Much Ado About Magic

by Mette Ivie Harrison

  Apparently, it was.

  Beatrice gave me a look of utter disdain. “The feelings I have for you do not need to be discussed. I think everyone knows them already.” She put a hand on me and pushed me to the side, so she could walk past.

  I stood there, staring after her, knowing that I had said exactly the wrong thing. I could only think how much I had hurt her, how much I deserved her anger. She was in love with me and she could not show it. But I would persevere. I would show her that she could trust me with her deepest fears. For now, however, I would let her go and think how best to approach this again.

  I looked over and saw that Claudio and Pedro were smiling to each other. They’d seen everything. Well, what did I care?

  Chapter 9: Bee

  I stalked away from Benedick wondering what in the world he thought he was doing. It must be some joke of his, but I was not going to be the butt of it. Not again.

  Margaret and Ursula had gone over by Leanata and Sarah on the far side of the room so I headed toward them. When I reached them, they had their backs turned and I realized that they were talking about me. And Benedick.

  I know, I shouldn’t have eavesdropped, but I couldn’t help it.

  “Benedick is in love with Beatrice,” said Leanata. “Desperately. Fervently. He can’t help himself. Every time he sees her, he loses his mind.”

  I leaned in closer to hear more.

  “Did he tell you about this himself?” Margaret asked Sarah. “While you were dancing?”

  Sarah shook her head. “No. I think he’s too afraid of Bee to say anything about it. He doesn’t dare to hope for her to forgive him for his mistake. He only spoke to me of Claudio’s love for me. But when he spoke, there was such passion in his eyes. And he could hardly tear himself away from looking toward Bee. Every few seconds, when he turned this way or that, his gaze would stray in her direction and I could see the pain of love in him.”

  “Oh, poor guy,” said Ursula.

  I was having a hard time thinking of Benedick as a poor guy, however he felt. And how could all this have changed so suddenly? When had he decided that he loved me, if he did? Tonight or months ago when he made me look like a fool in front of the whole school?

  “How did you find about it, then?” asked Leanata.

  “From Claudio. And you?” asked Sarah.

  “From Pedro. Between the two of them, it seems they have decided to do something about Benedick’s drooping spirits. Pedro says that he was not himself the whole summer in Europe. He did not look at a single woman without sighing and comparing her to Beatrice. And when he returned, he would not hear a word spoken against her appearance, though everyone agreed that she looked much the worse for wear.”

  Well, Leanata thought so, since she kept bothering me about using the beauty spell. But if Benedick did not, then it made me like him a little more. If he did not think only of beauty in a girlfriend, then perhaps he was not so shallow as I had always thought.

  “But why didn’t he call her or write her an email or anything?” asked Ursula.

  “He knows her well enough that he thought she would delete any message without reading it. As for calling her, he did not know what to say. He could not make his words sound natural if he rehearsed them. And if he didn’t, he could not speak coherently at all. Pedro says that he’s never seen someone in love like this before. He thinks that Benedick will carry this love to his dying day.”

  Dying day? Weren’t we all a little young to be talking about that? He had college to look forward to, and a job, and everything. Lots of people thought they were in love in high school, but then it didn’t last afterward. I mean, how many people really ended up marrying their high school sweethearts?

  “He wrote her poems,” said Leanata. “Can you believe it?”

  Poems? I had a hard time not laughing at the idea of one of Benedick’s poems. Would he rhyme things like “you” and “moo”? But then again, maybe that was why he hadn’t sent me any of his poems. Maybe he was afraid that I would laugh at them and he couldn’t bear it.

  I had a good look at myself in that moment, and what I saw wasn’t all that pretty—and I wasn’t talking about outer beauty, either. Yes, Benedick had hurt me. But had I been holding onto that grudge for so long because I didn’t want any other, more difficult feeling to take the place of anger?

  “What about the truth spell? Was he in love with her when he did that, too?” asked Margaret.

