“Was my mother always this nervous, Uncle Wade? Even before they adopted me?”
He was silent so long that I thought he wasn’t going to answer, but then he turned and smiled at me. “That’s how you know how much she loves you. If you’re precious to her, she cares more, worries more.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I said.
He shook his head. “You’re going to be a tough one, all right.”
“Tough on whom?”
“Boys, of course, who else?” He laughed. “You’ll pin them to every word they utter.”
I didn’t want to tell him that I was already doing that.
“Just try not to think so much and so hard, Sage. Enjoy what little youth you have left. Once you’ve crossed over into adulthood, you have to work harder to enjoy yourself. Too much responsibility, too many people making judgments,” he added.
We drove in silence for a few minutes. I still couldn’t get past the idea that my parents were using my uncle to find out more about me, what I was thinking and perhaps what I had done. That was why they were so eager to have him drive me to the party and pick me up. I hated thinking of him as a spy, but maybe I could play the same game, I thought, and turn him into my spy. My earlier conversation with him at the lake gave me the courage to reveal more.
“Did my parents have a child before me?” I asked.
He slowed down immediately and pulled to the side of the road. “Why did you ask that?” Before I could reply, he added, “You did look all through that file drawer, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I saw the pictures of two children, a boy and a girl. Who are they?”
“Look, I said I wouldn’t say anything, Sage, but I don’t like that you’re snooping and spying on your parents.”
“Well, they don’t want to tell me very much, Uncle Wade. You have no idea how it feels to be in a whirlpool of secrets and half answers. I feel . . . I feel like an outsider.”
He nodded and then surprised me by smiling. “My brother and his wife have no idea how brilliant you are, Sage, but give them time. They’ll realize it.”
“What about those other children?” I pursued.
“Yes, they had fostered a boy and a girl before you, a brother and sister.”
“Where are they? What happened to them?”
“Let’s just say it didn’t work out. It was before they moved here. They took them on too late and weren’t up to the challenge. That’s why they wanted an infant—you. They didn’t want a child nearly fully baked. They don’t like talking about their first experience, so, as with everything else they haven’t mentioned, don’t be the first to mention it. When they’re ready to tell you about it, they will. Felicia wants to be sure you’re old enough to understand everything. She’s looking out for you. They both are.”
He continued driving, but I didn’t want to lose my momentum. He was already more forthcoming than my parents had been all year. “Is that why they’re so nervous about me—the bad experience they had?”
“Probably. I’m not their therapist, you know,” he said, smiling. “They’ll be the first to tell you I’m the one who needs the therapist.”
“Did you know they sent me to one once?”
“I heard about it. I’m sure you really didn’t need that. They realized it, too.”
“Did they tell you any more about it?”
“Just that you terrified the therapist,” he said, smiling. “Put all that behind you, Sage. Dark thoughts corrupt our faces, crush our smiles, and bury our dreams. Have a good time. What will be will be.”
“Are you still going to keep my secret about the file drawer?” I asked.
“I don’t like your not being honest with them, but I promised I would, so I will,” he said.
Usually, it was easy for me to tell if someone was lying to me or telling me something that he or she didn’t believe, but Uncle Wade had an impenetrable wall around him when he wanted it, so I couldn’t be absolutely positive one way or another. That shouldn’t surprise me, I thought. After all, he lived and worked in the world of mystery and magic, a box inside a box inside a box.
I thought that was it for our discussion of the file drawer, but I had opened the door to a room full of secrets, apparently.
“What else did you find in that drawer?” he asked.
“Lots of other pictures, pictures of people who looked just like my parents, but they were old pictures. Did they both look so much like their parents or something?”
“I’d have to look at the pictures to tell you. We all used to take funny pictures, dress in old-timey clothes and such. The photographer could make them look like they were taken years and years ago by vintage cameras.”
“I also saw college diplomas that didn’t make sense. They had my father’s name on them, but he couldn’t have gone to college that far back.”
“Oh, they’re probably fakes, too. We did all sorts of things when we were younger. I have some of those myself. Next time I come, I’ll bring my old-time pictures.”
“There was a little box full of bones in the file drawer,” I said.
He didn’t say anything.
“What could that be?”
“Mementos of something, I’m sure. Your father is more of a hoarder than you know. He never likes to throw anything out. I think he was a squirrel in an earlier life.”
“Mementos of what? There were bones in the box.”
“It’s probably something I gave him, something I picked up at a fair in Europe. I should be flattered he kept it, I suppose.” He turned and smiled. “I haven’t been as loyal to the things he gave me.”
“I found my birth certificate.”
“Well, that’s good. So many people misplace theirs, and then when they need them, they panic.”
“That’s what they told me when I asked about it. They told me they couldn’t find it, and they might have to get another one.”
“You mean they’re becoming that forgetful?” he asked. He sounded serious.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
He nodded. “We’re all a bit forgetful at times.”
“You don’t forget things. You do that wondrous thing with memory, asking an audience of a hundred people their names and then repeating them.”
“It’s a memory trick. I might show you that one someday.”
“Maybe you should show it to my parents.”
