The Circle

by Kat Mayor

  “Did you see that, Ian?” Beth asked, hitting him in the arm.

  “See what?” Ian was blasting New Order on his Walkman.

  “Evelyn just got into Charlie’s Mustang. Do you think I should tell Lilly?”

  Ian shrugged his shoulders. If he told her no, she would get mad at him, because he was telling her to mind her own business. If he told her yes, and then Lilly got mad at Beth, well, that would be his fault, too.

  “You’re such a guy,” Beth muttered. “Utterly useless.” Beth made up her mind. She would tell her; Lilly had a right to know.

  “Hey, guys,” Lilly said, walking up. She opened the trunk, and they all put their horns in.

  “Lilly, I thought you should know. I saw Evelyn get into Charlie’s car this afternoon, and they drove off together.” Ian put his headphones back on. He did not want to be a part of this conversation. Lilly put the key in the ignition and started the car.

  “Is everything OK?” Beth asked.

  Lilly’s eyes were wide, and her hands were shaking. “I honestly don’t know.” Beth was surprised by Lilly’s reaction. After telling her about Charlie and Evelyn, she could understand anger or even casual indifference, but not fear.

  ***

  “Let me just get to the point,” Evelyn said to Charlie. “About the Earthan female…”

  “Let me save us both time and breath,” Charlie decided to take the offensive. “You heard a rumor that I had an Earthan girlfriend, and obviously, you believed it.”

  “I don’t think my informants have any motivation to lie. Unlike you.”

  “Let me finish,” Charlie said. Evelyn crossed her arms but sat back in her seat. “Last semester I became friends with a senior girl in the band. Did I ask her to the homecoming dance? Yes, I did. Because it was an Earthan experience I wanted to have. Did we become pretty good friends? Yes, we did. Toward the end of the semester I could sense that she wanted something more. In hindsight, I realize getting friendly with her was not a good idea. Maybe I inadvertently led her on. I was hoping that over Christmas break she would forget about it, but that didn’t happen either. As soon as I got back to school, I told her I didn’t have those feelings for her, and we agreed it would be best if we didn’t socialize anymore, not even as friends. And that’s it, end of story.”

  “Well, that certainly puts my mind at ease,” Evelyn said. “If it’s true.”

  “What do you mean if? Why would I be attracted to an Earthan, of all things?” Charlie chuckled at the notion.

  “The simple answer is you wouldn’t be, unless you were mentally ill,” Evelyn said. “Even the idea is revolting.” She shook her head in disgust.

  “Exactly,” Charlie agreed.

  “But my sources tell me you two were inseparable.”

  “Inseparable seems like quite an exaggeration to me,” he said. “Look, I already told you we were friends. As Earthans go, she’s fairly intelligent and interesting. I admit I was lonely. Put yourself in my shoes. I’m light-years away from all my close friends, and it’s not like Henry and I were going to start hanging out together.”

  “It would have been better if you had,” Evelyn scolded.

  “Oh, right. Henry is locked inside his own little world. He’s completely asocial.”

  “Watch it. You’re talking about my husband.”

  Charlie backtracked a little bit. “OK, I’m sorry. But, Evelyn, you have to admit, Henry is difficult to get to know.”

  “This I do know, and for that reason I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I won’t say anything to the magistrate or the elders, but no more consorting with Earthan females. Don’t test the limits of my patience, Charlie.”

  “It’s a moot point. You’re here now. I can simply hang out with you,” Charlie replied.

  “I’m married. Remember?” Evelyn said.

  “Well, invite me over. I’ll get to know Henry. We’ll probably be great friends.”

  “Invite my ex-boyfriend over to my in-laws’ house? I think not. Look, it does appear that you and the Earthan female are estranged. Just keep it that way. Understood?”

  “Understood,” Charlie answered.

  “Good. Now drive me home.”

  ***

  Lilly was waiting by the living room window for any sign of Charlie. When he pulled into her drive, she ran to the front door. “You had me worried to death,” Lilly scolded, holding the door open for Charlie.

