The Circle

by Kat Mayor

  “Tell me, Charlie. What exactly is your fascination with this female?”

  “Look, Evelyn. What you saw, it’s not what you think.”

  “Liar. I can’t see well, but I’m not blind.”

  “Just leave us alone,” Lilly said defiantly.

  “It speaks,” Evelyn sneered.

  “We aren’t hurting you. It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone who you are or where you’re from.” Charlie winced. Liliana had no idea who she was dealing with. He silently begged her to be quiet.

  Evelyn looked at Charlie. “She knows about us? How many of our other secrets have you divulged?”

  “Even if she said something, no one would believe her,” Charlie said, as if that made things any better. Evelyn ignored him. She moved around him to more closely examine the creature. She touched Lilly’s hair, and Lilly slapped her hand away.

  “Feisty, isn’t it?” Evelyn examined her, observing the Earthan female from all angles. “What’s this?” she asked, seeing a circle-shaped bulge under Lilly’s T-shirt. Evelyn pulled the chain on Lilly’s necklace out of her shirt to reveal the circle charm Charlie had given her. “You’re engaged? Charlie this goes way beyond disgust. You need help.”

  Lilly snatched the charm out of Evelyn’s hand. “What are you talking about?” Lilly’s eyes darted back and forth between Charlie and Evelyn.

  Evelyn crossed her arms in front of her. “Help me understand, Charlie. You told her you are an alien, but you neglected to mention that this necklace is the Sentrian equivalent of an engagement ring?”

  “What?” Lilly asked.

  “Yes, girl,” Evelyn said in an utterly bored tone. “For whatever reason, Charlie has claimed you as his, and by wearing the necklace, you are agreeing to marry him. Charlie, I must say, I’m disappointed. When we ended things, I never dreamed you would be so desperate as to throw your life away for a low-class, sweaty Earthan.”

  “You two dated?” Lilly’s eyes grew wide.

  “Briefly. A long time ago,” Charlie answered. “I can’t imagine why things didn’t work out.”

  Evelyn gave Charlie a dirty look. “No matter. I’m much better off,” she said, flashing her own wedding necklace at Lilly. “But I don’t suppose you’ve told her about Tamar, either.”

  “Who’s Tamar?” Lilly demanded. She was tired of being in the dark. It seemed Charlie had failed to mention lots of things.

  “Tamar is Charlie’s real One. They are getting married this summer, as soon as we return to Sentria,” Evelyn said.

  “Is this true?” Lilly asked, searching Charlie’s face.

  “Liliana, this is not my choice. I’ve never even met Tamar. Evelyn and my parents are forcing me into this arranged marriage.”

  “But that can’t be,” Lilly said. “That’s not how it works. You told me God selects your One, not your parents.”

  “Very good, Earthan. It seems Charlie has instructed you on the Sentrian code of law. Evidently, he neglected to mention the one exception to that rule.” Evelyn proceeded to recite the law from memory. “If a Sentrian youth has not found his or her One by age eighteen, then the parents may intercede to locate him or her on behalf of their child.”

  Charlie looked at Evelyn with disgust. “You make it sound so voluntary.” He turned to Lilly. “But if I haven’t married by age twenty-one, the government may force me to marry someone of their choosing; which in my case, they would definitely do. They distrust older singles.”

  Lilly wasn’t interested in the reasons why. “So you’re going to marry this Tamar girl?”

  Charlie looked down at his feet. He couldn’t look at her; he just nodded.

  “Then here,” she said. She removed the necklace and handed it to Charlie.

  “Liliana, don’t,” Charlie begged. He didn’t care that Evelyn was standing right there. “I love you, not Tamar.”

  “Charlie, I’m sick of all the lies. I don’t know what’s true anymore.”

  “I love you. That’s the only truth.” Charlie reached for her hand, but she pulled away. Evelyn was shocked at his confession. There could only be two reasons for him to say it: he was desperate to keep his hold on her, or he really believed it. She found both possibilities equally disturbing.

