~Chapter 1~
Love and a Question
(originally posted June 12, 2007)

"Trixie!” Honey Wheeler called from across the school courtyard.  “Over here!”

Trixie Belden hurried over to her honey-haired friend, who was waiting with Diana Lynch in a somewhat less than orderly line of seniors waiting impatiently for the commencement ceremonies at Sleepyside Junior Senior High School to begin. 

Trixie held her mortarboard firmly to her head as she rushed to join the line all set to move forward into the auditorium.  Freckled face flushed with excitement, Trixie grabbed her two best friends’ hands in hers and exclaimed, “Can you believe it?  We actually made it through high school!”

“Yes, but you almost didn’t make it to your own graduation ceremony, Trix!” Honey chided.  “Where were you?”

“Oh, you’ll find out later,” Trixie said evasively, with a mischievous grin on her face. 

“Oh no!” Di wailed, “Not another mystery!”  But her violet eyes twinkled as she said it.

There was no time for her friends to quiz her however, for the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” could be heard emanating from the open auditorium doors and the students were filing their way in for the last time.

It was all Trixie could do to sit still during the ceremony.  From time to time, she could see Honey or Di surreptitiously wiping away a tear.  Trixie supposed this moment was sentimental, but she was too fidgety to be paying much attention.  She searched the seating area and found her family waving and taking pictures.  She smiled up at them.  She knew the Wheelers and Lynches were somewhere up there too.

Finally, the students paraded onto the stage one by one, receiving their diplomas and getting their pictures taken with the principal.  They all ceremoniously moved their tassels from left to right.  They all let out a hearty cheer as they threw their mortarboards into the air.  Chaos ensued as the students scrambled on the floor, each trying to find their hat and tassel for a souvenir, or at least one somewhere near the right size.  Family and friends migrated down from the seating area.  Congratulations and hugs and tears and photos abounded.  And graduation was over.

After standing for countless photos with family and friends, classmates and teachers, Trixie was finally able to corral Honey and Di.  Laughing about the spots in front of their eyes from so many camera flashes, and chattering about the highlights of the ceremony and the joint graduation party to take place at the Lynch estate the next afternoon, Honey and Di seemed to have forgotten all about Trixie’s surprise.  Without saying a word, she merely linked each of her arms through one of theirs and steered them out towards the school parking lot and the B.W.G. station wagon.

When they were halfway across the lot, almost simultaneously Honey and Di stopped dead in their tracks.  There, leaning against the back of the station wagon were the two older Belden boys.

Squealing in delight, Honey and Di extricated themselves from Trixie’s arms and rushed headlong into her brothers’ arms, raining kisses upon their faces, as Brian and Mart stood bemused, pleased, and slightly embarrassed.  The cacophony of voices that ensued was deafening.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here!”

“How on earth did you get the time away?”

”Congratulations on surviving high school, Trixie!”

“One at a time, please!”

“Trixie, you knew all about this!  You sneak!”

“When did you get into Sleepyside?”

”No, when did you get back to the United States!?”

“I’m glad your party is tomorrow afternoon, because I am seriously jet lagged!”

“You haven’t answered my emails in weeks, Mart!”

“How long are you staying?”

Finally letting loose a shrill bobwhite whistle, Mart brought a halt to the clamor.  “Oh, my cranium!  You girls haven’t changed a bit, you know!  I kindly make supplications that you damsels bestow upon your peripatetic friend some much needed torpidity and quietude before I continue.”

All three girls and Brian laughed heartily.  “We’re not the only ones that haven’t changed around here, Mr. Thesaurus!” giggled Diana, her arms securely around her beau.

“Yes, but I can also say that in somewhat rudimentary Kiswahili as well, not that you would understand me anyway.”

Trixie snorted inelegantly.  “We can’t understand you in English, smart guy, so what’s the difference?”  Mart and Trixie were “almost twins”, born exactly eleven months apart.  Though they often bickered, their true affection for one another was obvious to everyone who knew them.

