Someone Like You

Halley sits in her room, awaiting punishment, and after an hour, Julia comes upstairs and informs her that she will be grounded for a month for skipping school and will also have indefinite phone restriction. She states that Halley’s birthday party will go on as planned, but otherwise, she may go to school and work and nowhere else. Halley’s mother then asks who the boy was that was driving her and Scarlett around town, and she asks if it was the same boy that cut the lawn. Halley resists telling her mother any information about Macon, but Julia presses until they fall into a stony silence.

The phone interrupts them, and Halley almost answers it, thinking it must be Macon, but then her father calls up the stairs to Halley’s mother that it is Marion on the phone. Julia speaks to Marion briefly and then tells Halley that she is going across the street to speak with her and Scarlett.

Halley watches her mother walk over to Scarlett’s house, talking to Marion first on the front walk before going inside. An hour and a half pass, and the Vaughns arrive for their usual Friday night movie viewing. At 8:15 pm, Marion walks Julia home, and she comes upstairs rather than joining the movie night.

Halley answers her door and sees her mother standing there with popcorn and a chocolate milkshake. Halley lets her come into the room, and Halley’s mother asks her why she did not tell her about Scarlett’s pregnancy earlier. Halley explains that Scarlett did not want anyone to know and that she knew her mother would have a strong reaction to the news. Julia explains that after speaking with them, Marion is hoping that Scarlett will decide to give the baby up for adoption, although she has accepted that Scarlett will go through with the pregnancy.

The conversation falls into an uneasy silence before Julia explains that Halley’s punishment still stands, even though she was helping Scarlett. She suggests that Halley come downstairs to watch the movie with them and the Vaughns, but Halley declines. Halley’s mother goes to leave but stops in the doorway, stating that Marion informed her that the boy driving them around was Macon and that he is Halley’s boyfriend. She asks why Halley never mentioned this to her, and Halley tries to downplay their relationship, saying that Macon is just a guy they know from school. Julia sighs, lingering in the doorway for a moment longer, before going downstairs.

The next day at work, Macon appears in Halley’s checkout line. She informs him that she passed her driving test earlier that morning and explains that she did not answer his phone call the night before because her parents caught her skipping school. She tells him that she is grounded for the next month, and he tells her that that is too bad for him before leaning in to kiss her and placing a candy bar in her work apron and leaving.

That night, Halley attends her birthday dinner alongside her parents, the Vaughns, and Scarlett. Halley is still angry with her mother for grounding her, but Scarlett insists that Julia is a “miracle worker” and helped convince Marion to let her go through with the pregnancy (126).

Halley’s mother proposes a toast to Halley, and she receives presents at home. As she gets ready for bed that night, she hears a car slowly progress down the street before stopping in front of her window and blinking its lights twice. Halley puts on her shoes and jacket and goes downstairs, slipping outside noiselessly.

Macon greets her from the driver’s seat, and Halley gets into the passenger’s seat. He asks if she is ready for her present but explains that they need to go somewhere first in order to get it. She panics, not wanting to get caught, but he pushes, insisting that she “[l]ive a little” on her birthday (128). She agrees, and they drive off.

Macon takes her to Topper Lake, about 20 minutes away, and he leads her through the dark, holding her hand. He suddenly stops, telling her that they have arrived at a location that he and Michael discovered a few years previously. Halley is surprised to hear him mention Michael, as he rarely talks about him. She tells Macon that she is sorry about Michael and how she would not know how to go on if something were to happen to Scarlett, and Macon states, “You think that, at first” (130). As they sit together, Halley thinks about how different things would be now if Michael had not taken that motorcycle ride and whether Halley would have met Macon.

Suddenly, Macon asks her if she is ready, and he takes another step, activating light sensors that illuminate the fact that they are standing on top of the dam near the lake. Halley is terrified and tries to pull away, but Macon pulls her even closer, kissing her. Halley closes her eyes, feeling exhilarated and like she is finally letting go of the girl in the photo at the Grand Canyon.

As Scarlett’s pregnancy progresses, she experiences symptoms such as nausea, moodiness, and food aversions. Scarlett and Halley frequently consult their “Pregnancy Bible,” a book entitled So You’re Pregnant—What Now? Since Halley’s birthday, things have changed between her and Macon, and she feels that their relationship has become more serious.

In commercial design class that morning, Elizabeth Gunderson approaches Halley and inquires about her relationship with Macon. Elizabeth says that Macon is a nice guy but warns Halley, “[A]s your friend, I think I should warn you to watch out […] he can be real sweet, but he’s treated a lot of girls pretty badly” (135). Elizabeth goes on to say that she got to know Macon well during her short relationship with Michael, and Halley brushes by her to try and end the conversation as quickly as possible.

