Looking at Lily’s scrapbook, I was impressed. “You’re almost done.”
“Yeah, almost. Can you get me copies of your photos?” Lily asked.
“Yeah. I made copies, but I don’t know where I put them. I’ll look when I get home.”
“Have you started yours yet? I know how you procrastinate.”
“Very funny, but I did, and then got sidetracked.” Lily laughed at that. “Stop. I better finish it before this summer. I really wish I knew where we were going. Have your parents said anything? Mine won’t tell me anything, as usual.”
Lily shook her head no. “All she said was that Dad didn’t know when he could take off. If we go anywhere, it’ll be last minute or we’ll just go to Grammy’s.”
My parents only told me where we were vacationing when we were on the plane going. The reason for this was because when I was young, I got super excited about a vacation to Italy. I started looking through the guidebooks and picked sites to see. At the end of the trip, when we hadn’t visited any of my choices, I had a complete meltdown in the middle of the hotel lobby as Dad checked out. I sat on the floor and refused to leave. Humiliated, Dad picked me up and carried me to the taxi. All the way to the airport, I cried. They decided to surprise me from then on, but I think they just liked torturing me.
In early June, I protested, “Mom, I’ll be eighteen in December.”
She answered, “Next summer, we’ll plan the vacation spot together, okay? This year, you’ll find out in August.” Thankfully, this would be the last summer that they would do this to me.
I sat there looking at Lily’s photos. My reminiscing was interrupted by Noelle’s call to make sure that we were still going for breakfast.
Aunt Cecile drove us into town and we met Noelle at Starbuck’s. At ten o’clock, we walked over to Susan’s Café and grabbed a table outside.
I was on edge waiting for Daniel to come that I wasn’t listening to the conversation.
Noelle stopped talking, stared at me and said, “Hey, calm down. It’s only breakfast.”
“I know,” I answered testily and hoped that Noelle wouldn’t be her nonstop talking self.
“How’s lifeguarding?” Lily asked Noelle.
She started talking and wouldn’t stop. Sitting there listening and waiting was torture and as the minutes passed, I became more irrational. “Noelle, please do me a favor and don’t babble like that when Daniel comes. Also, don’t ask tons of questions, he’ll think we’re imbeciles.”
Noelle looked visibly hurt and then she got angry. She rose and stormed into the shop.
Lily glared at me and said, “Why are you being so crazy? If you continue like this, I’m not staying.”
She was right. What was wrong with me? I apologized and begged her to stay.
Noelle came out with two coffees and visibly upset. “I couldn’t carry out your tea. If you want it, it’s on the counter.” She gave Lily her coffee. “I’m sitting at another table. Then I won’t embarrass anyone.”
“No, Noelle, please don’t. I’m really sorry.”
Noelle was apprehensive of my mood change. “You’re being so ridiculous,” she said, but went inside and got my tea. She was probably worried that I’d spill it on somebody.
When my cell said 10:20, I knew that I’d been stood up. My greatest fear was being realized. Noelle and Lily were exchanging knowing glances, but I had no energy to yell at them. It was almost 10:30 and he was nowhere in sight. Lily had tried getting me to call him at 10:15.
Lily was getting frustrated and repeated her earlier argument. “Call him. Maybe something happened. He doesn’t have your number for crying out loud.”
When I refused again, Lily stood up to leave.
“Fine,” I snapped and hoped there was a plausible explanation.
Daniel answered. “Hello?”
“It’s Paige. Where are you?” I asked with an edge of anger.
“I’ve been hoping you’d call. I got stuck in the city. I was about to call the café.” He seemed relieved to hear from me. “I was borrowing my uncle’s car and he needed it.” Maybe that’s why his phone had buzzed constantly at breakfast. “I’m leaving the city in an hour. Can we meet there tomorrow?” he asked.
After I hung up, I told them what happened and asked if they’d come back with me.
“Of course. I need to see why you’ve become so crazy,” said Lily, rolling her eyes at Noelle. Noelle groaned, but agreed to come too.
