The Joining Tree

by Claire Fogel

  “Not exactly, dear. Your face is so badly bruised, it will take a bit longer. However, my herbs do offer another benefit. A cup or two of this particular herbal tea will leave you completely calm, almost serene. You won’t worry about a thing.”

  “Hmm. That might be helpful when I go into court, as long as my head’s not pounding as badly.”

  Mom said, “Chief O’Donnell called this morning before you were up, dear. He just wanted to see how you were feeling. He has promised to take you to court tomorrow and get you in and out in record time. You can even take one of your pain pills on the way home. Now how about a pancake? I’ve got real maple syrup.”

  Kevin had already chowed down on half a dozen pancakes along with a couple of sausages. I barely managed half a pancake before my stomach rebelled.

  “Sorry, Mom. I can’t eat. But I’d love a cup of tea.”

  She’d made a large pot of tea and poured out cups for Kathleen, Dad, herself and me. Kevin was sticking to coffee, as usual.

  Later, after Kevin left, I gave in and went upstairs to take a nap with Kathleen’s herbal poultice covering the worst bruises. By the time I woke up, it was night and time to go to bed again after Mom reapplied the poultice. But thinking about my court date the next day kept me awake for quite a while.

  Mom woke me early, earlier than I would have liked. I was in a lot of pain, all the muscles above my waist were letting me know they’d been badly strained, but I couldn’t take another pain pill.

  “Mom, I’m gonna need that herbal tea Kathleen brought yesterday just as soon as you can boil the water. My pain pill must have worn off while I was sleeping.”

  While she was downstairs, I sat in the bathroom bathing my face with cold water and trying some deep breathing, telling myself I only had to get through the morning. My head throbbed horribly.

  A few minutes later, Mom brought me a king-size mug of the herbal tea and I starting sipping it immediately.

  After I finished in the bathroom, she helped me dress. I wasn’t a skirt or dress person—even for court—so it was jeans, boots, and a loose shirt

  “No ponytail today. I just want to look neat, not stylish.

  I finished my tea and actually began to feel calmer, not nervous at all. My head still throbbed dully, but I knew I could handle it. Three cheers for Kathleen’s herbs!

  I was about to go downstairs when my phone rang.

  “Hi, beautiful.”

  I’d always loved that greeting.

  “Kevin told me you’d be going to court today to testify against that dirtbag, Romanov. I had no idea that might have been behind your accident. How are you feeling today?”

  “Well, Kathleen’s herbs must have some kind of magic because I’m perfectly calm, even with the pain in my head. I think I’ll be okay in court.”

  “Cara, I think you’re very brave to go through with this, especially in your condition.

  I’ll be in court too, just for moral support. I think Kevin’s planning on being there too.”

  I had to smile. “My parents are going too. I have an incredible support system, Sean. I really appreciate it.”

  “Well, good luck, Cara. I’ll see you there.”

  “Thanks. You’re one in a million.” And he was.

  When I got downstairs, I found the Chief sitting in the kitchen with my dad, enjoying a cup of coffee. He looked surprised when I walked into the room.

  “Cara, you’re looking much better than I expected. How are you feeling?”

  “I’ll be okay, Chief. Kathleen brought me some herbs for tea and I’m feeling very calm. I can do this.”

  “Good girl. Let’s leave now. Court will begin in about a half hour, and I promise to get you out of there and back home as quickly as possible.”

  My dad added, “Alicia and I will be right behind you, sweetheart. Don’t worry about anything.”

  He hugged me gently, and I left with Chief O’Donnell.

  The ride to the Courthouse in Greenville was actually kind of fun when I could forget about the pain in my head for a minute or two. The Chief ran his lights without the siren, so it was a fast ride. Other motorists got out of our way quickly. We walked into court in less than a half hour.

  We sat behind the prosecutor’s table. She smiled when she saw me and asked how I was feeling. I said I was okay. There wasn’t time for more conversation since the judge had just entered the courtroom.

