Chapter Thirteen
Warm sunlight draped itself around my face the next morning. I woke up in Mason’s coat again, remembering what he had said the night before. But the peace and warmth of this memory were quickly replaced by anxiety in knowing I would have to go to school that day. Emmaline hadn’t called or stopped by all weekend and Hayden was probably afraid to. I forced myself to climb out of bed and get ready for school.
Since I wasn’t in any hurry, I decided to wait at the kitchen table for Katy. My mother took off her lacy apron and sat beside me for a little while. When she realized I wasn’t going to say anything, she left me alone.
“What are you still doing here?” Katy asked when she walked into the kitchen.
“Emmaline’s not talking to me, so I thought we could walk to school together,” I said.
“That might be fun. We haven’t walked together in at least three years.”
“Here you are, dear,” my mother said, bringing Katy a plateful of pancakes.
“Thanks.” Katy ate almost as quickly as Mason did, and then we were saying good bye to our mother and heading to school.
“So can you give me any hint of what you’re planning?” I asked her. At least I knew I wouldn’t have to spend all day at school.
“I’ll just say you’ll be glad you’re not in my classroom today. So what’s the deal with Emmaline? Why is she so mad at you?”
“I don’t know. She was mad that I didn’t tell her Mason’s secret. She didn’t say it, but she might have had the same problem with Mason that everyone else does.”
A cold breeze twirled my hair about and caused both of us to pull our coats tighter around us.
“Well, whatever it is, she’ll get over it eventually. Girls are just overly dramatic, most of them, anyway. I think drama’s a waste of time.”
“I hope you’re right.” I walked past Emmaline’s house without stopping.
“Do you want to play I Spy?” Katy asked me. “We used to play every morning on the way to school, remember?”
“Okay.” I hoped it would take my mind off of my dread. We played all the way to school, and it did help a little.
Katy put a hand on my shoulder just outside of my classroom and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be out of here before lunchtime.” It didn’t help.
As I forced myself to walk into the room, I quickly realized Emmaline wasn’t in her seat. The thought that she might still be waiting for me at her house made me feel better for the two seconds it took to realize she was sitting at the desk in the front of the room with Jack, a kid who couldn’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. Mr. Web had him sit in the front so he could keep a better eye on him. Sitting beside him meant that he would do everything he could to distract and make Emmaline miserable throughout the morning. But it was also the only free seat in the classroom, which meant that she would rather endure this than sit beside me. So I took my lonely seat and tried not to cry.
“Hey, Alexandra,” Marcy said in a cruel voice. “Elise saw you at the dance.” I felt my heartrate quicken as I tried to ignore her. “So you’re dating Sydney Algoth’s son, huh? That’s low, even for you.”
Every head turned to stare at me, except for Emmaline’s and Hayden’s. I received dirty looks and nervous stares. A few people looked like they were waiting for me to correct her, but I said nothing.
“You’re dating a mobster?” Jack asked. “My father’s business shut down because of them.”
Luckily, Mr. Web walked into the room just then, so the conversation was cut short. But I could still feel the hateful eyes fixed on me, even though I kept my head down. When I looked up during Arithmetic lessons, Jack held up his slate with STREET TRASH written across it in giant letters I knew the whole class could see. Ten minutes later, I chanced another glance at the chalkboard Mr. Web was writing on and caught sight of Marcy’s slate, where she’d written sleaze. After that I was careful to keep my eyes on the desk where I sat alone.
Would it be this way from now on, everyone despising me, thinking of me as filthy garbage? I didn’t think I could face another day like this. The only way I managed not to cry was to keep picturing Mason. I just had to hold out for whatever Katy was planning.
Another excruciating hour passed by before I heard screaming and the sound of people running through the hallway just outside.
“What in the blazes?” Mr. Web said as he crossed the room.
I turned to the door as he opened. Katy was already standing there with a hand raised ready to knock. Her calm smile seemed so out of place with the students running in terror behind her. Her own teacher let out a shrill scream as she raced past her toward the main doors.
