Tuesday was about preparing for Valerie's birthday. Eva buzzed with excitement about it all day. Part of it was the eager anticipation of seeing her friends. And although she'd been to countless sleepovers, part of it was the awe at being able to participate in the mysterious "slumber party". That bit of Eddie that was still observing from the corner was exhilarated by imagining the revelations that awaited. He'd often wondered what went on in those exclusive gatherings. Eva of course knew full well, but still, her memories of that wonderment fueled her excitement all the more.

She meticulously wrapped her gift with a sheet of pink and yellow wrapping paper. It was a set of fancy nail polishes, mostly pastel colors that she knew would look great on Valerie. After wrapping it she tied a pretty bow out of ribbon and taped it to the top.

"Eva, phone call!" came her mother's voice.

She ran down to the phone.

"How's my beautiful princess?" Mike's voice caressed her through the receiver.

"Oh, just sitting around looking pretty," she joked. "How's my brave king?"

"Just missing my princess. Do I get to see you today?"

"I can't - Valerie's party is tonight!"

"That's not for hours though."

"But I have to get ready!"

"Oh boy," she could almost see him shaking his head. "It's really going to take you all afternoon?"

"Well yeah, I have to take a bath, I have to do my hair, figure out what to wear..."

"Oh brother. Why do you have to get all gussied up just to see your friends? You're just going to change into your pajamas anyway."

"It's a party! It's Valerie's special day, I want it to be special for her. Come on, you must know how slumber parties are."

"I went to a couple but I didn't really get what all the fuss was about. Bunch of girls giggling and gossiping."

"I don't expect a silly boy to understand," she teased. "Maybe we can do something tomorrow?"

"I'd like that. Maybe we could go out to the swimming hole?"

"Sure, that sounds great! As long as I get back in time to babysit. What're you gonna do today?"

"Troy asked if I wanted to shoot some basketball sometime, I think I'll see if he wants to do that this afternoon."

"Oh, that sounds perfect for you! Actually, I can't wait for Patsy to tell me all about her and Troy!"

"Like I said, bunch of girls gossiping," he chuckled. "Anyway, have fun tonight - can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"Me too, I'll be thinking about you."

"And talking about me, I reckon."

"Maybe," she giggled. "Bye bye."

The afternoon was spent luxuriating in the tub, fussing endlessly with her hair, and trying on various outfits, before settling on a red blouse and a white skirt with pink flowers on it. By 5:00 she was ringing the doorbell at Valerie's front door.

"Eva Kuh-NEE-vah!" Valerie greeted her.

"Vallerina!" Eva greeted her back. She came in and greeted the others as well. Patsy was there of course, along with three other girls: Dawn Timmerman, Ronda Barker, and Ronda's cousin Gail, who lived in Maple Grove, a nearby town. Eva knew Dawn and Ronda from school but hadn't met Gail before.

Dawn was a shy bookish girl with long straight reddish brown hair and glasses. She and Valerie had diverged a bit in their interests over the years but they'd been close since kindergarten and remained friendly. Ronda was a vivacious brunette who was developing faster than her classmates, and seemed quite happy about that. Her cousin Gail, who'd been visiting for a few days and was just along for the ride, was a stocky gal with dirty blonde unruly hair, and exuded an awkwardness that might have dampened the mood were it not for the unrestrained exuberance of the other girls.

The opening of presents was supposed to happen later in the evening, but Valerie was so overcome with excitement that her mother let her go ahead. Eva watched, happy for her friend and a touch envious, as Valerie opened gifts of clothing, jewelry, and makeup. After that whirlwind, the birthday girl put on a little fashion show of her new items, and then the girls all set about painting their nails, with the nail polish set Eva had brought. Patsy went for a deep red, Ronda and Valerie chose pink, Dawn tried a yellowish shade, Eva did a pale blue, and Gail declined, saying she didn't like the "clumpy" feeling it gave her.

After a supper of Valerie's favorite tator tot casserole and some birthday cake, the girls changed into their pajamas and set up in a basement rec room that had been outfitted with some mattresses for the slumber party. With the parents gone to bed, it was finally time for the juicy gossip phase of the evening.

"Alright Eva," Patsy began, "your time's up! Time to spill the beans on everything going on between you and Mike Waller!"

"Mike Waller?!" Dawn exclaimed. "Is something happening with you and Mike?"

"Oh for Pete's sake Dawn!" Ronda rolled her eyes. "Have you been living under a rock? It's only the hottest gossip in town!"

"Well come on, it's still summer. How am I supposed to keep up on things when we're not in school?"

