April
Chapter 5:
The rest of February and March slipped by in an endless stream of rainy days and it wasn't til the first weekend in April that the sun managed to fight through the clouds and cast a watery glow over the town. Michaela, who had been up for hours reading despite the fact that it was a Saturday, fairly bounced down the stairs as soon as the whirring of the coffee machine, an indicator that Joseph was finally up, successfully broke through her concentration.
"Can we go today?" she exclaimed, her socked feet skidding on the wooden floor as she hurtled towards the kitchen counter.
"Good morning to you too," replied Joseph with a wry smile as he poured a healthy portion of coffee into an old, chipped mug.
"Well?" persisted Michaela, raising an eyebrow in expectation.
"Homework first," clarified Joseph, fixing his daughter with an unyielding glance, "and if the two of you are done by lunch, I'll consider it."
Joseph no longer bothered asking if Sully was coming over but simply assumed that he was. Over the last six months, the boy had turned into a permanent fixture in their lives and Joseph had come to learn that any time he wanted to find his daughter, tracking down Sully would inevitably yield results.
"Yes!" exclaimed Michaela, adding in an extra whoop for good measure, before padding good naturedly across to the cupboard and helping herself to some cereal.
"I'm going to take a shower," said Joseph, grabbing the spoon out of his daughter limp grip and shovelling a mouthful of honey loops into his mouth before she could react.
"Be sure to shave extra close today, Dad," retorted Michaela with a scowl as she reclaimed her spoon, "you need all the help you can get and may be it will help make you more aerodynamic."
Joseph merely laughed at her indignant expression and grabbing his coffee, headed upstairs, the theme tune to Scooby Doo blaring behind him.
Two hours later, Sully was lounging in his chair by the window, absentmindedly playing with a rather weatherworn baseball. His essay about the human digestive system was lying on the table in front of him complete with a diagram that he had coloured in out of sheer boredom whilst he waited for Michaela to finish.
"Are you done yet?" he asked for the hundredth time, casting a mournful glance at the beautiful day just waiting for them beyond the thin pane of glass.
"Hmmm" came the response and Sully rolled his eyes. She had been poring over the anatomy book that Joseph had gifted her with for her birthday for the last half an hour and had only spoken once in the interim. Outraged that the school textbook was full of what she deemed "glaring inaccuracies", she had bestowed upon it a most disdainful look before chucking it under the table and beginning her entire essay anew.
The sound of an approaching engine drew Sully's attention and he twisted around to stare out of the window, his eyes widening as a gleaming black car with tinted windows pulled into the Quinn's driveway. The gentle purr immediately cut out and without turning around, Sully commented, "There's someone here to see you guys."
"Who is it?" asked Michaela distractedly, a frown furrowing her brow as she continued to peruse a lengthy paragraph.
"I dunno," said Sully, "a woman just got out of the car. She looks really smart, with her hair all up in that twisty thing, like a lawyer maybe."
"Mom," whispered Michaela in a stunned voice, now staring out of the window too. Sully's words had broken through her abstraction and the textbook now lay forgotten on her lap.
"And woah, who is that?" continued Sully, now appraising a tall, slender young girl with flaming red hair who had just stepped out of the car.
His words however were drowned out by a strangled cry from Michaela, who, as though suddenly regaining the ability to move, had slammed down the textbook and shot out of the room to yank the front door open.
"Mom!" she cried, launching herself into the arms of the elegantly attired woman now standing on the front porch.
"Michaela, honey," replied Elizabeth, returning the hug with an expression of fierce affection, "I missed you."
"I missed you too," laughed Michaela, now dragging her mother into the house, "why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"Hello Elizabeth," came another voice and both mother and daughter looked up to see Joseph walking sedately down the stairs, a broad grin on his face as he observed the long overdue reunion.
"You knew she was coming," stated Michaela, comprehension finally dawning as she saw the laughter in his eyes, "that's why you kept making excuses all morning. You knew Mom was coming."
Joseph merely chuckled before glancing out of the still open door and frowning slightly.
"What's wrong with Marjorie?" he queried, as his elder daughter, who had but moments ago been chattering away merrily on her cell phone, snapped it shut and stalked away from the car towards the house, an irate expression marring her features.