“Hello, Mr. Web,” Katy said. “I thought you should know that several coral snakes were just found in our room. You might want to let your class go early until they can get the problem under control.”
“Coral snakes? You can’t be serious. How in the world did they get in here?”
“I don’t know, but it would probably be safer if everyone left the building. I’m going to let the rest of the teachers know.”
She winked at me before she left, and I knew she had been the one to release them inside the school. But poisonous snakes? Even Katy wouldn’t risk someone’s life just to end school early. I would ask her about it later.
Mr. Web’s face was pale when he turned around to face us. “Now everyone just remain calm—”
At that moment, Elise screamed so loudly I had to cover my ears. Then she tore out of the classroom, leaving her books and coat behind. A few others followed without giving Mr. Web the chance to dismiss us.
He hurried up to his desk, shouting, “What are you all waiting for? Class dismissed!”
I grabbed my books and rushed to the door. I couldn’t get to Mason fast enough. But before I left, I looked back at Hayden and found him still sitting in his chair, watching me. Feeling awful, I let myself be pushed out the door with the rest of what was left of our class. Emmaline didn’t even look my way as she moved past me through the main doors. Then I was outside in the freezing cold.
Hugging my books to my chest, I hurried to Mason’s building. I was extremely grateful for Katy as I walked. The day might have been unbearable if she hadn’t let all those snakes loose. But there would be more days like that, I knew. Maybe I should just ask my mother to home school me or let me leave it all together. But would it become like that everywhere I went, the way it had for Mason in Shilling. Would I end up being driven from Chicago?
I began to climb the staircase on the side of Mason’s building, faster and faster, fighting back tears as I went. As soon as I knocked on the door, it opened, and Mason stood there smiling at me with the dark hallway behind him. And for some reason, I started to cry.
“Oh, Alexandra,” he put his arm around me and led me into the first room off to the left. “They knew, didn’t they?”
“Elise saw us at the dance. Everyone hates me now.” We sat down on the couch and I dug my face into Mason’s chest.
“I was afraid this would happen…I’m really sorry,” Mason said.
My voice was muffled against his shirt as I spoke. “It’s, it’s not your fault. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I can’t go to a school where things are going to be like that every day, but it’s the only school I’ve ever gone to.”
Mason brushed my hair out of my face as I looked up at him. “Trust me, I know how that feels. I just wish I could take all that away from you.”
“You can.” I wiped my tears away and leaned up to kiss him. He slid both arms around me and gave me the slowest, sweetest kiss I could have imagined. My body felt light as all my troubles seemed to lift away.
“Better?” he asked.
“Mm hm.”
“So what did Katy do?”
“She let coral snakes out all over her classroom. It’s amazing she can do that without anyone noticing.”
“Coral snakes? Aren’t they deadly?”
“
Yes. I can’t believe she would really set them loose in a room full of people. Everyone was running down the hallway, screaming all the way out the door.”
Mason started laughing. “I wish I could’ve seen that.”
“It was kind of funny,” I laughed along. It was so much easier to do that now that I was with him.
“Your sister is really something.”
“Yeah, she is.”
Remembering the strange note he’d left with me the night before, I took it from my pocket and handed it to Mason. “This one left me a little confused. I assume the A’s for Alexandra and the M’s for Mason, but I can’t figure anything else out.”
“Really? I hoped it would make sense to you. You’re right about what the letters stand for. The M’s stronger, holding the A up. The A’s softer, clinging to the M always. I tried to draw something with two parts that would be incomplete without either one, just like us.”
“Aw, Mason…But what about all these little drawings, like that apple there?” I pointed to the tiny apple resting on one of the curls at the end of the streak running through the center of the A.
“That represents the Big Apple, where my dad is. That wrench represents Benny. He fired me and turned Emmaline against you. Each thing represents something that’s up against us.” He stopped to focus on my eyes. “But together, the two in the center of it all stand against it, unshakable, like us.”
Looking back to the paper, I could almost feel the weight of everything pressing against us. “Why does this have to be so complicated? Why does the world have to be against us?” I asked, feeling my eyes tear up. It just wasn’t fair.
