I guess it just seemed rude, leaving her outside. Huh. You definitely saw it, too? Yup. Like the moon was shining… Hm. She sits on the couch. After a minute she mutters something. What? Just something that happened a long time ago. I inspect the window. Paint is chipped where it should be. No strange … Continue reading I don’t know why I invited her in.
I’m getting used to this: take my water bottle and backpack, climb to the third stone below the bridge, wait two minutes after the wind dies. No one bothers you. I jump off the last rock, pull my bag down, and someone’s in my tunnel. At least she keeps to herself. She lights a hand-rolled … Continue reading A commuter train whistles from downtown.
Her parents need her to work in the garage, and it’s going to take half the night. Why don’t you just come out when you’re done? I’ll be exhausted. I don’t want to walk like a zombie to get my diploma. Well, then why don’t my brother and I come over and help? We can … Continue reading Alice calls. She can’t go out.
Alice drops her purse into the booth. Sorry I’m late! I huff a little. She wiggles onto her bench and grabs the menu. Have you ordered? No, just got here. Oh, good. I already know I’m getting chicken-fried steak, but Alice decides for a while. Finally Angelos takes our orders. Alice still looks flushed. So … Continue reading I look at the wall clock.
Alice and I snake our bikes through the Morses Pond woods. Sharon White’s aunt and uncle will be in Vermont all weekend, and left her keys and charcoal. Alice’s legs keep drifting into the darkness, then returning, as if from somewhere else entirely. Is this the right way? I figure just keep going and we’ll … Continue reading A week before graduation,
Alice gooses my arm. Like you never wonder. Only in your dreams. I look Alice in the eye. Is me wanting to kiss girls actually a problem? She pinches me again. It’s your life. I don’t get it, but I accept it. …how are you trying to ‘accept’ it? Alice sighs. I follow her gaze: … Continue reading Alice gooses my arm.
They have lots to talk about in music and art, and even start writing a few songs together. The three of us become hard to separate. She even helps us lead a few swimming lessons, while the camp manager oversees a crafts class. Still, when Renee declares we were done a week before camp ends, … Continue reading It was a towering relief to see Alice liked Renee.
I don’t know what parents started feeding their girls in the late ‘60s—maybe it’s the New Hampshire runoff—they’re so well-behaved, so easy-going. I have far too much time to think about Renee. Renee, turns out, is a townie. She went to Corbitant when she was younger, counseled a few summers, and since she’s 19, she … Continue reading The first few days of camp are easier and harder than they have rights to be.
Renee didn’t introduce me to him the summer we met—I’d say he introduced us—but I’d never heard him before she placed the needle on “New Coat of Paint,” and her weight on me. I’m getting ahead of myself. Alice saw the clipping first, and I thought it would be great: spend the summer on the … Continue reading If there is one indisputable rock in this world, it is the genius of Tom Waits
We park our bikes in the woods by Longfellow Pond and walk the rest of the way. We crack leaves and twigs crack, but out here, we’re probably the only ones that can hear them. Why are we doing this, again? A postcard, I say. We enter through the window over the south stairs. He … Continue reading The streets are a dark map we have to remember our way through.
