my eyes. I’m really not in the mood for a lecture.
‘Sorry but I’m on the phone right now,’
I say and brace myself, expecting a tirade. There is a pause, and Nan just
says:
‘Alright dear, but be downstairs at
seven, Jake is coming to fetch us for Circle.’
What on earth is Circle , I think but I just say: ‘Okay,’ and wait for the sound of
footsteps before I lift the phone to my ear again.
‘Sorry Jen, where were we?’
‘ We were getting nowhere and you were
working yourself up into a tiz,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to calm down, Shaylee.
There’s nothing you can do until tonight so just relax and take it in stride.’
‘God I miss you,’ I say. She is my
voice of reason and I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. Only Jenne
knows how to snap me out of my self-pity charades.
‘Talk about a topic change,’ she
laughs, and then quiets into a more serious tone. ‘So what’s happening
tonight?’
‘Haven’t a clue,’ I say, ‘but Nan said
something about Circle .’
There is a strange pause, and Jenne
says in a funny voice:
‘Circle? What’s that?’
‘How should I know?’
Another pause.
‘What time are you leaving?’
‘Seven.’
‘Will you call me after?’
‘Sure,’ I say, ‘if we’re not back too
late, otherwise tomorrow?’
‘Perfect, cheers,’ Jenne says.
‘Bye, my friend,’ I say, and hang up
the call.
I drop my phone onto the bed and check
the time on my wrist-watch: six thirty.
‘Better get ready,’ I say to myself,
but instead of following my own instructions, I move to the bedside table, pick
up my trusted Five notebook and flip
to the last page. I write the word: ‘Circle,’ and follow it with three question
marks.
Chapter 8
Shock
Tastes like: The first bite
of lemon.
Smells like: Ammonia.
Sounds like: A gasp.
Feels like: Icy fingers on sleep-warmed
skin.
Looks like: The tiny jerk
of muscles when startled.
At precisely seven pm, Jake pulls into
the driveway to collect us for Circle .
Nan radiates disapproval as she gets into the front passenger seat beside him
and I slide into the back of the Mercedes. She hasn’t said anything to me about
my mother’s phone call yet but her feelings are clear. I think I’ve shocked her.
Maybe she still expected me to be the same little girl I was when we left
Aylburton. I’m not.
Jake glances between us, and draws Nan
into a conversation about someone named Kent. I listen for a while as they
discuss this person, who seems to have gotten into trouble at school for playing
some kind of a prank, but since I don’t know him, I lose interest quickly and
block out their words as I stare out the window at the magnificent scenery.
Everything looks so green . It’s a different green from what
I’m used to, much more verdant than the olive shades of home. The sky is
brilliant against the jewel-toned tree-line; birds soar above us and flit
between the tree-tops and the brilliant colors of spring blooms catch my eye,
blurring into rainbows as we speed by.
The bluebells must be resplendent now;
I can’t wait to take my first walk amongst them. I can almost feel their
velvet-silk between my toes and it fills me with the warmth of home…Home…I
shake my head and bury the memories back where they belong – deep in the past.
I may once have lived here, but it is not my home and never will be again.
Nan suddenly lets loose a chortle and
my attention snaps back to the conversation in the front of the car. I wonder
what Jake has said to make my grandmother laugh and marvel at how, somehow, in
the space of seconds, he has changed Nan’s mood from censure to mirth.
Jake winks at me in the rearview
mirror and I stare back in surprise. It’s just a wink, but it feels like so
much more; a promise of support, a pledge of allegiance from an unexpected
corner. I don’t have time to think about it though because the car rolls to a
stop outside a quaint little Church
‘Sorry but I’m on the phone right now,’
I say and brace myself, expecting a tirade. There is a pause, and Nan just
says:
‘Alright dear, but be downstairs at
seven, Jake is coming to fetch us for Circle.’
What on earth is Circle , I think but I just say: ‘Okay,’ and wait for the sound of
footsteps before I lift the phone to my ear again.
‘Sorry Jen, where were we?’
‘ We were getting nowhere and you were
working yourself up into a tiz,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to calm down, Shaylee.
There’s nothing you can do until tonight so just relax and take it in stride.’
‘God I miss you,’ I say. She is my
voice of reason and I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. Only Jenne
knows how to snap me out of my self-pity charades.
‘Talk about a topic change,’ she
laughs, and then quiets into a more serious tone. ‘So what’s happening
tonight?’
‘Haven’t a clue,’ I say, ‘but Nan said
something about Circle .’
There is a strange pause, and Jenne
says in a funny voice:
‘Circle? What’s that?’
‘How should I know?’
Another pause.
‘What time are you leaving?’
‘Seven.’
‘Will you call me after?’
‘Sure,’ I say, ‘if we’re not back too
late, otherwise tomorrow?’
‘Perfect, cheers,’ Jenne says.
‘Bye, my friend,’ I say, and hang up
the call.
I drop my phone onto the bed and check
the time on my wrist-watch: six thirty.
‘Better get ready,’ I say to myself,
but instead of following my own instructions, I move to the bedside table, pick
up my trusted Five notebook and flip
to the last page. I write the word: ‘Circle,’ and follow it with three question
marks.
Chapter 8
Shock
Tastes like: The first bite
of lemon.
Smells like: Ammonia.
Sounds like: A gasp.
Feels like: Icy fingers on sleep-warmed
skin.
Looks like: The tiny jerk
of muscles when startled.
At precisely seven pm, Jake pulls into
the driveway to collect us for Circle .
Nan radiates disapproval as she gets into the front passenger seat beside him
and I slide into the back of the Mercedes. She hasn’t said anything to me about
my mother’s phone call yet but her feelings are clear. I think I’ve shocked her.
Maybe she still expected me to be the same little girl I was when we left
Aylburton. I’m not.
Jake glances between us, and draws Nan
into a conversation about someone named Kent. I listen for a while as they
discuss this person, who seems to have gotten into trouble at school for playing
some kind of a prank, but since I don’t know him, I lose interest quickly and
block out their words as I stare out the window at the magnificent scenery.
Everything looks so green . It’s a different green from what
I’m used to, much more verdant than the olive shades of home. The sky is
brilliant against the jewel-toned tree-line; birds soar above us and flit
between the tree-tops and the brilliant colors of spring blooms catch my eye,
blurring into rainbows as we speed by.
The bluebells must be resplendent now;
I can’t wait to take my first walk amongst them. I can almost feel their
velvet-silk between my toes and it fills me with the warmth of home…Home…I
shake my head and bury the memories back where they belong – deep in the past.
I may once have lived here, but it is not my home and never will be again.
Nan suddenly lets loose a chortle and
my attention snaps back to the conversation in the front of the car. I wonder
what Jake has said to make my grandmother laugh and marvel at how, somehow, in
the space of seconds, he has changed Nan’s mood from censure to mirth.
Jake winks at me in the rearview
mirror and I stare back in surprise. It’s just a wink, but it feels like so
much more; a promise of support, a pledge of allegiance from an unexpected
corner. I don’t have time to think about it though because the car rolls to a
stop outside a quaint little Church
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