"Oh it's probably Billy," explained Elizabeth with a wry smile, "they'll have broken up, again."
"She's still going out with that bonehead?" asked Michaela in surprise.
"Billy is not a bonehead, Mike," hissed Marjorie, who had most unfortunately approached close enough to catch this last comment.
"Sure he is," retorted Michaela, "just add a nose ring and I reckon he could pass as living proof of Darwin's theory of evolution."
Marjorie turned to glare daggers at her sister and sensing an imminent fight, Joseph choked back a laugh and stepped forward instead to greet his daughter.
"So what were you doing inside on such a nice day?" began Elizabeth, reaching out to close the front door before slipping an arm easily around Michaela's shoulders, "Don't tell me you're reading?"
"Dad was going to take Sully and I to play baseball but we had to…Sully!"
She suddenly broke off midsentence and slapping her palm to her forehead, dashed out of her mother's embrace back into the small living room. She was back a mere moment later, fairly dragging a very embarrassed Sully along in her wake.
"Mom, this is Sully."
She didn't need to explain further: the lengthy emails she sent her mother on a daily basis were peppered with stories of her antics with Sully. This meeting was a mere formality that allowed Elizabeth to put a face to the very familiar name.
"Hello, Sully," said Elizabeth in a would be casual voice but with a distinctly knowing gleam in her eye, "it's nice to finally meet you."
"Uh, thanks," replied Sully, casting a furtive glance at the somewhat intimidating figure in front of him before dropping his gaze to his sneakers.
Smiling at Sully's obvious discomfort, Elizabeth led the small group into the living room and took a seat on the sofa, Michaela curling up beside her.
"So are we invited to this baseball game, Joseph?" she queried, "I used to be quite good at one point."
"I'm not playing," interjected Marjorie as an excited buzz instantly filled the room, "I just got my nails done and these are completely the wrong shoes."
As Elizabeth tried to convince Marjorie to at least accompany them outside, Sully leaned over to Michaela.
"You never told me your sister was so pretty," he whispered, glancing up as Marjorie impatiently flipped her hair over her shoulder. A troubled expression momentarily flickered in Michaela's eyes before she shook her head and rolled said eyes in her characteristic gesture of disapproval.
"Her boyfriend thinks so too," she explained dryly, "he's a jock, she's a cheerleader. What a loser pair they make."
Sully however continued to stare at the figure before him as though enchanted and Michaela, recognising the signs, stalked off towards the kitchen.
"What's the matter?" queried Joseph, breaking off midsentence as his daughter took a seat gloomily at the counter.
"Sully's been Marjorie'd" explained Michaela dryly, picking up an apple from the fruit basket and turning it idly in her hands.
"Give it ten minutes," chuckled Elizabeth and noting Michaela's malignant expression, pulled the apple gently back to safety.
"Why, what happens in ten minutes?" asked Michaela, glancing up curiously.
"Billy will call and apologise, again" laughed Elizabeth, "So tell me, how are things at school?"
Michaela was in full flow, merrily discussing the minutia of her latest science paper when Sully sidled into the kitchen, his face flushed in obvious embarrassment. She wouldn't have registered his renewed presence had her father not failed to comment on her last point but raised his eyes instead to bestow a sympathetic glance on the lone figure by the door. Michaela turned and as Sully's wide eyed gaze met hers, a wicked grin spread across her face. Pre-empting the diabolical diatribe that was undoubtedly about to be unleashed on the already mortified boy, Joseph swiftly intervened and suggested they start warming up for the game in the handkerchief sized back yard. Sully eagerly agreed and hastily followed the doctor out of the back door.
"He won't be the first or the last," mused Elizabeth, picking up her cup of coffee and heading back towards the living room. As she passed her daughter, she nudged her playfully with her shoulder, "So you be nice."
