Author's Note: Just want to make it clear that I'm a die-hard Trixie fan, I love these guys! I'm not making fun of them as much as having fun with them. A little gentle teasing is a way of showing affection. If you don't believe me, hey, go ask Mart!
The Mystery of the Tainted Timeline
by April
"Moms, I’m done!" yelled fourteen-year-old Trixie Belden as she replaced the crocheted doily on the newly polished table and slapped a bowl of fruit down on top of it. "That was the last job on my Saturday chore list and I really need to talk to Honey. May I go now?"
Pretty, blonde Helen Belden pushed through the swinging kitchen door and took a look around the room. The kitchen of the cozy farmhouse was neat and clean. Her blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at her only daughter. "Well done, Trixie! Did you remember to dust the pictures in the family room?"
"Jeepers, Mom, I’ve been thinking all morning that I was forgetting something! I guess it was the pictures," Trixie sighed as she pushed a stray sandy curl back off her forehead and reached for the dust rag.
"Oh, I think they’ll survive another week, dear. Go ahead and find Honey. You’ve worked hard today, you deserve some time off."
"Gee, thanks Moms, you’re the best!" Trixie blew her mother a kiss and raced to the back door. Flinging it open, she stopped just short of bouncing into her tall, dark seventeen-year-old brother.
"Whoa there, Trix," Brian warned. "Incoming!"
She stood aside and held the door open as her two older brothers filed into the kitchen. They’d been out working in the yard and were coming in for a well-deserved break.
"What an unusual doorstop we’ve acquired. It bears an uncanny resemblance to a rather winsome scion of my mater and … OUCH!" Mart Belden yelped as the door smacked into the side of his right calf. He hopped on one foot and glared at his frowning sister. "Gleeps, what did you do that for? I was paying you a compliment."
Trixie’s round blue eyes opened wide as she stared in disbelief at her brother who was only 11 months older and looked so very much like her. "You were? W-what did you say?"
"I was saying how much you look like a charming, attractive child of my mother…"
"But I don’t look anything like Brian!"
Brian laughed and Mart threw him a sour look. "That’s what I get for trying to be nice to you because it’s…"
"Mart," Mrs. Belden interrupted loudly with a slight shake of her head. Simultaneously, Brian’s laughter turned into a coughing fit. "I’m sure you boys would like some fresh lemonade and cookies."
Trixie noticed the strange look that passed between her mother and Brian and the flush that crept up Mart’s freckled face. Earlier that morning, when she had come in from feeding the chickens, the family had been talking in the kitchen and had suddenly stopped as she’d entered the room. She had noticed the same strange looks pass between them then as well.
"What’s going on?" Trixie demanded. "Everyone’s acting so strangely."
"Nonsense, Trixie!" Mrs. Belden smiled. "Hungry boys and squabbling children are quite normal around here! If you want to talk to Honey though, you ought to get going; you don’t have much time. Remember you promised to do May baskets with Bobby this afternoon while your father and I go into town."
"Oh Moms, I forgot all about that!" Trixie moaned. Bobby was her six-year-old little brother. Although he was cute and adorable, at times he could also be very mischievous. "Can’t the boys do it, just this once?"
"A promise is a promise, Trixie." Mrs. Belden reminded her daughter. "Besides, the boys are going to be very busy here this afternoon. In fact, you’ll have to make the baskets at Honey’s or at your clubhouse so Bobby won’t get in their way."
"I’m surprised kids still celebrate May Day," Brian remarked. "I thought that tradition petered out when we were little."
"No," snickered Mart while grabbing a handful of cookies. "Don’t you remember? Trixie single-handedly killed that tradition off when she was six and got her entire first grade class hopelessly tangled up in the Maypole. The principal had to come out and cut the ribbons off to get a few of the kids loose."
Trixie shot him a withering look and with a toss of her blonde curls flounced out the back door. "I’ll be back for Bobby!" she called over her shoulder. She waved as she ran past her father, who was digging in the garden and her little brother, who was "holping", as he liked to put it.
