Though he was old, Casey's purr was strong and sweet. Caroline didn't need music to relax. The vibrations of his purr rumbled up through her fingers, letting sleep creep up on her.
She wondered what she would do when he was gone...
No, she pushed those thoughts away. That wasn't the way to fall asleep.
She let her hand run down Casey's back, feeling the sharp bones under his skin. His fox-like tail swished under her chin, and Caroline held it there, cuddling it like a favorite bear. Eventually, the purring and the warm weight of the cat comforted her and she slept.
The next morning, Caroline's mother gave Casey his first shot. The vet had shown them both how to do it the day before, but Caroline was afraid to hurt Casey. She understood he needed his medicine, but she hated to see the needle.
Her mom saw her face and smiled. "You know it doesn't hurt him, Caroline. Look, he barely feels it." She pinched the skin behind Casey's shoulder and stuck the needle in.
Casey didn't even flinch. Caroline gave him a shrimp treat for being so brave. Once the shrimp bites had been a rare treat, but Casey was so skinny now, he could eat as many as he wanted. Long auburn hair hid her face. Tears and words stuck in her throat. Her mom put an arm around her and waited for Caroline to speak.
Caroline took a deep breath. "What if, one morning, Casey doesn't wake up?"
Her mom kissed the top of her head and held her close. Caroline thought she was too old for such affection, but she didn't pull away.
"It might happen," her mother said. "I can't promise otherwise. So we have to love him as much as we can, while he's still here with us, right?"
Caroline nodded and petted Casey while he ate his treats. Later she would brush him in the sunshine, and make a bed for him out of his favorite blankets.
Casey was older than she was. At sixteen, he was old for a cat. Last spring, Mom had noticed he'd lost weight and they'd taken him to see the veterinarian. Casey stayed in the hospital for three days while they did tests and fed him special medicines through a tube in his front leg. Caroline had visited him everyday after school. Careful not to irritate the shunt, she'd take him out of his cage and hold him in her lap. She spoke softly to him, sang to him. Each day, when she put him back in the cage, his eyes had begged her not to abandon him again and her heart had broken a little more.
"He can go home now," Dr. Kowolsky finally said on the fourth day. "I can't do much more for him here."
Caroline cuddled Casey close to her chest. He purred a deep rumble, but the pads of his feet were damp with worried sweat.
"Thank God," said Caroline. "I don't think I could bear to put him back in that cage again."
Dr. Kowolsky smiled. "You take good care of him, Caroline. He's a lucky cat. As long as you give him his medicine every day, he'll be all right."
Caroline knew she'd meant all right for an old cat and that was months ago. Casey had shrunk since then. His skin hung down as if he wore some other cat's fur coat. He limped and meowed for water all the time. Sometimes he didn't know what he wanted, but wandered aimlessly, crying for some treat he couldn't name.
Caroline sat outside in the sun with a lump of Casey's orange fur clutched in her hand. After his brushing, he'd fallen sleep in the shade. Caroline let the fur fly away on the wind. Knowing he shouldn't be losing so much fur.
Clouds dotted the blue sky and the wind would bring more. Today was the last day of summer vacation, and Caroline was glad to see it go. Usually, she was bummed when back-to-school came around. Fall meant back to homework, boring classes and rushed mornings, but this year she was eager to be among her friends again. Last spring, her family had moved to this old farmhouse in the country. They hadn't changed school districts, but they lived in the sticks now. Before the move, Brenda, her best friend, had lived just down the street. They'd seen each other every day, slept over at each other's houses most nights. She still saw Brenda and the others, but only when Mom could drive her across town. Without her usual friends, summer had dragged on like one endless sunny day with nothing to do but stare at the green trees. Yes, school would be a welcome change. Even homework sounded like fun.
Her father sat on the lawn beside her with his coffee mug in one hand. Mom and Dad loved the farm. They gardened and took long walks. Dad had converted the old barn into an office and workroom so he no longer had to commute into the city.
"What are your plans for the last day of summer," he asked.
"I wanted to visit Brenda, but she's not home."
"I guess you'll be glad to get back to school." Caroline didn't say anything. She didn't want to hurt her father's feelings, but she'd be glad to get away from the farm. Caroline knew she was supposed to be grateful for the extra time they now spent together as a family, and she was. It was all the rest of the time, when she had nothing to do and no one to see that bothered her. She thought she might implode from sheer boredom before the end of this last summer day.
"I miss my friends, that's all."
"I know this summer has been a disappointment," he said. "I wanted you to love this place as much as I do. I've got plans to build a new gazebo. You could help out. I could even show you how to use my power tools."
Caroline smiled and shook her head.
"Not really your thing, I guess," he said. "Well, why don't you make friends with the girl at the next homestead. What's her name?"
