Kara was staring at me; she didn’t even seem to notice the boy dancing his fingers across our table.
“OK, Charlie?” she asked quietly.
“I’m not hungry. Can we just go?” I said, trying to catch my breath and look sane.
Frustration seemed to cloud her eyes as she looked down at her menu again.
I looked out the window to watch the boy leave. I gripped my hands on edge of the table. I swear, my body wanted to chase after him – how insane is that?
Once he and who I thought was his dad were outside, they walked down the sidewalk in front of our cars. The boy stepped off the curb and unlocked a dark gray Hummer. I could tell it was still very new; all the chrome shined in the afternoon light. The man made his way to the passenger door, which was by my mother’s driver side. He looked through the windshield at her and waved. A beaming smile spread across her face. She ended her call abruptly and stepped out of her car. The man held his arms out, and she reached up and embraced him. My eyes widened as I surveyed the scene. The boy was looking across the Hummer at my mom and the man embracing each other.
“Um...Kara...mom is hugging a man and smiling...like, really smiling,” I said in an astonished tone.
Kara just stared at me. “Evan,” she said, almost shortly.
I looked quickly at her, wondering what I had done to make her so angry.
“Who?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“Evan Michaels...do you remember him?” she asked in a placid tone.
I shook my head no and looked at her like she was crazy.
I watched her face flush with fear. “Um,” she mumbled in a shaky voice.“Well….his wife introduced your dad to mom…our families are extremely close.”
“He knew my dad? Cause I’ve never seen them before,” I said, raising my eyebrows and feeling heat burning my ears. How could I forget the reaction that that boy seemed to jar my body into?
“What – or who - do you remember about Salem?” she asked quietly.
“Come, Charlie ,” the whispers taunted.
“You, Madison – the house – a few other random people I never really cared for in the first place,” I said, boldly ignoring the shadows that seemed to be growing impatient.
“Madison…that almost makes sense,” Kara said under her breath.
“Tell me about them, “ I said, glancing out at the boy and catching him looking through the window at me. I watched as his eyes moved to Kara and he shook his head ‘No’ once. I quickly looked back at her. She slowly looked down and let out a deep breath. My eyes moved quickly back and forth between her and the boy.
“Kara?” I said, settling my eyes on her.
“I shouldn’t have to tell you…but I will…”
“You’re scaring me, Kara,” I said, reaching back to pull my hood up. I wanted to run at that moment – to where, I don’t know, but I felt blind and alone, and that was terrifying.
“You’re scaring me….” she said as she rubbed her hands across her face. “Evan – Evan Michaels and your dad toured together. They were best friends…he was who helped us get through those dark days after the accident… he helped mom balance out your dad’s royalties; I don’t know that we would have been OK without that. Mom didn’t think she deserved them and wanted to donate them to some kind of music charity. Evan helped her donate money in your dad’s memory, but he also made sure the house was paid for, our trusts were in place, and that we could live a comfortable life for a while without mom having to stress out over working.”
“Yeah, but she did anyways,” I complained.
Truth is, I had no idea how much money was put away. The way my mom worked, the way she talked about how important it was for her to move up some fugitive corporate ladder, you’d think there was nothing left.
“Is that his son?” I asked, nodding my head in the direction of the Hummer, wanting to know anything about him – anything that could explain the effect he had on me.
“Yeah, that’s Draven with him…he has a twin, Aden,” she answered, tilting her head as if she hoped saying the names would spark some kind of recognition, but I was still clueless.
“They’re identical?” I asked, not understanding how there could be two boys in this town that looked that perfect.
“Almost. Aden has dimples that only show when he smiles…It’s hard to believe you don’t remember them,” Kara said.
“Draven,” I repeated quietly, knowing for sure that I’d never met him.
The whispers repeated the name with me, then I realized they weren’t saying ‘Raven’ before; they were saying ‘Draven’. I didn’t know what to think then – they knew him – they were acting strange around him, becoming quiet and then loud again. My head began to spin. I didn’t know if that was bad or good. I wanted it to be good, but that wouldn’t make any sense…then again, the silence they had around Britain and Bianca didn’t either.
Kara nodded. “At least you noticed him,” she said, looking down at her menu. The whispers began to say our names over and over at the same time.
I blushed, but I tried to make it look like the red was caused by anger by holding a stern expression.
“They were sitting right there,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows, trying to deny the emotion he had brought out in me.
She looked up. “Right,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at mom before checking her phone.
Mom looked like she was explaining something to Draven’s dad, Evan. He was nodding along. Draven had his left arm draped across the steering wheel as he leaned toward the passenger seat, listening to them talk.
I had this overwhelming fear that she was telling them that she was hiding me away from some boy. That I had crossed a line, and that was why I was back here. Draven glanced over his arm through the window at me. I felt the air leave my lungs. I tightened my jaw and shook my head ‘No’ once. I think, unconsciously, I was trying to tell him not to listen to what my mom may or may not be saying about me. It wasn’t that I was trying to play some game, have Britain in New York and a summer flame in Salem; I just hated that my mom thought that what was between me and Britain was more than it was.