"Hey!" Bobby shouted and ran after her. "Trixie wait!"
Impatiently, Trixie turned around. "Bobby, I’m in a hurry!"
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"To see Honey."
"Have you forgotted my May baskets? You promised you’d holp me make the bestest baskets ever!"
His big blue eyes filled with tears and his lower lip began to tremble.
"No, sweetie, I haven’t forgotten." Trixie put her arms around the little boy and gave him a big hug. "I’ll only be gone for awhile and then we’ll make baskets and take them around to the neighbors."
"Gleeps, Honey, I thought I’d never get away!" Trixie greeted her best friend as she hurried up the manicured path leading to the Wheeler mansion. Fourteen-year-old Honey Wheeler ran down the path to meet her. Honey stopped as Trixie stood on the path with her head cocked to one side and her hands on her hips staring at her.
Honey’s wide hazel eyes looked puzzled as she asked, "What’s the matter, Trixie?"
"I’m trying to decide once and for all," Trixie said.
"Decide what?"
"If your honey colored hair is light brown or blonde!"
"Golly, Trixie," Honey giggled. "Don’t you remember the first time we met? My pale face was framed with shoulder length, light brown hair, silly! Besides, we can’t have two blonde girls. You’re the blonde, Di has black hair and I have brown hair. Brian’s a brunette, Mart’s blond, Dan has black hair and Jim’s a redhead. If we ever find another Bob-White, she’d have to be a redheaded girl. See how it works? Anyway, you’ve seen those colored pictures of us."
"Yeah, I have, but in some of them, you look pretty blonde…" Trixie smiled up at her friend. "Your right, of course. Gleeps, Honey, it seems like forever ago when we were thirteen and you moved into Manor House a frightened, lonely, sickly…"
"Trixie," Honey interrupted gently as she linked arms with her and walked over to a low bench, "you can skip the background stuff from now on. Everyone here already knows it all by heart."
Trixie blinked her round blue eyes in amazement then grinned again. "Gee, that’s a relief! Now we can get down to brass tacks. I told you this morning on the phone how strangely everyone was acting. Even Moms is acting mysterious!"
Trixie quickly told Honey about the kitchen scene with her brothers and mother. "And to top it off, Honey, I’ve felt for the longest time that I was forgetting something, and today I feel it so strongly, I just know there’s something I’m forgetting, but I can’t for the life of me think what it is. Have you any idea what this is all about?"
Honey looked down at her hands folded in her lap and cleared her throat. " I, um …I…did I tell you Jim and I went shopping this morning?"
"You know something!" Trixie yelled excitedly. "Don’t try to change the subject, either. I can tell you know. What’s going on?"
"Oh Trixie," Honey said miserably. ‘I…I can’t tell you. I promised ages ago that I’d never say anything about it. Please don’t ask me to break my promise."
"You know I’d never do that," Trixie said stiffly. "Oh ginger! This is going to drive me crazy!" Trixie clutched her short curls, then suddenly jumped up. "I know! I’ll ask Jim!"
Honey caught Trixie’s hand and pulled her back to the bench. "It won’t do any good. He promised, too."
"Oh, woe! I can’t stand this! There’s got to be a clue someplace. There’s always a clue. If I just think hard enough…" Trixie sat with her elbows on her knees and her chin propped in her hands.
Neither girl spoke for awhile then with a sigh, Honey said simply, "I’ve had more of those awful dreams."
Trixie looked up sharply. "What kind of dreams?"
"You know, like the one I had before we went to Saratoga and Idaho in the summer. Remember that perfectly awful dream I had where we went to England with Mart and Mrs. Trask, and Mart was so mean and you were so obnoxious and Mrs. Trask was acting like a silly twit?"
Trixie nodded.
