The Joining Tree

by Claire Fogel

“Yeah. We emailed a few times over the summer, but I didn’t know she’d moved. I haven’t heard from her lately.”

  Impulsively, I got up and went over to her table. “Miranda, I didn’t know you’d moved. Is your email address the same?” She nodded, looking at her date out of the corner of her eye. I said, “Good. I’ll be in touch.” I smiled. “Have a good night.”

  When I returned to the table, Amy said, “I didn’t know you’d become friends. You never mentioned her.”

  I shrugged. “Just a few emails. She apologized for that stuff last spring and thanked me for whatever it was I’d done.”

  Looking thoughtful, Sean said, “Yeah, I remember. After the baseball bat incident, Miranda really turned her life around. Her attitude changed completely. She called me to apologize too. But it doesn’t look to me like she’s picking the best kind of friends over in Greenville.”

  It was getting late so we left and Kevin drove us all home. Sean whispered, “Wish I had my dad’s car tonight. I’d like to talk some more. Can I call you later?”

  “Sure.” But I was afraid he’d want some kind of explanation for my depression over the past several weeks. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I didn’t want to hurt him.

  No one was in the kitchen when I got home. My parents must be in their bedroom, maybe watching TV. Thinking about my dad watching TV made me smile. His village, Elvenwood, had no electricity, no modern appliances, not even hot showers. But I had taught him how to make coffee in our electric coffeemaker, and he admitted he was enjoying the hot showers. Now that he was spending so much time in the human world, his life was changing. He even said he’d like to learn how to drive a car. Picturing my father behind the wheel always made me smile.

  I made myself a cup of herbal tea and took it upstairs with me. I stopped at my mother’s bedroom and tapped on the door. “I’m home.” Then I went into my room and shut the door. I set my tea down next to my bed and got out of my boots, making sure my knives were still firmly in the boot sheaths I’d had made. I went into my bathroom to get out of my clothes and into my pajamas.

  When I walked out of the bathroom, my mother was sitting on my bed next to Ralph, who was already asleep and snoring softly.

  She smiled. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

  Climbing up on my bed, I said, “Yes. It was good to be out with my friends.”

  She stood. “I’m glad. You should have fun this year while you can. The work in college will be harder, although I hope you’ll make friends there too. All work and no play, you know.” Smiling, she went to the door. “Sleep well.”

  She left, closing my door softly. I wasn’t ready for the heart-to-heart talks we used to have.

  I was lying in bed, just thinking, when my phone rang. I sighed. It was probably Sean, and I still hadn’t figured out how to explain the weeks of depression he’d suffered right along with me.

  But it wasn’t Sean. It was Miranda Ross.

  “Hi, Cara. I’m so sorry I couldn’t talk when I saw you tonight. My boyfriend doesn’t like me to see old friends from Thornewood. He says it’s not good to live in the past.”

  “Seeing a former classmate and saying hello doesn’t sound much like ‘living in the past’ to me,” I said. I really didn’t like the sound of that guy.

  “Miranda, I wish you’d let me know that you were moving. Maybe we could have gotten together before you left town.”

  “Well, I did call your house, but your mom said you were visiting your dad. I didn’t leave a message or anything. By the way, Cara, my friends call me Randi.”

  “Oh, okay. The week before school started, I was away at my dad’s place. I’m sorry I missed you. Amy said she thought you were living with your aunt?”

  “Yeah, my mom’s sister. We were never really close, but at least she doesn’t drink like a fish. My mom’s in a mental health facility, although my dad prefers to say she’s in ‘Rehab.’ He travels so he’s not home much. I wouldn’t mind living with my dad, but he said no, that I’d be alone too much. I miss Thornewood. It’s hard to make new friends in your senior year, which is why I didn’t want to move to Greenville. I guess I was lucky to meet Joey. He’s the guy I was with tonight. He lives in the same apartment building. He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?”

  “He’s very good looking, Randi. But he wasn’t very friendly. Is he always so possessive?”

