"What?"
"Well, once Cody tried to shock me in a session by telling me, well, she just tried to shock me, and so when I saw you two together the other day, I wondered if maybe she hadn't been telling the truth."
"I don't understand. Wait, you thought,"
"Yes." This time it was my turn to laugh.
"No. Just friends. Sort of. I'm trying to be friends with her, but I just don't get her."
"Well, there's a lot more to Cody Thomlin than you think, and certainly more than she shows. Obviously I can't tell you anything about my sessions with her, but she's a damn good kid, Brooklyn. I just wish that Rhonda could see that."
"Oh, I do, too." I pushed myself down until I was laying flat, a hand behind my head, the other holding the phone. "Once in a great while, she'll let me glimpse those parts, and then just that quick," I snapped my fingers, "they're gone, and she's cut herself off again."
"You do realize that you're the enemy, right?"
"Huh?"
"Absolutely. You're an adult, and worse, you're her friends with her mother. She's not about to trust that easily."
"What do you recommend?"
"Persistence."
* * *
I held the warm cup of tea in my hands as I wandered around the backyard, looking at the new trees I had planted last summer. They were still small, but would grow. When I had been a little girl, I had dreamed of planting trees the first year so that I moved into my house and watching them grow bigger and bigger as the years went by.
Glancing up at the sky, I could see the sun trying to peek through, but it just wasn't happening. I just hoped that the rain would stay away, but by the looks of the clouds coming in from the east, not real likely.
Rinsing my cup in the sink, I was about to put it in the dishwasher when I heard the doorbell. Wiping my hands on my jeans, I walked over to it, and looked through the fisheye, surprised to see Jodi standing there, hands clasped in front of her as she waited, biting her lip.
I released the deadbolt, and opened the door. The girl smiled at me.
"Hi." She gave me a small wave.
"Hello, Jodi. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Um, I was just wondering if you'd like to get something to eat." She looked at me with hopeful brown eyes.
"Well, sure, why not." I smiled, my stomach actually had been grumbling since lunch this afternoon when I'd been able to manage grabbing a pop tart from the vending machine at work.
I grabbed a coat, and followed her out to her car.
"So, what brings you over here? Were you visiting your mom?" I asked as I got myself strapped in the compact car. Jodi shook her head.
"Nope. I came over here specifically." She turned the ignition and got the car started.
"Aw, how sweet."
We decided on a small, quiet diner that I had only been to a few times, but apparently Jodi and her mom went to all the time. Once seated, we began to talk.
I actually found her charming and interesting as she spoke about school, her friends, and her job.
"I'm really excited," she said as she buttered her dinner roll. "The way I've got it set up right now, we'll have this incredible puppeteer coming in twice over the summer for the children's program Patti and I are setting up. I mean, this woman is known throughout the US, as well as internationally." She took a bite, but barely missed a beat. "She has these massive puppets that she brings in, kind of giving the whole idea of a puppet show a new twist."
"It sounds wonderful, Jodi. You should be proud. You know, when I was younger, I used to go to the library all the time."
"Really?" I nodded as I sipped from my drink.
"Absolutely. I'd sit in the beanbags they had tossed around the floor, and I'd read."
"See, that's the type of setting and atmosphere I want to bring into the place. I want kids to head inside to the library to read during their summer breaks instead of staying out and getting into trouble."
"Exactly! I agree completely." I gave her a huge smile. "I'd love to see what you do when you're done. Please let me know when this woman comes. I'll go see a show."
"Really? You'd really come in?" She looked at me, bite of steak halfway to her mouth.
"Of course."
After stopping for ice cream, we headed back to my house, the sun beginning to go down, the beautiful orange and pink colors lit up the sky behind my house.
"Wow, that's amazing." Jodi said, looking past my shoulder at the sunset.
"I agree. I love sunsets."
"So do I. Beautiful."
Suddenly I felt as if I were being watched. I turned to look at the girl only to see that her eyes were on me. She took in my hair, my face, even my hooded jacket.
"Brooklyn, I need to tell you something." Her voice was low, almost hushed.
"Alright."
She looked down as her fingers fidgeted with themselves, her hands almost as if they were at war with each other. I watched her, wondering what was wrong, and was about to ask when she looked up at me.
"Brooklyn, I like you," she said simply.
"Well, I like you, too, Jodi. You and Cody both." Her eyes closed for a moment, a small smile lifting one corner.