"It's called the telephone? Anyway, Eva, serve it up! I want all the gory details!"

"Jeez you guys," Eva responded, "you're making me all embarrassed now! It's kinda private, ya know?"

"Come on Eva," Valerie chimed in, "I'm the birthday girl, consider it your gift to me. We need to know! And then after that we can hear all about what Patsy's been up to!"

Eva looked around at the eager faces lit up in anticipation. Even the reserved Dawn and the out-of-towner Gail were in rapt attention.

"Well," she started shyly, "in the early part of the summer, we kept running into each other at the park. At first it was just coincidence, but I guess after a while we were both kinda showing up there on purpose..."

A cascade of giggles made the rounds.

"And so we just got to talking a lot, and he's so easy to talk to! It was really natural. And I'd get him to push me on the swings, and he even got me to climb trees with him. After a while I could tell he liked me. So last week, he asked me to meet him out at the fairgrounds. And that's when he asked me to go with him."

"So you're going together, officially?" Dawn asked.

"Yep, it's official. I'm Mike's girlfriend!"

There was a lot of squealing. "You know what this means, Eva," Ronda said. "You're gonna have to have a showdown with Stacy now."

"For crying out loud," Eva objected, "why does Stacy have to be involved? She was never his girlfriend!"

"Well in her mind she was. She thinks they went to the Children's Day carnival together."

"Yeah, in her mind is right! They just both happened to be there and she talked Mike into going on a couple rides with her. That's it!"

"Oh is somebody a little jealous?" Valerie smirked. "You might have to fight to keep your man!"

"I won't have to fight," Eva asserted, smiling smugly. "Mike only has eyes for me."

"I'm sure that's true," Patsy agreed, "but if you ever have a problem with her, you just let us know. We'll make sure she regrets messing with Eva Kettler!"

Eva winced a bit. As much as she loved Patsy, she knew she could get a little vicious if pushed. "That won't be necessary Patsy. I'm sure there won't be any trouble but if there is, I can work it out with Stacy."

"Ah, you're no fun! I was kinda looking forward to making Stacy's life difficult!"

"Can we stop talking about Stacy Larson please?! Anyway Patsy, you promised to fill us in on you and Troy. It's your turn to spill the beans!"

"Wait, you and Troy too?" Dawn asked. "Is everybody getting boyfriends now?"

"Don't worry Dawn, I have a couple boys in mind to set you up with," Patsy reassured her. Dawn went pale and was immediately flustered. "Uh, no, that's not what... I mean, I didn't...you don't need..."

"Ooh, do tell, Patsy!" Valerie enthused. All eyes turned to Dawn. She was clearly unsettled by the idea, and at the attention of the room.

"No no, we don't have to hear that," Dawn said nervously. "We were all waiting to hear all about Patsy and Troy!"

Patsy was only too happy to switch back to one of her favorite topics. "Well OK girls, since you insist, I'll tell you all about my summer with Prairie Falls' cutest boy!" She proceeded to go into great detail about their courtship and how she already had him wrapped around her finger. To hear her tell it, she was in complete control of the relationship, but it was clear she was genuinely smitten with Troy and would likely do anything he asked.

When she had finally wound down she turned to Ronda. "Now it's your turn Ronda. Any boy news from you this summer?"

"Me? Hey I don't have to say, that's my business".

"What do you mean," Patsy replied, "Eva and I just told you all about our news, why can't you tell us any of yours?"

"I know how to get it out of her," Valerie jumped in. "Let's play Truth or Dare. OK I'm first! And I'm asking Ronda. Ronda - Truth! Who do you have a crush on?"

"Hey no fair! How come you get to suddenly make the rules?"

"Because I'm the birthday girl, dummy! Now answer the question!"

Ronda blushed and looked down. "Well, I guess I kinda like Artie Bennett. But don't tell anybody!"

A chorus of "oohs" filled the room. "OK enough of that!" Ronda exclaimed. "Now it's my turn! OK Dawn - Dare! I dare you to act like a chicken!"

Dawn put her palm to her forehead in embarrassment. "Oh, come on Ronda!"

"Hey, at least I didn't ask you about boys!"

Dawn quickly surmised that putting on a poultry play was preferable to talking about romance, and got down to it. She crouched and flapped her elbows and made clucking noises, moving about the room and pecking at the other girls with her nose. After a bit she got quite into it, and her natural shyness was fading considerably as she got the girls laughing.

Once the cackling died down, Dawn turned to Eva. "OK Eva - Truth! Tell us, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a boy?"

Eva froze. This hit her totally out of left field. Her friends all stared at her with baited breath, while she just stood there with her mouth open.

