Disclaimer: TC Williams High School and its environs belong to the city of Alexandria, VA and the original Titans to themselves. The title of this chapter belongs to Paul Simon, "Dear Prudence" to the Beatles and "Mrs. Robinson" to Simon & Garfunkel. The screenplay for The Graduate belongs to Calder Willingham and the original Mission: Impossible TV show was created by Bruce Geller. Oh, and I got the "no more teachers, no more books" chant from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. I only own Tamsin, her parents, assorted TC Williams students and personnel, and Birchman College.
Author's Notes: Thanks to KJFlygirl87, Nayeli, Penning Fantasy and all the repeat reviewers for the great feedback! We're sort of in the home stretch now — after this, I've got only one more chapter and an epilogue to go!
Chapter Twenty — Love Me Like A Rock
A celebration broke out in Mr. Denton's Social Studies class the minute the bell rang, signaling the end of the seniors' high school careers. Some jumped up and whooped exuberantly. Others threw pencils and stray sheets of paper up in the air. Petey Jones stood up on his chair and led the class in the old playground classic "No more teachers, no more books…"
Mr. Denton laughed as his students concluded the chant with a loud round of applause. "That's right, 'no more teachers, no more books,'" he agreed as he collected their final exams, "but only for the next couple of months. After that, y'all start college, and that's when the real hard stuff begins! I'm just kidding," he added when everyone groaned. "Don't worry about that just yet. All right, you're dismissed, but please leave in an orderly fashion so we don't disturb the other classes. Try not to make the juniors jealous!" he hollered over the noise as people took their leave. "See y'all at graduation!"
Tamsin and Emma stopped by to say goodbye to their teacher before joining the crowd of seniors eager to start their summer. "I can't believe it's all over!" the blonde girl exclaimed. "We're free!"
"Yeah, free," Tamsin repeated. She couldn't believe it, either. After months of going to school and pretending (badly, given how Ronnie had kept after her) that everything was OK, she was now free to hole up in her room until graduation. After that, she and her father would be moving back to New York, she would have all the answers she needed from her mother, and she wouldn't have to see anyone from Alexandria ever again.
They met Cat and Sharon by the ground floor drinking fountains. "It's all over!" Cat crowed, throwing her arms out in jubilation.
Sharon slumped luxuriantly against the wall. "I feel so good I'm not even going to worry about how I did on that Calculus final."
"Oh, please," chorused Emma and Cat, causing a laugh to bubble out of Tamsin. Sharon had the highest marks in the entire senior class and was a shoo-in for valedictorian. Big Julius had vowed that if she didn't graduate at the top of the class, he was going to picket the school board.
"You know you did well on that test and wrecked the curve for the rest of us," Cat accused playfully.
"I did not!" the tall black girl retorted as her boyfriend showed up and slipped an arm around her waist. "Julius, tell them I didn't wreck the grading curve!"
Always ready to come to his girl's defense, Big Julius dutifully put on his game face and surveyed Sharon's tormentors. "She did not wreck the grading curve," he declared, and then broke into a grin. "Not more than usual, anyway."
Tamsin laughed again as Sharon slugged his shoulder. Laughing felt good, she thought. "I'm just kidding, baby," the big black boy was saying as he rubbed his shoulder where she'd hit it. "I know y'all did well, OK? Hey, how about goin' for milkshakes at Ma Rose's?"
"Are you buyin'?" Emma asked audaciously.
Big Julius chuckled. "If you're drinkin', I'd better see about splittin' the tab with Gerry," he cracked, earning him another slug on the shoulder. "Ouch! Hey, watch it, will you? I'm up for a couple of football scholarships, too, and I wanna make sure I deserve them!" He stopped rubbing his shoulders and eyed the girls around him. "So, are y'all game for Ma Rose's?" he asked. "The other guys will be there, too. We could hang out."
Tamsin shook her head as the other girls broke out the yeses. "I'm sorry…I can't."
There was an awkward silence. "Why not?" Cat wanted to know. "Is there a problem? I thought you and Sunshine were still friends."
"It's not him," the dark-haired girl replied, avoiding Big Julius' eyes just in case Ronnie had told the Titans more than she had told anyone about the state of their friendship. "I–I'm just really tired, from all the strain of this week."
