Sunshine cleaned her room, as she talked on the telephone with Howard. They were talking for about a half hour and Sunshine�s call waiting kept beeping, but she just ignored it thinking it was the girls. She really didn�t want to talk to them right now and she wished they would get the hint. She already felt bad enough for the way she was towards Nickolas and she didn�t need anyone else pointing out her mistake. She just pushed it to the back of her mind for now and concentrated on her phone call with Howard.
�So I got your present,� Sunshine said. �Thank you. It was very sweet.�
�I was hoping you�d like it,� Howard said. �When I saw the bears they reminded me of you.�
�How so?�
�You�re cute and I thought the bears were cute.�
�Right.� She thought it was a little corny, but didn�t say anything. �The bears are very cute, but I can�t figure out what is written on them. Do you mind translating?�
�Not at all. The language is French. On the heart the black bear has it say�s �Hugs and Kisses�. On the heart the white bear has it says �I love you�.�
�That�s so sweet. I love it.�
�They say French is the language of love. I�m hoping they�re right.�
�I think they are. French is such a beautiful language and romantic.�
�I agree.�
�Howie, I�ve been doing a lot of thinking and I�ve decided to move down to Florida.�
�Are you sure?�
�Yeah; it�s something I really want to do.� Just to be closer to Nickolas, she thought to herself and looked at his picture on her night stand.
�Alright. Like I said before, you can stay with me until you get a place of your own. Did you tell the others yet?�
�Yeah, but they don�t think it�s such a good idea.�
�It�s your decision though. They should support it.�
�That�s what I said, but they don�t listen.�
�When are you going down?�
�When you guys get back in April. I got a job so I�ll work up until April then they�ll transfer me down.�
�That�s great.�
�Yeah.� Her bedroom door flew open and she looked to see the girls.
�You still there.�
�Yeah.�
�I have to go. I�m being called.�
�See ya soon.�
�Yeah, see ya soon. I love you. Bye.�
�Yeah.� She hung up the phone and looked at the four girls in her room. �What do you guys want? Come to yell at me some more?�
�No,� Venus said. �We came to apologize.�
�We also brought gifts,� Destiny said, as they held them out.
�I had to drag them here,� Danielle said. �They were afraid you wouldn�t talk to them.�
�If they give me a reason,� Sunshine said.
�We�ll be on our best behavior,� Josephine replied. �Open mine first.�
Sunshine took the box Josephine was holding and opened it up. Inside was a gold photo frame that had �Best Friends Forever� written on it with different colored hearts and flowers surrounding it. Inside the frame was a picture of the girls together sitting in the snow. Sunshine smiled and said, �It�s beautiful.� She gave Josephine a hug. �Thank you.�
�It�s for when you move down to Florida,� Josephine said. �So you don�t forget us. I had the picture enlarged and the frame special ordered.�
�I�d never forget you guys,� Sunshine stated, as Destiny handed her her gift. Sunshine opened the bag and looked inside. She looked at Destiny and asked, �Where�d you find this stuff? I can�t find this anywhere.� Inside the bag was a bunch of memorabilia from her favorite Disney movie �The Lion King�. Sunshine set the stuff on her bed. �Thank you so much, Des.�
�You�re welcome, Hon,� Destiny said, as Sunshine hugged her. �I found that stuff at a mall in Philly. They were having huge sales on all their Disney stuff.�
�Here�s mine,� Venus said, as Sunshine took the bag. �I hope you like it.�
�I like anything,� Sunshine said. �You know that.� She looked into the bag. �Ooh, V, you shouldn�t have.� The girls just looked at Sunshine, as she pulled out a couple of strawberry scented candles. She smelled the candles and smiled while remembering the rainy night at Nickolas� a few weeks ago. He went out and bought a bunch of strawberry candles and set them up all around the parlor; including inside the fireplace. They spent the whole night drinking champagne and eating strawberries. It was the best night of her life since she met him. She continued smiling and the girls looked at her.
�Sunn?� they all said and she looked at them. They just looked at her and she put the candle down and looked in the bag again.
She pulled out a basket with a couple boxes of the red Swedish fish and said, �I love you, Venus.� She pulled out some more candles and the last thing she got out was a green cotton sweater. �The touch�the feel�of cotton�the fabric of our lives.� She smiled. �I like it. Nice and soft.� She put the sweater over her t-shirt then gave Venus a hug. �Thank you.�
�You�re welcome,� Venus said. �I got ya the sweater for the cold nights in Florida.�
�She has Howie to keep her warm,� Danielle said.
�Then for when Howie�s not around,� Venus replied, as they laughed, but Sunshine didn�t and they just looked at her.
�This one�s from all of us,� Danielle said handing Sunshine another bag. �We all threw in the money to get it since ya wanted it so bad.�
�It was going to be a birthday present, but we decided to get it now since we pissed ya off,� Destiny added.
Sunshine sat the bag on the bed and peeked inside. She shook her head and looked at the girls saying, �You didn�t have to do this. I was going to get it myself.� From the bag she pulled out a black two piece outfit with leopard print around the collar, the wrists, the ankles, and lining the pockets. �This was a fortune. Thank you very much.�
�You�re very welcome,� the girls said in unison, as Sunshine�s phone rang.
�Hold on a minute,� Sunshine said picking up the phone after the second ring. �Hello; Sunn here.�
�Sunnie, its Nick. I was wondering if we could talk. If you�re not busy.� Sunshine just stood there holding the phone not saying a word.
CHAPTER 37
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