The waitress came back, and Kara ordered for us. When the waitress walked away, I glanced out the window again to find my mom and Evan Michaels laughing. I think seeing her that way was more captivating than discovering that Draven Michaels existed.
“Where do they live – here in Salem?” I asked, tilting my head in the direction of the Hummer.
Kara folded her arms across the table and leaned toward me and pursed her lips as if she were deciding how to shape her words. She then let out a breath and said, “They do now…Evan travels a lot to the UK, that’s where he’s from – when you were eleven, they started staying in the UK for longer periods of time. The only family they have here was Evan’s mother-in-law. You should remember their house when you see it – you spent almost every day there – you call it your castle.”
“Eleven – I’d remember them if I was that old,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows.
“You should remember,” Kara answered, looking over me.
“It’s sad they left their grandmother here,” I said, glancing at my mom.
I know I think about leaving a lot, but if I ever dared to have kids, I’d want my mom around; she obviously knew what she was doing when it came to single-handedly raising children.
“They didn’t leave her behind….she’s the only real mother figure the boys have ever had,” Kara said, glancing over her shoulder out the window again.“Draven’s mom died when the boys were born… she had Cystic Fibrosis. Honestly, she wasn’t suppose to live past the age of sixteen, but she did; I think she lived as long as she did because she didn’t let anything stop her. She made sure she saw the world during the times she felt the strongest. That’s how she met Evan. I know mom grieved for her long before she died. Even though I was little…I remember thinking if I ever met a man that was half the man Evan or your dad was, I’d be lucky
.
“Wow,” I mumbled. Too scared to look out the window again, I now knew that Draven and I have something very painful in common: we only had the memories of others to know a lost parent.
When I glanced out the window again, I saw that the Hummer was backing out. My mom was walking in. Before Draven pulled away, he looked through the front window and smiled slightly. I tried to smile back, but I was paralyzed once again by his attention.
The waitress brought the food just as mom sat down.
“Sorry, girls; I didn’t mean to be so rude,” she said, sliding in next to me.
“How did that phone call go?” Kara asked.
I looked at her like she was crazy. Who cared about the phone call? I was more interested in the conversation she’d had with Evan.
“Perfect,” mom said, looking at Kara.
Kara nodded, then looked down. I had the feeling I was being kept out of some loop, and I didn’t like it.
“I’m going to go ahead and drive back tonight, though,” mom said, breaking a piece of bread off to go with her salad.
“That’s a long drive to make at night, mom. Just stay,” Kara said.
“My sleep schedule is off a little anyways,” mom answered, looking at me and raising one eyebrow. I knew she wasn’t mad at me; she was just teasing, so I shrugged my shoulders and started to eat.
“I’d rather fly out Sunday night than at the break of dawn on Monday. I need to make sure I have everything packed.”
“Where are you going on Monday?” I asked.
“The new offices in Boston are almost ready to open. I’m just going to stay close to there so I know for sure everything is done right,” Mom answered.
Once we finished our lunch, Kara looked at Mom. “Do you want to go ahead of us?”
Mom nodded yes and pulled a credit card out of her wallet and laid it on the table. She kissed the side of my head before she stood.
“I’ll call you if I decide that stopping for dessert will be a good idea,” Mom said to Kara.
A smile beamed across Kara’s face, and she nodded, telling my mother to go. I scooted to the side of the booth and watched my mother walk out; she was already on her phone.
“What are the two of you up to?” I asked Kara.
She shrugged her shoulders as she handed my mom’s card to the waitress. “Why do you think we’re up to something?”
“I always know when the two of you aren’t telling me something,” I said, standing and waiting for her to sign the slip.
She didn’t answer me. The waitress brought her the slip and a pen; once Kara had signed, she stood up and walked past me. I shook my head, tired of being ignored.
“I’m not blind; I can see right through you. What are you not saying?” I asked when we got in the car.
She hesitated as she pulled her seatbelt across her. I knew she wanted to say something, but she didn’t; she just fastened the belt and turned the car on. As she backed out, she said, “You’ve been talking a lot about ‘seeing’ today.”
“What?!” I said, totally confused by that comment.
“Earlier, you said our eyes can lie, and just now you said you’re not blind. Do you want to talk about what you’re seeing?”
I furrowed my eyebrows, certain that she was reading way too much into my careless speech.
“Um, no...I can see what you see – trust me, if I have an issue, that’s not it,” I said, taking in a deep breath.
Kara held my stare as she turned up the radio. “Better?” she asked.
I looked at her blankly and nodded. I wanted to talk about what I was hearing, but I was too confused right now…I couldn’t let them think I was crazy; they were already too worried about me.
Our house was almost twenty minutes outside the city limits of Salem. As we got closer, I noticed that I’d started to relax a little. I could barely hear anything above the normal sounds of the world. It was if I could breathe again. I never remembered it feeling this way before. Kara looked at me at almost the same moment I felt calm.
“There’s Charlie…almost home,” she said, sighing.
