by Nancy Isaak
He was so beautiful, it took my breath away.
I mean—I honestly stopped breathing for a moment.
Guys came racing forward—wanting to talk to Jacob, grinning, clapping him on his back—they were so excited.
And no wonder.
Jacob looked like his old self again.
There was life in his face—he looked around the room with interest and anticipation.
And he had shaved!
And cut his hair—the stupid man-bun was gone!
What remained was the beautiful boy I loved.
As he walked toward me, I saw that Jacob was wearing a dark blue shirt that I had scavenged for him a few months back. The color made the ice-blue of his eyes pop—making him look movie idol-handsome.
I felt my heart swelling with hope and love as he neared.
Had Jacob finally returned…my Jacob?
He stopped in front of me, waiting. I didn’t know what to say—I was actually intimidated by my own husband. In a way, I felt like I was back in high school, hoping desperately that the popular boy had finally noticed me.
“Hey, Kaylee,” Jacob said, softly. He gazed around the ballroom, taking in the decorations, the happy faces of the tribe. “You guys have done a good job here”
Then, he bent down and gave me a kiss on my cheek.
And just like that…I knew—he was pretending.
Because there was a tightness to his shoulders, a narrowness to his eyes.
My Jacob was still missing.
Still, I put a smile on my face—as my heart slowly broke once again.
* * * *
One of the surprises of the evening was to be a play that some of the guys had asked to put on after supper. I had no idea what it was about—they were keeping it a secret. The only thing I knew for sure was that Pauly and Kieran were in it, as well as a half dozen other guys, so it was bound to be hilarious.
And it was funny—for some of us.
It started out as a fable, a simple tale of morality—like an Aesop’s Fable—told from the point of view of animals. Within moments, however, I’m sure that almost all of us had figured out that it was the story of our war with the Crazies.
We were the bunnies; they were the monkeys—and they were coming to enslave half of us and eat the rest. For the most part, the monkeys (our older guys wearing long tails) succeeded—capturing the bunnies (our younger guys with big, floppy ears) and carting them off over their shoulders.
For just a moment, I was worried that our cage-guys—the Crazies who had joined our tribe—would be offended. When I looked over at them, however, they were laughing just as loud as the rest of us.
Just when it seemed like all the bunnies would be enslaved, a new character emerged, greeted with howls of laughter and pointed fingers by the audience. It was Pauly, wearing a blond wig and a pink, pleated skirt; his face was made up and I had to admit—he looked kind of pretty. He immediately organized the little bunnies into troops, advancing on the hopping, growling monkeys.
Then—from the monkey side—came Kieran.
He was dressed in a gorilla costume—where did he get that? Nate was with him—wearing a rat tail—and galloping around Kieran on all fours. These two new characters were named ‘Brandzilla’ and ‘Rateo’.
Needless to say, they were greeted by the audience with boos.
Eventually, the girl-Pauly and her bunnies wound up defeating the gorilla, the rat, and all the little monkeys. It was hilarious and it was touching—a modern version of an ancient tribe telling war stories around the campfire.
However—there was one person who didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. Throughout the play, I had been sitting beside Jacob on a couch. Our thighs were touching, but it wasn’t until the end of the play that he actually reached out and took my hand.
He nodded to where Pauly was doing a curtsy—taking his final curtain call to a chorus of cheers. “That’s really for you,” Jacob said, in a quiet voice. “It’s you they love.”
I turned and smiled at him, wanting desperately to ask my husband—but afraid at the same time…What about you, Jacob? Do you still love me?
* * * *
For the rest of the evening, we danced to old 78’s played on the Victrola or snacked on the cakes and cookies that Sophia had made. A handful of the older guys played poker at a corner table, while some of the younger ones had a Rubik’s cube tournament.
Lily and Hannah, of course, spent much of the evening dancing with each other.
After their fifth dance together, a couple of the guys got up the nerve to approach the girls and ask them to dance. At first, both girls looked confused by the attention.
Then, they got excited—grins plastered all over their face.
Taking their boys by their hands, Lily and Hannah practically pulled the guys onto the center of the ballroom floor. As the music started, the girls began to jump up and down, twirling around—somehow winding up dancing with each other once again, while their partners orbited them, looking befuddled.
It was hilarious watching the oblivious girls—especially when I noticed Ethan and Wester to one side of the dance floor. They were also watching Lily and Hannah closely, their arms crossed—looking very jealous.
* * * *
Frank and Peyton also drew my attention.
They didn’t dance very much that night but, when they did, it was with such affection. No matter what Peyton kept insisting to me, it was obvious that she and Frank loved each other.
As the night wore on, I caught sight of Frank a couple of times, running his fingers around the base of Peyton’s ring finger. It was odd when I first noticed it; then I realized what he was doing.
He was sizing her finger—for a wedding ring.
At least, I hoped I was right—because the tribe could use a wedding—another sign that we were alive, that we were succeeding.
That we were right to hope.
To become families again.
* * * *
Of course, my own hope that night was for Jacob to ask me to dance.
