They left their bikes by the side of the road and limped toward the river. In the moonlight, everything looked milky and beautiful—the silvery waves, the jagged rocks along the shore.
Tully sat down by a decaying, moss-covered nurse log in a place where the grass was as thick as shag carpeting.
Kate sat down beside her, so close their knees were almost touching. Together they stared up at the star-spangled sky. The song of the river floated toward them, sounded like a young girls laugh. Just now, with the world so still and silent, it was as if the breeze had drawn in its cool breath and left them all alone in this place that until right now had been just another bend in a river that flooded every autumn.
"I wonder who named our street," Tully said. "I havent seen any fireflies. "
Kate shrugged. "Over by the old bridge is Missouri Street. Maybe some pioneer was homesick. Or lost. "
"Or maybe its magic. This could be a magical street. " Tully turned toward her. "That could mean we were meant to be friends. "
Kate shivered at the power of that. "Before you moved here, I thought it was just a road that went nowhere. "
"Now its our road. "
"We can go all kinds of places when we grow up. "
"Places dont matter," Tully said.
Kate heard something in her friends voice, a sadness she didnt understand. She turned sideways. Tully was staring up at the sky.
"Are you thinking about your mom?" Kate asked tentatively.
"I try not to think about her. " There was a long pause, then she dug into her pocket for a Virginia Slims cigarette and lit up.
Kate was careful not to make a face about the smoking.
"You want a drag?"
Kate knew she had no choice. "Uh. Sure. "
"If my mom were normal—not sick, I mean—I could have told her about what happened to me at the party. "
Kate took a tiny drag, coughed hard, and said, "Do you think about it a lot?"
Tully leaned back against the log, taking the cigarette again. After a long pause, she said, "I have nightmares about it. "
Kate wished she knew what to say. "What about your dad? Can you talk to him?"
Tully wouldnt look at her. "I dont think she even knows who he is. " Her voice fell. "Or he heard about me and ran. "
"Thats harsh. "
"Life is harsh. Besides, I dont need them. Ive got you, Katie. Youre the one that helped me through it. "
Kate smiled. The sharp tang of smoke filled the air between them, stung her eyes, but she didnt care. What mattered was being here, with her new best friend. "Thats what friends are for. "
That next night Tully was on the last chapter of The Outsiders when she heard her mother yelling through the house. "Tully! Answer the damn door. "
She slammed the book down and went out into the living room, where her mother sat sprawled on the sofa, taking a bong hit as she watched Happy Days.
"Youre right by the door. "
Her mother shrugged. "So?"
"Hide your bong. "
Sighing dramatically, Cloud leaned over and put her bong beneath the end table beside the couch. Only a blind person would miss it, but that was as good as Cloud was likely to do.