Set In Stone

by Balmanno, Beth

  I fought back the urge to stand up and follow her, to yank that ponytail off of her head and sock her squarely in the jaw. I finished my portfolio and waited my turn to present it to Mr. Pinkney. My name was called and I envisioned various ways of inflicting pain on Ashley and her friends as he searched for positive comments for my semester’s worth of projects. And after, when the bell rang and I stood, finally free for the summer, from the confines of school and the kids I loathed, I actually smiled. The situation with Ashley had been a good diversion for me. I hadn’t thought of Noel and the fact that he’d never shown up to class.

  I wondered then, as I walked toward the main building, how I would be getting home from school. Asking Peter for a ride was out of the question and it didn’t seem as though Noel was at school. The sadness hit me like a ton of bricks as I wondered if I would ever see him again. Could yesterday have been goodbye? Forever? He’d always said he wouldn’t leave until the stone was gone but maybe this had changed, just as his feelings for me seemed to.

  I approached the roundabout cautiously, looking for his black SUV. It wasn’t there. But just past a few other cars, toward the end of the line of parents waiting, I spied a familiar red sports car. Leo saw me and waved. He stepped out of the car and sauntered toward me.

  “Come on,” he said, as soon as he was close enough for me to hear him. “Your chariot awaits, my dear.”

  “Again? Where’s Noel?”

  “Busy.” We walked toward his car. “I was summoned to see you home.”

  “Busy with what?”

  “Things,” he answered. He drove toward the school’s entrance, stopping to let a white Mercedes coupe merge from the student parking lot. The driver looked left, towards us, then right before lurching to a stop, the blond, pony-tailed driver staring at me with unconcealed hatred.

  Leo waved, sending Ashley a huge, inviting smile. She quickly rearranged her features into a smile of her own.

  “She is a piece of work, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she is,” I said. She wasn’t worth the time or effort it would take to speak another word.

  Leo motioned her out and she did, waving to him as she sailed past.

  “I know what she’s doing, you know,” Leo said. “What she’s saying.”

  “How?” I demanded. He hadn’t been at school in weeks.

  He shrugged. “I just know.”

  I wondered if it was Noel, sneaking a peek at my immediate past. I quickly dismissed the idea; why would he even care?

  Leo continued. “I can take care of her for you. Plan something really awful, something that would truly tear her reputation to shreds.” The smile on his face was fierce.

  “No.”

  We were stopped at the light, just a few blocks from my house. Leo looked at me, both amused and concerned. “Why ever not?” he asked.

  “She’s not worth it.” I didn’t want to talk about Ashley anymore. I changed the subject. “The things Noel is busy with—what are they?”

  I wanted to know what it was, these things that he was doing when he could have been with me.

  Leo took the change in stride. “Mundane things.” He rolled his eyes. “Turning in his car, settling the rent with the property manager. Utterly boring.”

  It didn’t sound boring or mundane to me; it sounded responsible. But I wished it were Leo shouldering the responsibility so that the boy I did want to be with was the one driving me home.

  “He’s always so responsible,” he said, his voice laced with disdain.

  Curious, I asked, “What would you have done? If your time here was nearly…done?”

  He looked pointedly at me. “It is. And I would be busy with exactly what I was doing before I was summoned to play chauffeur. Partying. Hard.”

  I felt the blush begin. “Oh.” I didn’t think I wanted to know what I’d interrupted.

  Leo was laughing as he pulled up in front of my house. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Valerie.” His eyes twinkled. “I’m saving that particular bit of merriment for tonight. And I could always pay your friend Ashley a visit. Help settle the score a little in the reputation department.”

  “No, thanks.”

  But he persisted. “Just think about it…me and Ashley and a well-placed video camera. The ammunition would be priceless.”

  “No.” I was not going to stoop to her level.

  He pouted. “Oh, all right. You’re simply no fun.”

  I was about to ask him another question when he whistled softly, his gaze appreciative as he trained his eyes on the open garage. My mom was there, dressed for tennis in a tight white tank top and her too-short tennis skirt. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and her diamond studs and matching necklace glinted in the afternoon sun.

  “That’s my mom,” I hissed. “My God, Leo, you’re the one who needs to get his mind out of the gutter!”

  “I’m not looking at her,” he protested, but his eyes did flicker her way briefly. “But she is pretty…nice.”

  I jostled him hard.

  “Ouch,” he complained. “I’m checking out the car. Whose ride is that?”

  He pointed to the red convertible visible in the third stall. Dad had driven it home the day after my birthday dinner and there it sat, ready and waiting for me.

  “It’s mine,” I said. I didn’t want to be proud of it, but secretly, I was.

  His eyes flashed. “Why on earth am I ferrying you home when you’ve got a car like that at your disposal? Your own car?”

  “Because I can’t drive it yet. It was a birthday present and I don’t have my license,” I explained.

  Leo frowned. “And that’s stopping you?”

  “Yes. You know, rules and responsibility,” I reminded him.

  He shuddered. “Oh. Right.”

  I turned toward him again, trying to work up my courage to ask a question or two more about his absent brother. I struggled to form an innocent, vague question that might provide some answers when he suddenly chuckled.