"Hanging out with us will be the perfect way to unwind," Emma cajoled.
Tamsin managed a feeble laugh. "No, thanks," she insisted. "I don't want to fall asleep on you guys. Besides," she added, "I need to call my mom. It's been a while since we last talked." She gestured vaguely with one hand. "So…I'm just going to go."
Big Julius peered at her. "You all right, Tamsin?"
"I'm fine," she replied automatically. "Don't worry, I'm definitely not suicidal," she added with a small smile. "Just exhausted."
"Well, d'you need a ride anywhere?"
"No, I'll be OK on the bus. You guys go ahead and have fun."
"If you're sure you'll be OK," Emma said. "I'll call you tonight, all right? Just to make sure you got home and all."
"You don't have to do that," Tamsin demurred.
"Humor me."
Cat laughed. "All right, and I'll call you," she told Emma, "so I can find out if Tamsin's OK without her having to answer the same questions twice."
"And I'll call you," Sharon told Cat.
"So you'd better be home, sittin' next to that phone, you hear?" Big Julius said to Tamsin.
The dark-haired girl tossed off a salute. "Yes, sir."
She managed to keep the smile on her face until just after Big Julius and the girls had taken their leave. Once they were gone, she slumped against the wall just like Sharon had earlier. God, that was difficult.
Her face and throat hurt from keeping her expression and tone of voice cheerful. At least she hadn't had to lie so much this time — although she didn't want to go with them to Ma Rose's precisely because Ronnie was going to be there, she also really was very tired. Forcing herself to focus on her schoolwork had been twice as hard this semester as it had been in the last.
Well, at least you managed to keep it together until the end of the term, Tamsin congratulated herself. It's all over now.
She dumped her books into her locker and slammed the door shut. She would clean it out some other time. Maybe she would even have a little bonfire like some of the other kids were planning, she thought as she slung the strap of her now-much-lighter book bag over her shoulder, ready to go home.
Tamsin bumped into Sheryl Yoast just inside the front doors. "Hi, Sheryl," she said automatically.
The little girl didn't say anything, just glared back. Apparently, Sheryl still hadn't forgiven her for breaking up with Ronnie, even if football season had ended long before their split.
Tamsin shrugged. She didn't care. "'Bye, Sheryl."
* * *
"You said you were gonna do this after finals were over," Ronnie muttered to himself. "Well, they're over, so now you're gonna do this."
His hands bunched into fists as he resolutely marched up Tamsin's front walk. He was preparing himself for their Very Serious Talk. Again.
This was his fifth time to go there that week. The first two times, he had left without even ringing the doorbell. The next two times, he had rung the doorbell, but Mr. Graham had told him both times that Tamsin didn't want to see him. At least it wasn't just him — Mr. Graham said that she didn't want to see anyone. Ronnie, however, knew that he topped the list of people she didn't want to see. Or he at least placed a close second to the King Scumbag, Michael Cardinal.
He walked across the porch and rang the doorbell. As usual, Mr. Graham answered. "Hi, Sunshine."
"Good afternoon, sir," Ronnie replied with a rather sheepish smile. "I guess you already know why I'm here."
"Yes, I do. Won't you come in?"
They moved into the living room, where Ronnie sat down and waited for his teacher to tell Tamsin that she had a visitor. He gazed unseeingly at the newspaper on the coffee table, trying to imagine what the talk would be like. What would she say? How would he react?
He had done the same thing with every football game he had ever played, outlining his strategy and trying to predict how his opponent would react. This talk, however, was bigger than any Big Game could ever be.
When Mr. Graham returned with a now-familiar apologetic look on his face, Ronnie knew that his imaginings were going to stay imaginary for at least another day. "I'm sorry, Sunshine," the older man told him. "I wish I had a different answer for you today, but I don't. Tam doesn't want to see you."
He nodded, glancing back down at the newspaper to hide his disappointment. "It was worth a shot."
"Another shot, you mean."
"Yeah," Ronnie agreed somewhat wryly, "another shot." He was very briefly tempted to just go upstairs, barge into Tamsin's room and demand that she talk to him, but he didn't think Mr. Graham would like that.
