I thought about the four of us and wanted to shake my head. What chance did we have against guys like Luther? On the one hand, none. On the other hand, we had done pretty darn well so far.

As soon as practice was over, I showered, changed, and hurried to the hospital. The lady behind the desk had gotten to know me by now. She handed me a pass with a minimum of fanfare. I took the elevator up to his floor.

When I walked past the hospital lounge for visiting family members, I spotted Mrs. Spindel, Spoon’s mother, sitting in the corner. She stared out the window. Her eyes looked like shattered marbles. I stopped and swallowed. We had not spoken since my first visit after Spoon had been shot. She told me in no uncertain terms that she blamed me:

Oh, I know it’s your fault . . .

As though sensing my presence, Mrs. Spindel turned toward where I was standing. For a moment she just looked at me. I wasn’t sure what to do. Waving hello seemed foolish. I prepared for another dose of her deserved wrath. But she surprised me this time.

“Thank you, Mickey.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For being here. For being his friend.”

I shook my head. Her earlier anger had stung, but somehow this hurt more. I was Spoon’s friend? If so, some friend. “How is he?” I asked.

“No change.”

I wanted to say something encouraging, but that felt like the exact wrong thing to do. I nodded and waited.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was being too hard on you. I hope you understand . . .”

“You were right,” I said.

“No, Mickey, I wasn’t. It wasn’t your fault. I can see how much you care about him—and how much he cares about you. That’s rare and special. It’s just that since you’ve come to town . . .”

Her words faded away. She didn’t have to finish the thought. I got it. I had wanted to move back to the United States. I wanted to make roots in a town like Kasselton. I wanted to be in a real high school and play on a real team, and while I loved my life of travel with my parents, I had craved some normalcy.

So my loving parents had abided my wishes.

Now my father was dead. My mother was a drug addict. And my new friend was lying in a hospital bed, unable to move his legs.