait till you hear this. I have really big news. Mom and Sam are expecting a baby”
    â€œA little sister?” Tina claps her hands, all excited. “Ooooooooh, how
cute!”
She bops up and down on the bed. “A little sister? Oooh, I can’t wait. Tell Stella I’ll babysit anytime, all the time, for free. Oh,Willa, we’ll have such fun shopping for her, dressing her up, taking her out to lunch….” Tina leans forward, her big brown eyes sparkling, “Just think about all those tiny baby dresses, shoes, pocket-books … oh my gosh, we’ve got to get her tiny baby ears pierced … and take her to the spa for her first little mani-pedi … in pink, of course—”
    â€œWhoa, Tina, wait. She’s not even born yet. And what if it’s a boy?”
    â€œHmmmmm.” Tina’s face darkens. “Well, that would rule out the mini mani-pedis….” Then she quickly lights up again. “But baby-boy clothes are fun! Aunt Amber loves buying stuff for her nephew. Little farmer jeans and baseball caps …” Tina stands up. “Anyway, I’m not worried,” she says, flipping her hair back, case closed. “I know it will be a girl.”
    Tina looks at me. “But what about the big sister? Are you okay with this?”
    â€œWell, it is a big shock. I couldn’t believe it at first. I had no idea they wanted a baby. I mean, they’re sort of old for it, aren’t they? And I’m in high school. I mean, it would have been nice to have somebody to play with when I was little, but …”
    â€œOh, Willa, come on. It will be so much fun.”
    â€œI guess you’re right. I’m starting to like the idea a bit….”
    Tina claps her hands. “Good. Now, can I be her godmother? I want to be the first to know when she’s born. Okay? The first.”
    â€œWell, I can promise you fourth, maybe. Mom … Sam … me … then you. Deal?”
    â€œDeal.”
    We get a bowl of chips and some soda. I tell Tina about this morning on the Spit. About the strange girl on the edge of the jetty who dived off into the fog. “And here I thought she drowned. I was all worried, shouting to her, running to call the police, and then all of a sudden she surfaces like a seal and asks if
I’m okay.”
    â€œWow,” Tina says, “and you didn’t recognize her?”
    â€œNo. At first I thought she looked familiar, but no, I’ve never seen her before.”
    â€œThat’s weird,” Tina says. “Who goes swimming alone that early in the morning? In April? On Cape Cod? Jamaica, maybe, Canciin, maybe, but Cape Cod, no way. That water’s freezing. She must be an Eskimo.”
    â€œI don’t think she’s from around here.”
    â€œWell, it’s way too early for tourists,” Tina says, “and it’s not a holiday weekend … wait, Willa, hold everything.” Tina’s mouth drops and her eyes go bug wide. “Maybe she’s a mermaid.”
    â€œTina.” I crack up laughing. “This isn’t a movie.”
    â€œNo, really, she could be.”
    â€œYeah, right. Listen, you mentioned your aunt Amber. How’s her business doing?” Tina’s aunt Amber owns a matchmaking company called the Perfect Ten. Aunt Amber says the secret to love is finding the person you have ten important things in common with—similar views on religion, politics, having a family….
    That gave Tina the idea to make up a compatibility questionnaire for our Valentine’s dance. Questions like, what’s your favorite ice cream, sport, pizza topping? Tina insisted that everybody had