"C'mon Eva, it's not that hard of a question," Ronda said. "You shouldn't have to think too much about it."

"Why do you say that?" Eva snapped defensively.

"Hey, easy! Just answer Dawn's question - have you ever wondered how it feels to be a boy?"

"Well no, I don't have to wonder! I know what it feels like!"

"What do you mean, you know what it feels like? That's a weird thing to say!"

"I just mean, it's... I don't know, it's not that mysterious. They like to get all rough, and play sports, and they probably wish they didn't have to act tough all the time. They probably wish they could paint their nails and go to slumber parties."

Patsy snorted. "Which boys are you talking about? I don't know any who would say that! Or is that something Mike said?"

"No, Mike wouldn't say that!" Eva was visibly flustered, feeling for the first time since getting her memories that she was impersonating a girl, like she was a spy who shouldn't actually be there at the slumber party. She tried to brush it off and divert attention. "I just think, maybe boys and girls don't think as differently as we pretend. Like, maybe we act more like people want us to act than how we really want to act."

"You're saying some really weird stuff Eva," Valerie chimed in. "Boys' brains are way different than ours, it's just how we are. We don't understand them, and they don't understand us. Boys act the way they do because that's how God made them, and we're made to act girly. It's just how it is."

"I don't think it's as simple as that," said an unfamiliar voice. They all turned toward Gail, who had just been listening quietly all night and not participating much. "I think what Eva said is right - maybe we don't all fit so well into being the way we're expected to be."

Ronda jumped in, nervous that her awkward cousin was going to shift things sideways. "Gail, this is between us, you don't need to get involved in this."

"What's the matter with that? Let Gail talk," Eva defended her, feeling a little less lonely in her position and wanting to deflect attention. "How about you Gail, have you wondered what it's like to be a boy?"

Gail looked around a bit apprehensively, but seemed like she wanted to get something off her chest. "Well sure, I imagine any girl has thought of it at some time, if they're honest. Like, when I go to the track meets and watch the guys throwing the shot put. I don't know, it just looks like something I'd really like to try, and I don't get why they won't let girls do it."

Ronda and Valerie both guffawed. "A girl throwing shot put?" Valerie laughed. "Now there is something that is absolutely, totally for boys only. I couldn't even pick that thing up with two hands!"

"Well why couldn't they have one for girls?" Eva asked. "They could make it lighter or something since girls are smaller, but why not let them do it? It's like when Mickie wanted to go out for football, and they wouldn't let her do it. And then my dad was pushing me to do it and I don't even want to!"

They all stared blankly at Eva, as her heart fell through the pit of her stomach.

"What in the heck are you even talking about, Eva?" accused Patsy. "Who is Mickie? And what is your dad trying to get you to do?"

"Um... oh yeah, you guys don't know Mickie! She was, um, she was like a girl that, um... a girl I met once at... um, at camp! This girl I met at camp!"

"When did you even go to camp?"

"Uh, a couple years ago I guess?"

"And what's this about your dad?"

"Well, he was trying to get me to talk this Mickie girl out of trying out for football, and um, I didn't want to, because she oughta be able to do what she wants. That's what it was."

After a few moments of awkward silence, Ronda put in her two cents. "Well I agree with Valerie. Boys are boys and girls are girls. And if you get confused about it, it's best to go back to basics. And since Gail seems to be confused about being a girl, I say we give her a total makeover! When she sees how pretty we make her, she'll forget all about shot put!"

"That's a great idea!" Valerie exclaimed, echoed by Patsy. "I'm getting out my makeup!"

"I'll start on her hair!" Ronda squeaked.

"Val can I look for a dress for her in your closet?" Patsy asked.

Gail was the deer in the headlights, clearly not relishing the idea of what they had in store for her. Eva felt bad for her, but saw it as an opportunity to deflect attention yet again. "C'mon Gail, give me your hand, I'm gonna paint your nails after all!"

"You guys, I don't really want this!" Gail objected. "It's just not my - "

"Oh come on," Ronda cut her off. "You don't know what you're missing! You're gonna be so amazed when we're done!"

Eva grabbed her fingers and started applying red nail polish. Ronda got behind her and started trying to tame her tangles with a brush, while Patsy was rummaging through the closet, trying to find something of Valerie's to fit the substantially larger Gail.

From the corner of her eye, Eva noticed Dawn hanging back, clearly not comfortable with what they were up to, but not bold enough to say anything. She looked up at Gail's face as she brushed the polish on a second finger. Gail's eyes were welling up and her lips were pressed tightly, as she tried to hold herself back from showing her discomfort. Eva let go of her hand.