“Will you stop all this worrying, Sage? I’m beginning to worry about you,” he said. “I’m serious, Sage. It’s all right for a girl to be bright and responsible, even curious, but you’ve got to let loose sometimes.”
“I do try.”
“Good, but try harder.”
When we pulled into Ginny’s driveway, we could see that most of the guests had already arrived. The large picture window in the living room was filled with them talking and drinking.
“I hope that’s only soda or juice in those glasses,” Uncle Wade said.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I don’t like anything alcoholic.”
“Oh?”
“It blinds me, makes me deaf.”
“How do you mean?”
“It closes my third eye,” I said, smiling.
He nodded. “Yes, it would,” he said. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “I wanted to be the first tonight,” he said. “Have a great time, Sage, and try to be more like fifteen than fifty.”
“Okay. Thank you, Uncle Wade.”
“See you at half eleven,” he said in a heavy English accent.
I laughed, got out, and started for the front door. A car full of senior boys pulled up behind Uncle Wade just as he had begun to back out. He had to hit his brakes fast. Jason Marks was driving. From the way they were shouting and goofing around, it looked obvious that they had already begun drinking something alcoholic and didn’t even notice Uncle Wade at first. The car pulled back, and then Todd Wells stuck his head out the front passenger window and started to yell for Uncle Wade to back up f
aster.
“We’re getting as old as you waiting!” he screamed.
I had no idea how it happened, but Todd’s door flew open immediately after he said that, and he fell out of the car awkwardly. The other boys roared with laughter. Uncle Wade backed out carefully and slowly drove off.
“Are you all right?” I shouted to Todd.
He struggled to his feet and looked at me. He was obviously embarrassed and a little shaken. He rubbed his knees and wiped off the palms of his hands on his pants. “Yeah, sure,” he said, and brushed down his clothes as Jason drove into the driveway and the others spilled out of the car, continuing to ridicule Todd. Jason said he was always sticking out too far. They all laughed.
“It was your stupid car, Marks!” Todd shouted back. I couldn’t see him in the shadows, but I was sure his face was crimson. “The door doesn’t close right, just like your mouth.”
“Serves you right for not wearing your seatbelt,” Ward Young told him.
They all patted him on the back and headed toward the front door. When I stepped into the light, Jason howled. “Don’t anyone go near this girl. She’s mine.”
He hurried up ahead of the others to put his arm around my waist as we walked through the opened front door and into the cacophony of laughter, shouts, and music piped through the house on speakers in every room. Ginny came hurrying through the living room to greet us. Darlene was right behind her, focusing like a laser on Todd.
“You look great,” Ginny said.
“Thanks.” I slipped out of Jason’s embrace.
“Hey, where you going?” he cried. “I thought we were attached at the hip.”
“Sorry. My hip is choosier,” I said, and everyone laughed, especially Todd, who hadn’t enjoyed being the butt of their humor out there on the driveway.
“You and your hip will come begging later,” Jason said. “Take my word for it. Where’s the booze?” he cried, and walked into the living room. The other boys followed, but Todd took Darlene’s hand first. She smiled from ear to ear when she looked back at me.
“That girl will take a bullet for you now,” Ginny said. “What’s that ring you’re wearing? I never saw it before. It’s different.”
“My uncle the magician brought it back from Budapest for me.”
She brought my hand closer. “Are those dragons?”
“It’s a good-luck ring. Very old. Yes, the dragon of the east, the messenger of heavenly law, facing the dragon of the west, keeper of earth knowledge. It’s perfection, truth.”
She dropped my fingers from hers as though they were too hot. “That’s too much for me. I’ll stick with diamonds,” she said, waving her own ring in front of me. It was the ring she had been given on her last birthday. “C’mon. Get something to drink, and start dancing.”
“Do your parents know how many people you invited?” I asked, seeing that it was wall-to-wall on the marble tile area she had cleared for dancing.
“I told them just my close friends. It’s not my fault that I made more close friends since I told them,” she said, and laughed.
“Where are they?”
“At my aunt Dede’s in Boston until tomorrow. Don’t worry about it. I’ve done this before. As long as the house is still in one piece when they return, it’s fine.”
As I looked around, the question for me was, would it still be in one piece?
There were many expensive-looking things here, like the cabinet full of Lladros in the hallway and the large landscape oil paintings. It was quite an upscale home. My first impression was that it was at least twice as big as ours. It was a ranch-style house, with a flow to the rooms, the living room opening onto the dining room, which had just a granite countertop between it and the large kitchen. There were very big, expensive-looking area rugs and a continuous marble tile floor. To the right was a large den with red leather sofas and chairs and a very big television. Kristen Gayle and Curt Bishop were entwined on one of the settees, kissing as if they were on a movie set. On the other settee, Mia Stein was sitting, with Greg Storm sprawled out, his head on her lap. The television was on, but I doubted they could hear the music video. Why would they want it on, anyway, with all the other music? Noise seemed to make everyone more comfortable.
One of the school’s football players, Nick Kowalski, stood like a cigar-store Indian, with his thick, muscular forearms folded across his barrel chest, beside the refreshment table in the dining room. He was eyeing everyone like a department-store detective.