  I tensed, feeling sweat dripping down my ear and onto my neck on both sides because I was so nervous. I didn’t want anyone to notice that I was there or they might stop telling me the things I needed to know.

  “He was in love with her. That’s what Pedro told me,” said Leanata. “He used the truth spell on her because he thought that the only way he would ever have a chance with her himself was if he got her to see that Pedro wasn’t right for her. Jolt her into reality, was the way that Pedro put it.

  “But he is sick over it now. Pedro says that he weeps every night, calling her name into his pillow. He tried to wait until the other two fell asleep, but they could not help but hear him when it went on and on.”

  He had been crying over me every night? That seemed a little too much. Was Pedro making this up for some reason of his own?

  “What did you tell him?” asked Ursula. “Did he want you to tell Beatrice the truth?”

  “He asked me for my opinion,” said Leanata. “If there was any hope for Benedick.”

  I felt my throat go very dry. My whole future, it seemed, depended on Leanata’s opinion of me.

  “I told him that he should try to convince Benedick out of his love. I gave him a list of all of Beatrice’s worst attributes. Her pride, which Benedick surely already knows. Her wild temper.”

  I groaned. All my worst attributes according to Leanata? That list could go on for a very long time.

  “Her inability to keep her thoughts to herself. Her insistence in showing that she is the smartest person in any of her classes. The way she will go on and on about a book that she loves, until the rest of us are all half asleep,” said Leanata.

  “You should have told him that she is a very unpleasant morning person,” said Ursula.

  “And that she brushes her teeth for hours on end and tries to talk even while the toothpaste foam is dripping down her face,” said Margaret.

  Last time Margaret and Ursula had stayed overnight at my house was almost a year ago, but that had happened then.

  “She is a bad dancer, but Benedick must have seen that already,” Sarah put in.

  Ouch!

  “Well, Benedick is a horrible dancer, too, as far as I can tell. Although I suppose it might be partly all the pressure he feels being around Beatrice,” said Ursula.

  “What of her refusal to use the beauty spell?” Leanata asked.

  “He likes her better that way,” said Sarah. “I heard him say so. He thinks she looks more honest. More truthful. And you know how much the truth matters to him, more even than to other Paduans.”

  They all nodded.

  “We will keep it a secret from her, yes?” said Leanata. “I can swear you all to it?”

  They all swore not to tell me.

  “I don’t know why she wouldn’t like him, though,” said Sarah. “Benedick seems very kind to me.”

  Kind?

  “And he’s been a good friend all these years to Claudio and Pedro. You know what they say about a man who is loyal to his friends? There is a man who will be faithful to a woman,” said Leanata.

  As if she knew anything about either a man or a woman being faithful.

  “I think he’s sweet. Underneath that tough exterior, he is a softy,” said Margaret.

  “He’s got the finest eyes I’ve ever seen,” said Ursula.

  “I wouldn’t mind him looking at me longingly with those. Do you think that I could get him to fall out of love with Beatrice eventually? If she’s mean enough to him?” asked Margaret.

  What? She was tryin
g to steal him before I even had him?

  “There’s no hope for it, I’m afraid. He will have her or no one.”

  They all sighed for him. Which made me a little mad. Why would they keep such a secret from me? Didn’t they think I could change? Didn’t they think I was worthy of Benedick?

  Or at least of making a choice for myself?

  I ducked down when they started to move, and then crab-walked a few feet until I could stand up and pretend I was walking toward them again.

  “So, what’s up?” I asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” said Sarah, too quickly.

  I figured I couldn’t let that go. They would think it meant I knew something. “Nothing? Tell me. What is it?” I turned to Margaret and Ursula. “What do you two know that I don’t?”

  “It’s the beauty spell thing,” said Leanata. “I’ve decided that I won’t bother you about it, after all. You can be as ugly as you like. Your friends convinced me that it’s just a stage you’re going through. Soon enough, you’ll want to be beautiful again, and I can wait until then.” She smiled a superior smile at me and I gritted my teeth.

