Her Hidden Past

by Michela DiMarco

  Christmas Eve morning came and went in an uneventful fashion. Even though it was a Monday, Brooklyn treated it like any other weekend morning that she had been at the Thompsons’ so far. She was up early as usual, this time down in the workout room lifting free weights while walking on the treadmill. Greg came down to work out alongside her. Most mornings he exercised after she was already done, but this morning he tried to get down there as early as possible, because Mary would have him slaving in the kitchen all day with her baking Christmas cookies. What he really wanted was to get his workout in so he could eat as many cookies as he wanted and not feel guilty about it.

  When Brooklyn was finished, she convinced him to get in the pool and swim some laps with her. Greg rarely used the pools, except on those rare occasions when Mary persuaded him to relax. He used the outdoor pool more in the summer if they had friends over, but then he usually was too busy entertaining to enjoy it. The hot tub was one of his guilty pleasures, but he didn’t find the time to utilize it much either, except when he would try to soak his sore muscles.

  He didn’t have a normal nine-to-five schedule like most adults his age. Although he rarely missed a family dinner, he typically worked late into the evening on his cell phone and computer. The nature of his job was such that he had to be in almost constant communication with other offices and agents. He knew that if he did not put in a few hours every evening that he would spend most of his time the following day just playing catch-up.

  After swimming for twenty minutes, Greg was done, admitting that swimming for exercise was a lot harder than he remembered. He told Brooklyn that would like to get into it as an alternative to the treadmill or Stairmaster.

  Brooklyn finished swimming to complete her hour-long workout, and when she was finished Ben was sitting on the side of the pool with his legs dangling in the water. She pulled off her goggles and tossed them at him.

  “You’re one crazy fish,” he said, smirking at her. “Why do you like it so much?”

  “I don’t really know,” she answered. “I just think it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.”

  She pulled herself out of the water and ran over to the hot tub. Ben followed and sat on the side. He slowly put his feet in. “That’s hot! How do you get right in?”

  “It’s not that bad, especially after a long swim. The water in the hot tub feels cooler to me after being in the swimming pool. I can’t believe you never come down here and swim.”

  “I’d rather snowboard. I don’t get what’s so great about swimming.”

  “It’s just like any individual sport. You’re only as good as you can be. But it’s what’s inside that motivates you, and the self-motivation dictates how far you are willing to push yourself. I just say to myself that today I’m going to swim a little faster or a little farther. And when your body hurts, you dig deep inside yourself to find a way to work through it. It’s challenging and peaceful at the same time.”

  “I guess,” he said, rolling his eyes at her. “How did last night go? Blair’s pretty cool.”

  “Terrible.”

  “What happened?”

  “I woke up in the middle of the night screaming.”

  “Oh,” Ben said. “Was it about . . .?”

  “Yeah,” she said, splashing the hot water on her flushed face. “Blair didn’t say anything, but she probably thinks I’m crazy.”

  “Do you want me to ask Jordan?”

  “No,” she said. “Thanks, though. Just in case she didn’t say anything, I don’t want him to think I’m a freak as well.”

  “You’re not, you know,” he said.

  “Not what?”

  “Not a freak. Anyway, speaking of freaks, on Christmas my parents kind of still do the whole Santa Claus thing so you might end up with a pile or a mountain. My mom keeps telling Gabe and me how awesome it is to have another girl in the house. I just didn’t want you to feel weird about it and all.”

  “Oh,” she answered sheepishly. She knew that Christmas was going to be very different this year but she had not considered that the Thompsons would be trying to keep things as normal for themselves as possible. “Thanks for telling me. I, um, I need to do some shopping.”

  “I hope you’re not shopping for us. But my dad is taking me to the mall today so he could get out of cooking so, if you want to, you can come with us. I always do my shopping last minute.”

  “Hey, thanks for looking out for me and all. This whole thing would be a lot harder without you.”

