“In England?” he asked incredulously.
Saskia nodded. “They’ve met a bunch of times in secret. Their relationship’s been on the down-low for months. His name’s Sam. They’re really into each other. This summer he was all Paige talked about. I guess I’m telling you because I’d want to know if I were being cheated on.”
Josh exhaled audibly. “Are you sure?”
“Very. Paige’s obsessed with him. Sam’s introduced her to all his friends. He gave her, like, a valuable family heirloom. The whole situation’s very . . . dramatic.”
Josh suddenly crouched down. She wondered if he was feeling light-headed.
“Look, I don’t like being a snitch,” she continued, “but I also don’t like when guys are suckered. It’s not a good look.”
“I just . . . I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” she said, then took out her phone and showed him some texts from the summer.
P: all I can say is sam’s PERFECT. i’m blown away
S: what happened?!
P: what didn’t happen? i feel like i’ve known him for years & we only just met. Can’t stop thinking about him. maybe I’m under a spell?
S: maybe. tell me more
P: tell u everything tonight. Every juicy detail
S: how juicy
P: u won’t be disappointed. I’m falling fast.
Josh got a queasy look. She touched his shoulder lightly. “I hate that she’s been keeping this a secret from you. But you should know . . . her relationship with this guy—Sam—it’s serious. I mean, she even wrote, like, a marriage contract. Swearing she’d die for him.”
“What?”
“I know. Crazy, right?”
“I—I don’t know what to say.”
“You should talk to her. Demand the truth—the whole story—from the beginning.”
“Where would she even start?” he asked bitterly.
“Probably Mirror Lake.”
“Mirror Lake?”
“Paige said that’s where things first heated up.” Saskia gazed at him with as much solemnness and commiseration as she could muster. “One word for you, Josh. Skinny dipping.”
He sighed. “That’s two words,” he muttered.
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Hey, um, thanks for telling me. I guess. I mean, I’m not sure how to react to this.”
“It’s okay—I’ve been there. Paige has a habit of messing with people’s minds.”
“I guess we have that in common,” he agreed. His eyes flashed to hers, and he offered a sad smile. “Hey, you wanna stay? Maybe hang out after we rehearse?”
Saskia held his gaze for a moment, then shook her head. “Nah. It’s too late for that.”
They talked about it all the time, Saskia and Lila. What should become of the Mercury Boys Club. Adrienne was no longer in the picture, and Lila and Saskia promised themselves they wouldn’t reach out to her. Maybe someday Adrienne would contact them, but that was her decision to make. They would just have to wait and see.
As for Paige and Sara Beth, they had mercifully stayed away. And Saskia had let go of Cornelius. Everything had changed. It only made sense that the club change, too. In fact, it only made sense that it end—that was what Saskia and Lila were thinking. No more mercury. No more pills. No more dangerous pranks, health scares, and backbiting.
And now, no more Cassie.
“She broke up with you,” Saskia asked in disbelief.
“I broke up with her.”
“It’s because you’re in love with me again, aren’t you,” Saskia deadpanned.
“Shut up. I broke up with her because it’s too much—it’s just all been too much.”
Lila didn’t have to elaborate. Saskia knew exactly what she meant.
“And for your information, my crush on you is ancient history,” Lila informed her. “I have my eye on a hot little number in my study hall. She always sits at the same table as me. Every Tuesday and Thursday. It means something, right?”
“What do I look like—some kind of love expert?”
Lila rolled her eyes. “Speaking of love, is anyone on your radar?”
“Last night I had a date with a king-size Kit Kat. Does that count?”
“It depends. What were you wearing?”
Saskia giggled, but even with Lila, her best friend, she didn’t admit that she was often lonely, and that she often thought about Cornelius far too much. Still, she knew she couldn’t have him—not in that way. She wouldn’t put another family through what she’d been through. And besides, she’d finally returned Cornelius’s daguerreotype to the library. She’d mailed it back to the library, care of Marlene.
The thought of it sitting there alone in the archives saddened her, but some things must be done.
“I have an idea,” said Lila.
“You do? What?”
“We have these darn tattoos, right? Let’s make another club—with the same initials. A club that doesn’t involve lying, injury, trespassing, arson, and poison.”
“So something like the Mad Barbaric Cowboys?”
“Not exactly what I had in mind, but I like the creativity.”
“More Boiled Cabbage?”
“No. But an A for effort.”
“Merry British Cyclones?”
“That’s a big nope. It appears we’re failing.”
“‘But failure is merely a necessary catalyst, propelling us ever closer to success.’”
“What?”
“Nothing,” said Saskia wistfully, shaking her head.
“I see this may take a while, so how about this? I’ll come over, help your dad not ruin his weekly Kyinkyinga, and then we come up with a club we’d actually want to join.”
“I like it, Defensor. Good plan.”
As the girls walked toward Lila’s Buick, which had accrued a few more dents and dings since the summer, Saskia realized with a jolt that she was feeling, well, like herself. Like the Saskia she’d been before moving to Coventon, someone who was secure, confident, and comfortable in her own skin. It had been a long time since she’d felt this way. Too long.
Rifling through her backpack, she found a Sharpie and added a few more words to the assortment scribbled on her T-shirt.
Milestones/Mistakes
Enemies/Friends
Hope/Redemption
The Journey
Acknowledgments
We writers like to complain about toiling alone, but the truth is that our books would not be half as good—or even possible—without the wisdom, hard work, support, and professional expertise of many others. There are many people who made invaluable contributions to Mercury Boys and who helped transform a glimmer of an idea into a full-fledged reality. My deepest thanks to my crackerjack literary agent, Marly Rusoff, who is as resourceful as she is smart. My early editor, Dan Ehrenhaft, championed this novel from the get-go and offered insights that were always sound and often transformational. I was doubly lucky to work with ace Soho Team members Rachel Kowal and Alexa Wejko, who guided this novel to the finish line. Thanks to other talented members at the press, especially Bronwen Hruska, Janine Agro, Rudy Martinez, and Steven Tran. Loving gratitude also goes to my family, especially Basil, Niki, Alexie, Anna, Ravi, Maggie and Rick Wetzel, and my parents, Radha and Sue Prasad. Friends new and old, including John and Theresa, Erin, Trina, Mayumi, Neela, Steve, Audrey, Donna, Katie, Deb, Lee Anne, Colette, Emily, Michelle, Amy, Jennifer and David have all been lodestars to me in so many ways. Thank you.
Finally, I consulted numerous resources for this book, including but not limited to Quicksilver: A History of the Use, Lore and Effects of Mercury by Richard M. Swiderski; Cased Images & Tintypes KwigGuide: A Guide to Identifying and Dating Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, and Tintypes by Gary W. Clark; “A Very Good Specimen of the
Daguerreotype” by Marian S. Carson; Pennsylvania: History of a Commonwealth by Randall M. Miller and William Pencak; Robert Cornelius: Portraits from the Dawn of Photography by William Stapp; and the clever, funny, and diverting Tumblr account My Daguerreotype Boyfriend curated by Michelle Legro.
Mercury Boys Page 35
