by Robin Martin
‘I can’t do it tonight. Besides, Mrs Stewart asked you, not me.’ Maybe she noticed that Jimmy Choo shoe didn’t look so great after all. But anyway, I wanted to be home with Mum.
‘I just wanted to check, to see if it was okay.’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t care. Do it if you want to. The money’s good.’ I finally looked over at him, and just for a microsecond our glances met. And then he looked away again.
‘Okay then, I will. Thanks.’
Another awkward silence.
Harry finally said, ‘How did you get on with that physics homework? It took me ages, and I’m still not sure I got the last question right.’
‘Yeah, it was tricky. I’ll look over it with you if you want.’
‘I haven’t got my book here, but maybe I’ll give you a call tonight. It isn’t due until tomorrow.’
‘Yeah, sure, anytime.’
This time the silence was painful.
Then Rion finally said, ‘I’d better be going.’ He got up and brushed some grass from his trousers. ‘I’ll see you guys later.’
‘Yeah, see you, Rion,’ Lou said.
Harry nodded, and Kerri didn’t as much as look up from her book. She’d hardly noticed he was here. I said nothing and didn’t even look in his direction.
When he left, I let out the breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. He hadn’t come to reconcile or anything like it. He’d just come because he wanted to check if it was all right with me that he took the babysitting job with Emerson. I felt like a deflated balloon.
‘So,’ I said to everyone, ‘as you can see, we are well and truly broken up.’
Lou looked at me sympathetically. ‘I’m so sorry, Zoe. I don’t know, and I’m not asking what happened, but I think he’s an idiot to leave you. He doesn’t deserve you.’
‘Thanks, Lou. I’ll survive. Really, the only thing I care about now is Mum and hoping she is okay.’ I hadn’t meant to say that, but it just slipped out.
‘Your mum? What’s wrong with her?’ Lou asked.
And so, I told them we were waiting for the results of her procedure.
Harry said quietly, ‘I heard about that from my mum, but I didn’t bring it up because you never mentioned it, so I thought you probably didn’t want to talk about it.’
I’d forgotten about Harry’s mum, Eileen, who worked at the same school as my mother. Of course she would know and would have told Harry. ‘Thanks, Harry. We’re all trying to be positive.’
‘When will your mum get the results?’ Lou asked.
‘I’m not sure, hopefully soon, today or tomorrow.’
‘It’ll be okay,’ Harry said. ‘Everything will turn out all right, you’ll see.’ He gave me a reassuring smile.
I nodded. ‘Yeah, sure.’ I knew he was trying to be supportive, but I also knew that saying things were going to be all right didn’t necessarily make them so.
The bell went, and we gathered our stuff to go to class. As Harry and I walked to our English class, he said, ‘You know you can call me anytime you want to talk. I’m here if you need me.’
‘I know, Harry.’
‘I’m not Rion, and I’m not trying to take his place or anything, but you, me, our families, we’ve known each other forever. We’re still friends. Just don’t forget that.’ He gave my hand a squeeze.
I felt tears gather in my eyes, tears that I still hadn’t been able to shed for Rion. ‘I appreciate that, Harry, I really do.’ And then I turned and went into class before I did anything foolish like break down. No doubt Pandora and Jas would love a scene like that.
When I got off the school bus, I sprinted home, burst through the door, and said, ‘Mum?’
A familiar smell of something wafted towards me down the hall. ‘I’m in the kitchen, dear. I thought I’d do a bit of baking before dinner.’
I smiled, dropped my bag, and headed down the hallway. Mum was taking something out of a baking pan, flour on her black top and her blonde hair coming out of her messy bun.
Mum baking, surely that was a good sign?
She finished putting the brownies on a plate.
‘Has the hospital called yet?’
She shook her head. ‘But I’m feeling optimistic and even more energetic today. Go on, spoil your supper,’ she said, holding out the plate.
I looked at the small dark pieces on the white plate, and to please her took one and bit into it. As I chewed, I felt a little bit of sunshine creep through what had not been a great day. Burnt brownies had never tasted so good.
