Smiles from the Heart

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Cheri was in deep concentration. She had been working on this painting for awhile and she wanted it as close to perfect as she could get it! Time was slipping away and she wanted to finish it tonight. It had to be ready for tomorrow. She couldn’t wait to see his expression when he saw it.

Her older sister was always baking treats for her beau, for she said that food was a way to a man’s heart, but Cheri wasn’t very good at baking yet. The other week she had tried making some fudge brownies. They looked good when she took them out of the pan, but … they never came out of the pan! She turned the pan completely over and it was like they were glued to the bottom. Hard as rock! Her brother Christopher laughed and laughed, until she bopped him over the head with the pan.

Cheri dipped her paintbrush in the golden yellow paint. After that she used the azure blue. Stood back, taking a look and felt proud. Just needed a little more emphasis with some deeper colors and she would be finished. Oh, how she hoped he liked it!

As her hand moved in rhythmic motion with the brush she thought of the first time she had seen Peter. He was the new boy in class and Cheri was happy when the teacher told him to sit at the desk next to hers. His wavy blonde hair covered his one eye slightly. He brushed it out of the way as Cheri said “HI” and he gave her a hesitant smile. At recess he was sitting under the tree while the other boys played baseball. Cheri walked over to him, as her friends giggled at her.

Conversation was awkward at first, but then he started talking more, and sharing with Cheri about where he used to live. Suddenly a ball had come flying their direction and Peter caught it. The boys cheered and asked him to come play. He looked at Cheri and paused for a moment then had told them not today. The other boys gave him a confused look as to why he would prefer sitting under a tree with a girl, but they quickly went back to playing. Cheri’s heart warmed and from that moment on they were friends.

Today at school he had given her a really pretty violet bow for her hair. She was planning on wearing it tomorrow and she wanted to give him this painting. She had decided to paint a picture of Georgie for him, his pet gecko that he always talked about.

Cheri would have preferred a fluffy kitten, but boys were strange, and liked weird looking things.

She made the final stroke and smiled, finished at last. Cheri thought of how she prefer kittens, and she still thought the gecko looked a little strange, but she liked the cute smile that she had painted on him.

“Cheri! Time for supper!” her Mama called.

“Coming Mama!” She put down her brush and headed in. Cheri thought of the secret she had that no one knew. Under the tree yesterday, at recess, Cheri had told Peter that he was cute. He blushed, and didn’t say much, but then today he gave her the pretty violet bow. When Cheri told him thanks, he blushed again as he told her that he thought that she was the cutest girl in school!

Cheri couldn’t stop smiling, she guessed that there was more than one way to a guy’s heart, besides food! What did her big sister know!