While Alex headed out into the living room to grab his backpack, his mom walked over to me and said, “I’m so sorry, Julia. You’re a great girl. This should have never happened. I told Alex a long time ago that Bridget was trouble, but he couldn’t see it until she was completely obsessed, and it was too late.”
“It’s fine. I don’t blame Alex for any of this. He’s been a really good friend. If it wasn’t for him, I might have had worse injuries. He’s the one that yelled and got Bridget to stop.”
“Well, I’m just glad you’re going to be okay. I’ll see you later, hun,” she said and then left my room.
I walked both of them out and told Alex to call me when he got home. I was exhausted, but my mind was racing. I took a hot shower to ease the pain from the bruising on my body and then climbed into bed. Mom came to make sure I was comfortable and asked if I needed anything.
“Yes, I would like you to do one favor for me,” I said.
“Of course, anything you need I’ll get you,” Mom offered without hesitation.
“Can you please take me to the store tomorrow to get Alex a gift for Christmas?”
“I can do that as long as you’re feeling okay. Now get some rest.”
After kissing me on the cheek, she walked out closing the door behind her. I stayed up for a short time waiting for Alex to call me, but he didn’t. I was too tired to wonder why and too sleepy to stay up any longer, so I went to sleep.
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning Mom came into my room to see how I was feeling. My body was sore, but that wasn’t going to stop me from going shopping. I figured if I took a hot shower I’d feel a little bit better. It took me a little longer to get dressed, but I managed. I wasn’t sure if I could handle bending down to tie my shoes, so I decided to wear my black boots. This way I could just slide my feet into them.
“Julia,” Mom called, “when you’re done getting dressed just throw on your jacket. I’m taking you out for breakfast.”
I wasn’t sure I heard her right. She was taking me out for breakfast? Was the world coming to an end and I didn’t know about it? I wasn’t about to question it though. Since living in New York the only times we have eaten take-out was for dinner, and that was still pretty rare. Eating out for breakfast seemed like a nice change.
Once we were in the car I asked Mom if she knew of a place to eat. She said a co- council that she had tried a case with last week in court, suggested a place called The Red Teacup. When we arrived my eyes widened with shock. I felt like I had just fallen into the world of Alice in Wonderland. The floors had oriental rugs scattered about and none of them matched. There were long tables and round tables all with mismatched table cloths. None of the chairs matched in size or shape. Some were tall with high backs to them which reminded me of a king or queen chair and others were just small with a more rounded back to them.
The art work on the wall was amazing. I had never seen such dynamic pieces. When we sat down at the table, I saw there in front of me was a beautiful red tea set, hence the name Red Teacup. I never wanted to leave. The food was like nothing that I had ever tasted before. I mean my mom cooks really well, but this was something else. The prices were a little high, but it was worth every penny and I wasn’t paying.
It was just about ten in the morning when Mom and I stopped into Saks Fifth Avenue. Mom and I split up. She went looking for a couple of things to send to some distant relatives and I headed toward the men’s department. I wasn’t sure what Alex would really like, but I wanted to get him something he could use.
Because I wasn’t sure what to get him, I decided to go look at gifts for my parents instead. I had only so much money, so I had to make sure that I could afford to buy everyone something nice. It didn’t take me long to find something for my mom and dad. I remembered Mom telling me that she really liked a perfume that a friend of hers wears called
Romance
by Ralph Lauren, so I bought her a bottle. I couldn’t believe how expensive perfume was. Dad’s gift was easy to find. I bought him a silk tie. I really thought the tie was going to be cheaper than Mom’s perfume, but it wasn’t.
The lady at the counter where I bought it said it was because of the brand name. I didn’t know anything about stuff like that. Back home we bought stuff from K-mart and Wal-Mart. Every tie Dad owns in his closet cost no more than twenty dollars, but now this Christmas he’ll have one that cost five times that amount by a guy named Armani.
While walking back to meet up with Mom, I happened to pass a jewelry case that displayed watches. I thought maybe if I had enough money left I could buy one for Alex. As I stood there looking at them through the glass a woman came walking over with a pleasant smile.
“Hello, may I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, can you tell me how much these watches are? I only have so much money left and I need to buy my best friend a gift.”
“Sure, I can help you. If you don’t mind me asking, how much money do you have to spend? This way you can look at something in your price range.”
I wasn’t sure what I had left, so I pulled my crumpled up money from my pocket and laid it on the counter. While I counted it the woman just stood there with a smile plastered on her face. It was kind of creepy.
“Okay, all together I have one hundred dollars and fifty five cents left,” I said.
“All right, if you follow me over to this counter we have watches in that price range. If you see one you’d like to look at just let me know. I’ll be more than happy to let you see it,” she said, still smiling.
The lady showed me three watches that I thought would look good on Alex and that I thought he would like. In the end I found a silver watch with a black leather band made by a guy named Kenneth Cole. After purchasing the watch, I thanked the woman for her help and met up with my mom.
“Did you find what you were looking for, Julia?” Mom asked.