To Michaela's dismay, Elizabeth and Marjorie were only able to stay until Monday afternoon. Sully's blithe guess about Elizabeth's profession had actually proved correct, much to everyone's amusement, and as the defence attorney for a high profile case due to commence later in the week, Elizabeth was keen to be back in Boston. Michaela had certainly not inherited her intense desire to be over prepared for any eventuality from her father. Marjorie too was desperate to return home and to all the luxuries a cosmopolitan life offered. On numerous occasions, she had sniffily pronounced Colorado as "quaint" but far too rustic to spend any length of time in. Michaela's temper seemed to be hardwired to slights on her new home town and she had stoutly defended it against such remarks, often accompanied by silent but fervent nodding from the ever present Sully.
Sully had taken to giving Marjorie a particularly wide berth during the remainder of her visit, a fact which Michaela had not only noticed but took get pleasure in pointing out to him. Fully aware of his serious error in judgement, Sully tolerated the continuous ribbing stoically though humour rapidly bore out over humiliation and he even began to retaliate to some of Michaela's more ridiculous suggestions. When Rebecca, Marjorie's wild and slightly eccentric twin sister, had rung on Saturday night to find out whether the tremors she had felt in Boston were actually due to Marjorie storming around in her new boots, he had merrily joined in the three way conversation, elaborating the tales Michaela was cheerfully narrating to her favourite sister.
Two very mournful expressions therefore met Joseph as he stopped by the Coopers on Monday evening after work. Michaela was clearly out of sorts and as a human mirror to every emotion his daughter felt, Sully's expression was akin to that of someone at the death bed of a close friend. If he hadn't been so wracked with guilt that his decision to bring Michaela out to Colorado with him was a mistake, the situation would have appeared quite comical. As it was, he merely pried his daughter out of the arm chair and slipping his arms around her shoulders, reassured her that her mother would visit again soon.
Michaela's despondent mood continued however and Sully, who couldn't bear to see her so unhappy, took up the challenge of cheering her up. As they sat together in Math, sneakily munching on the sweets he had smuggled inside his pencil case, he presented his plan: An after school fishing trip. Michaela's eyes had instantly lit up and for the rest of class, the two had whispered out a scheme for getting past Charlotte's eagle eye.
Luck proved on their side; Brian had caught a cold and Charlotte was so busy keeping him from sneezing all over the dog that it was almost too easy for the two miscreants to sneak out the back door.
"Careful!" hissed Michaela as Sully stumbled over the uneven surface of the back yard and sent a pair of wellington boots flying, "do you wanna get caught?"
"Yeh cos you're such a regular Nancy Drew," grumbled Sully, rolling his eyes, "can we just go already?"
"Ok," murmured Michaela, eyes darting around the yard and up to the first floor windows, "coast's clear. Run for it!"
She hurtled towards the gate that marked the end of the Cooper's property and the start of the public woodland, Sully hot on her heels. Heaving up the rusty latch, she managed to create a narrow gap, just wide enough for Sully and his back pack to slip through. Once through, he hastily pulled out the heavy textbook Michaela had insisted on checking out of the library earlier that day and jammed it in the gap so they could get back in again.
"That's a library book!" exclaimed Michaela, watching him in horror.
"You got a better idea?" breathed Sully, brushing his hair out of his face before fixing her with a mischievous grin, "now you coming or what?"
The freedom was an incredible high and for ten minutes, as they raced towards the river, coats flying behind them like kites caught in the wind, the woods fairly shook with the sound of their delighted laughter. What they hadn't counted on however was Mother Nature. All the rain over the last few weeks had caused the river to swell and rise high up the banks. As Sully surveyed the rapidly moving current in dismay, he knew there was no way they'd catch anything.
"You sure?" queried Michaela, eyeing the rushing waters with a critical eye, "I bet we could wade out a little way and maybe…"
"Don't be stupid," snapped Sully, folding his arms, "it's moving too fast and it's not safe."
"You chicken?" teased Michaela, flapping her arms around him, "bwaaack, bwaaack, bwack, bwaaaaaack!"
"Shut up!" yelled Sully, shoving back on Michaela's chest. Caught off balance, she tumbled backwards. Her hands came out to brace her fall but she wasn't quite fast enough to catch her knee before it smashed into a large stone welded into the mud.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, sitting up straight to examine the extent of the damage. A thin trickle of blood was oozing through a new hole in her already frayed jeans.
