CHAPTER VI – A HONEY MOON
Time passed quickly at the school. Very soon the red autumn gave way to a white winter. Football matches were off till spring. The open field where the students went for their Biology classes was desolate and bleak. They would spend more time in class now, writing down dry facts and classifications, instead of outside on the field, or even in the greenhouse, doing practical work. Most plants were either dead or asleep until spring, so what was left was sheer theory. Textbooks and homework assignments were all around. Everybody was in a hectic hurry for the term papers they needed to hand in for most classes. Sports practices were off, too, except by voluntary ones, and Lily and Buster used to go to the football stadium and train at least once a week, when the weather was not particularly harsh. The four matches they had played before mid-December were quite a success and their team's path towards the champions' rank lay clear and open before them. Yet, Lily believed in permanent fitness, so she allowed Buster to talk her into getting to the field in the frosty and bleak afternoons when it was not snowing to practice goal hits, passes and evasive moves with the ball. After such trainings they both longed for the warm mineral bath of the swimmers and resented the trivial shower rooms their changing room disposed of. Yet, even that was a bliss and they were happy as happy can be. Lily could not imagine what more she could want from life. Regular practice had tuned her body and spirit to perfect fitness, her time was perfectly scheduled and she enjoyed the love of the boy she loved.
A Wednesday afternoon, just two weeks before Christmas, after their usual practice in the snow, putting her head in his lap blissfully, Lily told Buster, "I dream of nothing else, but this, here, now."
He said, "Yeah, me neither, but we've got to go to dinner."
She laughed out loud and pinched him, "How can you be so prosaic, when I speak of lofty feelings to you?"
He said in pretended naiveté, "I don't know. I'm starving and I can eat you up with all your lofty wishes and feelings. Do you think they will fill me up?"
They laughed together.
Then, just before Christmas, Buster told Lily, "I don't want to go home. I want to stay here with you." He looked her in the eyes. They had never talked about it before. Normally, students went home for the Christmas holidays, but some of them stayed under certain circumstances. The previous year, for example, Lily remembered Carl and Buster stayed. Their parents had gone away for their holiday and the two brothers spent a magnificent fortnight in the nearly empty school with no restrictions or rules to observe and no lessons to study. This year Violet and Germina were staying. Erin wanted to stay, but she needed to go because of her brother's wedding which was scheduled for the first days of January.
Lily said, "I want to stay, too, Buster. I care about nothing but you. I have forgotten everything that used to be, everything which still is, outside of us two. I want to stay. But I can't. My folks will never accept that. You know, they are all waiting for me to come home for Christmas. My little sister is also waiting. They haven't seen me since September."
"Can't you write to them and explain?" asked Buster.
Lily's heart sank. "Explain?" she thought, how could she explain that in her life there was something more important than them? What words would she use to tell them that she had forgotten about them at all, for that was exactly what had happened? For a couple of months Lily had not thought of her parents other than the people whom she would go back to in some indefinite future and the people who used to send her mail. It was not that she had stopped loving them. It was just that youth would forget everything when love was around. "Explain," she thought again and said aloud, "How can I explain such a thing?"
"You will tell them you love me. If they love you, they will understand and respect your opinion."
"Buster, can you hear yourself? Please, get back to earth. How do you expect my parents to agree to let me stay with a boy whom I claim to love in an empty school with almost no guard? Think of it."
"But we've already..." started Buster not understanding what the big fuss is about them staying together and alone. Lily interrupted him angrily, "Shht!" and she frantically looked around to see if anybody was listening. "Are you crazy? Keep quiet!"
Now, it was his turn to lose patience, "What? Do you think they don't know? Or that they won't guess?"
"I don't care what they might know or guess. We don't speak of such things and certainly we never admit to doing such things. OK?"
"That's hypocrisy." said Buster stubbornly.
"I don't care what it is. Buster, please, understand it – I am a girl. Things are different with girls. Don't make me feel bad because of what we've done. You have to understand! I can't 'explain' them anything."
"What do you plan to do? Never tell them about us?"
"Of course not. I will tell them and will ask them if I may invite you for the spring holidays. You will see, my parents are great." Seeing the obvious distrust in Buster's eyes, Lily said, "They ARE great, apart from THAT."
Buster softened, "Oh, it's a good clarification – 'apart from that'. OK, we both go home for this holiday and we'll see each other next year then. How does that sound to you?"
Lily said, "That sounds funny."
"But I don't see you having fun right now." said Buster.
"No, you are right, I'm too miserable because of that Christmas holiday."
"Hm, to think it is supposed to be the best thing – holidays, family, you can sleep late, play with your sister, your mom will care for you a lot. Does your mom cook well?"
"She is magician in the kitchen. You won't recognize me when I'm back."
"I don't know." Buster laughed. "Last year I recognized you just fine."
Lily stopped. "Last year? You remember me coming back from the holidays?"
"Of course. I remember Freddie, Mike, and Glenn, too. I wanted to kill each of them in turn." Buster breathed out. "But I didn't."
Lily laughed, "Oh, they were only because I was in love with Carl and I wanted him to be jealous."
"I know," Buster laughed, "But instead of that, you got me being jealous. You remember Carl was in love with Gerda."
"Yeah," said Lily, "who was in love with Mike, who was my boy-friend." They both nodded their heads.
Buster said, "Life is funny."
"Oh, that's so true."
That was their last practice before the holidays. Lily never had the chance to say "Bye" to Buster. The next day she received urgent mail to leave for home. She did not even have time to pack her things; the school was to send them later. A car was waiting for her in the front yard after dinner. All the teachers had come outside to see her off. The message said that both her parents and her paternal grandparents were dead. Lily was to go home directly where her aunt Leonora and her uncle Elijah were waiting for her with her sister, Orange.