Summer Magic by Sydell Voeller

seat.

    Lisa felt her blood run cold. She couldn't believe Claudette had had the nerve to ignore what Michael had told her. Sidling up closer to Michael, Lisa longed to recapture the magic they'd shared only moments earlier. Yet she couldn't. Already the spell had been broken and the magic snatched away.

     

    *****

     

    Michael slanted his twin a disapproving look. "I thought I told you that Lisa and I wanted this day to ourselves."

    "Oh, for heaven's sake, Michael."   Claudette wore an innocent smile. "Since when have you ever cut me out of your plans?"

    "Probably not soon enough," he muttered. "I hope you two are planning to get off at the next stop."

    "Are you kidding?" Claudette exclaimed. "This tour is costing us a pretty penny, and Rita and I intend to get our money's worth."   She paused, wrinkling her elegant nose. "Besides, I'm done riding those horrible old buses. And my feet are killing me."

    "Yeah, the last bus made Claudette car sick," Rita explained.

    "I didn't realize you're prone to motion sickness," Michael said to Claudette. The anger in his voice turned to concern.

    "Oh, it's nothing," Claudette insisted. "Nothing more, I'm sure, than those horrid exhaust fumes."   She juggled her packages, dropping a sheet of paper.

    Michael reached down to retrieve it. "What's this?"

    "A flyer. We got it at a tourist information center," Rita quickly supplied. "It tells about all the stuff going on in Galveston this summer."   She tossed her shoulder-length auburn hair and added,   "So what y'all been up to?"

    "Sight-seeing," Michael answered, his voice level. He turned the flyer over, scanned it, then without comment, handed it back to Claudette.

    "We've been hitting the antique shops and jewelry stores," Rita said. She turned to Michael and flashed him a resplendent smile. Rummaging through her shopping bags, she fished out a small white box, then popped it open. "Isn't this lovely, Michael?"

    He peered inside the box and smiled back. "An emerald ring! Very nice."

    All the while, Lisa sat back silently, taking in this animated exchange.   She wasn’t sure whether to be amused or not-so-amused.       

    The tram lunged forward and they were once again clopping along. They rounded the corner past an old stone church. A young couple with two whiney kids in tow stopped to gawk.

    "Are you planning to see the fireworks display on the beach tonight?" Claudette asked. Her gaze flicked momentarily onto Lisa, then back to Michael. "Or are you two gonna make your own sparks fly?"

    Lisa's face burned. She had all she could do to keep tossing back an insulting reply.

    "Claudette!   That's entirely uncalled for," Michael said icily.

    "Pardon me."   Claudette tipped her chin, apparently not rebuffed. "Well, whatever you do, Michael, I just hope you save some time for the Fourth of July street dance on the Strand tonight."

    "Where's the Strand?" he asked.

    "That's the National Historic Landmark District downtown," Rita answered for Claudette.

    "Oh, yeah...now I remember."   Michael's eyes sought Lisa's as if silently asking whether she'd like to go.

    "So meet us on the Strand about eight-thirty," Rita prompted. "It's going to be fabulous. The band's the best around. I'm even acquainted with the drummer, a guy by the name of Danny Holcomb."

    "Rita, how do you know so much about Galveston?" Lisa asked, hoping to divert the conversation. Without a doubt, trouble was brewing. Try as she might, she couldn't blot out the memory of Rita lingering by Michael's dressing room that first night she'd arrived.

    "I was born and raised not far from here," Rita replied. "My daddy's the manager of a big condo complex next to the beach. I thought Claudette already told y'all."   Her lips lifted in a pouty smile.

    "No, she didn't," Michael answered cautiously. "She said you'd both be like lost sheep trying to find your way around--though of course she's visited this city as many times as I."

    Claudette's face