I shake my head. I’ll have to leave now. I can do the other two problems on my own, no doubt.
“I wish you didn’t want to go away to the war,” I finally say as I close the book.
He doesn’t say anything for a second. “It’s not that I want to. Sometimes duty calls us to it. Most of my friends are already on the front or getting ready to go. It’s the right thing to do.”
I don’t see how it can be. “How do you know?”
“Because my country asks it of me. If people don’t do their part to stop the spread of evil when they’re asked to, it just gets stronger and then no one can stop it.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about. And I already know I can’t change anything by asking him to explain this to me.
“Will you do something for me while I’m away?” he asks when I say nothing.
“I guess.”
“Look out for Charlie, will you? You’re the first friend he’s had in a long time. A very long time. And I’m very glad he has a friend right now. I’m not sure how much he understands about where I’m going.”
I don’t understand much about where you’re going,I’m thinking.
“I know he’s not making much progress on what you’re trying to teach him, but that’s not how he sees it. He loves going over to your house. Charlie being happy makes my mother happy. It might be hard for her, too, when I go.”
I pull the book into my lap.
“So it would mean a lot to me if you just kept up with what you’re doing for Charlie. Don’t stop. Please?” he says.
Jamie is looking intently at me, and my face feels warm. His gaze is confusing me, making my heart pound. “I’m not doing anything special for Charlie. I’m just being me.”
His face relaxes into an easy smile. “Then don’t change while I’m gone. All right, Magpie? You just stay you.”
I can’t think of a thing to say. Someone who needs to speak with Jamie comes into the accounting office at that moment. Beatrice brings the man through. Jamie stands and says, “Good day, Miss Bright,” like I am one of his business patrons. Beatrice, Jamie, and even the client smile wide as I make my way out. They think I’m just a twelve-year-old girl who doesn’t know anything.
I’m nearly thirteen.
