The Last Present

by Wendy Mass

  “Yes?” a voice replies sheepishly.

  We all whip our heads around and look up. There he is at the top of the pool, peering down.

  Rory blushes. “Sorry, guys,” she whispers. “He’s leaving town tomorrow, so this is my last chance to see him.”

  “Does he want to come to the beach with us?” Tara asks.

  Rory looks at me and Leo, a hopeful expression on her face. I know Tara did the polite thing by asking, but having a movie star with us would make it pretty hard to suddenly disappear. Or would it? I whisper so Jake won’t hear. “That might not be such a bad idea. Everyone at the beach will be so busy watching him, they won’t notice if two kids suddenly vanish.”

  “Unless they’re taking a video of him,” Tara says. “That’s what I’d be doing.” Then she turns to Rory and quickly adds, “I mean, you know, if I didn’t know him as a person.”

  “We’d need to reveal him at just the right moment, though,” Leo says. “Hey, Jake! Can you blend into a crowd?”

  “Sure I can! I’ll be right back.” He starts to pull away.

  “Give us ten minutes,” Rory calls up.

  He gives her a salute and disappears from view.

  “Okay, quick,” I say, “let’s go over the plan before he gets back. I have twenty dollars in case we need money again. Leo, did you bring the duct tape?”

  He unzips the backpack at his feet and pulls out a roll of thick gray tape. “Duct tape. Check!”

  “Scissors?”

  He replaces the tape and holds up scissors. “Check!”

  “Handheld video game to keep Connor distracted?”

  “Check and check.” He holds up two different kinds.

  “You guys think of everything,” Tara says, impressed.

  “We have to make up for yesterday,” I say, taking out my phone. “Let’s go over the video again to make sure we’re not missing anything.” I forward to the part where Connor unties the balloons from the back of the lawn chair. One minute he’s helping his grandfather and parents set up some beach blankets a few feet away from the main party area. The next, he’s marching straight up to the balloons. Unfortunately, he unties them before most of the guests even arrive. This leads to a lot of kids showing up late because their parents couldn’t figure out where on the big beach to find the party.

  “Hey, do you still have the video from the bowling party on there?” Rory asks. “Can I see it?”

  I find the video and hand her my phone.

  “So this is what a real phone feels like,” she says, bouncing it gently in her hand. “Nice.” She hits the PLAY arrow and watches for a minute while I help Leo repack his backpack.

  “I was right!” she shouts, and holds up the phone. “Is this you?”

  Sure enough, Amy and Leon are front and center in the video! Leo grabs the phone and gapes.

  “I really DID have a limp!”

  I grab it from him. “Wow, look how tall Amy is! I thought the ground seemed farther away!”

  “I can’t believe the video changed!” Tara says, leaning over Rory’s shoulder. “That’s amazing. And it’s weird that we remember both ways. We do, right?”

  We each take a minute to recall the memory of the first time we watched it. The rest of us nod. “Yup, it’s still in my head, too,” Tara says. “I wonder if the other people at the party remember both ways, or just the new one?”

  Seeing the proof of our visit makes it all seem so much more real. When Leo and I were stuck in our eleventh birthday, anytime we tried to change the course of events, it didn’t stick. Only on the last day were we able to make any real change, but that’s because we were no longer stuck. Now we’ve actually changed the past for every kid at that party, even if only by the fact that they’ve had one more small rubber ball in their house for the past year.

  Rory hands back the phone, frowning. “You are changing people’s memories. That’s so weird. It’s like you’re playing with their heads.”

  I’m not used to seeing that expression on Rory’s face. It doesn’t make me feel good. “But what choice do we have?” I ask. “If we need to change the past to save Grace, how can we do it without changing people’s memories of events?”

  “I guess you can’t,” Rory admits. “It’s just … it makes me kind of mad at Angelina, playing with people’s lives like this. I know that’s dumb, I mean, she’s just trying to help. I should be used to how she works by now.”

  “I know what you mean,” Tara says. “You guys don’t know the whole story with me and Angelina, and I’ll tell you one day, I promise, it’s just that, well, she controlled so much of my life without me realizing it. Like, my whole life she’s been doing it.”

