Save My Soul

Promises [17]

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17.

The next week I see Rosemary, the blonde girl who sometimes smiles at me when she passes in church. She catches my eye and waves. I hesitantly wave back. The meeting hasn't started yet, so she gets up, making her way towards Jamie and I.

"Hey," she says.

"Hi," I say. Jamie doesn't look up.

"You're Elizabeth?" She asks. I feel as I did the first day I met her, a kinship. I nod.

"Is this your first time here?" I ask as she settles into a seat at my side.

"Third. Nana thought it'd be nice if I came every now and then... she worries I don't hang out with people my age enough," she smiles, a dimple appearing in her cheek. I stare at her.

She has a slight tan and her eyes are bluer and wider than mine. Her hair is twisted back in a loose braid and her mouth is pretty and full. Her skin glows with a faint luminance.

I watch her throughout the hour that we are there. She is endearingly shy; next to her Jamie and I look sullen and awkward. When the pastor asks her a question, her skin takes on a faintly rosy hue, but she answers in a clear, quiet voice, one that makes every person in the room turn to look at her.

What is it about her? I don't understand.

She helps the girl next to her find a verse in the Bible. The girl smiles at her and Rosemary impulsively touches her hand. A boy in front turns and asks her where she's from. She answers graciously but doesn't continue the conversation, as the pastor is still talking. All the while she takes notes, glancing up every so often to smile at me encouragingly.

She reminds me of Lillian, I determine finally. They both possess that indefinable quality, that "otherness" that draws people to them like moths to flame.

I wonder if Jamie can see it, too. After she sits with us, he barely pays attention to her. I'd been jealous for a moment, wondering if he would find her prettier than me, but he seems reluctant to speak to her. It appeases my insecurity for only a few moments. Why shouldn't he like her? I wonder.

"Where do you guys go to school?" Rosemary asks, after the youth pastor has wrapped things up. Everyone sits around talking, sipping hot cider. The church has a cozy feel to it. I settle back into my seat comfortably.

"We go to Jefferson High."

She ponders for a moment and then nods. "I drive past there sometimes on my way to the library."

"Where do you go?"

"To school? Oh, I don't. I homeschool with my Nana."

"Homeschool?"

"Oh, it's –"

"It's when you do school at home, with your parents." Jamie says. I look at him. "Mom did it with me for a few years."

"Oh," I look back at Rosemary. "Do you like it?"

She nods. "It's great. I used to go to a private Christian academy back in Phoenix but once I moved out here..." she pauses here a moment. I notice the creases that appear at the corners of her mouth, the way her brow furrows. "Well, Nana thought it'd be best if I was at home with her. I don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way. Nana is getting on in years and I want to spend every moment that I can with her." The topic seems to have troubled her somehow. She looks away, pensive. I try to think of something to say.