"No, I mean I like you. I'm attracted to you."
Though this was not news to me, I was stunned to hear it from this girl, and had no idea what to say. I'm not sure what happened, or why - perhaps she had taken my silence as acceptance - but she closed her eyes, and reached for my face, pulling me toward her.
Before I could even think, I felt the softness of her lips against mine, just a slight pressure.
Whoa!
Getting my bearings back, I brought my hand up, placing it on her shoulder, pushing her away gently.
"Jodi, what are you doing?" I asked, my voice calm. I didn't want to hurt this girl, who I actually did like, but, no.
"I thought,"
"Jodi," I sighed. She turned from me, her hands going to the steering wheel, running her hands nervously along its smoothness. "I'm sorry. I guess, this just isn't what I'm looking for right now." I watched her carefully. She nodded, then smiled at me, though I could tell it was forced.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize." She said nothing, just turned her attention back to the steering wheel. "I guess I'm going to go."
With a shaky breath, I opened the door, and got out of the car, hearing it immediately start. As she drove off, and I walked toward the driveway, I stopped, seeing Cody sitting on her skateboard on the front porch. She was looking down at something.
"Hey, Cody," I said, for some reason feeling, I don't know, odd. I felt... guilty?
As I got closer to the porch, she looked up, then stood up, her eyes everywhere but on me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to make my voice sound chipper, but failing miserably. She shrugged.
"I was in the neighborhood." She looked around uncomfortably. "But, it's late, so, um, I think I'll head out." She dropped the board to the sidewalk, and pushed off, wheeling past me.
"Cody?" She stooped, barely looking at me over her shoulder. "Are you still coming early tomorrow?" She looked away, and nodded, then headed down the driveway. Once she hit the street, she hopped off the curb, and began to push herself like a madwoman, jumping over everything that came in her path.
* * *
I pushed the cart, grabbing an extra package of paper plates and plastic cups. With the additional guests now, I didn't want to chance running out.
As I strolled down the aisle, I thought about last night, and what had happened. Jodi had kissed me, on the mouth, lip to lip. I had been utterly stunned, and for a moment had no clue what to do. The girl was sweet and so young. The last thing I had wanted to do was to hurt or embarrass her. But, it seemed I had done just that.
Damn.
Then there was Cody. I would never know why she was at my house last night, but what had I done? I had run her off because I had been kissing her sister, her rival, in her sister's car!
I sighed in exasperation. How the hell had I managed to hurt both twins with the same gesture? And, for that matter, why would Cody care anyway? My guess was that she did in fact see Jodi as a rival, no matter how well they seemed to get along. They were still sisters, and very different, and were treated very different. Maybe Cody had wanted me all to herself, her very own little per project.
Yeah, don't flatter yourself, Fletcher.
Shaking my head to clear it, I hurried to pick up the rest of the decorations. I had a birthday party to throw.
I pulled up to the house, parking along the curb to give my guests the driveway. I pulled the emergency break, and glanced out the window, surprised to see Cody sitting on the walkway, her back against the brick of the house. Her skateboard was sitting next to her, and she had headphones on her ears. She was looking down as she read the lyrics from the CD booklet, her head slowly bobbing to the beat.
As I got out of the car, I looked at her, seeing the tan cargo shorts she had on, tan and blue Vans, different than I'd seen before. Her tank was white, the backwards baseball cap on her head matched her shoes, a brown leather band on her right wrist.
Suddenly her head stopped, and she looked up, her eyes meeting mine. I looked into her eyes, mine full of so many questions that would never be answered, or even sorted out for that matter. Hers reflected an intensity that I knew was inside her, a passion for what she was all about. A passion that was Cody. I felt my chest hitch for just a moment.
My gaze fell, and I quickly turned back to the car to start unloading bags. Within a few moments, I heard her behind me, waiting for instructions. I turned and smiled, handing her a bag. She eagerly took it, holding out fingers for me to hook other bags on.
Finally getting everything into the house, all the bags arranged on the kitchen table, I turned to her.
"Why don't you start taking the plates and cups out of their wrappers and I'll start hanging decorations." She nodded, but said nothing. "Cody?" She turned to me, my hand on her arm to stop her. "Happy birthday." She looked at me for a moment, that feeling of guilt from last night coming back. Finally she smiled.
"Thank you."
