The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer Page B

Not that
     he hadn’t keep secrets from Dad. But maybe if he were still alive, Jon wouldn’t have
     made such a mess of things.
    He and Luke sat in uncomfortable silence until Dr. Barner arrived. Jon rose, and Dr.
     Barner smiled and shook his hand. “This is a nice surprise,” he said. “Are you joining
     us for supper, Jon?”
    “Oh no,” Jon said. “No, thank you. I came here to talk something over with Luke.”
    “Jon wants to go to the authorities,” Luke said to his father. “To tell them about
     setting the school on fire.”
    “He knows?” Jon said.
    “I know,” Dr. Barner replied. “Luke told me after church on the eighteenth. He and
     I talked about it at great length.”
    “I asked Dad if I should go to the authorities,” Luke said.
    “I told him he should,” Dr. Barner said. “But only if all five of you agreed. I’ll
     tell you the same thing, Jon. Either all of you go or none of you goes.”
    “Dad said I’d have to tell them who was there with me,” Luke said. “I couldn’t lie
     and say I did it by myself. I’d never get away with it. They’d ask questions, like
     where did I get the matches. And there’s no way I’d rat on my friends.”
    “I’m not saying what you did was right, Jon,” Dr. Barner said. “But Luke was protecting
     the old man. The grubs who trashed the school before you got there had no such reason.
     They were simply drunken vandals.”
    There was no way of knowing who had trashed the school. Everyone was drunk that night,
     clavers as well as grubs. “The school was a mess,” Jon said. “But it could have been
     cleaned up. What we did was irreversible.”
    “Exactly,” Dr. Barner replied. “There’s nothing you can say or do that will change
     matters. So why throw your life away? I’ll say to you what I said to Luke. The important
     thing is to accept what you did was wrong and move on. I had him promise never to
     do anything like that again. I think you’ll feel better if you make that same promise.”
    “I promise,” Jon said, waiting to feel better.
    “Very good,” Dr. Barner said. “You’re sure you don’t want to stay for dinner, Jon?
     There’s always room for one more.”
    “No, thank you,” Jon said. “Lisa’s expecting me. And Gabe’ll be disappointed if I’m
     not there.”
    “Some other time, then,” Dr. Barner said. “Come, Luke. We don’t want to keep your
     mother waiting.”
    “I’ll be there in a minute,” Luke replied. “I’ll see Jon out.”
    “Don’t take too long,” Dr. Barner said. “You don’t want your dinner to get cold.”
    “I won’t,” Luke said. “Come on, Jon.”
    Jon followed Luke down the stairs and outside. “I didn’t want to say this in front
     of Dad,” Luke said softly. “But I talked to Tyler yesterday. I’ve wanted to for a
     while, and when you said Lisa had passed, I figured the time was right.”
    “What did he say?” Jon asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.
    “He said his father thinks the grubs burned the school down,” Luke replied. “And Tyler
     wants to keep it that way. Tyler can’t go after me. We’re family. But he said if either
     one of us talks, he’ll see to it you’re sent to the mines. That family of yours in
     White Birch? They’ll end up there, too, like those grubber women who complained about
     Zach’s grandfather. Everyone knew they were telling the truth. That’s why he got thrown
     out of Sexton. But the grubs were sent to the mines anyway.”
    Jon thought of Alex and Miranda and their baby. He had no right to destroy their lives.
     “I’ll keep quiet,” he said. “I swear it.”
    “There’s something else,” Luke said. “Sarah.”
    “What about her?” Jon asked.
    “Look, I know about the two of you,” Luke declared. “Sarah talks to me.”
    “I thought now that Lisa’s okay, I’d try to make it up to Sarah,” Jon said.
    “That’s what she wants,” Luke replied. “But you can’t let that happen.