  “What?”

  He nodded his head toward the garage. “Looks like Mom is going to want an introduction.”

  Belatedly, I realized they’d never met and I groaned. The last time Noel had discussed Leo with my parents, he’d mentioned his leaving; he’d come up with some story that explained Leo’s permanent departure from St. John’s. I wracked my brain, trying to remember the lies Noel had told her.

  I got out of the car and Leo did, too, much to my dismay. Some small part of me had hoped he would just take off with a wave and a smile, regardless of how rude it might have appeared. But rudeness was not Leo’s style, especially if there was a woman involved…a beautiful woman, at that. And my mother looked stunning today.

  “You must be Valerie’s mom,” Leo said, a friendly smile on his face. He extended his hand. “I’m Leo Flannery, Noel’s brother.”

  My mom’s eyes widened as she returned his smile. “Brother? I never would have guessed.”

  Leo laughed. “I know. We get that all the time. Noel looks exactly like our dad did. As for me…well, I’m all my mom, I guess.” He gazed at her with those liquid brown eyes of his.

  I think my own mother melted a little as he said this.

  “How did your college visits go?” she asked him.

  I breathed a quick sigh of relief. She’d just provided the clue I’d needed to remember Noel’s invented story. According to him, Leo had decided to take his GED and see about getting into college next fall. He’d left St. John’s to tour schools and explore some of his prospects.

  “Good. Really good,” he told her. He lounged against the hood of the car. “I want to look into some schools abroad before I make a decision.”

  “Aren’t most schools done selecting their freshman class?” Mom asked. “I seem to recall getting my own acceptance letter in the spring.”

  Leo nodded. “Yes. But, when you’re well-connected…” He smiled again. “Well, let’s just say I’ve been assured by some schools that they would
make an exception for me. Noel is going to come along, too, for company and to offer his advice.”

  “Really?” Mom glanced at me with the rarest of looks, one of true parental concern. I was floored.

  “We’re planning to leave tomorrow, provided there are no unforeseen complications. Or delays.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

  “I see.” Mom checked her watch. “Look, I’ve got a lesson at the club, Val. Dad and I were planning to grab dinner there. But, if you need me…” her voice trailed off uncertainly.

  Was she actually offering to come home for me? Ridiculously, I felt tears well in my eyes. I looked down and shook my head. “Go,” I told her. “I’ll be fine. I just want to relax. You know, destress from finals and stuff.”

  She nodded. To Leo, she said, “It was nice to meet you. And good luck with your visits and your decision.”

  “Thank you. I’ll need it.”

  We both watched as she returned to the garage and backed her own car out of the driveway.

  It was my turn to say thanks. “You handled that perfectly,” I said.

  “I know.” He grinned. “Now, I have a favor to ask you.”

  My hand flew to the pendant I still wore, forgetting it was no longer the source of protection it had once been.

  He shook his head with a look of disgust. “Not that,” he said. “Don’t be absurd, Valerie. There’s no way I could ask you for it now. If you can keep Noel away from your precious stone, you can certainly keep it safe from me.”

  “What then?” I asked warily. “What do you want?”

  He nodded his head toward the garage. “A quick ride in that.”

  I stared at him. “Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear a single word I said? I don’t have a license!”

  He smirked. “I know. But I do.”

  I shook my head. “No. No way.”

  “Come on,” he urged. His smile was infectious. “Live a little, Val. What do you have to lose?”

  The utterance of those words put the situation in perspective for me. What did I have to lose? I’d just lost my reputation at school today and I was losing the love of my life tomorrow. In actuality, I’d apparently already lost him, based on yesterday’s conversation and his disappearance today. What would one ride in my new car do? What havoc could it possibly wreak that could outshine the tragedy that awaited me tomorrow?

  I relented. “All right. One quick ride.”

  Leo beamed. He picked me up and twirled me around before setting me back down.

  “Come on,” he said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the garage and my shiny red convertible.

  Chapter 58

  “I don’t know where the keys are,” I told Leo. He was in the driver’s seat, adjusting the rearview mirror.

  He popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a keyring with two silver keys attached.

  “How did you know?” I asked.

  He just smiled. He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. After a minute of adjusting mirrors and figuring out pedals and gears, he backed out of the driveway.

  Leo was not a careful driver, I realized as we cruised out of my neighborhood and on to Duke Street, making our way to the Parkway. He drove much too fast, switched lanes carelessly, and fiddled with the radio when he should have had his eyes on the road. I glared at him and told him to slow down but he just grinned. He found the button to lower the top and my car obliged as the black top folded down.

  Leo threw back his head and laughed. His blond hair ruffled in the breeze, shimmering gold in the sunshine. My own hair blew wildly about, whipping across my face, twining around my arms. I tilted my head up and let the wind blow those rogue strands off my face as I absorbed the warm, brilliant sun.

  “Isn’t this great?” Leo said to me. “My gods, I love convertibles. Next time I’m here, I’m getting one of these!” He stepped hard on the gas again and we raced down the Parkway, flying past cars, the Potomac a blur of blue as we sped past.