His former teacher's next words confirmed his thoughts. "I'm really sorry, Sunshine," he said again. "I think it would do her a lot of good to talk to someone, but I don't want to force her into it. Either she's not ready to talk, or she's waiting for the right person to talk to."
It can't be you. "That's OK," the blond boy replied. "I understand. I just wish the right person were me…or you," he added. "Or one of her other friends."
"So do I. Listen, why don't you stay a while for some iced tea? I'd hate for you to come all this way just to leave again." Mr. Graham had made the same offer twice before.
Ronnie had refused both times, and this time wasn't going to be any different. There was something uncomfortable about being in a house belonging to someone with whom you weren't exactly on speaking terms. "No, thank you. I'm really sorry I keep coming here and bothering you, sir."
"You're not bothering me in the least," the older man assured him. "School's out, I've submitted your final marks, and my book's almost done. What else is there for me to do except answer the door and try to coax a recalcitrant teenage girl out into the sunshine? Come by whenever you like. Have lunch or dinner here. Tamsin does come down for meals, you know — maybe you can try to talk to her then."
Ronnie chuckled at the thought of an ambush. "I might do just that if push comes to shove." He rose and pulled his car keys from his pocket, thinking that next time — and there would be a next time — it would be more convenient to just hold on to them. "Well, I guess I'd better get going. Thanks for your time, sir. Will you…will you please tell her I said hi?"
"I will. Drive carefully, Sunshine."
Upstairs in her room, Tamsin heard the door close and, moments later, a car drive away. In a short while, her father was going to knock on her door and tell her that Ronnie had come by again, hoping to talk to her. Dear Prudence, the Beatles sang on her radio, won't you come out to play?
"Why should I?" she murmured. "There's nothing out there for me."
She rolled over in bed and the small pile of acceptance envelopes caught her eye. It was all over. School was out and all the colleges had made their decisions. Final marks and graduation were nothing more than formalities, which was a relief. Tamsin was sure that, despite her best efforts, her grades had slipped during the latter part of the semester.
It was all over. There was nothing left to do but to get a piece of paper telling her to get out of town.
And then it dawned on Tamsin: she didn't even have to stick around to get that diploma. She was actually…already…completely…free.
* * *
The seniors' final marks were released on Friday, June 1st. Ronnie met his friends at school that morning so that they could pick up their report cards together.
Although the Titans all paid the proper attention to their schoolwork, thanks to their coaches' tendency to look at performance both on and off the field, they were nervous about their grades. "I hope all that work was worth it," Big Julius said as they waited in line at the principal's office.
"I hope my grades won't make me look like I slacked off last semester," Gerry chimed in. "I want to go out with a bang, y'all know what I mean?"
"I'm sure you did great, Gerry," Emma declared loyally.
Cat stepped out of the line, grades in hand, and then it was Ronnie's turn. He collected his report card from Mrs. Farber, the secretary, who smiled as she handed it to him. "Put your signature next to your name on this list, dear," she instructed, holding out a clipboard. "So I can keep track of who already got their report cards."
"Yes, ma'am." Ronnie found his name on the senior class list and put his signature next to it as instructed, then took a deep breath and finally looked at his marks.
He smiled when he found that he hadn't gotten any F's, D's or even C's that semester. Instead, he had gotten mostly B-pluses, a few A's, and a B in Physics. Once he was certain that his grades were quite good, he put his report card away and tried to guess from his friends' facial expressions how they had done.
It was funny watching the others look at their marks. While some, like him, looked the minute they received their marks, others believed in prolonging the torture, perhaps in the hopes that any bad grades would magically change before they laid eyes on them.
Petey squeezed his eyes shut the minute he received his report card and thrust it blindly at Blue. "How did I do?"
The big black boy arched an eyebrow at his friend. "Why don't you go see for yourself?"
"Naw, you do it. Pleeease?"
With a martyred sigh, Blue read Petey's marks to him. When he knew that he had passed every subject, Petey opened his eyes, gazed rapturously at his grades, and started to do a victory dance right in the middle of the office.
Ronnie exchanged amused glances with Big Julius. "How did you do?" the blond boy asked.
"Pretty good," the Titans' captain replied with a satisfied smile. "Not as good as Sharon did, of course," he added, smiling at his girlfriend, who also looked like she had done well, "but the teachers recognized all the effort I put in."
