For Ashlynn, Sunday consisted of lying on my couch with a pair of old headphones that Anastasia used to use during the Fourth of July fireworks. She rested beside a glass of water, Advil, a towel, and a pail, with a cool washcloth on her forehead at all times.
I took care of her mom by calling her and convincing her that there was a delay on our flight from Minnesota. Ashlynn told me her mom only knew the bare minimum: we went on a business trip and traveled to various states.
It took a little convincing, and a bribery of ice cream, but Ashlynn eventually allowed us to take her away from the mall and back to the hotel, where we swam until dinner.
At dinner, we made the mistake of leaving Ashlynn unattended. And, in those three minutes, she managed to drain the remainder of our cotton candy wine--which, admittedly, wasn't much. However, that inch of wine kept her buzzed for the rest of the night.
To put it simply: Ashlynn was a lightweight.
Along with their parents, Brandon and Marietta drove home after our flight to Michigan landed. Additionally, Audrey took a separate flight home to Los Angeles. I didn't ask what Joey said to her, but she returned to her normal, annoying self when we met at the children's play area in the Mall of America.
Eventually, when Ashlynn felt less queasy, she went home. She told her parents she felt jet lagged with a small case of motion sickness, so they let her remain in her bedroom for the rest of the night without any questions.
Monday passed by customarily: arriving late to school, being questioned by our whereabouts by Annabel and Claire (Ashlynn claimed to have caught the stomach flu, and I told the half-truth: I had to assist my mom on a business trip), and a small dinner celebration for Jake turning seventeen.
The rest of the week went by ordinarily, and there wasn't any excitement until Saturday.
I woke up the best way: without an alarm clock.
I rose from my bed, taking a scolding hot shower to make up for freezing temperature outside. When I finished scrubbing every inch of my body, I pulled back the curtain, feeling my skin transform into millions of goose bumps. As quickly as I could, I stepped into a pair of Joey's sweatpants, fuzzy socks, a random t-shirt, and one of Joey's old sweatshirts.
I shuffled back into my room, grabbing my hairbrush from my dresser. I smoothed through my knotted ends and twisted my hair into two French braids. As soon as I tied the last elastic, Anastasia bounded through my room.
"Mommy and Daddy said they have fantastic news!" she screamed, grabbing my hand and dragging me out the door, barely giving me any time to toss my brush on my dresser.
When we arrived in the living room, I noticed my mother and Dad sitting adjacent to each other on the couch. No matter what they promised Anastasia, I knew it wouldn't be "fantastic news".
In those milliseconds, every bad thing I had ever done resurfaced in my brain. Were they finally fed up with me? Were they sending me to military school? It certainly wouldn't be "fantastic news" for me, but I could see why my mother would think so.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked, forcing myself to sit down on our leather couch.
"Why? Is there something you did wrong?" my mother inquired, fighting back a sadistic smile.
"No," I answered, pulling Anastasia onto my lap.
"Then, no," my mother replied. For a beat, we sat there in complete, awkward silence.
"So...what's your fantastic news?" Anastasia questioned impatiently, squirming with excitement.
"Ah, right," my mother smiled, as if she had forgotten why she called us here together. "We have some news that will affect you both."
"Oh, great," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
The last time she called us all into a room like this, several years ago, she had begun the same way. Anastasia was just learning to walk, and I had guided her into the living room.
That time, my mother was announcing that we would buy a puppy. That time, I was the one squirming with excitement. I remembered her promising me that we could go to the pound and pick out whichever I wanted.
I chose a tiny, snow-white Labrador. Of course, I named her Princess. She was slightly larger than my palms, and she use to sleep next to me in bed.
Everything was going well until one day, when I crept downstairs while my parents were arguing. I hid behind a wall and listened as my mom insisted that she wasn't home enough to have a puppy running around. My father tried defending me, claiming that I was taking care of her just fine as it was.
I was horrified and furious with my mother. I wiped away my tears and stormed up the stairs. I had lied down beside Princess and promised to make sure nothing would happen to her.
But when I awoke, she was gone.
My mother tried convincing me that Princess "must have run away" or something, but I knew better. Had I not eavesdropped the night before, I wouldn't have known that it was mother who took her back to the pound.
All of my promises to Princess were worthless. I had let her down.
"Anyways," my mom continued, ignoring my comment. "As of March first, I won't be here anymore."
"Yay," I cheered.
She narrowed her eyes at me, wordlessly scolding me, "Don't interrupt me." I rolled my eyes as she continued, "I will be moving to Manchester, England."