  “Thank you,” I said as politely as I could manage.

  Ursula and Margaret started chattering away to Sarah about Claudio, how wonderful he was, how perfect they were for each other, how she was so lucky to have found him.

  I walked with them, and I realized soon enough that we had headed toward Claudio, Pedro, and Benedick.

  We stopped in front of them and Sarah abruptly stopped talking, blushing instead. Claudio didn’t seem to have anything to say, either.

  I looked at them and thought—I will never be so stupid in love. Certainly not with Benedick.

  Claudio held out his hand and took Sarah to the dance floor, all without saying a word. It was like the rest of us ceased to exist, as if the whole world had shrunk down to the size of two people’s breathing space.

  “Beatrice,” said Benedick softly.

  I looked up at him. I could see how nervous he was. I had hated him only a few minutes ago, but I couldn’t hate him anymore. “Benedick,” I said, somehow liking the taste of his name on my lips. It was a good name.

  “I never—that is—I don’t—or you might—” he said.

  “I love a man who knows when to be quiet,” I said.

  His mouth hung open.

  I was in a very good mood. I smiled at him. “Would you like to dance with me?” I asked.

  “Are you sure? I thought—but of course if you want to—I would not wish to say—that is, I would like to dance,” he got out at last.

  I smiled at Ursula and Margaret, who watched me with keen interest as I moved closer to Benedick.

  I brushed a hand against his shoulder.

  He jumped away from me.

  I leaned closer to him.

  He moved away.

  This was more fun than I had imagined it would be.

  We were dancing, but it was true that he was no good at it. He was even worse than he had been with Sarah. His movements were like a robot’s, no sway, all jerks and twitches.

  “Calm down,” I said. “I’m not going to bite.” I put both hands on his shoulders. I could feel his heartbeat under my fingertips. He swallowed over and over again.

  I bent down and brushed my lips gently across his.

  He started, dropping his hands and staring at me.

  “It’s true, then,” he murmured. “I would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

  “What’s that?” I asked him.

  “You,” he said. “You—” he waved a hand at me.

  “I have been considering the benefits of forgiveness,” I said to him.

  “There are many benefits,” he said softly.

  “Are you afraid of me still, then?” I asked.

  “More than ever,” said Benedick, but he put his hands around my waist and we danced without falling over each other until the end of the song.

  “Incredible. Not a sour word,” he said, when the song was ended.

  “And until then, I would have said it a miracle that you could spend so long without telling me what is wrong with me,” I said.

  “I? You’re the one who is always a critic,” said Benedick.

  “So says the guy who told me once that the only good date was a silent one. Unless the noises were from a movie screen.”

  “Well, there are not many girls who have interesting things to say,” said Benedick.

  “You are saying that you would like me to speak?”

  “Do you think you could stop yourself from it?” asked Benedick.

  “Perhaps. For the very deepest love,” I teased him.

  “Well, I should not wish you to strain yourself so far,” said Benedick.

  “Are you asking me to speak further?”

  Benedick held my hand as he led me off the floor. “I will listen to every word until you ask me to go.”

  He was the last guy I would have thought would love me. He was as handsome as Sarah had said, with those fine eyes of his. And as for his wit, which I had criticized before, I thought better of it now. He did not give up when I challenged him, but matched me word for word, and I had never met a guy who could do that before.

  I didn’t know if I was in love with him yet, but it seemed a possibility, at least.

  Chapter 10: Ben

  “What do you say now of love?” said Pedro when I came back from dancing with Beatrice.

  I expected teasing. I deserved it. And in fact, I would revel in it. I felt so happy that I could have kissed every person in the room.

  “I love Beatrice,” I said, throwing up my hands and turning in a circle as Pedro and Claudio walked me back to the Hummer, laughing.

  “It has come upon you suddenly, then?” said Pedro. “Like a virus that will make you puke tomorrow, but makes you feverish today?”

