He doesn’t love her. If he loved her, he would save her from this nightmare.
She stands there long after his taillights have disappeared. She looks down and realizes he somehow managed to shove her gifts and leftovers into her hand. She feels like she might fall. Like the slightest breeze would send her toppling down the street like a tumbleweed. She feels dumb and weird and completely unlovable.
• • •
The last day of Christmas break, Mom and Kristen have such a huge fight that Kristen throws a chair at Mom. She misses her, but Mom says she’s calling the police. Kristen tells her not to bother. She grabs a backpack and takes off.
Lorna slips away to Callie’s house, where she’s been spending as much time as she can without it seeming odd. She loves Callie’s house—it’s warm and smells like supper, and everyone is always laughing. The Klebergs are a big family, full of love and fun. Mrs. Kleberg always gives her a big hug when she comes in. Today she says, “Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year,” Lorna mumbles in return.
She’s brought her Rubik’s Cube. Callie got one for Christmas too. They spend the afternoon watching TV, working on their Rubik’s Cubes, and fending off the stealth pinch attacks from Callie’s little brothers.
Callie says she has a secret to tell her. “You’re my best friend in the whole world, Lorna.”
“I know,” Lorna says. She looks up. “That’s not a secret.” She looks down again, because she is so close to solving her Rubik’s Cube.
“It’s something else.”
The blue tiles are the ones that always ruin everything and won’t line up. Lorna tosses the cube aside and looks at Callie. “What is it?”
Callie looks nervous. She is twisting her T-shirt into a knot. At first, Lorna thinks she is going to tell her she is dying. “What is it?” she asks, and leans forward. She feels a little panicky. What would she do if she lost Callie?
Callie looks like she is going to throw up, and Lorna knows she must be dying and says, “Callie!” at the same time Callie says, “I like girls.”
Lorna is so relieved Callie is not dying that she sinks back, disappointed the secret isn’t something bigger. “I already know that.”
Callie looks confused. “You do? How?”
“Easy. You never like boys. You always talk about girls. And I’ve seen the way you look at Mandy Harper.” A thought suddenly occurs to her, and she gasps. “Are you going tokissa girl?”
“Maybe,” Callie says.
“Yuck,” Lorna says, and giggles.
“Are you going to kiss a boy?” Callie shoots back.
“Maybe,” Lorna says.
“Yuck,” Callie says emphatically. They stare at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. They laugh so hard they fall over on her bed. That’s the way it’s always been with her and Callie—they understand each other completely.
Callie’s mom comes in and asks what all the laughter is about. Callie says nothing. Her mom asks Callie to help with laundry, and Callie groans but goes off to do it. Mrs. Kleberg sits downwith a basket of clothes to fold and asks Lorna how her week has been.
Lorna does not want to be reminded of the hellscape that occurred between Christmas and New Year’s in her house. Just thinking about it makes her feel queasy. “It was okay, I guess.”
“Did you get a lot of nice presents?”
She is reminded of the Barbie doll and shrugs.
Mrs. Kleberg frowns. “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”
In that precise moment, Lorna makes a decision that will change her life. An idea pops into her head, and she latches onto it with no regard for the consequences. She blurts it out before she can even consider what she’s doing. “Can I come live with you and Callie?”
At first Mrs. Kleberg laughs, but then she sees that Lorna is serious. “Lorna, honey.” She affectionately squeezes her knee. “What would make you ask such a thing?”
That’s a loaded question, and while Lorna clearly has not thought this through, she opts for the obvious answer. “Callie and I have been best friends since the sixth grade. We’re like sisters.”
“Well, I know, but you aren’t really sisters. You have your own sister. Callie has her brothers. Girls should live with their families.”