"Well, I’ve had more dreams like that, only…only they’re even worse! In those dreams, all of us Bob-Whites were so mean and…and we didn’t even act like we even liked each other anymore. Why, in one of the dreams you said perfectly awful things about me to yourself and I said horrible, nasty things to you and we all made fun of you, not just Mart - even Jim treated you badly. Jim! He told you not to put yourself down, but then he spent most of the dream putting you down himself and I helped! In another dream, the Bob-Whites didn’t even spend any time together. Oh, Trixie, wouldn’t that be awful? I don’t know what I’d do if everyone changed like that! Why, after awhile, there’d be no more Bob-Whites at all! I – I’d just d-die!" Honey wailed and covered her face with her hands.
Putting her arm around her slender friend, Trixie said quietly, "They were just dreams, Honey."
"But they seemed so real," she sniffed. "What if something like that really happens to us? What do these dreams mean?"
"I don’t know what they mean, but I know this, Honey Wheeler! You’re my best friend and I love you like a sister and I love all the Bob-Whites and never, never ever will we lose our friendship and the fun we have together because we’re loved too much and somehow, some way, we’ll keep on going the way we’re meant to! Got that?"
Honey lifted her head and smiled, "Got it!"
Trixie, Honey and Bobby sat at the table in the clubhouse. The doors and windows were open to let in the soft, fragrant spring breeze as they worked on the May baskets.
"Okay, Bobby, watch this one more time. You take the paper doily and roll it into a cone. Good! Now tape the back like this so it doesn’t come apart. Okay, now fold the front of the cone down a ways like so. Put this end of the pipe cleaner through one of the little holes on the side here and twist it in place. Make it into a handle across the top and put the other end into a little hole on this side, twist it up and …ta da!" Trixie held up the little cone-shaped doily basket with a flourish. Bobby held his rather crumpled version up for Trixie and Honey to see.
"Good job, lamb!" Trixie patted her brother’s curly head. "Mrs. Vanderpoel will love it! I think we have enough baskets for everyone now. Honey do you have the flowers divided up into nosegays?"
"This is the last one. I went ahead and wrapped the stems of each bunch with wet paper."
"Great! We’ll just twist some waxed paper around the wet paper and pop flowers into each basket."
"Oh Trixie," Bobby laughed and clapped his hands. "These are the bestest baskets ever! You ‘splained them real good."
"I’m glad you think so," smiled Trixie. "Now before we go deliver them, do you remember what I said?"
Bobby nodded solemnly, his blonde curls bouncing, and recited, "When we get there, we gots to hide, then sneaker up on the house. But we gots to make sure nobody sees us before we sneaker up to the front door. Then we gots to hang the basket on the doorknob, but we gots to be real quiet and not even whisker. Then Honey and I gots to run away and hide, then you gots to ring the doorbell and run away real fast and hide with us. Then we gots to sneaker away."
Honey gave him a hug and said, "Very good, Bobby. I’m glad you invited me along!"
It took all afternoon to deliver the May baskets. The sun was already starting to sink into the west as the three weary bikers rode up the driveway to Crabapple Farm. As they wheeled up to the garage, the kitchen door opened and Mart bounded out.
"Salutations, oh Queen of the May and her loyal subjects!"
The Queen of the May stuck her tongue out at her almost twin.
"Uh- uh- uh," Mart wagged a finger at her. "Is this the thanks I get for coming out to help you put your bikes away?"
For the second time that day, Trixie stared in disbelief at Mart. He grinned, lifted Bobby off his bike and gave him a hug before he set him on the ground.
"Did you have fun delivering your May baskets?" he asked.
"We were so quiet, we never gotted caught!" laughed Bobby.
"Wow, Bobby!" Mart ruffled the little boy’s hair, "Quick now, into the house. Honey will help you wash up for supper, I’m sure. You are staying for dinner aren’t you, Honey?"
"If it’s okay with your mother," she giggled.
"Well, shucks, Miss Honey, you know you’re always welcome at the homestead," drawled Mart. "C’mon Trix, let’s get these bikes into the garage."