They watched Alan leave the line with his report card clutched to his chest. The wiry blond boy's eyes were shut, too, and he opened them slowly to look at his marks. Judging from the grin that spread across his face, they were pretty good, too. "All right! This'll get me off the waiting list at Birchman for sure!" He beamed at Rev. "Thanks for all your help, man."
Rev slapped him a low five. "Anytime, brother."
Just then, Mr. Graham entered the principal's office and made a beeline for the secretary's desk. "Hi, Mrs. Farber," he greeted the plump lady with a polite smile. "I'm here for Tamsin Lee's report card."
Mrs. Farber smiled back. "Of course, Mr. Graham. Let me just get it for you."
A brief silence descended upon the room as the secretary looked for Tamsin's report card. The Titans all looked at Ronnie. "Looks like she ain't comin' today, man," Petey whispered to him, and inclined his head toward the door. "Let's get out of here."
Mrs. Farber found Tamsin's report card before they could leave. "Here you are," she said, handing it and the clipboard to Mr. Graham.
They watched the teacher sign the class list. He took a peek at her grades, smiled his satisfaction, and then noticed that quite a few of his now-former students were in room. "Hey, everyone! Long time no see! Came to get your grades?"
"Yes, sir," Alan replied for everyone, and held up his report card. "Thanks for the A-minus, Mr. Graham. It really helped pull up my average."
"No need to thank me, Alan," the older man told him. "You did all the work — I just graded you. And call me Jon!" he reminded everyone. "I'm not your teacher anymore! So, where're you guys headed?"
Gerry shrugged. "Out," he said. "We'll probably go hang out somewhere."
"It feels great, having a whole day of doing what you want ahead of you, doesn't it?" Mr. Graham regarded them all fondly. "Well, you go have fun. I'm going to see you all at graduation, right?" He beamed when the Titans all nodded. "Good. I want to watch you march!"
"'Bye, Mr. Graham," they chorused.
"'Bye," he replied. "Oh, and Sharon — congratulations on making valedictorian."
Sharon gasped. Ronnie didn't think it was possible for a black girl to turn so pale. "Thank–thank you, sir," she managed to say. "Um, where did you find that out?"
"Well, the teachers do have a part in selecting the valedictorian, you know," Mr. Graham told her, looking amused. "And there's a notice on the bulletin board right outside the office."
The Titans found the notice after a mad dash into the hallway. "What's it say?" Petey asked, hopping up and down in an attempt to get a better look over Big Julius's shoulder. "I can't see!"
"Ow!" Cat yelped, shoving the black boy away. "You landed on my foot!"
Big Julius whooped and pointed at a line in the announcement. "There it is! 'Valedictorian — Sharon Denise T. Williams'!" He caught Sharon up in an ecstatic hug. "You did it, baby!"
Besides announcing the valedictorian for the Class of 1973, the notice also contained the names of the winners of the other year-end awards. Besides being valedictorian, Sharon had also won the Achievements in Science Award. Cat had won the Achievements in Drama Award, just as Ronnie had predicted, and Gerry Achievements in Athletics.
"I say this calls for a celebration!" Petey declared just as Ronnie saw that Tamsin had won the Achievements in English Award.
"Winners' treat!" Emma chimed in.
Sharon made a face at the blonde girl. For a while, it looked like she was going to argue, but she finally said, "All right, fine, but just one round, OK?"
"Quick!" Alan urged. "Let's go before she changes her mind!"
Laughing, the Titans made their way to the parking lot. It was the summer before college, and they were on top of the world.
* * *
When Ronnie did finally get the opportunity to talk to Tamsin, it wasn't at her house, where she continued to refuse to see him. It also wasn't at school, when their graduation caps and gowns were released on the morning of June 5th.
He bumped into her, completely by chance, at the supermarket on the afternoon of the 5th. His mother had noticed him loafing around the house and sent him to run some errands for her.
They ran into each other (but only figuratively speaking) in the dairy section. He managed a small smile when he saw her. "Hi."
She looked at him warily. "Hi."
"How have you been?"
"Good."
Sure you've been good. Ronnie glanced at her shopping cart: celery, a couple of tomatoes, butter, several cans of tuna and a dozen eggs. Nothing unusual. "I didn't see you at school today," he said. "They handed out our caps and gowns."
