Peaches

all the naked women,” Murphy said, like she was trying to sound casual. She didn’t sound casual at all.
    “I seem to be seeing a lot of you lately,” Rex replied.
    Leeda didn’t laugh. She felt like a statue. Paralyzed.
    Rex kept staring at Murphy. And frowning. And still staring. And Leeda felt all the blood drain out of her feet. Because his eyes weren’t heavy lidded right then, like they always were with her—heavy lidded and sleepy and kind and reassuring. They were wide open and unguarded. And all over Murphy.

    Tweet tweet tweet.
    Murphy sat up in bed and looked at the window. It was only barely light, but there was her little friend, sitting on one of the branches of his tree and staring at her with his beady eyes.
    She closed her window, then fell back in bed and pulled herpillow over her head. But it was too late. She was already awake and too fully aware of the day. And the night before.
    She rolled out of bed and pulled her boxers on over her bikini underwear, her curly hair so heavy on the side she hadn’t slept on that she felt her head might flop in that direction. She pulled it into an elastic so that it lay in a lopsided bun at the nape of her neck and shuffled into the hall.
    Birdie had gone to sleep in the newly vacated bedroom at the end of the hall the night before. But Murphy could see now that the door was open and the bed was empty. She slid her slippered feet up to Leeda’s closed door and tapped on it gently, scratching it with her fingers. “Leeda,” she whispered. “Lee?” Nobody answered.
    Murphy sighed. She wanted to see Leeda, to reassure herself that they were still good. She’d been so quiet on the way back from the lake. Murphy knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, but the moment with Rex had been palpably tense. She felt like Leeda might have somehow seen into the deepest, darkest part of her heart and seen that Rex was there. She just needed to know that wasn’t true. But she guessed she’d have to wait for her to wake up first. The old Murphy would have pounded on the door anyway. But this one shuffled back into her room.
    Without bothering to change, Murphy slipped into her Dr. Scholl’s sandals and walked outside, turning left to go visit her blue jay. He stared at her from his branch, a wriggling worm stuck under his skinny black foot.
    “Look,” Murphy said, “I know this should be where I tell you that all those times you annoyed me, you were actually growing on me, and that I’m really going to miss you.”
    The blue jay tilted its head as if it could actually understand her.
    “But it’s not going to happen. I actually just came by to say that I hope the winter takes you.”
    Murphy turned and started back around to the other side of the dorm, toward the garden. She was fully aware she was moping along like somebody with an extreme hangover. She was also aware that it was sort of an act, for her own sake. It felt good to walk like she felt.
    At the edge of the clearing she surveyed her work, looking at it with a fresh eye. It really was stunning. The yellow roses were in full bloom and majestic. The azaleas were vibrant and healthy.
    Murphy took a deep breath of satisfaction and ducked under the trellis, then came to a stop.
    There was Rex, kneeling in front of a wooden bench that sat back against one of the rosebushes. He was looking up at her, surprised.
    “Hey,” Murphy whispered.
    “Hey.” Rex stood up. “I thought you’d be sleeping. I wanted to just leave it here.”
    Murphy swallowed, then looked behind him at the bench. She didn’t want to look at his eyes. “You know that’s a terrible place for that. Right up against the prickers.”
    Instead of coming back with some remark the way Murphy expected, Rex’s eyebrows descended. “Oh yeah.” He tapped his forehead.
    “I’ll help you move it,” she offered, walking up to one side of the bench and lifting it. “How about under the cherry tree?”
    Rex nodded, lifting his end, and they moved it the few feet and put it down. Then stood back.
    “Wow. Thanks, Rex. That’s…really cool. Did you make it?”
    Rex nodded. “No problem. It was supposed to be a surprise. I finished it a couple of days ago.”
    “It is a surprise.”
    “I actually thought about not bringing it after the weirdness…last night….”
    Murphy didn’t want to acknowledge last night. She clicked her sandals back and forth against her feet.
    “You get any fruit off that nectarine tree?” Rex asked