Outside Beauty (16 page)

“What do you mean?” I said. “It's really up to you if you're tired.”

“I guess I'm tired.”

“Okay,” I said. “Then let's all go to sleep.”

We all got in our pajamas, Maddie changing in the bathroom. Someone knocked at the door. “Come in,” said Marilyn.

Larry entered and gave Lakey a kiss. Then he came over and gave each of us a kiss before saying, “If your mother is still doing well tomorrow, Mr. Bronson and Jiro need to get back, so Maddie and Shelby will be leaving the day after tomorrow. You and I can stay a couple of days longer if you want.”

“I want to stay as long as I can,” Lakey said.

“That's what I thought. We'll do that. I don't need to get back for a few days.” He kissed her again and left the room.

We all lay in bed. I could feel that Marilyn and Lakey were still awake. Finally, Marilyn said, “Maddie?”

She didn't answer, so Marilyn, Lakey, and I got up. Marilyn cracked the door and then said, “They're watching TV. We'll have to stay in here. Just talk quietly.”

We sat near Marilyn's bed. “It's like she has two personalities,” Lakey said.

Marilyn said, “It's like she's a Stepford daughter.”

“A what?” Lakey said.

“It's like she's a robot.”

“I think we need to get her out of there,” I said. “We can't let her go back with Mr. Bronson.”

“I agree,” Marilyn said. “But what can we do?”

“We can all run away together,” I said. Neither sister said no, I noticed.

Marilyn said, “Nothing feels right or normal with Mack. It kind of drives me crazy. And even if it didn't,
Maddie needs to be with us. It's like she's at a military school or something! I almost want to shake her and say ‘Where's Maddie!'”

“I know! That's exactly how I feel.” And so I asked, “Where could we go if we ran away?”

We all thought for a moment, and then Lakey said, “How about Larry's cabin in Colorado?”

“Do you know how to get there?” Marilyn asked. I leaned forward; I could detect a note of possibility in Marilyn's voice.

“I can find it without the address. I remember the street name. It was called Mountain View Road. The only thing is, one day I threatened to run away to the cabin. So Larry might know where we're going.”

It wasn't a bad idea in my estimation, but it wasn't a good idea, either. Still, it was the only idea we had so far. “There's Jiro's garage,” I suggested.

“We can't live in a garage,” Marilyn said.

We all fell silent. I looked at my funny feet and wondered whether I'd inherited them from Jiro. I would feel bad running away because he'd been awfully nice to me. On the other hand, Maddie's welfare was the most important thing.

“Okay, I vote for Larry's cabin,” I said. “It sounds perfect. Where else are we going to go? Maybe we
could leave a note with the fathers saying we're fine and not to tell Mom because she'd get too upset.”

Lakey said, “I agree. I don't want to live with Larry and his wife. I want to live with you.” Then she started crying. Then Marilyn and I started crying.

Larry peeked into the room. “Everything all right in here?” he said. “Girls, girls, you don't need to worry about your mother. The doctor is very optimistic. I spoke to him on the phone just a little while ago.” Then he looked right at Lakey. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” she said through her tears. “We were just talking.”

“All right,” he said. “Call if you need anything.” He closed the door.

Lakey rubbed her eyes. “I miss you guys. It's so lonely out there. I can't stand it.”

“How would we get to the cabin? Should we take a bus?” I said.

We looked at Marilyn. “I'll have to drive,” she said. “I have a set of my dad's car keys. Maybe it's better to go right away when they don't expect it. Shelby, you need to tell Maddie when she wakes up tomorrow.”

“Wait, what did we just decide?” I said.

“That we'll leave sometime after we visit Mom tomorrow.”

The next day our mother was doing even better. When we arrived, she was ordering two nurses around. “No, no, make the head of the bed higher. The blood is going to my face and making it look bloated. Where's my water? I need to clean all the drugs out of my system. There's nothing more aging than drugs.”

The nurses shook their heads with annoyance but did as she asked. They left, and we gathered around our mother.