  “Don’t tell anyone, but it hasn’t been so bad having you around here either,” he said with a smile. Brooklyn went inside and got a crash course on her inheritance and financial status from Greg. While she never considered her parents to be rich, they were certainly smart in their planning for the future. Greg mentioned life insurance policies and retirement accounts, all of which was intended to provide funds in some way for each of the four family members for many years into the future. But she would be the only family member to benefit from all that diligent planning. Greg indicated that she would have decent a weekly allowance until she became twenty-five years old, and that there would be enough money available to completely pay for a college education at a good university. He also explained the steps that she would have to go through to access the trust after she turned twenty-five. With her head spinning from the details of the conversation, Ben, Greg and Brooklyn headed off to the mall.

  She had been thinking that shopping for people she had only known for a few short weeks might prove to be challenging. However, the boys were easy to shop for. She bought them each a new video game. Ben told Brooklyn that his dad was a golfer, but that golf balls were a bad choice because they were more of a personal preference, so she bought Greg a golf jacket and a pair of swimming goggles because he had expressed a mild interest in taking up swimming as a more serious form of exercise.

  She wanted to get Mary something a little more sentimental, so she went to Tiffany & Co. and purchased a crystal candle holder with a snowflake pattern. Brooklyn had noticed that Mary had a set of coffee mugs in the kitchen with a similar snowflake pattern so she decided to play off of that theme. The candle holder was tall and square, rather than circular. It had caught Brooklyn’s attention because of how the snowflake pattern sparkled more brightly than the other pieces around it. There was elegance in the pattern which Brooklyn marveled at. She felt certain that Mary would feel the same way when she saw it.

  When she was done shopping, Brooklyn began to make her way to the courtyard in the middle of the mall where she had agreed to meet Greg and Ben. The mall was packed with shoppers of all ages. They were moving at a very fast pace and they were not enjoying the experience, despite the Christmas carols playing in the background and the beautiful decorations adorning every storefront and common area. The shoppers were on a mission and the clock was not moving in their favor. Brooklyn did not have to wait too long for Ben and Greg and was happy to leave the hustle and bustle behind.

  By the time they got home, Mary had already prepared a variety of Christmas cookies in different shapes, flavors and colors. She still had her apron on, with a good portion of it covered with flour. She strolled over to Greg in an attempt to hug him with the floured apron but he reacted quickly, screamed out, “Oh no you don’t!” and ran out of the kitchen. Although the room smelled like a bakery, Mary had already cleaned all the cookie sheets, and the counters were spotless. On one of them, there was a small plate of round chocolate cookies with a walnut in the center. Mary explained that they were Ben’s favorite so she always set aside a small plate just for him.

  Greg had started a fire in the great room where a pile of board games was waiting on the coffee table. “It’s sort of our tradition,” Gabe said. “Do you like games?”

  “Yeah,” answered Brooklyn. As a child, she had always been outvoted when it came to playing games. Her brother always wanted to play games involving sports, history, or intens
e strategy, while she preferred something that didn’t require a lot of thought or questions about football or history.

  “I’m really bad at all of the trivia games,” said Gabe. “Will you be on my team?” “Sure, but I’m probably not going to be any good either,” she said with a sympathetic smile.

  She sank into a comfortable chair next to the fire and closed her suddenly tired eyes. To Brooklyn, this felt nothing like Christmas Eve. Even the aromas of Mary’s full day of cooking in the house were different and the noises were quieter than she was used to. She tried to fight the sleep, but gave up and let herself succumb to the memories that dwelled deep inside of her, with the warmth of the fire surrounding her like an inviting blanket on a cold day.

  It was 5:57AM, on another Christmas morning, and Amber was wide awake, anticipating her favorite day of the year. Even her birthday took a distant second place, because Christmas wasn’t just about Amber—it was about her family all being together as the hustle and bustle of their lives paused, for one day, one moment. A gentle breeze moved across her face and rustled her hair from the open window where outside it was still dark and quiet.

