Chapter 16

Marigold watched Dawn with a clinical eye as Thule drove them towards his house. Her first aid instructor at the hospital had been an emergency room nurse who had taken great pains to remind her students that not all injuries were immediately visible or even physical. According to the nurse, it wasn't all that uncommon for a patient to completely avoid physical injury, then die of shock because it went undiagnosed.

She didn't say anything, though. For the time being, Dawn seemed all right. Certainly, at some point, it would hit her what had nearly happened. Just thinking about it was making Marigold quake. It wouldn't be easy, but it didn't have to be shock in the medical sense of the word, either.

Still, Marigold had seen the other side of it, too. Shock could sometimes be incurred by asking too aggressively if a patient was going into it.

Still, Dawn was unusually quiet. So, Marigold watched her carefully while trying not to look like she was watching her.

Even before the car's engine had entirely stopped, Thule was out of the car, bounding across the yard, and into the house.

Dawn and Marigold sat in the car, waiting. Finally, Dawn said, "Do you think we're supposed to follow him inside?"

Marigold shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

After they had sat there for another minute or so, Dawn said, "He seems to do that a lot. Doesn't he?"

Marigold nodded, "The bounding thing? Yes. He bounds quite a bit."

They both sat there, not moving for another minute. Then, Marigold said, "Well, shall we go?"

Without inflection, Dawn said, "Yes. Let's go."

They didn't move. After a few seconds, Marigold laughed, "Did Mr. Gaspare make you guys read that awful play, too?"

Dawn didn't answer for a few seconds. Then, she said, "We should really go inside. I'm freezing out here."

Marigold was out of the car in a flash, coming around to open Dawn's door, "Come on," she coaxed. "Let's go inside."

Dawn looked up at Marigold as if she didn't recognize her, "Thule won't mind?"

Marigold shook her head, "Thule won't mind. He's waiting for us." She guided Dawn out of the car, up the walk, and in the front door. As soon as the door was open, she shouted, "Thule!"

Thule came bounding out of the bedroom, concern clear on his face, "What?"

"Get a blanket," said Marigold. "Dawn's going into neurogenic shock."

Dawn turned to Marigold, a look of intense puzzlement on her face, "I'm not..." Then, her knees buckled. Marigold, having expected the faint, caught her friend on the way down, grunting as her own knee's buckled under the sudden weight.

Thule, having disappeared into the bedroom, re-emerged with a silver emergency blanket with the word "ORACLE" etched across it in red. Wrapping Dawn in the blanket, he lifted her up into his arms, scooping her up as if she weighed nothing at all.

"She's fainted," said Marigold. "We need to get her somewhere that her head will be lower than her heart."

In a surprisingly dextrous move, Thule kicked the headrest on the EZ-Boy near the TV. He said, "Put a pillow on the footrest."

Marigold did and Thule placed Dawn in the prescribed position on the chair, wrapping the blanket more firmly around her.

"Now what?" he asked. But, Marigold was already crouching down next to the chair, holding Dawn's wrist, reading her watch, and counting.

After she had an accurate pulse rate, Marigold said, "Just give her a couple of minutes. She should come out of it on her own. She's young and her heart rate doesn't seem to be out of control. She wasn't injured at all today, was she?"

"No," said Thule.

"Okay," said Marigold, "whatever you rushed in here to do, it's probably more important than standing around, waiting for her to wake up. Why don't you go finish?"

Thule said, "I was just checking the police bands. I thought maybe this would be the end of it, that Randy couldn't possibly get away with this. But, the cops are reporting the shooter as a false report and calling the cars back in."

"Well," said Marigold, "why don't you go see if anything new has developed? I've got this taken care of."

Thule looked like he was going to argue, but went back into his room.

A few minutes later, Dawn looked up and asked, "Why am I upside down?"

"You fainted," said Marigold. "I'd like to keep you in this position for a few more minutes, make sure you're getting enough blood to your brain."

"Oo," said Dawn shakily, "Have I ever told you about my bossy nurse fetish?"

"See?" said Marigold, deadpan. "Clearly, more blood is needed."

"I feel stupid," said Dawn.

"For fainting?" asked Marigold, "Don't. It happens."

"No," said Dawn, "for believing June Kane... for running off to have a secret rendez-vous with her, for putting myself in such a dangerous position after I swore it would never happen again."

"For that," said Marigold, grasping Dawn's wrist to take her pulse again, "you should feel stupid."

"Doctor Tarr," said Dawn, "your bedside manner sucks."

"My bedside manner is fine," said Marigold briskly. "My armchair-side manner could maybe use some improvement."

"I'm sorry," said Dawn. "I shouldn't have run off like that."

"It's okay," said Marigold, her face softening. "But, it was a very foolish risk."

