by K. C. Maher
She stood up and gave Walter her solemn vow that every minute they had spent together, every minute, would last as long as she lived. Their time together was different from ordinary time. Not one second that they had shared together would ever change or fade.
Walter’s smile didn’t hide his sadness, but she could see that he was a little bit pleased. Even though he said she shouldn’t promise the impossible.
This was not impossible, she had said. ‘It’s very possible, just not ordinary.’
Walter had stood and he had hugged her—for maybe half a minute, which was probably their longest hug.
They returned to New York the next morning. Amanda remembered being on the plane and laying two fingers against his lips. She said, ‘No second thoughts. We’re great. And we’re prepared.’ She had no idea what she meant. But he took her fingers and then her hand. He told her again that he had known exactly what he was doing, taking her to Disney World. He knew the penalty, which was worth it to him. ‘Because you’re worth it to me, Amanda. Please—don’t forget that.’
The jet landed at LaGuardia and then they drove to the town’s library. The plan, which Walter had arranged with Sterling the night before, was that Sterling would drive Amanda to Greg’s house in New Jersey, where her mother was waiting. From there, Cheryl, Greg, and Amanda would take a car to Newark Airport and fly to Wisconsin.
The hardest thing Amanda had ever done was to get out of that gray Accord and leave Walter. She felt him watching her, so to prove she was okay, she had skipped—almost danced, really—up the library steps without looking back or even raising a hand for a backward wave, like they do in the movies.
Amanda had pushed on the library door just as Sterling, on the other side, was pulling it. But in her mind, Amanda had followed Walter driving the Accord around the corner, to the police station.
*
Greg, it turned out, was nice, which surprised Amanda. He moved into the condominium with them and gave Amanda his iPad, for keeps. After a few months, though, he and Cheryl broke up. Amanda knew better than to ask her mother about it. But while Greg had lived with them, Cheryl treated Amanda matter-of-factly—no snide remarks, no picking fights.
Amanda had used the iPad to correspond with Madison, who agreed to find out everything she could about Walter. Her father, Gil, said nobody could understand why he went straight to the police and insisted that he had kidnapped her. ’Cause nobody who lived in that town wanted to accuse Walter of anything.
The reason Cheryl had been waiting in New Jersey, though, was in case Walter went to the police. Because in New York State, Cheryl could have been charged with child endangerment.
Weeks later, Madison learned that Walter had told Gil and his other friends that he had confessed to the kidnapping because he was guilty of it. But only of kidnapping, nothing else.
Like, what else?
Of course, Amanda and Madison could kind of guess, but when Madison asked her father about it, he got mad.
Later, Madison said she heard her parents talking about Walter’s hearing. They said the whole community was upset and confused, and that many had testified on Walter’s behalf—Amanda’s eighth-grade teachers, the middle-school principal, a social worker, a few volunteer firemen, and even Gil himself. Madison’s father had said judges usually didn’t allow that, but Walter had a good lawyer who got the judge to make an exception. Still, because of Walter’s guilty plea, the best he could hope for was a new hearing in five years. That meant Walter had to spend five years in a federal prison! The situation was so awful, Madison’s parents stopped talking about it. No one talked about it.
And after a while, Amanda and Madison had stopped communicating. There wasn’t anything more to say.
Now, Amanda was, finally, practically grown up, but—Walter was still in prison! Yet somehow, suspended in a separate sphere, he was also right there. She could hear his voice and almost feel his arms around her.
In two weeks, she would graduate from high school. She would be free of Cheryl. Amanda had won a full scholarship to the University of Chicago. So maybe it had been a blessing that Cheryl had refused to allow her out—to do things with friends, to play sports, or to sing in the school choir. Amanda went to high school and studied. Practically in solitude.
If Walter knew Amanda was first in her class and had gotten that scholarship, he’d be proud of her, but not surprised.
That morning, on the lush, green fairway, Walter spun inside her. Amanda turned cartwheels for him in ecstatic circles.
Walter loved her. And he had allowed her to love him with all her heart. An act of mastery so heroic, only an outlaw would risk it.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, Anna Burtt, Clare Christian, and Heather Boisseau for your skills, quick wits, and insights while publishing this book. RedDoor’s support exceeds anything in my experience. My deep appreciation to the whole team.
My husband, Philip Maher, had so much faith in me, and this novel, that he refused to let me quit. For most of our lives, he has edited the pages I write, winnow, and then beg him to read. Having lived with my real-life excesses, he knows when I’m going overboard and accepts that I’m drawn to whatever’s contrary. My admiration, gratitude, and love grow greater every day.
Thanks and praise to our son and daughter, who did not disparage my efforts while growing up, and apparently, do not begrudge them now. They, like my husband, saw me write fiction for the love of it, even when frustration and rejection reduced me to tears.
I’m grateful to my late father who challenged me to do better, to my mother who reads fiction as a creative act in itself, and to my siblings for shared experiences.
Finally, let me honor every child who grows up fatherless. Here’s hoping someone, male or female, empowers you with the paternal care that reinforces self-worth, honesty, and compassion.
About the Author
K.C. Maher lives in New York City and has written fiction all her adult life, mostly in the form of novels. For several years, she experimented with online serialized fiction, which is how The Best of Crimes began, before being recast and rewritten many times. During this time, she regularly contributed flash fictions (stories of fewer than 500 words) to The View from Here, a U.K. literary magazine. K.C.’s next novel, in which Amanda and Walter meet again as two adults, also started as a serial, but is already taking new shapes. Visit her at kcmaherfiction.com
Book Club Questions
At the start of the book, Walter confesses to second-degree kidnapping, but the police chief doesn’t want to charge him. Nevertheless, Walter insists, and is sentenced to five years in prison. Has justice been served?
Sterling describes the ‘apex of girlhood’ as the rare, remarkable time in some girls’ lives when they ‘acquire a stunning allure and confidence before the arduous trek of adolescence.’ Do you agree with this concept?
Walter knows that Amanda has been neglected from an early age and senses that Amanda craves physical contact in the way an infant does. Do you think he’s right, or is this is a self-serving rationalisation?
Which scene in the book affects you the most? Why?
When Walter confronts Amanda’s mother, Cheryl, he tells her that his feelings toward Amanda are dangerous, and notices ‘a glimmer of comprehension’ in her eyes before she dismisses him. Do you think he is secretly relieved, and if so, is that wrong?
Does the adoption of a puppy change Walter and Amanda’s relationship? If so, in what ways?
Walter worries that he might be harming Amanda in ways he can’t foresee. Is giving her the attention and love she craves right or wrong?
About one-third of the way into the book, Walter’s narrative changes from past tense to present tense. How does that affect the tone and feeling of the story?
When Walter takes Amanda to Disney World, he is confident that Sterling will manage the situation and protect Amanda from the authorities. Why is he so certain?
Walter’s career success was based o
n his aversion to risk. By the end of the book he risks terrible consequences for both Amanda and himself. Why do you think he changed?
What are some of the ways in which you see Amanda changing from a girl to an adolescent through the course of the story?
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