As she parked Honey’s bike out of the way, she watched Mart lift the other bikes up and hang them from the rafters. He really is a good brother, she thought. Even though he teases me too much, sometimes he helps me with dishes and homework and Bobby sitting and out of tight spots, too. And he never lets outsiders tease me and he often sticks up for me. And when I really need to talk, he listens. He knows about a lot of things too, even though he doesn’t keep it to himself like Brian does. He can be really funny too, when it’s not at my expense. And once in a while, like now, he can be really sweet. I shouldn’t be so quick to get mad at him all the time.
"Gleeps, Sis! Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have ketchup on my chin or something?"
"No," she grinned, "I was just thinking, that’s all."
"Gee, that can be dangerous - knock it off!" He grinned back at her, slung his arm lightly around her shoulders and fell into step with her as they made their way to the kitchen door.
Mrs. Belden was in the kitchen piling home-baked rolls high on a platter. "Hello, dear," she greeted her daughter. "Dinner’s ready, so just go ahead and wash up here at the sink. Thank you for taking Bobby out for May Day, he had such fun! Mart, dear, please take that salad out to the dining room, I’ve got the rolls," she turned at the door and said, " Hurry in when you’re done, Trixie, everyone’s waiting."
After she dried her hands, Trixie pushed through the swinging door into the dining room and stopped dead in her tracks.
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" everyone shouted.
The dining room was decorated with streamers and balloons. Taped to the wall was a gaily painted sign that read "Happy 15th Birthday, Trixie!" Jim Frayne and Diana Lynch were seated at the table along with Honey and the family.
"What…I thought…how…?" she stammered weakly.
Jim jumped up and held her chair out. Looking up at him gratefully, she slid into her seat and put her hands to her burning cheeks. Completely bewildered, her blue eyes like saucers; she looked at her father as he stood at the head of the table, ready to carve the roast beef.
"D…Dad?"
"Sweetie," Peter Belden smiled at his daughter, it’s May first, your birthday!"
"But it’s been so long since I’ve had one! I…I thought we Beldens couldn’t have birthdays anymore!"
"Well, were having yours, see?" he waved the carving fork toward the sign. Mart ducked. " After dinner, I have an announcement to make and I’ll explain everything. But for now, who wants the end piece?"
After the initial shock wore off, Trixie realized how hungry she was and enjoyed the delicious birthday dinner her mother had prepared. Jeepers! My very own birthday! she thought. That day long ago when Dad told us we couldn’t have birthdays anymore, I just put mine out of my mind so completely, I guess I really truly forgot about it. That’s why I’ve felt like I was forgetting something important because I really was. This party explains why my family was acting so strangely, but what about Honey? What did she and Jim promise ages ago not to tell me?
"Trixie!" Jim hissed in her ear. "Your father’s asked you three times to pass the potatoes."
"Oh, sorry," she mumbled and took the potatoes from Honey and handed them on to Jim. She looked across the table to where Mart was involved (between mouthfuls) in a lively conversation with Di. She looked over at Brian who sat across from Honey listening to Bobby tell Mrs. Belden about delivering May baskets. Trixie turned to Jim and asked, "Where’s Dan?"
"He said to tell you he’s sorry he couldn’t make it, but he had to work really late."
"He had to work late on a Saturday? What on earth can he be doing? It’ll be dark soon."
"Well, even though he patrolled around the preserve this morning, he’s patrolling around the entire neighborhood this evening with Mr. Maypenny. A lot of the neighbors are upset and really anxious, especially the widows who live there, because it seems someone was out that way this afternoon causing trouble."
"What kind of trouble? Do they know who it was? Could it be someone from Dan’s old gang back in the area?" Trixie leaned forward and reached for her water glass.
"Whoa, Schoolgirl Shamus," Jim held his hand up. "One question at a time! No, they don’t know who it was, but someone was going around ringing doorbells and running away!"