  The anticipation of Christmas morning grew every year. Since she was three, Amber had always asked for a surprise, and to her delight she had never been disappointed. After watching the clock for over an hour now, the glowing green numbers finally changed to 5:58AM, signaling that the wait was finally over. She quickly changed from her shorts and t-shirt to longer cotton pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Her parents loved the fresh air and would certainly have opened all the windows downstairs, where she would no longer have the warmth of her down comforter.

  She slid her feet into her slippers and hopped to the door. She looked at the clock. It was now 5:59AM, and her hand waited on the handle for the clock to change. Those twenty seconds seemed like an eternity. The clock changed and the door swung open. She darted down the hall to Nick’s room.

  “Nick!” she yelped, full of excitement, running into his room. “Get up, Nick! It’s Christmas!” Nick didn’t move a muscle, despite the intrusion. He had been up late playing computer games. “Come on, Nick,” she pleaded, tugging on his comforter. “I can’t wait anymore! I’m too excited!”

  He opened one eye, and then two. “Amber, you’re ten now. Don’t you think it’s time to wait until at least eight o’clock?”

  “No way!” she said, still tugging, but not making any progress. “Hurry up! What do you think I got this year?”

  “All right, all right.” He sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Calm down. I’m coming. Did you wake up Mom and Dad?”

  “No, I waited for you.”

  Nick stood up and stretched his arms. “You’re such a pain, you know.”

  Amber threw her arms around him. “I love you, Nick.”

  He was considerably taller than she was. He leaned down and hugged her. “I love you, too, rug rat. Even when you drag me out of bed when it’s still dark outside.”

  The two walked to their parents’ room. They could smell the coffee downstairs brewing, bringing a smile to Amber’s face. They both knew that someone had already been downstairs to start the coffee, and that Mr. and Mrs. Cole were pretending to be sleeping so Amber could wake them up. Nick had never been as excited as Amber for Christmas, and although he hated being woken up so early, he hoped that she would never grow out of this phase. He really enjoyed every aspect of the family: he had two warm, loving parents and a younger sister who adored him. They took great vacations almost every year and genuinely enjoyed being around each other.

  Amber opened the door and jumped onto the bed.

  “Wake up!” she shouted, full of anticipation. “It’s Christmas!”

  “What a surprise to see you this early,” her mother said.

  “I’m too tired to get up, honey,” her dad mumbled. “Maybe you could go back to bed for another hour.”

  “No way! You guys are pretending to be sleeping. Someone put the coffee on already. I can smell it!”

  “I didn’t touch the coffee,” her father said, trying to hide his face under a pillow. “Did you, dear?”

  “It wasn’t me,” she answered, laughing. “I’ve been sleeping here the whole time.”

  “Maybe Santa Claus did it,” answered Nick, standing in the doorway. “Or one of his little elves.”

  Amber went running down the stairs in the dark. All of the lights were off except for the Christmas tree sparkling in the living room. Amber stood there and admired the beauty and scent of the real blue spruce tree with the lights reflecting off of the bright metallic ornaments. Amber thought, This is going to be the best Christmas ever!

  That morning, the family opened a lot of presents, the majority for Nick and Amber. Amber was the designated elf every year, and in a predetermined order she fetched the presents out from under the tree and passed them out accordingly, one at a time. Jim and Kara, Amber’s parents, sipped their coffee and watched as Amber neatly unwrapped each of her presents, overjoyed at the expectation of what lay under the wrapping paper. Amber’s hot chocolate sat undisturbed on the coffee table. Somehow in all the excitement she had forgotten about her favorite drink. When it was Nick’s turn or one of her parent’s turn to open a present, Amber would sit on the floor and intently watch them open the present. She got almost as much joy watching them open their presents as she did from opening her own.

  However, Amber always saved the last present to be opened for herself. It seemed fitting, since she was the youngest of the family and generally had a bigger pile of presents than the rest of the family.

  “Oh!” she said excitedly. “This one’s from Nick!” They all laughed, knowing that she had purposely saved that one for last because it was from her brother. She squeezed the package, “It feels soft!”

