Kate rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she knew, it was that her mother knew nothing about how hard life could be for a teenager. "No shit. "
"Im going to pretend I didnt hear that word from you. Itll be easy because Ill never hear it again. Right?"
Kate couldnt help wishing she was like Tully. Shed never back down so easily. Shed probably light up a cigarette right now and dare her mom to say something.
Mom dug through the baggy pocket of her skirt and found her cigarettes. Lighting up, she studied Kate. "You know I love you and I support you and I would never let anyone hurt you. But Katie, I have to ask you: What is it youre waiting for?"
"What do you mean?"
"You spend all your time reading and doing homework. How are people supposed to get to know you when you act like that?"
"They dont want to know me. "
Mom touched her hand gently. "Its never good to sit around and wait for someone or something to change your life. Thats why women like Gloria Steinem are burning their bras and marching on Washington. "
"So that I can make friends?"
"So that you know you can be whatever you want to be. Your generation is so lucky. You can be anything you want. But you have to take a risk sometimes. Reach out. One thing I can tell you for sure is this: we only regret what we dont do in life. "
Kate heard an odd sound in her moms voice, a sadness that tinted the word regret. But what could her mother possibly know about the battlefield of junior high popularity? She hadnt been a teenager in decades. "Yeah, right. "
"Its true, Kathleen. Someday youll see how smart I am. " Her mom smiled and patted her hand. "If youre like the rest of us, itll happen at about the same time you want me to babysit for the first time. "
"What are you talking about?"
Mom laughed at some joke Kate didnt even get. "Im glad we had this talk. Now go. Make friends with your new neighbor. "
Yeah. That would happen.
"Wear oven mitts. Its still hot," Mom said.
Perfect. The mitts.
Kate went over to the counter and stared down at the red-brown glop of a casserole. Dully, she fitted a sheet of foil across the top, curled the edges down, and then put on the puffy, quilted blue oven mitts her Aunt Georgia had made. At the back door, she slipped her stockinged feet into the fake Earth shoes on the porch and headed down the spongy driveway.
The house across the street was long and low to the ground, a rambler-style in an L shape that faced away from the road. Moss furred the shingled roof. The ivory sides were in need of paint, and the gutters were overflowing with leaves and sticks. Giant rhododendron bushes hid most of the windows, runaway junipers created a green spiky barrier that ran the length of the house. No one had tended to the landscaping in years.
At the front door Kate paused, drawing in a deep breath.
Balancing the casserole in one hand, she pulled off one oven mitt and knocked.
Please let no one be home.
Almost instantly she heard footsteps from inside.
The door swung open to reveal a tall woman dressed in a billowy caftan. An Indian-beaded headband circled her forehead. Two mismatched earrings hung from her ears. There was a strange dullness in her eyes, as if she needed glasses and didnt have them, but even so, she was pretty in a sharp, brittle kind of way. "Yeah?"
Weird, pulsing music seemed to come from several places at once; though the lights were turned off, several lava lamps burped and bubbled in eerie green and red canisters.
"H-hello," Kate stammered. "My mom made you guys this casserole. "
"Right on," the lady said, stumbling back, almost falling.
And suddenly Tully was coming through the doorway, sweeping through, actually, moving with a grace and confidence that was more movie star than teenager. In a bright blue minidress and white go-go boots, she looked old enough to be driving a car. Without saying anything, she grabbed Kates arm, pulled her through the living room, and into a kitchen in which everything was pink: walls, cabinets, curtains, tile counters, table. When Tully looked at her, Kate thought she saw a flash of something that looked like embarrassment in those dark eyes.
"Was that your mom?" Kate asked, uncertain of what to say.
"She has cancer. "