"You guys, I don't think Gail wants this," she made herself say. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing this."

"She just doesn't know she wants it, that's all," Ronda assured her. "When it's done she'll see it very differently."

"I think Eva's right," Dawn added hesitantly. "Gail doesn't look like she's enjoying this."

"Oh come on, you guys!" Valerie got a little hot. "I'm the birthday girl and I get to pick the games! And the game I pick now is Let's Give Gail a Makeover! Eva, get back to work on her nails!"

Eva stood up. "Gail, do you want this?" Gail shook her head back and forth. "OK, then I'm not doing it. And you shouldn't either Valerie, birthday girl or no."

"What in the world has gotten into you?" Patsy asked. "You have been acting strangely all night!"

"What's so strange about not forcing someone to do something she doesn't want to do?"

"Jeez, you act like we're trying to murder her or something!" Valerie huffed. "We're just trying to do her a favor! She needs to learn how to make herself pretty!"

"Why?"

"Well duh! How's she going to get a boyfriend if she doesn't put any effort into it?"

"Maybe she isn't obsessing about boys all the time! Maybe she just wants to be who she really is!"

"Honestly Eva, I don't know why you had to come to my birthday party and ruin it! I thought this was going to be a fun night and now you're wrecking everything!"

"You guys, don't fight!" Dawn stepped in. "There's no reason for us to get all mad at each other! Listen, I could use some of those pointers myself, why don't you give me a makeover instead? I wouldn't mind."

"You know, Dawn, you do have a pretty face - if you put a little effort into it you could really make yourself look nice," Patsy remarked, realizing that the temperature needed to come down, and seizing on the off-ramp Dawn was offering. "I think it's a terrific idea."

"Well, if you want us to," Ronda relented, "then I guess that does make more sense. But I still think you could use some help with this Gail."

"Maybe some other time," Gail muttered.

"At least somebody here appreciates what I have to offer," Valerie said, sticking her tongue out at Eva and taking her makeup over to where Dawn was sitting.

"I saw just the dress for you in Val's closet, Dawn!" Patsy chimed in cheerfully, trying to bring the mood back up. "I'll go get it now!"

Eva looked over at Gail, who still looked upset, but mouthed "thank you" to Eva silently. Eva turned back to where Ronda and Valerie were fussing over Dawn's hair and face.

"Listen Valerie, I'm sorry I got all heated, I know you were just trying to help. I just didn't want Gail to feel uncomfortable. But I don't want to ruin your party."

Valerie sighed. "You're not ruining the party Eva. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed so hard."

Eva smiled a little. "So you're still my pretty little Vallerina?"

"Yes, and you're still my Eva Kuh-nee-vah. I know you meant well." The two girls shared a hug, with Valerie holding a mascara brush away from them with one hand and embracing Eva with the other. The tension faded, and they all set to making Dawn look as pretty as they could pull off. And they did quite well too - with her hair and makeup done all fancy and dressed up in one of Valerie's prettiest dresses, with some high heels on, and her big glasses removed, she looked rather stunning. Val ran and got her dad's Polaroid camera and took a couple glamor shots. Dawn put her glasses back on and took a look at the pictures with a look of awe.

"Gosh, is that really me?"

"I told you, Dawn!" said Patsy. "You have a really pretty face! You're just hiding it all the time."

The girls were seated on the floor, kind of naturally in a circle. Valerie reached out her hands to Patsy and Gail who were on either side of her. "OK everybody, let's all hold hands in a circle. One thing about girls - we know how to argue with each other, and get mad at each other, but we also know how to make up and be sweet. And I'm glad you're all here tonight and we're not fighting and we care about each other."

They all held hands and offered their affirmations. "That was really sweet to say Val," Eva said. "I love you guys and I'm so glad I get to be here." And she didn't feel like an imposter any more.

Once they bedded down on the mattresses, Eva ended up sharing a mattress off to the side with Dawn.

"Eva," Dawn whispered, "I always thought you were a good person before anyway, but I think it's great how you stood up for Gail. And some of the stuff you were saying, well I think you're right. We're probably not as different from boys as people like to think. I didn't think you thought about stuff like that, I thought you were just into girly girl things."

"Well I am into girly girl things, but that doesn't mean I can't have deep thoughts. But anyway, I only acted because I saw you were holding back, and it made me think. So you helped me get to the right place."

"I hope we can be closer friends this year."

"I'd like that, Dawn."

And with that the mysterious slumber party faded into the slumber that was its namesake.