I immediately hurried around the table and gathered her up in a hug. “It’s okay,” I said. “Sometimes the shock kicks in late, it’s all right.”
“It’s not shock,” she cried. “I’m just … I’m just … really happy!”
“You don’t exactly look happy,” Jesse pointed out.
My mom disappeared and came back with a box of tissues, but Roux ignored them. “Sorry, sorry,” she kept saying. “It’s just that you’re all so nice and, I mean, everything was crazy today and, yeah, it was scary, but I haven’t talked to my parents in three weeks and now we’re all here eating dinner and it’s just nice and I’m really glad I met you, Maggie, and if you all move away again I’ll be really sad!”
“Oh, Roux!” I said, and then I was crying right along with her. “We’re not leaving, okay? You were awesome today; don’t worry about everything else.”
“Sweetheart,” my mom said, “do you want to stay here tonight? You might need a place to rest.”
Roux nodded gratefully. “Thank you, that would be nice.” Then she glanced at me. “A-am I doing the ugly cry?” She sniffled.
“Yes,” I told her.
“Damn it.” She sighed, then reached for a tissue.
Angelo leaned across the table. “You were very brave today,” he said, “and you have been a wonderful friend to Maggie and her family. We never leave our friends behind.”
She nodded, as wide-eyed as a little kid talking to Santa Claus, and he passed her his handkerchief. Underneath the table, Jesse squeezed my leg and I reached for him. Everyone I loved was at one table, together, safe and sound.
I had a feeling things were going to be okay.
Epilogue
“I hope he doesn’t keep me waiting.” Roux tapped her foot on the ground. “Do you wear a watch? Let me look at your watch.”
“Angelo is always on time,” I said. “And no, I don’t, so stop grabbing at my wrist.”
“Sorry.” Then she sneezed. “Oh, hi, allergy season.”
We were standing outside the Chess & Checkers House in Central Park. After a crazy winter that made me feel like I was permanently living in the tundra, the trees were flowering again and the park looked beautiful. “Don’t you just love spring?” I sighed.
“Aaaah-CHOO! No.”
“Oh, look, there’s Angelo,” I said. “And not a minute too soon.”
“Hi!” she said as he came closer. He was wearing a light gray suit, and his tie matched the rows of purple tulips that lined the path up to the house. That’s Angelo for you. Even when he tries to blend in, he still stands out.
After our helicopter extravaganza, things were a little chaotic for a while.
We never told the Collective about Roux and Jesse. I knew they would keep my secret, just as I had kept theirs, and I didn’t want to cause any trouble for them. Besides, they had helped save my life and solve the case. Still, some people from the Collective flew out to New York and did a huge debriefing about the files and Colton. By the end of it, I was exhausted.
That’s when my parents stepped in.
“I think we need to take a leave of absence,” my dad told the representatives. “Maggie has been through a lot and she needs to recover.”
I shot a look at my dad when he said that. I wasn’t some flailing daisy! I could handle it! Exhaustion was temporary, success was forever!
But then he continued speaking.
“Is it possible that we can stay here in Manhattan? Surely there are enough cases in the city.”
Stay in the same city with my best friend and the boy I liked? Good plan.
So my family and I took a winter vacation. I went back to school, where I finally began to understand French and not sound like an idiot when I spoke it. Roux and I exchanged Christmas gifts, and Jesse and I …?
Well, we talked. And talked. And then kissed a lot and then talked some more. Only time would prove to him that he hadn’t been just another assignment, and now I had time. That was all I wanted.
Angelo walked over to Roux and me and kissed both of us on our cheeks. “Ah, lovely ladies. Are you ready to learn the rules of the best game?”
“I want to be the horse,” Roux replied.
“The knight,” Angelo corrected her.
“This isn’t Monopoly,” I said. “And I can’t, I gotta go meet Jess.”
Roux wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Maggie and Jesse, gettin’ busy …”
“Oh, be quiet.” I gave her a shove, but I couldn’t hide my smile. “He’s going to take me to meet his mom.”
After our huge debacle, Jesse made a great point. “I know how important honesty is now,” he told me, several nights after my debriefing ended. “I have to be honest with my mom and she needs to be honest with me.” So he sat down and wrote her a long e-mail, explaining how much he missed her, and she wrote back. Things still weren’t great between them, but they were trying, and now she was coming into the city for the day.
“Speaking of,” Roux said. “WOOHOO! JESSE! WE’RE OVER HERE!”
Angelo winced but continued to set up the chessboard. He would have his work cut out for him today.
I waved at Jesse when he got closer, then wrapped my arm around his waist and kissed him. Even though we’d been dating since November, kissing him never got old. “Hiya,” he said. “Ready to meet and greet?”