Mason took both of my hands and held them in between us as he smiled. “Complicated love is the best kind. It’s unpredictable. It’s exciting. So many people say they would do anything for love, but very few get the chance to test that. You and I are lucky enough to know—what we have can stand against anything.” He leaned over to kiss my cheek. “And things will get better.”
I looked over and smiled at my lion, who I realized was sitting on the box in front of the couch, watching us.
It occurred to me that maybe I should stop dwelling on everything that was wrong. I didn’t know when I would see Mason again and I didn’t want him to have to remember me crying and feeling miserable until that day came.
“How did the job hunt go?” I asked with a weak smile, remembering that he was planning to do it that morning.
“Well, it could have gone better.”
“What happened?”
“Benny made sure every mechanic around here knew about me.”
“So…what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I can’t start over again, though, not after you.”
I smiled easily at this. Everything was stacked against us, but it didn’t matter. Because I knew that he would never run away.
“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “Why don’t we go play cards in the greenhouse, just like the day we first met? We could share my lunch. I had my mother pack an extra sandwich and I put the chocolates Katy got me for my birthday in there, too.”
“Chocolate sounds pretty good right now.” Mason picked up my books and took my hand to lead me down the dark hallway, my other hand carrying my lunch.
In the warmth and sunlight of the greenhouse, the mood changed completely as we laughed and ate on the same blanket we’d laid on the night all the trouble began. Streaks of light danced across Mason’s dark hair and brought out the happiness his face showed every time he looked at me.
He devoured half of everything and waited patiently while I ate, something that almost felt routine for us.
“You can keep these for later,” I said when I was finished, holding out what was left of the chocolates.
“But you got those for your birthday.”
“It’s all right. You love chocolate.”
He leaned over to kiss me. “No, I love you. I want you to keep those and I’ll go get the cards.”
As I watched him walk down the stairs, it was hard not to feel a little lightheaded. He loves me. I didn’t think I would ever get over hearing him say that.
“What do you want to play?” Mason asked when he reentered the room.
“We could play slapjack since that’s your favorite game.”
“I’m surprised you remember that.” He sat down across from me and started dealing out two stacks. “The first day we came up here your hands were shaking so badly, and I couldn’t figure out why you were so nervous.”
“I hoped you wouldn’t notice.”
“It was hard to miss, but I thought it was cute. Here you go.” Mason handed me half of the deck and we flipped over the first cards.
“So what are you doing for Christmas?” he asked as we flipped over the next cards.
Thinking about this made me think about what he would be doing, spending Christmas all alone in an abandoned building. I didn’t want to answer. “We’re decorating the tree tonight. I wish you could come,” I said.
“Me, too. But are you going to be out of town?”
“No.” Christmas Eve would be spent at Hayden’s and my grandparents would be coming Christmas Day.
“I’ll come see you the night of Christmas Eve, if that’s all right. I’ll come before midnight so I can be the first one you’re with on Christmas day.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve been planning on it since the dance. I just keep forgetting to talk to you about it.”
“I would love that. I’m looking forward to it already.” I just wished I could get him something for Christmas, but I was confined to my room. I might be able to get something for him on the way home if I was quick, but I wanted to put thought and meaning into it.
I gasped and slapped the Jack I’d just laid down. Mason’s hand came down a split second later. He laughed at me as his fingers curled around my hand and he pulled it to his lips. “This game gets you excited, doesn’t it?” he asked.
“Well it certainly makes me a little jumpy.”
I picked up the stack of cards and laid another one down, then another. It was difficult every time a Jack came up to let go of Mason’s hand.
After a couple more games, we decided to move to the room we started in, since it was the only one with a working clock. Only one hour remaining. We played gin rummy, since it was my favorite game, and Mason told me a few Paul Bunyan tales his father had made up on their camping trips in the past.
When I checked the time again it was nearly two o’clock, which is when school would be getting out. “Mason,” I looked over at him to find him watching me.
“I know,” he said. He took my cards from me and set them on the table with his. Then he put his arms around me and pulled me across the couch closer to him. “Don’t wander,” he whispered into my neck.