The five B.W.G.’s piled into the station wagon for the ride back to Crabapple Farm, while Brian and Mart filled the girls in on what brought them back to Sleepyside.  Mart, in particular, chattered away excitedly about all that he was doing and all that his group was accomplishing.

Mart had chosen to temporarily set aside college for some hands-on experience in Africa.  He worked with a volunteer group that helped people in severe drought areas learn different methods of farming and irrigation to help cope with their extreme climate.  He had been so affected by the poverty he encountered that he was determined to stay as long as necessary, he said, traveling from village to village, helping the natives learn about modern farming.  He had emailed and called whenever he had the chance, but often worked in remote locales where that kind of communication was just not possible.  His loved ones had often gone weeks, and sometimes even months, before they heard from him.

Brian was the eldest of the four Belden children.  He had dark hair and dark eyes, like his father, while his three younger siblings all favored their fair-haired, blue-eyed mother.  Inspired by his younger brother, Brian had elected to take a year off in the midst of his undergraduate studies and volunteered with an overseas health awareness organization.  He had been through several countries in Africa, helping to administer vaccinations and teaching the natives about HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, as well as basic medical care and nutrition.  Working mostly in hospitals in larger cities, he had been able to communicate with home on a more regular basis than Mart, though his work often kept him so busy he had little time for more than a quick update. 

Diana and Honey had suffered patiently, as everybody expected they would.  Mr. and Mrs. Belden, on the other hand, had just suffered.  Trixie frequently had fits of impatience and anxiety when what she considered to be “an eternity” would go by without hearing from her brothers.  She had worked hard over the past several weeks, cajoling, pleading and begging her brothers to get them home for this weekend.  And it wasn’t just for Honey and Di, she knew.  She missed her big brothers too.

It wasn’t long before the station wagon was pulling into the drive at Crabapple Farm.  Brian and Honey slid out of the backseat and Brian announced he was walking Honey back up to the Manor House, the elegant estate on the hill where she lived with her family.

“What’s the point of that, Brian?”  Trixie asked in a puzzled tone.  “You know Moms and Dad and Bobby are dying to see her.  And Moms will probably invite her over for dinner.  Why don’t you two just stay here?”

“Well…Honey probably wants to change into something more comfortable,” Brian suggested.  “And besides, it’ll be several hours until dinnertime.  Moms and Dad and Bobby can visit with her then.”  And without waiting for a reply, he took Honey’s hand in his and headed off up the path towards the Manor House.

Trixie opened her mouth to continue the argument, but Diana softly interrupted, “Trixie…they want to be alone.”

“Oh.  Of course they do,” Trixie mumbled as her face grew red.  She knew she couldn’t expect to monopolize her brothers’ time while they were here.  Shoulders sagging slightly in disappointment, she turned to walk into the house.

“I’m driving Diana home,” Mart announced to her retreating back, and pulled the station wagon out of the driveway.

Unlike the drive out of town, the drive to the Lynch estate passed in silence.  It wasn’t until they turned into the long, meandering driveway that Diana finally spoke.  “You’re not coming back, are you?”  It wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement.  She just knew.

Mart tried to evade.  “Of course I’ll be back.”  But he realized he was just prolonging the inevitable.  He sighed and continued.  “Of course, I can’t guarantee I’ll be home at the holidays or for summer vacation, but I’ll visit whenever I can.”  He tried to catch Diana’s eyes, but she had her head bowed and her long black hair hid her face from him.  He pulled the car over to the side of the driveway, still out of sight from the house, and turned to her.  “This is really important to me, Di,” he said.  “This is important to a lot of people.”

“Oh, I know!” Diana said quickly.  “It was so obvious on the way back from school how happy you are.  You were so excited you didn’t even use your big words.  I’m so proud of you too.  I just wish your important work weren’t so far away from here.”

Her tone was light, but Mart knew she was just covering.  He reached over and put his fingers under her chin, lifting and turning her head towards him.  Her beautiful violet eyes were filled with tears.  “This work is important, Diana.  But you’re important to me too.”  Mart hesitated then suggested tentatively, “You could come with me.”

