Sarah Allen - The Girl Who Chased the Moon

She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

She was confused when he carefully pushed her long-sleeved shirt off her shoulders. Even though she was wearing a tank top underneath, her arms were exposed. She squirmed and tried to cover them again, but then he did the most extraordinary thing.

He kissed her arms.

And she was done for.

He not only saw her, he accepted her. He wanted her. At that time in her life, at that moment, she couldn’t think of any other person in the world who felt that way about her. Only him.

They made love that night, and stayed on the football field until dawn. He walked her home and they made promises to stay in touch, promises, it turned out, only one of them meant to keep. She left for Collier Reformatory in Maryland thinking she might be able to get through this, after all, because she now had Sawyer to come home to.

Looking back, she found that she could forgive him because it had been her fault for putting her happiness in the hands of someone else.

It had been so easy to do, though. He’d made her feel true happiness for the first time in a long time that night. How could she not have succumbed to it?

But sometimes she wondered if she’d lost true happiness that night, as well.

And she’d been looking for it ever since.

Everywhere but here.

T hat afternoon, with nothing better to do and no one to talk to-Grandpa Vance was holed up in his room again and Julia wasn’t home-Emily started cleaning. She dusted until she looked like she was covered in hoary frost. She tackled her room first, cleaning everything but the chandelier because she couldn’t find a ladder to get up to it, then she went to the other rooms, opening blinds and shedding light into corners that looked like they hadn’t seen the sun in years. It was an adventure at first-apparently chasing the light last night had given her a taste for it-exploring the unknown, learning the story of the house. But she soon realized the story was a sad one. There was a room that had obviously once been a little boy’s room. There were blue sailboats on the wallpaper and safety rails still on the bed. Maybe it had been Grandpa Vance’s as a boy. Or did he have a brother? If so, what happened to him? Then there was a room with a bed that was twice as long as a normal one. There was a vanity table in the room, too, a feminine touch. Grandpa Vance had obviously shared this room with his wife. Where was his wife? Where were all the people who had once lived here?

She started to feel claustrophobic, overwhelmed by the history of this place. She wanted to feel a part of it, but her mother had told her nothing. Nothing . Why?

She went to the balcony outside her room for some fresh air. She kicked at the leaves, and decided to sweep them away. She swept until she had a large pile of leaves pushed against the balustrade. She set the broom aside and gathered some leaves in her arms, then tossed them over the side. They smelled mulchy and looked like someone had cut them out of craft paper. She scooped up some more and tossed them, stopping this time to watch the leaves fall. It wasn’t until they hit the head of the person standing on the front porch steps that she had any idea someone was there.

“Julia!” she called. “Hi!”

Julia smiled up at her, leaves in her hair, and said, “Bored, are we?”

“I’m so glad you’re here! I have something to tell you.”

She ran downstairs and out the front door, thrilled that she had someone to discuss last night with. Julia was standing on the porch with two large brown paper bags in her arms and leaves still in her hair.

“I saw the light again last night!” Emily said excitedly. “It’s not a ghost, Julia. I chased it, and it had footsteps .”

This revelation didn’t garner the reaction she’d wanted. Julia looked dismayed. “You chased it?”

“Yes.”

“Emily, please don’t do that,” Julia said gently. “The Mullaby lights are harmless.”

Before Emily could ask why Julia didn’t think this was a huge discovery, the screen door squeaked behind her and Emily turned around to see Grandpa Vance duck under the doorway.

He’d changed clothes since she’d last seen him that morning, when she’d followed him to breakfast, like he had designated morning clothes and evening clothes. She’d hardly slept at all last night after chasing the light through the woods, and she’d been awake when she’d heard him leave. She’d intended to wait for him outside the restaurant and walk home with him again. But then Win had distracted her. She’d followed Win to a diner, where she’d watched him go in and vanish in the crowd. She’d gone home after that and waited for Grandpa Vance there, but when he’d gotten home, he’d disappeared into his room after leaving an egg sandwhich for her on the kitchen counter.

“Julia,” he said. “I thought I heard your voice.”

“I brought you a gift.” Julia handed the bags she was holding up to Vance, who looked like he’d been given the Holy Grail of foodstuffs. “With this heat, I thought cooking dinner would be the last thing either of you wanted to do today. Maybe the two of you could eat together,” she said with a significance that wasn’t lost on Emily. She was trying to get them to spend some time together. Emily appreciated the effort, but didn’t think it would do much good.

But Grandpa Vance nosed around in the bags and surprised her with his zeal. “You’re in for a treat, Emily! Julia’s barbecue is the best in town. It’s all because of her smokehouse. Electric smokers just aren’t the same. My mouth is watering already. Will you join us, Julia?”

“No, thanks. I have to be going.”

“You’re right neighborly. Thank you.” Vance disappeared inside, leaving Emily on the porch with Julia.

“That’s the first time he’s been out of his room since this morning,” Emily said, amazed.

“Barbecue gets him every time.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Listen,” Julia said, “how would you like to go to Piney Woods Lake with me on Saturday? It’s the place for kids your age to go in the summer. Maybe you can meet some people you’ll be going to school with.”

It felt nice to be included. Those elderly ladies this morning had to be wrong. She could fit in here. “Okay. Sure.”

“Great. See you tomorrow. Now go talk with your grandfather.” Without another word about the lights, Julia gave her a backward wave and jogged down the front porch steps.

Emily turned and went back into the house. She thought about just going to her room and letting Grandpa Vance eat in peace, but then she decided to give it one more try. When she reached the kitchen, she heard the dryer door close and Vance came out of the attached laundry room. He’d been looking in the clothes dryer again. He was inordinately preoccupied with it, which was strange because just that afternoon, someone from the dry cleaner’s had come by to take a bag of laundry he’d left on the porch.

Vance stopped when he saw her. “Emily.” He cleared his throat. “So, um, has the wallpaper in your bedroom changed yet?”

“Changed?” she asked.

“It does that sometimes. Changes on its own.”

It sounded like something you would say to a child. The moon is made of cheese. Wish on a star. There’s magic wallpaper in your room. He probably thought of her as a little girl, she realized, and he was trying to make her smile. “No, it’s still lilacs. But I’ll be on the lookout,” she said to humor him.

He nodded seriously. “All right, then.”