“Oh, Mason, I promise you, I will never wander.”
“Good,” He let go and leaned back, “because I would hate to think your mother was right, that you could fall in love with someone else and I could just become a memory.” He smiled, but I could see in his eyes that he meant it. I wondered how someone like him could be so worried about someone like me.
“She was wrong. I could never love anyone else this way.” Because in my mind, he was it. My heart was set on him. There was just no way I could ever love another man.
He put his hands on my cheeks to kiss me. “I’ll find a way to build a better life for us. Things will get better,” he said.
A life…for us? It almost sounded like he wanted the same thing I did.
“I know.”
Mason stood and picked up my books and lunchbox. Putting them both in one arm, he held out his free hand to me. Reluctantly, I took it and let him lead me into darkness.
As I reached for the door that led outside, Mason’s hand tightened around mine. “Wait.” I turned back to him as he let go of my hand to put his arm around me. His warm lips felt their way across my cheek to my lips, and then he pressed against
me as he kissed me. I felt my books at his side. He took a deep breath before he pulled away. “I love you, Alexandra,” he said in a low voice.
“I love you too, Mason.”
He moved around me and opened the door. He smiled in the fresh light and held my things out to me. “Christmas Eve night…”
I smiled and nodded, but I already wanted to cry, knowing I wouldn’t see him for so long. Once I walked out that door, I walked back into the real world, where I was imprisoned in my room and everyone despised me.
“I wish I could walk you home,” Mason said.
“Me too.” Taking my things from him, I walked outside. Every step was difficult.
Once I was on the ground, I looked up at the top of the stairs. Mason stood in the open doorway, still watching me. We shared a smile and a wave, and then I turned away and began walking home.
As I walked down the crowded sidewalk, I glanced in a window and saw a Christmas display with a baby doll in a toy crib and a teddy bear sitting on a rocking horse. A shiny silver picture frame with a Santa hat on one corner and a picture of two little boys opening presents in it set in the middle of the toys, giving me an idea.
The dancehall always had a photographer moving around at every event, taking pictures of everything. My mother told me they kept albums full of these pictures for people to come back and look through. Maybe they would let me look through the one from the night of the dance and borrow a picture to have it copied. Well, Katy would have to do it for me, since I was banned from the dancehall. Even though I knew they may have destroyed any pictures with Mason in them or may not have taken any pictures of us at all, I hurried into the store and bought a frame just like the one in the window.
I was in such a hurry to get home as I walked out of the shop that I almost didn’t notice Hayden walking toward me, staring right at me as he did. I stopped as the pain I’d felt each time I looked at him that day hit me again, and waited. His eyes never left mine. “Hayden,” I said when I thought he would keep walking past me. He stopped right beside me. “Hayden, I’m sorry. I’m not happy about what you did, but I shouldn’t have said what I said. If I never saw you again, it would break my heart.”
He just stared at me for a minute. “You’re honestly risking everything just to see Mason?”
“What?” How could he know that? I felt terrified at the idea of him following me there and going to tell my parents.
“You didn’t go home after school, obviously. So you must have gone to see him.”
“Please don’t tell my parents.”
“I’m not going to say anything. In spite of what you might think, I really don’t want you to be sent to Missouri.”
“Thank you, but—”
“What about the lies? We’ve always been honest with each other. How could you lie to me like that?”
“I didn’t lie to you.”
“You said you weren’t going to the dance with him.”
“I wasn’t. I really need to get home, though. If you don’t mind walking with me, I’ll try to explain it to you.”
He nodded as he began walking beside me.
“Mason said he couldn’t take me to the dance because of work, but when he asked Emmaline what to get me for my birthday and she told him how much I wanted him to take me to the dance, he talked to Benny and worked it out. He surprised me by showing up to take me to it. And that’s where he kissed me for the first time.”
“But you said you would stop seeing him.”
“No, I didn’t, not to you. It was something you just assumed.”
We walked past several stores in silence. I was still angry for what Hayden had done, and I wasn’t ready to forgive him, but I needed him not to be mad at me, especially since everyone else was. And it was hard to stay mad at someone I was so close to. I hoped Emmaline was feeling the same way about me.
