Margarine wags her tail and licks Kat’s face. Kat sits cross-legged and leans sideways to wrap her arms around my dog’s neck. “Don’t forget me, okay?” She cuddles with her for several long moments, then scratches behind Margarine’s ears and rubs a thumb along her snout. “Look how gray you’re getting,” she croons. “You’re a senior citizen now, aren’t you?”
Margarine rolls to her side in a blatant request for a belly rub.
“Never too old for belly rubs, though, huh?” Kat laughs, obliging.
I frown. “She’s notthatold.”
“She’s ten, right? That’s, like, seventy in dog years. She’s a grandma.”
I’m trying to stick with my mom’s wholeit’s too hard to saygoodbyething, because by this point Kat has spent longer parting with my dog than me.
Kat kisses Margarine’s head. Then she gets this look of distress on her face. “What if this is the last time I see her?”
“Kat! Don’t be so dramatic. She’s still plenty feisty, believe me. She has years ahead of her.” I say it as much for me as her, because losing KatandMargarine? I’m not sure I’d survive it. I kneel and kiss Margarine on her wet nose. Then I look Kat in the eyes. “Trust me, absolutely nothing is going to change. When you come back to visit for Summerfest, we’ll all be exactly how you left us. Margie included.”
Kat’s shoulders fall in relief, and she smiles. “I like the sound of that.” She gives Margarine one last pat and stands.
My mom comes in and asks Kat if she’s all packed up and if she’s excited for her new adventure. We chat for a few more minutes until Kat’s dad comes to the door and says it’s time to go. We walk onto the front porch, and her dad goes back to the car.
Kat gives me another big hug, her eyes watering again. “I’ll text you when I get there.”
I nod.
“We’ll talk every day, right?”
“Of course,” I say. I can’t remember a day when we haven’t spoken, at least by text. “You gotta tell me what it’s like at your new fancy school. I want to know all the dirt.”
Kat laughs. “You have to keep me in the know too. I need to know if Blake ever passes his driver’s test, and the second Hannah gets fired from the ice cream shop for texting during work hours,because we both know that’s gonna happen. Oh, and I bet my brother ten bucks that Kai and Ava won’t last the summer, so keep tabs on that dumpster fire for me, will you?”
“Obviously.” I waggle my eyebrows. “Maybe you’ll find your own summer fling up there. Like, with a hot tennis instructor, or—oh! The ball boy!”
“Oh my God, Amelia. Yeah, right,” Kat says with a snort. Then she gets a sly gleam in her eye. “But you on the other hand? You should definitely find yourself a summer hookup this year. You’re long overdue.”
“Me?” I sputter. “Who on earth would I hook up with?”
“Um, literally any of the guys from school? Not Myles, obviously, and probably not Jason Kimball because I fooled around with him over spring break, but there are, like, fifty others. There are always cute tourists that come through, and you know they’d love to go back home and tell everyone they made out with a hot local girl with a great rack on the beach.”
“Kat!”
“I hope you still have that white bikini I made you buy.”
I glare at her even though I do still have it, and yes, it’s basically a push-up bra. The tags are still attached.
Her dad honks, and we both jump, but she doesn’t stop. “Ohmygod, actually, I heard there was some hot stranger at the party last night. Did you see him? Tall, brown hair, killer smile? Go trackthatguy down and snag him before anyone else does!”
I shove her off the porch. “You’re out of your mind.”
“That’s why you love me,” she sing-songs. “I’ll text you when I get there!”
I smile.Thisis what I’ve wanted these last twenty-four hours. Kat being Kat and the promise that we’ll stay in touch.
That we’ll be okay.
And that’s exactly what I tell myself as I watch her drive away. Even though Kat won’t be physically around anymore, she’s still going to be a big part of my life, and she’ll still be my best friend.
No matter what.
4PLAYLIST:kat and amelia’s shitlist