"Great!" she growled, swiping at the blood, "now Dad's definitely going to chuck these out. Thanks Sully!"
Glaring up at him, she was about to demand an explanation for his strange behaviour but the expression on his face was so shocked that her anger rapidly dissipated.
"What's up?" she queried, heaving herself to her feet, her brows knitting together in concern.
"I'm sorry," replied Sully, his face paling further, "about your knee I mean. I didn't mean to push you so hard."
"It was an accident," conceded Michaela quickly, "and I'm sorry about what I said. I don't think you're a chicken at all."
"The water," continued Sully quietly, "when it's moving so fast, it kinda scares me. Like there's no stopping it and anything could happen if you get in its way."
"Kinda stupid huh?" he added, with a half smile at Michaela.
"No, not stupid," replied Michaela thoughtfully, "everyone's scared of something."
"Except you," amended Sully with a wide grin, "you're not scared of anything."
Michaela suddenly shook her head, as though pulling herself back to reality and gazed at him.
"Sure I'm scared of stuff," she said bluntly, "I wouldn't be normal if I wasn't."
"What are you scared of?" asked Sully, regarding her curiously.
Michaela was silent for a few moments before swallowing hard and answering quietly, "Being on my own."
Sully watched her silently for a moment before nudging her shoulder gently with his.
"Well that's just plain crazy cos you'll always have me around."
Soaking wet and trailing mud, the two friends arrived back at the house. They'd barely been gone for more than half an hour but most unluckily, Colleen, who had been searching high and low for Sully had taken up guard by the window and spied them creeping back in. Instantly riddled with jealousy, she had lost no time in yelling for her mother.
The upshot of their little escapade was that far from being cheered up, Michaela was forced to endure two torturous days alone at school. Sully was off nursing a cold that was no doubt borne of his afternoon in wet clothes and the Meathead crew used every opportunity to harass the petite girl picking at her chips in the corner of the cafeteria. When Friday finally arrived, Michaela sat down to her lunch, relieved that at least tomorrow she'd be able to speak to Sully. Joseph, furious at his daughter's lack of responsibility, had imposed a ban on any form of communication between the two friends til the weekend. Naturally, Michaela had tried several ways of getting around this. However, when Joseph had discovered notes hidden amidst the tuna salad filling of her lunch, he had finally unleashed the full force of his anger. Stunned into submission, Michaela had meekly apologised and vowed to serve the remainder of her sentence without complaint.
"Where's your loser boyfriend today huh? Guess even a dumbass like him couldn't stand to be around a freak like you!"
Michaela ground her teeth together as the jeers echoed across the cafeteria. Pulling a book from her bag, she made to immerse herself in eighteenth century England. Before she even had a chance to find the right page however, the book suddenly vanished from her grip.
"Give it back," she demanded, glaring up at the group of boys now towering over her table.
"No," replied the lumpy form of Mr Meathead himself.
"Shame your boyfriend isn't here to get it back for you," he taunted, lifting the book well above his head and out of her reach, "though he's such a sucker he might as well be your girlfriend."
This last had the other boys in hysterics and something inside Michaela suddenly snapped. Blood rushing to her face, she stood up, her hands balling into fists.
"You shut up about Sully," she said angrily, "he's much smarter than all of you dorkheads put together. And give me my book back now."
"You think you can take me?" sneered the thuggish leader, sizing up his opponent.
"I don't think," hissed Michaela, "I know."
Out of nowhere, a small fist rose up and smacked straight into the older boy's face. A resounding crack and a sudden gush of blood indicated the punch was right on target and with a most girlish howl of pain, the boy instantly dropped the heavy novel.
"Thanks," finished Michaela, reaching down to pick up the book as the cafeteria exploded around her, "I was just getting to the good part."
What with a bruised right hook, a broken nose and two week's worth of detentions to contend with, Michaela was very glad that spring break had finally arrived. Sully, who had cried with laughter at the thought of his tiny best friend beating up a boy twice her size, was however deeply touched that Michaela had stood up for him in his absence. To that end, he had dutifully waited for her to serve her sentence after school every day for a fortnight and when she finally came hurtling towards him on her final Friday, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. They were finally free.