I haven't seen Beatrice Laurent for fifteen days.

The longest two weeks of my life.

I miss the girl between the two girls. Her eye color perfectly reflected that duality. The left one is as brown as autumn, the right as gray as an atlantic wind of winter. Stuck between two seasons. Between two forms.

"Happy New Year to you!" Lucy passes by in a red dress. She winks at me, patting her Santa hat.

I stand at the entrance, watching her thread around Uncle Matt's bakery and cafe. She balances two plates of chocolate fudge brownies and Reese's peanut butter milkshake.

I pick a free table for two right next to the window.

Burdened with the calorie-laden order, Lucy slaloms through her fellow combatants to reach me faster, but her moves are sluggish and she almost drops everything that she is carrying.

"Argh! Luckily Beth is in the kitchen and did not see me stumble! Lemme grab a quick break, Ross." She slumps on the free chair. "Sooo..." When Lu gets a good look at me she leads her hands to her mouth.

"That bad, huh?" I manage a feeble smile.

"You are a mess. Your shirt is all wrinkly, and your hair looks as if it hasn't seen a comb in ages." She frowns, her voice taking on a motherly tone. "You should not be looking like this on the second day of New Year, Mister!"

"Thanks for doing this, Lu."

"That's what friends are for. What happened to you?"

"Nothing too big. Just a long day at the library."

"A long day at the library? Christ, Ross, who studies at this time? Live a little! We just got back from Winter Break!" She croaks, wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

"Ugh." My shoulders sag as if I've been tensing them all day, maybe even, for the full two past weeks. I'm so tired. Maybe Lu has a point.

"Tutoring sessions with Miss Beatrice Laurent have you exhausted, eh?" She sticks out her tongue.

"Hardly. I only ever went to her place once."

"Oh? How is she, btw? She was a no-show at school for the past two weeks.  It's all very hush-hush. You guys been chatting lately?"

I shake my head.

"Why not?" Her kind, soulful eyes are ready to listen as she pats my hand with hers. "Did something happen?"

"She told me not to come back again." I exhale and a huge burden drops from my shoulders, just like that.

If anyone can give me advice and help me get to the bottom of this it is Lu. There is a reason why I had not told Z-Man we are meeting.

Either that or I might never see Beatrice Laurent again.

Plus, as the saying goes, two heads are smarter than one.

It's rush hour at the bakery. A flamingo flock of red-skirted uniforms flutters around the locale, their most charming smiles ricocheting left and right around the oblivious, enchanted customers.

Lucy raises a finger to show me to wait, then bites into a spare fudge brownie from her tray.

"Oh my God. Wow." She closed her eyes as she chewed. "Mmm, I'm totally ready to listen. It's just that I'm also having a browniegasm."

I smile at my best friend. Lucy has always been direct and open. I envied that about her. She doesn't care what people think, she just speaks everything that's on her mind. I feel like it's a mystical quality I will never be able to master.

"Hey, what can I say, this girl enjoys her sweets wayyy too much!" She removes the crumb remnants from her chin in a quick swipe, and then looks at me, mortified.

"My gosh, I didn't even ask. Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea?"

I push my glasses up my nose but just as I am ready to answer her, they slip back. Showing them upwards for me with a smile, Lu says: "Damn, dude, we need to superglue those for you at the back of your head."

"Totally." I am about to say "no" on getting-me-anything suggestion because I want to save all the money I can for our home. But Lu stops me before I can refuse.

"How about some tea? It's freezing outside. I know Rooibos is your favorite. It's on me. Lemme just deliver this real quick." She weaves between the tables to deposit the three orders and then pirouettes back to me.

"So: what is all this about you just tutoring her once? I remember the deal was to keep coming over the winter break so she could catch up?"

I tug on my shirt collar to loosen it some more.

"You promise you won't tell anyone? Not even Z-man?"

Lucy makes a zipper movement alongside her lips. "Not a soul. Imma be mum. Silent as a grave. It's a promise."

She has never ever broken any promise she made to me.

"When I went there I... I learned she is not feeling very well. She has a... Condition." It doesn't seem right to beat around the bush like this with Lu but I promised Bea I would never tell anyone about her.

And technically, I am not lying.

