Chapter Six
I woke up early the next morning to make a batch of fudgy brownies and slipped a note of my own, folded in half, into the chocolate squares that were piled high on the plate. Katy ran into the kitchen and stole a couple before I covered them. When we got home from church I took my brownies and began walking to Swatches.
Walking through Chicago on Sunday was always nice because, even on a cold winter day, families were out for walks in their Sunday best, bundled up in scarves and warm coats. And with Christmas getting close, windows were lined with holly branches, wreaths, and lights.
The sign hanging on the door said Sorry, We’re Closed when I got to Swatches, but I pushed the door open and walked inside anyway, the cheerful bell ringing as I did so. “Could you get that, Mason?” I was relieved to hear Benny call out in the garage.
Mason walked through the side door and smiled when he saw me. “Alexandra, I hoped it would be you.”
I held up the heavy plate of brownies. “I baked these for you.”
“Thanks, just give me a minute to wash up.” He walked out of the room and reappeared after a couple of minutes. “I’d say let’s go get something to eat, but I would rather eat these brownies. You want to go out back with me?” Mason asked as he pulled his coat on.
“All right.”
He walked to the back of the office and opened the backdoor. “Sorry it’s kind of a mess,” he said. It was a total wreck. Old car parts were scattered everywhere in the yard, some were dripping or lying in different colored pools of thick liquid. “We can sit over here.” Mason put his arm around me and walked over to an old picnic table where he sat down. C I sat right next to him.
“I called the New York City police this morning,” Mason said quietly as he uncovered the brownies.
“Yeah?”
“Still nothing.”
“Sorry they’re cold,” I said as Mason shoved half a brownie into his mouth.
He smiled and chewed it a couple of times before he swallowed. “These are the best brownies I’ve ever had.” He ate the rest of the brownie in his hand before he said, “You know, no one’s made me brownies since my mom. Thanks.” He leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Sorry.” He laughed as he reached up to wipe a smudge of chocolate from my cheek.
“That’s all right.”
He picked up another brownie and then saw the note I had placed underneath it. “I’m not even going to try to sneak that into your pocket,” I said as he picked it up and opened it. “There’s no way I could do it without you noticing.” I’d written And I’m yours on it, feeling safe to say it since he said it first.
I was a little nervous about the way he stared unchangingly at it for a long time. He looked over at me and put his arm around me, sliding me the short distance across the long seat we both sat on and pulling me closer to him. “Do you mean that?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“No, I mean—Do you mean it, Alexandra, the way I did?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but it didn’t matter. I meant it. If he would let me, I would be his. “Yes, Mason, I’m yours.”
“Good.” He put the paper into his pocket and then ran his fingers through my hair. He reached up again and put his hand behind my head, pulling me closer to him. He was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes as I leaned my head up, more than ready for that kiss. It was slowly becoming all I wanted.
The back door flew open and Mason jumped. He punched the seat at his other side, muttering something I couldn’t make out. Luckily the door slammed shut behind Benny at that moment, so he didn’t hear it either.
Benny carried a box to the dead grass behind the picnic table and set it down. “Brownies…You are one lucky man, Mason. I’d give anything to have a pretty girl bake me some a those.”
“I am lucky,” Mason said, smiling over at me. “You want one?” he asked Benny.
“Yeah.” Benny sat down across from us and picked up a brownie.
I was surprised that it wasn’t very cold back there, but the wind was blocked by the building and tall wooden fence, and Mason was right beside me.
Benny ate one more and Mason finished nearly half the brownies before they both stood up. “I guess it’s back to work,” Mason said as he covered them up.
“Those brownies are really good, Alexandra. Thanks for letting me have some, Mason,” Benny said.
We walked back into the office. “I’ll be back there in just a minute,” Mason told Benny.
“Sure thing.” Benny disappeared through the side door.
Mason set the brownies down on the desk before he hugged me. “Sorry we were interrupted,” he whispered.
“It’s okay. Benny seems nice.”
Mason pulled his head away to look at me, but kept his arms around me. “Maybe you should bring Emmaline next time.” He nodded toward the side door.
“You think Benny might like some company?”
He nodded.
“Emmaline would love that,” I said.
