Page 20 of Check You Out

“My dad called it, ‘masking.’ He was kind of like you. Have you ever seen Pride and Prejudice? The 2005 version with Matthew McFayden?”

“Charlotte, I teach the book as part of my curriculum. I’ve seen it.”

“Well, you know Mr. Bennet, right?”

“‘Oh goodness, people,’” I mimic the character played by Donald Sutherland.

She chuckles. “Good, so you now know what my dad was like.” She takes a bite of her pizza. “He even liked orchids.”

I watch her for a few seconds before taking a bite of my pizza. Is Charlotte accepting me? As just a friend? Or as something more?

Before I can think of that more, my mouth is met with an explosion of cheese, spice, and sweetness. “Oh wow! This is good,” I remark.

“Are you Team Pineapple now?” she asks with raised eyebrows. “No longer neutral?”

“No longer Switzerland.”

She giggles. “Sarah is going to hate that.” We eat in silence for a few minutes.

After Charlotte finishes her slice, she wipes her hands with her napkin and looks at me. “You know, this whole Library Committee thing is going to require you to talk to people. We’re all going to speak at that Open Comment meeting next month.”

I take a deep breath. “I know.”

“Are you going to be ok with that?” she asks with an inquisitive look on her face. “I can cover for you if it gets too bad.”

“I can do it,” I say flashing a weak smile and pushing back the bile gurgling in my stomach. “It means a lot to me.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be ok with the whole talking thing? If you need to back out, I understand.” She studies intently before adding, “No judgment. I’ll make up a reason to tell the rest of the committee.”

With a shake of my head, I say firmly, “I’ll be ok. I want to do this.”

Charlotte nods. “Good.” She then looks at me with wide eyes. “We could come up with a system. Would that help? Maybe you could, like, rub your nose or something.” She giggles. “Or we could learn sign language, and then you could sign to me if you need to dip out?”

I laugh. “We don’t need to come up with a secret symbol or learn sign language. I am capable of verbal communication.”

She nods and says simply, “Cool.” She giggles. The sound sparkles down my spine. “Oh my gosh, this is just like Yours Truly!”

I raise an eyebrow. “By Abby Jimenez?”

Her blue eyes grow wide. “Have you read it?”

I nod slowly. “I have. Although I fail to see the comparison that you’re alluding to.”

She beams. “I’m just pleased that you read romance books.”

I shrug. “What can I say, I like reading. When you asked me what my favorite genre was last night, I genuinely don’t have a favorite genre. I read everything.”

She blinks and stares at me with those big, beautiful eyes of hers. “So do you remember when Bri and Jacob promise to be harmless to each other? To let each other exist as they are?”

I nod, remembering the scene. It’s one of my favorites.

She goes on. “Well, I feel like we’re kind of doing that, promising to be harmless to each other. Or at least, I’m promising to be harmless to you.” She smiles, her eyes sparkling. “If that’s ok.”

A smile creeps up my face. “I like it. I promise I will be harmless to you too. I will let you exist as you are.”

She claps her hands together and squeals out, “Yay! Harmless buddies! We should make friendship bracelets!”

I chuckle. “I don’t like things on my wrist.”