Trixie choked on her water. Jim and Honey both patted her on the back.
"Are you all right, Trixie?" Brian asked sharply and jumped up.
"She’s all right Brian," Jim assured him. "She just swallowed some water the wrong way."
The dinner dishes were cleared away, and the birthday cake was set out on the table, candles ablaze. Trixie felt her cheeks grow hot again as everyone sang "Happy Birthday". She made her wish and successfully blew out all fifteen candles.
Amid the applause, Peter Belden stood and tapped his fork against his water glass. "Attention, please!"
A hush fell over the room. Mr. Belden had everyone’s undivided attention. "As you know, a while back, the Belden family’s finances fell on some rough times. When the life insurance premiums went through the roof for Trixie and everyone related to her, and the medical insurance followed suit, not to mention the expenses we had from that slander lawsuit and…" Mr. Belden noticed his daughter shrink lower in her chair. "…well…other unexpected expenses, we had to do some economizing and, frankly, we found that the Belden family could no longer afford to have birthdays. It’s helped a lot, especially with the money we saved not sending Brian to college or paying for extra car insurance premiums. Then there’s what we saved from clothes that haven’t been outgrown, not to mention the money for presents and parties and such. Now as most of you know," he looked at his daughter with a twinkle in his brown eyes, "yesterday, your mother and I decided to have a birthday for Trixie. But what you don’t know is why." He paused for dramatic effect. "Yesterday, I got a bonus and a raise! The Belden family is back in the black!"
Shouts of joy and congratulations filled the Belden dining room. The Belden children jumped up to hug their father and mother. As they were making their way back to their seats, Brian, looking rather dazed, turned to his Dad. "Does this mean then…?"
Peter Belden nodded to his son and held up his hand to quiet them all. "Please everyone, sit down. I have one more announcement. Although your mother and I have decided we like not having a birthday, from this moment on, the Belden children will have birthdays again!"
"You mean, next month, I can finally turn sixteen and drive?" Mart could scarcely believe his ears.
"Yes, son!" Mr. Belden smiled. Mart sat back in his chair, for once speechless. "And Brian, come October, you’ll be eighteen."
Brian swallowed hard. "Gee, thanks, Dad!"
Everyone turned as suddenly Bobby burst into tears and laid his head down on the table.
"Why Bobby, dear, what’s wrong?" Helen Belden leaned over and put her arm around her little boy.
"It’s not f-fair!" he sobbed. "Everyone gets birthdays but me!"
"What do you mean? Of course you’ll have a birthday," Mrs. Belden said soothingly.
Bobby’s curls bounced violently as he shook his head hard. "No, I won’t!" he wailed. "You’ll forget me again and pass me by, just like you forgotted me before when Brian n’ Mart n’ Trixie gotted their last birthdays! I’m gonna be six f-f-forever!"
"W-what?" gasped Mrs. Belden. "Oh, Peter, Bobby’s right – we did pass him by! If Trixie is fifteen, he should be turning eight soon…unless he should already be eight. Oh my, I seem to have forgotten…is Bobby’s birthday before or after Trixie’s?" Her husband shrugged.
"Gleeps, Moms," Trixie cried, "it’s been so long, we’ve forgotten."
"Well, dry your tears, Bobby," said Mr. Belden. "We’ll look up your birthday and if it’s already passed, you can choose another one."
"Really?" Bobby lifted a tear stained face to look at his father. "Promise?"
"Promise! In fact, you can go ahead and be seven tomorrow if you like, we can do another party. Then later this year, we can have your eighth birthday."
"Oh, yes, I’ll be seven tomorrow!" Bobby was all smiles now. "Does this mean I can quit with the nauseating baby talk?"
"Yes, Bobby," said Mr. Belden.
"Can I stop getting hugged every time I turn around?"
"Yes, Bobby."
"Can I stop being so darn adorable all the time?"
"Yes, Bobby."