“Dr. Jefferson is such a nice man,” she said. “He brought me a flower today.” She indicated a flower in a plastic cup. “He said he got it from his own house. I wonder where he lives. Of course, if we all moved in, I would need to put my own touches on the house, but I shouldn't say more because it's bad luck to put the cart before the horse.” She smiled broadly, the most cheerful I'd seen her since the accident. I was so glad to see her smile. But I also knew that if Mom was getting better, truly, then we had to leave. Today.

Back at the apartment, Mr. Bronson announced that he'd booked a return flight back to Arkansas. “Madeline, it's a nine o'clock flight. Have your things packed before you go to bed. Now let's start your reading lesson.” She followed him into the kitchen.

I rubbed my temples. Marilyn caught my eye. “Tonight,” she mouthed. I nodded.

We three older girls powwowed in our room without Maddie. “Okay, let's take a final vote,” Marilyn said. “If we are going to do this, if we are going to Colorado, it needs to be tonight. So, are we leaving? Yes or no?”

“I vote yes,” I said.

“Me too,” Lakey said.

“Me too,” Marilyn said.

We returned to the living room, acting as normal as possible so the fathers wouldn't think we were plotting anything. All afternoon we watched soap operas and talk shows with Jiro and Larry. Jiro fell asleep three times and Larry fell asleep twice. At one point Jiro said, “No understand Americans. Why they go on talk shows and embarrass themselves?”

“I think they like to be on television,” I said.

“Why they like that?”

“I don't know. I don't want to be on television.”

“I do,” said Marilyn. “After I'm famous, I'll go on television all the time.”

“What will you be famous for?”

“I haven't decided yet.”

Then we fell silent again, lying like sloths around the TV. It was hard to believe we would be running
away that night. We were doing a darn good job of acting normal.

When Maddie finished her lessons, Larry went into the kitchen to cook us what he called his “special ultradelicious tacos.”

The news shows were on, and we just kept watching TV. Mr. Bronson scolded us: “You girls should be doing something. You need some fresh air instead of lying around inside all day. Get out of the house and get some exercise!”

We just looked at him.

“But Larry's about to serve dinner,” Marilyn said.

“After dinner, then. I don't want to see you lying around all night. It's repulsive.”

After dinner all four of us went downstairs and sat on the stoop. Marilyn and I met eyes. “Maddie,” I said, in a careful voice. “We have a plan.”

“A plan?” she said. “A plan about what?”

“Well, a plan that's a big secret.”

She looked at me suspiciously. “What kind of secret?”

“Can you promise you won't tell your father?”

“I can't promise,” she said right away.

“Why?”

“Because he's my father, so he's the boss.”

“Why?”

“Because he said . . . whatever, I don't know.”

“Why?”

“Because I don't know him that well and I don't, I don't know, uh . . .”

“Why?”

“You're playing Why? with me!” Her eyes sparkled but then died out.

I said, “Ythegou uhthegalmthegost smthegiled.”

Then she did smile, but only slightly. I smiled back.

Now she just looked curious, not suspicious. “Why can't I tell anyone?” she asked.

“Because it's a secret between the four of us.”

She pondered that. “All right.”

“You promise you won't tell on us?” I asked.

“Yes.”

Marilyn said, “Good! Here's the plan. I'm going to drive Mack's car, and the four of us are going to go away together. We'll come back when Mom can take care of us again.”

“We can't do that!” Maddie said. “I'll get in trouble. I have to tell my father!”

“You promised!” we all said.

“That's because you tricked me.” She stood up.

I stood up too. “Maddie. You can't tell him. Please?”

She sat down again and didn't answer.

Marilyn leaned forward, her eyes gleaming. “We're going to Larry's cabin in Colorado.” She sat back proudly.

Maddie looked interested. In fact, she looked very interested.

“It won't be for long. Just until Mom's better, and she's already getting better now.”

“Like how long?” Maddie said.

“Like a month or so,” I said.

“Yeah, a month,” Marilyn said.

“And how would we get food?”

“With our money,” I said.

