Somewhere in the Middle (16 page)

Roone's half smile widened into a whole one.

"Will you come over tomorrow for superhero day?" Eli called, trying to
stick his head out of the window he'd just rolled down. Safely restrained
by the seatbelt in my backseat, he couldn't do it or get out of the car
by himself, something he'd definitely have done if he'd had the strength
to push that little red release.

Roone caught my eye. "Superhero day?"

I explained. "Eli and I are watching movies together tomorrow. With
both Dad and Mom working this year and Cory always out, I have to do
something to keep him entertained until bedtime. We'll get a tree and
decorate it, of course, but that doesn't take long. So this year he's
picked every superhero movie we own--
The Avengers, The Amazing
Spiderman, Captain America: The First Avenger,
plus some others. More
than we'll actually have time to watch."

"No Batman?"

"Though Eli's smart for his age, the Batman movies are a little old
for him. Actually they all probably are, but Batman's the darkest and
deep plot-wise, so he hasn't seen it." I tilted my head just a little.
"Would you want to come? Please don't feel bad if you don't."

"But I do."

I couldn't hide my smile of pleasure. "Sweet. I'll wait until you get
there to make a tree run. I was dreading doing it by myself since I
always pick one that's too big to manage. You can be my muscles."

"I'd be honored," he said.

And the funny thing...? I thought he meant it.

Roone was at my house by eight on Friday. After bundling up Eli--it
was very cold out but clear, thank goodness--he and I got into Roone's
truck, which he said he'd borrowed from his dad. I let Eli direct him to
the Christmas tree lot since he was so excited about the day we had
planned. In fact, he was practically bouncing in the seat. But when we
began walking the rows of evergreens in search of the perfect one, I was
definitely in control. No way was I going to let Eli pick out a scrawny
fir just because he felt sorry for it. Yeah, he'd actually done that.

Up and down we went with me inspecting every fir, spruce, and pine. Of
course I found what I wanted, Douglas-fir, but only after we'd inspected
almost every single one on the lot. And of course it was too big. But
Roone had a truck and plenty of muscles--patience, too, I might add--and
I couldn't waste such a golden opportunity.

When we got back to the house, he made short work of trimming a couple
of inches off the trunk so it would last longer and setting it in the
plastic tree stand. I added water, hoping it could stay up until New
Year's. We didn't begin decorating right away. I was saving that for our
first intermission. Instead, we all plopped down on the couch and began
watching
The Amazing Spiderman
, which was my all-time favorite
Spiderman movie, at least so far, if not my top superhero movie. Andrew
Garfield, who played the iconic Peter Parker, delivered a performance
that was nothing short of perfect as he played a young male dealing with
not only his teenage angst, but a bite from a revved-up spider.

The most fun, however, was watching Roone and Eli. Riveted to the
screen, they cheered and high-fived every time Peter rose to the
challenge and squashed the big bad lizard guy. When that movie ended, I
served hot chocolate and the iced sugar cookies Mom had somehow managed
to bake that week. Honestly, someone should've made a movie about her and
called it Super Mom. After that, we started on the tree.

"Do you guys have yours up yet?" I tried to picture the Thorsens
setting a live tree in their den and then decorating it. Couldn't do
it.

"We bought a fake one with decorations already on it."

I grimaced. "But you've had real ones in the past?"

"Not exactly."

"You've always had fake ones? Just look what you've been missing. The
Christmassy smell alone makes them worth the bother, and just wait until
you see it with the lights on."

At the Sayers home, we stuck with tradition and used the same
ornaments Mom and Dad had bought for their very first tree together with
the addition of many we kids had crafted through the years, most of them
made from construction paper, or Popsicle sticks, or photos of us with
bad haircuts and missing teeth. We also had a few ornaments Mom had
brought home after helping clean out her mother's house after she died.
Our prize was a fragile glass star that my grandpop had bought in Germany
when he was overseas fighting a war. That always went on the top of the
tree.

After Roone helped me string the lights, I draped the skirt tree
around the trunk to hide the stand. I then opened the tub of ornaments
I'd retrieved from the attic the night before. The three of us went right
to work. Eli was in charge of the bottom. Roone took the top.