“Yes, I found a really nice watch for Alex. I’ll show you when we get home. I see you did a little shopping of your own,” I said with a smile, hoping that one of those bags was for me.
“I did, and I know what you’re thinking. No, there’s nothing in these bags for you. These are for other people,” Mom said, holding them close to her.
I had a feeling she picked me up something, but I played it off and said, “Oh, okay.” My parents usually buy my Christmas gifts on their way home, so I don’t know what I’m getting. Then they would usually hide them in our attic, but this year I have no idea where they are hidden, seeing as we no longer have an attic in our new house.
Once we were done shopping Mom and I headed back home. I decided to take a nap before dinner because my body was starting to ache. When I woke up, I called Alex, but he didn’t answer, so I watched a little TV before dinner. During dinner, I proposed an idea to Mom and Dad on what I wanted to do to get the signatures I needed to bring this issue to my local congressman.
“So, if I rally people in Central Park after Christmas, you think it will work?” I asked Dad.
“First, I think you need to make flyers and hand them out a week before. Maybe go to local businesses and ask them if you can hang a flyer in their window. Explain to them what you are trying to do. Your mom and I could help. We do know some people, Julia.”
“Maybe with just the flyer, Dad, but everything else I want to do on my own.”
“All right, kid. Is Alex going to be helping you?” Mom asked.
“I think so, but I haven’t been able to get in touch with him. I hope everything is all right.”
“I’m sure it is, Julia. He’s just probably busy,” Dad said trying to reassure me.
After dinner I was a little sad about not being able to get in touch with Alex. I thought about calling him, but I didn’t want to be a bother, so I just went to sleep.
Throughout the next week I stayed home cleaning the house while Mom and Dad were at work. I still hadn’t heard from Alex and I was so depressed. Mom insisted that I go outside, but I saw no point. I had no one to hang around with. There was only three days left until Christmas and I wasn’t sure if I would even see Alex. Finally, I begged Mom to call Alex’s mom to find out what was going on.
“Are you sure you want me to call, Julia?” she asked.
“Yes, I don’t understand what’s going on. Why won’t he answer or return my phone calls?”
“All right, just let me finish the laundry and then I’ll call.”
Mom called a few minutes later. While she and Alex’s mom were on the phone, I was pacing back and forth in front of her. She kept shooing me away. I finally gave up and sat in the living room flipping through the channels waiting and wondering. After a half an hour I heard Mom place the phone on the counter. Just as I was about to jump up she came walking in the living room to talk to me.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked before she could say anything.
“Alex’s mom informed me that he has been sick and the reason why he hasn’t called you back is because she shut off his phone so he could get some rest. See, Julia, everything is just fine. She said she’ll have him call you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, but that’s Christmas Eve,” I said, wishing he was able to call now.
“Yes, I know, honey, but maybe if he’s feeling better he’ll be able to stop by for a while,” Mom said, trying to cheer me up.
“I guess.”
I wasn’t sure what to do. I was going stir crazy, so I decided to throw on my coat and take a walk. The cool winter breeze felt good on my face. Not knowing exactly where to go, I just kept on walking. Off from a distance I could hear singing, so I followed the beautiful sound and was led straight to the park. There in front of my eyes where people dressed like carolers all huddled together. As they sang Christmas songs they continued walking in unison spreading love and hope throughout the city. It was beautiful, but I had no one to share it with, so I left.
Not feeling in the holiday mood, I headed home and went straight to bed. I figured the faster I fell asleep the faster I might hear from Alex in the morning. It wasn’t easy trying to go to sleep, especially with my body still being sore. I couldn’t wait for my body to heal completely. It took me a while to fall asleep, but eventually, I did.
In the morning, I was woken up by the sound of my phone going off. I was in complete shock and was hoping it was Alex. It had to be. No one else ever called me and not a lot of people had my number. Hurrying, I reached over to my night stand and grabbed it.
“Hello,” I said, sounding out of breath.
“Hey, Julia, it’s me, Alex.”
“Oh, I’m so happy you called. I was freaking out. I thought something had happened or maybe you no longer wanted to be my friend. Actually, I had all kinds of things running through my head,” I said, rambling like a crazy person.
“Good Lord, take a breath before you pass out. No, I was just really sick. My chest had been hurting for a couple of days, and when I left your house that day, I started coughing uncontrollably. My Mom took me into the ER, freaking out as if I was dying. You know how our moms are,” he said laughing. “Anyways, come to find out I had walking pneumonia. I had never heard of it until that day. The doctor told my mom that I needed plenty of rest and gave me some antibiotics, and steroids to take, so I’m feeling much better.”
Letting out a sign of relief, I asked, “Will your mom let you come by today? It is Christmas Eve and I have a surprise for you.”
“Yes, I had already asked her before calling you. I knew you’d ask and I wanted to have an answer for you. Mom said she’d bring me by sometime in the afternoon.”
“Yay, I’m so happy I’ll be able to see you. Oh, and by the way, I have some really cool ideas for our movement.”