After breakfast, we went to Lily’s pool club. It was almost a hundred degrees and it was great being wet. We played Marco Polo with almost fifteen kids and it was insane.
After eating turkey wraps for lunch, we lazed by the pool, read magazines and talked. Out of the blue, it suddenly started thundering. Promptly the lifeguards closed the pool and everyone began packing up. The sky was dark and ominous and then the rain poured down. As we raced up the hill to Lily’s house, it was relentless in its intensity. It felt like someone was throwing buckets of water on us, and the wind was incredible. The thunder sounded so close and the flashes of lightning were scary.
By the time we got in, we looked like muddy drowned rats.
“Mom, we’re home. Was it supposed to rain today?” Lily called out.
Aunt Cecile walked into the kitchen surprised to see us. “I was just about to drive down and get you. Why didn’t you stay put? You shouldn’t run around in the woods when there’s lightning.”
“Sorry,” we all said, but smiled at each other because we had fun.
Looking at the floor, she saw the mud. “Stay in the kitchen. Do not move. Let me get some towels.”
Aunt Cecile walked out saying, “It should stop soon. It’s just a passing storm.”
After showering, we decided to stay at Lily’s for the sleepover and not go to Noelle’s. Aunt Cecile said it was fine, but they were going out. As I looked out the window, the dark storm clouds were slowly dissipating.
“Girls, have the quesadillas and the soup from last night,” Aunt Cecile said before leaving.
Noelle called her parents and they were going to the movies.
We grabbed food to bring downstairs and planned on watching a movie. I made my favorite popcorn with melted butter, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and lots of Parmesan cheese. It was one of Mom’s creations and I loved it.
As we watched the movie, we heard the storm still raging outside. Around ten, we paused the movie so that Lily could go get some water bottles. She was on her way back downstairs and the power went out. The house went completely black.
“Oh, no!” Lily shrieked.
I didn’t know what to do, so I reached for Noelle and held her arm tightly. Only between bursts of intermittent lightening were things visible. Lily went into the laundry room and brought out flashlights. We found hurricane candles in the hall closet and lit them.
“We have a generator in the garage, but we have to wait till my parents gets home. Don’t worry. Our house alarm goes to a battery backup if the power goes or the phone lines go out,” Lily said, acting brave, while calling her parents cells. Getting no answer, she hung up without leaving a message. Noelle called her parents and they also didn’t answer. All four parents disappeared just when you needed them most.
I called Mom and was relieved that at least she answered, even if she wasn’t nearby. “Mom, it’s me,” I whispered, feeling that if I spoke loudly the monsters would find me. My vivid imagination was working overtime especially in this darkness.
She knew from the sound of my voice that I was upset. “Why are you whispering? What's the matter?”
After I told her what happened, she assured me that Aunt Cecile would be home soon. I’d been through blackouts before, but it was very different out here. When it happened in the city, everyone would rush outside, talking and complaining and you never felt alone. Out here in the suburbs, it was quite alarming since it was so desolate. Lily’s house was on two acres and the neighbors’ houses weren’t visible, or even nearby, so
you felt totally alone. Behind Lily’s property, there was only the swim club, which was immense and deserted. I looked out the window and saw a car in the parking lot with its lights on.
The three of us sat on the couch with the candles lit and talked about the situation. When my cell rang a few minutes later, I presumed it was Mom and didn’t check the screen. Lily and Mom were the only people that called me, all my friends texted. I answered trying to sound upbeat, “Hi, Mom. I’m better now.”
“Paige, everything okay?” It was Daniel.
For a minute, I couldn’t speak. “Hi. Yeah, I’m fine. Are you in this blackout too?”
“Yes, I am. Are you all right?” he asked again.
“Oh, I’m fine… I’m at Lily’s with her friend, Noelle.” After I told him that her parents were out for the evening, Daniel offered to come over and keep us company. He seemed overly concerned, but it was just a blackout.