"Can I have an allowance?"
"Don’t push your luck, son."
"Honey, this is perfectly perfect!" Trixie stood by the fireplace in the family room and admired the soft blue button down sweater she held up. "With the pullover sweater Brian gave me it makes a set and matches my blue eyes perfectly!" She threw her arms around her best friend and hugged her even tighter than she had hugged Brian. "Thank you, Honey!"
Mrs. Belden handed her a wrapped box, which she promptly tore into. "I love it, Moms!" she cried and kissed her mother. "This blue skirt goes great with the sweater set and it…"
"Matches your blue eyes perfectly!" everyone chorused.
"I hope you like this," Di said shyly as she handed her a thin, oblong present. Trixie opened it and pulled out a lovely lavender silk scarf.
"It’s beautiful, Di! Thanks!"
"You’re welcome!" Di giggled as Trixie gave her a quick hug. "Maybe I could borrow it every now and again?"
"Sure, Di," Trixie grinned. Bobby thrust his gift at her. Opening it she shrieked, "Yippee! This is the last Julie Tatham book I needed to complete my Cherry Ames collection! Oh Bobby, thanks!" She reached out to give him a hug, then paused. "Um, is it okay?"
"Yeah," Bobby sighed and got his hug. "But only on special occasions, okay?"
"Catch!" Mart tossed his package to her. "Sorry I didn’t have a chance to earn some money on such short notice," he mumbled.
Inside the package, Trixie found a pocket dictionary and a stapled book of hand drawn coupons. As she went through the book translating them, she discovered she had several assorted coupons good for Mart to take her turn at the dishes, Bobby sitting, feeding chickens, gardening, dusting and also for his help with homework. "Wow, Mart, these last four coupons seem to be written in English: ‘Good for one totally tease-free day’," she read aloud. For the third time that day, she stared wide-eyed at her brother. "I’ve died and gone to heaven! Gleeps, Mart, thank you!"
"Certainly, sweetheart!" he said in his best Bogey imitation as she gave him a quick squeeze.
"I got you the same thing I gave you on your last birthday," Mr. Belden smiled, "but I have a feeling you’ll need some more." He handed her a box of business sized cards. Printed on each card was:
GET OUT OF GROUNDING FREE
(But prepare for a severe scolding)
"Jeepers, thanks Dad!" Trixie stood up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "I was down to my last card! Wow, thank you everyone! This has been the best birthday ever!"
"Wait a minute, Trixie," Jim said quietly. He had been strangely quiet throughout the evening. "I have something for you, too." He pressed a card and a little box into her hands. She smiled up at him. He smiled briefly in return, then quickly sat down and looked at his feet. Puzzled, she opened the card and blushed as she silently read it.
For Trixie (my good luck girl),
I’ll always be grateful that when I was down on my luck, you burst into my life.
Every day, I’m so glad you did – I treasure your friendship.
Whatever happens, wherever you go,
May your good luck last forever!
Happy Birthday!
Jim
Biting her bottom lip, she blinked hard and looked up to meet his anxious gaze. For just a moment, she forgot everyone else in the room as his eyes softened and they just looked at each other. Then he nodded at the gift in her hand and mouthed, "Open it." As she flipped up the lid of the box, she drew in her breath at the sight of the sterling silver horseshoe stickpin. The filigree cutwork on the center of the horseshoe caught the light and made it sparkle almost like stones. She found her voice and said breathlessly, "Jim, it’s absolutely beautiful - I love it! Thank you!" Hesitating only slightly, she ran over to him and leaned down to give him a brief hug. She was surprised when he held onto her a moment longer and whispered almost desperately, "Trix, I’ve got to talk to you alone." She just nodded, conscious now of everyone watching and moved away.
"Okay, can we have the cake now?" Mart asked. "I’ll take a large piece, please!"
The cake was almost gone when Trixie, fork paused in mid-air looked first at Di and then at Honey. "Gleeps, it just occurred to me!" she shouted and dropped her fork with a clang. Everyone looked at her in surprise.
