him know all was well.
“So, everybody’s okay?” Cowboy asked.
It was so good to see him. And that was such a
nice
question. And outside the garage, he was different somehow—not under a car and not distracted. His face was giving back the last little glow of the sun, especially along the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheekbones. How good it was to have time to look at each other here in the road—and
oh
, here I was in my ugly sweatpants. Awesome.
“Hi, guys,” Cowboy addressed Favian and Avel. “Hey, I’m a friend.” He put his thumb to his chest. “Not some creepydude. You get that, right?”
“That’s right,” I said. “We’re all good here.” Maybe I should have thought up an introduction. But I was totally thrown, running into Cowboy this way. He was a secret of mine. I didn’t want to give that up.
“So, where’re you heading with your . . .
ice-cream dishes
, is it?” Cowboy squinted.
I laughed a little and Favian piped up. “Home. We live across there.”
Cowboy craned for a peek out the passenger’s window. “Down that path?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“Oh. Okay. So you’re not lost and you don’t need a ride?”
“Nope,” I said. He was making me wish otherwise.
“Okay.” He hung a second, grinning at me. He checked his rearview. “Why don’t you go ahead and cross now then?”
“Thanks!” Favian called. Both boys shot ahead of me.
“Well,” I said, feeling a little awkward. “Nice to see you.” I took one parfait glass in my hand and walked it along the hood of the truck as I passed in front.
Cowboy leaned toward the passenger’s side window and said, “Good night, Beta.”
I started slowly back along the swath. The boys crisscrossed ahead of me as if lacing the path like a shoe.
I sniffed a laugh.
Saturday night and I got to see Cowboy
, Ithought.
And
, I realized, I had forgotten to feel so bad about everything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I turned to look back at River Road, noted the narrowing of the path—the perspective.
“The bad stuff goes away when I’m around you.” I whispered it. Suddenly, my eyes burned. Tears surprised me. Oh, oh, and why? What was this? I shook my head. I didn’t have time to cry. I had to catch up to the boys—with their muddy shoes. I tucked the ice-cream dishes closer and switched from stroll to stride.
“Hey, dorks!” I called, and I heard them laughing out of the dusk. “Wait up!”
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
..................................................................
Nineteen
T HE LIGHTEST RAIN WAS FALLING ON M ONDAY MORNING —the kind where you don’t think you are getting wet until you feel the dryness of stepping indoors. It was like that for me as I arrived at Unit 37. As soon as Cowboy saw me he said, “Well, that was a day-topper.”
“Day-topper?” I asked. I handed off his coffee. He set the cup on the hood of the silver Chevy—the one he called “the ’57.” He reached into his back pocket, pulled out a twenty, and held it toward me. “For the coffee fund.”
I didn’t want his money but he flapped the bill at me and I took it rather than get into a thing over it. But I gave him an eye-roll to say,
Ridiculous
.
“What’s a day-topper?” I asked again.
“Oh, that. I’m not sure. I might have made it up. But seeing you out on River Road on Saturday evening—it was a nice way to top off the day.”
I steeled myself not to go all smiley and dopey. “Yeah, for me too,” I said, and I sounded wistful even to myself. I recovered. “Well, because otherwise Saturday night was just another night of babysitting. I mean, I like my bitty bros and all.”
“They seem like good men,” he said.
I grinned. “
Men
. They’d like it if they heard you say that about them. Sorry for not introducing them. Favian is the big one and Avel is the little one. I call them Fave and Ave.”
“Well, you’d have
“So, everybody’s okay?” Cowboy asked.
It was so good to see him. And that was such a
nice
question. And outside the garage, he was different somehow—not under a car and not distracted. His face was giving back the last little glow of the sun, especially along the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheekbones. How good it was to have time to look at each other here in the road—and
oh
, here I was in my ugly sweatpants. Awesome.
“Hi, guys,” Cowboy addressed Favian and Avel. “Hey, I’m a friend.” He put his thumb to his chest. “Not some creepydude. You get that, right?”
“That’s right,” I said. “We’re all good here.” Maybe I should have thought up an introduction. But I was totally thrown, running into Cowboy this way. He was a secret of mine. I didn’t want to give that up.
“So, where’re you heading with your . . .
ice-cream dishes
, is it?” Cowboy squinted.
I laughed a little and Favian piped up. “Home. We live across there.”
Cowboy craned for a peek out the passenger’s window. “Down that path?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“Oh. Okay. So you’re not lost and you don’t need a ride?”
“Nope,” I said. He was making me wish otherwise.
“Okay.” He hung a second, grinning at me. He checked his rearview. “Why don’t you go ahead and cross now then?”
“Thanks!” Favian called. Both boys shot ahead of me.
“Well,” I said, feeling a little awkward. “Nice to see you.” I took one parfait glass in my hand and walked it along the hood of the truck as I passed in front.
Cowboy leaned toward the passenger’s side window and said, “Good night, Beta.”
I started slowly back along the swath. The boys crisscrossed ahead of me as if lacing the path like a shoe.
I sniffed a laugh.
Saturday night and I got to see Cowboy
, Ithought.
And
, I realized, I had forgotten to feel so bad about everything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I turned to look back at River Road, noted the narrowing of the path—the perspective.
“The bad stuff goes away when I’m around you.” I whispered it. Suddenly, my eyes burned. Tears surprised me. Oh, oh, and why? What was this? I shook my head. I didn’t have time to cry. I had to catch up to the boys—with their muddy shoes. I tucked the ice-cream dishes closer and switched from stroll to stride.
“Hey, dorks!” I called, and I heard them laughing out of the dusk. “Wait up!”
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
..................................................................
Nineteen
T HE LIGHTEST RAIN WAS FALLING ON M ONDAY MORNING —the kind where you don’t think you are getting wet until you feel the dryness of stepping indoors. It was like that for me as I arrived at Unit 37. As soon as Cowboy saw me he said, “Well, that was a day-topper.”
“Day-topper?” I asked. I handed off his coffee. He set the cup on the hood of the silver Chevy—the one he called “the ’57.” He reached into his back pocket, pulled out a twenty, and held it toward me. “For the coffee fund.”
I didn’t want his money but he flapped the bill at me and I took it rather than get into a thing over it. But I gave him an eye-roll to say,
Ridiculous
.
“What’s a day-topper?” I asked again.
“Oh, that. I’m not sure. I might have made it up. But seeing you out on River Road on Saturday evening—it was a nice way to top off the day.”
I steeled myself not to go all smiley and dopey. “Yeah, for me too,” I said, and I sounded wistful even to myself. I recovered. “Well, because otherwise Saturday night was just another night of babysitting. I mean, I like my bitty bros and all.”
“They seem like good men,” he said.
I grinned. “
Men
. They’d like it if they heard you say that about them. Sorry for not introducing them. Favian is the big one and Avel is the little one. I call them Fave and Ave.”
“Well, you’d have
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