Marilyn, Lakey, and I looked at Maddie. Her lips moved as she thought about it, and I could tell she was repeating it to herself as if she couldn't yet fully comprehend it all.

Finally, I said, “Maddie, are you in or out?”

Maddie said, “You mean we wouldn't tell our fathers?”

“That's right,” I said. I sat in front of her and took both her hands in mine. “Maddie, sweetie, we're running away.”

“I need to ask my father first.”

“Maddie, running away means you don't tell your father anything.”

“But he won't be happy with me.”

“Maddie,” I said. “Maddie, this is important and you can't tell Mr. Bronson.”

“Why not?”

“Because he'll stop us and then . . .” I wanted to say
and then you'll never be the same.
She'd changed so much in a month, who knew what would happen in a couple more months? Our mother wouldn't be able to take care of us just because she was getting better. She still needed to have her plastic surgeries.

“We need to do it tonight,” Marilyn said.

“We could leave at any time,” I said. “Depending on when the fathers go to sleep. Jiro is always in bed by ten and up at five.”

“Mack is in bed by midnight and up at six.”

“My dad is usually in bed by eleven and up at six,” Lakey said.

Maddie was frowning deeply. I repeated, “You can trust us.”

“Mr. Bronson is in bed by ten and up at five,” she finally said reluctantly.

“So we should leave around two in the morning,” Marilyn said. “Let's go to bed right now so at least we can get some rest.”

“I don't go to bed until eight thirty,” Maddie said. “My father says it's a good idea to go to sleep at the exact same time every night, or you'll get off schedule.”

Marilyn looked at her. “Okay, let's get in bed in our clothes, and you don't have to go to sleep. You can just lie there. We'll set the alarm for two in the morning.” She turned to me. “Shelby, you're in charge of getting us there. Do you remember the highways?”

“No, and all the maps are in Mom's room!” I said. Mr. Bronson was sleeping in there.

“Okay, we'll buy a map on the road. And Lakey is in charge of hotels and money, and Maddie can watch the gas gauge. Just like always. Whenever we spend any money, you should write it down, Lakey. Did anyone bring their money?”

“I did,” I said.

“Me too,” Lakey and Marilyn said.

“I don't know where he put my money,” Maddie said. “Anyway, I'm too young to handle money.”

“Says who?” I asked.

“My father told me so,” she said, a little defensively.

I was afraid she was going to snitch on us, but she
didn't move. It was kind of like we were kidnapping her, but it was for her own good.

Later I lay in bed thinking. I think thinking was my favorite thing in the world. At least, I think so. I hoped that a little bit of the real Maddie was still alive. Otherwise, she might turn us in. Another thing I thought about was my mother. I was certain that she was wrong and that there were some universes where beauty wasn't important. But if she didn't believe it, she would be depressed. She would cry more. Seeing your mother cry seemed all wrong. We girls could cry, but not our mother. She had always been strong, even tough, beneath her looks. Then the next thing I knew, I was dreaming about my goat when a voice came from the sky: “Shelby, get up. Shelby.” I jolted awake. The light was on. Lakey was leaning over me, her face filled with urgency. “This is it,” she said. She pinched my arm excitedly. “This is it!”

THE LAST TIME I'D LOOKED at the clock, it was nearly midnight. Now it was close to three a.m. My heart started pounding. This was it.

We sneaked out the back door and hurried downstairs. We hesitated at the alley. None of us had ever been through there at night. It was Lakey who finally said, “Come on. We've been down this alley millions of times.”

The alley was still, and every shadow seemed as if it could hold a mass murderer. We stole through it, keeping close to the brick wall of our building. I was both scared and thrilled. When we got to the street, Marilyn looked around. “To tell the truth, I don't know where his car is,” she said quietly. “He must
have moved it when he went out for cigarettes.”

“Well, we've got to look for it, then,” I said. “It can't be that far away.” We walked to the block to our right but didn't see it. Then we circled around until we were to the left of our building. We saw a man walking down the street, and Marilyn whispered, “Hide!”