"Are you attempting to communicate that your cerebrum has once again sputtered to life, however briefly?" teased Mart.
"At least I have one!" snapped Trixie. "If you’re so smart, Martypants, tell me this – why are Honey and Di still fourteen?"
Mart dropped his fork and turned to stare at the girls. "I know why we Beldens didn’t have birthdays," he said slowly, "but why didn’t you?"
"Gotcha, Mart! It’s not that hard to figure out," Trixie smiled warmly at her friends. "I’ll bet Honey and Di gave up their birthdays too, so they wouldn’t leave us behind!"
Honey nodded. "We talked it over with our parents and your parents, but we had to promise not to remind you of your birthdays, because since the rest of our families continued to have birthdays, we never really forgot ours like you did. But you’re right, Trixie, we could never leave you behind! We’re your best friends after all, and what kind of friends would…" she stopped short, clapped a hand over her mouth and looked at Jim. Jim sat looking miserably down at his feet.
"Thank you," Trixie said softly as she looked at her best friends. "You’ll never know how much that means to me. I’d have just died being a freshman so long without you."
"But what about Dan and Jim?" Brian asked. Jim winced at the question. "I always kind of wondered how Jim got to be older than me."
Studying his feet, Jim didn’t answer at first, then with a sigh, he looked up at his friend. "Dan couldn’t afford not to have at least one of his birthdays. And for me…well, remember right before we went to New York City?" Everyone nodded. Jim ran his hand through his red hair and quietly continued, "Well, on what should have been my sixteenth birthday, I decided to skip a whole year," he looked down, ashamed. "I figured it was kind of like skipping a grade. Heck, we’d had so many adventures I sort of felt I’d crammed two years of living into one. So I just skipped my sixteenth birthday and went straight on to seventeen. Then Brian, you decided to move your birthday up from October and turn seventeen before we left for New York City. Then you lost your birthdays, and I felt awful, but the only thing I could do was to skip my last birthday to try and make it up to you all. I’m sorry."
"It’s okay, Jim," Brian assured him. Jim shook his head.
"Oh, heavens, I’m so confused!" Di wailed. "Just how old is everyone now, anyway?"
"Let’s see," Trixie said trying to catch Jim’s eye. He wouldn’t look at her. "I just turned fifteen, so you and Honey will be fifteen soon, Mart will be sixteen next month, Bobby will be eight whenever, Jim will turn eighteen in July, and Brian will turn eighteen in October. As for Dan, well, we’ll just have to ask him how old he is, because, gleeps, I don’t think we’ve ever really known."
"Mart," Di whispered. "Would you write all this down for me?"
Trixie finally gave up trying to get Jim’s attention. She walked over and stood in front of him. "Would you all excuse Jim and me for a moment while you finish your cake?" she asked evenly. He stood, still refusing to look her in the eye and followed her through the kitchen, out to the terrace. She led him to the low stone wall, and sat down. He sat down next to her but didn’t say a word.
"Well, you said you wanted to talk to me alone," she prompted.
"Yes, I did," Jim turned and looked at her. There was enough light on the terrace for Trixie to see a glint of anger in his green eyes. "I intended to tell you everything first, alone, but you didn’t give me the chance."
"Sorry if you don’t like it, Jim, but figuring out things is what I do."
"Then why did it take you all this time to notice I was suddenly older than Brian?"
Trixie jumped up, "If you wanted to talk to me alone just to be rude, Jim Frayne," she flashed, "you can just forget it!"
"No, Trix, wait!" He caught her hand and pulled her back down beside him "I’m sorry. I’m upset with myself, not you. But I’m not being rude," explained Jim quietly, looking down at her startled face, " I’m seriously asking why you never noticed that I became older than Brian."
"Well, once we gave up our birthdays, we forgot about everyone’s birthday altogether - kind of like we were frozen in time or something," explained Trixie.