Lu's russet-brown eyes glimmer with astonishment.

"Are you for real now? Wow. That's... Oh my gosh, that's beat."

"And it's kind of serious, she told me." I drum my fingers on the table.

"Maybe that is why she moved to New Town? You know, to get this treatment?"

"Maybe."

"She didn't tell you what exactly the condition is? Is it something serious?" Lucy knits her brows. "I mean, it can be cured, right?"

"I... I don't know, Lu. It might not have a cure. And..." I gulp. "She might not have much time."

"That poor girl." A tear slides down Lucy's cheek. "Now everything clicks in the place."

"It does?" I am both confused and amazed that she can somehow make sense of the situation, even without knowing all the facts.

"Of course, Ross! Didn't you ever stop to think how she might be feeling? I mean if the condition is serious, she could..." Her voice lowers to a whisper. "She could die. And imagine what knowing you could die does to you. Your whole life as you knew it—gone."

"So this is why she..."

"Yep, yep, yep. This is why she's lashing out at everyone at school, why she is rude and dismissive to you. She is scared, Ross. When you only have months left to live, I mean... You don't care about school, tutoring and all that."

"Lucy..." I swallow, dusting off my pants. "Listen. I am worried for her. I would like to be there for her. "

"Squeee!" Lu gets all googly eyed. "That's so sweet of you."

"I just... saw it all first hand." I won't get into more details. "I am the only one who knows about it. And well, I would like to help. In any way I can."

"Squeee!" There's that squeal again. This time, it intensifies in its tonality and loudness.

"But how can I do that if she's pushing me away? Why do you think she does it?"

"It's a classic. Typical behavior. When my mom..."

"We don't have to talk about this, Lu."

"When my mom had cancer," Lu presses on, "she was exactly like that. She didn't want us around her, jumping at her every whim. She didn't want us to pity her, you know?"

I nod grimly. "Makes sense."

"And she kept telling us something I'll never forget: Go and live your life. I want you to remember me the way I am now. I feel like it's the same with Beatrice."

"She wants to be alone, then?"

"Yes, she does. But you shouldn't let her. Under no circumstances. She can't be alone, Ross.  No one should be alone in times like these. Call her again. Keep insisting."

I scratch my nape. "Err..."

"Don't tell me you didn't even call her once after she told you to leave and not come back? Ross Thorne, you have no idea how the female mind works!"

"So you say I should um... Call her?"

"Um, YES! You totally should!"

"I'm not sure about this, Lu."

"But you'll consider it?" Lucy's forehead creases as she pressures me a bit. "Remember that she's only one call away. Or, one message away." She beams. "Pick your poison."

"Lucy, the shift isn't over till another hour!" The bakery owner pops her head out of the kitchen.

"Coming, Miss Goldstein!" Lu gives Beth, Uncle Matt Goldstein's wife, the widest grin from her repertoire. "Sorry, gotta dash. Promise me you'll try to contact her."

I give her a reluctant nod. She returns to carrying orders around alongside the other waitresses yet not before I can glimpse an inkling of triumph in her eyes.

When I exit the bakery, a gust of cold wind blows over my arms. Before I jog back home, I take a deep breath and casually take my phone out of my pocket.

"That you, Ross?" Mom yells from the living room as soon as I enter the house. "Did you have a nice jog, honey?"

"Yeah!" I shout out from the hallway, taking off my winter jacket, rubbing my ears red from the cold.

I am tired, but happy.

I love jogging. Running makes me feel free, unfettered. It unfurls the tangled knots of my thoughts.

As I make it to the living room, mom is calling Gus for dinner, and I sigh internally. Our meals together have not been working out lately.

When mom sees me, she flashes a huge grin. "You have to see this cat!" I glance at a TV screen to see what she is on about, and we watch an orange tabby clinging to a screen door that the owner is sliding back and forth. I think it is nice to see Mom smile again.

She has been acting surprisingly calm ever since she saw what state Bea was in. Perhaps she realises how important it is to keep this secret, too. I am proud that she trusts me to make a call.

Then Mom waves the Toro Chinese, Japanese and Hibachi restaurant menu at me. "What are you in the mood for?"

We're ordering a takeaway?