  “Bottle that virus and sell it, then,” I suggested. “It will make you a fortune.”

  “Perhaps you do not remember, but I have no need of fortune, Benedick,” said Pedro mockingly.

  “The world is full of money, but it is love it lacks,” said Claudio, with a happy sigh.

  Yes, he and I were brothers now, closer than we had ever been before. He understood love as well as I did. The dance was over and everyone was leaving. I caught sight of Beatrice and waved to her.

  I put my arm around Claudio’s shoulder and walked with him outside. We slipped into a bit of grass and fell on top of each other.

  “I do not think this bodes well,” said Pedro, as he looked down at us.

  “Give me a hand?” I said.

  “So you can pull me down with you?” said Pedro.

  I looked up at him and for the first time I felt sorry for him. He had never fallen in love, not like this. I would have known it if he had. I would have mocked him ruthlessly. He had dated plenty, but he had never found his true match. He was what I had been, before tonight, and no doubt he thought himself lucky. But he was not.

  “Who will we find for Pedro, then?” I asked Claudio, as we found our feet again.

  Pedro put up his hands and shook his head. “Spare me your kindness in that, Claudio, Benedick,” he said. “I would prefer to find my own love.”

  “But who would it be?” I asked. “Claudio?”

  “That is what every man does. If he finds himself in love, he must make sure that all his friends are in love. And if he is out of love, then they must be out of love,” said Pedro.

  “But we will never be out of love now, will we, Claudio?” I said.

  “Never!” he said. “If you loved as we did, you would not speak of such blasphemy.”

  Pedro opened the driver’s door to the Hummer. “I think I will drive tonight. You two are both drunk with passion.”

  “That we are, Claudio, eh?” I said, clapping him on the shoulder.

  Pedro started to drive us away from the school, but there was a long line of cars in front of us. We happened to be right behin
d the car that Beatrice and Sarah were in.

  “You know, even that car looks better with Beatrice in it. The whole world looks better because Beatrice is part of it,” I said.

  “It is Sarah that makes the world more glorious,” said Claudio.

  I clapped his back. “Let us agree to say that both of them are so beautiful that there are no words, that they make the sun itself seem dull in comparison, and the birds seem like toads in their warbling compared to the sound of the voices of the women we love.”

  “You should definitely write that down and send it in to a magazine somewhere,” said Pedro. “I think you’ve discovered your true calling in life, Benedick. Writing love poetry.”

  “Well, why shouldn’t I write love poetry? With such a goddess to inspire my words! Eh, Claudio?”

  He hummed a tune under his breath.

  “Claudio will compose music to his love!” I declared.

  “You are going to make me deaf,” said Pedro. “Please, contain your love at least until I get you home.”

  It went on like that until he stopped the Hummer at my house.

  I kissed Claudio on both cheeks, the way we’d learned to do in France. I tried to do the same to Pedro, but he shoved me backward and told me to save my kisses for Beatrice.

  I stumbled inside and up to bed. I couldn’t sleep. I thought of calling Beatrice, just to hear her answer the phone. But it was past midnight and her parents wouldn’t like it. I would have to content myself with the memory of her voice as it rang in my mind.

  I slept and I dreamed about her. Good dreams, mostly. But they didn’t last long. It was just past midnight when the phone rang and woke me up. “Beatrice?” I said, a little sleepily.

  “It’s me,” said Pedro’s voice.

  Disappointed, I said, “What do you need, Pedro?”

  “I’ve got a problem, Ben. With the clan.” He sounded very serious. “And the money spell.”

  “What about it?” I asked.

  “Can I come get you and Claudio and bring you to my place? I need someone who isn’t inside the clan to talk to about this. Someone who can see more clearly than I can at the moment.”

  At the dance he had been telling me and Claudio that we couldn’t see clearly because we were in love. For him to change his mind so quickly told me everything I needed to know. I would have to put Beatrice and everything that had happened last night out of my mind. This was clan business.