“I’m going to die,” Arcineh said for the tenth time. “You know that, don’t you?”
“You’re going to be fine,” Sam lied, telling himself again that he was too old for this. He well remembered teaching Trevor to drive. It went smoothly. He was a natural. Arcineh on the other hand was more like Tiffany. The creative side of her did not allow for something as basic as the gas on one side and the brake on the other.
“I don’t think I want to learn to drive. I don’t mind walking.”
“You’re doing fine,” Sam lied again, thinking that if she braked hard one more time, his head was going to go through the windshield.
“Did you have trouble like this when you started?”
“It was so long ago, I can’t remember.”
His tone was so dry Arcineh began to laugh, and because she was scared, it was nervous and high pitched.
“All right, Arcie,” Sam said, trying to sound firm, thinking she sounded slightly hysterical. But he ended up laughing with her.
The lessons continued, and Sam’s words actually ended being true. When all was said and done, Arcineh did fine. Those first few days out were a bit rough—they did almost die—but within two weeks, Arcineh was gaining competence and confidence. Sam kept her in what he called her world, simply having her drive to the school, the dance studio, Daisy’s house, and home. There were no trips downtown or onto the interstate unless they were driving to Creve Coeur, and then he didn’t let her take the wheel until they were well away from Chicago. Thankfully it was April so the snow and ice had abated and there was little of that to contend with.
It would be October before she could test for her license, and Sam believed she would pass. For the moment, however, Sam was certain he heard Chicago, and possibly the state of Illinois, give a collective sigh of relief.
A beginning-of-summer trip to Missouri was unlike anything Arcineh had ever known. Sam wanted to visit Creve Coeur, and although Arcineh dreaded it, she found that life had altered. Both of her cousins had met people and gotten into relationships that changed the dynamic for her.
Austin was in his junior year, and Quinn was a sophomore. Austin’s girlfriend was Lexa, and Arcineh genuinely liked her. It was a mystery as to what Lexa saw in her cousin, but at least she was nice.
Tayte, Quinn’s boyfriend, was another matter. He was more in love with himself than Quinn, but the eyes of adoration that Quinn turned on him were blind to all else. Tayte never said or did anything inappropriate toward Arcineh—indeed he barely looked at her—but Quinn imagined that Arcineh was out to get him.
It made for some heated moments near the end of their visit. Arcineh simply avoided her cousin the rest of the time, and if the adults noticed, they kept their mouths shut. As usual, when Arcineh was able to drive away from the Rowan house, a peace filled her inside.
“Have you noticed that we don’t go on vacations?” Arcineh asked of Sam. Working again at Bryant Marble during the summer, Sam’s granddaughter had learned from Carlee that no one was in his office and had gone in and made herself at home.
“Come in and get comfortable, Arcie,” Sam said dryly as he watched her sprawl into a chair.
“Thanks, Sam, I will.”
“Now, what were you saying?”
“Just that we never go on vacation.”
“This coming from a girl who’s crossed the Big Pond at least eight times.”
“That was always business, and you know it.”
Sam looked at her, thinking she had a good point but not willing to admit it.
“Where did you want to go?”
“Anywhere?”
“Anywhere?” Sam pressed her.
“Not Chicago or Creve Coeur.”
“So you’re not thinking about something out of the country?”
“It doesn’t matter, as long as I don’t have school and you don’t have business.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And I want Violet to come.”
Sam stared at her again. He was going to keep teasing her, but it occurred to him how few demands she made on him. Why had he never seen that before now?
“Anything else, my lady?” Sam asked to cover what he was really feeling.
Arcineh grinned. “I’ll let you know.”
“Go on, get out of here.” Sam shooed her away, but she had made him think. By the end of the day he’d booked three flights for Hawaii, something he did not share with Arcineh. He called Violet so she could get the dates on her calendar, and he even told her the biggest surprise of all: They would be going in October to celebrate Arcineh’s sixteenth birthday.
“Brody!” Arcineh started when she walked into the break room to check on the coffeepot. “Do you work here?”
“I just started.”
Arcineh nodded.
“How long have you worked here?” Brody asked, trying not to stare. Arcineh always looked so good.
“This is my second summer.”
“Wow, you started when you were 14?”
“Well, my grandfather—” Arcineh began, but Brody cut back in.
“Bryant.” He looked as amazed as he felt. “I never made the connection.”