"Hallelujah," I shrieked, standing and throwing my arms in the air. Anastasia, giggling, rolled to the side.
"Emily Ann Brazki!" my mother squawked, standing up from her spot at the couch. "This is your last warning."
"Before what?" I challenged.
"Emily, please," my dad pleaded.
My mother, looking pleased, continued with her "fantastic news". "Due to a new business interest in England, we will be expanding. I will move there in March to assure things are ready. I've already had multiple conversations with them, and we have decided that the planning for the new buildings won't be complete until the end of December."
"Wait, hold on," I interrupted for the third time in less than two minutes. "You have to go early to make sure things are ready...for what?"
"For you," she responded with a smile. "That's the other part of my news. After your last day of school, the first of June, you and Anastasia will be joining me in England until December thirty-first."
"No," I whispered. My head began to spin in dozens of different directions, and when I stood up, I immediately felt dizzy. "Please tell me this is some kind of joke," I begged.
"It's not a joke," she assured me.
"Well, I'm staying here with Dad. You can't make me go."
"You're not staying here with your father, and I can make you go," she insisted.
"G-give me one good reason why I can't," I stuttered. This couldn't be happening.
"Your father has a busy year ahead of him as well. He will barely be home, and you can't be home alone for weeks at a time. You're fifteen," she argued.
"I'll be sixteen in, like, three weeks," I corrected her.
"Either way, you can't stay here. It's been decided," she shrugged. "You'll finish off the school year, and then will join myself and your sister. Of course, you're both welcome to join me in March."
"Well, I'm excited," Anastasia proclaimed, jumping up and down. "Can I call my friends and tell them?"
"Of course, sweetheart," my mom appreciatively answered. I could practically read her mind, "At least one of my daughters is grateful and thankful".
Ana bounced out of the room, whipping her cell phone out of her pocket in the process. However, I knew she only left so I could have a private conversation with my parents; she didn't like to hear us bicker.
"Dad, can't I stay here with you?" I begged, taking note of how quiet he had been during this exchange.
"I'm sorry, butterfly. I would be okay with it, but your mother insists that you go with her. She thinks it will be a great cultural experience," he replied, remorse blanketing his face. I could sense how guilty he felt, but he clearly didn't have a choice.
"Why can't I stay with Lillia? Or Joey or Jake?" I begged. "I'll stay with Brandon and Marietta, or Ashlynn, if I have to."
"You're not staying with your friends for six months. That's ridiculous and I will not stand for it," Mother declared. "It'll be fun, sweetie."
"What sounds fun about leaving all my friends behind for six months, Mom? In England, I won't know anyone. Things work differently there; I won't fit in. I won't even know how to work anything. They have different words for stuff, and accents, and I have neither. You need to put yourself in my shoes for a second and consider how I feel," I cried, wiping the tears vigorously as they fell.
Her face softened ever so slightly as she continued, "I'm sorry. There's isn't any option; you have to come with me. End of discussion." To emphasize her point, she got up and left the room.
"Emily, I'm so sorry," my Dad apologized, and I could tell he actually meant it.
"It's okay," I lied.
I grabbed a bag from the table, emptying its contents on the kitchen island. I threw a wad of cash, my phone, and a couple of granola bars in the bag. Without looking back, I headed out the front door and did what I do best.
I ran.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was about twenty degrees, so I hoped to arrive at my destination as quickly as I could.
And I did.
Before I knew it, I was running up the stairs in an attempt to cool down. I opened a few doors, punching in the code #5681, and pushed a final door to reach the balcony of the city hall building.
I'd never been here during work hours, so I forced myself to ignore the stares from the confused workers. I even got stopped a few times, asking if I was allowed to be here.
"I'm here to see Kurt, the security guard," I insisted. When I got to him, he swatted them away, assuring that I was allowed in.
I didn't really have a plan, and it was still early in the day. So I mostly sat back, ate granola bars, and paced the perimeter of the rooftop to stay warm. I planned on sleeping here, well aware of the hammock and excess of blankets.
In the meantime, I weighed my options. Clearly, my mother couldn't force me onto the jet. I could run away before then, returning home after she was gone. However, I knew that my dad would send me to her as soon as I returned. On the other hand, I could stake out at Lillia's house. I'm sure Heather, her mother, wouldn't mind my presence. But at the same time, maybe my mom was right: six months was a long time to host a guest. That eliminated my abilities to stay with anyone aside from Jake, Joey, and Lillia.
