I tried to keep my laugh in, but it came out. After Telly drove off, Gloria was always mad about him. She really wanted him to come home. She said she wasn’t going to get a wink of rest until our family was right back like it was.

“How about we go up to the top of the circle,” Rowan said. “That’s where the best stuff floats down. And Shar’s not there.”

Shar was my best friend. She lived with Darrell and his mom, Aunt Erma, who was not really my aunt, but Gloria told me to call her that. Shar’s mom was not a good mom, so Shar couldn’t stay with her. But she always went to visit every summer after school was over. But this year she left today. Shar said her mom was extra excited to see her.

We walked by Shar’s house. Darrell was outside, and he was working on a motorcycle. He was always doing that. He was wearing a T-shirt with a skull on it and shorts that had lots of threads sticking off the bottom.

“Hey,” Rowan said.

“Hey guys,” Darrell said back.

My face got warm right away. I looked at my rubber boots. They were green with frog eyes near where the toes were. Gloria got them from Stafford’s and they were way too big. I didn’t like them, but I couldn’t tell Gloria. I was afraid the frogs would get dirt in their eyes when I walked. I didn’t wear them for a long time, and Gloria said she was going to put my frog boots outside for the wolves to eat if I didn’t start.

“Something broken?” Rowan said.

“Nah. Just fine tuning. You want to see?”

“Sure, but later. I’m looking after Maisy. Last month after it rained she found a plastic duck in the ditch. Now she always wants to look.”

We found more than a plastic duck. I wanted to tell Darrell, but I didn’t. We also found a pink rubber thing that looked like a long submarine, but Gloria screamed when I carried it home.

“You guys doing anything neat this summer?”

I looked at Darrell. “Last night, Rowan slept in the—”

Rowan stomped right on the frog’s nose holes and said, “In the attic. Hung a hammock from the rafters.”

“Cool, that’s real cool.”

Then Rowan grabbed my arm and dragged me up the circle away from Darrell. I took a tissue out of my pocket and cleaned my boots. “Why’d you do that for? You almost squished my toes.”

“You can’t say shit like that, Maisy.”

“What?”

“Tell people Gloria stuck me out in the woods.”

“But it’s Darrell.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want Gloria getting in trouble?”

I shook my head.

“People coming to take you away because she’s a crap mother?”

“Like with Shar?”