Betsy Eliot - The Brain and The Beauty

Certainly nothing about him fit her image of a super-genius, though even as that thought registered, she realized how narrow-minded it was. How many people had unthinkingly said the same thing about Robbie, as if brain function was somehow related to hair color and weak vision?

She supposed it was just some misguided attempt to explain her unusual physical reaction to him. Her palms were sweating and her heart was beating a little faster, and her reaction had nothing to do with the visual daggers Dr. Waters was throwing at her. Although she wouldn’t have admitted it, her response to Dr. Waters the other day was the real reason she’d run away rather than confronting him about his identity. She was sure he’d be amused by her reaction if he knew, but she had no intention of letting him in on the secret. She couldn’t afford the contempt that was sure to follow her foolishness. She had to convince this man to help her.

“Dr. Waters, I have to talk to you about my son, Robbie. As I wrote to you in my letters, he’s a certified child genius. His IQ is off the charts. When he started preschool, his teachers thought he had a learning disability until they figured out that he was so far advanced. They gave him a slew of tests and each one came back with more startling results than the last.”

“Mrs. Melrose…”

Abby didn’t give him a chance to continue with the brush-off she knew was coming. “Toward the end of the school year, I got called in to a meeting with the principal of the elementary school Robbie was supposed to attend next year. I figured they might want to have him skip a few grades since he’s pretty much mastered the alphabet and counting to ten.” She could tell the sarcasm wasn’t lost on him. “Instead he told me that Robbie might be better off if he looked elsewhere for his education.”

She knew she was babbling, but she couldn’t stop herself now that the words had begun to flow. “The school said that according to his scores, he might be able to skip elementary or even high school all together if he passed a few tests. Can you imagine him in college? He’s not even allowed to go to the store by himself.”

She wasn’t sure, but she thought she caught a glimpse of sympathy through his gruff exterior.

“They suggested home schooling as an alternative.” She laughed harshly at the thought of trying to teach Robbie herself, then paused for breath and to control the tears that threatened. “Although they used all these fancy words to explain their decision, the bottom line is that they don’t have any programs challenging enough for him. I haven’t told Robbie. He’d be crushed if he knew. He’s been looking forward to going to a real school since he could walk.”

She barely caught the wince he tried to hide. “There’s nothing I can do for him here, either.”

“That’s not true. Most of the higher level schools I’ve contacted have policies against taking students as young as Robbie and the lower level ones are worried that he’d be smarter than most of their teachers, not to mention the students. Then I read an article about your school and I knew you’d faced this kind of situation before.”

“What did it say?” he snapped, his eyes blazing.

“It was a story about Still Waters and the kind of kids who went there. I think it was written right after you’d opened.” He seemed to relax and she wondered at the cause, but didn’t pause to consider the reason. She had to make him understand. “Robbie would have fit right in. He is different from other children. He has different needs, a different future ahead of him.”

His face hardened before her eyes and she’d been so sure it had already been formed out of granite. “How terrible for you to have to deal with such a burden.”

She gasped, horrified that he’d gotten the wrong idea. “It’s not a burden.” Or if, secretly, it was occasionally almost too much to handle, it was a burden she carried with pride. “I’ll do whatever I can to help Robbie. He’s such an amazing child. He’s brilliant, yes, but he’s also got this wonderful sense of adventure and mischief. He’s a sensitive kid, worried about the future of everyone on the entire planet, and he asks the most thoughtful questions. Unfortunately I don’t have the answers for him.”

“What makes you think I do?”

“There are a lot of similarities between you and Robbie. You were both very young when your…gift was discovered.” Although she was certain both of them would sometimes consider it a curse. “You both have extremely high IQs.” She paused, searching for the right words. “You know what it’s like to be different from everybody else.”

At her words, he froze and she wondered what she’d said to put that look on his face. Then he smiled with malicious satisfaction as if she’d stepped into a trap. “Let me put this in a way you can understand,” he said, speaking slowly. “Go back to Pittsburgh. I can’t help you.”

Abby bristled at the familiar condescending tone, but strangely it was just the bolster she needed. Just because he was smarter than she was, didn’t mean he should underestimate her.

She’d been acting under the assumption that he hadn’t known about Robbie, but if he recalled where they came from, he must have read the letters she’d sent him. He undoubtedly knew everything. He’d probably known from the beginning. And she’d been wasting her time giving him background information he’d been aware of all along.

“I’m not going back until I figure out what to do with Robbie in the fall,” she told him. “We’re staying here in Wharton for the summer, so you might as well get used to it.”

The brush-off he’d appeared ready to give her halted as he stared at her. She could practically see his mind processing this new information. “You came five hundred miles without a backup plan if I didn’t agree to help you?”

“Five hundred and sixty-three miles,” she corrected, thinking of Robbie’s calculations.