I was hoping looking after Emerson would distract me from the misery I felt about not being with Zoe.
Ringing the bell, I was surprised when the door opened and a dog leapt up to greet me. ‘Down, boy,’ I said to the panting, tail-wagging creature. He got down and gazed up at me with eager brown eyes. ‘Sit,’ I added, and he did, tail still thumping.
Mrs Stewart looked at me in surprise. ‘Are you some sort of dog trainer, Rion? He never does anything we tell him. He is the most undisciplined dog.’
Emerson dropped to his knees and put his arms around the dog’s neck. ‘No, he isn’t. He’s just a puppy. He’s still learning.’
‘Emerson, get up immediately. You’ll get dog hairs all over you, and that dog is bound to have germs.’ Mrs Stewart looked at him in horror, but I had never seen Emerson look so happy.
He got up. ‘Rion and me could bathe him if you want.’
‘It’s Rion and I, dear. Try to remember to use proper grammar. And no, you won’t bathe him. That will make too much mess. Besides, that’s your father’s job.’ Her lips thinned. ‘He certainly seems to have a lot of business trips these days. I wonder if it was entirely wise of him to get you a dog, especially when he’s away so much.’
‘No, Mummy. He looks after Tiberius really well. He’s a wonderful dog and such good company. Besides he’s a guard dog too.’ Emerson was really selling it hard.
Mrs. Stewart gave a heavy sigh and looked back at me. ‘Well, it’s out of my hands for the moment. Anyway, I have to get going or I’ll be late for my book club meeting. You’re familiar with the routine, Rion. The schedule for the evening is on the coffee table in the family room, and you have my phone number. Oh, and that dog is not to get up on the furniture and certainly not on Emerson’s bed.’
I nodded, surprised that Mrs Stewart even let the dog into the house. Perhaps she was mellowing.
Then Emerson said, ‘We used to keep him in the garage, but he cried and barked so much the neighbours complained.’
Mrs. Stewart’s brow furrowed. ‘Thank goodness he’s not here very often.’ Then she bent down, presenting Emerson with a smooth, white cheek. ‘Give Mummy a kiss, dear.’ He gave her a dutiful peck on the check. Then she straightened up, opened the front door, and closed it behind her with a click.
Emerson grabbed my hand. ‘Come on, let’s have some fun.’
The few times I’d babysat Emerson, I realised that everything was scheduled into Emerson’s life except for fun. Apparently, Mrs Stewart didn’t think that was important for a six-year-old. I always attempted to do most of the things on the written schedule she left for us, but Emerson and I also managed a few things that weren’t on the schedule as well.
We went down the hallway to the family room and kitchen at the end, with Tiberius following us closely behind. Sitting down on the sofa, I had a look at the schedule with its usual activities of speaking French, reading educational books, and practising his flute. We could also play chess, which was fine by us because Emerson and I loved chess. Emerson sat beside me, and Tiberius attempted to jump up beside us.
‘Down, Tiberius,’ I said, and he immediately sat on the floor and placed his head on Emerson’s little knees. Emerson placed his hand on the dog’s head, stroking him.
‘I think he likes you. Maybe it’s because you’re an alien,’ Emerson said.
Emerson was the only human, aside from Zoe, who knew I was an alien. I had let it slip the first time I’d ba
bysat him, but I knew I could trust him not to tell anyone, even though he was a child. He was highly intelligent, and we both knew what it was to be a little bit different from everyone else.
‘I think it’s more that my voice is the right pitch for him and has a tone of command. Dogs respond more to tone than what you actually say.’
‘That’s true. I’m reading a book about dogs at the moment, and it’s really interesting. Dad gave it to me. Zoe and I read a little bit of it together. I wish you and Zoe could both come at the same time. Mother says you might distract each other and not notice me. We could have great games of Snap if she was here.’ Zoe had taught him the simple game of Snap, and he loved it.
His words made me feel how empty my life had become since Zoe was no longer in it. I’d only made up the excuse of checking about the babysitting job because I wanted to talk to her. I couldn’t seem to stay away from her. Then, when I got there, I acted like an idiot. I couldn’t think of anything to say. If it hadn’t been for Harry asking me about the physics homework, it would have been even more embarrassing.