  “I’m going to make this really easy for you. You’re engaged, and I will not be the other woman. I never want to see you again.” Lilly turned and went into the house, slamming the door behind her. Charlie just stood there, staring at the closed door.

  “Let’s go, Charlie,” Evelyn said, a smug grin on her face. He followed her to her red convertible and got in. Once they were on their way, Evelyn told him, “You, I can’t trust. So for your sake, I hope she meant what she said.”

  “She did,” Charlie said somberly. “Jane would rather sacrifice her own happiness with Mr. Rochester than compromise her integrity.”

  “What does that mean?” Evelyn asked.

  “Never mind.”

  Chapter 11

  Apart

  Charlie was expecting Evelyn to run straight to the magistrate, but fortunately she seemed satisfied, even elated, with the way things turned out. Charlie suspected that part of the reason she didn’t want to involve her father-in-law was because she wanted to handle the situation herself. In Charlie’s mind, Evelyn was a cat, and he was a cockroach that she enjoyed batting around—not to kill it, but to torture it.

  When she dropped Charlie off, Evelyn did talk to Charlie’s parents about what happened but assured them she would not go to the authorities. “You really must supervise him more closely,” she scolded.

  Helen flinched. Evelyn was half her age and not even a mother, and here she was criticizing her parenting skills. Louis knew Helen was about to lose it. He put his hand over hers to calm her. “You have our word,” he told Evelyn.

  “I’m not going to tell Tamar or her mother about this, but I expect you to get your relationship back on track,” she told Charlie. She turned her attention back to his parents and spoke as if he wasn’t even in the room. “I’m sure once he starts spending more time with Tamar, he’ll realize what true love is and forget about this unnatural infatuation he has for the Earthan female.”

  Charlie crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch. He couldn’t stand Evelyn’s superior attitude toward Liliana, but he couldn’t say anything. She droned on and on about the importance of keeping Charlie away from “the inferior Earthan girl.” When Charlie couldn’t stand it anymore, he filtered out her words. After an eternity, Evelyn finally rose to leave. “I’ll see you all tomorrow for church services.”

  After she left, Charlie started up the stairs. “Not so fast,” his father said. “You are very fortunate, son. Evelyn could destroy us if she wanted to. Your reckless behavior has put us all in danger.”

  “I am aware of that.”

  “Then please, for Sonora’s sake, give this foolishness up. It has brought us nothing but trouble. Let me make this clear. You will not see the girl again. Tomorrow and until we return, your time will not be your own. We will find things for you to do to fill your day.”

  Charlie went to his room, but he could hear his parents whispering to each other.

  “You don’t suppose…I mean, this Earthan girl couldn’t be his One, could she?” Helen asked.

  Louis glared at her. He picked up a coffee cup and threw it at the wall. “Stop it. I will not listen to such blasphemy in my own house.”

  Helen’s eyes grew wide and she ran to her room. Great, thought Louis. He swept up the mess, then went to the kitchen to fix his wife a glass of Instant Smile. It gave him time to calm down. He didn’t like that he had lost his temper with her; it wasn’t even her fault. But her comment really got to him, mostly because he was afraid it was true.

  Helen was curled up in a ball on the bed, sniveling, when he entered. “I’m sorry, my One. I brought you a glass of Instant Smile.” He walked over to the bed and she sat up and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

  “Listen, H
elen. I don’t want you getting yourself all worked up about this. She couldn’t be his One. It’s not possible.”

  “How do you know it’s not possible?”

  “Because I do.” Louis took a breath. He felt his patience waning. After a moment he calmly, but sternly told her, “No one has ever bonded with one of them and our son will not be the first.”

  “Well, what if he’s disturbed?” she fretted.

  Louis put his arm around Helen’s shoulder. In a softer, more soothing tone, he said, “I don’t believe our son is disturbed. I think he’s just lonely and confused. “Take a sip. It will calm you down.” Helen took a sip of the drink and smiled weakly up at Louis.

  “Evelyn’s right about this. When he is more bonded with Tamar, this Earthan female will be nothing more than a bad memory.”