I took in the scenery, realizing it had either changed with time or memory had captured it wrong; it just seemed too perfect. Just before she turned on the street I was sure was ours, I looked up and over the trees; in the distance, I thought I saw the top of a castle. It was a brown brick with wide oval corners that broke out from the house. I wanted to ask Kara if that was Evan’s house, if that was where Draven lived, but I didn’t want to her to pester me about remembering him – or his house.
There aren’t very many houses on our street; most of them are close to a mile apart and just as far off the road. I could always recognize our driveway because halfway down, there was a covered bridge. There was nothing more than a small stream that ran beneath it. I loved the vines that surrounded it; I could see the blooms of purple, yellow, and pink that spring had created. Past that point, there was a row of trees hiding the brick house I was born in. From the outside, our house only looked like it was a large three-story home; inside, there was five levels. The floor plan was stacked, meaning the bottom floor opened to two levels, one to the right and the other the left. Above them was another large level that led to the top level, which was just an open room. It sounds bigger than it is; really, it was just a decent-sized house with a very open floor plan.
It really didn’t look much different as we pulled up to it. Kara followed the driveway around to the back of the house, where the garage was. As we turned the corner, I saw my mother leaning against the side of our house. Kara stopped and put the car in park.
“You’re leaving your car here? What’s wrong with the garage?” I asked, pulling my seat belt off.
“A little crowded,” she said, pulling her keys loose.
I cringed, imagining a summer of organizing this house. Kara wasn’t messy in a bad way; she was just creatively distracted at times (meaning she was so absorbed in whatever she was writing that she didn’t take the time to do simple things – like water plants).
I hesitated as I stepped out of the car; I could still hear the whispers, but they were so quiet, they almost sounded like the wind blowing. A smile came across my face – I was really starting to like being at home.
My mom held her hands behind her back and walked over to the car as I got out. She smiled at me. I thought it was odd that she was so happy, and I wondered if her encounter with Evan had inspired this vibrant feeling I felt coming from her.
“I have something for you,” she said as her smile grew wider.
I looked at her curiously. I was hoping it was my phone; if it wasn’t that, I could plead for a trade. She pulled her hands from behind her back and handed me a small black box with a red bow on top of it. I knew it wasn’t my phone, but I smiled anyway, thinking that if I was grateful for this I could talk my way into getting my phone back.
“Thanks, mom. You didn’t have to get me anything. Not a big deal to graduate; we all do it.”
Kara walked over to us. I watched how they looked at each other, sure that they were still hiding something from me. I slowly opened the box, really having no idea what it might me. Inside, lying on a silk pillow was a set a keys. My eyes widened. I tried to say something - to at least ask what it went to, to tell her that that was too much - but I couldn’t.
“Do you want to see what it goes to?” Mom asked.
“Oh my God - yes?!” I said, reaching up to hug her.
She squeezed me tight, then pulled me around to the garage. Inside, I saw a brand new dark blue Volkswagen bug with a huge red bow on top of it.
“I can’t believe this – you got me a car?! I – I just don’t know what to say.”
“’Thank you’, ‘Can I take it for a drive’ – that’s a good start,“ Kara said, laughing at me.
“There’s a gas card in the console, and the insurance card is in the glove box – this is all yours - in your name - a gift for this passage in your life,” Mom said, pul
ling me to her so she could hug me again.
“Thanks, mom,” I whispered in her ear.
“Go ahead, take if for a drive. There’s GPS if you get confused; I know you haven’t even driven out here before.”
“Yeah, but it can’t be any harder than learning to drive in the city. I’ll wait to take it out; I know you have to leave soon, mom,” I said, running my hands across the body of the car and tasting my first flavor of freedom.
“No, take it out; I’ll be here when you get back,” Mom said, opening the door and taking the big ribbon off.
I looked across the car at Kara; she was smiling proudly at me. I felt bad for being so short with her. I was sure this is what they were hiding from me.
I slid into the driver’s seat and let my hands run across the wheel as I breathed in the new car aroma around me. I reached for my seat belt before putting the key in to turn the car on.
“Wait,” I heard Kara say.
I looked through the windshield to see her walking around the side of the house. My mom was folding up the large ribbon. I thought for a second that Kara was going to come with me, but when she came back around the house, she was carrying my purse. She handed it to me through the open window.
“You need your license,” she said to me.
I checked my wallet just to make sure it was there, and I found it tucked into one of the pockets. I moved it to the open plastic part so I could see it more clearly.
“Anything else?” I asked, daring to hope that they’d hand me my phone next.
Kara shook her head no. “Drive safe.”
I nodded, then took in a deep breath as I pulled slowly forward. The driveway circled our house, so I turned the opposite way from where Kara’s car was parked. As I crept down the driveway, I fumbled with the radio, trying to find a station to listen to; all I heard was commercials, though, so I turned the volume just loud enough to cover any distraction that the whispers could possibly bring. When I reached the road, I turned back the way we’d come before. Madison’s house was almost directly across the street from ours. I could see a ton of cars parked down her driveway; I knew that she graduated today too and that they were having some kind of celebration. I decided to wait to see her. Besides, I still wanted to change. I’d never wanted my jeans more.