  We look at her, surprised. “Your whole life?” I ask. “But you’ve only been in Willow Falls for a month.”

  “My whole life,” she repeats.

  “Wow,” we all mutter, then fall silent. I don’t like being responsible for permanently changing someone else’s life. What if one of those girls at the party stepped on her rubber ball in the middle of the night, slipped, and broke her leg? Or her dog chased the ball out an open front door and never came back? I suddenly feel really overwhelmed. My eyes fill with tears.

  The girls rush over to hug me. “Did I make you feel bad?” Rory asks, stroking my hair. “I’m so sorry!”

  “Was it something I said?” Tara asks. “Listen, the path that my family took to get to Willow Falls might not have been the one I’d have chosen. But it got me here, and now I have you guys for friends, and I think I even have a boyfriend! So Angelina can’t be all bad, right?”

  I squeeze Tara’s hand, grateful for her words.

  “I wouldn’t be friends with you guys, either, if it wasn’t for Angelina,” Rory adds. “I know you and Leo were looking out for me last year. You even signed up to be extras in the movie so you could keep an eye on me.”

  I manage a smile. “You figured that out, huh?”

  “Well, you kept popping up with random advice, and then I overheard you tell your friend Stephanie that you’d never seen a Jake Harrison movie before. That was a clue that you had other motives for being an extra.”

  “Uh, everything okay down there?” Jake’s voice calls down. I look up, shading my eyes from the sun, which has moved overhead, but I don’t see him yet.

  “Dude, you gotta help me,” Leo shouts. “They’re getting all girly on me.”

  Jake appears at the edge of the pool. He spreads his arms. “What do you think?” It sounds like Jake, only this guy has shaggy blond hair coming out of a blue baseball cap instead of Jake’s short brown hair. He could be Ray’s younger brother. He’s wearing dark sunglasses, an orange-and-red Hawaiian shirt, and the dorkiest pair of swim shorts I’ve ever seen on anyone over three years old. I mean, they have rainbow-colored rubber ducks on them.

  “Now, this guy knows how to do disguises!” Leo says, tipping an imaginary hat at him.

  “Impressive!” Tara says.

  “He’s had lots of practice trying to blend in,” Rory explains. “He had that hat specially made.”

  “Is that real hair?” Tara asks.

  “You’d rather not know,” Jake says, grimacing.

  “You might not want to smile at anyone at the beach,” Rory suggests. “No one else has teeth as white as you.”

  He covers his mouth with his hand. “Ugh, my manager made me get them whitened. I’m getting them fixed as soon as the publicity tour is over.”

  Leo shakes his head. “The life of a movie star is never his own.”

  “Tell me about it,” Jake says, pulling off the hat. “I’ll meet you guys there. I have to do a phone interview on the drive.”

  He takes off and Ray appears. “Hey, you down there. Ready to stop playing silly buggers so we can get on the road? I have a committee meeting for the new community theatre when we get back and I don’t want to be all beachy.”

  Leo scampers up the side and insists we were not playing silly buggers, whatever tha
t is, but the girls hang back with me.

  “Will you be okay?” Tara whispers. “I was going to say that you can always tell Angelina you’re not doing this anymore, but I know from being in your shoes that you can’t. You have to see it through and trust that Angelina knows what she’s doing.” She nods her head at Rory. “A wise girl told me that a few weeks ago when things were looking bleak.”

  “Thanks, guys,” I whisper back. By the time I climb back out, I already feel better. I just need to keep my eye on the goal, which is fixing Grace. If I do that, I’ll be okay.

  When we climb out, Tara dusts herself off and asks Ray, “You’re on a committee? No offense, but you don’t usually work very hard.”

  “You’re talking to the head of the committee,” he says, sticking out his chest proudly. “I’ve changed my ways.”

  “Wow, direct one little play and suddenly you’re Steven Spielberg.”

  “Who?” he jokes. At least, I think it’s a joke. Hard to tell with him.