"Well, I know that now," said Dawn, sounding a little annoyed. Then, more penitent, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," said Marigold, sighing. "I'm mad at me. I was supposed to be watching out for you. I let you slip away. We should have stuck together."

"I didn't think June had a threeway in mind," Dawn pointed out.

"Dawn, I'm serious," said Marigold.

"So am I," said Dawn. "My danger sense was completely off on this. I was so focused on getting laid, I completely stopped thinking. Damn! June Fucking Kane. How could I be so stupid?"

Marigold crouched down and stroked Dawn's hair, "It's okay. I'm sorry if my nerves are a little jangly. I screwed up. Thule was trying to call me the whole time he was driving to the school and I had my phone on vibrate in my purse, which was in the events office."

Dawn grinned sheepishly, "I left my phone home by mistake. I'm not used to having one."

Marigold sat down on the floor, next to Dawn's head, "We haven't been taking this whole thing very seriously, have we?"

"It is a lot more life and death than I thought," admitted Dawn.

"Sorry you volunteered to be the plucky sidekick?" asked Marigold.

"No," said Dawn, shaking her now-flushed head. "He needs all the help he can get, doesn't he? I'm just sorry I unintentionally volunteered for the damsel in distress role."

"Actually," said Marigold. "It's not so bad being the damsel in distress as long as you're rescued in the last act."

"Yeah," admitted Dawn. "Getting to ride off on the back of the white charger is nice."

Thule stepped out of the bedroom. He had stripped off the green shirt and now wore only a towel, draped over the back of his neck, and the khakis. As he emerged, he said, "If you haven't taken it seriously up until now, it's probably because it's been too abstract. Mea culpa." He sat down on the couch.

"How much of our conversation did you hear?" Marigold asked.

"All of it," admitted Thule, his tone faintly mocking. "You didn't really think that I was going to run along to my room and go back to what I was doing while Dawn was passed out in the living room, did you?"

"I passed out?" asked Dawn.

"You fainted," said Marigold. "You were going into shock. How do you feel?"

"Like all of the blood is rushing to my head," said Dawn. "But, other than that, fine."

Marigold took Dawn's wrist again, timing her pulse. After a half-minute, she said, "You should be able to sit up now. If you get light-headed, get your heart above your head."

Dawn frowned, "I already made that mistake once today." Then, she looked around, "Hey, if I fainted, how did I get inside and upside down?"

"You walked to the front door," said Marigold, "then fainted on me. I kept you propped up until Thule came out with the blanket and carried you to the chair."

Dawn spun herself into an upright position, never taking her eyes off of Thule. Marigold covered her mouth as if she were coughing, unable to suppress a chuckle at the look of worshipful adoration in Dawn's eyes.

With her mouth still hidden, Marigold allowed herself a little frown. She now considered Thule and Dawn getting together a foregone conclusion and wondered if her own relationship with him would survive. Dawn hadn't started out her relationship with Thule by treating him like dirt for three years.

For Thule's part, if he noticed the intensity of Dawn's stare, he gave no sign. His own eyes showed nothing but concern and a sort of casual affection. Marigold snuggled in, drawing her feet up on the couch and laying her head on Thule's chest. With the exception of Brianne, there probably wasn't a woman in the world who deserved Thule less than she did.

Watching how Dawn looked at him made Marigold realize something else. As lonely a path as he had chosen, Thule had the air of a natural leader. People were inclined to follow him. She'd seen the effect in the people who surrounded him when he held court on the front steps or at lunch. She'd seen it in Dawn and herself and even in Jonas.

Once they went away to college, it would be impossible for people not to notice. Only the warped social structure at Mannsborough High could have let him go unnoticed this long. When that happened, Marigold knew that Thule would be surrounded by people more deserving of his attention than she was. And, no matter what he'd promised, Marigold wouldn't be able to hold onto him then unless she'd become more worthy herself.

"I've got about an hour before I need to start getting ready for the party," said Thule. "I think it's about time I told you what's going on."

"Both of us?" asked Dawn.

Thule nodded, "You already know enough to betray me if you were going to. I trusted you enough to tell you that, I might as well tell you the rest."

So, he did. And, while he covered a lot of details that Marigold already knew for Dawn's sake, he skillfully expurgated any mention of Marigold's complicity.

When he finished, Dawn was wide-eyed. She asked, "But, it's over, right? There's no way they can get away with what they did today, is there?"

"They have before," said Thule, "at least three times. But, maybe. I don't know how thoroughly the Vandevoorts control the police and I doubt the cops have ever walked in right in the middle of it before. But, I'm not relying on that. I still have to go to this thing today." He stood up and started to pace, running both hands over his hair, "I still have to play nice with Randy and Brianne, at least for a little while longer. He groaned and blew out, a gesture of fatigue and frustration.

"Sit down," said Marigold, patting the couch next to her, "We can't have you going off to battle without your A game." Thule sat down and she began to massage his shoulders, kneading the flesh of his back. Thule sighed in pleasure and relief.

