She smiled sadly. “I hope your mom comes back, Xander.”
“Thanks,” I said dully.
I didn’t have much hope, but Emery’s brotherhadto come back. I didn’t want to think about how it would hurt her if he didn’t.
“I made a mess,” Emery said with a small laugh, glancing at the spilled food on the ground.
“I got it.” I jumped down and picked up the watermelon rind, coated in dirt, and used her napkin to get the potato salad.
“You don’t have to…”
“Done,” I said with a smile and tossed it all in a nearby trash can.
“Thank you,” she said.
Now she was on the rock, and I was standing in front of her. I stuffed my hands in the front pockets of my jeans, not sure what to do next. Sit down beside her again? Was that okay with her?
“Umm…” I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck. “Do you want to…feed the pond fish?”
I cringed. A girl like Emery wasn’t going to want to get down onher knees in the muck and—
“Yes!” she cried and jumped off the rock. “I’ll go get some more hot dog buns.”
“Oh, okay.” I smiled a little. Maybe I was doing okay at this friend stuff.
Emery raced away, then raced right back. “They wouldn’t let me take more than two.” She bit her lower lip. “Is that enough? Or maybe I should get something else?”
I frowned. “It’s fine.”
“Oh. Good. My dad is always telling me I don’t know how the world works and that I’d better ask.”
“About hot dog buns?”
She shrugged and glanced away.
I added another bit of data to my collection:4. Emery’s dad makes her doubt herself. A lot.
“Two’s perfect.”
She beamed and took my hand. “Let’s go!”
Hand in hand, we ran to the pond’s edge. Emery didn’t seem worried about getting dirty and knelt with me as we tossed bits of bread at the minnows and carp. She squealed with delight as a turtle poked its head above the murky surface.
“That’s a red-eared slider,” I said. “You can tell by the red mark on its head. Lots of people keep them as pets, but they’re also considered an invasive species in some areas.”
“It’s so cute!” Emery looked to me. “How do you know that? Do you get to automatically know stuff if you’re a genius?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t usually play with anyone when I come to the park, so I learn about the animals and plants and stuff instead.”
I expected her to feel sorry for me, but Emery smiled her pretty smile. “I’m so lucky.”
“You are?”
She nodded. “Because now I get to learn what you learned while we play together. It’s like a whaddyacallit…when more than one thinggood happens at the same time?”
“A win-win situation,” I murmured, my throat suddenly tight that this girl considered herself lucky to know me.
“Yes!” she cried. “A win-win situation.”
