When she didn’t start up again, I prompted a little. “So it was dark...”

“Greta decided she wanted to swim. She thought it would be fun. Wendy tried to talk her out of it. She warned her not to go in, because she knew Greta wasn’t a strong enough swimmer to take that kind of chance.”

“But she went anyway?”

“Greta started swimming away from shore, mad because Wendy wouldn’t go in with her. Wendy yelled at her, but she wouldn’t come back. So Wendy decided to run back and get a chaperone. Before she could get even halfway, she heard Greta screaming, and Wendy knew she was in trouble. She ran back and jumped into the water to find her, but she couldn’t. She said it was like Greta had never been there. And by the time the authorities got to the beach to help search, Greta was gone for good.”

The story was awful enough. I could only imagine how much worse reality had been. “Did they find her body?”

“Farther up the beach, but not for another hour.”

I felt so sorry for everyone involved, Greta most of all, of course. Wendy, who hadn’t been able to stop or save her best friend. The parents of both girls. The chaperones. Every other student at the bonfire.

“The other night you said that Wendy was distraught afterward. I can see why.”

“She was in a daze for months. She didn’t want to finish the final week of school. She didn’t want to go to parties or activities. So we rented a house for the summer in the North Carolina mountains. I found a counselor to work with her, for all the good it did.”

“I’m sure staying in town would have been worse.”

“Some people blamed her. Some of their friends said Greta’s death was Wendy’s fault, that she should never have sneaked off with her. But others said it was Greta who wanted to sneak away. Pretty soon everyone who knew the two girls had taken sides. It was terrible for your sister.”

“And the next year?”

“She started high school, and some kids in her classes were from other middle schools. She found her feet socially again, but she never had another close friend, at least not one like Greta. She’d have a couple of girls over to spend the night once in a while, but the next time the girls would be different.”

“Equal opportunity friendship.”

My mother sat back. “She was never the same. I’d catch her staring into space at the oddest times. I had to nag her to finish schoolwork, but eventually that improved, even though she never concentrated as well. I think that’s where the messy habits began. She just forgot to clean up after herself, like her mind was elsewhere.”

One thing stood out for me. “I’m amazed nobody ever told me this.”

“It’s a hard story to repeat, Ryan. Wendy just wanted to move on, so that’s what we did. The Harolds moved away almost immediately. Wendy and Greta’s old friends found new interests and new friends in high school. At first there was talk of a service project to honor Greta, but nothing much came of it. I think some club raised money for swimming lessons for kids who couldn’t afford them. But that only lasted a year or two. Your father established a college fund for Greta’s younger brother, but I don’t think her parents ever touched a cent.”