“You know that would never work out, Mart.  College is important to me.  My mother never finished college and I feel like I should set a good example for my brothers and sisters.  Anyway,” she laughed weakly, “I doubt there is much need for art majors in Tanzania.”

Mart squeezed her hand.  “There’s always a need for volunteers with generous hearts and compassionate natures.”

Diana smiled through her tears.  “Thank you for that, Mart.”

They sat in awkward silence for a couple of minutes then suddenly, as if the weight of the world was upon their shoulders, they both sighed heavily at the same time.  That brought tremulous smiles to their faces.

“So.  I guess this is it then,” Mart said.

“I guess so.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything until Sunday.  I don’t want to spoil the party tomorrow.”

“You won’t.  We’re not the first Bob-White pair to split up.  We’re all friends first and foremost.  And nothing will ever change that.  Besides,” she grinned, “They’ll be plenty of food tomorrow for you to drown your sorrows in.  I’ll even get Daddy to donate the cost of what you eat to your organization.”  Mart smiled and Diana leaned over and pecked him chastely on the cheek, squeezed his hand and hurried out of the car and through the trees towards her house before he could see her cry.

*******************************************

Honey and Brian strolled hand in hand around the lake on their way up to the Manor House.  They didn’t converse, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.  In fact, Honey thought, she loved how much she enjoyed simply being with Brian.  It didn’t matter what they were doing, or whether or not they spoke.  Just being near him made her feel secure and peaceful and at ease.  It was just...right.

She had really missed him this last year and hoped he felt the same.  He spent his pre-med years on full scholarship to Columbia University and although he lived in a dorm on campus, he was close enough to visit home often.  Those visits home always included a trek up the hill to the Manor House.  Honey frequently went into the city to visit him too and often made excuses to stop by “just to say hi” when she and her mother came to the city on shopping trips.

Without telling him, she had applied to New York University, hoping to get accepted so they could live in the same city.  Then he had gone to Africa for a year before starting medical school.  She had only seen him once during that time, at Christmas.  Although it was like they had never been apart, she had worried frequently since then about his future plans.  Would he go back to Africa?  Would he want to go to medical school at Harvard?  Or Johns Hopkins?  Had the experience changed him?  Or changed the way he felt about her?

She stopped near the edge of the lake and no longer able to contain the flood of emotions within her, she burst out, “Brian, whatever you decide to do, I’m with you.  I’ll support you through medical school.  I’ll wait for you if you move away from New York.  I’ll follow you to Africa.  I’ll follow you to Afghanistan.  I’ll follow you to – to Antarctica!  I’ll go to the ends of the earth just to be with you.  I – I – I love you!”

The silence that followed was so complete Honey thought the world had stopped. She couldn’t even hear any birds singing in the trees, or the gentle waves on the lake lapping the shore.  She thought about what she had just said and her hazel eyes grew wide with shock.  It was so out of character for her.  It was so – so Trixie of her to behave so impetuously.  She wanted to take it all back.  She wanted to turn and run home and hide in her bedroom closet.

Brian let go of her hand and walked a few steps away from her, thrusting his hands into his pockets.  Honey’s brow wrinkled fretfully and she bit her lower lip to keep from saying anything more or bursting into tears.  She saw Brian shake his head slowly from side to side and she knew she had made a mistake. 

Raising his head and staring off into the distance, Brian spoke slowly, but surely.  “Honey, you have definitely spent far too much time with my sister.  Always speaking without thinking, just letting your heart do all the talking and not stopping to just take a breath and think it through for a minute before you leap into trouble.”  He turned halfway to her, but didn’t look at her. Taking a deep breath he continued, “Why don’t you let someone else take that leap for a change?”

In three quick steps he was in front of her and getting down on one knee.  Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he revealed a small black velvet box, which he opened and presented to her.  “Madeleine Wheeler, I will marry you tomorrow, I will marry you ten years from now, or anytime in between.  Just say you’ll be mine and I’ll be the happiest man on earth.  Will you marry me?”

Honey’s eyes shone brighter than the diamond in the ring Brian held out to her.  She couldn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply nodded her head vigorously and burst into tears as Brian slipped the ring on her finger.  He stood up and took her into his arms and held her close.  “Being away from you this past year just made me realize that I never want to be away from you again.”

