"No, with rape. Before he left- after you punched him- he told me what he did, including the drugs."
"What?"
"I brought the police over the next day, but he was gone. If he comes back, there’s already a warrant out for his arrest."
Emily felt like she was breathing for the first time in months. "Oh my God."
"And correct me if I’m wrong, but he didn’t deny it when you talked to him, did he?"
She shook her head. "No," she whispered. "He... was practically bragging about it."
"Then that’s a confession too."
"You mean-"
"I mean you and Richard can stop stashing stolen narcotics now."
Her mind was racing. "Is Richard going to get in trouble?"
"I don’t know, but do you think Drew is going to press charges for theft since it sort of sounds like he stole them himself?"
"Oh my God." She started feeling a stone come off her chest... but wait. "I thought about going to the police. That was the first thing. But she didn’t want to."
"That is normal."
"She didn’t want to leave," Emily said as if she were making her own confession.
"I know."
"And I couldn’t let Joe... be there, where she might see him-"
"It’s not your fault," he said gently.
"I should have known what Drew was doing- I shouldn’t have let Zainab blow me off every time I said something about Joe-"
"It’s not your fault none of us took him seriously."
"I should have been able to stop him."
"There’s nothing you could have done."
"Don’t say that. There’s always something."
"You’re right. Joe could have suddenly developed a conscience."
"No, if I had just... said something... proven it, I could have stopped it."
"Emily." He reached for her. She didn’t stop him. He stroked her hair. "You did everything you could have and more than most people would have. It’s not your fault. Why are you blaming yourself?"
She moved her head away. "If I were half as smart as I let people think I am, I’d have known what was going on. What good are all of those tests I aced if I failed the one time I really needed to pass?" She refused to cry. "She’s the only person who really loved me. Maybe other people loved me, a little bit, but I was never good enough. I could have been a better daughter, a better student. I could have been… more. I could have been whiter. I could have been more Korean. I could have been prettier. I could have been less of a nerd. But I was never going to be better, and I was never going to be enough. So I hid out where I wouldn’t have to be. But then I came out, and Zainab found me. And she loved me just as I was. Has anyone ever loved you like that?"
"I don’t know. There was this one girl. I told her what a drunken idiot I was in my frat, and she told me I was brave, courageous and dedicated. And I remember those words really well, because she was very hard to impress." He smiled. "I guess I should have recognized my real rival all along, huh?"
"Zainab doesn’t have a rival. She’s the only person I’d do anything for."
"Right," he said slowly. "So you get into fights with sociopaths for all of your casual acquaintances?"
"That guy hurt my friend."
"Your real friends don’t want you to get hurt for them."
"Oh, well, it’s a good thing I had you to protect me- with spinach dip."
"I have my uses."
She pointed into his chest. "No you don’t. Thank you, you can go to the police- if Zainab is okay with it- but you aren’t allowed to shove anyone’s face in food again. Certainly not the kind of people who have big money behind them."
"Let me get this straight: you’re okay to beat up two rapists and commit some minor felonies- but avoid the police at almost all costs- but I can’t serve veggie dip to someone who hurt the person I care about? Did I mention I’m about six feet tall?"
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And I’m pretty wily."
"Yeah? And I think you don’t realize how upset everyone would be if anything happened to you."
Emily thought of what Zainab had said to her. "Maybe I do," she said softly.
"Good. Then promise you’re going to stop being a vigilante from now on."
"Fine- on one condition: you stay away from Michael Abbot."
"Oh, Hell no! I am going to kick that guy’s ass the next time I see him, and I don’t care how many well-connected people watch me do it."
"Alright, well, if you won’t negotiate..." Emily shrugged.
"Negotiate, huh?" Mitch raised one eyebrow. "We might be able to work something out. I will agree to your terms if you..." - he cleared his throat- "give me one more chance."
She noticed he was still wearing the band. She looked up at him as bravely as she could. "What does this chance look like?"
"What are your plans for Saturday?"
"I was thinking of sleeping in late, maybe catching a movie- "
"You’re not going to walk?"
"And sit in the heat while someone lectures me and then wait two hours for my name to be called? Thanks, but I’ll just pick up my diploma tomorrow."
"You can do that?"
She winked. "Professor Hazlett pulled a few strings for me."
"Hmm. No one did for me, and even if they had, my parents have been looking forward to this for the past five years, and I really don’t want to piss them off right now."
"Have fun."
"You could still have dinner with me- and my parents," he added quickly. "That’s something else they’ve been looking forward to."
"Dinner with you? I bet that’s never happened before."
"Dinner at some stupid expensive restaurant. They wanted to throw me a graduation party, but I nixed that. Dinner, with a friend, was our compromise."
"So who were you going to ask if you hadn’t caught me?"
"That was never an option."
Her cheeks tingled. "What if I say no?"
He moved in closer. "Then my parents are going to be very disappointed."
