help angels get their wings. Katie finished her second glass of wine, feeling as light as a feather on a summer breeze.
Jo asked few questions. Instead, they stuck to superficial topics, and Katie thought again that she was happy for Jo’s company. When silver highlighted the world beyond the window, Katie and Jo stepped out onto the front porch. Katie could feel herself swaying slightly and she took hold of the railing. They sipped their wine as the clouds continued to break, and all at once, the sky was filled with stars. Katie pointed out the Big Dipper and Polaris, the only stars she could name, but Jo began naming dozens of others. Katie stared at the sky in wonder, amazed at how much Jo knew about the constellations, until she noticed the names Jo was reciting. “That one’s called Elmer Fudd, and over there, right above that pine tree, you can make out Daffy Duck.” When Katie finally realized that Jo knew as little about the stars as she did, Jo started to giggle like a mischievous kid.
Back in the kitchen, Katie poured the last of the wine and took a sip. It was warm in Katie’s throat and made her feel dizzy. The moth continued to dance around the light, though if she tried to focus on it, there seemed to be two of them. She felt happy and safe and thought again how enjoyable the evening had been.
She had a friend, a real friend, someone who laughed and made jokes about the stars, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry because it had been so long since she’d experienced something so easy and natural.
“Are you okay?” Jo asked.
“I’m fine,” Katie answered. “I was just thinking that I’m glad you came over.”
Jo peered at her. “I think you might be tipsy.”
“I think you might be right,” Katie agreed.
“Well, okay then. What do you want to do? Since you’re obviously tipsy and ready for fun.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Do you want to do something special? Head into town, find someplace exciting?”
Katie shook her head. “No.”
“You don’t want to meet people?”
“I’m better off alone.”
Jo ran her finger around the rim of the mug before saying anything. “Trust me on this: no one is better off alone.”
“I am.”
Jo thought about Katie’s answer before leaning closer. “So you’re telling me that—assuming you had food, shelter, and clothing and anything else you needed to simply survive—you’d rather be stranded on a desert island in the middle of nowhere, all alone, forever, for the rest of your life? Be honest.”
Katie blinked, trying to keep Jo in focus. “Why would you think I wouldn’t be honest?”
“Because everybody lies. It’s part of living in society. Don’t get me wrong—I think it’s necessary. The last thing anyone wants is to live in a society where total honesty prevails. Can you imagine the conversations? You’re short and fat, one person might say, and the other might answer, I know. But you smell bad. It just wouldn’t work. So people lie by omission all the time. People will tell you most of the story… and I’ve learned that the part they neglect to tell you is often the most important part. People hide the truth because they’re afraid.”
With Jo’s words, Katie felt a finger touch her heart. All at once, it seemed hard to breathe.
“Are you talking about me?” she finally croaked out.
“I don’t know. Am I?”
Katie felt herself pale slightly, but before she could respond, Jo smiled.
“Actually, I was thinking about my day today. I told you it was hard, right? Well, what I just told you is part of the problem. It gets frustrating when people won’t tell the truth. I mean, how am I supposed to help people if they hold things back? If I don’t really know what’s going on?”
Katie could feel something twisting and tightening in her chest. “Maybe they want to talk about it but they know there’s nothing you can do to help,” she whispered.
“There’s always something I can do.”
In the moonlight shining through the kitchen window, Jo’s skin glowed a luminous white, and Katie had the sense that she never went out in the sun. The wine made the room move, the walls buckle. Katie could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes and it was all she could do to blink them back. Her mouth was dry.
“Not always,” Katie whispered. She turned to face the window. Beyond the glass, the moon hung low over