Arcineh smiled at him before asking, “What do they have you doing?”
“For now I’m shadowing Mr. Nelson.”
“How did you get the job?”
“Mason is my grandfather’s neighbor.”
“Mason is so nice.”
“Yes, he is,” Brody agreed, thinking he could sit here all day and talk to Arcineh. He hadn’t been thrilled when his father talked to his grandfather and arranged this, but things were suddenly looking up.
“How do you feel about Brody these days?” Arcineh asked Daisy on the weekend. The two were on air mattresses in the pool, bikinis and sunglasses in place.
“I’m over him. I mean, I would have liked to see if it could work, but who wants a guy who isn’t crazy about her? Not me.”
Arcineh listened for notes of sincerity and heard plenty before saying, “He’s working at Bryant.”
“You’ve seen him?”
“I talked to him twice this week.”
Daisy sighed. “He’s so good-looking.”
“He is nice-looking, but I’m not into blonds.”
“You like dark hair? I didn’t know that.”
“That’s because I don’t fall in and out of love every nine-and-a-half minutes.”
“I don’t do that anymore.”
“You just told me you were over Brody, and then you sighed about his looks.”
“But I’m still over him. I just think he’s gorgeous.”
The conversation swayed away from Brody for a moment, but Daisy suddenly jumped back without warning.
“Listen, Arcie! If Brody asks you out and you want to go, go!”
“He’s not going to,” Arcineh assured her.
“You don’t know that.”
“I know what it’s like at work. Everyone fears my grandfather. The last thing they would do is show interest in me.”
“So you don’t get to flirt or anything?”
“Except for Brody, they’re all too old. But they look.”
“I’ll bet they do,” Daisy said sincerely.
Arcineh looked over to find Daisy peering at her over the top of her sunglasses. Arcineh flicked water at her, and they both laughed. That settled, they went back to the topic of boys and then clothing and shoes for the rest of the afternoon.
“So how about a movie this weekend?” Brody finally got up the nerve to ask as the summer sped by.
Arcineh turned to look at the young man behind her, emotions flooding her brain. She had never been on a date and wasn’t sure she wanted her first to be with Brody, but she found herself wanting to say yes.
“What movie?” Arcineh asked, making herself move cautiously.
“Well, I’d like to see Independence Day or Mission Impossible, but if your grandfather objects to those, there’s also The Nutty Professor.”
“If that was supposed to be charming,” Arcineh told him, “you missed the door by a long shot.”
“What did I say?” Brody laughed a little over the way her arms crossed and her head tipped in irritation.
“You think I’m a baby.”
“Not a baby,” Brody countered swiftly. “Let’s just say—” he hesitated, trying to find a word that wouldn’t get him in trouble. “Let’s just say you’re protected.”
Arcineh opened her mouth to object and closed it again. Brody tried not to even smile, but it didn’t work. A low laugh escaped him.
“I am protected,” Arcineh said with a small laugh of her own, confident enough to just admit it. “But my grandfather’s not unreasonable.”
“So you’ll go?”
“Sure. I think Independence Day looks interesting.”
“Friday night?”
“All right.”
“I’ll check the times and get back to you.”
“I have a dance performance on Saturday, so early works better than later for me.”
“So home by…” Brody let the sentence hang.
“Probably 10:30—11:00 at the latest.”
“Okay,” Brody heard himself agreeing. He’d not been home before 1:00 A.M. on a Friday night in the last year, but this was a date with Arcineh Bryant, and in circumstances like that, you just didn’t argue.
“I have a date on Friday night,” Arcineh told Sam in the car on the way home.
“A date?”
“Yeah. Brody asked me to a movie.”
“The kid that works with Nelson?”
“Yes.”
The car got very quiet after that. Arcineh didn’t notice. She was hungry and trying to find a radio station that her grandfather wouldn’t object to.
“What if I say no?” Sam asked.
“About what?”
“The date.”
“Oh, that. I don’t know. I guess I didn’t think you’d mind.” Arcineh turned her head to look at him. “Brody and I talked about the fact that you’re protective, but I told him you’re not unreasonable.”
“Maybe I am,” Sam said in a tone that made Arcineh smile. He clearly didn’t like the idea, but unless he told her she couldn’t go, Arcineh planned to be on that date.
“I won’t be out late,” she said, as though this settled the idea.
Sam turned to look at her, and Arcineh just smiled into his eyes.
