Connection (Le Garde) (30 page)

I grinned and walked inside with her. We popped in a movie, but we didn’t watch it. We started talking about Le Garde, Joseph, Amelia, powers, everything. Allie came home first, and she squealed and gave me a hug.

Anna’s mom got home before Ginger. She stopped in the doorway when she saw me. “Hello, Aaron.” She looked at Anna.

“
It’s not her fault,” I said. “I just showed up unannounced and I was so charming Anna couldn’t turn me away.”

Ms. Beauvais closed the door behind her and chuckled. “Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what happened.”

Allie giggled. “Are you staying for dinner, Aaron?”

“
Hm, I don’t know.” I looked at Ms. Beauvais as she walked to her bedroom. “Am I?”

“
I don’t know. Is he, Anna?”

I waggled my eyebrows at Anna.

“
Sure, why not?” Anna said.

We were a couple turns into Scrabble when I remembered I had a date with Wendy. I looked at my watch. We were going to get pizza and then go to the drive-in, so I had a couple hours before it got dark. I watched Anna gently tell Allie she spelled ‘
stain
’ wrong, and I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay here with Anna.

I ran a hand through my hair. Lucky Wendy. Going out with a guy who was still stuck on the girl who’d rejected him a year and a half ago. Even though she was dedicated to her boyfriend.

I finished the game of Scrabble. Anna won, but we were all expecting that. I cleared my throat. “Look, I should go.”

Anna looked at me in surprise, and I felt her disappointment. “Oh. Why?”

“
I’ve been out all day and I’m kind of tired,” I replied.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to get into my head to figure out what was up.

“
You hate it when I do that to you, so why are you allowed to do it?” I asked. I tried to sound playful, but it was an honest question.

“
Do what?” Allie asked.

Anna pursed her lips, dropping her gaze as she put Scrabble away.

“
I have a date with Wendy,” I said.

“
Who’s Wendy?” Allie asked, wrinkling her nose.

“
She’s my girlfriend.”

Allie stared at me for a moment. “Oh.”

Next to her, Anna was torn between being upset and being happy for me. “Well, you should go, then,” she said. “I don’t want to hog you.”

“
Right, you had me all—” I cut off when Ms. Beauvais walked into the dining room. “All afternoon.” I stood up. “Ms. Beauvais, I can’t stay for dinner. I forgot I had a date.”

“
Oh, with Wendy?” Ms. Beauvais asked.

“
Yeah,” I said, “we’re going to the drive-in.”

Anna seemed disgusted. I couldn’t keep up with her emotions right now. “Okay, I’m outta here,” I said. “Thanks for Scrabble. We’ll have dinner some other time.”

The girls said goodbye to me as I left the house. Even Ginger looked up from the TV long enough to wave to me. I got in the car, taking a deep breath. Time to switch gears. Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.

* * *

I drove home and decided to shower before going on my date with Wendy. When I walked into the living room, my dad was watching TV. He muted it as I shut the door. “Mom said you went to San Francisco with Anna,” he said.

“
Yeah,” I said, taking off my hoodie.

Dad cleared his throat. “You two are getting close again.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, we’re friends again.” Last weekend, she’d said I was one of her best friends. I almost couldn’t believe I was that lucky. I walked past him to the hallway.

“
Aaron,” he said.

I paused and glanced back at him. “Yeah?”

“
I hope you’re smarter this time around.” He smiled like he was teasing me, but I thought he was serious.

“
Yeah, I hope so, too.” I hesitated. I hadn’t mentioned his connection with Anna’s mom because Anna told me they’d sworn to stay quiet, but I thought about it every time I looked at him. “Dad, do you ever.
 
.
 
.” I glanced over my shoulder, and I saw Mom gardening in the backyard through the kitchen window. “Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you didn’t marry Mom?”

Dad stared at me. “What do you mean?”

“
Let’s say you never met Mom. Would you have married someone else?”

He looked at the television, his lips pursed. He ran a hand over his thinning brown hair. “I don’t know, Aaron. Your mom’s perfect for me.”

“
But just say you had no idea she existed.”

He peered at me. “Why do you ask?”

I couldn’t tell him the real reason: I wanted to know if he would have ever married Anna’s mom. I shrugged. “I’m just wondering if there’s only one person for someone. A soulmate or whatever.”

His brow furrowed, lines on his forehead deepening. “Do you like Anna like that?”

I shrugged again as I took a step back. “I don’t know. There’s Wendy, too, and.
 
.
 
.”

“
I love your mom,” Dad said slowly, “but if I met another woman first, one who was right for me, I might have married her.”

“
How would you know if she was right for you?” I didn’t care about him anymore; I wanted to know for me. I had a huge crush on Anna, but maybe it was just the connection between us. Maybe I was just choosing Anna by default.

Dad fidgeted with the remote. “You know when you’d do anything for each other, when you love and support each other without hesitation.”

Hesitation, that held both Anna and I back. I nodded. “We’ll see if that ever happens,” I said with a weak laugh.

“
You’ll know, Aaron,” Dad said. He unmuted the television, and I backed away. My dad wasn’t a big talker, so when he did give advice, I took it.

He said I’d know. I had a feeling I already did.