Emerson looked at me. ‘You look kind of sad, like Tiberius is when I have to leave him or say goodbye.’
I wasn’t going to burden a six-year-old with my problems, not even a smart six-year-old. ‘I’m fine. Let’s play chess.’
‘You never let me play chess until we’ve done some of the things on the schedule.’ He looked at me closely with his wide blue eyes.
I ignored his question. ‘Well, we can play chess and speak French. That way we can do two things on your schedule.’
‘You’re not very good at French.’
Sometimes I wished Emerson wasn’t quite so clever. ‘Do you want to play chess or not? Otherwise, we’re are going to follow this schedule to the letter, and that includes the twenty minutes of yoga poses.’ Emerson hated yoga and only did it when his mother insisted.
‘Rion, you are very different tonight. I don’t like it.’ His eyes filled with moisture. I had upset him.
I had to tell him something. Besides, he would probably find out from Zoe.
‘All right, Emerson, I didn’t want to upset you with my problems, but since you are so determined to know, Zoe and I are no longer such close friends anymore. That makes me sad, but it’s okay. Other than that, I’m fine.’
‘Did she break up with you?’
That was a hard one to answer, but I wasn’t going to lie. ‘No, I broke up with her.’
Emerson’s eyes opened wide, and a look of disapproval was on his face. ‘Why would you do that? Zoe is the nicest person I know. I was going to ask her to wait for me until I grew up, and then she could be my girlfriend. But then you started going out with her, so I thought that my two best friends in the world, were dating, so that was okay.’
I felt myself smiling. ‘I thought you were going to ask Giselle to marry you?’ Giselle had been Emerson’s au pair from Switzerland, and she had looked after him for a long while.
‘Well, I did think that once, but she’s decided to stay in Switzerland now and not come back. I missed her an awful lot at first, but then when Zoe started to babysit, I felt better. Now I really love Zoe. But,’ he added seriously, ‘I was willing to give her up for you.’
‘I appreciate that, Emerson. But I felt that it wasn’t fair for Zoe to be with me, since I was an alien. She should be with a human.’
Emerson tilted his head to the side. ‘Did Zoe agree?’
‘I think she probably understood, but it hasn’t been easy for either of us.’ There was no way I was going to tell him about Pandora.
‘Does Zoe still love you?’
Emerson certainly knew how to ask hard questions. ‘She used to, I think. I’m not sure now.’
‘Do you love her?’
That question was easy. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘Then what’s the problem?’ I noticed Tiberius had snuck up on the sofa next to Emerson, but I let it go for now as I wrestled with Emerson’s question.
‘We are too different. I didn’t realise how different until lately.’
‘You and I are both different. You said being different was okay, remember?’
I did remember. Emerson had hated being the child genius, the odd one out at school and not accepted by any of his schoolmates. I had told him I was different too, and that was when the fact that I was an alien had slipped out.
‘Yes, but…’
‘Maybe Zoe likes you because you’re different. Besides, if you can’t have a girlfriend, it means when I grow up, I won’t be able to have one either, because I’m different too.’
‘It’s not that simple, Emerson.’
‘Yes, it is,’ he said, folding his arms across his chest, looking at me like a lawyer who had just stated his case with irrefutable logic.
I sighed and wondered if it might have been easier not to babysit Emerson tonight. He was too young to understand all the implications of my difference. But he was too smart not to notice something was wrong.
I tried to explain. ‘You are human, Emerson. I’m not.’
‘So what?’
‘Maybe I might not live as long as a human. Maybe I might get a strange disease. I might not be able to adjust to being human. Maybe…’
‘Maybe you might want to be an alien again and leave here,’ Emerson said, looking at me as if he could see my thoughts.
‘No, no of course not.’
‘Maybe you’re sick of us humans. Maybe you’ll change your mind about me too.’ A tear rolled down his cheek.
I tried to reassure him. ‘Emerson, you are one of my best friends here. I’ll never get sick of you.’ I gave him a hug, and he put his head on my chest. Tiberius tried to climb in my lap too.