"My—uncle got mine for me."
"He got your report card, too. I was in the office when he got it. How did you do?"
"Fine. Better than I expected, actually," she added, sounding a bit relieved.
"Good."
"Yeah."
"Are you going to be at the graduation rehearsal tomorrow?" he asked her then, hoping that she would be there. Mr. Graham could pick up her grades and stuff for her, but he couldn't take her place in rehearsals, too, could he?
Tamsin folded her arms and rested them across the handle of her shopping cart. "I'm not marching."
Ronnie blinked. "Didn't you just say your grades were fine?"
"Yes. I'm just not marching. I'm not even planning to show up."
"You're boycotting graduation?" He managed another small smile and a feeble chuckle, hoping that she was kidding. "But, Tamsin, the war is over. Nixon's gone. We're old enough to vote. There's no need for you to make a political statement."
She didn't laugh. "I'm not doing this to make any kind of statement. I just don't want to march. I don't have to."
"What about your Achievements in English award?"
"Uncle Jon can just get that for me, too," Tamsin said with a dispassionate shrug. "Listen, it's been nice talking to you, but I have to go." She nodded at the things in her shopping cart. "We need this stuff for dinner tonight."
"Need a ride anywhere?"
"No, thanks; I've got the car."
"OK, then. I'll call you." It was a statement, not a request. That's it, nice and assertive. Good job, Bass, he congratulated himself.
But she didn't even blink. "Whatever. Goodbye, Ronnie."
* * *
"Mission: Impossible not yet accomplished, Sunshine?" Blue teased when Ronnie joined him and the other Titans in the Bertiers' back porch that evening.
"Nope, not yet," the blond boy replied, taking a seat next to Petey at the picnic table they were all sharing. "Hey, everyone. Sorry I'm late."
"That's OK," Rev assured him. "You're not too late for the pizzas because they haven't arrived yet."
"But you did miss your chance to ask for black olives," Gerry added. "So you're going to have to do without them tonight."
Ronnie smiled good-naturedly. "Ah, the price of tardiness. At least you're not making me do pushups."
"So what was Tamsin's excuse this time?" Petey asked, steering the conversation back to what the Titans had dubbed "Mission: Impossible."
"Hey, Tamsin never makes excuses," Ronnie told his friend as he helped himself to some potato chips from the bowl on the table. "She always says she just doesn't want to see me. And anyway, I didn't go to her house today. We bumped into each other at the supermarket."
"And?" Alan asked keenly.
"And we talked a little. Stupid things, you know — she's OK, her grades were OK. I told her I would call her."
"And what did she say?"
"She said 'Whatever.'"
Tamsin's reply made the Titans laugh uproariously. "Aw, man!" chortled Petey. "Five bucks says she ain't waitin' by the phone right now!" No one, of course, was willing to bet against him.
"So you gonna call her tonight?" Big Julius asked Ronnie when the others had calmed down.
The blond boy shrugged. "Yeah, I'm thinking about it."
"And is she gonna talk to you this time?" Blue chimed in.
"I hope so. I let Tamsin know ahead of time that I'm going to call, so she should be preparing herself to talk to me…if not, do you think Mr. Graham would make her come to the phone if I asked him nicely?"
Gerry shook his head. "Sunshine, Sunshine, Sunshine," he sighed. "I know this is the seventies and you're a liberated kind of guy, but at times like these you gotta to be firm."
"Like you're firm with Emma?" Alan cracked.
Ronnie smiled slightly, but chose not to push it after seeing the belligerent expression on Gerry's face. "What do you mean by 'firm'?" he asked, trying to distract Gerry from the other Titans' laughter. "Are you saying I should club Tamsin over the head when she's not looking and drag her into my cave?"
"If you have to," the other boy replied seriously.
"I was being sarcastic."
"Look, man, I'm just sayin' you gotta do what you gotta do if talkin' to her is that important to you. If you have to do somethin' extra to show her you mean business, do it."
"And do it soon," Petey piped up. "Graduation's this Saturday. The next thing you know, she's gone and you never got the chance to tell her what's what."
Goodbye, Ronnie.