“I suppose I can accept your apology, if you can accept mine,” Hayden said, looking over at me.
But it wasn’t that easy for me. “Will you drop the charges against Mason?”
“Alexandra,” Hayden stopped in his tracks. “He attacked me. You saw what he did. How can you ask me to drop the charges?”
“No, he didn’t. He was only trying to protect me.”
“That’s what I was doing.”
“No, you were just being jealous.”
Hayden took a deep breath. “Fine, we’ll agree to disagree. I really don’t want to fight with you anymore.”
“Me neither.”
We walked past Emmaline’s house and I saw her sitting on her front porch, looking away from us. “Emmaline,” I called out, hoping I could somehow make up with both of my best friends. She picked up her head and I could see that she was crying. I waved as she stood up, but she didn’t wave back. She turned around and went in her house.
“Did she tell you why she’s so mad at me when you drove her home?” I asked Hayden as we turned at the corner.
“She said she was angry that you kept that secret from her and that you were dating part of the mob all this time, but I don’t think that’s what it was. I think what she was really upset about was Benny. She mumbled something about him when she was getting out of the car.”
I nodded as we reached my front yard. It occurred to me that maybe if I came home with Hayden, my mother wouldn’t make me go straight to my room.
We stopped on the front porch and Hayden took my hand as I reached out for the doorknob. “There’s something I want to ask you,” he said.
“All right.”
He moved to stand in between me and the door and held my left hand up. “Are you really planning to marry him?” My ring sparkled in the sunlight.
“This isn’t an engagement ring, and he hasn’t asked. It’s only a promise ring.”
Hayden smiled for the first time as he let go of my hand. “Why didn’t you tell me that before? You knew that was what I was asking.”
“I’m sorry,” I looked down at my feet. “I was just really angry and still in shock about what my father said.”
He nodded and opened the door. “Let’s just put it all behind us.”
“Sounds good.” All I wanted was for things to go back to normal. If only Mason could have been part of that ‘normal’.
“Mother, Hayden’s here,” I called out. The house smelled strongly of gingerbread.
She met us halfway to the kitchen. “Oh Hayden, I’m so happy to see you.” She came to give him a hug. “And I’m glad you two made up. Could you give me a hand with something?”
“Of course, Mrs. Roomer.”
“We’re decorating the Christmas tree, finally. Ted’s bringing home a tree, so if you could carry the box of decorations for me, I would really appreciate it…” Their voices faded away as they moved through the kitchen and into the utility room.
I went to the living room and sat down on the couch while I waited.
“…I don’t think that will be a problem. I’ll just call my parents and let them know,” Hayden was saying when they came into the room.
“Wonderful. I’ve got to go check on the cookies. Alexandra, you don’t have to go to your room today, dear. You can stay out here with Hayden,” my mother said before she left the room.
Hayden sat down beside me on the couch. “Your mother asked me to stay and help decorate the tree, but I thought I should ask you if you minded before I called my parents.”
I didn’t mind, but I wondered what Mason would think if I was at home, decorating our family’s Christmas tree with the man who had done so much damage. But this man was also family to me, as much my brother as Katy was my sister.
“Are you okay with us just being friends? I love you too, Hayden, but that’s all we’re ever going to be.”
He smiled and took my hand. “I’ll try to be okay with it.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “But now that I know that’s not an engagement ring, Mason’s still only temporary.”
“No, he’s not.”
“We’ll se
e. So you’re okay with me staying?”
“Of course I am. I missed you all weekend.”
He reached out to hug me before he went to call his parents from the phone upstairs.
The front door opened. “I’m home from school,” Katy called out.
“Hello, dear,” my mother’s voice moved with her to the front door. “We’re decorating the tree when your father gets home, so don’t go anywhere, okay? Alexandra’s in the living room with Hayden.”
“Hayden?” I could hear the irritation in her voice. I listened to her feet getting closer as Hayden’s came down the stairs. They both entered the living room at the same time.