As for me, I decorated somewhere in the middle, occasionally spacing
out ornaments Eli had hung too close together, as in three on the same
branch. Roone asked a lot of questions while we worked, mostly about the
handmade ornaments, so he heard a lot of family history. Finally we got
to the very last one--Mimi's star.

"Can I put it on the tree?" Eli's big eyes pleaded with me. "I'm a big
boy now."

I cringed. Could those little hands manage the task? With the tree
sitting on our hardwood floor, a drop would be fatal for the star. "Will
you be very, very careful?"

He nodded eagerly.

"Okay." I handed him the ornament and then reached to pick him up.

"Let me." Roone hefted my brother onto one shoulder. Eli stretched and
pushed the dainty star onto the single top branch, which he'd bent
slightly so he could reach it. I sighed a breath of relief when it looked
as if he'd managed the task. But that turned into a gasp of horror when
the springy fronds immediately rejected the delicate bauble and launched
it.

The star sailed through the air...for a nanosecond. Then it paused
midflight, changed its path, and gently landed on a couch cushion.
Wide-eyed and weak with relief, I collapsed in the nearest chair and tried to
slow down my thudding heart.

"Oh my God. Mom would've died, just died if anything had happened to
that." I got the star and handed it to a teary-eyed Eli again. "Why don't
you let Roone help this time?"

Eli, his bottom lip trembling, nodded. Roone pulled down the branch
for Eli and then made sure the star was well seated before he released
it. He set Eli on his feet. "That's perfect, dude. Great job."

Eli's tears instantly dried up. I wanted to give Roone a huge
thank-you hug, but didn't. After our mutual, unplanned visits to the rock,
which had included a reaffirmation of our
friendship
, I didn't
intend to do anything to rock the boat.

Slightly sick at my stomach at what might've been, I got up and turned
on the tree lights. It looked spectacular. I next put away the ornament
tub. When I finished, I popped the second DVD into the player and settled
on the couch again, impulsively kissing the top of Eli's head. With the
near miss on my mind, I turned my attention to Roone, who was already
wrapped up in the story of Thor, the Nordic god who'd been exiled to
Earth when Odin, his father, cast him from Asgard.

Roone could've been a god, I decided, from a planet called
NowhereNear. That would explain his physique and psychic powers. As if he
felt my gaze, Roone glanced over Eli at me. I mouthed, "Thank you," and
blew him a kiss that might've been a little more than friendly.

He just grinned.

The movie ended as it always did--not exactly the way I wanted.
Clearly a little shocked, Roone watched the credits roll for a couple of
seconds before he shifted his attention to me. "It's really over."

"Yeah."

"But they're not together." He referred to Thor and his love interest,
physicist Jane Foster, of course.

"I think they will be. Maybe in
Thor II
."

"But he left her on Earth."

"He had to save his own planet."

"But--"

I held out my hand to hush him. "I totally agree, okay? I think he
should've taken her with him. Considering her research and theories about
outer space, she'd definitely have loved it there."

Roone went very still, which wasn't easy with Eli bouncing on the
couch between us in anticipation of the next superhero flick. "She'd have
to leave her friends and family."

"Love sometimes means sacrifice, and he was definitely worth it."

"He coulda stayed here," said Eli, surprising both of us. I hadn't
realized he was listening that closely.

"Exactly," I said. "Thor could've stayed right here and fought
anything that tried to conquer us. Of course he would've had to leave
his
friends and family, but with the Bifrost intact, he and Jane
could've visited Asgard any time they wanted." I got up and stretched to
relieve my kinked muscles, belatedly picking up on Roone's flat mood. He
really was bummed. I patted his leg. "Lighten up, Roony Toony. It's just
a movie."

"Guess I'm a happy ending kind of guy," he said, flushing.

"Aww."

Click!

Eli giggled. "What's next?" He referred to another superhero epic, no
doubt.

"Lunch. Do you eat turkey, Roone? And by that I mean one we cooked,
not the prefab, paper-thin stuff in the delis."