Ronnie sat up with a start. His heart began to pound. Tamsin had told him that afternoon that she wasn't going to graduation. It was like it wasn't important to her anymore…like nothing was important to her anymore. And she had said goodbye. "Oh, my God." He stood abruptly. "I have to talk to her."
"Well, everyone in town knows that," Alan said with a roll of his eyes.
"No, you don't understand. I need to do it right now. This could be my last chance."
The Titans exchanged glances. "I wasn't tellin' you to go away, Sunshine," Gerry chuckled. "But like I said, do what you have to do."
"And I have to do this," Ronnie said.
"You better tell us all about it at Sharon's party tomorrow!" Petey ordered.
The blond boy grinned as he made to leave. "I hope I'll have something to tell you."
"Hey, Sunshine?" Blue said then.
"What?" Ronnie asked.
The big black boy reached out a hand for a low five. "Go get her, tiger."
Ronnie smiled, slapped the offered hand, and raced to his car with the Titans' rendition of the Mission: Impossible theme song floating teasingly after him. He thought he heard girlish giggles coming from the second floor of the house, which meant that Gerry's nosy younger sister had probably been eavesdropping. Whatever. This was no time to worry about that.
He jumped into the Charger and raced to the house on Gartner Street at a speed that hovered just this side of legal. Upon his arrival, he jumped out of the car again without bothering to lock the doors. (He did remember to take the keys with him, though.) Ronnie bounded up the front walk, took the porch steps two at a time, and leaned on the doorbell.
Mr. Graham yanked the door open in moments. "Sunshine!" he exclaimed. "Thank God it's you!"
The look on the older man's face set Ronnie's heart racing once again. Instead of his usual welcoming smile, he looked frantic. "What's wrong, Mr. Graham?" the blond boy asked. "Did something happen to Tamsin?"
"No" was the reply. "At least, I hope not."
"What are you talking about?"
Mr. Graham held up a rather crumpled sheet of paper. "Tamsin's run away."
"Run away?" Relief that she hadn't done something stupid like kill herself was quickly replaced by anger. "Well, why are you still here? Why haven't you gone after her?"
His tone of voice definitely wasn't polite, but the older man didn't notice. "I can't leave the house," Mr. Graham replied, wringing his hands (and Tamsin's note). "Before I found out Tamsin was gone, I got a phone call from her mother. Diana's on her way from the airport and I have to be here when she arrives!"
There was no need to say more. Ronnie was off and running toward his car even before the older man had finished speaking.
* * *
Please let me find her. Please let me find her.
For the second time that night, Ronnie was on the road and dangerously close to speeding. It was the easiest thing in the world to step a bit more heavily on the gas pedal and throw caution and the law to the wind, but he didn't want to risk being delayed by a speeding ticket or worse, an accident.
Please let me find her. Please let me find her.
The car radio started playing Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" and he switched it off irritably. He needed to think, and not about the similarities between him and The Graduate banging on the plate glass window.
If Tamsin were running away, she was most probably trying to get back to New York. And the fastest way out of town was to hitchhike or take the bus. Figuring that it would take longer for her to leave town if she were hitchhiking — he prayed silently that he would find her before some kook picked her up — Ronnie decided to try the bus depot first.
Please let me find her. Please let me find her.
He scanned the waiting area the minute Alexandria's small bus depot came into view. To his intense relief, a familiar figure was sitting forlornly on the very front bench. "Thank God," he breathed, making a sharp right turn and entering the driveway.
The car careened to a stop right in front of her and Ronnie opened the passenger-side door. "Tamsin!" he called to her. "Thank God you're still here! Get in!"
"What are you doing here, Ronnie?" she asked, peering into the car at him.
"I've got to get you home — to your house, I mean. Mr. Graham's going bananas."
She frowned. "If he's so worried, why didn't he come get me himself? Some father he is."
The remark surprised him, but the public address system crackled to life before he could ask for an explanation.
"PLEASE MOVE YOUR VEHICLE OUT OF THE BOARDING AREA," the disembodied male voice instructed.
"JUST A MINUTE!" Ronnie yelled back. "Come on, Tamsin," he said to her, "please come back with me. Mr. Graham couldn't come get you because your mom's on her way to your house from the airport."
If he thought the mention of her mother was going to budge her, he had another think coming. Her eyes widened at the news, but she stayed where she was. "I can't leave," she replied. "I've already bought my ticket."
