Chapter Nine: Wednesday, April 20, 2005, Glen Oak, CA

"Simon!" Sam and David yelled in unison across the baggage claim area.

Simon laughed and had just time to put down his book before his six-year-old brothers piled onto him.

"You're home!"

"You came back!"

Simon kissed each of them on the top of the head. "Of course, I came back. I was only visiting Matt and Sarah, remember?" He hugged them tighter. It was good to be home. Really good.

Really real.

"Sorry we're late," Mom said, catching up with the boys at last. "Traffic."

"No worries." Simon managed to dislodge the twins so he could stand and give his mother a hug. "Thanks for coming to pick me up."

"You seem…happier than when you left."

"I think you and Dad were right. I needed to get away."

"And none of this newfound happiness has anything to do with a certain young woman Matt tells us you spent so much time with, yet you didn't mention her to me or your father during your brief, infrequent phone calls?"

He sighed. He'd known that was coming. Half the reason he hadn't called more often was because he knew he'd get grilled about Caroline. "Her name is Caroline. I'm sure Matt already told you she's a volunteer at the hospital where Sarah works. And she's just a friend. A friend who lives in New York." A friend who hugged him like nobody else ever had. A friend whose very presence grounded him back into himself, who made him feel whole. A friend who held his hand every time they were together. A friend he'd spent time with nearly with while he was in New York—not that Matt and Sarah had the time to play host. They were busy with school and work.

Caroline had taken him to the Cloisters and shown him the Unicorn Tapestries, something he had no idea there were copies of—one of only two copies—in the US. They'd walked around the grounds and through the gardens.

They'd explored used bookstores and old churches, and she'd shown him all her favorite places in Central Park.

They went to Natural History Museum together, to a planetarium show, and walked around the MET.

They had lunch with Caroline's mother and Bridget O'Donnell. Simon met Caroline's godparents, her Uncle Fin—the big scary looking black guy in the mustang—and Aunt Diana, a fierce red-headed woman with a firm handshake and cautious smile. Caroline's middle name was Diana, after her.

And even though her father's condition for Caroline to get to see him—besides four weeks of restriction after Simon left New York—had been for her to be home by nine pm, sharp, he'd consented to an exception so Simon could go with Caroline and Cathy to a concert in the park, even though it didn't get out until late last night. He'd allowed Caroline to walk Simon to the subway, just the two of them, and see him safely onto the train back to Matt and Sarah's place.

It had been a hard goodbye, because he wasn't going to get to see her again until he somehow made it back to New York—yet in some strange way, he still felt connected to her. Every time he saw her, it had felt like something between them grew stronger. He didn't have a name for it. It was more than friendship, more than love. It was…special. It was theirs.

"The Owl and the Hunter?" Mom asked, as she picked up the book Simon had been reading. She frowned.

"It was a gift."

"From your 'friend'?" she sounded suspicious.

"From the author."

Mom flipped it open. "Poetry?" she frowned.

"And fairy tales."

"What kind of fairy tales?" David wanted to know.

"Are there knights?" asked Sam.

"And dragons?" asked David.

Simon chuckled. "Why don't I read you one of the stories tonight before bed?"

Mom's frown continued to deepen.

Simon just shook his head. "Come on guys. Let's get Mom home before her face freezes like that."

"Not funny!" Mom snapped.

"Isn't that what you always used to tell us, when we were little?"

She didn't seem amused.

New York, Below

Catherine found her eldest daughter in her room, curled up in her bed with a book. "May I come in?" Catherine asked from the doorway."

"Always." She set down her book and sat up.

Catherine joined her on the bed; though Caroline smiled at her, there was a sadness in her. "You miss him, don't you?"

"I know it's silly."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I barely know him. But…Mother, I miss him more than I ever dreamed I could miss anybody! I know I'm only barely a woman—a young woman," she added to the smile Catherine gave her, "but…do you think it's possible? Do you think he could…could someone I just met, someone from so far away, someone so different…could he be…could we end up like you and Father?"

"I don't believe that Simon is all that different from us. Even from you." She put her arm around her daughter's shoulders, well aware of how acutely Caroline felt the differences that separated her from the other girls at her school.

From everyone Above.

Sometimes she wished her daughter would give up on this idea of becoming an attorney; Caroline had nothing to prove, nothing to live up to.

But that was a conversation for another time. "You're right about you and Simon. You are both very young, with a lot of growing yet to do, a lot of life yet to experience. But I believe that anything is possible to the heart that has the courage to dream. With love all things are possible, Caroline. Your father taught me that."

"He isn't very happy about Simon, is he? Or Grandfather."

Catherine smoothed the blankets over her daughter's legs. "No father is happy when his daughter finds a man she likes more than him. He knows it's a very different sort of love, but for your entire life, your father has been the most important man in your world. And while he's always been happy to share your love with your uncles and of course your Grandfather…well, they're not going to be very happy, either."

"Is that what your father was like, when you started seeing boys?"

"Oh yes…although I had the luxury of being able to hide it better from my father."

"I wish I could have known him."

"He would have loved you very much. And he would be proud of you, of the young woman you're becoming, just as your father and I are." She wrapped her arms around Caroline's shoulders. "No matter what road you take or where it leads you, even its North of Shangri la and South of Oz, we will always love you. We will always be proud of you."