Song after song played, however, and we remained at our table—quietly watching the rest of the guys and girls take to the dance floor, saying a few non-committal words to each other now and again. Honestly, I felt like I was sitting beside a new acquaintance and not the boy that I loved…my husband.
There was one moment when a candle near us flared bright and I caught Jacob’s and my reflections in one of the mirrors on a nearby wall. We were both simply sitting there—bland looks on our faces—while all around us kids were laughing and talking excitedly.
And I recognized that moment and those looks—because I’d seen them before.
On my mom and dad—just before they got divorced.
To hide my sudden horror, my breaking heart—I concentrated my attention on the people around me.
Laura danced past, laughing; she had been enjoying herself all night long, dancing with each and every guy who had asked her. Rhys, meanwhile, stood on the sidelines, watching her closely, his eyebrows knit together in close concentration.
When a slow song started, he finally walked toward her—taking her hand and pulling her from another guy and into his arms. Laura immediately placed her head against Rhys’ shoulder; he kissed the top of hers and they swayed gently together.
Guess I needed to have the talk with Rhys again.
* * * *
Mia, meanwhile, sat quietly at Peyton and Frank’s table. Lance was beside her, the three kids from the Crazy staging house cross-legged on the floor at their feet. The two boys and the girl were happily munching away on some candy that Jay had specially added to their goody bags.
I was pleased to see that—while there was obvious affection between Lance and Mia—their actions and attitude were completely appropriate. The most that happened between them was a glance a few seconds too long, a gentle touch of Mia’s fingers to wipe a stray hair out of Lance’s eyes.
In a way, it was odd to
see two people with such an age difference try to hide their fondness for each other.
Truth was—I envied them.
* * * *
And then there were the obvious couples.
Shawnee and Wyatt disappeared from the party after the first slow dance. I saw them leave, giggling away. As they left, my eyes caught Jay’s; I knew immediately what we both were thinking—that Shawnee was certainly taking advantage of the condom bowl outside of the Medical Clinic.
Cammie and Kieran also left early. They danced one fast song together, then took off to Kieran’s room—most likely to spend as much quiet time together before Kieran went back up into the Valley in a few days to meet up with Josh once more.
And then there were Florenza and Pauly; they actually stayed throughout the party, dancing every dance together—slow and fast. At one point, I noticed Pauly touch Florenza’s belly; he had a look of pure amazement on his face. My heart swelled when I saw that.
Because I knew it meant that Florenza was pregnant.
Our tribe was having a baby!
Then, I wondered if—when Jay checked in the morning—there would be one less pregnancy kit in the cabinet.
* * * *
I wanted to tell Jacob about my suspicions regarding Florenza and Pauly but, when I turned toward him, he was looking down at his feet—shuffling them back and forth on the rug as if he was bored. At that moment, I became truly angry; it hurt that he would be this way, that he would ruin this evening for me.
Dammit...I wanted my old Jacob back!
Grumbling inside of my head, I turned away and saw Sophia.
She was moving quietly around the snack table, straightening a dish, cleaning up crumbs. Every once in a while she would look out at the dance floor—specifically at Peyton and Frank—and she would smile sadly, touching the rosary at her throat.
Poor Sophia…she was so missing Josh…and he was so far away.
Which, ironically, made me think of Jay.
Because—one minute Jay was happily talking to Porter—the next, she was standing by herself, as Jude pulled Porter out onto the dance floor. Jay watched them dance for a few seconds, then—looking crest-fallen—she turned and wandered away.
Poor Jay…she was so missing Porter…and he was so close.
Seeing both Jay and Sophia trying to be brave, standing tall without the boys they loved at their sides—it made me realize that I was being silly.
Because, no matter what—I still had the boy that I loved—and he was right next to me. Yes, he was going through a bad time…but weren’t we all?
So, maybe Jay was right after all.
Maybe it was all about patience.
Which meant that—just maybe—the problem wasn’t with Jacob…maybe it was with me.
* * * *
“I love you.”
Jacob turned in his seat and stared at me. “Pardon?”
“Just that,” I said. “That I love you…that I have never loved another boy…that I never will.” I looked down, suddenly embarrassed. “I just wanted to say that…just because.”
When I looked up again, Jacob’s ice-blue eyes had narrowed and his brows had knitted together in consternation. Reaching down, he picked up my hand and held it to his lips, kissing it gently.
“You are extraordinary,” he murmured. Then, he leaned over and kissed me on my lips. At first, it was soft—then it became harder, more desperate—as if he was trying to draw power from me.
There was an actual smile on his face when Jacob finally pulled back. “Don’t you ever think that I don’t love you, Kaylee,” he murmured. “You are everything to me…just like you are to this tribe.”
I must have looked confused, because he went on to explain. “Kaylee, you saved the Point.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We all did…everyone.”