“Let me check with Lily.”
I looked over at her but it was too dark, so I couldn’t see her face. I shone the flashlight at her and she had a confused expression. "What?" she asked.
“Daniel wants to know if we want him to come over. He’ll wait with us till your parents get home.” I tried to sound normal but I mouthed, “please” to Lily repeatedly, so that he didn’t hear.
She shrugged and said, “Sure, I guess … if he wants to.” I knew she said yes for me, but she also sounded relieved. In this darkness, even the flashlights made menacing shadows. I gave him the address, hung up and started jumping up and down.
Lily reminded me that we really didn’t know Daniel and that concerned her. Noelle looked apprehensively at me and asked how we met. I told her the whole story. Noelle rationalized that all three of us had phones to call the police and besides that, Lily’s parents would be home soon.
Lily called her mom’s cell and left a message that Daniel was coming over. Knowing that someone knew, they settled down.
We ran upstairs with all the candles to illuminate the living room. Lily and Noelle ate cheese sticks and sat on the couch waiting for him. I ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I had added so much garlic powder on my popcorn that I was afraid I’d kill him with my breath.
When I returned, Noelle asked Lily if her parents would be okay with Daniel being there.
“With you guys here, it’s fine, but if I was alone, I’m not sure they’d handle it very well.”
Ten minutes later, we saw lights on the wall and jumped up to see a car pull into the driveway. Lily turned off the house alarm and I ran to the door with a flashlight to help guide him inside. He had a light on his keychain that he was using to maneuver around the walkway.
“Hello,” he said as he grinned at me while I shone the flashlight at his beautiful face. “So I am getting to see you today after all.”
“If you call this seeing me,” I joked and was happy it was dark now because I felt like I was blushing.
Daniel chuckled and said, “How are you guys holding up? It’s really amazing how dark it is when there’s a blackout in the country.”
“I know! I thought the same thing.”
He followed me into the living room. The room looked cozy with all the candles and didn’t seem sinister anymore.
I introduced him to the girls. At first, it was awkward, but Daniel started asking them questions about school. He was adept at getting people to talk, but said very little himself.
However, when Lily asked about Australia, Daniel got quite talkative.
“Did you go there alone?” asked Noelle.
“I did. I met a friend for a little while, but then I went to the Great Barrier Reef alone.”
The talk turned back to school. Since all of us would be seniors in the fall, college was always on our minds.
“Paige said you’re taking time off and not going to college yet. Why?” Lily asked. I didn’t need to ask Daniel anything since Lily and Noelle were asking all the questions for me.
“I want to travel around for awhile.”
“Are you working?” asked Lily.
“Yeah, part-time.”
“But how can you do that?” nosy Noelle asked.
Daniel asked, “You mean financially?”
Noelle nodded and said, “Yeah. How can you afford it and only work part-time?”
“My parents died and when I turned eighteen, I was able to access the trust fund they set up.”
Noelle’s face crumpled and I could tell that she felt terrible. I had forgotten to tell her about his parents. “I’m so sorry. What happened?” asked Noelle.
“They were in a car accident in Utah. It was January of my freshman year. I had gone back to school after the winter holiday.” Lily and I looked at each other because we went skiing in Utah last February on break. “They hit a patch of ice and their car went down a mountain cliff.”
The mood was somber for a while. Daniel got very quiet and I felt so bad for him. It must be horrible to constantly tell everyone his parents died.
Lily glanced over at me and raised her eyebrows. She asked Daniel if he grew up in Manhattan in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
“No, I was raised in Washington DC, went to school there till eighth grade. Then, for high school, I went to a boarding school in London.”
“There are tons of boarding schools here. Why so far way?” asked Noelle.
“My dad went there and I wanted to go.”
“Well, I guess if you hadn’t gone, you might’ve been with your parents on that ski trip,” Noelle said, insinuating the unthinkable.
I was so floored by what she said and asked, “Noelle, are you for real?”
