Luke spun me around and kissed me. He had a huge smile. “I have a surprise for you. It’s outside.” He took my hand and led me through the back door, followed by a giggling Charlie.
A brand-new, dark grey Toyota Highlander sat in our driveway. I stopped dead on the porch. “What is that?”
Luke stepped to my side and kissed my cheek. “It’s your new car. And it’s not a Porsche, so you don’t have to be afraid of it.”
“Do you love it, Mommy? I mean, Emmy?” Charlie asked.
I walked slowly down the steps. “Luke, what? You bought me a car?”
“It’s not very fancy, which I thought you’d like, and it has four-wheel drive, and plenty of room for all of Charlie’s stuff for meets. Your name is the only one on the title, but I’m picking up the insurance, all right?”
I ran my hand down the shiny new hood. “I don’t know whatto say. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t sound excited, Emmy,” Charlie said, his smile fading. “I helped Luke pick it out. Now you don’t have to worry anymore, right?”
I pasted a bright smile on my face. “Are you kidding? I’m so excited! I love it!” I threw my arms around Luke, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you!” Then I grabbed Charlie in a hug. “And thank you for helping. You guys have great taste! It’s the perfect car for me! Let’s take it out for a spin!”
When Luke handed me the keys, he took my hands. “You’re shaking,” he said, looking at me questioningly.
“I’m just excited,” I explained. I was terrified.
∞
I was at the NGS on Tuesday morning when my phone rang, and it was the school. My heart leapt to my throat.
“Hello?What’s wrong?”
“Hello, Emily. This is Sylvia Ferber, principal at Whitaker Elementary. Charlie is fine. I’m calling because we have had a disciplinary issue today, and I’d like you to come down to the school to discuss it.”
“Disciplinary issue? What’s wrong? Is he ok?” My voice had risen to frantic pitch. Nothing could happen to Charlie.
“He’s fine,” she repeated, “but this is really something we should discuss in person. Immediately.”
“Ok, um, let me call my manager to see if she can come, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Martha hurried to the NGS to take my place. “Take a deep breath,” she told me. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. It’s Charlie, for heaven’s sake! It must be some kind of mistake.”
That’s what I repeated to myself as I drove my new car like a demon over to the school, whipping into the parking lot, then running down the hall to the office. It must be some kind of mistake! Charlie would never get into trouble.
He was sitting, slumped in a chair, outside Mrs. Ferber’s office. I darted across the room to him, and knelt down. He raised his tearstained face to me. He had an icepack on a scrape on his cheek.
“Pal, what happened?”
Charlie leaned into my shoulder and started crying. “It was Rivers,” he choked out, then lapsed into sobbing.
“Miss Brennan?Emily?”
I stood, pulling Charlie to his feet and hugging him tightly. “What happened to him?” I angrily demanded.
Mrs. Ferber gestured to her office. “Why don’t you both come inside?”
I sat, and Charlie sat in the chair next to me, making an effort to pull himself together. Mrs. Ferber adjusted her glasses. “Well, this was a very unfortunate situation that we had here today. Charlie and another child were involved in an altercation during class. A physical altercation.”
“What?” I was stunned. “Pal, what happened?”
He stared at his hands, balled up in his lap. “Nothing.”
“Something happened!” I exclaimed.