“So…the rat’s here.” She gave Hayden a nasty look.
“It’s all right, Katy. He’s staying to decorate the tree with us.”
Katy moved closer to me so I could hear her speak quietly. “So I got you out of school early just so you can spend the day with him?”
“No, I went to Mason’s and I saw Hayden on my way home. He’s not going to say anything about it to anyone,” I whispered back.
She looked over at Hayden in obvious disbelief. Then she turned to go up the stairs. I felt bad that she might be mad at me. So I planned to talk to her about it later when I asked her about the snakes.
“I knew she was the one responsible for those snakes. How else would they have gotten into the school?” Hayden said as he sat down beside me. “She’s been calling me a rat all weekend.”
A car pulled up outside, so we got up to look out the window. A tree was tied to the top of my father’s car. “I better go give him a hand,” Hayden said before he left the room.
“Father’s home,” I called out to my mother.
“Would you go let Katy know?” she called back.
“Okay.” Upstairs, I knocked on her door. “Can I come in, Katy?” No answer. I opened the door slowly and peeked inside. Katy was lying on the floor, rummaging around under her bed. “Father’s home.”
She looked up at me and asked, “How can you forgive him so easily?”
“Well, everyone at school knows about Mason, so they think I’m some sort of dirty associate to the mob or something. You and Hayden are the only ones who don’t, and Hayden is thoroughly convinced that Mason is in the mob.”
“That doesn’t change what he did.”
“That’s true, but I said some pretty terrible things to him and we’re both sorry. There’s no reason to go on fighting.”
“Did he drop the charges, then?”
Darnet. “No.”
“Then what’s he doing here?”
“I know you’re mad at him, but just don’t be mad at me, okay? I can’t have anyone else hate me right now.”
Katy stood up and walked past me through the doorway. “I’m not mad at you, Alexandra.”
“Katy, wait,” She stopped halfway to the stairs. “Did you really let loose all those poisonous snakes?” I asked quietly.
“No,” she laughed. “I just got a bunch of scarlet king snakes. They’re almost identical to coral snakes. And when you start screaming about coral snakes and pointing at them moving under desks and along the wall, people panic. It was as easy as pie.”
I laughed as we walked down the stairs together. “I don’t know where you got them from, but that was genius. Mason thought so, too.”
We found my father and Hayden setting up the tree in the living room. My mother carried a plate full of gingerbread cookies in and walked over to the radio to turn on a station playing Christmas music. It was a really nice afternoon with everyone singing along to the carols as we decorated the tree, even with the obvious tension between Hayden and Katy. We tossed silver tinsel all over the tree when we were finished. Then my mother went back to the kitchen to cook dinner while we sat down and my father stood beside the tree to tell the same Christmas stories he told us every year, the same stories his father told him.
By the time my mother called out, “Dinner” we were all starving.
“There’s something we need to discuss, Alexandra,” my father said as I took my seat at the table. “You’ve spent an entire weekend locked up in your room and I realize you won’t be sneaking around the house with Mason, so I think you should be allowed to move around the house freely from now on. But you must still remain in the house until Christmas Day. Hopefully, that will be long enough to break you of that boy. Secondly, I talked to Hayden about it and you will be allowed to leave the house if he is with you. He will pick you up and drop you off at the door. I know I can trust him, so I’m confident that you will not be able to get into any trouble that way.”
Hayden smiled when I looked over at him in the chair beside me. I wondered if he was happy because he thought this could be his ‘chance’ with me or if he was just happy that we could spend the lost time together.
“Thank you, Father,” I said, feeling happy about it myself.
“Will you come over to my house tomorrow?” Hayden asked me. “I can come by in the morning to pick you up and we can figure out what we want to do when we get there.”
“All right.” Since he seemed to understand that we were only friends, it sounded like fun. And I really did want to get out of the house.
As we ate dinner together, I was extremely grateful that things felt so natural for the first time in days.
When I climbed the stairs at the end of the night and took out the note that said I love you, I thought about how terrible the day had started and how well it had turned out. And tomorrow will be even better, I thought.
If only I could have known.