  “Worried? Why?”

  “Beth told me she saw you and Evelyn drive off together. What does she know? Are you in a lot of trouble?”

  Charlie put his hands on Lilly’s shoulders. “Relax, she did confront me about our relationship, but I handled it.” He walked into the kitchen and started the coffeepot.

  “Handled it? How?” Lilly asked, following him.

  “I told her that we had been friends last semester, but that you had feelings for me that I obviously didn’t share. I had to end the friendship, and now we’re not even on speaking terms.”

  “So you told her I was a silly, love-struck girl who imagined a relationship that didn’t exist.”

  It sounded pretty desperate on her part when she put it that way. “Yes,” he said meekly. He hoped she wouldn’t be mad.

  “Did she buy it?” Lilly asked. She didn’t care what Evelyn thought about her as long as she believed Charlie.

  “Presumably. She agreed not to tell the magistrate, provided I end our friendship. I told her it was already done. But we will have to be careful. Nobody, not even Beth, can know that we’re together. If we get caught, I seriously doubt I can talk my way out of it.”

  ***

  Henry was lying on the sofa of their upstairs suite reading a book when Evelyn came in.

  “So what happened with Charlie?” he asked.

  Evelyn slipped off her shoes and sat down next to him. “Oh, he denied ever being interested in the female; claims she misconstrued their friendship.”

  “It makes sense,” Henry said, putting down his book.

  “Yes, he made a very well-reasoned argument, but unfortunately, he did not persuade.”

  Henry sat up. “You can’t be serious. Now, you know I’m no fan of Charlie, but you don’t really think he would get involved with an Earthan? I mean, it’s unheard of.”

  “Unless,” Evelyn suggested, “a person is seriously disturbed.”

  “You don’t believe that, do you?”

  “No. Not really. But something’s not quite right.”

  Chapter 10

  Secrets and Lies

  A couple of weeks had passed since the confrontation in the parking lot, and Lilly and Charlie shoved Evelyn to the back of their minds. Maybe Charlie underestimated Evelyn. Maybe they grew careless, because they wanted to see each other more. Whatever the reason, they never anticipated crossing paths with Evelyn outside of school. Lilly picked Charlie up on his corner one Saturday, and they drove to Galveston. After a day of walking the Strand, they headed back to Clear Lake.

  ***

  Evelyn was driving home from League City after dealing with Anthony and Eric, two teens who were giving too much Sentrian video-game access to an Earthan gamer. No harm was done, but she couldn’t believe the risks the youth were taking. She was stopped at a red light when she saw a familiar-looking blue Mustang pull up at a diner. A couple exited the car and entered the restaurant. Even with her poor eyesight Evelyn could see it was Charlie, and that Earthan female was with him.

  She thought about calling the elders, but they would want to handle things their way. She could confront them: scare the girl and threaten Charlie. Then she had a better idea. She rushed home to work out her plan before she showed up on the Grays’ doorstep.

  ***

  Helen Gray heard a knock at the door. She got up to see who was there. Evelyn was standing in front of her. “May I come in?” she asked, but even before Mrs. Gray answered, she pushed her way into the entry hall.

  “Well, hello, Evelyn. What brings you by
?”

  “I’m here to see you and Mr. Gray. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  “Yes, of course,” Helen said, with a sick feeling in her stomach. “I’ll put on a pot of coffee and get Louis. Won’t you have a seat?”

  ***

  Louis and Helen were sitting in the living room when Charlie came home. Charlie took one look at his mother and knew something was wrong. “What’s going on?” he asked, setting down his trumpet.

  Evelyn rounded the corner then. “Hello, Charlie, we’ve been waiting for you,” she said. “That’s a nice touch,” Evelyn said, pointing to his trumpet case. “It’s almost like you really were at band practice.”

  Louis stood up then. “Sit down, Charlie. Evelyn has shared some very disturbing news with us.”

