Peaches

Leeda warned.
    “Aren’t you eager to be reunited with your doggies?” Murphy asked. They’d left Honey Babe and Majestic with Emma, who adored them, for the night.
    Birdie shook her head and stared at the house. She had never wanted a Thin Mint more in her life. “He’s sleeping. C’mon,” she begged. “Will you guys walk me up to the door?”
    While the girls waited, Birdie let herself into the house and crept upstairs to her room, then padded down into the kitchen. She emerged onto the porch with not only two boxes of Thin Mints but a bag of salt-and-vinegar potato chips and a six-pack of beer.
    “Birdie,” Leeda said. “Your dad’ll find out you took that.”
    “Trust me, he’s so depressed I could take the fridge and he wouldn’t notice.”
    “But I thought you said you drank too much.”
    “Apparently not.” Birdie plunked down on one of the rockers. She pulled a beer out of the plastic ring and held it out to Murphy, who looked at her thoughtfully.
    “You all right, Bird?” She took the beer.
    “Sure.”
    They all began sipping their beer. For a while they just took in the sound and smell of the orchard at night.
    “Maybe since you’re feeling so bold you should make your move on Enrico right now while he’s in his bed.”
    Birdie stiffened. She knew Murphy was joking, but even the idea made her nervous.
    “I’m not making any move on Enrico.” Birdie gulped at her Bud. “He’s not interested anyway.”
    “Why wouldn’t he be interested? Of course he’s interested.” Murphy sounded like she was saying that of course the sky was blue.
    “Oh, he is definitely interested,” Leeda added. “Did you see the way he looked at you tonight when we were leaving?”
    Birdie thought back to it. She’d been too busy avoiding looking at him to look at him.
    “Yeah, but earlier, in the shed…” Birdie stopped. She was too embarrassed. “God, he’s hot.”
    Leeda and Murphy snickered quietly.
    “Thanks.” Birdie coiled up defensively.
    “Sorry.” Leeda blinked up at her, patting her thigh. “Birdie, he likes you. Why wouldn’t he? You’re beautiful, you’re funny, you’re sweet.”
    “You have the best hair,” Murphy added.
    Leeda nodded in agreement. “You pick a mean peach. You know how to do all this farm stuff that makes you look cool. You’re a steel magnolia.”
    “Oh God.” Birdie waved the compliments off with a weak wrist. But secretly, she was touched.
    “Birdie, you have to go after what you want,” Murphy said. “How do you expect to get it if you don’t?”
    “Well.” Birdie looked from one to the other unsurely. Their faces sort of swam in front of her. “What do you think I should do?”
    “Just bend over a lot in front of him.”
    “Murphy!” Leeda slapped Murphy on the thigh. “Maybe youshould just invite him to hang out down at the lake or something.”
    Birdie tried to picture herself doing that. “It’s impossible. Saddle Tramp will be the only man I’ve ever been with.” With those words, her stomach had started to do something odd. She put down her beer. “Um. I don’t…” Her sentence trailed off. She wasn’t sure it was a good idea to open her mouth anymore.
    “I can tell him.” Murphy played with the top of her can. “I’ll be very subtle.”
    Leeda laughed. “You don’t know how to be subtle.”
    “Shut up.”
    Birdie tried lying back on her back, but that was a mistake. The ceiling of the porch was spinning.
    “You okay, Tweety Bird?”
    Birdie shot up and lunged for the porch railing, retching with a loud groan. She felt someone’s hands on her back and her hair being lifted. She retched several more times and then took a deep breath.
    “Birdie?”
    The lights above snapped on. Birdie saw her shadow suddenly materialize on the lawn beneath her. Oh God. She stood up and turned, Murphy’s hands still on her, but Murphy and Leeda had turned also.
    Her dad was standing on the porch in just his boxers. His belly hung over his shorts slackly and palely. As he took in the empty beer cans and food lying on the porch, his expression changed from one of concern to something else entirely.
    Birdie felt the world spinning beneath her. It took only the look on her dad’s face to tell her it was the end of summer as she knew it.

Chapter Eighteen
    Bird, Poopie says your tail is stuck in a crack. What exactly does that mean? And what are you doing in there? x! Leeda
    Dad made me dust everything. Body has gone numb from