Halley walks over to Scarlett to tell her about what happened with Elizabeth, but as soon as she reaches her, Scarlett rushes out of the room to be sick. Because no one outside of their parents and Macon know about Scarlett’s pregnancy, Halley tells their teacher that Scarlett has the flu. Halley tells the teacher that she will go check on Scarlett and finds her in the empty bathroom. Scarlett expresses frustration at her symptoms and states that she is afraid of the pregnancy symptoms getting worse as it progresses, considering that she is doing this on her own. Halley assures her that she is not alone in this pregnancy, but Scarlett states that it is not the same as if Michael were still alive. Scarlett admits that if Michael were still alive, she does not know whether they would have stayed together or not, but when she feels sick or stressed about the pregnancy, all she can think about is that she wants him there with her. As Scarlett begins listing a litany of concerns, Halley reminds her that she needs to remain strong for the baby now.

Just then, the girls hear the creak of a bathroom stall door and see Ginny Tabor emerge from a stall, having heard their entire conversation. She promises that she will not tell anyone that Scarlett is pregnant, but by lunch that afternoon, everyone is scrutinizing Scarlett. Scarlett is actually relieved that her secret is out and assures Halley that it is not her fault that everyone knows about the pregnancy now.

Halley’s grandma’s health begins to fail along with her memory. As Julia is preoccupied with organizing care for her mother, Halley’s punishment lapses, and she begins to go out to see Macon whenever she can. Scarlett’s pregnancy also becomes old news at school as new gossip fodder occurs. Marion continues to date Steve, who begins giving glimpses into his medieval reenactment alter ego by wearing a subtle silver medallion on a leather cord around his neck. Halley notices that Marion has become more motherly since she began dating Steve.

Scarlett befriends a transfer student, Cameron Newton, who has spent the last five years living in France, dresses in all black, and does not speak much. Scarlett explains that the day before in class, a girl had been making fun of Scarlett for her pregnancy. Scarlett began crying, but then Cameron made a life-like clay sculpture of the girl and dropped a book on the sculpture, flattening the figurine. Over the course of the week, Halley begins to befriend him as well, leaning on their common interest: Scarlett and her happiness.

Halley’s conflict with her mother continues, as Julia still does not approve of Macon. She tries to instate new rules, such as no phone calls after 10:30 pm. On nights when Halley cannot leave the house to see Macon, he begins driving by her house or parking nearby, idling, before speeding out of the neighborhood.

One night, an hour before Halley’s curfew, Macon takes her to the penthouse of a huge apartment building, where he lives. Macon’s mother is hosting a party, and he quickly steers her to his room without introducing them. Macon leaves Halley in his room to go get food, and she notices the photo of her family at the Grand Canyon stuck to his television screen. The photo has been altered: Halley’s mother has been “cut out neatly, leaving only [her] with [her] arm reaching nowhere, cut off at the elbow” (156). When Macon returns, Halley asks him where he acquired the photo, and he admits that he took it from Scarlett’s room.

Macon and Halley lay down on the bed and begin kissing. When they pause, Halley sees that it is nearly 10 minutes past her curfew. Macon drops her off at Scarlett’s house, and she walks through the kitchen, Scarlett is up sitting at the table reading her pregnancy book and eating ice cream. Halley quickly tells her that she will talk to her tomorrow before rushing home, pretending that she has been at Scarlett’s the entire night.

Halley’s parents are awake and know that she is lying about having been at Scarlett’s house. Her mother’s anger escalates, stating that she does not understand what has gotten into Halley lately. Halley’s parents tell her to go to bed, and she realizes that she will never go back to the girl she once was.

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Halley attends Scarlett’s four-month pregnancy checkup. Scarlett and the doctor discuss her recent symptoms, and Scarlett asks about the pain of childbirth. After the appointment, Scarlett tells Halley that she plans to take a birthing class and wonders if Marion would go with her, even though Marion is still convinced that Scarlett should place the baby with an adoptive family.

At work that afternoon, Halley’s mother appears in her grocery checkout line. She invites Halley to go to dinner with her after work, confirming the plan before Halley can even agree. At dinner, Julia says that she wants to talk about Macon, telling her that she is not happy with their relationship and the changes she has noticed in Halley since she and Macon began dating. Halley’s mother tells her that Macon is not good for her and that Halley has done little to help her parents get to know him. She concludes by stating that she and Halley’s father have decided that she can no longer see Macon.

Halley and her mother begin to argue, as Halley insists that Macon is not influencing her and that she will not end up falling in with a bad crowd. Julia tells her that she and Halley are similar in that they “have a tendency not to see people for what they really are,” and at this, Halley blanches and exclaims, “I am not like you” (170). This upsets her mother, and they drive home in silence, Halley feeling the distance between them.

When they arrive home, they see Steve walking into Marion and Scarlett’s house, and Halley notes the clunky leather boots with big buckles that he is wearing—another indication of his medieval reenactment attire. Inside their house, Halley’s father rushes toward them with the phone in his hand, stating that Grandma Halley has been hospitalized after sustaining a fall in her home. Julia speaks with the doctor and begins making plans to fly to Buffalo to see her mother. She tells Halley that Grandma Halley has to have hip surgery and has injured multiple ribs. Halley wants to comfort her mother and fix the tension between them, but her mother’s flight leaves in an hour, and there is no time to make amends. Halley goes to her room to do homework while her mother begins packing. Julia visits her briefly before she leaves, ruffling her hair and telling Halley that she will call when she lands. For a moment, they forget their argument, and Halley realizes that her own mother is also someone’s daughter.