Jim shook his head sadly. "Huh-uh, Trixie, that won’t fly because I changed my birthday a few months before your family lost their birthdays."
Bewildered, she thought back to the summer they went to the Ozarks. Jim was right, she hadn’t noticed he’d suddenly become seventeen by the time they went to New York City. She hadn’t noticed that Brian had gotten older, either. Why? She looked up at Jim and shook her head. "I honestly don’t know why I never noticed, Jim," she whispered.
She caught the pain in his eyes the moment before he turned his head. He stared out into the darkness for a bit, then gave a short, hard laugh. "What I didn’t tell everyone inside was why I skipped over sixteen and went straight to seventeen. Interested?"
Silently, Trixie nodded, concerned by the strange edge in his voice. "I did it because sometimes I can really be a jerk. I did it because I wanted to be older than Dan."
"What?" gasped Trixie, "Why on earth did you want to be older than Dan?"
"Because I wanted you to notice me - I was afraid things were changing between us. Everything was fine then Dan showed up and rescued you and Bobby in the woods. I wasn’t there for you. You went from disliking Dan to becoming good friends with him."
Wide-eyed, Trixie asked incredulously, "You were jealous of Dan?"
"Sure," nodded Jim, "Dan - the good looking man of mystery. Heck, I know how you love a mystery, Trixie.
When we went to Iowa, I was kind of glad he couldn’t go, things were looking up for us. But we came home and well… I started doing things to get you to notice me."
"Like w-what things?"
Jim laughed again. "I turned my green eyes blue for you. Pretty pathetic, huh?"
"When did you do that?"
"In Missouri. Don’t you remember in the cave? When my strong arms gathered you up, you looked into my anxious blue eyes. You never noticed."
"Jeepers, Jim, I was pretty much drowned, I don’t think I’d have noticed if you’d have sprouted antlers!" protested Trixie.
"Well, my eyes were blue the whole week and no one ever said a thing." He ran his hands through his hair again. "It was pretty stupid. I made myself seventeen because I wasn’t sure how old Dan was exactly. Really stupid, eh? But the worst thing is, I really like Dan. He’s a great guy. I just didn’t want to lose you to him, not that I’ve ever known where I stand with you. Funny thing is, once I turned seventeen, I could see how dumb I’d been but it was too late to do anything about it. So, I just kept my mouth shut and went on. I figured from then on out, I’d just stay seventeen as long as Brian did. Now that you’re all having birthdays, I’ll just stay seventeen an extra year if you want me to. That way, we’ll all be back where we started." He turned to her again. "There you have it, Trix. I just wanted you to know. I’m sorry."
Trixie reached out, took Jim’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "Don’t feel bad anymore, Jim. I understand… I think." He looked into her big blue eyes for a moment and then for the first time that evening, his smile reached his eyes. Smiling happily back at him, Trixie said, "In some really weird way, I think it’s rather sweet that you’d do all that for me."
"Aw, Trixie," Jim said softly as he sandwiched her small hand between his own, "don’t you know by now that I’d do just about anything for you?"
Gazing into his deep green eyes, Trixie nodded and whispered, "I know you would, Jim. Not that you’d rob a bank or anything like that, or even do my homework for me because you’re usually so wonderful and honorable. I know you’d only do something for me if it were trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind…"
"Trixie," Jim interrupted gently, his eyes on her lips, "it’s kind of hard to hit a moving target."
"Oh," she breathed as he slipped an arm around her and leaned toward her.
"Hey you guys!" Mart bellowed from the kitchen door. "Moms and Dad are starting the games now. Better hurry!"
That night, Trixie climbed into bed, touched the horseshoe pin on her pajama top, and smiled as she pulled up the covers. The Bob-Whites had come full circle, back to where they belonged. All was right with her world.
"Now," she thought just before she drifted off to sleep, "if only a better writer can find me a real mystery…"
The End