"I love you, Mother. Thank you."

Glen Oak, CA

Simon managed to get all the way up to his room and heft his suitcase onto his bed before Ruthie found him. She lingered in the doorway a moment. In that moment, Simon felt several conflicting emotions. He was happy to see her, guilt, as he reflected on just how young Caroline was, how he should see her as a little sister—and in that same moment, it hit him that Ruthie was growing up. He wouldn't want to see her with a guy his age, but he knew she had a boyfriend. That in itself caused conflict because he wanted her to grow up, to be happy, to do all the things you were supposed to do as a teenager, and at the same time, in his mind's eye, she would aways be a little girl with curly brown hair.

"You're back."

"You don't sound happy to see me."

Ruthie shrugged.

"I brought you something."

She gave him a look; clearly, bribery was going to get him nowhere. Just the same, Ruthie took a tentative step into the room as Simon dug into his suitcase.

"I got this at the Cloisters."

"The what?"

He chuckled. "It's just what they call the place. Did you know there was a copy of the Unicorn Tapestries in New York?"

"Um? No?" She took the mug from him, her expression softening a little.

"I know it's not Hello Kitty," Simon teased.

"Very funny."

They were both aware she'd outgrown her Hello Kitty phase.

"Thanks," she added.

"You should see them in person. It's…it really blew me away."

"I would not have expected that," Ruthie informed him.

Simon laughed. "Yeah, me either."

"Maybe what really blew you away is this girl Mom and Dad can't stop talking about?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "Caroline is my friend. She's not much older than you are. She's in high school. And…she has her life together. Like, really together."

"Maybe some of that could rub off on you."

Simon looked at his little sister again. Really looked at her. "You're worried about me." It wasn't a question.

"We're all worried about you, Simon." Her expression softened again. "But yeah, I'm worried about you. You used to have your life together."

"Can I tell you something, without you telling Mom and Dad?"

She gave him a look; everybody knew Ruthie was the collector of information and keeper of secrets.

"I'm going to try therapy again."

"Why don't you want to tell Mom and Dad?" she asked, clearly bewildered.

"I don't want them getting their hopes up. And I don't want to see Dad's therapist. He gave me some names of other therapists before. I'm going to see if one of them will be a better fit."

"I'm glad." She reached behind her to shut the door, then sat down on his bed. "Now tell me more about his girl."

Simon smiled. "There's not much to tell."

"Is she pretty?"

"She's beautiful."

"Is she smart?"

"Smarter than me, that's for sure."

Ruthie laughed. "Are you so sure about that? She hung out with you."

He laughed, too. "Very funny." He sat down next to Ruthie and pulled out the picture he'd spent most of the flight home staring at, but had carefully hidden from Mom at the airport. It was just a school photo, nothing special, but Caroline had given it to him yesterday, before they said goodbye.

"Wow. She is gorgeous."

"She wants to be a lawyer, like her mom, and she plays the violin. She speaks German. She loves poetry and classical music. And used bookstores." He hauled the books he'd brought home out of carry-on bag. Most of them were classics or poetry. Tennyson, Rilke, Byron, Dickens, T.S. Elliot, T.H. White.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Simon Camden?"

Simon laughed. He pulled his sister into an impulsive hug and gave the top of her head a kiss. He hesitated only a few seconds before wrapping her arms around him and hugging him back.

Annie Camden settled into bed ahead of her husband. Despite the mix of emotions, she'd been feeling all week—for the last two weeks—she'd made Simon's favorite dinner, stuffed pork chops. It had been so good to see him smiling at the airport. He'd helped her get the twins buckled into the car, and besides promising to read to them tonight, he'd brought back little gifts for them. Snow globes, one of the Empire State Building, the other with the Statue of Liberty.

He'd brought her some tea, Eric and Lucy a mug. Ruthie, too, it seemed. He'd bought a book about baseball players for Martin and a sweatshirt for Kevin. There had been a knitted blanket for Savannah that apparently Cathy had made.

Not "Mrs. Chandler-Wells".

Cathy.

Since when did her children call other adults by their first names. Even Martin still called her and Eric "Mrs. Camden" and "Reverend Camden".

Even Robbie still called them that, and he was an adult now!

And yes, it had been terribly sweet of Caroline's mother to give him a blanket she'd knitted when he faltered on what to bring Savannah home from New York, not that he needed to bring any of them anything. Not that he should be bringing them anything. He needed to concentrate on paying off his credit card debt and getting back into school.

"You're stewing," Eric said, as he came into the room.

"Of course, I'm stewing. I'm worried."

"Annie, she lives in New York."

"That's what I'm worried about! You know Simon. What if he gets on a plane tomorrow and goes back there to be with her?"

"Matt isn't going to let Simon sleep on his couch indefinitely."

"What about Mary?"

"Mary's in London, remember?"

That didn't help. "Fine. What about Carlos?" Annie countered. Mary would be home soon. She and Carlos would work things out. They had to.

"Carlos isn't going to let Simon stay with him, either."

"Where is he now?"

"Carlos?"

"No! Simon."

"He was just getting the twins tucked in and heading to his own room when I came upstairs." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It's going to be fine, Annie. He's home. It's not ideal, but he's here. He'll be fine."

"And if he's not?"

"He will be."