“What? It’s true. Don’t tell me you hadn’t thought that,” Noelle accused.
I shook my head at her like she was insane. Before I could comment, Lily jumped in while Noelle remained oblivious to her inappropriate comment. “If you live in DC, why are you in Manhattan?”
“I was going to work in DC this summer, but my uncle got called to New York last minute.” That was quite a coincidence since my plans had also abruptly changed. We could’ve been in different parts of the world and never met.
When the lights came on, the brightness was jarring. Lily and Noelle finally saw Daniel in his full glory. He really was striking.
Noelle kept asking Daniel about his trust fund and I prayed that she didn’t ask him how much money he had. I’d die. Before Noelle had a chance, we heard the front door open.
Lily jumped up and nervously called out, “Hey, we’re in the living room.”
Aunt Cecile walked in, saw Daniel and said, “Hello, I’m Cecile Hamilton, Lily’s mom.”
“Daniel Haydin, nice to meet you.” He stood up and shook hands with Aunt Cecile as Uncle Ian walked in.
“We were wondering whose car was in the driveway. Ian Hamilton.” They shook hands.
“There was a blackout tonight and the lights just came on,” Lily explained. “Daniel’s a friend of Paige’s. He’s in Chappaqua visiting his aunt and came over to keep us company.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” said Daniel.
“No, of course not. I’m so glad that Lily wasn’t home alone tonight,” said Aunt Cecile.
“I tried calling, but your phones were off,” Lily said.
“Sorry, my phone died. Your dad left his at home.”
“I better get going. I’m sure my aunt is wondering what happened to me. It was nice meeting all of you. Good night,” Daniel said.
It had stopped raining so I walked him out to his car, which was a black BMW.
“Do you still want to meet for breakfast?” I asked not sure if he still wanted to get together.
Daniel looked at me and said, “Of course, unless you don’t want to?”
“I do. I thought maybe since I saw you tonight….” I stopped talking.
“Paige, what does the blackout have to do with breakfast?” He looked confused. “I’ll see you at ten. Pleasant dreams.”
I walked back
into the house on cloud nine.
Noelle was grinning. “You’re right. He’s sooo cute and sooo nice!! So… what happened?”
“What do you mean? I walked him to his car.” I was totally confused. I glanced at Lily with a look like what was she talking about. Lily widened her eyes and shrugged.
“Did you kiss for heavens sakes?” Noelle asked sounding frustrated.
“Give me a break, Noelle. We just met. I don’t even know if he likes me.”
It was almost one o’clock. Noelle stayed with me in the guest room and kept talking about Daniel, so I pretended to fall asleep.
The next morning, while Noelle slept, I snuck out and went upstairs. I couldn’t believe that Daniel had been in Lily’s house. I wanted to pinch myself in case I was dreaming.
Walking into the kitchen, I found Aunt Cecile reading the paper. “Morning, Paige. Lily told me that you are all meeting Daniel at Susan’s.”
I nodded. “We were supposed to yesterday, but he got stuck in the city,” I answered, trying to sound very casual.
“He seems very nice, but how old is he?” she asked.
I told her he was nineteen and hoped that the questioning wouldn’t last too long.
“Does your mom know him?” she asked.
“No, she doesn’t. Aunt Cecile, we’re just friends. I’ll tell her when I get home,” I said trying not to seem upset even though I was. “Is Lily in her room?” I was trying to get away as quickly as possible and started walking down the hallway.
Aunt Cecile said, “She’s outside on the deck, talking on the phone.”
When I got outside, I overheard Lily making plans to go swimming. She waved at me and finished her call. “Want to ask Daniel to come to the pool? It’ll be fun.”
“I’m not ready for that besides he might think it’s juvenile to play Marco Polo.”
Lily said I was being ridiculous, but she gave up trying to change my mind.
Aunt Cecile dropped us off and we got the last available table outside at Susan’s. It was very hot, but all the tables inside were taken. The girls wanted to go swimming and I felt guilty dragging them out again.
EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) Page 8