"Not too much," said Thule, "My A game doesn't come out if I'm too relaxed."

Marigold chuckled, "I don't think I have the strength to get you too relaxed. You're safe in my semicompetent hands."

Thule sighed contentedly and leaned back against Marigold, laying his head on her shoulder, and closing his eyes.

"Hey," said Dawn, chuckling uncomfortably. "Get a room, you two."

Thule gestured vaguely towards his room, "No time," he muttered, "and I would be too relaxed afterwards." The last word was elongated by a yawn.

-=-

After Thule went into his room to get dressed again, Dawn stayed wrapped in the blanket, holding it as tightly as she could and not speaking.

"Are you okay?" asked Marigold.

Dawn shook her head in the negative, but said, "I'm okay, I guess."

Marigold gave her an even stare, "You don't seem okay. You seem kind of freaked out."

Dawn nodded, "I am. I just don't know how I'm going to deal with my parents after this."

Marigold raised an eyebrow, "What are you going to tell them?"

Dawn shook her head, "Nothing. They're just... a lot to deal with when I'm in the best of spirits. After I went to Randy's party and narrowly escaped the first time, they tore into me about coming home late. It was... not a good situation."

Marigold made a snap decision, "So, come home with me today."

Dawn shook her head, "No. I wouldn't be very good company. I should just go and face the music."

"Don't be silly," said Marigold. "Dawn, I realize we haven't known each other very long, but..."

"We've known each other since I was in the ninth grade," said Dawn. "We used to cheer together."

Marigold didn't remember, but didn't say so. Instead, she tried again, "All right. We've known each other for a while, but we haven't been friends for very long. Still, I have to ask... Am I going to have to be perfect to be your friend?"

"What?" asked Dawn, looking deeply puzzled. "No. Of course not."

"Good," said Marigold. "Because I'm not--not even close. If my friends were, I would find them insufferable. Whatever flaws you have, I expect you to keep them so that I don't look too bad in comparison."

Dawn's smile was uncertain, but she said, "All right."

Marigold nodded, "Good. I have an afternoon of vigorous tanning and light studying planned. Does that meet with your approval?"

"Oo," said Dawn. "I'm not sure about the tanning bit. Any time I get sun, I freckle."

"I know," said Marigold. "It's part of that sexy girl-next-door thing you've got going."

"What?" asked Thule, emerging from his room, "The freckles?" He smiled, "Definitely. Oh, and the blushing, too."

-=-

Once Thule had dropped them off, Marigold said to Dawn, "I'll have to introduce you to my parents. They're a little bit scary, but don't let them put you off. They mean well."

As soon as she opened the door, Jonas yelled from his office, "Marigold, is that you?"

"Yes, sir," she called back. "And I brought a friend over."

Jonas came to the front door. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray cardigan, "Hello," he said peremptorily to Dawn, "Hon, can you come in my office? I think I deleted something I shouldn't have."

"Let me see," said Marigold, following him inside.

Jonas brought her into his office, around behind the desk, "Look," he said, sounding flustered, "I had a spreadsheet open. Then, I hit something and now it's blank."

Marigold looked it over, "Do you have any idea what you hit?"

Jonas looked helpless, "Something near the bottom, I think."

From the other side of the desk, Dawn said, "Did you maybe change spreadsheets?"

"How do I do that?" Jonas asked.

Dawn came around the back where Marigold and Jonas were standing. Taking the mouse, she clicked once and columns of numbers appeared on screen, "Is that what you're looking for?"

"That's it," said Jonas, clapping his hands once in relief, "How did you know to do that?"

"Office automation class," said Dawn. "I accidentally did what you did in the middle of the midterm. I almost started crying before Oksana showed me what I did wrong."

"Office automation," said Jonas, his voice somewhat distant. "Marigold, did you ever take that?"

"No, sir," said Marigold. "I would have liked to, but it would have conflicted with either honors French or AP chemistry, both of which had higher differentials."

"Right," said Jonas, "differentials. Marigold's going to be Valedictorian."

"I know," said Dawn.

"Well," he said, "I won't keep you two. You've obviously got better things to do than listen to an old man complain about these damned machines. It was nice to meet you, ummm..."

"Dawn," said Marigold. "And, you haven't met her yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Jonas. "Where are my manners? It's nice to meet you, Dawn."

"Dawn," said Marigold, "this is my stepfather, Jonas."

Dawn shook Jonas's hand, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Jonas got a pained look on his face, "Don't call me sir, please. Only Marigold calls me that. She didn't want to call me Jonas once I married her mother."

Marigold said, "When was I ever allowed to call you Jonas?"

"What?" asked Jonas, "Oh, right until the wedding day. Then, you asked me what you should call me now and I told you not to dishonor your father's memory, but to find something appropriate. You came up with 'sir.'"