“Nick’s my bouncer,” Ginny said. “And everybody knows it, too.”
Nick smiled when he saw me. I knew he liked me. He was important on the football team, but he wasn’t good-looking enough to attract many girls at school. Despite his size and aggressiveness on the football field, I sensed he was gentle. He was always very polite with me.
“Hi, Sage. What can I get you?” he asked when we drew closer. I saw the rum and vodka poorly camouflaged on the side of the table.
“Just a Coke, thanks, Nick.”
He widened his smile. “Smart girl,” he said, and poured me a Coke.
“Boring,” Ginny said.
I turned and watched the others dancing. Someone made the music louder just as Cassie Marlowe entered the house. She stood in the hallway looking in at everyone. She looked frightened, mousy, hugging herself like someone about to come apart. No one called to her. She searched with desperation for a friendly face.
“Oh, no. I was hoping she would decide not to come at the last minute,” Ginny said.
“She’s not that terrible, Ginny. I’ll see to her.”
“If you hang out with her, no one will ask you to dance or anything.”
“I’ll risk it,” I said.
Ginny shook her head and quickly went off to dance so she wouldn’t have to greet Cassie.
I started toward her. “Hi, Cassie. You want a soda, something to eat?” I asked her.
She looked at me suspiciously. “Just a soda?”
“That’s all I’m drinking,” I said. “C’mon.”
I started back to the refreshment table, and she followed, remaining a few steps behind. I signaled Nick, and he poured another Coke and handed it to her. She sipped it cautiously, her eyes full of trepidation. She gasped when Nick reached out to take someone’s empty glass for a refill. It set off some alarm bells inside me, but before I could give them any attention, Rickie Blaine stepped up between us, inserting himself aggressively. He was almost as big as Nick and was also on the football team. Cassie stepped back quickly.
“Wanna dance?” Rickie asked me.
“In a while,” I said.
“What, ya got to warm up your engine or somethin’?”
“Somethin’,” I replied.
He turned, glanced at Cassie, and then shook his head at Nick and walked away. Off to the right, two other boys, Sam Becker and Adan Fellows, were horsing around and bumped into a side table. Nick shot out quickly, seized each one’s arm, and squeezed hard and tight enough apparently to terrify them both.
Ginny stepped up beside me. “See, I’m protected. No worries.” She looked at Cassie and shook her head before stepping closer to me to whisper. “Get rid of her. You’re wasting precious time,” she said, and rushed back to the dance floor.
“Why didn’t you want to dance with Rickie Blaine?” Cassie asked me.
“I was afraid he’d step on my foot,” I said, “and I’d be on crutches for months.”
She studied me for a moment to see if I was serious. When I smiled, she smiled. “Isn’t there anyone here you like? I mean boys?” she asked.
I looked around, really more for her than myself. “No one I’d pine over. Peter Murphy is a nice boy,” I said, nodding in his direction. He was talking with another boy, Danny Cook, intensely as if nothing was going on around them. They were practically inseparable in school, and they were the only boys from our class here.
“Everyone calls him a super nerd,” Cassie said. “But you’re right,” she
added quickly. “He’s nicer than most.”
By “most,” I could see she meant everyone else.
I took a closer look at her. She was wearing a sleeveless dress that hung on her body like a hand-me-down at least a size and a half too big. She had a nice figure, but she never wore anything that would clearly reveal it. She wore a pair of dark brown, worn loafers and no socks. She had no jewelry, just an inexpensive-looking watch. At first, I thought that her mother deserting her and her father five years ago was probably what made her so timid and plain. Her dark brown hair looked unwashed, pinned up clumsily, with split ends. She was wearing only a touch of lipstick, and it looked put on too quickly. Her nails were nibbled down, and she wore no nail polish.
“I was surprised I was invited tonight,” she said. “I’m not really friends with Ginny. I’m not really friends with anybody.”
“Why not?” I asked.
She shrugged.
Jason Marks swaggered up to us. He sipped what was obviously more than soda and smiled. “How’s your hip?” he asked. “Ready for some hip action?” He did a disgusting bump-and-grind. Cassie’s eyes widened. “Your friend’s interested,” he said.
“Not interested, revolted, as in turning her stomach.”
“Yeah, well, maybe someone should.”
“To answer your question, my hip is quite content as it is,” I said.
His smile faded. He looked at Cassie and nodded. “You’re in the right company,” he said. “Enjoy yourself.” He walked off quickly and started to dance with Shirley Jones, even though she was dancing with Ward Young.
“I never liked him,” Cassie said. “He was always making fun of me.”
“Good judgment on your part,” I said.
“You’re so pretty,” she told me. “You should be out there dancing with someone.”
“I’ll be out there when I’m ready. Let’s go talk to Peter and Danny.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
I started to cross the room toward them. Cassie stepped around someone and walked ahead of me, and I noticed a bruise on the back of her right arm. Without hesitation, I reached out and touched it. There was a flash when my fingers grazed the bruise, and what I saw next stopped me from moving.
Sage's Eyes Page 9
