My Name is Rapunzel(27)

Pepper laughed then put her glasses back on. “You don't think the plum is too much, do you? I might try hot pink next month.” She pulled out an armful of magazines, placed a folded newspaper on the top, and handed them to me. It was a big bundle today.

My heart swelled with joy. Pepper was this lifetime’s only friend. And we’d become good friends during the past few months. Not that we’d gone for coffee or gone shopping together, but she was someone I could talk to, if only for a few minutes, and only about things that didn’t matter.

“So, how's it going today?” I tried to use some of the slang I heard from each generation. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with the way people talked. Whatever had happened to proper English?

“Oh, I'm good. Getting ready for my birthday party tonight.” Her green eyes twinkled.

“Oh? Happy birthday. I had no idea. I’d have gotten you a gift.” Online shopping was the best. Or the bomb? Did they still say the bomb? Probably not.

“There's still time. Having a party tonight at Spanky's. You have to be twenty-one to get in.” She narrowed her gaze. “You are twenty-one, right?”

“Yeah, I'm definitely of age.” If she only knew.

“Come join us any time after eight o’clock. I'd love to see you there.” Pepper took a stack of envelopes and stuffed them in the mailbox. A model of the perfect postal employee, she still wouldn’t just hand them to me. I'd given up trying to convince her to break her well-trained protocol months ago.

“Man. I’d really love to. But, I…” Come on, think. Think of something. Wash my hair? That was stupid. Not feeling well? No, dummy, that was obviously not true. “My aunt is coming in from out of town for a few days. In fact, you probably won't see me again until next week.” There, a little extra buffer and distance to boot. Perfect.

“Bummer.” She shut the mailbox. “Well, it's all good. You can still buy me a gift any time.” She winked.

I laughed. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Sorry I can't stay and chat. I have tons of mail to deliver today and party planning to do.” Pepper threw the Jeep into reverse while sorting through a bunch of envelopes in a long plastic tray. “Tomorrow should be a light day. We'll chat then. Meanwhile, take a look at that fashion magazine. It has some awesome styles for long hair. I think you might like them. Gotta go! Oh, and my friends and I meet at Starbucks every Tuesday at nine o’clock in the morning. Join us anytime.”

“I just might. See you tomorrow.” I raised my free hand to say goodbye. Before I had taken two steps away from the mailbox, she peeled away, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. Tuesdays at nine? So that’s why the mail was always late on Tuesdays.

I waved until she disappeared. That was a quick visit. Pepper could usually talk my ear off, but she was worried about her party. What would happen if I went? What if I just got dressed up like everyone else and showed up there? People might assume I was from out of town. Or they might think that they’d never seen me, because I didn't go out much. Unlikely they would jump right to the conclusion that I was a 250-something-year-old girl with a curse, living in a castle with a witch and a dragon. Yeah. That seemed like an unlikely assumption.

Or maybe, just maybe, no one would notice me at all. What a blissful thought.

I would give anything to walk in Pepper's shoes for just one day. To be able to drive, talk to different people, cut my hair and style it any way I wanted, meet friends for coffee, have a job—the list went on and on.

Pepper was the happiest person I knew, not that I knew many people, but she sure lived an enviable life. She didn’t have to hide away from people like I did. She could do whatever she wanted to do, whenever she wanted to do it. Envy burned in my gut. Why couldn’t I have that kind of life? Not that I’d wish my life on her as a trade.

The Jeep reappeared in view. It backed up the drive and pulled over by where I stood.

Pepper buzzed down the window. “Hey, I was thinking, would you and your aunt like to meet me and some of my friends at the coffee shop tomorrow? You’d love my friends and I think…well…you need to get out more.”

“Um, I don't know.” I hesitated and looked down at my feet. She meant well, I was sure of that. And her friends did sound nice, though it did sting a bit to realize that I wasn’t Pepper’s best friend like she was mine. I desperately yearned for normalcy and companionship. I wanted to hang out with her and her friends. It always sounded like so much fun. Maybe I could go just this once? Yes, I could go and be home before dark and nobody would ever know the difference.