She looked up at him. All she could see were green eyes. "And you’ll beat Michael up- don’t forget."
He put his hands on her hips. "And I’ll beat up Michael, I’ll go to jail and then my parents will be really upset."
Emily put her hands on his chest. "I guess Mr. and Mrs. Graham haven’t done anything to deserve that."
"You know, they really haven’t," he whispered before he bent down to kiss her.
She’d thought about kissing him more times than she’d wanted to admit. She forgot all of that just then. The real thing was much better than she’d imagined.
He pulled away and put his forehead on hers. "Did you just say yes?"
She kissed him again. "I… just said yes."
He kissed her back. "Then I’m going to leave now before I can screw this up again."
She smiled. "I think that’s for the best."
"But you should kiss me one more time before I leave, just in case you change your mind and I never get to do this again."
"A little faith," she whispered before she pulled him into another kiss.
CHAPTER 63
Emily woke up at nine on Saturday morning. By ten Emily was out of the apartment. She walked to the upscale little diner on Beacon Street to meet her mother for brunch.
Her mother was waiting. "Hi Mom," Emily said as she sat down. She showed her mother her diploma.
Her mother read the cursive of the diploma. "Summa Cum Laude," she said out loud. "Very good. I wouldn’t have expected anything else." She paused. "I know how hard you worked."
They ordered and talked. Her mother had looked at other jobs, but nothing had come up yet. There were a few contacts she was working on, but they might take a while.
At noon, Emily kissed her mother goodbye on the street after she agreed to hold onto the diploma for safe keeping. She promised to get it framed. Emily waved. It was good to let some things go.
&nb
sp; ~~~
Miranda came over at three o’clock. "Okay, what are you wearing tonight?" When Emily showed her the halter top and skirt, Miranda shook her head in disgust. "Come on!"
Emily agreed to go to Miranda’s house once she was assured that Alex wasn’t home. After an hour and a half, they settled on a red and white wrap dress, bare legs and black heels. Then Miranda insisted on putting up her hair and doing her makeup. "Did you and Jessie play a lot of dress up when you were little?"
"We played it last year!"
Miranda called a car for Emily to take her to the restaurant on Newbury Street. She made a face when Emily told her the address. "Whose idea was that?"
"You’re a snob."
"But you love me anyway."
Emily was right on time when she got to the restaurant. The Grahams were already there.
Mitch came over. "Wow. You look gorgeous. And the dress is nice too."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mitch’s mother tap his father on the elbow. He nodded. "You must be Emily. Mitch, aren’t you going to introduce us?"
After they ordered, Emily answered questions about her parents, what she’d studied and what she was planning on doing. They seemed particularly impressed that she had family in Queens.
"And how old are you?"
"I’ll be twenty at the end of August."
"I’m sorry," Mrs. Graham said, "didn’t you say you just graduated?" Emily gave the most abbreviated story she could. "Well, you certainly seem to have your head on your shoulders. I wish I’d been as ambitious and dedicated at twenty as you are."
"Let’s see if our twenty-three year-old can absorb some of this young lady’s smarts, and then he’ll get through law school just fine."
Emily tilted her head. "I thought you were twenty-two?"
"His birthday was only last month, so you’re close."
She was genuinely surprised. "How come you didn’t tell me?"
Mitch rolled his eyes. "It wasn’t important."
"That’s because you’re all grown up. I’m a big baby about my birthday."
"I guess I am, too," Mrs. Graham sniffed. "I wanted to take Mitch out for his birthday, but he told me he had some important plans with friends."
"Mom, it wasn’t a big deal."
Emily looked at him. "Mitch, when is your birthday?"
"April twenty-fifth," his father piped up.
On April twenty-fifth, she’d broken her date with him after she saw him trying to get rid of his ex-girlfriend and then stayed up all night watching James Bond, listening to Monk and eating chips. Her face burned.
She couldn’t say anything when they were in the backseat of his parent’s car. Mitch took her hand and squeezed it, as if to say everything was okay. She squeezed back, as if to say thank you.
Mitch walked her to her front door. He still held her hand. "I can come back in less than an hour."
She shook her head. "No. Go to sleep, you’ve had a big day. I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Isn’t Zainab in Shangri-La with Richard?"
"Yes, but there is something I have to do before I see you."
"Do you promise you’ll come over?"
"I promise. Now get back to the car before your parents get mad."
She went upstairs and sat in the dark for a long time, taking comfort in the dim street lights and smiling at the sounds of traffic.
It was good to let some things go.
CHAPTER 64
Emily groaned on Sunday morning when she realized she didn’t have everything she needed. She went out to Whole Foods and came back an hour later. By nine-thirty, she was done. She packed up then walked over to Mitch’s apartment.
She jumped when he opened the door. He was standing in his boxers and nothing else. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Good morning."
"Did you forget that you asked me to come over, or do you always answer the door in your boxers?"