‘Get down, Tiberius,’ I said, and all the dog did was to lick my face with his long, wet tongue. So much for him listening to me.
Emerson looked up and smiled. ‘Tiberius doesn’t want you to go either.’ And then we both laughed as that ridiculous dog tried to jump even higher, putting his paws on my shoulders. We pushed him off.
‘I think I’ve lost my dog-whispering abilities,’ I said as I got up from the couch.
Emerson got up too and put his small hand in mine. ‘I don’t want you to go, but if you do, promise you won’t go anywhere without saying goodbye first.’
‘I promise,’ I said. ‘But,’ I added, not wanting him to be sad any longer, ‘I’m not intending on going anywhere.’ It was the first lie I’d ever told him.
‘Good. And now I think I’d better have something nice to eat as I need comfort food.’
Mrs Stewart didn’t believe in eating between meals, but occasionally she let Emerson have a piece of fruit or some plain rice crackers if he was really hungry. ‘I’ll see if your mum has some fruit in the fridge,’ I said, heading into the stainless-steel kitchen.
‘We can do better than that. Dad gave me a secret supply of chocolate to have sometimes as a treat. It’s in my room. Come on.’
‘I’m not sure your mum would approve,’ I said, feeling I had to put up a token protest.
‘She can’t approve or disapprove because she doesn’t know anything about it. Besides, Dad is my parent too, and he said it was okay.’
‘Someday, Emerson, you are going to make a very good lawyer.’
‘I think I’d rather be a dog trainer because I’d have more fun.’
And again, I couldn’t argue with that.
Chapter Twenty
I had one okay day. One day when I wasn’t too worried about Mum or didn’t think too much about Rion. Classes were boring but no worse than usual. After school, because it was late-night shopping, Lou and I decided to get a mani/pedi as they were on special.
‘Midnight Blue Sparkle,’ I chose my colour from the array of samples before me. My feet were in the gently bubbling water, and already I was beginning to feel relaxed.
Lou leaned over. ‘That’s cool. On your fingernails too?’
‘Why not? At least they’ll match
my toes.’ I wanted something different.
Lou studied the colours on the little sticks fanned out in my hands. ‘I think I’ll go for Vampire Kiss. I’ve got a lot of black stuff now, and that colour will match. Do you think Mike will like it?’
Lou seemed to want to run everything by him and made decisions based on what he liked or didn’t like. He was a nice guy and everything, but I wished Lou would be more independent at times.
‘I think he’d like anything you picked, Lou. Choose the colour you want.’
When we finished at the salon, we headed toward what was becoming our favourite place, the milkshake bar. As we threaded our way through the Saturday afternoon crowds, Lou’s hand grabbed my arm.
‘Hey, look over there, by the sushi place.’
I glanced towards the sushi bar near the exit to the car park and saw Kerri and Pandora, shopping bags in their hands and deep in conversation.
‘Since when did those two become besties?’ Lou asked.
I shrugged. ‘Kerri’s always liked Pandora, and they’re both smart.’ I was trying to be fair, but I was as surprised as Lou to see two such unlikely people together.
‘We should go over and say hello.’
I followed her reluctantly. Pandora was the last person I wanted to say hello to.
Pandora noticed us first. ‘Hey, girls, how are you?’
‘Hi, what are you guys up to?’ Lou asked.
Kerri gave us a wide smile. I’d never seen her look so happy. ‘You’ll never guess what we’ve just done. Look.’ She lifted the sleeve of her button-up top and showed the top of her arm where there was a plaster. Peeling it back, she revealed a tattoo of two small stars. ‘Show them yours too, Pandora.’
Pandora lifted the sleeve of her black tee shirt, pulled back her plaster, and showed an identical tattoo in the same place.
When I recovered from my total amazement, I managed to say, ‘Cool.’
Lou just looked, her mouth slightly open.
‘They’re binary stars, because we have so much in common.’ Kerri sent a beaming smile in Pandora’s direction. She smoothed the plaster down again.