I took the bags of decorations I'd bought, and grabbed the roll of Scotch tape from my kitchen junk drawer, and began to hang the banners I'd bought for the girls, hanging them across the room, and then going outside, as a joke, tying some balloons to the mailbox. It looked more like a party for Jake than his nineteen year old sisters. Satisfied with my goofy gesture, I headed back inside to start getting the food ready. To my surprise, Cody already had veggies out and was making a salad.
"Well, aren't you just ambitious?" I chuckled, taking the defrosted hamburger and hotdogs out of the fridge. She shrugged.
"Why not?"
"Indeed." I went over to the sink and washed my hands before I started separating the meat into patties. "Cody, about last night,"
"You don't have to explain, Brooklyn." She glanced over at me, then quickly back at the lettuce she was shredding. "Whatever you do is your business."
"But, I didn't do that." She looked at me for a moment, then began on the tomatoes. "I think I gave Jodi the wrong impression. I feel bad."
"Don't. It happens." I sighed.
"So it does."
* **
Rhonda and Tom showed up with Jake in tow right on time. I just hoped that Jodi would show. Cody helped me to get everyone's drink orders as I manned the grill. Inside the house I heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get that for you," Rhonda said, heading into the house from the deck outside. I heard a shrill laugh, and lots of talking amongst lots of female voices. I smiled, hoping Cody wouldn't mind my last-minute invites. "Cody, honey, look who's here!" Rhonda came out, two lovely ladies with two lovely children with her.
Cody turned and then walked over to them.
"Hey, Dag. So good to see you." She hugged the petite blond, then pretended to punch the taller brunette. "Chase, you sneak. I didn't know you were coming."
"Well, thank that one. She's the sneak." Chase pointed at me, and I grinned at the girl.
"I hope you don't mind, Cody. I figured the more the merrier." I explained as I wiped my hands on a dish towel as I walked toward Chase and her partner.
"Honey, this is Cody's friend, Brooklyn. Brooklyn, my partner, Dagny."
"So nice to meet you." Dagny said, taking both my hands in hers for a warm squeeze. I liked this one. "Oh, Cody. You have gotten so beautiful," she said to the girl, cupping her face in her hands. Cody looked about the same color as the tomatoes she had chopped earlier.
Chuckling, I turned back to the grill as Rhonda and Tom salivated all over Hunter and little Jeremy.
I heard the doorbell again, and glanced at my watch. It was one o'clock on the nose. Well, she did get here on time, I suppose. Jake ran to the door, and let his sister in.
As the party went on, I found that I ended up chatting mostly with Dagny, finding her fun and exciting, thoroughly loving the way she was with her boys and her partner, and just in general. She was just an all around, nice, caring gal.
"Oh, you should have seen that one when we first met." She smiled, nodding toward Chase, who was out on the lawn playing Frisbee with Cody. "She was rebellious, obstinate, quiet, and just downright difficult to get to know."
"I really know what you mean." I chuckled, eyeing Cody, who was that, could it be, was there a smile on her face?
"So, how did you get to know her?" Dagny asked, sipping from her soda.
"I work with Rhonda. She's my boss, actually. I had heard about the twins for the last three years, but had yet to meet them. At the time they were both in high school, and busy with this or that, and rarely came into work to see their mom, so I really didn't see them. But, then all the sudden, there they both are all the time." She smiled, patting my arm.
"They never really grow up, do they? My parents aren't around much. My mom, who was a teacher, retired early, and went to join my father full-time overseas."
"Wow. That must be difficult." She shrugged.
"It was when I was younger, but I've gotten used to it. I've got my own family, now." She indicated her children who had joined the game of Frisbee. "I think it's wonderful that you're trying to be there for Cody." She looked me in the eye. "She really needs that kind of guidance, Brooklyn. Whether she'll admit it or not." We both smiled, and I took an ice cube from my cup, and popped it in my mouth.
Later, after gifts were opened, an autographed picture of Tony Hawk for Cody, and ceramic bookends made by me for Jodi, I began to take things back into the house, and nearly ran smack into Cody as she was heading out.
"Oh, Cody," she stopped, looked at me. "Would you mind staying for a few minutes after everyone leaves? I have another gift for you, and well, things being as they are, wouldn't feel real comfortable giving it to you in front of Jodi. I don't want to make things any worse, you know?" She nodded.
"Okay."
* * *
I led Cody upstairs, her tearing down decorations as we went, and into my pottery room.
"I hope you like this," I muttered, more to myself than her. I was nervous about it.