  “You know, I was right,” she said. “If we had let him stay on Sentria this past year as I wanted, we wouldn’t be dealing with this now.”

  “Yes, I know that now, dear,” Louis said.

  Charlie put on his earphones and filtered out their conversation. He couldn’t stand to listen to them discuss his life anymore. He didn’t think he was disturbed, and he knew that spending more time with Tamar would not change how he felt about Lilly. It didn’t matter now. He doubted Lilly would ever want to speak to him again. He groaned, put his pillow over his head, and closed his eyes.

  Sunday after church, Charlie and his father spent most of the day on home-improvement projects. The first thing they did was nail the windows of the upstairs bedrooms shut.

  ***

  Lilly spent most of Sunday in bed. She hadn’t bothered to even get up and take a shower. She tried to sleep but without success; the events of the night before replayed over and over in her head.

  Stop it, Lilly ordered herself. Just stop thinking about him. It’s over. She tried to finish a novel she had started. It was no use. Her thoughts kept drifting to Charlie. She threw the book down and curled up in a ball on her bed.

  When Michelle came home from work, she was surprised to find Lilly still in her room. She was sitting at her desk staring out her window, still wearing her pajamas from the night before. “What’s the matter? Are you sick?” Michelle asked, feeling her forehead.

  Lilly knew she would have to tell her mom that she and Charlie were no longer together, but she didn’t feel like talking about it yet. “I guess. I’ve had an upset stomach all day.” That was at least the truth.

  “Well, if you don’t feel any better tomorrow, just stay home from school,” her mom told her.

  Lilly nodded and when her mom left the room, she lay back down on her bed.

  ***

  Lilly awoke with a new outlook on Monday morning. The deep hurt she had felt on Sunday gave way to anger. Anger at being lied to repeatedly. Anger at Charlie’s betrayal. As wicked as Evelyn supposedly was, she had at least told Lilly the truth.

  When the going gets tough, the tough go to work. Isn’t that what she had learned from her mother? She wasn’t weak. She would not allow him to keep her home from school and give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly he hurt her.

  “Good morning, Mom.” Lilly grabbed a cereal bar and headed out the door.

  “Good morning,” Michelle yelled after her. “Guess you’re feeling better.”

  She was aware that Charlie was staring at her during band and at lunch. During English class, he even tried to get her attention. She ignored him. It was easy, as if nothing had even happened. It didn’t hit her until later.

  When she got home, Lilly lay on the couch, sniveling and feeling sorry for herself. After her pity party, she sat upright and wiped her eyes. This was not the way Lilly Garcia comported herself. She wasn’t like Claire, who needed a boyfriend the way everyone else needed air. No more letting Charlie dictate how she felt. She would have to stay incredibly busy so that she had no time to think about him.

  ***

  The rest of January dragged by. Lilly began going to the gym and swimming so that she had something to do on Saturdays. On Sundays she attended bible study before Mass. But the nights were the worst. She couldn’t shut her mind down. After a week or so of sleepless nights, she began taking long, brisk walks every evening and went to the library several times a week. She stopped drinking coffee altogether. After a long walk and reading for an hour in bed, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. It helped to stay busy, but he was never far from her thoughts. At least marching season was over. It would be unbearable to spend two hours a day so near him without speaking to him.

  One night at dinner Michelle remarked, “I haven’t seen Charlie in a while. Are you two doing OK?”

  Lilly sighed. “You might as well know. We broke up.” She didn’t want to see Michelle’s expression, so she looked down at her plate instead. She shoved the food around with her fork.

  “Why? What happened?”

  “We’re going in different directions. It’s for the best.”

  “That sounds pretty lame,” Michelle said. “How does Charlie feel about it?”

  “He’s not happy about it. But I think he realizes we don’t have a future together.”

  “Well that just sucks.”

  “Mom,” Lilly said.

  “Lil, I’m sorry. I know this is between you and Charlie, but I saw how happy he made you. Real love is so hard to find, and it seems like you’re just throwing it away. Look, I love you Lil, and I trust your judgment. But I love Charlie, too. He’s like the son I never had.”