  Naturally, Romanov pled “Not Guilty,” the defense and prosecution gave their opening statements, and it wasn’t long before I was called to the stand.

  The prosecutor was a middle-aged brunette, tall and thin, plain-faced until she smiled. She smiled at me.

  “I know you were seriously injured just two days ago, Cara, so I’ll try to keep this brief.”

  She asked me to identify the man who attacked me months ago. I pointed to the defendant, who was glaring at me. It was one of those “if looks could kill” looks.

  Then she asked me to describe the events leading up to the attack and the attack itself. I did.

  “Do you know who shot the arrow into Mr. Romanov?”

  I said, “No, but I wish I did.” The Chief had agreed to leave Gavin out of these court proceedings.

  She asked, “Why?”

  I said, “Because I’d like to thank him. I think he saved my life.”

  She said, “Do you know who drove into your car two days ago, causing your injuries?”

  I said, “No.”

  She said, “Don’t you find the timing suspicious?”

  I didn’t answer because the defense attorney objected and the judge agreed with him.

  The prosecutor thanked me for coming to court despite my injuries and said she’d have no further questions for me.

  The judge asked the defense attorney if he had questions for me. I guess I looked pathetic up there in the witness box because the defense attorney said, “No.” But he stated he might want to recall me later. The bruising and swelling on my face wasn’t winning any points for the defense.

  The judge dismissed me and I stood, but the effect of the tea must have worn off because I was suddenly woozy.

  Within seconds, Chief O’Donnell was at my side, holding me up and helping me out of the witness box, leading me through the courtroom and out of the building, my parents right behind us.

  I had to sit down on the steps in front of the courthouse to catch my breath. Mom put a cup of water and a pain pill in my hand. I got it down and rested there until I began to feel better.

  I looked up to see Kevin and Sean standing over me with my parents. They looked as worried as my parents did.

  “Hey, guys, I’ll be okay in a few minutes. Don’t look so worried.”

  My father said, “Sweetheart, you did what you had to do today, but now I want you off your feet and resting.” With that, he picked me up and carried me to the Chief’s car.

  Mom said, “Tommy, we can take her home, you know.”

  The Chief grinned. “Not as fast as I can, Alicia. I have lights and a siren.”

  I heard Kevin laugh. Even my father and Sean were smiling.

  Mom said, “Okay, you win. We’ll see you at home.”

  Dad placed me gently in the Chief’s car, fastened my seat belt, and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “We’ll see you at home, sweetheart. And I want you to know I’m extremely proud of you.”

  He shut the car door and the Chief pulled out into traffic, lights and siren on.

  Needless to say, we made it out of Greenville in record time. But to be honest, the siren wasn’t doing much for my headache.

  The Chief helped me out of the car and into my house where I sat down in the kitchen.

  “Chief, if you want coffee, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until Mom gets home. Sorry. But I did enjoy the ride home. It was kind of exciting.” I smiled at him.

  He chuckled. “Glad you liked it. You know, I’m as capable of making coffee as you are, and I have the same kind of coffeemaker at home. Just poi
nt me at the coffee.”

  I told him where we kept the coffee, and he had a pot made by the time my parents got home.

  Kevin and Sean arrived at the same time and followed my parents into the house.

  Sean said, “I won’t stay long. I know Cara has to rest.” He sat down next to me. “I just wanted to tell you how impressive you were on the witness stand. The jury will find him guilty and I hope he’ll get the longest sentence possible. When you were describing his attack on you, every person on that jury was frowning.”

  Kevin said, “Yeah. Those twelve people all looked ready to lynch him. You were terrific, short stuff.”

  There was a knock on the front door. Mom let Amy in. She never came empty-handed.

  “How’d it go, Cara? You obviously survived. And I brought some peach turnovers Mom made this morning. I couldn’t be in court this morning, but I was thinking of you.”