  We pile into Ray’s car and head out of town for the hour drive to the beach. We’re halfway there when Tara gets a text from David. She reads it to us from the front seat. “Hi, Tara! Can you tell the others that Grace has been moved home? The doctors think she’ll come out of it faster in the comfort of her own room. Since I’m up here with my dad, would you possibly be able to check on Connor and Grace for me? I’d really appreciate it. Have a great week and I can’t wait …”

  Tara’s voice trails off. “Well, the rest is just for me.”

  Rory and I share a knowing smile. Leo rolls his eyes.

  When she finishes reading, she says, “Well, at least now we have an excuse to hang around Grace.”

  I get a text from Connor right after, telling us the same thing about Grace being home, and also that she has an IV tube keeping her hydrated.

  Leo leans over and asks, “Should we ask Connor if he remembers both versions of Grace’s bowling party, like we do?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think we should. It would really confuse him.”

  Ray says, “Still on that time travel thing? Boy, when you guys start a new game, you really commit to it.”

  Tara pats him on the shoulder. “You’ll come around.”

  I text Connor to tell him that we’ll come visit later and that we’re glad Grace is home.

  I had hoped that the beach would have been mostly empty. The less people, the less I need to worry about vanishing into thin air. Unfortunately it seems like half the state has decided today is the perfect beach day. Everywhere I look there are kids running, Frisbees and kites flying, sunbathers tanning. Jake’s limo pulls up behind us. Not too conspicuous! Heads turn to watch.

  Jake does a good job of sneaking out the door facing away from the beach, so by the time he joins us (in his disguise), no one is looking in our direction anymore.

  Rory leans over and whispers something to Jake. He nods and says, “Hey, Ray, you can go whenever you want. I can take everyone home in the limo.”

  Leo’s eyes widen at the offer. “Sweet!”

  Ray glances at his car and then the limo. He sighs. “Guess I can’t compete with that. But no way I’m leaving before I get to see these two disappear into thin air!” He gestures to me and Leo and winks. Clearly he doesn’t really believe us.

  “What do you mean?” Jake asks.

  “Leo has a fear of sand,” Tara quickly explains. “So he always disappears with Amanda when they go to the beach.”

  I reach into my beach bag. “Luckily I always bring my sand-free beach towel, invented by none other than Tara’s uncle!”

  “Never met anyone afraid of sand,” Jake says as we plunge into the sea of sunbathers.

  “Couldn’t you have picked something less embarrassing?” Leo hisses at Tara.

  “I was going to tell him that you disappear so you can read your poetry to Amanda in private by the water’s edge. Would that have been better?”

  “You have a mean streak, Tara Brennan!” Leo says, his voice rising. “Writing poetry just proves I’m a sensitive guy.”

  “You write poetry?” Jake asks, overhearing.

  “Not as much as I used to,” Leo mumbles, reddening.

  “I think it’s cool,” Jake says. “I’ve tried, but I’m not very good. Maybe you can teach me some tricks of the trade.”

  “Um, sure,” Leo says. “We can do that when —”

  “Hey, watch it!” a man’s voice says as Leo’s foot lands an inch from his belly.

  Leo scrambles off the guy’s beach blanket. “Sorry, sorry! I totally didn’t see you.”

  I grab Leo’s arm to steady him and fall right over an empty beach chair. “Oomph!” That kind of hurt. Leo reaches down to help me up.

  “Um, Amanda? Where did our friends go?”

  I spin around in a circle. No friends, and it’s noticeably hotter. I didn’t think our crossing into the past would happen so soon after our arrival. We had planned to have Rory distract Jake while we walked away. “Any chance you think Jake might not have noticed?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Maybe he’ll think we fell into quicksand,” I suggest. “It could happen, you know.”

  “I don’t envy Rory and Tara right now,” he says. “But on the plus side, Ray must finally believe us.”

  We navigate around a clump of chairs and head for the party. The big helium balloons attached to a beach chair make it easy to spot. I recognize some of the girls, although they look a lot younger now that they are eight, instead of nine. Connor is about five inches shorter than he was at yesterday’s party! He must have had a growth spurt during the previous year. I see their grandfather and mom, but I don’t see Grace or their dad yet.

