Out of the Woods

Sixteen Years Ago

“Don’t move; just one more pin…” My mother is on her knees in front of me, her back to the large standing mirror in her bedroom. She’s got her pincushion tied around her wrist like a bracelet as she tugs at the hem of the dress she’s making me for the school dance. I watch in the mirror as she folds over one last piece of the green, silky underlay with a steady concentration.

“Marcie, have you seen my—” Aunt June appears in the doorway, and I spin around to face her, unable to contain my prideful smirk. “Holy shit, Sarah Abilene! Look at you!”

“I said don’t move,” Mom cries out, laughing anxiously. “You’re lucky I didn’t poke you!”

Aunt June nods, a grin lifting her rose-tinted cheeks. “You look hot as hell, girlie.”

“I know, right?” I giggle, twirling the fabric around my knees. “Mom thinks it’s too short.”

Aunt June smiles knowingly toward my mother. “Your mom forgets that you’re fifteen now.”

“If you keep moving around like that your dress will end up crooked,” my mom mutters, but I can hear the humor in her tone as she slips in a final pin and pats my bum, so I make room for her to stand.

“That Caleb kid better keep a tight grip on you at the dance or he’ll lose you to another boy,” Aunt June says, wandering further into my mother’s bedroom. She begins rifling through Mom’s drawers without any sort of permission. “Once Win sees that she’s going to ask you to make her a dress as well, Mars.”

I turn to face the mirror again, catching the tail end of my mother rolling her eyes. “Win has a swim meet the night of the dance, remember? You’re picking her up early from school Friday and driving her to Toronto Prep for—”

Aunt June slams a drawer shut. “Course. I remember.” She slips a set of bangles onto her wrist and moves to stand behind me to admire her reflection, fussing with her bleached-blond hair tied up into a high pony. She’s a petite woman, shorter than me, and voluptuous. She’s not the least bit shy about showing off her curves. “I’ll be back late tonight, don’t wait up!”

“Ooh-la-la,” I sing out as Aunt June spins on her six-inch heels and sways out of the bedroom.

“Do not encourage her,” Mom says, shaking her head. “And, speaking of dates, when am I going to meet this Caleb of yours?” She holds gentle eye contact in the mirror, with one slightly quirked brow. “You’re not embarrassed of your old mom, are you?”

I roll my eyes as she wraps her arms around my shoulders, leaning over me. “Of course not…and you’re not old.” I giggle, pressing the side of my forehead into her chin as I stare at our reflection.

“So?” she asks, smiling.

“Soon…I promise.”

Soon arrives three days later when Caleb comes to pick me up for the dance. He knocks twice before I open the apartment door. His fist is still raised for what would have been a third rap, but I intercepted it—not bothering to hide that I’d been anxiously awaiting his arrival. “Don’t break up with me until after the dance, okay?”

“Uh, hi?” Caleb says, before his stunned gaze dips down. “Whoa, you look—”

“I know it’s not a nice building.”

“What? No, Sar, it’s—”

“It smells like cigarettes and the paint is chipping off the walls but that’s just in the hallways! It’s nicer in here,” I interrupt, speaking so fast I think I might strain my tongue. “Not as nice as your parents’ house obviously and—”

“Sarah—”

“And my mother is going to ask you a lot of questions. She’ll probably insinuate that she knows a guy who can make people disappear but—” Caleb circles his arm around my waist, tugs me to him, and kisses my lips before they’ve had the chance to stop moving. I relax into his hold.

“My turn now.” He places his hand on my neck, which always makes my knees weaken, then kisses me softly again. “You look amazing,” he says, leaning back to admire my dress once more before a final, light kiss. “I don’t think I’ve seen you nervous before, Green…I think I like it.”

I glare at him playfully. “It’s just…I know it’s not…It’s different than what you’re used to.”

He smiles mischievously and it lights up his entire face. “You may have mentioned that once or twice.”

It’s then that I notice he’s matched his tie to the color of my dress, as I’d requested, and that he’s clearly tried to style his hair in the way I told him I liked best—pushed to one side with one dangling, perfect curl resting against his forehead. “You look very handsome. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, weirdo.” His nose scrunches up over the top of a grin as he leans down to kiss me again. Just before his lips meet mine, we’re interrupted by the sound of a purposefully cleared throat.

“Is this the famous Caleb, at last?” my mother says, leaning her hip against the kitchen island. “How about you leave my daughter’s lips alone for a moment and come say hello?”

Caleb rallies quickly, to my surprise. “Hi, Miss Green,” he says, confidently waltzing toward my mother, his hand extended at the ready. “It’s great to meet you.”

Mom’s teasing smile grows lopsided as she tentatively puts out her hand to shake his, her eyes softening enough for me to notice from across the room. “Well, hello…How polite. ”