Amy Abbott was furious. Ephram was supposed to have met her for a picnic lunch in the canyon, but he'd never shown up, he hadn't even called. She hadn't heard anything about an accident so she knew he wasn't hurt.
Dressed in a navy parka and a white wool knit scarf, Amy marched up to the Browns' door and pressed the bell … hard.
After a few minutes, eleven-year-old Delia opened the door dressed in jeans, a jersey, and a Yankees cap.
"Is Ephram here?"
"He's upstairs," Delia said moving aside to let Amy enter. "I think there's something wrong with him."
"Is he sick?" Amy asked, her irritation replaced with concern.
"I don't know. He and my dad have been locked in his room all afternoon. No one's told me anything. I'll go upstairs and get him," Delia said shutting the door behind Amy and rushing upstairs.
Amy stood alone in the Browns' living room. It was messy but in a warm, homey way. The chairs were the big, overstuffed kind, and a hand-made quilt covered the couch. Newspapers and magazines lay everywhere, and rows of books lined the walls.
A few minutes later, Ephram came downstairs.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked as she gently touched the side of his face. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and his cheeks were stained with salty tear residue.
"We need to talk."
"What is it?" she asked. She didn't like his look or tone. Granted, he could be moody sometimes, but this was bordering on frightening. He seemed as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Ephram sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Madison is pregnant."
"Madison?" she said. Who was Madison? Then it hit her, Madison was Ephram's ex-girlfriend. Pregnant? Wait a minute, Amy thought. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked though deep down, through some sixth sense, she knew.
"I'm the father," he said softly.
Amy stood stunned. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, she thought. Oh my god, oh my god.
"Amy say something, anything," he said pleadingly.
"You bastard," she said hitting him on the chest. Whack. Whack, whack, whack. Though the inside of her palms stung, she felt good, the act helping to relieve the growing pressure inside her head. Whack. He grabbed her left hand. Whack, went her right hand. This went on for a few minutes as the tears pored from her eyes. "You slept with her."
"Yes," he said looking down.
"I don't believe this," she said. Pulling away from him, she turned, opened the door, then ran outside.
"Amy," Ephram called after her, but she was halfway down the street, and had no intention of turning back.
At first, she didn't know where to go. She definitely didn't want to go home. She couldn't deal with her parents and Bright right now. Then it hit her, the canyon. She'd regroup in the canyon.
As she sat under a tree, her knees drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, she cried and cried and cried, her body shaking with emotion. Damn, she thought. Damn, damn, damn, damn. Well, it was official. She and Ephram weren't meant to be together. Every time they tried to hook up, something always came between them. She couldn't take it anymore. She was through with Ephram Brown, but there was one more thing she needed to do.
From a payphone inside the grocery store, she clumsily dialed the Browns' number.
"Hello," Delia answered on the third ring.
"Hi Delia. This is Amy Abbott."
"Ephram's not here."
"I didn't call to speak to Ephram. I wanted to talk to you."
"Me?"
"Yep. I need Madison's address."
"Why?"
"I just need to see her. Do you have it?"
"Yes," Delia said uncertainly.
"Could I have it please?"
"Okay. Hang on a minute," Delia said. Amy could hear her place the telephone receiver on the table and run upstairs.
A few minutes later, Delia returned and gave her the address.
Forty minutes later, Amy stood in front of Madison's apartment building. She rang the bell. After waiting a few minutes, Madison's voice came over the intercom.
"Yes?" she said.
"Madison?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"My name is Amy Abbott. I'm a friend of Ephram's. I'd like to talk to you."
At first, her request was met with silence, but a few seconds later, a buzzer sounded. Quickly, she pulled open the door and entered the apartment building. The lights that lined the ceiling were uncovered, the bulbs casting an eerie, stark pall over the hallway. The carpet was grey but dirty, and the walls were painted a sickly green. As she made her way down the hall, Amy spotted the other girl in a doorway. She had to admit Madison was pretty. That only upsetted her more. This pretty girl had touched Ephram, seen him naked, been intimate with him. She had shared an experience with him that Amy never would. She knew him in a way that no one else did.
"Well?" Madison said standing in the doorway. Looking past her, Amy could see a brown couch strewn with magazines and books. On the coffee table in front of the couch lay a remote control and a half pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.
"I wanted to talk to you about Ephram."
"We don't have anything to talk about."
"Look, I'm not going anywhere. Either you let me in so we can talk, or I'll cause a scene."
Madison looked at her as if she was some psycho bitch, but Amy didn't care. She was serious; she wasn't leaving until she spoke to this woman.
"Whatever," Madison said stepping aside. "Make it quick."
Amy stepped into the small studio apartment with its tan shag carpeting and white walls. The magazines were Cosmo, Vogue, and In Style. But it was the books that caught her attention, books on pregnancy and parenting.
"So it's true, you're pregnant."
"Yeah," Madison said defiantly.
"Look, I really care about Ephram and I wanted to make sure you weren't jerking him around."
"You know what," Madison said as she walked across the room. "I am tired of hearing about poor Ephram. No one forced 'poor Ephram' to have sex with me. Why should I be saddle with taking care to this baby by myself?"
"Ephram's a good guy," Amy said as she shifted uncomfortably. Madison was right. She shouldn't be the one solely responsible for the baby. But Amy had been there from the beginning, she had witnessed Ephram's grief over his mother's death, his loneliness at being the new kid, and his gradual adjustment to his new life. And after all that she'd put him through with Colin, Amy felt he deserved some happiness. "I love him," Amy said aloud. She stopped as tears began to fall from her eyes. She'd never intended to cry, never meant to lose control in front of this girl. "This was supposed to be our big chance. After all that has come between us these past two years, we were supposed to finally be together, see if we could make things work. And now this," Amy said softly as she wiped the tears from her face.
"What about my time? I loved Ephram, I still do. Guess what? I feel robbed by fate too. So I guess we have that in common. Now if you'll get the hell out of my house," Madison said walking over to the door and opening it. She stood boldly waiting for Amy to leave.
Amy sighed. She didn't know why she'd come. She couldn't change the fact that Madison was pregnant with Ephram's baby. "I'm sorry," Amy said walking toward the door. "I won't bother you again." She then walked through the doorway, down the hall, and out the door of Madison's building onto the street.
Though it was cold outside, the sun was shining bright. Her relationship with Ephram was the same way. Seemingly perfect to the outside observer, but in reality a façade.