  I was already feeling a little dizzy from the pain pill. “It went fine. Kevin and Sean both think they’ll throw the book at Romanov. I hope when they lock him up, they lose the key. And since I haven’t had anything to eat today, I’ll take one of those turnovers now.”

  Mom got down plates and silverware and passed the turnovers around the table.

  Like all of Mrs. Strauss’ pastries, they were fantastic. My appetite had returned. I ate two.

  After I’d stuffed myself, my eyes started to close.

  “Thanks to all of you for being there for me this morning. I love you all. But I’m about to go face down on this table.”

  My father picked me up and carried me up the stairs. I don’t remember anything else. I was out cold before I hit the bed.

  I didn’t wake up until Tuesday. After another large cup of herbal tea, I began to feel more like myself.

  I was still in bed because Mom insisted I stay off my feet and rest. I wasn’t going to argue with her, especially after she told me the doctor had wanted to keep me in the hospital for another week. I hadn’t been aware that it was against doctor’s orders that they took me home.

  My father explained that Elves don’t usually do well in hospitals. He’d already told me that he felt I was more Elf than human, and Mom agreed. Kathleen was on call if I needed her.

  So I stayed in bed and watched movies on my laptop—when I could stay awake. Ralph spent part of every day, and all night, of course, at the foot of my bed.

  Sean came over every day to sit with me. We talked about college, how we felt about leaving home, how different our lives would be, and how much we’d miss each other. We both knew we were running out of time.

  Kevin stopped in whenever he had a few minutes. He brought me a sample of his latest game, “Return of the Alien,” and asked me to test it for him. Since I wasn’t a gamer, he felt I’d be a good person to find any flaws. I played it at night when I couldn’t sleep. Since Kevin had designed it, I never found any flaws.

  The Strauss Bakery had its grand opening without me. Mom and Dad went over to the bakery for an hour and said the whole establishment was impressive. Mom was sure Amy’s catering department would draw in a lot of new customers. She brought me some of the free samples. Amy had made little sandwiches of all kinds, just like the ones everyone enjoyed at Mom and Dad’s wedding. They were delicious.

  Dad’s friend, Dr. Costello, who was also a Halfling, came to the house twice that week to check on me.

  He pronounced me healing well, but said I needed at least another week of rest. That cut into the time I’d planned to spend in Syracuse getting acclimated to my new home. I was disappointed about the delay, but I knew the doctor was right. I had very little energy, and my parents refused to let me make the move until I was completely well.

  Kevin would be leaving for NYU in another week, and Sean would be leaving for Penn State on Friday. Amy would still be in Thornewood and promised to make a pastry run to our house whenever I needed a sugar lift.

  Our group was finally breaking up, maybe permanently, and that was sad. Sure, we’d get together during holidays and school vacations, but it would never be the same again.

  By the end of that week, I was feeling much better. The swelling on my face was almost gone, and Kathleen’s herbs had healed most of the bruising. I was looking human again.

  My parents wanted me to wait until the middle of the following week to leave for Syracuse. That would only give me a few days before classes started, but I agreed.

  I spent more time with my friends. We all knew time was getting short, so we spent part of each day together at my house. We made Thursday night spaghetti night since Sean was leaving on Friday for Penn State.

  We played music, we danced, we remembered our most embarrassing moments at Thornewood High. We laughed a lot.

  After dinner that night, Sean said, “I feel so close to the three of you. It makes me wonder if I’ll ever have friends like you again.”

  I said, “Of course you will. You’ll make so many new friends at Penn State, you’ll probably forget all about us by Christmas.” I smiled and winked at him.

  He snorted. “I doubt that. Sure, we’ll all make new friends, but I read somewhere that ‘old friends are the best friends because they knew you when.’”

  Amy looked sad. “Remember, I’ll still be here, just waiting for you guys to come home. I’ll probably miss you more than you’ll miss me. I mean, you’ll all be so busy with school and the new friends you’ll make. Makes me wonder if you’ll ever think of me.”