His brows furled as if trying to figure out a particularly perplexing problem.

“We’re staying at the Sunshine Lodge.”

Those same brows lifted with surprise. “Edith Crawley’s place? And you still came back here? You must either be very determined or very stupid.”

The well-aimed jab should have been expected but it still hurt. She tried not to let it get to her. What he thought of her was unimportant.

It was true that when she’d mentioned contacting him, Mrs. Crawley had entertained her with a number of horror stories accusing him of everything from brainwashing babies to running a cult. Abby preferred to make her own decisions, but so far, everything her new landlord said seemed a possibility.

“We are not going back. Robbie’s going to have to make a change anyway, in the fall,” she explained. Even if she hadn’t figured out exactly where they’d be going, one thing was for certain—she wasn’t going to abandon her son. Wherever they went, they’d be together. “I’ve got money saved, enough to hold us for a while.”

He appeared on the verge of arguing with her before he caught himself. “I don’t care what you do. Just as long as you don’t do it here. Now go away.”

“I’m not leaving until you hear what I have to say.”

“I don’t care what you have to say,” he growled.

For Robbie’s sake, she couldn’t accept that answer. “But you used to be a teacher. Your school—”

“The school’s closed. I don’t do that anymore.”

If Abby hadn’t been standing close enough to keep him from closing the door on her, she’d have missed the flash of pain in his eyes. She’d never found out why he had closed his school, she realized. After meeting him, she figured he’d simply scared his students away with all his growls and grumblings, but now she wondered if there wasn’t some deeper reason.

From inside the house, a kitchen timer went off. Dr. Waters began to tug his gloves back on and turned to go. Discussion over.

“Wait! You don’t understand…” Without thinking, she grabbed his arm.

Slowly, and with great curiosity, he looked down at her hand, considering it as if deciding whether or not to chew it off. He didn’t pull away, however.

“On the contrary, Mrs. Melrose. I believe it is you who does not completely comprehend the situation.”

She tipped her chin up, refusing to be intimidated. “You haven’t even listened to all the facts before making your decision!” she challenged. “What kind of genius are you?”

To her surprise, he burst out laughing. At first she thought he was laughing at her, but then she realized there was no humor in the sound. “That’s the first time my intellect has been questioned since I was old enough to walk.”

She swallowed and pulled her gaze away from his powerful smile. It was nearly as bright as his mind. “Well, maybe it’s about time.”

He didn’t respond right away, deliberating with great care. For once, Abby remained quiet. She might not have the intelligence to match this man but she’d always been good at reading people. Her best shot now was to let him decide on his own. Then if he made the wrong decision, she’d figure out some other way to push him. It would be no more difficult than budging your average mountain.

“If I listen to what you have to say,” he asked finally, “will you leave me alone?”

“Yes,” she lied.

He stepped back, throwing his face into the shadows and making himself appear even more menacing. “Then by all means, please come in.”

Abby took a deep breath and told herself it was relief humming through her bloodstream. She couldn’t run now, though every ounce of common sense she possessed told her to do just that. She reminded herself that he was just a man. But somehow that made her feel even worse. She pictured her son, trying to understand why the kids his age made fun of him, quietly facing the adjustments that had come after a series of tests, looking to her—to her!—to figure out what happened next.

Abby lifted her chin and stepped through the doorway into the world of a genius. Even with every bit of her own intellect on alert, she didn’t have a clue about what to do next.

Jeremy analyzed his decision to allow her even this brief opening into his life. Contemplating it from every facet, he concluded he was simply out of his mind.

Actually that wasn’t far from the truth. Whenever he looked at the tenacious Mrs. Melrose, he seemed to lose his renowned ability to reason.

He glanced over his shoulder to see if she was still following or if she’d run screaming from the house. No such luck. She was peering with curiosity into each of the rooms they passed. What did she expect to see? he wondered. Caged animals prepared for scientific experiments? Food in pouches, served on petri dishes?

“Do you live here all alone?” she asked.

“Yes. There’s no one around for miles.” He leered menacingly but she gave no indication that it had the desired effect.

“It’s a big house for one person. Did you design it purposely to scare people away?” she asked bluntly.

Jeremy was caught so unprepared by her candor that he answered with equal honesty. “That’s just a side benefit. The house was built by an old Hollywood horror film star. It suited my purpose.”

“You mean for your school, Still Waters?”

“The school is not up for discussion.” His angry voice echoed through the empty rooms.

Abby’s eyes widened and he saw a glimmer of fear that she attempted to hide. Still, she continued to follow him. Jeremy didn’t know if it was stubbornness or foolishness that made her do so. Although he couldn’t be sure of her reasons, at least he had managed to figure out his own. He concluded that allowing her into his home, his sanctuary, was a form of self-torture. Having her around made him recall how different he still was.