He kissed me again, holding my head between his hands. “No, sweet. That this tribe still stands is because of what you did…because of how you led them. You went up against Victor and Mateo and all the rest of the Crazies—and you beat them. Kaylee, you did things that I would never even have thought of—using fire as a weapon, storing water in the septic tanks—even the bonfires that gave you the warning that the Crazies were coming was your invention.”
My cheeks felt hot; I knew I was blushing. “I just did what I thought had to be done.”
“Which is the very reason why this tribe calls you Mother,” Jacob insisted. “Because you do what you need to do to protect all of us.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head. “I can’t believe that I was so worried about you when I left. Like I seriously had doubts about a girl—about you—leading these guys. But now I know, if there was one thing I did right these last few months—it was giving you the Locals’ leadership.”
As my eyes filled with tears, Jacob leaned in to kiss me.
Just before his lips touched mine, however, a young excited voice suddenly screamed out. “There’s a jet...THERE’S A JET IN THE SKY!”
* * * *
We all stumbled out of the mansion in a rush—pushing and shoving our way in our excitement to reach the front lawn. Sandeep, jumping from one foot to another, used a still-wrapped sucker to point high into the starlit sky. “Right there…do you see it?!”
Our eyes shot to the heavens—searching.
It was Nate and Xavier who saw it first, a shining light arcing through the dark. “Over there…there!”
Jay and Porter were standing beside Jacob and me—the four of us looking where Nate was pointing, high up in the night sky. And, sure enough, we saw it—a blinking light heading straight toward us!
“Ohmigod!” I whispered, amazed; my cheeks ached suddenly, my smile became so wide.
Some of the guys nearby began dancing around, yelling to each other about electricity and adults and the world turning back to what it was before; they were ecstatic, joyous.
But when I turned and looked at Porter and Jay, expecting the same excitement, however—my smile died. They were just standing there, looking up. There was no excitement on their faces—only interest.
“What is it?” I asked, immediately wary.
A look passed between their grim faces. Then, Jay sighed. “It’s the ISS—the International Space Station. It’s not a jet.”
My gaze returned to the night sky; the light was just heading overhead, moving steadily toward the other side of the world. “How can you be so sure?”
Jay nodded. “It’s moving too fast to be a jet. And its orbital path is up too high.”
“Definitely the space station,” added Porter. “Which makes me wonder—”
He looked down at Jay.
She returned his gaze, somehow picking up on his train of thought without another word. “Is that even possible?”
“I suppose it would depend on the event’s area of containment,” Porter answered.
“But how many were inside?”
“Last I heard, there were six or seven—some Americans, Russians…at least one Canadian and one Syrian.”
“And that would be assuming that their electrical systems weren’t affected,” frowned Jay. “Don’t you think that would have been fried?”
“It couldn’t have been. They’ve still got running lights.”
“But what would they use for reentry? It would have to be a Soyuz capsule, right? Which means that it would have to come down in Russia, probably somewhere near Baikonur.”
“Why not?” shrugged Porter “Except that if they reach the area of containment, we’ve got to wonder what that would mean to their electrics.”
“Assuming there is still containment. If we’re talking a curve, then we already might be outside of it.”
“But if it is still there, then they’ll have massive system failures the moment they hit the edge.”
“So, should they just maintain their orbit?” argued Jay.
“Only for so long—because they still have a declining orbit, which means they’ll have to adjust with the
ir thrusters occasionally. And sooner or later their power’s going to run out, so they’ll have to make a run for earth anyway.” Porter scratched his head, looking confused, and added, “I think.”
“Well, I think you’re both annoying me!” Two hands shot out from behind—one grabbing Porter’s head, the other Jay’s. It was Jude, knocking Jay and Porter’s heads together with a clack!
“What the—!” Porter yelled.
Jay spun around, angry. “Seriously, Jude?!” she barked, rubbing at her head.
“Consider that my blessing, geeks,” Jude announced, grinning. She laughed full out at Porter and Jay’s confused expressions. “It means—go forth, brainiacs…get married, and have brilliant babies!”
Then, she sniffed, looking around at the still-dancing, hooting Locals. “God knows this tribe could use a few more smarty-pants.”
With that, Jude turned and walked back into the mansion.
* * * *
I caught up with Jude at the snack table. She was stuffing cookies into her mouth and trying not to cry.
“You okay?” I asked her, gently.
Her hand lashed out and whacked me across the top of my head. “Shaddup…you annoy me, Barbie!”
Reaching for my own cookie, I pushed my shoulder into hers. “I’m proud of you, Jude.”
She didn’t look at me—couldn’t look at me—but still she murmured, “Jay and Porter belong together. I mean, it’s obvious, right?”
“I’m not going to disagree,” I said, honestly. “But I also think there’s someone for you out there. We just don’t know who he is, yet.”
With a big sigh, Jude put down the cookies she was holding in her hand. “Figures—my heart gets broken and I go for the comfort food. No wonder I was always so fat.”
“But is it really...I mean, broken…over Porter?”
Jude looked at me—frowning.
“I’m just saying, Jude. Like maybe it’s someone else you’re still grieving for.”
