When it began to grow dark, she made herself a sandwich and sat eating alone at the kitchen table where she had sat so often with Gran. She was midway through her meal when she heard a kitten cry. She sat where she was a moment, then got up and went to the back door. There was Spook. Bennett Scott’s kitten was ragged and scrawny, but all in one piece. Nest slipped outside and picked up the kitten, holding it against her breast. Where had he come from? There was no sign of Pick. But Spook couldn’t have found his way here all alone.
She put milk in a bowl and set the bowl on the porch for Spook to drink. The kitten lapped hungrily, a loud purr building in its furry chest. Nest watched hi silence, thinking.
After a while, she picked up the phone and called Robert.
“Hey,” she said.
“Nest?”
“Want to go for a bike ride and visit Jared?”
There was a long pause. “What did you do to me last night?”
“Nothing. Want to go with me or not?”
“You can’t visit Jared. He’s off limits. They’ve got him hi intensive care.”
Nest looked at the shadows lengthening hi the park. “Let’s go see him anyway.”
She hung up and when the phone rang, she left it alone. With Robert, it was best not to argue or explain.
Twenty minutes later he wheeled into her drive, dropped his bike in the grass, and walked up to her where she was back sitting out on the porch steps. He brushed at his unruly blond hair as he strode up, bouncing defiantly on the balls of his feet.
“Why’d you hang up on me?” he demanded.
“I’m a girl,” she said, shrugging. “Girls do things like that. Want a root beer?”
“Geez. Bribery, yet.” He followed her into the kitchen. “How’s your grandpa?”
“Good. He won’t be able to come home for a while, maybe a week. But he’s okay.”
“Good for him. Wish I could say the same.”
She cocked one eyebrow speculatively. “What’s the matter? Did I hurt you last night?”
“Ah-hah! You admit it!” Robert was ecstatic. “I knew you did something! I knew it! What was it? C’mon, tell me!”
She reached into the refrigerator, brought out a can of root beer, and handed it to him. “I used a stun gun.”
He stared at her, openmouthed. Then he flushed. “No, you didn’t! You’re just saying that because that was what I told the cops! Where would you get a stun gun, anyway? Come on! What did you do?”
She cocked her head. “You mean you lied to the police?”
He continued to stare at her, frustration mirrored in his narrow, bunched features. Then he crooked his finger. “C’mere.”
He led her back outside, down the steps and into the yard. Then he shook the can of root beer as hard as he could, pointed it at her, and popped the top. Cold fizz sprayed all over her. He waited until she was glaring openly at him, then took a long drink from the can and said, “Okay, now we’re even.”
She went inside to wash and change her T-shirt, then came back out to find him dangling a length of string in front of Spook, who was watching with a mix of curiosity and mistrust. “Are you ready?” she asked, picking the kitten up and depositing him inside the house.
He shrugged. “Why are we doing this, anyway?” He dropped the string and walked over to retrieve his bike.
She kicked at his tire as she walked past. “Because I’m afraid Jared might not come back from wherever he’s gone if one of us doesn’t go get him.”
They wheeled their bikes to the top of the drive, climbed onto the seats, and began to pedal into the twilight. They rode down Sinnissippi Road and across Lincoln Highway to the back streets that led to the hospital. They rode in silence, watching the city darken around them, its people settling in behind lighted windows in front of lighted screens. Children played in yards, and lawn mowers roared. Starlings sang raucously, and elderly couples walked in slow motion down the concrete sidewalks that had become the measure of their lives.