"I REPEAT, PLEASE MOVE YOUR VEHICLE OUT OF THE BOARDING AREA," the PA system blared.
"I'll pay you back the money you spent on it," Ronnie told her.
Tamsin folded her arms. "I'm not taking anything from you."
"Well, tonight you are. Get in."
"No."
"FOR THE THIRD TIME, PLEASE MOVE YOUR VEHICLE OUT OF THE BOARDING AREA."
"Tamsin, I can't stay here." He gestured toward the small building that housed the bus depot office. "They're making me leave."
She shrugged. "So go."
"I'm not leaving without you!"
"Tonight you are," she retorted.
Why, you stubborn little…Ronnie's blood began to boil. Tamsin had been quite determinedly painting herself into a corner for the past few months and he was sick of it. He was going to yank her out of that corner if it was the last thing he did. Mr. Graham and Tamsin's mom — Tamsin's parents — were counting on him.
He wrenched his door open as the PA system issued a fourth warning, jumped out of the car and strode furiously toward where Tamsin sat. "I have had it with you!" he shouted at her.
She jumped to her feet at his outburst, but it didn't seem to scare her. In fact, she got angry, too. "And I've had it with you!" she replied, her frown deepening. "Stay out of my life!"
Ronnie grabbed the backpack next to her and threw it into the Charger's back seat. "Sorry, babe, but you've got me whether you like it or not. Get in the car!"
"No!"
"I'm not letting you go this time, Tamsin! I shouldn't have let you go before, even though I understood why you wanted to break up with me. But this time, you're being just plain stupid! Now get in the car so I can take you home and you can get the help you've been needing for a very long time!"
A bus drove by, honking its horn loudly. "You crazy kids!" the driver yelled.
Even though he was teetering on the very limits of his patience, Ronnie resisted the urge to give Tamsin a good shake and settled instead for giving her his meanest gridiron glare. "Get in or else I'm carrying you all the way back to your house!"
Her jaw dropped in surprise. "You're a brute, Ronnie Bass!" she sputtered.
On an ordinary day, that would have been insulting to a guy who prided himself on being mannerly and even-tempered, but this was not an ordinary day. Instead of taking offense at her remark, he pointed to the car and roared, "NOW!" It was hardly the behavior of a gentleman but Ronnie didn't care. It felt good to yell.
Yelling obviously also got you somewhere, too, he thought later, as he finally drove out of the bus depot with Tamsin strapped sulkily into the passenger seat. "Have you eaten?" he asked, breaking the tense silence.
She shook her head. "I'm not hungry."
Ronnie sighed and rolled his eyes. "Tamsin, this is not the time to be stubborn—"
"I ate before I left, all right?" she snapped. "And I put a couple of sandwiches in my backpack. You can have one if you're hungry," Tamsin added after a brief pause.
He smiled briefly. "No, thanks," he replied. He wanted to make a joke about her possibly poisoning him but thought the better of it.
Silence descended again and did not let up for the rest of the drive to Tamsin's house.
The street was as quiet as when Ronnie had left it. "I don't think your mom's here yet," he remarked.
Tamsin said nothing. She got out of the car and stood quietly by as he got her things from the back seat. When Ronnie had her backpack slung over one shoulder, she started up her front walk.
They heard voices coming from the living room when they entered the house. Ronnie found Mr. Graham seated on the couch with a frail-looking woman beside him. She was dressed all in black, save for a brightly-colored bandanna tied around her head.
The woman looked up when Ronnie and Tamsin stepped into the living room. Her Asiatic features marked her as Tamsin's mother. There was something strange about her appearance, however, and then Ronnie realized what it was — she didn't have any eyebrows. While the bandanna hid all her hair from view, it covered only part of her forehead.
"M–Mama?"
It took Ronnie a while to realize that the small, broken voice was Tamsin's. He turned toward her in time to see her face crumple. The woman held out her arms and Tamsin ran into them, crying. "Oh, M-Mama! I was so worried!"
Tamsin's mother leaned her cheek on her daughter's hair. "It's all right, sweetie," she soothed the crying girl. Her voice was rich and pleasantly husky. "We're all together now."
