Charles rubbed his arm pretending to be hurt. “What did you do that for?”
“You were flirting with Jaine.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were.”
Then it occurred to Charles why Caroline had been so upset. Just then the coach blew his whistle for the boys to get into groups to try out for the basketball team. Charles and Pete were put in different groups. While they were practicing, Cynthia walked in wearing a cheer pin. She waved to Pete and showed him the pin as she took a seat on the bleachers to watch them. Charles laughed to himself as Pete was showing off. This was going to be a piece of cake…
Cynthia was proud of her cheerleading efforts. All she talked about on the way home was her squad and what the girls were going to do to prepare for the games. They had already worked out some cheer routines in the short time they were together. They discussed when and where they were going to practice. They even made plans to go shopping together.
Charles rolled his eyes. He was grateful that his sister did all the talking. He didn’t really feel like talking much, knowing that Caroline was angry. Once Cynthia pulled up in the driveway and parked, Charles stepped out of the car then headed inside. He walked straight to the kitchen to call Caroline and tell her he made the team. He intended to try to work out the problem with her.
Cynthia talked to Bev and Carson filling in the details of the earlier tryout events. She repeated her cheerleading spiel from the car as well. They were congratulating her on making cheer captain while Charles was talking to Caroline.
Charles asked Caroline if she could come over after school the next day. He offered that Cynthia could drive her to the farm. She asked her mother for permission.
Joyce said, “Not this time Caroline. We have a dentist appointment. I’m sorry. It will have to be another day.”
After Charles hung up the phone with Caroline, he joined the rest of the family. Carson congratulated him on making the team. Cynthia was beaming that she told the news first. She then dragged the family into the living room to show her squads’ latest routine. When Cynthia finished, they clapped and praised her efforts.
Cynthia said, “I’ve got to run. I have to tell Mom and Dad the good news.” She bounced out of the house and ran to her car. She waved to Bev and Carson as she pulled out of the driveway.
Charles called his mom and dad to tell them his good news. They were very excited for him. Molly put Sophie on the phone. She squealed into the phone when he told her, then dropped the phone and ran off. Molly briefly came back on the phone to talk, until he heard Cynthia walk through the doorway. Cynthia couldn’t wait to tell her mother the good news, so Molly said she’d talk to Charles later.
Charles hung up the phone and went to find Carson. He was in the kitchen with Bev. They talked more about school events before the men headed to the office. Charles was grateful he didn’t have homework for the evening. Once they entered the office, Charles checked his calendar for any appointments with Dimitrios. Nothing was on the schedule. He messaged Cassia in his planner that he made the basketball team. She messaged back congratulations; she and Dimitrios were happy for him.
Charles then sat at his desk and caught up on writing in his journal. Once he put the journal away, Charles practiced working with his crystal downstairs. Carson taught him a few tricks that he’d learned from Fiona’s book. Charles was getting more efficient with his crystal since he’d been practicing almost daily. Airabelle was watching him work closely. She could tell something was bothering him. Charles was mind-blocking her, but she sensed something was bothering him since he lost concentration several times. The loss of his attention during practice allowed her to figure out more of his problem. After an hour of practice, Carson and Charles quit work to return to the house for dinner with Bev.
After dinner they returned to the office and Charles read his manuals for a short while. Carson offered to take him to the Hub market. Charles was ready for a break so they crossed over and visited Nicky’s booth to check on his new delivery of gadgets. Carson inspected several devices and decided to buy one that was especially interesting.
When they returned to the office, it was time for Charles to get ready for bed. He took a couple of journals to read and walked to the house. He started to get ready for bed, but changed his mind and put on a pair of jogging pants. He sat on his bed to read for an hour. Mostly Charles thought about Caroline and what he needed to say to her. He rolled over and looked at the clock. It was too late for him to call her now. He closed the book and decided to go to her house. Charles put the book on the nightstand, stood and walked over to the window. He opened it and looked down. He quickly decided he would go for a jog. Charles didn’t want to scare Nana and Paw Paw if they discovered he’d sneaked out, so he went to tell Nana his plans.
Bev smiled. “Carson did the same thing to me several times, but I don’t think he told his parents what he was doing.”
Charles understood the hint. He went out the back door and jogged over to Caroline’s house in the moonlight.
Airabelle and Airasten were out flying that night. Airabelle noticed Charles walk out the back door. She said to Airasten, “I knew it. There he goes.”
They didn’t follow. Instead they went another direction, to visit Esmond and Raine. Airabelle knew where Charles was heading and that he needed time to be alone. Not long after Airabelle and Airasten found Esmond and Raine, they heard a familiar sound from another lifetime. It was an echoing sound coming from the forest.
Airabelle turned to Airasten, “That can only be one thing and one thing only…”
Esmond asked, “What?”
Airabelle said, “Hop on. It’s easier to show you both than tell you.”
When they caught up with Todd, he had just entered a clearing in the forest. He was out on a night run with the clonsayee creatures to exercise them. He was riding on the fastest clonsayee and the others followed them without a rider. Todd noticed the birds in the sky and halted the herd.
