“Did you have it on the freeway today, Shar?” he asked.
“Yeah, but I didn’t push it. They told me to break it in slowly over the first thousand miles.”
“This baby could go up to one forty before it would begin to sweat.” He popped open the driver’s door and studied the speedometer. “Do you know how many grand this set your dad back?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. Do you know how many?”
Daniel shook his head. “Let’s just say he could have bought you a house in the neighborhood for the same money.” He went to climb inside. “Are you ready to go? Can I drive?”
“We can’t take it. Amanda Parish is here, and she’s riding with us. And we have to pick up Jo.”
Although Joanne had introduced the two of us, Daniel didn’t like her. It would be hard to pinpoint specifically what she did that bothered him, other than that he was a boy and she had a tendency to make the male species as a whole feel inferior.
I had no idea what he thought of Amanda.
He showed a trace of annoyance. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t know until a little while ago.” The Ferrari had no backseat. “We can go for a drive in it tomorrow.”
He shut the door, sort of hard, and I jumped slightly. To be entirely truthful, I never felt entirely comfortable around Daniel. He strode toward me and gave me a hug. His embraces were always unexpected.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
He kissed me. He wasn’t an expert at lovemaking, but he had a warm mouth. He also had strong arms. As they went around me, I could feel myself relaxing and tensing at the same time. I didn’t know if other girls felt the same way when their boyfriends embraced them. But when his kisses grew hard and deep, I didn’t mind.
“Oh, sorry,” we heard behind us a minute or so later. Daniel let go, and I whirled. There was Amanda, as pretty and as unprepared as when I walked in on her in the upstairs bathroom. Her big eyes looking down, she turned to leave.
“No, it’s OK,” I said, taking a step toward her, only mildly embarrassed. “We should be leaving. Stay here. I’ll go say goodbye to Jimmy and Mother Mary. Be back in a moment.”
Amanda stopped. “What did you say?”
I suddenly realized I’d brought up Jimmy. “If Jimmy’s awake,” I said quickly, the remark sounding thin in my own ears. “He was asleep a few minutes ago.”
Amanda stared at me a moment. Then she muttered, “Say hello for me.”
“Sure.”
Jimmy was awake when I peeked in his door. He motioned me to come and sit on his bed. His computer screen was still on, and, as always, I found the faint green light hard on my eyes.
“Why don’t you just turn it off?” I asked, gesturing to the CRT.
He smiled faintly, his muscular arms folded across his smooth chest, his eyes staring off into space. He was in a different mood now—more contemplative. “I might wake in the night inspired.”
“The way you get around in your sleep, you wouldn’t have to wake up.”
“I was dreaming about you before I bumped into you in the hall.”
“Oh? Tell me about it?”
He had just opened the window above his bed, and a cool breeze touched us both. Later, I thought it might have been the breath of the Grim Reaper. It was a warm night. Jimmy closed his eyes and spoke softly.
“We were in a strange place. It was like a world inside a flower. I know that sounds weird, but I don’t know how else to describe it. Everything was glowing. We were in a wide-open space, like a field. And you were dressed exactly as you are now, in those jeans and that shirt. You had a balloon in your hand that you were trying to blow up. No, you had blown it up partway, and you wanted me to blow it up the rest of the way. You tried to give it to me. You had tied a string to it. But I didn’t catch the string right or something, and it got away. We watched it float way up in the sky. Then you began to cry.”
Far away, toward the front of the house, I heard Daniel start his car. He wasn’t a good one to keep waiting. But suddenly, I didn’t feel like going to Beth’s party. I just wanted to sit and talk with my brother until he fell asleep. I pulled his sheet up over his chest. The breeze through the open window was getting chilly now.
“Why was I crying?” I asked.
“Because the balloon got away.”
“What color was it?”
“I don’t know. Brown, I think.”
“Everything’s brown to you! What was so special about the balloon?”
He opened his eyes and smiled at me. For a moment I thought he was going to ask me about Amanda again. I felt grateful when he didn’t. “I don’t know.” He paused. “Will you be out late?”
“Not too late.”
“Good.”
“What’s the matter?”
He thought a moment. “Nothing. I’m just tired.” He squeezed my hand. “Have fun.”
I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Sweet dreams, brother.”
He closed his eyes, and it seemed to me he was trying to picture my balloon a little more clearly so maybe he could answer my question about it a little better. But all he said was, “Take care, sister.”
People. When you say goodbye to them for the last time, you’d expect it to be special, never mind that there’s never any way to know for sure you’re never going to see them again. In that respect, I would have to say I am thankful, at least, that my brother and I got to talk one last time before I left for the party. But when I got downstairs, Daniel was blowing his horn, and Mrs. Parish was vacuuming the dining room. I barely had a chance to poke my head in on her as I flew out the door.
“We’re going,” I called.
Mrs. Parish leaned over as if she was in pain and turned off the vacuum. “Did you bring a sweater?” she asked, taking a breath.
“Nah! I’ve got my boyfriend to keep me warm!”
She laughed at my nerve. “Take care, Shari.”
“I will,” I promised.
But I lied. And those little white lies, they catch up with you eventually. Or maybe they just get away from you, like a balloon in the wind.
Thomas E. Sniegoski, The Fallen 2
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