* * *

That Sunday, Anna and I met at the old house again. We spent half an hour doing our usual thing, but then we started messing around with the electrical wiring of the house. If we held hands, we could make a mental map of the place like we did at Joseph’s. We could send a current through the place so that all the outlets and lights worked at once, but we couldn’t sustain it after letting go of each other. We kept trying to access our power without touching. It didn’t work. Neither did our attempts to touch without triggering our power. No matter what we did, when our skin touched, the electrons around us started going nuts. We could keep them still if we concentrated really hard, but it gave Anna a headache and made me break out in a sweat. After we kept them from doing anything for five minutes, I felt like I’d ran a mile.

“
It’s such a crazy feeling,” I said and drank from my water bottle. I held it out for Anna, and she took a drink.

“
Thanks.” She put the bottle down and rubbed at her temples. “We’re really learning a lot.”

I nodded. “It’s awesome.”

We sat in the hallway, leaning against the wall that faced the steps. I nudged Anna’s knee. “Hey, Chandler is having a party next Saturday. You should come.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Will Jordan be there?”

“
Yeah. Pinwheel’s going to play some songs.”

“
I don’t know.”

“
Come on, it’ll be fun. I think he’s over it, especially since Wendy and I are going out.”

Anna cleared her throat. “How’s that going?”

“
Good.” I stared down at my feet. I felt like no matter how much I liked Wendy, it would mean nothing compared with how I felt about Anna. I knew it wasn’t fair to Wendy and I was already contemplating breaking up with her. “But you should definitely come. Bring Sam and Kaylie and even Steven if he wants to go down the steps in his crutches.”

“
I’ll think about it,” Anna said.

“
No, don’t think about it, do it. When was the last time you saw us play?”

After a moment of thought, she replied, “I don’t even know.”

“
We’re so much better! Chandler is really getting great on the drums, and Wendy plays bass, so I can do sax. I’m going to find us a trumpet player eventually.”

“
That’s cool.”

“
Will you come?”

“
I don’t know. Vickie’s going to be there, too?”

“
Anna,” I groaned. “Don’t worry about them. I’ve got your back.”

She raised her eyebrows at me wordlessly.

“
I swear.” I put my right hand up. “Scout’s honor. You could turn me down from a hundred homecoming dances. I’ll never be a shitty friend again.”

Anna smiled. “Well, thanks. If Sam will come, then I’ll go.”

That night, I texted Sam and invited her to the party. She said she’d go, so I called Anna.

“
Hello?” she answered.

“
You have to come on Saturday. Sam said she was coming.”

Anna laughed. “Are you serious, Aaron?”

“
Yes!”

“
Okay, fine. I’ll be there. But I have to go because Steven’s on the other line. I’ll invite him, too.”

I hung up, smiling. She’d actually picked up to talk to me while Steven was on the phone. I thought that was a good sign.

19. la soirée (the party)

Aaron

Chandler’s parents were some of the most lenient adults I had ever met. They let Chandler throw parties all the time; they even bought some of the alcohol. They figured it was better for their son and his friends to drink under their watch than somewhere from where they had to drive home. Some nights, Chandler’s mom even waited by the front door with a breathalyzer before letting kids drive home.

Saturday night arrived, and kids trickled into the basement once it got dark. Chandler put on Sublime for intro music. He had a science to party music. Somehow, he knew exactly when it was the right time to play hip-hop, rock, pop. He knew the crowd. He’d be a good DJ someday.

Pinwheel started setting up in the corner. I kept my eye out for Anna and her friends, though I knew I’d sense her from the driveway.

While I was tuning my saxophone, Wendy came up to me from behind, wrapping her arms around my stomach.

“
Hey, gorgeous,” I said, turning my head to look at her.

“
Hey.” She kissed my cheek. “I’m excited for tonight.”

“
Me, too.” I turned around and wrapped my arm around her.

“
I’m kind of nervous, too.”

“
You’ll do great,” I assured her. “We’ll have to keep a tight hold on you or all the other bands will want you as their bassist.”

“
I’m not going anywhere,” she said, shaking her head. She kissed my cheek again.

Ouch. Twist the knife, why don’t you?
I thought.

Jordan came over with a beer in his hand. “Oh, man, tonight is going to be awesome!” He looped an arm over my shoulders. “I hope you’re ready to rock, Aaron.”

“
I was born ready,” I said.

Jordan cheered and chugged his beer until it was gone. He left to get another drink. I took his good mood as a sign things were going to go fine tonight.

Pinwheel started playing around ten o’clock, when the basement was pretty full. The kids at the party were mostly students from our high school, but there were a few I didn’t recognize. We played a couple songs, then I felt Anna near the driveway. A few minutes later, Sam and Kaylie came downstairs. Steven on his crutches came next, Anna walking slowly behind him. Our eyes met from across the room, and she waved at me.

When the song was over, we got a few cheers and applause. Jordan turned to me. He’d had a couple shots since we started playing, and his brown hair was sticking up with sweat. “What the hell is she doing here?” he asked.

I didn’t have to ask who he was talking about. “I invited her.”

Jordan groaned. “Come on, man, this obsession is getting ridiculous.”

“
I invited her to a party. How is that an obsession?”

Jordan motioned to Wendy. “Just remember who you’re with, okay?”

I rolled my eyes at Wendy, and she smiled uneasily at me. I stepped closer to her, dropping my voice. “Don’t worry about me and Anna.”

She shrugged, staring down at my bass. “I don’t know. Jordan and Vickie keep making it seem like it’s something bigger.”

I touched her chin, tilting her head to look up at me. I could feel Anna’s thoughts as she watched us. A bit of jealousy mixed with something else. I dropped my hand and smiled at Wendy. “It’s not.”
And I am officially the world’s biggest liar.