Airabelle circled Todd and the clonsayee. She flew closer and said, “We heard you exercising the clonsayees.”
Todd tried to get a better look at the birds in the moonlight. “Airabelle, what’s that on your back?”
Airabelle laughed. “Esmond. He’s my frog friend…”
Todd laughed. “Okay, that’s not something you see every day.” He patted the mane of the clonsayee he was riding. “I’m trying to see what this herd can do.”
Airabelle said, “They are amazing creatures for sure.”
She continued, “We don’t want to keep you from exercising. We’ll watch from afar.”
Todd waved. “Suit yourself.” Suddenly they were gone.
Airabelle and Airasten took their friends high into the sky so they could see just how lightning fast the herd was. They watched the creatures for quite a while before turning back toward the pond.
Once Charles drew near enough to Caroline’s house, he saw her light was already off in her bedroom. He ran into her yard and looked around for a pebble to toss at her window. He couldn’t find anything. He was frustrated wondering what he should do. He hadn’t considered he might not be able to find something to toss at her window. He scratched his head wondering what his options were. While Charles was searching the grass, he didn’t hear her open the window.
Caroline whispered, “You got a problem?”
He absent-mindedly answered back, “Yes, I’m looking…” He turned around and looked up.
She was smiling. “What are you doing down there?”
“Well…. What are you doing out of bed?”
“Same thing you are.”
“Sorry about earlier today at school. I’m pretty sure you misunderstood.”
Caroline crossed her arms and her smile disappeared.
“I can explain. Last night I found something out that has been on my mind.”
All of the sudden she disappeared from the window. Charles put his hands on his hips staring at the
window. The next thing he knew, Caroline startled him by tugging on his arm.
He turned. “Oh, there you are. I was trying to tell you what I found out.”
“I’m listening.”
He told her the story of Inacio as she stood silently listening straight-faced staring into his eyes. When he finished he said, “And that’s why I was so upset. I thought you’d be mad at me.”
“Well, I agree that’s a very interesting story, but what does it have to do with me?”
Charles explained how his ancestor had been involved in the war that caused devastation to the kingdom.
“Did you do it?”
He shook his head. “No, of course not.”
“Then why would I be angry at you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought you would be mad at me.”
“Well, I’m not. You had no control over the past.”
“Thank you for understanding. The last two days have been awful.”
They moved closer together. She was so beautiful standing there with the moonlight illuminating her hair. He reached out for her and drew her body to his. She shivered. He wrapped his arms around her to warm her up. He looked into her eyes as he bent down and kissed her lips. It seemed like as good a time as any to tell her how he felt about her. “Caroline, I…”
Just then the front porch light went on. Kevin walked out onto the front porch. “Caroline?” Charles was thankful Mr. Saunders walked to the other side of the porch first.
Charles backed away from her into the shadow of the trees in the front yard. Caroline watched him momentarily before turning to run back inside through the back door, quietly closing it behind her. He could imagine her walking through the house to meet her dad on the porch.
Caroline appeared at the front door and opened the screen. She quietly asked, “Daddy were you calling for me?”
Kevin turned and walked back to the door. “Yes Honey, I was calling for you.” He looked around outside one more time suspiciously, before going into the house accompanied by Caroline. He closed the front door and turned the porch light off. Charles waited for what seemed like a very long time before she came to her window.
She stood at her window searching for him. To Charles, Caroline almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. He wondered if he should show himself. She kept looking but he was in the shadows so she couldn’t see him. Finally he stepped out in the dim light of the full moon and blew her a kiss, before he jogged back to the farmhouse. Caroline watched him for as long as she could, before going back to bed.
Charles smiled as he jogged all the way back to the farm. He thought over and over again about his meeting with her. He went around to the back of the house, quietly opened the door, then crept upstairs to his bed and went to sleep.
Chapter 20
The next several weeks of school quickly passed.
Charles climbed out of bed then dressed for school. He went downstairs and joined Bev in the kitchen. She had breakfast ready, so Charles sat at the table. As Charles ate his meal, they discussed school events.
He asked, “May I ask Caroline to come to the farm after school if Joyce agrees? We would like to study together.”
Bev replied, “It would be nice to have Caroline visit. Why don’t you ask if she wants to visit the day after tomorrow? That will give her time to ask her mother’s permission. If Joyce agrees, ask Cynthia to pick her up for the drive to and from school.”
A few minutes later they heard a knock at the door. Charles put his dishes in the sink and grabbed his backpack. Bev picked up a couple of small bags from the table and made her way to the door.
When she opened the door, Sophie enthusiastically shouted, “Nana!”