  She didn’t say anything right away. “Yeah, well, I think he’s a little jealous of the friends I had in Thornewood. But I see you and Sean are still together. Or is it ‘together again?’” She chuckled.

  “Yeah, you probably heard that we broke up in June just before school ended. He went off to baseball camp, and I didn’t speak to him for quite a while. Another friend convinced me to accept Sean’s apology, so I did and we’re friends again.”

  That sudden memory of Adam convincing me to forgive Sean made my heart feel like it was being squeezed. Time to change the subject.

  “Randi, can you get over to Thornewood once in a while? I’m sure your friends here would like to see you again. They haven’t forgotten you. Do you still have that red BMW?”

  “Yeah, still have the Beamer. I’d like to, Cara, but Joey takes up most of my time when I’m not in school, and he’s not interested in visiting Thornewood. The only reason we were there tonight was because he was complaining about the pizza in Greenville, and I told him about the Pizza Palace. He loved the pizza, but said he thinks it’s too long a drive just for pizza. So I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to visit.”

  “Well, if you get homesick, please call me. Maybe talking about Thornewood will help.”

  She laughed. “Thanks, Cara. I’ll do that. It was really great seeing all of you tonight. Please say hi to Sean and Amy for me. I don’t know the other guy you were with, but he’s a real cutie. How did I miss him the past three years?”

  I chuckled. “That was Kevin Sinclair. He’s one of my best friends. I think Kevin’s just come into his own this year. And you’re right; he is a cutie.”

  She laughed. “We’ll talk soon, Cara.”

  “Thanks for calling, Randi. Take care.”

  That phone call had been a nice surprise, but Randi’s choice of boyfriend worried me. I had a bad feeling about him.

  The next time the phone rang it was Sean.

  “Hey Sean. You’ll never guess who I’ve been on the phone with for the past half hour.”

  “Oh? Who?” Why did he have to sound suspicious?

  “Miranda Ross. But she asked me to call her Randi. She moved away the week I was in Elvenwood before school started. She’s not too crazy about Greenville. I think she’d like to come back to Thornewood, but her father wants her to live with her aunt.”

  “Cara, I never knew you had gotten friendly with Randi. Especially after what she tried to do to you during spring break.”

  “Well, it seems that using Vox on her was what snapped her out of that self-destructive streak she was on. She’s been her old self since then. She emailed me a couple times during the summer, first to apologize, and then to thank me for helping her. She doesn’t actually know what I did, just that everything changed afterward.”

  “Yeah, I knew she had finally calmed down and started behaving a lot better. So Randi knows that you did something, but she has no idea what it was?”

  “Right. I was glad I’d been able to help her. She was having a rough time at home.”

  “Frankly, Cara, that boyfriend of hers looked kind of shady to me. I didn’t like the way he pushed her around. Guys like that are bad news.”

  “I think so too. I even mentioned that to Randi, but she said it’s been really hard to make new friends in a new place in her senior year. And Joey, that’s his name, lives in her apartment building. I invited her to come back to visit whenever she can, but I think Joey has discouraged that.”

  He groaned. “That guy sounds bad. But let’s leave the subject of Randi for now. I wanted to talk to you about whatever it was you were going
through the past few weeks. Cara, you were like one of the walking dead. Even with all the crap you’ve gone through since I met you, I’ve never seen you like that before. I was really worried.”

  I couldn’t tell him the whole truth. I sighed. “Sean, I’ve had some problems with my mom. She’s made some decisions that have ended up hurting me pretty badly. I don’t want to go into detail, but things are not good at home right now.”

  “Oh, wow. I’m really sorry. I always thought you and your mom had a great relationship. Hard to believe it’s changed that much, especially now that your parents are married. Does it have anything to do with the way she kept you and your dad apart for sixteen years?”

  “Well, that’s one example of a decision she made that hurt me. I already told my father that I’ll be making my own decisions from now on, that it’s my life, not my mom’s.”

  “How does your dad feel about that?”

  “He understands. It’s not his fault. He doesn’t see everything the same way Mom does.” I snorted. “I might have been better off if he’d raised me.”