He grinned and kissed her. "Really? You don’t like what you see at all?"
She smiled. "I suppose I can live with it," she said as she walked in and he closed the door. "But the real question is, do you like this?" She pulled a plastic container out of the bag she was carrying, lifting the lid.
"Oh, wow!" Mitch said as he grabbed a lemon cupcake and ate it in one bite. "Hmm, these are good." He reached for another one. "Why did you bring cupcakes?"
"It’s a belated birthday present."
"What? You didn’t have to do that. You already got me something." He gestured to the band lying on his dresser.
"That wasn’t a birthday present."
He grabbed another cupcake. "You know, you’ve missed a bunch of other birthdays too. And Chanukahs."
"I think you’ve eaten enough for at least three so far."
Mitch was showered and dressed fifteen minutes later. "So," he said, popping another cupcake in his mouth. "What are we doing today?"
"Since we didn’t get to do anything on your birthday, I guess you get to pick."
His face lit up. "I know exactly what I want to do."
She blushed, but he grabbed her by the hand, took another cupcake, and then headed out the door. "Where are we going?"
"You’ll see."
They got off the train at Arlington station. He led her across Boylston and Newbury. "Was there something you wanted to buy?"
"Nope."
They crossed Commonwealth Ave, then Beacon, then walked left until they got to Dartmouth. By now she knew where they were going. They crossed over the footbridge and walked a short way until they got to the spot. No one was sitting on their bench.
"It looks the same," he said after they sat down.
She shrugged. "Not everything changes. But Mitch, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while."
"Yes?"
"Did you ever track down the girls who took the pictures of you and your frat brothers?"
He put his arm around her. "Do you want to talk about some girls who took advantage of me when I was inebriated, or do you want to do something else?"
She put her hand on his cheek. "Now what did you have in mind, Mister Graham?"
He pulled her closer. "I’m sure I’ll think of something," he said before he kissed her.
They stayed on the bench for hours until Emily realized she was hungry. They took the train to the North End and she took him to a little restaurant that looked like it was a remade bar out of an old Western. She laughed while he ate his big bowl of pasta. "What? I’m a growing boy with a big appetite."
"Promises, promises."
At four-thirty he asked, "And for dessert?"
"I don’t think I’m going to find anything vegan here, unfortunately."
He raised his eyebrows. "The cupcakes are vegan."
"Yes, but they’re at your place."
He waited a moment. "So I guess we’ll have to go back there."
She put her finger on her lips. "That’s a long way to go for a dessert."
"Oh, but they’re really good."
"I know, I made them."
He smiled. "But you haven’t eaten them in my apartment."
They walked to the train station. He kissed her hand and she stroked his face. She leaned in. "Haven’t you had cupcakes at my place? You didn’t think they tasted good there?"
"They were very good," he whispered. "But I have something at my place that will make them taste even better."
"And when," she whispered back, "did you become such an expert on cupcakes?"
"I’ve been thinking about them for a long time now."
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "And what else have you been thinking about?"
He rubbed her back. "What do I have to do to get you to make cupcakes for me for the rest of my life?"
~~~
When they were back at his place, Mitch took her hands. "Just... stand right there." He grabbed his iPod and scrolled through for a few seconds. "There." He put it into the speakers.
Paul Anka came o
n and crooned the song she’d mentioned that night on the bench. Her face tingled. He remembered. "Oh, very classic," she said when he put his arms around her.
His hands slid down to her hips. "I try."
"What are you trying now?"
"To get you to dance with me."
"So ask me."
"Will you dance with me?"
"I would love to."
She put her hands on his shoulders. He led them around the room, first taking little steps, then letting his strides grow. She didn’t usually like to be led, but he moved well.
"Song's over," he whispered a few minutes later.
"So it is," she said shyly. "Now what?"
His cheeks turned red. "Oh, I don’t know. I thought... maybe, if you wanted to..."
She traced down the center of his chest. "Of course I want to."
"But?"
She swallowed. "I don’t want to worry that I’m being compared to someone else."
"Didn’t I tell you once before? You’re in a class by yourself." He stroked her hair. "But what about me? Do you know how hard it is to have to compete with stars?"
"You remembered that?" she asked incredulously.
"Now how," he asked as he leaned down to kiss her, "could I forget something like that?"
~~~
She could tell by the way he undressed her that he had thought about being with her as much as she had thought about being with him. But the way he touched her and the way their bare skin felt next to each other was something that couldn’t be planned or rehearsed.
Hours later, they saw the sun begin to peek through the window. They lay in bed, under the sheet, as they had at the end of their yoga class.
"What are you thinking about?" he whispered.
"Stars," she murmured sleepily.
He kissed her neck and she turned over to him. She kissed him then touched his face. "What are you thinking?"
"What am I going to say to convince you not to leave?"
"Well, Professor Hazlett is giving me a few weeks off."
The Smartest Girl in the Room Page 26