*******************************************

Crabapple Farm was a bevy of happy activity that afternoon.  Brian and Honey had gone first to the Manor House to share their news with Honey’s parents, as well as Honey’s longtime governess and now Manor House estate manager, Miss Trask.  Rushing in and out like a whirlwind, they had hurriedly invited all to dinner at Crabapple Farm and raced back down the hill hand-in-hand to tell the Belden family.

“Now we’ll really, truly be sisters, Trixie!” Honey had exclaimed happily, hugging her dearest friend tight to her before turning and planting yet another kiss on her fiancé’s lips.

An impromptu celebratory cookout quickly got under way.  Mrs. Belden hurriedly took inventory of her kitchen, wrote up a list of what she needed and sent Mart to the grocery story, instructing him to pick up Diana on the way and invite her whole family to the cookout.  Mart didn’t argue.  He was glad of the chance to be alone with Diana. They needed to agree to keep their breakup quiet for a few days and let Honey and Brian enjoy their moment.  Mrs. Belden put the rest of the family to work readying the house and yard for the large number of people that would converge upon her in a few short hours.  She sent Brian and Honey to the phones, calling and inviting friends and neighbors to the gathering, and calling out-of-town relatives to share the news.

Trixie offered to go get fresh vegetables from the garden.  Relishing the chance to be alone for the moment, she took her cell phone with her out to the garden to make another important call.  The phone on the other end rang several times, and she feared she’d get the answering machine again, but finally he picked up.

“Jim Frayne.”

“Hi.  It’s Trixie.”

Jim hesitated, but only briefly, “Hi ya, Shamus.  What’s up?”

“You mean you haven’t heard yet?  I’m the first to call you?”

“Well, I just got in a minute or two ago.  The machine says I’ve got four messages.  Should I listen to them?”

”No, I’ll just tell you myself.  Brian and Honey got engaged today!”  Although there was some underlying tension, she couldn’t help but let the excitement of the news bubble over into her voice.  “I made sure Brian and Mart both got home for our graduation.  It was such a wonderful surprise for Honey and Di!  They took off right after we got home – Brian and Honey that is, not Honey and Di.  Well, I mean Di took off too, but she took off with Mart.  Brian took off with Honey...”

Jim couldn’t help laughing.  Trixie would never change.  And he did love that zest for life she had.  It was contagious.  ”I’m really happy for them.  I expect one of these messages is from my betrothed sister.  Maybe one from Mom and Dad?”  He laughed again.  “Who am I kidding?  They’re probably all from Honey!”

Trixie was glad to hear Jim’s husky laughter on the other end of the line.  It seemed like a long time since she had last heard it.  “I know you were planning to be here tomorrow for the graduation party, but do you think you could come down early and join us for dinner tonight?  Moms is preparing a traditional Belden feast and inviting everybody within a 500 mile radius, I think.”

After cramming four years of college into three, including taking summer classes, Jim had graduated with a dual degree in Business Management and Early Childhood Development.  Just last month he and his adoptive parents had finally broken ground on the boys’ school he had long dreamed of and Jim had been there overseeing the project seemingly round the clock.  The school would be located near Indian Lake, about four hours north of Sleepyside.

After he and Trixie had mutually decided that school, distance, careers, and the general busyness of their lives were making it too difficult for them to remain together, Jim had thrown his entire body and soul into the Winthrop School for Boys.  Most people assumed he was just zealous to get this dream underway and admired his dedication, but he knew there were other reasons that he worked himself to exhaustion every day, and he suspected Trixie understood that too.

“Sure, I can let the crew go early today and hit the road.  Give me half an hour or so, and I’ll be on my way.  Don’t hold up dinner on my account though.  I’ll be there in time for your mother’s famous apple pie, I promise.  Save me a piece, okay?”

Trixie breathed a sigh of relief.  “You bet.  I’ll guard it from Mart with my life!  So, we’ll see you tonight then.”

They had promised to remain friends, and friends they would remain.