Sam’s gaze went back over the wheel as he said, “I’m too old for this.”
Arcineh simply laughed without mercy.
“How was it?” Violet was the one to ask the next morning.
“It was a good movie. We had fun.”
“Did he try anything?”
“No,” Arcineh answered on an incredulous laugh.
Even Sam was looking at Violet by now, but he didn’t try to stop her.
“Don’t you give me that look, Arcineh Isabel Bryant,” Violet warned. “Boys don’t ask girls out if they’re not attracted to them, and I don’t know this boy.”
“Well, I’m sure he is attracted to me, but he knows I don’t have time for a boyfriend.”
“Did he ask you out for next weekend?” Violet asked with a knowing voice.
Arcineh’s lack of answer was answer enough.
“He might have heard you say you don’t want a boyfriend,” Violet said, “but he wasn’t listening.”
Violet went back to work, and Arcineh looked at her grandfather. That man winked at Arcineh, causing her to hide her laugh behind a quickly grabbed napkin.
It had taken a great deal of restraint, but Brody didn’t kiss Arcineh until their third date. They’d seen yet another movie, adding dessert afterward, and Brody was now parked in front of Arcineh’s house. The car was shadowy, even with the lights from the front door, and the time just seemed right.
Arcineh’s eyes opened slowly. She’d never been kissed before and hadn’t realized what a pleasurable experience it could be.
When she didn’t draw immediately away, Brody kissed her again, his arms going slowly around her to pull her close. Arcineh kissed him right back, not sure what she was doing but enjoying it with every fiber of her being.
“I don’t have time for a boyfriend,” she pulled back enough to say.
“Okay,” Brody agreed, a hand going to the back of her head so he could kiss her again.
It was another 15 minutes before Arcineh got out of the car. Brody walked her to the door and asked her if he could call the next day. Arcineh heard herself agreeing before she slipped inside.
“I’m 64 years old,” Sam said to Violet late in the evening on Labor Day, his face lined with fatigue. “I’m too old to be surrounded by that many hormones.”
Violet laughed, but she knew just what he meant. The Rowans had just left, including Tayte and Lexa. Brody had been a part of the weekend’s activities as well. Somewhere along the line, Arcineh had forgotten she didn’t have room in her life for a boyfriend and was certainly making time for one.
Having young people around was always fun, but Tiffany and Jeremy were rather distracted, and the responsibility that went with having a bunch of teenagers in swimsuits was more than a little stressful on both Sam and Violet.
They had nearly lived in the backyard for the weekend, grilling, sunning, and swimming, but Sam—and even Violet—could not be on call that many hours. For that reason alone, it was something of a relief to have Monday arrive. Arcineh hadn’t wanted Brody to go home, but Sam had been firm.
Now all was quiet. Arcineh was not even on the phone, and as far as Sam was concerned, it was going to be an early night.
Arcineh had never even considered what it would be like to have a boyfriend in school. Part of the time she liked it, but at times it only added stress. Brody was not the student Arcineh worked to be. He was easily distracted when she was near and grew impatient when Arcineh wanted to study more than hide in the library stacks and kiss.
She was leaving in ten days for Hawaii, a trip that was like a dream come true for her, and all Brody could say was how much he would miss her. His moping made Arcineh wonder what she really felt for him. She liked being with him and they had great fun together, but she was confident they could pick right back up when she returned in nine days. The whole issue bothered her so much, she talked to Violet about it.
“He’s smitten,” that lady reasoned, “and your feelings aren’t as strong. A little like Tayte and Quinn, only in reverse.”
“Do I act like Tayte?” Arcineh looked as horrified as she felt.
“Not at all, but Quinn and Brody are in the same boat. They’re in love with people who just care for them.”
Arcineh looked thoughtful, and Violet saw her chance. Something had been on her mind for a time, and she was ready to be heard.
“Do you and Brody kiss a lot?”
“Sometimes,” Arcineh said. Violet was so easy to talk to.
“Does he press you for more?”
“He wants more.”
“He tells you this or tries to show you.”
“Both.”
“Do you give him more?”
“No,” Arcineh answered, and Violet knew she was telling the truth.
The older woman came away from the stove. It was where she was the most comfortable; in her mind it made her invincible. But right now she left the stove, came around the island, and took the stool next to Arcineh. She turned both stools until their knees almost touched, and holding Arcineh’s eyes with her own, she began.