He kissed me on my cheek and then walked back into the garage, taking his brownies with him. I guess the moment’s passed, I thought, wishing my cheek hadn’t been where that kiss was aimed.
I looked at the clock above the door just before I walked out of the office. “I’m late,” I said, walking down the street as quickly as I could. My father’s car was pulling out of the driveway when I was nearly home. Oh no. Watching it coming closer, I hoped I wasn’t in trouble.
“Alexandra, we’ll be late for dinner,” my father said as I climbed in the backseat. “We were just coming to get you.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching the time.”
“Just don’t let it happen again, dear,” my mother turned to me and said with a smile.
The trip didn’t take very long in the car. My mother rushed us to the door as soon as we got there. Katy reached out to ring the bell as my mother said, “I love the tune it plays, don’t you, Ted? No one else I know has a musical doorbell.” We listened to it echo around the inside of Hayden’s house.
“It is something.”
The door was flung open and Hayden’s mother reached out to hug mine. “Sorry we’re late,” my mother said.
“That’s all right. Dinner’s just gotten to the table. Come on in.”
Hayden took the seat beside me at the dinner table as he always did, but he was unusually quiet that evening. No one else seemed to notice. Sunday dinner is usually made up of my mother and Hayden’s talking excitedly about everything that happened the week before, and that night was no exception.
“Will you take a walk through the garden with me, Alexandra?” Hayden turned to me to say when everyone was finished eating.
“Yes.”
He held out his arm as he stood up, so I rested my hand inside his elbow. The cold, night air swept over us as we walked out into his backyard. He didn’t say anything until we stepped onto one of the paths made up of little pebbles that wound itself around the yard and then through the garden. “I’m sorry I became so impatient yesterday. I would still like to take you to the dance,” he said.
I took a deep breath, not wanting to give him an answer. “I’m sorry Hayden…I can’t go with you.”
“Because of Mason.”
“No, not because of Mason. I’m going with Emmaline.”
“So you’re not going with Mason?”
“No.”
He finally smiled. “Will you go with me next year then? Certainly Emmaline will understand if you’ve made plans a year in advance.”
“All right.” I wanted to think that Mason would be taking me the next year, but I wasn’t dumb enough to believe that he would still be around, dropping by to see me every chance he got, a year down the road. It would have been nice, though.
Hayden’s whole mood changed after that. We walked through the garden, talking about the time in the sixth grade when Katy came into our classroom to drop off a few papers to our teacher, Mrs. Valentine, and left a bab
y garter snake in the stack. It was hilarious to watch our teacher screaming and running to the back of the room, tripping over a stack of books and knocking my desk over on its side as she came down on it. Katy had said it was her birthday present to me. She knew how much we couldn’t stand Mrs. Valentine.
Hayden and I were still laughing about it when we went back inside and found our parents singing Christmas carols around the piano, which Hayden’s mother was playing. Six songs later we were all saying good night and then I was climbing into the back of our car.
“Isn’t that Mason?” Katy asked as we drove down Emmaline’s street. I leaned over to look out of her window. It was him—and Emmaline was standing on her porch, talking to him while he stood almost at her eye level on the ground.
“It’s a little late to be dropping by, isn’t it?” my mother said.
“Entirely,” my father answered.
I felt my chest constrict in a new way and suddenly wanted to take my shoe off and throw it at Emmaline’s head. What was she doing with him?
Calm down. They’re just talking. They did look completely different than he and I had the night before, standing as close together as we could. There was a good distance and a couple of porch steps between them. His hands were buried in his trouser pockets.
Emmaline said something and Mason lifted an eyebrow. The sort of smile he always gave me lit up his face. It hurt to watch. It’s got to be about Benny, I tried to tell myself.
I sat back in my seat and tried to push them both out of my head. I was painfully aware of my mother casting glances back at me until we pulled into our driveway.
As I walked into my bedroom, I realized that I hadn’t even checked my pockets. Reaching into my coat pocket, I felt a tiny piece of paper. Pulling it out and turning my lamp on, I sat down on my bed to read it. Wish I was holding you now. “So I do,” I said to the tiny note with a smile, almost feeling his strong arms around me in the comfort those words gave me.
I opened the jewelry box that was beside my lamp and placed the precious strip of paper with the others, like gold coins, slowly piecing together my greatest treasure.