Dedicating Every Day to You

Chapter Forty-Three

I'm busy washing dishes in the kitchen and singing along loudly to Metallica when John walks in from his morning shift at the diner. He's calling out something to me, but all I can hear is Enter Sandman, and I obliviously keep singing along.

"Kathryn!" John has finally shut the radio off and is standing in front of me. "Can you go and check on Koopa in the backyard for me? I'll finish the dishes." He has a mischevous sparkle in his eye, but I ignore it- probably Alex has been memeing at him again.

If it gets me out of dish duty, I'll scale the Empire State Building. I gladly set down my scrub brush, straighten my dress, and dash outside before he can change his mind. The August day is warm and thick with humidity, and it feels like walking into a cloud the second I open the door. Koopa is nowhere immediately visible, and I begin to worry just a little bit. I really don't want to have lost my dad's turtle- not again.

I walk nervously around to the front yard, my trusty Converse squishing down grass that really should be cut. I hope Koopa hasn't wandered into the road or into the woods. Oh God, I hope I didn't step on her. She's still so very, very small. Suddenly, I see a small paper turtle on the ground. It's Koopa's exact size, and on it are the words, 'follow the turtles'. There's another one, a couple of feet away. I slowly follow the papers, around to the driveway. They lead to a dented car with a giant Stanford bumper sticker. Standing in front of it are three girls.

One is tall and thin, wearing shorts and a sweater with the sleeves pushed up. One of them is medium height, with Bedazzled red flipflops. One is taller than the medium one but shorter than the taller one, with dark skin and shining eyes. All three are beaming at me. One of them is holding a tiny turtle in her hands.

I run the last few feet and throw my arms around Theo, Nina, and Harriet. I've missed my best friends more than I could possibly say. Theo was away in Colorado for almost the whole summer, and Harriet's stint at theatre camp in Jersey was too long for any of us to enjoy. But now they're home, and I couldn't be happier.

"Kathryn!" Theodosia gives me a bone-crushing hug. I inhale deeply, her familiar aura of cinnamon gum, orchid perfume, and wet chalk filling my lungs. I missed her possibly most of all.

Harriet squeezes both of us, her hands warm against my back. "I missed you guys. Theatre camp didn't feel right without you two. I kept waiting for one of you to make a joke or finish one of my sentences for me."

Nina laughs and rubs Harriet's back. "Well, they're here now- even though I'm leaving soon."

Several jaws drop as one. Harriet buries her face in Nina's shoulder. "You can't leave! I barely got to see you all summer." Her voice sounds very upset. I'd forgotten how much Harriet loves her stepsister- unlike any fictional character I've ever read.

Nina strokes her little sister's hair. "Oh, Harriet..." She pauses, as if she doesn't know what to say. After a few moments, she just rests her head on top of her little sister's. Her long hair makes a curtain of sorts, surrounding Harriet's face.

I turn to Theo, trying not to intrude upon the sisters' moment, taking in my other best friend for the first time. She looks as happy as ever, and is dressed in mostly black, but with a skirt printed with Monet's Water Lilies. Something about her seems different, though, and I can't quite put my finger on what. "How was Colorado?"

Theo's cheeks flush, and she grins. "Oh, it was amazing! My cousin Tabor is so nice, and his girlfriend and I went to museums almost every day! Her name is Alli, and she takes painting courses at Colorado University, and she has the coolest hair ever, all blue and spiky and-"

"Hair!" The word bursts out of my mouth before I can stop it. That's what I was seeing different- and now I know exactly why. Theodosia's characteristic, long tail of braid is gone. Her dark hair now hangs in a wispy, shadowy bob, with points that barely graze her chin. Her face looks more mature now, and she looks as though she's five years older. "Oh, Theo, your braid is gone!"