Rosehead

Chapter 36. The Glorious Departure

Lilith suddenly became very interested in her dirty nails. Then she brushed her cardigan and twiddled one of its buttons. Ed's hand stopped hers and withdrew swiftly. They looked at each other, neither risking being the first to talk. Shadows crept across the muddy floor. It was a fine summer morning, the first day of July, and nothing indicated the catastrophe from the previous night except the smoky odor lingering in the corners.

Ed flattened his hair. "This is. For you." He handed Lilith a piece of paper.

Her mouth hung open involuntarily. It was an almost photographically accurate pencil drawing of her standing in the garden, complete with a beret, Panther tucked in her arms, and a bag slung over her shoulder. A signature at the bottom said, To Lilith Bloom, from Ed Vogel.

"Wow. Thank you," whispered Lilith. "This is amazing. Nobody ever drew a portrait of me before."

"I can do more. If you want," said Ed, taking a deep breath.

Lilith energetically nodded. "Yes, please!"

"I think," said Ed thickly, his face turning a deep magenta. He dropped his gaze. "I think I love you."

"Oh," said Lilith. Everything inside her shrunk, and then expanded, pulsing at an alarming speed. She thought her face would melt off if she didn't immediately stick it in the freezer. "Oh," she said again, feeling her cheeks. Her heart fluttered. "I think..." She bit her lip and grabbed the sides of her dress skirt, for something to hold on to. She told Ed she loved him before, albeit in passing and in a rush. Somehow this felt different, this felt proper, and it gave her the fright of a lifetime. "I think...I love you. Too." She didn't mean it to be funny, but it mimicked Ed's way of talking so well that they both broke into laughter.

Lilith bent over. Ed followed suit. Their heads bumped. They caught each other, gasping. There was a dazed pause, and the next moment they kissed, clumsily at first, then more confident, assuming a passionate stance they picked up, no doubt, from watching movies.

Alas, their bliss didn't last long.

"Awwww...guck mal! Little Lily found little Eddy." Clutching a stuffed elephant and dragging a bulging suitcase behind her, Daphne stalked in, her blond hair tucked into pigtails, her face purple with envy.

"Mutter iz calling!" hissed Gwen, but Daphne appeared to be in a stupor and wouldn't move.

Ed and Lilith jumped apart as if stung. Lilith, flushed from embarrassment, took a breath to retort, and suddenly stopped. She peered at Ed. He noticed it too.

A tear rolled down Daphne's cheek. "And little Daphne," she sniffled, ignoring Gwen's horrified protests, "haz only little Moppel. Ahhhh!" She broke into a wail and buried her face in the elephant. It absorbed the moisture quite stoically, gazing into nothing with its plastic eyes.

Lilith looked at Ed. He nodded, understanding her without words. On an impulse of overwhelming happiness, she rushed to sobbing Daphne, flung her arms around her, and kissed her plump cheek.

"Not true. You have me. I'm your cousin. I'm coming back to live here. We can hang out together or something, if you want." She let go.

Daphne stood thunderstruck, blinking rapidly.

Lilith decided to try another angle. "Um, your eyes are a beautiful color," she said kindly. "Both of yours. It's the color of...lila. Is that how you say lavender in German? I never noticed before."

Daphne stared, her mouth quivering, her sister equally mortified next to her.

Ed shuffled up, one hand in his pocket, another absently ruffling his hair. The twins eyed him with a mixture of loathing and awe, because he was just one of those boys who didn't realize how much his appearance and cookie smell were attractive to girls.