  “No, Cara, don’t think that way. Everybody makes mistakes. Even parents. I hope you and your mom will be able to get past this. I can see how unhappy it’s making you.”

  We didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

  He asked, “Hey, what are you doing this weekend? Can we get together?”

  “Well, I was thinking about spending the weekend in Elvenwood.”

  “Want company?”

  “Maybe. Mainly I want to be out of the house when my mom’s home. She’ll be working Saturday, but she’s home on Sunday.”

  “Okay. How about this. Spend Saturday at my house. We can do homework, maybe catch a movie. Then on Sunday we could ride to Elvenwood. What do you think?”

  The only reason Sean knew about Elvenwood, my father’s secret village deep in the forest, was because he had Elven blood, something we only became aware of when he met Conor McKay, Sean’s look-alike and distant cousin. Conor was one of my father’s Elves, and my close friend.

  Being with Sean would keep me from brooding about Adam, but I didn’t like feeling I’d be using Sean. He deserved better.

  “Sean, let me talk to my dad. If it’s okay with him, we’ll do it. I’ll call you back as soon as I speak to him.”

  “Okay, but don’t worry about it. We can always find something to do. Lots of things to do on the weekend, Cara.”

  We said good night and I wondered when I’d get a chance to talk to my dad without Mom around.

  I felt like slapping myself. What was I thinking? My father and I were telepaths.

  Dad, Sean and I want to make plans for the weekend. He’s invited me to his house on Saturday, and we’re thinking about riding to Elvenwood on Sunday. Would that be okay with you?

  Cara, I’m planning on being in Elvenwood Saturday, but I’ll be here Sunday because it’s your mother’s day off. Sounds to me like you’re trying to avoid seeing her.

  My father understood me too well.

  Dad, right now having the two of us in the same place isn’t good for either of us. If I stay home, I’ll just be in my room all day. I think it’s better if I’m out with Sean. I’m trying to get back to normal, or whatever normal is these days.

  There was no immediate answer. I knew he was thinking over what I’d said.

  All right, dear. I don’t really think your mother would disapprove of your plans. She wants to see you enjoying yourself with your friends. But I do want you to sit down with your mother soon. You need to get everything out in the open, talk about what you’ve been so upset about. Otherwise, this situation will never get resolved and it’s hurting her. You have to understand, sweetheart. I don’t want you or your mother hurt.

  I wasn’t sure how to answer him.

  It’s going to take time, Dad.

  Cara, your mother loves you very much. Her only crime was doing what she thought was necessary to keep you safe. She hadn’t had time to get to know Adam very well. I think she knows she made a mistake. You need to talk to her.

  All right, Dad. But not right now. I’m not sure you understand.

  I heard him sigh. I do understand. I spent sixteen years with the same kind of unhappiness. But it’s going to be up to you to make peace with your mother. And I expect you to do it as soon as possible.

  Okay, Dad. Thanks for listening.

  I love you, dear. Your mother loves you too.

  There was nothing more I could say. I looked at the clock. It wasn’t too late to call Sean back.

  He was thrilled that his plans for our weekend had been approved. “How early do you want to get up in the morning? I won’t have the car, so can you drive over here?”

  “Sure, no problem. What time will you be up?”

  He laughed. “I’ll be up at the crack of dawn if you want to come over that early.”

  I had to smile. “That’s a little too early. How about ten o’clock?”

  “Great. I’ll even make you breakfast.”

  “You can cook?”

  “Yep. I’m pretty good at bacon and eggs. Or you could show me how to make your Sunrise Specials. Your choice.”

  I told him I’d pick up bagels and be over at ten, with my books and art supplies.

  “Ah, you’re going to do some drawing this weekend.”

  “I will if the weather’s good. I haven’t done any artwork in weeks, and I miss it. But homework has to come first. I’ll need those notes of yours.”

  “Great. See you at ten. This is going to be a really good weekend, Cara. It’s good to see you smiling again.”

  And that made me smile. “Thanks, Sean. Sleep well.”