  “Just open it already,” said Nick. “I’m ready for a nap.”

  “But it’s the last one and I don’t want it to end.”

  “Amber, you’ll get to open more presents later when the family comes over,” her mother reminded her. Amber slowly unwrapped the present, revealing a white stuffed bear. The bear had black eyes, a black nose, and a black string mouth. There was a red scarf around its neck. She stared at it for a second and then a big smile stretched across her face. She jumped up and hugged Nick, who was lying on the couch.

  “I love it!” she shouted. “I love it so much. Thank you!”

  “It’s a Santa bear, so you can have a little piece of Christmas all year round—and just maybe you will sleep in a little longer next year.”

  “No, I’m never sleeping in on Christmas!”

  When it was all over, Kara prepared a big breakfast for the family while Amber napped under the tree with her new bear. Jim and Nick threw away the wrapping paper and carried all the presents upstairs. Amber slept through breakfast, as she typically did every year. A few hours later, the house was loud, full of grandparents, aunt and uncles, and cousins.

  The celebration was proceeding for Amber in much the same way as all of the other Christmas Days that she could remember: all of the rooms were decorated to varying degrees with symbols of the Holiday such as mistletoe, wreaths, poinsettia plants, and nutcracker displays; every light in the hose was on which helped to magnify the bright colors of the napkins, the tablecloths, and the clothes being worn by the guests; raucous laughter was coming out of every corner of the house and drowning out the Christmas music that was playing in the background. The meal was a feast, with a huge ham as well as a large turkey with several types of vegetables, an antipasto salad and assorted breads. After dinner, they celebrated with another round of Christmas presents from the larger group. The adults then sat around on the deck afterward, drinking adult beverages, while the children played games on the beach. At the end of the day, when everyone went home, Amber’s parents cleaned up, while Nick and Amber sat in front of the television watching “A Christmas Story.”

  When Amber coul
dn’t keep her eyes open any longer, she asked Nick to put her to bed, and headed upstairs first to change and get ready. By the time he got up here, she was already in bed, waiting with her bear.

  “Why do you need me to come up here if you’re already in bed?”

  “Because I can’t fall asleep until someone kisses me goodnight.”

  He walked over and pulled her covers up, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead. “Merry Christmas, rug rat.”

  “Merry Christmas, Nick. Thank you for my bear. I love him.”

  “You’re welcome. I knew you would.”

  “I named him Nicky. After you.”

  “Don’t tell my friends that,” he said, laughing. “Goodnight and sleep tight, rug rat.”

  Brooklyn woke up a little warm from the heat of the fire, the image of her brother Nick kissing her goodnight still very real in her mind. It was almost as if she could feel that moment in her heart.

  “Did I miss the games?” she asked.

  “Hey,” said Mary. She sat down in the chair next to Brooklyn. “You’re awake. Don’t worry; we have lots of time to play more games. We usually have homemade pizzas for dinner and then go to church at nine. How do you feel about church? Actually, we don’t have to go. We can all just stay here. I’m sure the boys would love that.”

  “No,” Brooklyn said. “I don’t want you to change your traditions just because I’m suddenly here. I think that I just might like some time to be alone,” Brooklyn sighed. “Besides, I do not want to spoil your holiday or to be a downer for the rest of the family so is it okay if I just stay here while you go to Church?” “Of course,” Mary replied. She kissed Brooklyn on the forehead. “Come join us in the kitchen if you feel up to it. Gabe is trying to recruit you as his partner, but you looked so peaceful, we didn’t want to wake you.”

