if he was in any place to judge.
“No. I’m ready to turn right back around.” I made like I’d do just that and Pixie caught my arm.
“We’re going. It’s just an open house. Then we can go home and relax.” Pixie and I walked arm-in-arm for a block before we separated to look at the window display in a cool store. It had a fake pool and what looked like a dog swimming in it.
When we were done naming the fake dog, we continued walking. “How was Bic last night?”
Bic had been pontificating on the stoop of Pixie’s building about politics. He wasn’t gaining any friends. I wasn’t sure what Ms. Stone saw in him.
Pixie’s gaze went steely. “I don’t know. I locked my door.”
“Probably a good move.” Pixie’s door had a deadbolt from the previous owners. It took me pointing it out to her for her to realize its potential. She hadn’t even considered it. She always liked her bedroom door open. But now she had a reason to keep it closed. Privacy from Bic.
We walked up to the busy school building cluttered with kids and groups of parents.
“Here we are.” Pixie weaved through the staring crowd and waved to the people she knew, which was damn near all of them.
The open house was chaotic. It was supposed to be a way for us to meet our new teachers and get a few forms in. If Pixie wasn’t dragging me around, I wouldn’t have even walked in. We met her homeroom teacher and mine, and then we couldn’t take it anymore. There were about triple the amount of people who should’ve been in the space jammed up in there. At least that’s what Pixie said and hoped it was true. I wasn’t spooked by crowded spaces, but I had a feeling that Midville Middle School would instill that fear in me.
We walked all the way home, and I waited outside while Pixie changed into a more summer-ready outfit.
We spent the rest of the day attacking summer like we were trying to make it last. We went to the swings, we played basketball, and we danced in the hydrant that Tocks opened like it was his job. We played freeze tag for a few rounds with a group of kids, before Pixie and I were starving. The local hot dog stand guy still had some dogs left, so we each bought a Coke along with our lunch.
Hot dogs with Pixie. No school bells. No adults telling us what to do or disappointing us with what they wouldn’t do or did do. It was the exact place where I wanted to be.
Chapter 16
Pixie Rae
GAZE HAD MUSTARD on his chin, so I wiped it off with my napkin. It was one of our rules. No food on the face, no bats in the cave (boogers in nostrils), and no stuff in the teeth. We made that pact and had to keep it. We were honor bound to help each other out. We’d even pinkie bet on it.
Gaze and I kicked our feet, using the rubber in the soles of our shoes to bounce our sneakered feet off the rock wall that lined the park. We were hanging outside together more and more. He didn’t want to be home, and I couldn’t stand mine. I was getting a giant chip on my shoulder because I had so much animosity toward this man who took my mother away from me. I mean, sure Mom was still here, but it was like he had a second sense when she and I were having a conversation. He’d even barge into conversations that he’d know nothing about, like when I’d try to talk to Mom about the vacations we’d planned.
He didn’t have a job as far as I could tell, though he was on his phone a lot. He’d talk about doing deals and making arrangements, but he never was specific about what it involved. And he certainly wasn’t adding to our budget.
But Mom acted like she was my older sister instead of my mom when she was with him. All giddy and giggly. My gut hated him. The way he walked, the way he chewed, the way he always seemed to have his hand down his pants. I overheard a few neighbors talking about how he was good-looking, but a blow hard—whatever that meant.
I think I was still stunned. I didn’t think marriage was an option for Mom. We had so much to do. We were