Roone nodded. "Sounds great."

I headed to the kitchen. The guys soon joined me there and watched as
I sliced turkey and made sandwiches. Using a big cookie cutter, I cut
Eli's in the shape of a star so didn't have to trim off the crust. After
adding a dill pickle and some chips, we went back to the TV. By then it
was one-thirty, which left us just enough time for one more superhero
movie. Eli chose
Captain America
.

While we munched and watched Steve Rogers kick Nazi butt, I sneaked in
several peeks at Roone, who seemed very thoughtful and maybe even a
little distracted. I couldn't blame him. Three long movies were probably
a bit much for one day. But by the time this one was over, he was totally
into it, thank goodness. I sure didn't want to bore him.

"I like that guy," Roone said once the credits started to roll. "He's
very...polite."

"Just like you, right? So he's your favorite hero so far?" I asked as
I slipped the DVD into its case.

"No. That would be Thor."

"Mine, too! Mine, too!" said Eli.

"And mine," I told him. "Of course the whole thing is pretty
farfetched."

Roone stood. "Especially the part about him communicating with Loki by
simply talking out loud." Loki was Thor's wily stepbrother. Supposedly
the first shapeshifter, he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve and no
conscience to restrain him, which put Earth in constant peril.

"I know, right? But if you're going to watch a movie, you might as
well suspend your disbelief, even if you have to accept that a dad would
throw his son off their home planet just to teach him humility."

"Is that what happened to you?" Eli tugged on the hem of Roone's
tee.

Roone seemed disconcerted by the question. "Now why would you ask
that?"

I burst out laughing. "Because you're his hero, of course."

He blinked. "Me?"

Eli quickly nodded. "You saved Everly and Shannon
and
mommy's
star." He held out his arms, palms up, in a silent
Duh!

He'd realized Roone saved the ornament? Yikes. I'd definitely have to
put a new spin on that tale when he blabbed to our parents, which he'd
definitely do. A little panicky, I quickly changed the subject. "Our
grades should be posted online by now. Want to check yours?"

Roone winced. "Not so much."

"Oh come on. Don't you want to know if you passed physics?" I led
Roone over to the computer table, which was tucked in a corner of the
room. There I sat and found my way to the school's website on the laptop.
After typing in my name and password, I checked my grades. Four As and
two Bs. Still somewhere in the middle. "Now you."

Roone sat with visible reluctance, but I didn't let him off the hook.
Just call me nosy, but I wanted to know if my prayers for a miracle had
done any good. The grades popped up. All As. Even in Physics.

My chin dropped. "How in the world did you--"

"Last minute cramming with Dad must've worked."

"I'll say. Wow. Congratulations!" Now I gave him a hug, but it was
from behind, and there was a chair back between us. "Your dad will be so
proud of you."

"Yeah." Roone stood, carefully not looking me in the eye for some
reason. That caused a vibe so weird even non-psychic me picked up on it.
"I really need to go. Thanks for including me in superhero day, Eli."

"Thanks for helping us with the tree," I said, walking him to the
door. Eli stayed in the den, already engrossed in whatever cartoon was
on. I snagged Roone's jacket from the peg mounted on the foyer wall and
handed it to him.

He dug into the pocket and handed me a small black box. "Merry
Christmas."

I wanted to crawl into a light socket. "But I didn't get you
anything."

"You've given me enough already. Your friendship. Your silence. A
turkey sandwich."

That made me laugh. "Whatever. May I open this now?"

He nodded.

My hand shook as I lifted the lid and found a delicate gold bracelet
with a single round charm. Looking closer, I saw it had unfamiliar
markings on both sides of it. "Do these mean something?"

"I think they're just part of the design."

"Help me?" I set the box aside and held out my hand so Roone could
fasten the bracelet around my wrist. "It's perfect. I love it."

I could tell he was pleased.

"Wait right here." Turning, I hurried to the kitchen and got one of
the boxes of colorful Christmas cookies we planned to share with friends
and neighbors. "Almost forgot to give these to you. So you're not leaving
empty handed, though cookies aren't anything compared to this."