“That’s a strong message.”
“I mean it.” Was this her punishment for her fantasy about Dr. O marrying her mother? To lose her boyfriend, the best boyfriend any girl could have? No wonder he’d never tried to get beyond first base with her. All the time he was doing it with Polina. How could she, a fifteen-year-old girl, compete with that?
“I don’t know how I can keep going,” she told Henry.
“Miri, sweetheart—life is hard,” Henry said, “but it’s worth the struggle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Very, very sure.”
—
“I BROKE UP with Mason,” she told Rusty that night, “and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh, honey,” Rusty said. “I’m so sorry. Is it about Las Vegas?”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it, and no, it’s not about Las Vegas. End of conversation.” Let Rusty tell Irene. Let Rusty tell the whole world.
Henry
Leah said Miri would learn from this experience. She said it wasn’t realistic of them to think puppy love could last. But learn what? Not to trust? Not to believe? Not to love? He didn’t agree with Leah. He wished he could make Miri’s sadness go away. But there was nothing he could do except be there for her.
Christina
Jack was beside himself. They were in his room at Mrs. O’Malley’s. He paced up and down, punching his fist into his open hand while she sat primly on the edge of the bed. “And now Mason won’t come to Las Vegas because of that little bitch.”
“Do you know why Miri broke up with him?” Christina asked. “No. Do you?”
“Because he lied to her. Because he’s been…” She tried to put it delicately. “He’s been sleeping with Polina, the girl who cooks at Janet, the one Daisy took in after she lost everything in the Williamson Street crash.”
“Mason?”
“Yes, Mason. Polina told Daisy and Daisy told me. She thought I should know because of our…closeness.”
“My little brother?”
“Yes, your little brother. Polina said Mason broke up with her right after Miri found out he was cheating.”
“This is crazy. We’re talking about kids.”
“Polina’s not a kid. But she has one.”
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph! How do we know this is really true?”
“Why would Daisy lie to me? She’s not a gossip. But you should ask Mason yourself.”
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!”
“I wish you’d stop saying that.”
“What should I say?”
“I’m sorry, Jack.” Christina softened. “It must be hard for you to hear this.”
“What’s hard is that he thinks he can’t confide in me, that he thinks he can’t come with us.”
“Give him time. Let him cool off. I’ll bet you anything he’ll change his mind. If not right away, then as soon as he finishes high school.”
“But that’s another year. Who’s going to be around to watch over him, make sure he’s okay until then?”
“Any boy who can run into a burning plane, not once, not twice, but how many times?”
“I lost count,” Jack said.
“Well, any boy who can keep his head straight through all of that is going to be okay.”
“But you can’t be sure, can you?”
“If you want to stay…”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Because if you don’t want to leave him…”
“I didn’t say that, either.”
“All I mean is, I’d understand. And my parents would be over the moon.”
“Until you tell them about us.” Jack took a couple of practice swings with an imaginary baseball bat. “When are you going to tell them, Mrs. McKittrick?”
“When the time is right.”
Fortunately, he didn’t question her about when that would be. Because she hadn’t the faintest idea. “Are we having our first fight?” she asked.
“We’re never going to fight.” He fell back on the bed and took her in his arms.
Miri
Miri found out from Dr. O that Mason refused to go to Las Vegas with Christina and Jack. He’s not going because I’m going, she thought. Well, guess what? She’d decided to stay home with Irene and Henry. Henry and Leah could have Rusty’s upstairs apartment and she’d move in with Irene, downstairs. So Mason could go with Jack and she’d never have to see him again. Until Henry broke the news that he’d accepted a job with The Washington Post and he and Leah were moving to D.C. after the wedding. Just like that. He promised that when she visited, he’d take her to see the White House and all the other sites.
Okay, then she’d stay with Irene, and Ben could move in upstairs. When she announced her plan, Rusty said, “But Irene and Ben are coming with us.”
“I don’t believe you!” Miri ran downstairs to find Irene.
Irene said, “I should let my girls go without me? Are you crazy? Never!”
Ben said, “There’s plenty of real estate opportunities in Las Vegas. Not that I need the money, but I like the idea.”