  “Don’t you mean he’s like the boyfriend you never had?”

  “Yeah, that, too.” She looked at Lilly in silence for a moment. “Are you sure there’s not more to it? He’s not involved with another girl or something?”

  “Why would you even say that?” Lilly asked.

  “Because it doesn’t make sense.”

  Lilly didn’t want to discuss it any further. She turned her gaze away from her mother.

  “OK, OK, I’ll drop it. But what about you? How are you doing?”

  “Mom, I’m fine. Now can we please talk about something else?”

  “All right, but I’m still holding out hope for a reconciliation. I’m going to miss him. That boy sure did know how to make a good cup of coffee.” Michelle shook her head and took her plate to the sink.

  Lilly didn’t need her mother reminding her how happy she had been with Charlie. Lilly was the one who had lost everything. Charlie was more than a boyfriend; he was her best friend, someone she always wanted as a part of her life. She shook her head. There was no sense dwelling on it.

  ***

  When Beth asked her about Charlie a few days later, Lilly simply told her that they had broken up. It was over. End of story. Beth didn’t ask for any explanation, and Lilly didn’t offer any. At least now she didn’t have to keep secrets from anyone anymore.

  As bad as things were for Lilly, Charlie had it worse. At least Lilly could come and go as she pleased. Charlie felt like a prisoner. He had to go straight home after school, do his homework, and talk to Tamar for an hour. Talking to Tamar wasn’t horrible, but she did not compare to Liliana.

  His mother stood over him while he did his homework. She walked upstairs when he started the link to Tamar to make sure he was following through with the arrangement. On the weekends, his father did not let Charlie out of his sight. He always had another project for Charlie to do.

  But Evelyn was the worst of all. Charlie noticed that she did drive-bys of his house to see if he was there. Sometimes he would stand at his window and wave at her just to annoy her. At school she would pop up out of nowhere: at his locker, in the halls, in the parking lot before and after school. She even followed him to Thursday night brass sectional practice, even though she was a woodwind and had no reason to be there.

  He could hear what others were saying about him, and it bothered him. Most of the band thought Evelyn was his new girlfriend—his new, possessive, stalker-like girlfriend who never let Charlie out of her sight. The girls al
l believed he was the scum of the earth for dumping Lilly to date Evelyn. The guys were in awe. They couldn’t believe Charlie could “snag two hot chicks” in such rapid succession.

  Only Beth got it half right. By Charlie’s body language and facial expressions, she could tell Charlie did not have feelings for Evelyn other than revulsion. So why did he put up with Evelyn following him around?

  ***

  The weeks of February passed slowly for Lilly. Valentine’s Day was hard, but the second weekend in March was worse. It was a weekend she couldn’t stay busy and avoid her problems. It was concert season, and the band had a competition. She would have to see Charlie, both on the bus and during the concert. They were performing a piece Lilly loved, “Pines of Rome” by Respighi. The music was powerful, especially the fourth movement, but Lilly couldn’t even enjoy it. She hoped the band would do well, but she couldn’t get excited about any of it.

  Charlie was hoping for some time alone on the bus ride, but no, Evelyn had to sit down right next to him. He sighed. Liliana was up front sitting by herself listening to music on her headphones with her nose in a book. Did she ever think about him? He wanted to stare at her, study her, but he couldn’t even do that with Evelyn in his business 24–7.

  Evelyn always had her eyes on Charlie but virtually ignored Lilly. Charlie understood why. It was obvious to Evelyn—and anyone else halfway paying attention—that Liliana wanted nothing to do with him.

  The band performed better than they ever had. Afterward, they waited around in the back hall for their scores. When the judges announced they had made the highest possible score, straight ones, the band started shouting. Everyone was jumping up and down and hugging each other.

  Dan headed straight over to Lilly. He picked her up and swung her around. “We did it. Isn’t that fantastic?”

  “It would be more fantastic if you put me down,” Lilly said. She thought it was a strange thing to do, until she saw him hugging other girls and giving high fives to the guys. Lilly figured he was excited that they won the competition.