  Brooklyn smiled. “Thank you. I was actually having a good dream, a very good one.” She joined the family in the kitchen. They played two board games and then had homemade pizza. Earlier that day, Mary had made the dough from scratch, working the flour and oil combination until it had reached the right consistency. She placed the completed dough into a large pot to allow it to rise. When the dough was ready, she spread it out on a large cookie tray and added homemade sausage in a rectangular pattern on the dough. She then covered the sausage with mushrooms and onions, as well as generous amounts of mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce. Mary explained that even with her blond hair, she had some Italian in her, and they were eating one of Italy’s finest recipes, which had been handed down to her from her mother. Brooklyn wasn’t too fond of the ingredients on the pizza, but she pretended it was the best she had ever eaten.

  During the meal Greg and Mary talked about how much they enjoyed the Christmas holiday because it allowed them to take a break from the normal routine and spend quality time together. They both provided stories of how they celebrated Christmas Eve when they were teenagers - Greg mentioned that he had always organized a football game with his friends on the morning of Christmas Eve, while Mary had often used Christmas Eve for last-minute scrambling to complete her shopping. The boys talked about some of the gifts they had received over the years such as a full-size air hockey table, PlayStation 2 with several video games, and a Lionel train set with more track than they could ever utilize. Brooklyn did not offer much to the conversation, but the energy and joy in the voices of the Thompsons was not lost on her. Deep down, she knew that she had been lucky to have been placed with them.

  After dinner, Brooklyn offered to clean the kitchen while the family finished getting ready for church. She debated whether or not to go with them, but finally settled on staying back. She was already feeling slightly melancholy, and her mind kept straying back to her real family and past Christmas celebrations. So she thought it would be best to spend some time alone and gather her thoughts to prepare for the next day, which would surely be the hardest.

  The Thompsons left the house around 8:15 to make sure they got seats in church, and Brooklyn headed up to her room. She plugged in the multicolored Christmas lights that she had strung around her room, and then sat down at the computer to check her messages. Her instant messenger box was empty. Everyone is with their families, she thought, and she could immediately feel her eyes begin to tear. She collapsed into a fetal position on her bed, tightly clutching to her bear. The warm salty tears stained her cheeks, and although crying was a healthy way for her to release her emotions, she could hardly manage to catch her breath in between sobs. She had purposely been occupying her thoughts these last few weeks with her current activities and new friends and the Thompsons. She knew that she had to move forward with the new identity and her new life, but when she allowed her thoughts to stray back to her previous life, she became overwhelmed with grief.

  A few feet away at her desk, her computer chimed. She looked up, but couldn’t see through the blurry effect created by her tears whom the message had come from. The computer chimed again and Brooklyn got up. She grabbed some tissues from her nightstand and wiped her tears as she walked over to the computer. The messages were from Adam.

  ADAM: Hey there. What are you doing?

  ADAM: Are you bored?

  Brooklyn looked at the computer screen where she had forgotten to sign off of her instant messenger. She decided to tell him that she was busy and would talk later, but part of her wanted to talk to him. There was something about him, so kind and gentle, and attractive and he was the friendliest boy that she had met so far.

  BROOKLYN: hey, just ran upstairs…can we talk later?

  ADAM: Skipping church?

  Brooklyn wanted to lie and tell him that he had misunderstood, that the Thompsons were all downstairs, so she could be left alone. Or she could put her grief aside and try to salvage a little bit of this tough day with a pleasant distraction.

  BROOKLYN: you’re right. just sort of wanted to be alone for a little bit.

  ADAM: I get it. It must suck to be here.

  BROOKLYN: ?

  ADAM: Because your parents are running around Europe right now.

  BROOKLYN: it sucks more than u know

  ADAM: Are you mad at them?

  BROOKLYN: not at them…

  ADAM: Who are you mad at?

  The answer ran through her head like a rehearsed speech waiting to be performed. Oh, nobody, just the people who murdered my dad, my mom, my brother, and tried to kill me. After all, that is why I now live in this random house, with random people, go to a random school, and pretend to random friends that my life is great. She changed the subject instead.

  BROOKLYN: why aren’t you with your family?

  ADAM: I am. Sitting in Church 2 rows behind Ben. I didn’t see you so I wanted to wish

  You a Merry Christmas.