“If you never hear another word I say, hear this. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. I won’t tell you how much I hate the thought of someone your age in a sexual relationship because it won’t do any good. A step like that has to be your idea and your belief, but until it is…” Violet stopped and made sure Arcineh was listening. “You say no!”
“Thanks, Violet,” Arcineh said, and meant it. She didn’t know if she would be that strong when the time came, but Violet had certainly given her some things to think about.
“What was that all about?” Arcineh asked Daisy the next week in school. She had just watched Brody and Landon down the hall, laughing and talking about something before a teacher told them to break it up.
“Oh, guys are such freaks. Landon was teasing Brody about going without because you leave for Hawaii tomorrow.”
“Going without?” Arcineh’s repeated, her voice dangerously soft.
“Yeah, you know.”
Arcineh did know, and it made her sick to her stomach.
“What did Brody say?” Arcineh asked, and Daisy finally caught her friend’s glittering eyes.
“What’s wrong, Arcie? Guys always talk like that. It’s not as though Brody will be unfaithful to you. He’ll wait until you get back.”
“Wait for what?” Arcineh’s teeth nearly clenched in her jaw.
Daisy’s mouth opened. “You mean, you haven’t?”
“No, we haven’t. Is Brody telling people we have?”
Daisy nodded miserably and watched Arcineh turn and walk away. Her friend went into the women’s bathroom and Daisy followed, but Arcineh wanted to be left alone. Daisy had just assumed that Brody was telling the truth. She felt terrible for having believed him, but not as bad as Brody was going to feel when Arcineh got done with him.
HONOLULU, HAWAII
Vacationing with her grandfather and Violet was more fun than Arcineh could have dreamed. Brody came to mind, certainly, but not because she missed him. At the moment, she was so angry that she didn’t think she ever would.
Arcineh laid on the beach, tried to talk Violet into a bikini, tasted mahi-mahi, learned to surf, ate shaved ice until her tongue began to peel, and vowed she wanted fresh pineapple every day for the rest of her life.
Sam’s head was buried in a magazine most of the time, but Arcineh couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him so relaxed. Violet said she was naked without her stove, but she grew tan and even joined Arcineh in the surf and in looking for shells.
Flying back to Chicago on the red eye—much too soon in Arcineh’s opinion—the 16-year-old hoped they would go every year.
Arcineh wasn’t the only one in the family to have boy trouble during the 1996–97 school year. By Christmastime Quinn and Tayte had broken up, and all the older girl wanted to do was sit in her pajamas and watch television.
Austin and Lexa were doing better than ever, but Lexa was with her family and not in Chicago, so all Austin did was mope. And to top it off, Tiffany got it into her head that everyone should go to church on Christmas Eve. Sam hated the idea and didn’t hesitate to say so. Tiffany’s tears would not be stopped, and as usual, Arcineh retreated to the kitchen.
But Violet wasn’t feeling well and had gone to her rooms to lie down. Arcineh ended up slipping quietly out of the house and driving herself to Geneva’s studio. She knew she shouldn’t do it—hiding behind her dancing was not healthy—but at the moment she was desperate.
Two hours later she got home to find her grandfather irate over her leaving, and the two of them argued. Arcineh never before remembered wanting the new year to start so much or even caring if she opened her gifts.
“She can finish with high school in December?” Sam clarified with the two people sitting in his office at the end of January.
“That’s right,” Miss Knepper said. “She’s already in college courses.”
“But she’s only in her sophomore year,” Sam felt a need to point out. “She’d be done halfway through her junior year.”
Both Miss Knepper and Mr. Stocco, the principal, nodded.
“Does Arcineh know this?”
“No.” Mr. Stocco took this one. “It’s entirely up to you as to how you want us to handle this. We can tell Arcie, or you can tell her, or we can keep her in school and advance the work, but to tell you the truth, it would be a shame to keep her from college if she wants to go.”
College two months after her seventeenth birthday, Sam thought with a good deal of shock. He knew she was bright and a devoted student, but such a thing had never occurred to him. He didn’t want her away from home that soon, and he wasn’t sure she’d be willing to go.
“I hope I have time to think about this.”
“Of course. That’s why we’ve contacted you so far in advance.”
The three of them talked for another 30 minutes. Sam had several more questions, and in the course of that time he decided he would tell Arcineh himself. He left the office planning to discuss it with her that very night.