Enchanted Ivy

CHAPTER Eighteen

Six months later

Lily straightened her sword arm. "Is this right?"

On the benches behind Vineyard Club, Tye lounged as he bit into a cheesesteak. "Sure," he said around the oozing ketchup, "if you want to topple over."

She glared at him. "Very funny," she said. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. She'd been sweating so much that it had started to frizz. She wished she'd worn short sleeves, but she hadn't expected to sweat so much in December. It was all Jake's fault, of course. He thought she needed extra practice.

"Jake, wanna show her?"

Flashing her a smile, Jake rammed his shoulder into hers.

Naturally, she flew sideways. She landed on the frozen grass with a thud. "Ow," she said. "Totally proves nothing. He could topple an elephant."

Always the gentleman, Jake held out his hand to help her back onto her feet. "You are nothing like an elephant," he said gravely.

As compliments went, it wasn't impressive, but she'd accept it. She dusted flecks of dirt off her shirt and jeans as she smiled at him. "Thanks, Jake."

Tye scowled. "You're flirting with my girlfriend again," he complained.

Jake's ears turned pink as he blushed. "I'll, um, get the practice swords."

Putting down his cheesesteak, Tye jumped off the bench and crossed to Lily as Jake went inside the club. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Just so you know," he said, "I am planning on sweeping you away tonight, feeding you ice cream, and then taking you to watch a phoenix rise."

Lily grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not the traditional dinner and a movie?"

"No dinner. Just an ice-cream cone," he said. "Your grandfather thinks I'm a bad influence. I have to maintain my reputation."

"He said that?" She'd have to talk with him. Again.

"Not in so many words." Tye wound his fingers through Lily's hair and then cupped her cheek in his hand. She felt the familiar tingle as their magic fizzed over her skin. He drew her closer and kissed her. His lips were soft and gentle and wonderful.

A familiar voice interrupted them. "I do think you're a bad influence. Please refrain from slobbering over my granddaughter in public." Tye and Lily jumped apart as Grandpa strode out of Vineyard Club. "Jake said I'd find you back here."

"Thanks, brother o' mine," Tye muttered.

"Grandpa ...," Lily began.

He held up a hand. "You have a letter," he said.

Lily felt her heart hammer faster. "Oh?"

"You're delivering—," Tye started. "Ooh. Right. The letter."

Lily wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans and told herself to quit being nervous. The Old Boys had promised, and her application had been solid. She'd transferred to Princeton High School for senior year in order to be closer to Mom, but she'd kept up her grades and even taken on an extra AP class. "Big envelope or small?" she asked.

Grandpa's face was blank as he handed her a business-size envelope. She held it to her chest for a moment, trying to force her heart to calm down. It couldn't be a rejection, could it?

"Seriously? You're nervous?" Tye asked.

It was such a small envelope!

"Lily, you're amazing," Tye said. "Any school would say yes."

She studied the seal on the return address, and then she flipped the envelope over and ran her fingers over the back. Just open it, she told herself. Quit it with the melodrama. It has to be a yes. Unless the Old Boys didn't have the pull they thought they had ... Unless that "unprepared" in gym class hurt her GPA too much ...

Tye rolled his eyes at her. "Bet you submitted other college applications, too," he said. "Just in case."

She blushed.

"Lily!"

"Only Harvard," she said.

Grandpa frowned. "Why?"

"Well ... everyone needs a safety school."

Grandpa guffawed, slapping his thigh.

Tye plucked the envelope out of Lily's hands, ripped it open, and handed the letter to her unread. Taking a deep breath, she read the first sentence, and then she punched her fist with the letter into the air. "Yes!" she yelled.

"Congratulations, Princeton girl," Tye said. He grabbed her and kissed her forehead.

Brushing Tye aside, Grandpa scooped Lily up and swung her in a circle exactly as he had when she was a little girl. "I am so proud of you, my tigerlily."

She beamed at him.

"Never mind the ice-cream cone," Tye said. "I'm buying you a banana split."

Over Grandpa's shoulder, she said, "You're on."

Lily read through the entire letter to make sure the first sentence hadn't lied. She couldn't stop smiling. Everything inside her was singing, not just the trees.

It was finally really, truly, irrevocably real.

"I need to tell Mom. Want to come?" she asked Grandpa.

He hesitated. "Love to, but I can't. We had another emergency—some alum has sold his photos to an obscure tabloid. We're maneuvering to buy the tabloid." Since June, the Old Boys had had their hands full pulling strings, leaning on the media, and planting information to try to bury the truth of what had happened. "Sometimes I wish I'd never left the flower shop," Grandpa said, making a face. Lily knew he didn't mean it. He was the new leader of the knights, and Lily had never seen him so happy. He whistled all the time, often starting at six a.m., which was less than charming, especially since her new bedroom was next to his. "Tell your mother that I'll come on Sunday."

"Will do," she said. She hugged him.

He frowned at her. "Put on your coat. Your mother would never forgive me if I let you freeze."

Obediently, Lily fetched her coat. She kissed his cheek, and then she grabbed Tye's hand and headed across campus. He laughed as she dragged him faster down the sidewalk and through the 1879 Hall arch.

Both of them waved up at the monkey gargoyles, and the monkeys waved back. One of them skittered down the brick. Tye paused to scratch him under the chin, which made a sound like scraping stone. Lily waited for him impatiently.

They crossed the rest of campus in less than three minutes.

Together, they plunged through the gate. Tye waved up at the gold eagles. "Hey, guys. Guess what?" He pointed to Lily's letter. She grinned as the eagles screeched approval. "You go ahead," Tye said. "You should tell your mom the news without interlopers."

"You're not an interloper," Lily said. "She likes you."

"I'll report to the council," he said.

"Thanks," she said. This time, she pulled him closer and kissed him. Above, the gold eagles whistled. Both Lily and Tye laughed as they moved apart.

She headed into the forest. Touching the bark of an evergreen, she felt its song whisper through her. The ferns and underbrush spread away to create a path for her. Lily broke into a jog and then a run as the path opened before her, leading to Mom's grove.

Mom was waiting for her. She looked as beautiful as a green goddess. Her pale green hair wreathed her head like a crown, and flowers clung to her skin and her dress. Ivy vines were twisted around her arms and calves, and tiny rosebuds filled her pockets. "Lily, is anything wrong? The trees told me—"

Lily barreled into her and hugged her. "It's real! I'm in! Look!" She waved the acceptance letter in front of her.

Mom laughed.

Without knowing exactly why, Lily began to cry. She hugged her mother, and her mother hugged her back and laughed and cried, too.

"Your father would be so proud of you," Mom said.

Lily wiped her eyes. "You remembered more?"

Mom's smile lit the grove like a mini sun. All around, leaves burst out of the trees in defiance of winter. "Oh, yes," Mom said. "I remember him perfectly."

"Tell me everything," Lily said.

Tapping the ground with her foot, Mom caused a tree root to buckle up through the earth. She sat down on it and patted the spot next to her. Lily sat. "Your father was a wonderful man," Mom said, "for a human."

"Mom!"

Her mother laughed. "He had your eyes and your laugh, and he loved you so much. One time, when you were just a baby ..." Around them, the forest fell silent, as every tree listened with Lily.