Caroline wrinkled her nose like she'd smelled something bad.
"You mean Aimee Jones?"
"Yeah. Their place is only a half-mile down the road."
"Aimee Jones doesn't have any friends, Dad. And she likes it that way."
"Oh, I doubt that. Everybody needs friends."
"You don't understand," said Caroline. "If you knew her, you wouldn't want us to be friends."
"Why not? She's not into drugs, is she?"
"No. Nothing like that. But she's weird. She sits by herself at recess reading, ignoring everyone around her. And she doesn't like to be disturbed. Once, she took a basketball which had bounced on her book and threw it over the fence into the street. The boy who owned it called Aimee some terrible names."
"Did she get mad?"
"I guess. It's hard to tell. Aimee never raises her voice. But she punched the guy in the stomach hard enough wind him."
"Ouch," said her dad. "Well, sometimes you find friends in unlikely places. Think of it as a community service."
"I'd rather pick up garbage along the highway," mumbled Caroline. Her dad laughed and ruffled her hair.
"You could sit here and be bored instead."
He went back to his office and Caroline let herself out of the back garden gate, ignoring the hummingbirds on the flowering bushes and the squirrels chattering in the trees overhead.
She wouldn't visit Aimee Jones. That girl was scary. Her hair, dyed blue-black, was always a mess, as if she'd styled it that way. She wore black peasant dresses and combat boots along with enough silver jewelry and piercings to make a pirate envious. If Brenda and her crowd saw Caroline with Aimee, first they'd laugh themselves silly, and then they'd never speak to her again. No, she couldn't be friends with Aimee. It was better to have no friends than the wrong friends.
She took the wooded path to the river. Mom didn't want her to play near the water, but there was so little to do. She sat on a large rock and watched the current zip past, wondering what Brenda was doing today? Had she found a new best friend? Did she still play with Jimmy? Brenda had said she was too old to play with boys, but Caroline suspected she still joined in for soccer-baseball with Jimmy and his brothers. Caroline would, if she had the chance.
She picked up a stone and tossed it into the river.
"Hey! Watch it!"
Caroline looked up and froze. Aimee was crouched in the water with a small net in her hand. Her clothes were so dirty she actually blended in with the scenery. Caroline hadn't even seen her. She glared at Caroline, before settling back on her ankles to stare intently at the water.
After a tense moment, Caroline realized Aimee wasn't going to jump up and beat her into a pulp. When she could breathe again, Caroline wanted to know what Aimee was doing, but didn't dare disturb her. Aimee continued to crouch in the rushing water, almost as still as one of the river stones. Finally, curiosity won out, and Caroline clambered over the bank to peer over Aimee's shoulder at the water. There were no fish.
"You can't see from there, stupid," said Aimee. "Take off your shoes and socks and get in the water."
Caroline didn't worry about being called stupid. Aimee didn't speak without using some insult or swear word. Luckily she didn't speak much.
Caroline couldn't see any other shoes on the shore, so she took hers off and carefully stepped into the shockingly cold water. The rocks were slippery and she lost her footing. A strong arm shot out and grabbed her wrist.
"You'll scare them away, jerk wad."
"Sorry. I've never walked in the river before."
"No kidding," said Aimee sarcastically. "You should wear an old pair of runners, or you'll slip and kill yourself."
Caroline looked down at Aimee's bare feet.
"I've been river-walking forever," said Aimee. "Besides I like to feel the rocks and sand under my feet."
Caroline couldn't understand what was so great about rocks and sand. They were rough-edged and pointy. She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain in her feet. She nearly slipped again, and hung onto the other girl. Aimee didn't shrug her off.
They stood quietly for a few minutes. Aimee stared at a large underwater rock.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Caroline.
"Crawfish. Under that big rock."
Crawfish? thought Caroline. Didn't they have pinchers? She shifted her feet, and a cloud of sand stirred up from the bottom, blocking the rock from their view.
"Idiot!" said Aimee. "It probably escaped in that mess."
Caroline waited for Aimee to turn on her, to punch her in the face or give a good elbow to the gut, but nothing happened.
"Come on. I'll show you something." She walked off down the river. Caroline stumbled along behind. She cut her feet on the jagged rocks and slipped twice, soaking herself, but Aimee didn't stop. Caroline rested for a moment on a large rock in the middle of the stream. The current was strong here. It swirled around her ankles like a race track. Up ahead, Aimee walked the river with ease. Caroline never imagined that she'd be envious of Aimee Jones. She wondered what Brenda would think if she saw her now. She wanted to turn back. Her mother would have a fit if she knew that Caroline was in the river. She glanced at the shore, judging the current. It looked stronger than the current up ahead, but she really wanted to get out of the water now.
