Lola huffed a laugh as she bent over to tie her boot “I wish that were the case. No, a lot them tell me they can hardly sleep with so much kicking at the ribs, their constant urge to use the bathroom, and so on.”
“Valid point.”
Lola sighed. Shrugged. “Probably best to save that money, fund it into something else . . .”
Silence rained down on us. “May I make a suggestion?” I asked, filling the void.
“Of course. Anything. What are your thoughts?”
“Well, if I were pregnant and waking up at least four times a night, I think I’d go for doughnuts and cookies and something sweet over veggie chips and dried fruit.” My smile was sugary sweet. “Not that anything is wrong with those choices, and I do think you should still keep them as an option, but those aren’t exactly midnight snacks I’d keep around, you know?”
Lola appeared stunned—taken off guard, almost. What? Did I hurt her precious pride? “You know what, Ivy?”
Ah, shit.
“That makes perfect sense. It’s a lot of work being pregnant.”
Oh.
“Yeah, there is so much the body goes through, and comfort food can work miracles. Maybe I’ll start incorporating those sorts of snacks we women love to indulge in, but also keep the healthy snacks as an option too. Some chocolate and popcorn here and there.” She stepped closer to me and held my upper arms with a toothy smile. “You are so smart. Always on your toes. I’m so glad you came to camp this week. It’s nice having a younger mind to bounce ideas off of.”
“It’s my pleasure, Lola.” It was anything but.
“Would you like to take a walk with me before going to breakfast?” Lola inquired as she picked up a blue folder. “There are a few other changes I’ve been thinking about making and I’d love to get your thoughts on them too.”
That was a lie. She had no one else to ask to take a walk with her, and if Keke were here—which she would have been if I hadn’t pushed her—she would have asked us both to join her.
But there was only me. No one else. The way it should have been from the start.
“Sure,” I said. “I’d love that.”
But, of course, the walk couldn’t even begin for us. As soon as we walked out the door, we saw women rushing toward the trail. The trail Keke took. The trail I followed her on.
“What in the world is going on?” Lola took a step forward, watching the pregnant women move quicker than they usually did. “Shouldn’t everyone be heading to breakfast?” She took off after them.
I followed behind her, making sure to keep close.
“Ladies, what’s going on?” Lola asked, catching up to two of the pregnant women walking together.
“We heard one of the volunteers was involved in an accident,” one of the women said, winded. “By the cliff, where you can see the ocean.”
“Jesus,” Lola whispered. She excused herself from the pregnant women and jogged ahead. I jogged with her until a crowd came into view. Lola pushed her way through the crowd. I stayed close behind her. When she was finally in the front, she came to a halt and looked down.
“Oh my God! Keke!” she screamed. It was a bloodcurdling scream. One that made my ears ring. A scream I would never forget. She rushed to the side of the cliff and started to climb down the rocks, but one of the rangers told her to stay back.
“I am the organizer of this entire event! She is my friend! What the hell happened to her? Is she okay?” Lola demanded.
“Ma’am. I need you to stay back while we take care of this.”
Lola did as she was told, pressing her knuckles to her lips and staring down at Keke’s body. I came up to her side, looking down with her.
Keke was still there, yes, and there were also more rangers down there. Two were picking up her body and putting her on a stretcher. I frowned as they moved her. Why would they do that if she were dead? Wouldn’t this be considered a crime scene? The body can’t be touched unless . . .
“Lola!” I looked past Lola and Vonyetta was rushing toward us. “I was looking all over for you!”
“Vonny! What happened to Keke?” Lola screeched, climbing back on the trail and to steady ground.
“I’m not sure, honey! I got here about twenty minutes ago and the rangers were talking to one another on their walkies in the main hall. I heard them say someone was below the cliff and I followed them here, saw this.” Vonyetta closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest, as if her heart was physically breaking.
“Keke takes this trail every morning when she’s here at camp. W-what would change?” Lola asked Vonyetta, desperate for answers.