"Well, I don't think you can top Tony Hawk, but you can try."
I grinned, leading her over to one of the cabinets, opening it up, and bending down to pick up the somewhat heavy piece.
"What is this," Cody stopped, her eyes bugging open once recognition dawned.
"I only had the one drawing to go off of, so I had to guess on some of it." Cody nodded, setting the work down on the counter top, looking at it closely, moving from side to side to see the different angles. "Do you recognize it?" Again, she nodded.
"Yeah. It's my house. The one I drew for you," she said, her voice quiet, almost reverent. "But, I threw that out?" She looked at me, her eyes questioning.
"What, you don't think I can take something out of the trash, and iron it straight again?" She grinned, the slightest bit of a dimple winking at me as she turned her attention back to the house that she had envisioned since she'd been a small child.
"The roof lifts off, too. You only drew the outside, so I had to guess on the layout."
"Okay." She carefully lifted the clay roof, each shingle carefully carved into the soft material. "Wow," she breathed, looking at the floor plan. "Actually, this is pretty good." She smiled at me, then looked back inside. "What is this, oh. You put something in each room, like the cup here to tell me it's the kitchen?" I nodded, she smiled. "Cool. Great toilet, by the way." I grinned shyly. "How did you get the colors right? I love these colors."
"Well, I should hope so; you do have them in your room, after all." I winked at her, and she nodded.
"Sneaky, sneaky."
"Do you like it?" I was so nervous to hear her answer for some reason
"Very much so. No one has every done something like this for me before." She looked at me, the most genuine smile I'd ever seen on her face. "Thank you, Brooklyn."
"You're welcome."
* * *
This is how I heard it went:
"Rhonda Thomlin." My boss looked up from the proof she'd been working on, listening to what the nurse had to say, her face quickly going pale. “Thank you. I’ll be right there.” With shaky fingers she had disconnected her call with the woman, then quickly dialed seven familiar numbers She¹d have to call her since she¹d let Cody use the car this morning, and now was stranded at work.
“Hello?”
“Cody, honey?”
“Yeah?”
“You need to pick me up. We need to go to the hospital.”
“What? Why?” the girl asked, panic rising in her stomach.
“Brooklyn’s been an accident.”
Part 7
My head rolled to the side, my mind still buzzing, my brain seeming too large for my skull...
I had just turned onto Rudd, the early sun bright and intense, yet the morning was still chilly from the rains the night before. Luckily I had put an extra layer on this morning, though I knew that by the time I finished, I’d be without, the shirt tied around my waist. I had the new helmet on my head, and my sunglasses on as I signaled with my arm, letting the oncoming cars know that I, too, was turning right.
Rudd was busy, everyone trying to get to work at nearly seven in the morning.
I heard a screech of tires, then quickly glanced over my shoulder, my eyes becoming huge...
I moaned as my sleep became even more restless, my head aching as memories flooded into my mind. Rhonda filled me in later.
Cody hung up the phone, her mind on overdrive as she thought of the possibilities, and possible consequences. She threw some clothes on, not caring if she matched, or what the weather was like outside. Grabbing her keys, she hurried out the door, headed to her mother’s office.
On the drive, she had managed to calm herself, realizing that they couldn’t do Brooklyn any good if she killed herself before she even got to her mother. Rhonda was waiting outside when Cody pulled up to the curb.
The women were near silent as they headed for the hospital, Rhonda only telling her daughter that the nurse on the phone had told her that Brooklyn would live. However, that didn’t stop the skater from pressing a little harder on the gas.
Cody’s face was set like stone as she marched into the emergency room, eyes looking everywhere, trying to figure out where they needed to go.
"You." She walked up to the nurse behind the desk. "I need to get to Brooklyn Fletcher," she barked, the woman startled as she looked up into an intense pair of blue eyes. Rhonda stood back, almost feeling numb, and glad that her daughter was taking over.
The nurse told them where Brooklyn had been taken, and Cody was off again storming down the hall, looking for the elevator, jabbing the little round button with a "four" printed on it. The girl glanced at her mother once, seeing how upset she was, and gathered the shorter woman into her arms, telling her that it would be okay.
The doors opened with a ding, and they were off again.
Slowly, ever so slowly, my eyes opened, brows knitted as pain shot through my head, but just for a moment, then it was gone. I looked down at myself, seeing my right leg in a cast to my knee, pulled up in a sling, my toes naked to the cool room. Turning my head slightly, I realized that my left arm was also in a cast and sling. I felt surreal, as if I were in some weird dream.