"I did?" asked Marigold, "Wait. I did, didn't I?"

Jonas nodded, "Yes. Now, if you two will excuse me, I lost an hour on this stupid spreadsheet already." As he was shooing them out of his office, he said, "Again, it's nice to meet you, Dawn. Thank you for figuring out the spreadsheet thing." Once they were out of the office, he closed the door behind them.

Dawn giggled, "I thought you said he was scary."

"I know," said Marigold, "He was mellow and vaguely befuddled. I wonder if he's got low blood sugar or something." Then, as if thinking of something else, she said, "We're about the same size, other than those legs of yours. If you want to swim or sunbathe, I'm sure that I've got something that will fit you."

"That would be great," said Dawn. Up the stairs they went.

Upstairs, Marigold opened her walk-in closet, "I've got some stuff I bought for New York and never got around to wearing, other than to try it on in the store."

"Oh," asked Dawn, looking around Marigold's room, "What were you doing in New York?"

Marigold emerged hurriedly, closing her bedroom door, locking it, and turning on her stereo. Paul Desmond's "East of the Sun," emerged from her speakers. When Dawn raised a quizzical eyebrow at her, Marigold said, "Sorry about that. My parents don't know I went to New York. They think I was at my aunt's."

"So," asked Dawn, dropping on the bed and sliding into Indian-style, her elbows resting on her knees, "what were you doing in New York?"

Marigold sat down next to her, mimicking her pose in perpendicular, "That was where Thule took me the weekend I lent you my blouse. We stayed at this gorgeous hotel overlooking Gramercy Park."

Dawn grinned, "Really? He is so romantic."

Marigold laughed. Then, once she started laughing, she found it hard to stop. Soon, she was gasping for air.

"Obviously," said Dawn, puzzled. "I said something funny."

"Let's just say that 'romantic' is not the first word that comes to mind about that weekend," said Marigold, holding her ribs from laughing. Then, after thinking about it some more, she said, "Although, it was incredibly romantic, too." Before Dawn could ask any more questions, Marigold went on, "Now, let's see what I have that you can wear."

"No," said Dawn, "you can't just say something like that and then leave me to wonder. What happened in New York? Did you fight? Did he ignore you and spend all of his time focusing on work?"

Marigold started giggling again. Dawn waited patiently. Finally, when the giggles had subsided, Marigold began to explain, in some detail, what the weekend had been like. Dawn already knew more about Thule and Marigold's relationship than anyone else and Marigold thought she would burst if she didn't find someone to share all the details with.

"Oh... my... God," said Dawn slowly, awe clear in her voice. "He really is romantic. Isn't he?"

Impulsively, Marigold wrapped her arms around Dawn, hugging her, "I thought I was the only one who would think so."

"Lord, no," said Dawn, fanning herself with her hand. "Now, I'm starting to wonder if I didn't waste my high school career by not finding some boy to make miserable so he would do that sort of thing to me. What did you do to Maya to make her go medieval on you? Is it something I could duplicate?"

Marigold shook her head emphatically, "No, Dawn. You do not want to do what I did. I would give up anything... not to be the person I was back then."

Dawn twisted so she could look Marigold in the eye, "What did you do?"

Marigold shook her head harder, "No. Dawn, you're the first real friend I've had since Maya. I don't want you to hate me."

"Hey," said Dawn. "If I don't have to be perfect to be your friend, you don't have to be perfect to be mine."

In spite of herself, Marigold smiled in recognition of her own words, but said, "Believe me. Perfection is the least of my worries. I..."

Dawn didn't say anything. Looking up at her, Marigold said, "Did you learn that trick from Thule?"

"What trick?"

"Where you don't say anything so that the person you're talking to will blurt something out to break the silence."

Dawn shook her head, "I don't know that trick. I'm just trying to figure out how to get you to tell me what you did without being a total pest."

Marigold took a deep breath. Slowly at first, she found herself telling Dawn everything about her friendship with Maya. Dawn listened and asked a few questions, but mostly sat quietly, absorbing it all.

"Wow," said Dawn when Marigold was done talking. "That was pretty shitty of you."

Marigold nodded. Her face was tear-stained, but she didn't remember crying, "That's a bit of an understatement."

"You're not telling me everything, though," said Dawn.

Marigold looked puzzled, "I didn't leave anything out."

Dawn frowned, "Thule took you to New York to get revenge for something you did to his girlfriend years ago. But, you were clearly in love when you got back. Hell, the two of you were clearly in love before you ever left. I can't believe I misjudged Thule so badly to think that he would fall for you if what you just told me was the whole story. Why did he forgive you?"

Marigold shook her head, "I don't know. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't think he needed to. I think he'd already forgiven me before that weekend. The revenge was just... something he did for Maya... and because it was the right thing to do. I don't... entirely understand Thule."