Bev opened the door wider. She handed Sophia and Cynthia each a bag with cookies for their lunch boxes. Sophie took hers, kissed Bev on the cheek then ran to Carson who was waving to her from the hall. He put his arm around her and walked her out to the car. Bev complimented Cynthia on how good she looked in her cheerleader uniform as they followed. She told Cynthia that her hair looked very nice the way she had styled it. Cynthia explained the ribbon headband she was wearing had the school colors on it. When they reached the car, Cynthia opened the car door and pushed the seat up. Sophie crawled in the back seat and buckled up. She played with Cynthia’s cheerleading poms, repeating one of Cynthia’s cheers she had memorized. Charles sat down on the front seat of the car. As Cynthia walked around the car to get in, everyone waved goodbye. On the drive to school, Sophie was chattering on about being a class helper for the day in her classroom.
Cynthia grumpily said, “If it’s such a big deal, why don’t you help out at home?”
Sophie mocked her. “If it’s a big deal, why don’t you help out at home?”
Cynthia growled. “I wish you were old enough to drive yourself to school.”
Sophie perked up and said, “Me too! I want to drive. Can I Cynthia? Can I?”
Cynthia shook her head. “No Sophie. You’re not old enough.”
Sophie grumbled, “No fair.”
Charles offered, “I can’t drive yet either, so don’t feel bad. Hey, maybe Paw Paw can take you for a ride on the tractor. He might let you drive it.” Sophie made the sounds of driving the tractor.
When they pulled up in front of the school, Charles flipped the seat up. Sophia jumped out from the back seat and ran up to the front door of the building. She disappeared inside. Charles stepped back into the car. Once they reached the high school, Cynthia parked the car. Charles told her that Paw Paw was picking him up after school so she didn’t have to wait for him.
As Charles walked Caroline to her first hour class, he asked, “Would you like to ask your mother if you can come to the farm to study with me? Nana said the day after tomorrow would be fine. I will ask Cynthia if she will pick you up on the way to school and she will drive us to the farm after school.” Caroline smiled and agreed to ask her mother.
The school day continued. Nothing exciting happened until after the last lunch period. It was then announced that there would be a pep assembly. The school gym filled up quickly as the teachers directed their classes to the students’ designated seating location.
The assembly began with general announcements about events that would be happening during the week. Then the cheerleader sponsor was introduced. She walked out onto the gym floor and talked about the training that the cheerleaders were doing in order to prepare for the games. She mentioned that the school had a band section that would play at the games to help cheer their teams to victory, along with the cheerleaders and their dance squad. One at a time she introduced all of the cheerleading squads and the girls on the squad. Then all of the squads performed a cheer that they would be doing at a game. Charles looked over at Pete who was flirting with Cynthia. He rolled his eyes. He had to admit his sister was a good cheerleader. She was the captain of her varsity squad and it was obvious that she had been working hard. Then the dance team performed a dance to a rock and roll song. The school mascot began dancing with them making everyone laugh and cheer. When they finished dancing, the cheer sponsor introduced the band director, who in turn introduced the different sections of his band. He encouraged anyone wanting to join band to do so. Then he had the band play the school’s anthem and a couple of other songs to get the students rallied for the upcoming game.
The boy behind Charles tapped him on the shoulder and passed him a note. Charles glanced at the note and back at the boy.
The young man shrugged. “It’s not from me.” He pointed behind his shoulder. Charles looked as the kid moved out of the way so he could see who sent the note. He was apprehensive to even look; afraid of whom it might be from.
Charles sighed as Jaine waved to him. He half smiled and put the note in his pocket. Her friends giggled and whispered, playfully nudging her.
Charles turned and looked for Caroline. He spotted her across the gym. She sensed him looking at her. She looked through the crowd to find him. When Caroline
did locate him, she smiled and waved. He returned the wave.
Jaine scowled because Charles didn’t read her note. She couldn’t believe he just put it in his pocket. He’d made a fool of her in front of her friends. That wasn’t the way this was supposed to go. He got it all wrong. Now what was she supposed to do until he read her note? She glared across the gym at Caroline. Her friends followed her stare. By that time Caroline’s attention was focused on the assembly.
One of Jaine’s friends gently nudged her. She turned her attention toward the friend, who then led Jaine with her eyes to someone that had been curiously watching. Jaine shyly smiled at him when he waved to her. She’d never considered him before, because she had been so focused on Charles for several years. Her friends giggled.
Jaine whispered, “He’s kind of cute don’t you think?” Jaine’s best friend made a signal that he was better than cute. Jaine looked back at him and smiled.
Chapter 21
Maureen Grey received a few of the same calls that were made to Dolores, and she was livid! She didn’t think Joseph’s behavior was all that funny.
Donovan pulled his son in his office and said, “I just received a phone call from your mother. If Mother doesn’t think your behavior is funny, you can bet neither does Father. Son, what were you thinking? What an idiot you are. Mrs. Stockton? Really? One of the largest philanthropic contributors in the community.” Donovan caught himself laughing. “It’s funnier than…” He sat down and pounded his fist on his desk. “You’re in big trouble with your mother and me. You’d better shape up this instant! I don’t know what has gotten into you, but I sure as the devil will get it out of you.” He sat back in his chair and crossed his legs.
Return of the Clonsayee Page 11