  “Of course we will,” I said. “I don’t know how I’ll get along without you. Who’s gonna haunt me about my clothes, or my hair, or the makeup I don’t wear?”

  We all laughed. But the feeling of impending loss was really strong that day. I think we were all wondering how we’d get along without the strong, reliable friendship we shared.

  Thursday night we stuffed ourselves with spaghetti and the cannoli that Amy

  brought. Mom and Dad had spent dinner laughing at our teasing conversation, and nothing was sacred.

  Kevin laughed off his earlier reputation as head nerd at Thornewood High.

  Sean looked embarrassed but couldn’t help smiling as we all reminded him how the girls at school had always drooled and groaned when he sailed past.

  Amy had to agree with a grin when we kidded her about her inability to resist a guy with a pretty face. And, of course, we listed all the pretty boys she’d dated during our four years of high school as her freckled face turned redder.

  Kevin added, “Well, her taste has finally improved.” We all agreed with laughter and applause.

  When they got to me, Sean gave me a gentle smile and described the little girl with the big green eyes who never met anyone’s eyes, never spoke to anyone but Amy and Kevin, and just attended school silently, as though she was the only person there.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know. I felt like an alien who had landed on the wrong planet.” I looked over at Sean with a smile. “Fortunately, Sean changed all that. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: an invitation into the human world.”

  It was quiet for a few minutes while we looked at each other with the very real affection we all felt.

  And then it was time for everyone to leave. Sean would be leaving for Penn State in the morning. His dad would be driving him since Sean didn’t have a car of his own yet.

  Sean said, “Dad’s still looking for a car for me, something that will make it from Pennsylvania to Thornewood in one piece. I’m hoping he’ll succeed by Thanksgiving.”

  Kevin would leave on Sunday, two days before his classes would start. He hadn’t decided yet whether to take his Jeep or leave it home and take the train. Cars weren’t necessary in the city.

  I was still playing it by ear. I’d leave for Syracuse sometime the following week. It all depended on how how good I felt.

  Amy would be holding the fort here in Thornewood, getting her new catering business off the ground. And missing us a lot, she insisted.

  After Kevin and Amy left, I stood
at the front door with Sean, saying goodbye.

  “Promise me you won’t fall in love with anyone while I’m gone,” he said.

  I was already in love with someone, but it didn’t seem necessary to remind him about that.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be happy to see you whenever we both get home,” I said.

  I was planning on coming home every weekend, but it would probably be Thanksgiving before Sean got home again.

  After several warm kisses and some breathless hugs, Sean left reluctantly.

  As much as I liked being physically close to Sean, the ground beneath my feet didn’t move when he kissed me. That only happened with Adam, despite the fact that I tried not to think about him. I wasn’t always successful.

  I stood at the door until Sean drove away with a wave out the window and a brief beep of the horn. I really would miss him, but more as my good friend than anything else.

  I walked back into the kitchen where my parents were still sitting.

  My father said, “You’ve been blessed with good friends, dear. But you’ll make more good friends at Barrett, I’m sure. Your life is really just beginning, Cara.”

  I nodded. He was right. In my opinion, it was my adult life, which was just beginning. My mother might not agree, but I would no longer be too young for anything.

  I spent the next few days alternately resting and packing. I had just one suitcase on wheels and a large duffle to pack. There was no way I could take everything, so it was a mixture of art supplies and some clothes that I had to cram into the two bags. But since I’d be coming home every weekend, that wouldn’t be a problem.

  Kevin came over before he left for New York City. “I might be home for a weekend before Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure right now. I will expect frequent emails from you, short stuff.” He hugged me until my still-sore ribs objected. He didn’t know how much I’d miss him.

  Amy stopped by several times, as her work allowed. She joined us for dinner Tuesday night. I was leaving on Wednesday.

  “Cara, you’d better call or email—I know you hate texting—but you have to promise to keep me in the loop. I want to hear all about Barrett, including all the cute guys you’ll be meeting!”