  Charlie did not sit down. “What did you tell them?” he asked in as even a tone as he could manage. Losing his temper would not be a good idea, he knew.

  “Oh, we’ve been having a very pleasant chat about your little Earthan girlfriend.” Her tone went from phony nice to sharp and biting.

  “She’s not my…”

  “Don’t even try to deny it,” Evelyn interrupted. “I saw you two at the diner this afternoon.”

  Rage turned to fear. It felt as if all the blood had drained out of his head. All the strength in his body faded as he crumpled into a chair.

  “The question to be answered is, what do we do now?” Evelyn asked.

  Charlie had a pretty good idea. He was sure Evelyn would involve the magistrate and the elders. He hoped he would not suffer the same fate as Mr. Lassiter, but he couldn’t kid himself. This was serious.

  “Look, Charlie. We’re not upset with you,” Louis said. “We’re upset with ourselves for not seeing how lonely and unhappy you are. But Evelyn has suggested a solution to the problem.”

  “What?” Charlie asked warily.

  Louis motioned to the coffee table. On the table top were photographs of three girls. “These are the files of Sentrian females who are also in need of finding their One.”

  “If you agree to start a relationship with one of these girls, then Evelyn won’t involve the officials on Sentria,” Helen said.

  “And what if I don’t?” Charlie asked. Helen gasped.

  “Then I will have no choice but to tell the magistrate. You will be held in isolation until the ship returns in June. You will likely be sentenced to some sort of behavior modification prison for as long as the judges see fit.” It was a terrible pronouncement, yet Evelyn said it without emotion, the way a person might suggest going out to dinner.

  Charlie was furious that Evelyn would involve his parents, but it wasn’t completely unheard of. Although Sentrians believed that God chooses your One, sometimes parents helped their children locate their One when they were deemed too old to find them on their own. Most of the time these semiarranged marriages worked out perfectly, and if you asked the couple, they would swear that God had used their parents to locate their soul mate. However, Charlie knew that would not be the case for him.

  He didn’t want this, but what choice did he have? No choice, if he wanted to stay out of Sentrian prison. He glanced over at his mother; she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “All right, I’ll try,” Charlie said, but there was no conviction behind his words. Helen breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Excellent,” Evelyn said. “Look through these files and give me the name of your choice tomorrow.” She left a communicator on the coffee table so that Charlie could talk to his chosen from Earth. “I will make all the arrangements then.”

  ***

  After Evelyn left, Charlie took the files upstairs. He pulled out the information on his prospective wives. He selected a girl named Tamar, because of the three, she was the most unlike Lilly. Charlie had to admit she was pretty, with short red hair and green eyes. According to her bio, she enjoyed sewing and had a degree in education. He hated this. He knew he could never feel about Tamar the way he felt about his Liliana, but for now he had to play along and convince Evelyn that he was done with Lilly.

  ***

  The next day Evelyn was waiting for Charlie after band practice.

  “I choose Tamar,” Charlie said simply.

  “Fine, I’ll arrange a link this afternoon. Tonight you can begin your telecourtship.” Charlie turned to leave. “Oh, and Charlie,” Evelyn said. “You’d better make this work. If you don’t take this seriously, your life isn’t going to be worth one Earthan cent.”

  “I get it, Evelyn.”

  ***

  Not seeing Lilly was out of the question. Charlie just had to be more clever about how. Sneaking out at night still seemed like the safest bet. After dinner he would go upstairs and begin the nightly link with Tamar. Charlie had to admit that Tamar was really nice and not uninteresting. If he had to marry someone he didn’t love, it might as well be her. They spoke for an hour, the amount of time Evelyn had prescribed. After ending the link, it was dark enough for him to slip out of his window. Charlie did not take his car; he ran all the way to Lilly’s house. If Evelyn drove by his house, she would see his car in the driveway and assume he was home.

  Hopefully, being engaged to Tamar would get Evelyn off his back. He knew he would have to end things with Lilly eventually, but he couldn’t give her up just yet. Charlie thought as long as he continued his nightly link with Tamar and gave Evelyn no reason to be suspicious, he could at least see Liliana until the end of the mission. Charlie was wrong.