"I'm not really hungry," I mumble in reply, slumping on the chair.

"Gus just got fired from the grocery store," she adds with a whisper and a pitiful looking face.

"I heard that!" Gus yells all the way from his room. "And I didn't get fired, I quit."

"Come on." Mom places her hand on my shoulder. "Pick something. With that little extra money you brought from... From the Laurent mansion some time ago, I thought he could use a cheer-me up dinner."

I stare at dad's photo on a mantelpiece behind her. His hand was so cold, his breath, so shallow. I can hear the words he said to me ("Be good, Ross. Look after Gus and Mom"), and I don't want to remember that I had to leave the hospital room.

I surrender, waving my hands at the menus. "You pick. Or go ask Gus."

She sighs, raking her hands through her hair. "How about sushi? You boys both love that."

"Whatever you'd like," I reply with a wave.

"And a few spring rolls?"

"Okay." I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and click on "Firefox" and search for the Beatrice Laurent. Her Twitter and Instagram profiles come up, filled with messages of her friends and foes, all wondering about her radio silence.

Gus smacks me on the head without a warning. "What's with all the cyber-stalking, Rosie?" He reaches for the bottle of beer on the table and gulps it down noisily.

"Ow!" I lower the phone and rub the sore spot on the back of my neck. "Watch it."

"How she doing? Lauren?" He adds in a tone that feigns disinterest.

"It's Laurent. And I don't know," is my honest answer.

"As soon as she recovers from COVID or whatever flu or cold that has been going around Newtown, I'm calling her to make plans for the Snowball Dance." He plops on a chair and gives a wistful sigh.

My heart sinks down into the pit of my stomach but I say nothing.

Further awkwardness is avoided when the delivery guy knocks on our door and Mom answers it in her neon green shorts. She fist bumps the dude, Vince, and they talk for a moment before he heads on his way. Mom takes the bag full of sushi and tips him. "Thanks Vince. Safe driving!"

Then she closes the door and strangely enough I am finding parallels between my mom and Lu. Both are so friendly to literally everyone they meet. It's second nature to them, as easy as breathing.

She holds up her bounty as she parades it into the living room. "Dinner has arrived!"

Gus lunges on the bag and begins to unpack the food. Mom smiles and hands me a pair of chopsticks. I tear open a packet of soy sauce and pool it in a corner of the plastic sushi tray, and then I take out the spring rolls, putting one on Mom's plate and distributing the others to Gus and me.

As we devour the rare treat in silence, my foot taps up and down. She still hasn't replied. It's not a big deal. Then why am I so nervous?

"Ross, honey, you are shaking the table." Mom's tender voice stops my foot.

I let out a sigh.

Did I make a mistake? I did as Lu advised me. I messaged her. So what's the worst that can happen?

"And how is Lu?" Mom tries to start a semblance of conversation.

Gus leans forward with interest. "Yeah, how is that cute little thing? You banging her yet?"

"Gaston Thorne!" Mom shakes her head, hands on her hips.

"What?" He mumbles. "Just stating the obvious. No, sorry, it would be more obvious if you were into Z-man. Wouldn't surprise me at all." Gus sneers.

My message tone, a sound of a dial up modem sequence saves the day as the letters 1 new notification light up my screen.

Ooh!

I instant-click on it. I stare at a single sentence Beatrice has sent me.

Tomorrow at 10

I must be beaming because Mom winks at me. Actually winks. I shove mouthful after mouthful of spring rolls into my body, floating on a cloud.

The prospect of seeing her tomorrow makes me feel so giddy.

"Good news?" Mom pats me on the head.

"Yeah." I don't go into any details as of yet.

As I hover above the keyboard, typing I just wanted to wish you a fine night and a restful sleep, Mom turns to Ross.

"Why did you quit your job at the grocery store, honey?"

"Because I don't want to work hard to be this poor. Plus, there is a better job on the market for me while I wait for that college scholarship."

"Oh?" Mom leans forward with interest.

"There's been a mountain lion on the prowl at the outskirts, getting into skirmishes with pets, scaring livestock. If I hunt it down–or report its sighting even, I might get some cash."

A/N: Theme song: Charlie Puth "One Call Away"