Peaches

shook her head. She had a vision of Birdie jumping into the lake and never coming up. She wouldn’t do that, would she? She was just at a line of trees now. Leeda could see the back of her sopping T-shirt, and then she disappeared.
    “Birdie?!” Murphy called. Then she started after her. “Wait up!”
    They ran into the orchard, dodging bushes and trees. “Birdie!”
    The wind was so strong it was actually pushing against them, making it hard to move fast. They came to the rise near the cider house, where there was a clear view of the farmhouse. But Birdie wasn’t headed in that direction. She had veered left and was advancing farther out into the trees.
    “Birdie!”
    Leeda felt a gust of wind so strong that she almost went tumbling backward. “Jesus.”
    “Oh my God,” Murphy said, sending chills up Leeda’s spine. “Look.”
    A cabana from the Balmeade Country Club was blowing across the field below, catching itself on a tree and flapping against it madly.
    Murphy had her hands against her chest. “This is not good. This is a bad storm.”
    They started running again, splitting apart but going in the general direction of Birdie. Leeda’s heart was in her throat. She’d never seen anything like it.
    The ground was already sloshy and sludgy and she went sliding forward a few times, surfing mud slicks and righting herself. She couldn’t see Murphy anymore either. And then she spotted a giant lump on the ground up ahead.
    “Birdie!” She flew down beside her. “Are you okay? Did you break something?”
    Birdie was curled in a tight ball, crying.
    Leeda surveyed her body, wincing because she was expecting to see something sticking out at a weird angle. Birdie just kept crying.
    There was the thud of footsteps and then Murphy appeared at her side.
    “Is she hurt? Are you hurt?” Birdie shook her head and Murphy sank down on her knees. “What’s wrong?”
    Birdie uncurled from the ball and lay flat on her back. “I didn’t renew the insurance.”
    Murphy and Leeda exchanged confused looks. “Birdie, this is a bad storm. We’ve gotta get inside.”
    Birdie just kept crying.
    Leeda didn’t know what else to do. She lay down beside Birdie and put her arm over her. “It’s okay. Come on, Bird.”
    “C’mon.”
    Birdie wouldn’t budge. Her hair was plastered to the sides of her face and her forehead and cheeks were smeared with mud.
    Murphy leaned down close to her ear. “Bird, I bet if Enrico could see you right now, he’d dump that girl in a second.”
    Leeda shot a death glare at her, then looked back at Birdie. She’d stopped crying, snuffling, anything. She was deathly silent. And then she started to laugh. And cry harder. And laugh.
    “Nice,” Leeda said, rolling her eyes.
    Together, she and Murphy hoisted Birdie up by her shoulders. She stood the rest of the way on her own, rubbing her face against her sleeve. They dragged through the grass, barely able to see, and slammed their way into the cider house, having to force the door closed behind them.
    The storm sounded different from inside. Echoey.
    Murphy peered around. “See, the perfect place to be during a hurricane. In a shoddily built shed full of sharp tools.”
    Leeda shot another look at Murphy. But she knew she wasright. Only Murphy seemed amused. Maybe that was the only thing to be. About everything.
    Birdie slumped against the wall, snuffling. Murphy and Leeda sidled next to her, Leeda holding her hand.
    After a long while, when Birdie had quieted, Murphy asked, “Do you think if we stay in here, we’ll land in Oz?”
    Birdie smiled a little.
    Far off, a tree splintered with a loud crash.
    “Well, it’ll save the Balmeades money on bulldozers,” Birdie said, sounding very Murphy. The girls laughed and then fell completely silent. They could hear the sound of metal cracking and more trees, big trees, breaking.
    “Do you think we might die?” Leeda asked. Nobody answered. “Because in case we do, I think we should have one of those deep talks where we spill our guts to each other.”
    Birdie and Murphy looked at her for a second. And then they burst out laughing, sort of desperately.
    “You’re such a dork,” Birdie said.
    Leeda felt herself blushing. “Shut up.”
    They all fell silent again. From then on, they listened to the rain. Leeda knew they were all thinking about their families, their homes. But nobody said it. From time to time the shed shook. Outside, the wind was relentless.
    And the rain sounded