and idealism, which is why, despite all of her many shortcomings, she would always love him. “Yes, it’s what makes us special.”
She opened her purse and found her lipstick, a new shade of frosted pink that Marcel had demanded she buy, and faced the mirror to apply a fresh coat. Yes, that man truly is a genius. She tossed the lipstick back into her purse, snapped it shut, then faced her son. “But remember it’s what also makes us vulnerable. So do the right thing and turn Michael into one of us before someone else beats you to it.” An air kiss to each side of Ronan’s cheeks. “Maybe tomorrow when you all go on your little school trip into town.”
She couldn’t be serious. “No, that’s impossible.”
“Eden is filled with narrow, cobblestone streets that lead to dark alleyways, perfect for a lovers’ rendezvous.”
Without warning, an image popped into Ronan’s mind. He was pressing Michael against the cold stone of some abandoned building, kissing him deeply in the shadow of the alley, his body pushing into him, his passion growing, his fangs piercing Michael’s hot flesh. “Mother!” Ronan shouted, stopping Edwige on the other side of the door. “Why don’t you visit Ciaran before you leave? I know he’d love to see you.” Ronan had no idea why he suggested that. The words tumbled out of his mouth without any thought. Guess it was better than saying what was really on his mind. But one look at the way his mother’s body tensed and he knew his suggestion would be ignored.
Nervously, Edwige patted her purse against her leg, never once losing her smile. “How sweet of you to think of that one.” She grabbed her purse with her other hand and jammed it into her armpit. “But no, I’d rather not.” Ronan could only see the top of her blond short-cropped hair as she descended the stairs, but he could hear her final comment. “Remember to do as I say.”
For several minutes after he closed the door, Ronan was paralyzed, still under his mother’s control. He leaned his head against the door, unable to move. He was filled with so much anger that he wanted to ransack his room, he wanted to rip the doors off their hinges, he wanted to take his bed and fling it through the window, but he couldn’t find the strength.
When the anger subsided, he was filled with so much sadness, for himself, for Michael, and even for Ciaran, that all he wanted to do was cry, crumble to the floor and sob. But he didn’t have the will to do that, either. Edwige took with her all his strength and left him a little child filled with so many strong emotions, but without the ability to express them. She left him just the same way she was. Like mother, like son.
chapter 15
The only thing that got Ronan through the night was thinking about tomorrow. That he would spend the day with Michael and at the end of the day, they would have a shared memory. When he woke up, his mother’s instructions were not forgotten, but her hold over him had lifted slightly. And, luckily, by the time he got off the train with Michael, Ciaran, and Fritz and stood before the Apple Tree, the towering bronze sculpture that marked the official entrance to the town of Eden, other people’s statements occupied his mind.
“I hope Eve was hot,” Fritz announced.
“What?” the three other boys responded in unison.
“She was a dumb bird, you know, eating the apple and all,” Fritz explained. When the three boys continued to stare at him with bemused expressions, he continued speaking in a louder tone. “Creating original sin? Plunging humanity into a world of darkness and conflict for all eternity? She was a right swab and you all know it. I’m just saying I hope she was hot so she could make up for it.”
“You know, that’s a really insightful analysis,” Ciaran said.
“I know,” Fritz agreed, not hearing the sarcasm. “I do pay attention in theology, even though Joubert can be a right bore most of the time.”
“Well, the next time he prattles on about Genesis,” Ciaran said, “I think you should share your thoughts about Eve with the class.”
“You think so?” Fritz asked.
“Definitely,” Ciaran replied. “But it would be helpful if you brought in some visual aids or maybe a Power- Point presentation to show how you really envision Eve. Is she curvy? Does she have a nice arse? Big knockers!”
Finally, Fritz figured out Ciaran was ragging on him. “All right, wrap it up, Eaves!” Ciaran had wrapped it up, but he couldn’t stop laughing and neither could Ronan and Michael. “And that’s enough out of you two!”
“Don’t look at me,” Michael said. “I don’t know nothing about no knockers.” After this comment, the three boys laughed so hard they couldn’t walk. Even Fritz, forgetting how the laughter began, joined in. “You know something, Nebraska?” Fritz said. “Sometimes you’re not all that bad.”
Ronan leaned into Michael and whispered so close to his ear that Michael shivered from the sensation of his hot breath. “I can’t wait to find out just how bad Nebraska can be.”
As they continued into the town itself, Michael and Ronan fell back and walked behind Fritz and Ciaran. The temperature had already dipped a few degrees from the other day and it no longer felt like Indian summer; the sky was cloudless and a lovely shade of blue, but it was definitely autumn. A few leaves floated to the ground; occasionally a chilly wind wrapped around their faces, bringing with it the smell of a fireplace burning somewhere in the distance. It was a perfect day for an excursion, crisp, with just the right amount of sunshine.
Michael pretended to be busy looking at the landscape but was actually working up the courage to ask Ronan to be his date to the Archangel Festival next week, so busy pretending that he didn’t feel Ronan’s fingers until they were entwined with his. He felt his heart beat faster once the realization set in that he was walking down the street in broad daylight holding another boy’s hand. It was something he wouldn’t dare dream of doing back in Weeping Water; he couldn’t believe he was doing it here in Eden. The simple act was so revolutionary to him that he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even look at Ronan; he just stared straight ahead, all thoughts of the festival gone, and he barely had the strength to walk. Until they turned a corner and bumped into Penry, Imogene, and Phaedra. Then he quickly let go of Ronan’s hand. In the next instant he turned to face his boyfriend and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Ronan answered back. He wanted to tell Michael that he understood and that they had time for all of that, but he was drowned out by Penry. “Hey, mates! I thought it was just going to be me and the ladies.”
“We had to take a later train,” Ciaran said. “Fritz changed three times.”
“I thought you were late ’cause you forgot your bloody wallet,” Ronan said.
“Well, yes,” Fritz replied. “I had it in the first pair of pants I put on, but they were a bit wrinkled.”
That was odd, Michael thought, Fritz not making a rude comeback.
“I think you made an excellent choice,” Phaedra noted. “They look great with your sweater.”
Fritz beamed. “Thank you.”
Thank you? Everyone’s head snapped to look at the uncharacteristically polite Fritz. “It was a birthday present from my mum. I told her I thought I needed some more classic pieces for my wardrobe.”
“Well, it’s not every guy who can wear yellow and make it work,” Phaedra said. “Kudos to both you and your mum.”
“Thank you,” Fritz said once again. “I’ll make sure I tell her when I ring her up later tonight.”
Michael looked at Ronan, who looked at Ciaran, who would have looked at Penry except Fritz’s statement had sent him into such a state of shock that he couldn’t even move his head. It was a well-known fact that Fritz never called his mother. She went so far as to berate him about it in the middle of St. Martha’s during the last Parents Day Brunch. Michael didn’t know that, but it didn’t take a psychic to figure out that Fritz had a crush on Phaedra and was trying to appear reserved and well-mannered to make a good impression. A wise move, Michael thought, but one he hoped wouldn’t last too long. He was actually starting to find Fritz’s obnoxious behavior a lot less obnoxious and much more palatable.
Fritz made his next move when the group started to walk down Paradise Road, the not-so-subtle name for Eden’s main avenue. He brushed past Ciaran and quite smoothly squeezed his way in between Imogene and Phaedra. When Ciaran fell back a few steps, he found himself between Michael and Ronan and, feeling awkward,