  BROOKLYN: thx adam :)

  ADAM: I know that it sucks for you right now, but I’m glad you’re here. If there’s anything you ever need, just ask. Even though I’m not Blair.

  BROOKLYN: hey! i do need more than 1 friend, you know. it just so happens that i’m accepting applications right now.

  ADAM: Maybe I’ll have to turn one in.

  BROOKLYN: maybe I’ll consider it.

  ADAM: I should be going. Merry Christmas B.

  You, too, she thought. She turned off the computer, picked up her bear, and sat down on the window ledge against the pillows. She wiped her hand across the cold window to clear the frost. She instantly had a flashback to that terrible night when she had looked out the window and saw the car that was watching her house. But her thoughts quickly jumped back to the present time because of how beautiful the scenery was. The light posts outside were wrapped in Christmas lights that lined the street in front of the houses. The white lights twinkled. Big snowflakes were beginning to fall. The window began to fog up again, so she wiped at it once more, this time using her sleeve. The bushes below were decorated with multicolored lights and even a glowing Santa Claus with reindeers pulling his plastic sle
igh. She sat there staring at the decorations, admiring how something so simple could be so beautiful.

  She sat unmoving until an hour later when she saw the Thompsons’ Range Rover pull into the driveway. Then she got up from her seat, pulled on her Ugg boots and grabbed a hooded zip-up sweatshirt from her closet.

  “Be right back,” she whispered to her bear as she placed him down on the bed. She skipped down the front stairs and as she opened the door, Ben walked into the foyer from the back door.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she pulled her hood over her head and walked out the door onto the front porch. She walked down the front steps through the snow to the middle of the lawn.

  “Ben,” Gabe said, looking at his brother staring out the window. “What are you doing?”

  “Shh,” Ben said pointing to Brooklyn. “What’s she doing?”

  She stood there and looked up in to the sky. The cold snowflakes were falling on her face. She stuck out her tongue and closed her eyes, focusing on the cold droplets of snowflakes melting on it.

  “Why is the front door open?” Greg asked as he was walking by. “What are you two looking at?”

  Both boys pointed at Brooklyn in the front lawn, but neither of them said a word. They all watched as she spread her arms wide open, her freezing fingers reaching up toward the night sky as if trying to grab the snow faster. Brooklyn leaned back in slow motion and toppled over into the soft snow. Greg heard Mary walking in, and quietly called her over. All four of them were gathered on the front porch in a huddle, watching Brooklyn.

  “Is she okay?” Gabe asked. “Sure,” Greg answered. “I think she’s just processing.”

  The snow began to melt through Brooklyn’s jeans, but it didn’t seem to matter much. Being outside in the cold air was somehow exhilarating, and she was perfectly content looking up at the stars. She was surprised at how bright the stars appeared on such a snowy night, and thought it was a sign. She felt as though her family were with her, and the more she gazed into the cold sky, the more her mind began playing tricks on her, revealing the faces of those she wished so much to be with her, high in the sky. After fifteen minutes, Mary decided to ask Brooklyn to come inside.

  “It’s not like she’s wearing a snowsuit,” she said. “She’s going to get sick.”

  Brooklyn came inside reluctantly. Her clothes were soaked from the snow, and Mary suggested she quickly take a shower. Since she was already beginning to shiver, the thought of a very hot shower sounded appealing. She went straight up to her room, undressed quickly and jumped in. The hot water created a stinging sensation at first because it was such a difference in temperature but she got accustomed to it and allowed the water to soak all over her body. She finished her shower and wrapped herself up in her robe and slippers, then walked back into her room. She saw that Ben was sitting on her bed. She tightly held the collar of her robe together, feeling a little embarrassed to be seen like that.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to…I didn’t know you weren’t dressed. I was just checking on you.”

  She nodded and went to her dresser to pull out a pair of pajamas and went back into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she came back out, he was still sitting there. She turned down her side of the bed and climbed in, pulling her bear as close as possible as she lay looking at him.

