“You okay?” asked Dave.

“I’m just … I really like this,” Rhonda said, indicating the painting.

“Good.”

“And I really like you.”

“Good! I really like you, too!”

“And I really like kissing you.”

“Good! I really like kissin’ you, too!”

“But…”

Dave’s heart started to sink, and he waited to hear what the “but” was.

But Rhonda wasn’t saying what the “but” was.

So Dave asked, “But what?”

Rhonda looked scared and sad, and Dave couldn’t figure out why. “I—I just,” stammered Rhonda. “I just don’t know if I’m ready for what comes … next.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s okay,” Dave said accommodatingly.

“Is it?”

“Yeah,” assured Dave.

“Really?” asked Rhonda.

“Yeah.”

And Rhonda was glad Dave had told her it was okay.

And she looked at the painting again. And said, “Um … would it be okay if … we just look at this for a while? ’Cause I just … wanna look at it for a while.”

“Yeah. Sure,” said Dave.

“’Cause it’s really good.”

“Thanks.”

And Rhonda sat on the old telephone bench. And looked at the painting. And loved it.

And Dave joined her on the bench.

And looked at the painting with her. For a while.

And then Rhonda said, “You’re a good guy, Dave.”

“You’re better,” said Dave.

“True,” admitted Rhonda.

And they laughed. Because Rhonda was joking. But they both knew it was no joke that Rhonda was the better person.

And then Rhonda shivered a little. Because her porch wasn’t fully winterized. It had screens instead of windows. But it wasn’t heated. So it was cold. Maybe not nineteen degrees, like it was outside. Maybe more like twenty-seven, thanks to the ambient heat from the house. Which is cold when you’re only wearing long johns.

Dave grabbed his jacket from off the floor and put it around Rhonda to warm her up. And Rhonda smiled—even though Dave had just draped an Arctic Cat jacket around her.

And she felt the lightness fill her insides again. It made her feel like she had even more fireflies inside her. And like she might levitate.

And she took Dave’s hand.

And held it tight so she’d have something to hold onto just in case she did.

11

As Ginette passed Rhonda Rideout’s, she wondered if Rhonda and Dave were together or going out or something. She knew her mom didn’t like it when she wondered about things that were none of her business, but everyone in Almost had been wondering about Rhonda and Dave lately. So why couldn’t she?

And all the wondering that people were doing about Dave and Rhonda made Ginette wonder if people had been wondering if she and Pete were together or going out or something. Because they had been hanging out a lot lately, too.

And then Ginette hoped people weren’t wondering about her and Pete, because there was nothing to wonder about.

Because Ginette and Pete weren’t together. And they weren’t going out.

And they were not “something.”

They were nothing.