  I felt alive, gloriously alive as the wind and the scenery rushed by. Absorbed in the moment, I did not think about what awaited me tomorrow. I smiled at Leo, a genuine smile, and settled back in my black leather seat.

  We drove past the airport, watching as a plane careened in for a landing just above our heads. The city came in to view, the stately dome of the Jefferson Monument and the jutting obelisk of the Washington Monument providing a postcard-worthy picture on this cloudless summer day. Leo turned toward Arlington Cemetery, using the roundabout to turn us back around as he maneuvered back on the Parkway and headed home.

  It was almost four o’clock by the time he pulled into my driveway, steering the car back into its spot in the garage.

  He grinned impishly at me. “That was fun.”

  I smiled back as I stepped out of the car.

  Leo stowed the keys in the glove compartment. “You’ve got a sweet ride here, Valerie. Hurry up and learn how to drive it.”

  “I will.”

  Leo glanced at his watch. “I better run. I need to figure out just what’s in store for me tonight.” He chuckled and his lips turned up, hinting at the sly smile lurking beneath the surface. “Are you sure you don’t want me to--?”

  I knew what he was thinking and I shook my head. “No. Leave her alone, please. She really isn’t worth it.”

  He sighed. “Oh, alright. Just thought I’d give it one more shot. It might be fun.” He wrinkled his nose. “Not her, of course…but getting even.”

  I shook my head again.

  He reached out and ruffled my hair. “Noel was right,” he said softly. “You do have a heart of gold.”

  I looked at him. “He said that? What else did he say?” I was hungry for any information about him, about how he felt about me.

  But Leo ignored my questions. “You really are one of the special ones, aren’t you?” His hand trailed down my cheek as he gently cupped my face. “If this is goodbye…” He didn’t finish. Instead, he straightened himself, gave me a small, sweet smile and walked away.

  “Wait,” I whispered. I wanted more. Not more of him, of course, but more of Noel, his thoughts, his feelings, anything Leo could give me that might tide me over, that might convince me he did still care about me. But he kept walking, back to his car. And when he drove away, much too fast on my quiet residential street, his eyes did not meet mine.

  I didn’t have time to wonder about Leo’s last words to me. My phone vibrated. It was Geoff.

  “So?”

  I ignored his one word comment. “Hi Geoff. How are you?”

  “Cut it out,” he said. “What’s the verdict? When are you doing the deed?”

  “Tomorrow,” I said shortly.

  “Right.” He didn’t bother to hide his sarcasm. “What makes you so sure you’re going to do it this time?”

  There was a muffled sound and a new voice got on the phone.

  “Hi Valerie.” It was Fanchon. “Sorry about that. I don’t know why he has to be such a jerk about this.” She sighed. “How are you?”

  “OK.” I cradled the phone against my cheek as I made my way up the stairs to my room.

  “Is it…soon?”

  “Tomorrow. I promised Noel.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  Before I could respond, Geoff was back on the phone. “Tomorrow when?” he demanded.

  “I don’t know.” Never, I thought. I don’t want to do it. Ever. “Nine o’clock?”

  “How about ten?” He wasn’t an early riser. I’d forgotten.

  “OK. Ten.” After we hung up I realized that I hadn’t asked him to come and he hadn’t offered. It was just there, the assumption that he would be the one to take me, to be there when I needed him.

  My parents came home early from dinner. Soft footsteps sounded down the hallway and there was a knock on my door. My mom. “Val? Can I come in?”

  I tried to act nonchalant as she stepped into my room and sat down on my bed. She glanced at my walls but didn’t say anyth
ing.

  “I didn’t know Noel was leaving.”

  I stayed at my desk. “It was sort of a spontaneous decision.”

  “Are you alright? Did you two break things off or…”

  I could hear the concern in her voice but I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know how to respond to it, this new facet to our long-neglected relationship.

  “I don’t know how we’re leaving things.” It was true. I knew he was leaving but I no longer knew how he felt about me.

  “He’ll be back,” she told me. “The summer will fly by. You’ll see. You can hang out at the club, we can do some shopping --”

  I knew he wouldn’t be back but I didn’t say this. “Maybe,” I said instead. I thought about the morning. “Oh. Geoff and I are going somewhere tomorrow. A day trip. Lake Anna.”

  “Lake Anna? Near Fredericksburg? What’s there?”

  A seventy-foot deep, watery hole I could drop a stone into. Aloud I said, “Well, Fanchon went there a lot when she was a kid. I guess they have nice beaches for swimming. We’re going to check it out.”

  She studied me. “Is Noel going with you?”

  “No.” I couldn’t look at her, not with the tears gathering. “I think he and Leo will be leaving pretty early tomorrow.” I picked up a pencil from my desk and began to doodle.

  There was silence. “OK.” I didn’t look up and she eventually left, closing the door behind her. I breathed a sigh of relief just as the tears started.

  Outside my door, I could hear low voices.

  “…get to be sixteen.” It was my mother’s voice. “Where did the time go?” I thought I heard her voice break.

  Their voices grew muffled. Then my dad spoke, his voice tender. “She’s been here all along, Julie. No, I don’t think it’s too late. It’s never too late.”

  Chapter 59