"Come on," said Aimee, impatiently. "It gets easier just around the bend."
Caroline sighed and stumbled forward again, trying to ignore the smirk on Aimee's face. She slipped on the slimy stones, stubbed her toe and scraped her ankle. One painful step after another until Caroline finally caught up.
"Look," said Aimee.
As they turned the bend, the sun broke through the thin clouds. Caroline took another step forward to see around the trees. Heaven opened up in front of her. At least it was what Caroline imagined heaven would look like. The river widened and deepened. The water was still as glass, and yet the current tugged at her ankles. The only sound was the cicadas in the trees. A family of ducks floated in the shade beneath the weeping willows to her left. All this beauty was eclipsed by the stone beach-a small sandbar stretched along the right bank, was covered in pink stones that sparkled in the sunlight.
Caroline had grown up in a development with sidewalks, streetlights and a little park at the end of the cul-de-sac. This sweep of the river was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen.
"It's deep enough to swim," Aimee said as she walked forward a couple of steps. The water rose to her thighs. Caroline laughed and Aimee grinned back at her before diving, fully clothed, into the water.
Why not? thought Caroline. Her shorts and T-shirt were soaked anyway. She dove into the water after Aimee and was amazed at the soft riverbed. She dug her toes into the sand and raised them up in the air, letting sand and water splash over her.
Aimee crept up on the ducks. They circled her for a moment and then swam away in a line, as if expecting Aimee to follow.
"It's amazing," said Caroline. "Why didn't they fly away?"
"She's the mother," said Aimee, pointing to the largest duck. "I've been coming here so long, she thinks I'm one of her ducklings."
Caroline realized then what Aimee had done. She'd brought Caroline to her quiet place, her special hideout--where she came to get away from everyone. Caroline had a quiet place at her old house, an almost impenetrable thicket of bushes in the park at the end of the block. With Brenda, she'd found a break in the branches big enough for them to crawl through. The center of the thicket had been cleared out, probably by some other kids, now grown up. It made a great fort and they'd sworn to each other they'd keep it secret.
Once, when her parents were on her case about homework and chores, Caroline had stayed in the thicket until long after dark. Her parents had been frantic, but the quiet place had done its job, and she'd been able to go home and deal with them.
This river was Aimee's thicket, and suddenly Caroline felt embarrassed to be sharing it with her. Then Aimee splashed her and called her a nasty name. Caroline laughed and ducked under the water grabbing at Aimee's leg. She forgot her shyness with the strange girl and they played in the water all afternoon.
Finally worn out, the girls took turns floating on their backs. Aimee held the record time at seventy-six seconds.
"Oh look," she said, as Caroline floated on her back, trying to break the record. "A leech."
"A what?" She felt something brush past her leg and screamed. She scrambled toward shore and crawled hands over feet onto the beach of pink rocks, still screaming. She flopped down and frantically slapped at her legs.
Still in the water, Aimee laughed so hard, she nearly went under. Caroline glared at her, then inspected her legs. There were no bloodsuckers.
"That's not funny!"
Aimee lay down on the rocks beside her, laughing. "You should have seen your face!"
Caroline's stomach was jittery from the fright, but she laughed too. Then, exhausted, they lay on the rocks and enjoyed the warm sun.
"Why are they pink," asked Caroline, "the rocks, I mean." As far down the river as she could see, the pink rocks shone like jewels.
"I dunno," said Aimee, "maybe they're enchanted fairy treasure."
"Yeah, right," laughed Caroline.
Aimee smiled, but her head was down and for a moment, Caroline thought she'd actually blushed.
"I gotta get home." Aimee stood and turned toward the forest without a goodbye.
"See you at school tomorrow," Caroline called after her.
"Yeah, whatever."
What did I do? thought Caroline. Sometime during the afternoon, Caroline had forgotten the solitary, ill-mannered Aimee and her reappearance was a surprise.
Caroline sat in the sun until her clothes dried. She picked up pink stones, one by one. Black lines veined through them and they sparkled with bits of quartz. Each was different and yet similar as if they had all been crushed from one giant stone.
Caroline thought about Aimee's sudden departure. She felt like she'd tamed a wild creature for the afternoon, but as soon as it remembered its wildness, it had run off. Had she said something to upset Aimee? They'd been talking about the pink stones, and then Aimee had said that weird thing about fairies and run off. Could she really believe in fairies? Or was she embarrassed to talk about something so girlie?
Very strange, thought Caroline.
Brenda would never believe she'd spent the afternoon with crazy Aimee Jones, but Caroline wasn't exactly going to broadcast it to her friends anyway.
She put one of the pink stones in the pocket of her cutoff jeans. To prove to herself at least, it had really happened.
)