Then again, if I stayed here, Anastasia would be alone with my mother for six whole months. I knew Ana was the mediator of the family, getting along just fine with Mother, but spending six months with my mother could make even Gandhi want to pelt her with bricks.
Heck, I felt like that after only a few hours.
After contemplating the situation for hours, I only came up with a single fact: there was no solution to this problem.
If I went to England, I would be with Anastasia, but I would also be with my mother and without all my friends--Joey, Lillia, Jake, Penelope, and Ashlynn--and all my kind-of-friends--Brandon, Marietta, Annabel, and Claire. I wouldn't be able to attend any parties: those on the weekend, at the end of summer, on holidays, and even the cotillions.
I pulled my phone out, ignoring my new messages, and sent a text to Joey. Minutes later, he answered.
Me: I'm moving.
Joey: What?!
Me: Don't tell anyone.
Joey: I won't. But that sucks, I'm sorry. When?
Me: Mom leaves March 1. Ana & I leave June 1.
Joey: I guess we'll have to take advantage of our time before then.
Me: I guess so.
Joey: Is it forever? Or are you coming back?
Me: I come home Dec. 31.
Joey: Let's hang out right now. Where are you?
Me: Alone.
Joey: Can you be alone with me?
Me: I suppose so.
Joey: I'll be at the roof in 10 minutes.
Me: How'd you know?
Joey: ;) see you soon.
I sat silently, staring at the bricks piled neatly on top of each other, making up the structure of the city hall building. It was quite fascinating how little cubes, only the size of a foot, when stacked together, could take part in creating a building that was hundreds of feet tall. It reminded me how, when working together, people could create something hugely magnificent as well.
I smelt Joey before I saw him.
I spun around, extremely grateful for the Chinese food in his hands. "I come bearing gifts," he exclaimed, bundled in a puffy coat, a scarf, hat, earmuffs, and gloves.
"Thank you," I smiled, grabbing the food from him and setting it out like a picnic. When the food was settled, I grabbed a heavy comforter and draped it over my shoulders.
"Here, I figured you'd need these," he offered, extending his hand towards me. I gratefully accepted the coat and winter accessories, and after putting them on, I felt infinitely warmer.
We ate in silence, devouring the food. "I hadn't realized how hungry I was," I admitted.
From the way I spoke, you would have assumed the words came from someone who was away from home for weeks, months even. Definitely not from a girl who was only minutes away from fast food restaurants and her home. A girl who's been gone for only a few hours.
"I'm going to miss you," I murmured, shoveling a spoonful of rice in my mouth.
"Don't talk like that," Joey pleaded.
"I want to stay with you," I blurted out.
"Okay," Joey shrugged.
"No, for real."
"Alright, stay with me."
"I can't, though," I sighed. I probably sounded like a bipolar maniac right then.
"Why not?" he frowned, nipping away at the invisible crumbs from his mouth with a napkin.
"Mom'll kill me," I admitted. "She said six months is too long to host a guest."
"You're not a guest, you're family," he whispered, nudging me with his elbow.
"But Anastasia," I rebutted, "I can't leave her alone with my mother for all that time."
"What about your dad?"
"He's staying here, but he'll apparently be gone for weeks at a time," I frowned.
"Hey, let's not think about it. Okay? We have four and a half months until we have to worry about that, right?" he questioned, drawing patterns on my legs with his fingers.
I mutely nodded. And then, without warning, a flood fell from my eyes. I started crying uncontrollably as I crawled into Joey's lap. I rested my head against his chest, allowing him to cloak the blanket around us. He whispered soothing words in my ears and wrapped his arms around my trembling body in an attempt to calm me down.
However, no matter how much he comforted me, the shudders continued to run through me. The tears flowed through me endlessly, showing no signs of stopping. I was practically wheezing for air, my nose runny and disgusting.
Joey handed me the wad of napkins from our Chinese takeout, which I graciously accepted. And as I nastily blew my nose into them, I was still shaking.
Just as I could feel the end of the tears nearing--like when you were stopped by a train, and you finally spot the ending of it--I thought back to the last time I was here on the roof.
I wished for this to happen. I jinxed myself. I yearned for nothing more than to leave and never come back. Essentially, that was what would be happening.
I was leaving Michigan.
I was moving away from my small, naïve town into the huge, bustling city of Manchester. In four and a half months, I would get my wish.
I was getting exactly what I wanted, so why was I so upset?
The sheer thought made me sob even harder into Joey's already damp chest.
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She's moving. What do we think about that?
How about that Jomily moment at the end? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN BETWEEN HER AND JOEY????