  But it wasn’t Sean’s warm brown eyes that I saw in my dreams that night.

  My phone started ringing much too early Saturday morning. It had to be Amy.

  “Hey, Amy. Why are you up so early?”

  She laughed. “I think it’s just long-term habit. I can’t seem to sleep past six. I just wanted to check in and see how you enjoyed Friday night. I really had a good time, since I was with three of my favorite people.”

  “Yeah, the company was great. It cheered me up a little.”

  “Only a little? Cara, Sean was so attentive, he hardly took his eyes off you all night. Looked like you were enjoying the dancing.” She chuckled.

  “Well, when we dated last spring, Sean brought me to the Pizza Palace several times and we always fed the jukebox and danced until we ran out of quarters. It was nice last night, but it also made me aware how much I’ve changed since last spring.”

  “I think what you’re saying is that getting close to Sean doesn’t mean what it used to, right?”

  “Yes. Don’t get me wrong. Sean is still the sweetest guy I know. I just don’t want him to get the wrong idea, you know? I’m not in love with him, and I’m not going to be.”

  “You’re sure about that? These things can change in a heartbeat. Don’t count Sean out yet.”

  “Amy, I’m in love with Adam. That won’t change.”

  “Do you mean that if Adam never comes back, you’ll never fall in love with anyone else? Like ever?”

  “That’s about it.”

  “Well, then we’d better hope he comes back, Cara.”

  I snorted. I couldn’t count on that.

  “So what are you doing over the weekend?”

  “Sean and I made plans for the entire weekend. I’m going to his house today to do homework and maybe watch a movie, and tomorrow, if the weather holds, we’ll ride to Elvenwood for the day.”

  “Wow! He’s not wasting any time, is he?” She laughed. “Gotta respect the boy’s determination. Have you talked to your mom yet?”

  “As little as I could manage. I had a long conversation with my dad. Naturally, he wants me to sit down and talk it all out with her, but I’m not ready. He knows that, but he expects me to make the effort anyway.” I sighed.

  “Cara, your mom’s always been great. I have faith in you. You�
��ll work things out.”

  “I don’t know. Right now, I’m afraid I’ll just start yelling at her and end up crying over Adam. I believe if it hadn’t been for her, he wouldn’t have felt he had to leave. That’s really hard for me to get past.”

  “I understand, but give it time. Hey, if you and Sean want to do something Saturday night, give me a call. Kevin was talking about seeing a movie. We could all go.”

  “Amy, are you and Kevin dating?” I was dying to hear her answer.

  “Uh, well, I think it’s more like hanging out than dating. I always have fun with Kevin and we know each other so well. Plus, have you noticed how good he’s looking lately?”

  I had to laugh. “Yes indeed. That curly-haired, long, lean look has finally come together for Kevin. I was talking to Miranda earlier and she wanted to know who the cutie was last night!”

  “Miranda called you?”

  “Yeah, we talked for a while. She’s really homesick. Doesn’t much like Greenville or starting her senior year with strangers.”

  “I feel for her, but that boyfriend of hers has got to go. She must be desperate.”

  “Well, she asked me to tell you hi. I invited her to drive over when she has time. She doesn’t seem happy living with her aunt.”

  “That’s too bad. Give her my best next time you talk to her. I’d better go. We’re making a couple of apple pies this morning, and one might have your name on it.”

  I groaned. “Apple pie, my downfall. Just let me know when I can pick it up!”

  She laughed. “Okay. Talk to you later.”

  I looked at the clock. It was only seven thirty, so I dove back under my comforter.

  I got up around nine, showered and got dressed. It was kind of a date, so I took more care with my clothes and hair. I started out with black tights, added a long sweater, and, of course, the ever-present boots. I was tired of the ponytail, so I blew my hair dry and let it hang down my back.

  On an impulse, I got out my nail scissors and cut wispy bangs at my forehead. Everything in my life had changed so much, I was ready for a new look. When I was done, I liked it. I wondered how Adam would like it, then immediately deleted that thought, irritated at myself.