  I spread out my towel a few feet away and we pretend to play cards. This would look more realistic if we actually had cards. “Do you have an ace?” I ask, then whisper, “How much longer, do you think?”

  “Go fish,” he replies, then under his breath adds, “We still have ten minutes.”

  So we watch out of the corners of our eyes, and wait. We don’t want to risk interfering too much, so our plan is to get in and get out as quickly as possible. No chatting like last time. No giving gifts.

  The sun is climbing higher, and the air is getting more muggy and sticky. I want to take my cover-up off, but I don’t. Only a few months ago I wouldn’t have even thought twice about sitting here in a bathing suit. Kylie was right when she told me once that being thirteen is complicated. I wonder for a second what everyone else sees when they look at me. Maybe Amy’s wearing a bikini instead of my one-piece. But it’s not like there are any mirrors out on the beach to tell me.

  With five minutes left, we stroll over to the party. As practiced, I approach Mrs. Kelly and say, “Hi, I was sitting over there and noticed that your balloons look like they’re coming off. I happen to have some tape, so if you’d like, we can tape them on and you won’t have to worry.” Leo holds up the tape and waggles it.

  “Sure,” she says. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

  Before she can change her mind, Leo starts wrapping the heavy tape around the base of the strings, securing them tightly into place on the back of the chair. Connor approaches and watches with interest. I inch closer, video games at the ready.

  “Why are you doing that?” he asks.

  “So they don’t come untied and blow away.”

  “Oh.” He keeps watching as Leo puts more and more tape around the corner of the chair. I tell Mrs. Kelly that we have scissors so she can cut it off when the party’s over. Leo gives the balloons a firm tug to make sure they’re secure before stepping back to admire his work.

  Connor eyes the video games in my hand. “Want to borrow one?” I ask. He grabs them both but, instead of taking them away to play, he plops down right there, in the chair with the balloons on them.

  Leo and I slowly back away. “Well, we didn’t exactly get him away from the balloons,” Leo says.

  “True. But they’re n
ot going anywhere now.”

  “How much more time until he would have let them blow away?”

  “About five minutes.” We watch him carefully as more and more guests arrive. The party goes off without a hitch. Grace and her dad come out of the water and the relay races begin, which forces Connor to come out of his chair.

  “One more minute,” Leo says, noticing me squirming. I don’t take my eyes off the balloons. The only people near them are a few grown-ups who I recognize from the last party, including their grandfather. He now has a beard and he looks as hot as I feel right now.

  With only a few seconds to go, two little girls run up to the balloons and start batting them around. I stiffen. “Can they come off?”

  “Not a chance. Someone would have to cut the strings with scissors.”

  I quickly rummage through my bag until I find the pair we brought with us. “Phew, they’re still here.”

  “Three … two … one. We did it!” Leo yells in my ear. Then he holds up Angelina’s notebook. I didn’t know he’d brought it with him. “Look!”

  I take the notebook from him. The page with the details about Grace’s eighth birthday now has a big red check mark across it. “Yay!!” We jump up and down in the sand, not caring who notices. Some of the party guests glance our way but Mrs. Kelly is bringing out lemonade and that’s much more exciting. As tempting as it is, I don’t think we should ask for some. Leo has no such qualms and grabs two for us.

  We drink them quickly and return to our hot towel. I fan myself with my hand, which of course does nothing. “Do you think it’s okay to go for a swim?”

  “We got our check mark,” Leo says. “I don’t think Angelina would care what we did as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else.” He pulls his T-shirt over his head and tosses it aside without a second thought. I wish it were that easy for me. I remind myself that this is Leo. We’ve been swimming together since our moms brought us to Mommy & Me class at the community pool in River Bend when we were fifteen months old. I pull off my cover-up and tuck it in my bag. “Race you,” I call out, already running.

  He catches up with me by the water’s edge. Together we walk into the ocean. It’s cold, but feels really good. I try to see my reflection, but the constant movement of the water makes it impossible.