  “So church pretty much sucked,” he said. “I don’t know how you got out of going.”

  She smiled. “It wasn’t a good time here, either.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Ben said. “It was probably better than church. The worst part is that I have to see all these people I’ve been able to avoid all year. And I have to pretend that I’m actually happy to see them. It’s such a joke. I would rather drive to a church an hour away just to avoid people.”

  Brooklyn laughed. “Well, I cried. And I talked to Adam for a few minutes. And I stared out of my bedroom window at nothing and then sat in the snow.”

  “Sounds like fun,” said Ben, lying down next to her. It came to him a minute later. “Wait, my Adam?”

  “Yeah,” she answered, trying to hide her smile from him. “Why?”

  “Because he doesn’t like girls from our school. He likes older girls from other schools. He’s the starting quarterback as a freshman. That’s huge.”

  ”Oh,” she said, surprised and slightly disappointed. “I didn’t realize that he had a girlfriend.”

  Ben cut her off. “No! He doesn’t right now. Lots of girls think he’s hot. Do you think he’s hot?”

  She smiled. “He’s just being nice to me.”

  Ben laughed. “He probably likes you. I mean, why wouldn’t he? You’re pretty and you’re nice and somewhat cool. He hates Sara.”

  “Why doesn’t he like her?”

  “He thinks she’s selfish. Well, she sort of is.”

  “No kidding?” said Brooklyn.

  Ben laughed. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Thanks,” she smiled. “Hey, would you stay with me for a while? Until I fall asleep maybe? I feel like if you’re here I won’t cry. I’m tired of crying for the night.” It was Christmas Eve, Ben thought. Although he tried to pretend that he didn’t wonder about Brooklyn and her past life, he had done a great deal of thinking about everything she had been through. When his parents announced that they had agreed to allow someone to move in with the family, on what sounded to him to be a permanent basis, he initially cut off their explanation to express his surprise and displeasure. Shouldn’t he have been allowed to weigh-in on such an important decision regarding the family? After all, because of the closeness of their ages, it sounded to him that he was going to be the chief baby-sitter for this new family member.

  But his father had reacted quickly and decided to discuss the real reason for the new house guest sooner rather than later. Greg told them that Brooklyn’s parents and her only brother were killed in their house. She had hidden and somehow had managed to avoid the same fate. The most chilling part of the story was that the people who killed her parents and brother might still be looking for Brooklyn, since she was potentially the only witness to the crime. Ben could not believe what he was hearing and. He was completely overwhelmed by the story and he realized that Gabe had felt the same way. He thought that this was the sort of thing that you only heard about on television but it never happened to anyone that you knew or would ever end up knowing. Right then he also realized that it would be impossible for him to ever truly understand what this house guest would be feeling.

  Now sitting in the chair in her room, he felt so sorry for her first of all that she lost her entire family, and then that she had been forced to move in with complete strangers. And on top of it all, it was Christmas Eve and she clearly was afraid to be left alone. He got up to turn off the light, sat back down in the chair and grabbed her blanket for warmth.”

  “Don’t tell anyone I’m sleeping with a pink blanket.”

  “I promise I won’t. Ben?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  He sat in the chair and pulled her pink blanket all the way up to his neck. It smelled of her perfume, which he later discovered was Vera Wang Princess. He inhaled until the scent filled his nostrils. He wondered if it was wrong, being there with her but the door was open and he only intended to remain until she dozed off.

  “I’ll just stay in the chair until you fall asleep. I need my beauty rest too.”

  “Okay,” she said. They were both fast asleep ten minutes later, side by side under the multicolored glow of the Christmas lights. Unknown to them, Mary came upstairs about an hour later to check on Brooklyn. When she saw Ben asleep on the chair, she stood in the doorway for a long moment before finally deciding not to wake him. She retreated quickly downstairs to discuss the situation with Greg and they jointly concluded that Brooklyn may have reached out to him and that at this point there was nothi
ng to be concerned about.