You're Not in This Alone

Ebony was pleased with the girls’ birthday party idea. “This is going to be so much fun,” she said excitedly. We were getting ready for bed.

When we’d gotten back from the beach, we’d taken turns in the shower to wash off the salt water. It was nice to have power again. Now it was dark outside, and almost everyone else was already asleep.

I saw that Ebony looked exhausted when she lay down despite her excitement. It had been another long day. And mine had just begun.

We spoke briefly of party plans, but soon she was asleep. I kept myself wide awake, though. I had other plans.

I wriggled gently out of Ebony’s grasp. I kissed her lightly before taking the carefully written not out of my pocket. I left it on my side of the bed in case she woke up, but I hoped I would be back before she noticed I was gone.

I tiptoed out of our room. When I opened the house door, the warm summer night air made me smile. I hoped I hadn’t woken up Sarah.

I was headed towards the tree in the back yard of the supply house. It was my rendezvous point with Nadia. When I got there, she was already waiting.

Looking determined for an answer, she demanded, “Will you please tell me what we’re doing now?”

“Shh,” I retorted. “Keep your voice down. Sarah had bat ears, and I don’t know if she would keep this secret. We’re going to go get Ebony’s birthday present.”

Nadia visibly relaxed. “Alright. Where are we going?”

I pulled out a flashlight. “Teleport us to the library first, please. We’ll have to look up a good jewelry store.”

Nadia reached out to touch my arm, and a second later we were in Catskill’s library. It didn’t take as long to find the right phonebook as I thought it would be using a flashlight in the dark. There was a popular jeweler named Cartier at 52nd St. and 5th Ave in New York City.

When we teleported into the jewelry store and I shined the flashlight around, there were thankfully no bodies inside. I glanced at Nadia. Her eyes were wide. The diamonds and other precious stones glinted powerfully in the flashlight’s beam.

“What are we looking for?” she asked.

I shook my head. “You’ll see when I find something. Why don’t you find something pretty to wear to the party?” I suggested. She didn’t object.

I meandered around the store, looking for the rings. When I found them, I examined each one carefully. Since I wouldn’t have to pay for it, I knew I could take any ring I wanted. However, I didn’t want to get a ring with a gigantic diamond on it.

I knew the right one when I saw it. It was a thin silver titanium band. The diamond set in it was not extremely large, but it was surrounded by smaller diamonds and rubies. A smile spread across my face. I realized the glass case was locked.

I looked up to call to Nadia across the room, but before I could speak she was right next to me. She was holding out both of her hands. In one she held the keys to the glass cases, and in the other she held a necklace. It was white gold with diamonds set in the small butterfly pendent.

“Isn’t it pretty?” she said.

“It is,” I agreed. I gently took the keys from her hand, unlocked the glass case, and showed her the ring. “What do you think?” I asked anxiously. This was the moment of truth. What would the others think of it?

She didn’t answer quickly. “A ring?” she breathed.

“Not just any ring; and engagement ring,” I added excitedly. “This is what I want to give Ebony because it’s the only thing I can give that she can’t go out and get for herself.”

Nadia smiled weakly. “It’s cute,” she admitted, “But you’re only seventeen, aren’t you? Isn’t that a little young?”

At first I had been about to say that laws didn’t matter anymore, that we didn’t have to follow them, but I knew that would be a bad move that could easily backfire. If we stopped following laws, who knew what might happen. “I know,” I finally said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t get engaged. Besides, my birthday’s coming up in July.”

Nadia’s smile strengthened. “I love the idea.”

I laughed. “I hope everyone else does, including Ebony.”

Nadia rolled her eyes. “Of course she will, and so will everyone else,” she predicted. “This will be even better than planning a birthday party. We’ll get to plan a wedding!”

I smiled nervously. “She hasn’t said yes yet.” There were many things I couldn’t tell Nadia. I was worried that Ebony wouldn’t be sure about marrying because of the thing I was keeping from her now. I knew she still loved me, but did she trust me as much as she used to? I couldn’t really expect that of her.

Nadia ignored my doubt and glanced at her flowery digital watch. “It’s almost three in the morning. If you’re done, we should be getting back soon.”

I nodded, but I said cautiously, “Before we go, can you promise not to tell anyone, Nadia? If we leave the ring here, Skyler won’t be able to see it. It’ll be hard enough to surprise Ebony without everyone knowing.”

Nadia stuffed her new necklace into her pajama pocket. “I figured you’d want to keep it quiet,” she admitted. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks,” I said, inwardly sighing in relief. I put the ring in a pretty box and left it on the counter. “Let’s get back to bed.”

Nadia teleported us back to our meeting place under the tree outside the supply house. “I’m sorry I kept you up. Thanks so much,” I whispered. “I owe you.”

“I’ll remember that,” she replied slyly, “but it was really no problem. See you in the morning.”

“Mhm.” I walked back to my house as quietly as I could. When I got back to the room Ebony and I shared, I was pleased to see that she was still sleeping peacefully. I carefully disposed of the unread note I’d left on the bed. I was glad she hadn’t woken up while I was gone. I slid under the covers and cautiously wrapped my arms around Ebony. I closed my eyes, but I was afraid to fall asleep.