Hearing a quiet noise, I looked toward the end of the narrow bed, and saw a TV mounted to the wall, the picture showing a news anchor, mumbling about something. What was he saying?
Deciding it didn’t matter to my mottled brain, I turned my head to the left to see someone sitting in a chair. After blinking several times, I realized that it was Cody. She was reading a magazine.
I opened my mouth to say hi, but nothing came out. It felt as thought someone had rubbed sandpaper on my esophagus. I tried to clear my throat, closing my eyes at the burning sensation.
Cody stood, and leaned over the bed, her blue eyes narrowed in concern.
"Water," I finally managed to say. She grabbed the glass that was on the side table, a straw sticking out as she brought it to my lips. I sucked in a little, sighing as the burning seemed to go away a little.
"Better?" she asked, and I nodded. She gave me a little more before she put the glass aside. "How do you feel?"
"I kind of hurt. What happened?" Cody looked away for a moment, then down at her shoes, then finally at me.
"Well, the cops say some guy was blinded by the sun. He hit you during your ride this morning." I stared at her, stunned. She looked down again. "Brooklyn, your helmet was cracked all the way down the center." She finally met my eyes, her face carefully guarded.
"Well," I cleared my throat again. "I guess what you had said was true; the life I would save with that would be my own."
She smiled, but only slightly as she stared into my eyes, her hands jammed deep into the pockets of her shorts.
"What time is it?" I felt my eyes becoming very heavy. Cody looked at the clock across the room.
"It’s almost three." Her voice seemed to echo through my head as my eyes slid shut, and I drifted into sleep.
I felt as though I was flying, landing briefly to see images of Keith standing over me, a worried look on his face. Another landing brought Rhonda to me, her hand gently pushing hair away from my forehead, her brow knit with concern. I seemed to see Cody’s face, too. She was never far from the other visitors to my dreams.
My eyes, which seemed to weigh a ton, fluttered open, hearing soft talking. I looked around the room, blinking several times before my vision cleared, and I was able to make out Cody standing against the wall by the bathroom door, arms crossed over her chest, baseball cap on backwards. Jodi sat in the chair next to my bed, but was turned toward her sister.
"I really feel like an idiot, Cody," she said, her hands fidgeting in her lap.
"Why?" her sister asked, not moving, her position pensive.
"I kissed her." She looked down. "After we had dinner, in my car."
Even in my drugged state, I had the distinct feeling that I was the topic of discussion. Cody said nothing, just looked at her twin.
"I shouldn’t have done that," Jodi finished off lamely.
"What did Brooklyn do?" Cody asked, crossing an ankle over her other foot. Jodi shrugged.
"She told me she wasn’t interested. It was stupid."
I wondered why Cody didn’t tell her that she’d been there, and had seen the entire thing. In fact, that had been the last time I had seen the girl; the night she’d skated off my property, and seemingly out of my life. I hadn’t seen her in weeks.
"I really like her, Cody." Jodi sighed. "It really sucks." She laughed ruefully. "I need a life."
"Ladies, visiting hour is over."
My gaze focused on the nurse standing in the doorway to the room, her scrubs colorless in my dazed state. The twins looked at her, and Cody pushed off the wall. She looked at me, her eyes opening in surprise when she saw me staring back at her. Jodi stood and turned to look at me, surprise also on her face.
"Well, now that we have to go, you decide to wake up," she said with a smile. I nodded, but then my eyes fell closed again, the weight of my lids more than I could handle. "I’ll see you later," she said, though her voice echoed in my head, the words blending together into a jumbled mass of sounds. I vaguely heard her footsteps as she left the room.
"Be there in a sec," I heard muttered. After what seemed like an hour, but was more likely a few seconds, I felt a hand on mine, soft, warm fingers wrapped around my own. "Night, Brooklyn."
A small smile spread across my face as feeling took over, the warmth and kindness in Cody’s touch and voice sending nice warm fuzzies through my muddled brain.
* * *
I saw my mother’s face swim before my eyes, a smile on her lips, her blue eyes twinkling with that mischievous glint that always seemed to be there, as if at any given moment she would play some sort of silly prank on you. Like the time I sat across from her at dinner, and suddenly she grabbed a piece of fat that she’d cut off her steak and tossed at me, hitting me squarely in the forehead. I laughed heartily as the entire family got in on the food fight.
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