  ***

  It had been two weeks since Charlie and Tamar’s engagement, and Evelyn was keeping close tabs on Charlie. At school, he gave no sign of interest in the girl, which did not surprise Evelyn. Charlie was a bit reckless, but even he would not be so stupid as to try something at school, right under her nose.

  Evelyn spoke with Tamar often and was glad to hear that she seemed genuinely excited about marrying Charlie. She told Evelyn that yes, they were communicating nightly. She even mentioned that her mother and Helen Gray had started making wedding plans. Since all was going well on that front, Evelyn decided it was time to pay Charlie a visit and find out how things were progressing for him. She dropped by unannounced one evening.

  Mrs. Gray answered the door. Her hand went up to her throat. “Hello, Evelyn.”

  “I came to check on Charlie,” Evelyn said. “May I come in?” she said and pushed Mrs. Gray out of her way.

  “Charlie and Tamar are getting along so well,” Mrs. Gray gushed as she poured Evelyn a cup of coffee. “They are thinking of getting married the week we return. I’ve spoken to Tamar’s mother, and she is starting to make the preparations.” She turned her head and called upstairs. “Charlie, can you come down? Evelyn’s here to see you.” She turned back toward Evelyn. “Tamar and her mother are going shopping for the wedding gown next week.” She glanced up at the staircase nervously. Charlie had failed to even answer her. “Maybe he didn’t hear me, or he might be asleep.”

  “Uh-huh,” Evelyn said. She knew that if Charlie was upstairs, he had heard. Helen got up to go to his room, and Evelyn followed. When she opened his bedroom door, Helen was horrified to find his room empty and his window wide open. The curtains were blowing in the breeze.

  “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why he’s not home,” Helen began.

  “Yes, there is,” Evelyn said. “The reasonable explanation is that you cannot control your son, and you have no idea where he is or what he’s doing. Fortunately, I think I do.” She grabbed her purse and got into her car. Helen ran to her room and shut the door. She called Louis, but it was hard for him to understand her, because she was completely hysterical. She managed to tell him that Charlie was gone, and Evelyn was looking for him. Louis promised to come straight home. After she hung up with him, Helen curled up into a little ball on the bed and closed her eyes.

  ***

  Evelyn drove straight to Lilly’s and parked on the street opposite her house. She had to be careful. Charlie’s exceptional
hearing would make it difficult to sneak up on him. Fortunately, Evelyn knew that even a supersonos had points of vulnerability.

  For one, he had the ability to filter out noises he didn’t want to hear. She seriously doubted he would be turning on any filters tonight. He needed to be extra aware in case she was spying on him, as she was now. But there was a second way to catch him off guard. It was distraction. When he was involved in a conversation or activity with another person, he didn’t hear the outside world as much. As nauseating as the idea was, Evelyn hoped the Earthan girl would be enough of a distraction to keep him from hearing her approach.

  As silently as possible, Evelyn walked to Lilly’s front porch. She was even wary of the grass crunching beneath her feet. With any luck, Charlie would attribute that noise to a squirrel or a stray cat. She sat completely still, breathing as lightly as possible. She could and would wait them out.

  Over an hour later, she saw Charlie emerge from Lilly’s entryway. Evelyn needn’t have worried about him hearing her. He was utterly distracted. He held the Earthan girl in a tight embrace and had his lips pressed up against hers. Evelyn wanted to vomit up her dinner, but she repressed the urge. Now was not the time for that. Now was the time for confrontation.

  ***

  Out of nowhere, Evelyn appeared. She ran right up to the two of them, so close to Charlie that he could feel her breath on his neck. Lilly let out a little scream. She thought her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. Charlie put his arm around Lilly protectively and moved in front of her, standing between Lilly and Evelyn. He tried to remain calm on the outside for Lilly’s sake, but inside he was in full panic mode.