She continued to hold Tamsin while she cried. Ronnie had seen her cry only once before, the first time he had taken her up to the Hill, but that was nothing compared to this. This time she cried her heart out, all the while trying to talk to her mother in between great, gasping sobs.
Ronnie took the sobbing as his cue to make himself scarce. It hurt to see Tamsin fall apart so completely. She probably wouldn't want him to see her in such a state, either.
He set the knapsack he had been carrying down in one corner, caught Mr. Graham's eye and waved a silent goodbye. The older man nodded his understanding, a look of intense gratitude in his eyes.
Ronnie didn't wait for Mr. Graham to walk him to the door. After giving one final nod in reply, he quickly left the house, the sound of Tamsin's sobs ringing in his ears.
* * *
The next morning dawned sunny and mild, like the calm following a storm. All over Alexandria, families and businesses were slowly awakening, preparing for a new day. Most of the seniors at TC Williams, however, were still asleep. Many had come in late from Miranda Fleming's year-end party the night before. The rest were simply taking advantage of the fact that they were already officially on vacation and could thus sleep in on a weekday.
All of them were still sleeping peacefully that quiet morning, except one.
As he did his tai chi in the Basses' back yard, Ronnie tried to embrace the peace, to let his movements reflect the serenity of his surroundings, but he could still hear Tamsin crying.
Breathe in, breathe out, he ordered himself. Breathe in, breathe out. Don't think about her. He stepped back, Repulsed the Monkey, and then went into a Flying Oblique. He raised his hands, and the White Crane Spread Its Wings.
On an ordinary day, the routine was comforting, cleansing, but this morning, it was as negligible as brushing your teeth or doing your homework. Instead of focusing on his tai chi, Ronnie simply went through the motions, his mind still buzzing over the previous night's events.
He had yelled at her. He'd never done that before, not even when they had disagreed. But she deserved it, he thought. She had it coming for a long time.
Still, maybe I ought to apologize. That is, if she'll talk to me.
"Where in the world are you going this early in the morning, Ronnie?"
"Nowhere special, Mom. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Moments later, Ronnie was standing on the porch of 125 Gartner Street. "Why do I keep doing this to myself?" he wondered aloud.
You know why.
"It still doesn't make it any less pathetic," he muttered wryly, jabbing at the doorbell.
It took a while before someone answered the door. Ronnie had in fact already turned to leave when he heard it open and a female voice ask, "Yes?"
He spun around to see Tamsin's mother standing in the doorway. She wasn't wearing makeup and looked very tired. "Uh…good morning, ma'am," he managed to say.
She smiled, obviously having recognized him from the night before. "Good morning."
"I'm Ronnie Bass," he blurted out, for lack of anything better to say.
"I guessed that last night." Tamsin's mother chuckled and held out her hand. "Hello, Ronnie, I'm Diana Lee. I'm very pleased to finally meet you."
Her hand felt very frail in his, and Ronnie shook it as gently as he could. "Same here, ma'am. Tamsin talked about you a lot. She really missed you."
"I really missed her, too."
He nodded, glancing down at his feet. "Uh, speaking of Tamsin," he ventured, "how is she?"
"She's fine," Ms. Lee assured him. "She's still asleep — we were all up until late last night."
"Oh." He blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get you out of bed," he stammered. "I just wanted to know if she was OK."
"It's perfectly all right. I understand and appreciate your concern."
"So…I guess she won't be at the graduation rehearsal today?"
Tamsin's mother shook her head. She was wearing a different bandanna this morning. "No, but she will be at graduation," she said. "We'll all be there."
"Great. Did you—did you know that she won the Achievements in English Award?" he asked then.
"Yes," she replied with a smile. "Jon told me all about it."
"Of course he did." Ronnie shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat, having absolutely nothing more to say. "Well, uh, since I know that Tamsin's OK, I guess I'd better go and let you get back to sleep."
"I'll tell Tamsin you came by."
"Thanks. I guess I'll, uh, just talk to her another time. See you around, Ms. Lee." He gave her a polite nod, which she returned, and turned to go.
"Ronnie?" Tamsin's mother called, just as he was about to start down the front walk.
He turned. "Yes, ma'am?"
"She's very lucky to have a friend like you."
Ronnie smiled. "Thank you."