Page 36 (1/2)

Proudly I told theo all the time as kids Mr Fisher would take us, and he was always pitting the boys against one another "Twenty dollars for the first one to get a hole in one" "Twenty dollars for the winner" Steven loved it I think he wished Mr Fisher was our dad He actually could've been Susannah told me my mother had dated him first, but my mother had handed hiether

Mr Fisher included olf competitions, but he never expected olf anyway I hated the little pencils and the fake turf It was all so annoyingly perfect Kind of like Mr Fisher Conrad wanted so badly to be like him, and I used to hope he never would Be like him, I mean

The last tiottenwhite cutoffs, and Steven had been scared He'd thought I had cut ht so too After that, after getting o back Not even when the boys invitedPutt Putt, taking it back for o

My mother said, "Can you be hoether, o to bed at, like, nine"

My lasses off and looked at lasses had been "I wish you'd spend ht now," I reminded her

She acted like she didn't hearso much time with this

person--"

"You said you liked him!" I looked at Susannah for support, and she looked back at hed, and Susannah broke in then, saying, "We do like Cam We just miss you, Belly We completely accept the fact that you have an actual life" She adjusted her floppy straw hat and winked at me "We just want you to include us a little bit!"

I s back down on the towel "I'll come home early We'll watch a movie"

"Done," my mother said

I closed my eyes and putall my time with Cam Maybe she really did ranted that I was going to spend every night at home like I had every other summer I was almost sixteen, practically an adult My mother had to accept that I couldn't be her bean forever

They thought I was asleep when they started talking But I wasn't I could hear what they were saying, even over thelike a little shit," my mother said in a low voice "He left all these beer bottles out on the deck thisout of hand"

Susannah sighed "I think he knows so's up He's been like this forto hit him harder"

"Don't you think it's time you told the boys?" Whenever my mother said "Don't you think," all she really meant was, "I think So you should too"

"When the suan, "I think it ht be time"

"I'll knohen it's time," Susannah said "Don't pushe her mind Susannah was soft, but she was resolute, stubborn as a mule when she wanted to be She was pure steel underneath all her softness

I wanted to tell them both, Conrad knows already and so does Jereht It wasn't my business to tell