“No! Never have.”

“I’ve heard Snyder and his crew are dealers—and can turn real nasty real quick.” He looks right at me. “One thing I can’t abide is strong-arm stuff.”

He strides back to the house.

I drive Cassie home. Snyder won’t forget that little incident in a hurry. He’ll be in grade twelve the year I’m new kid on the block at the regional high school. Now that is downright terrifying. It’s also one more reason to leave Hilchey Bay the day I turn sixteen.

After I put Cassie to bed, I read to her from Horton Hears a Who! Cassie really likes the idea that you’re somebody even though you’re small.

Her eyelids are drooping. I close her door and have a long, hot shower. Five or six years ago, Opal ordered Floyd to renovate her office, their bedroom, and the bathroom; the rest of the house could fall down around her ears for all she’d care. Seashells decorate the ceramic tile, with a shower curtain to match. Pearl-gray bathmat and towels, brushed pewter taps. Opal’s soaps and lotions smell like Della Barnes’s flower garden.

Opal’s no rosebud. She doesn’t need anyone lecturing her about boundaries. Opal’s a border crossing, armed guards everywhere, and me with no passport.

Even after all that hot water pummeling my muscles, they’re still complaining. Seems as good a time as any to start one of the books I took out of the library, the autobiography of the tennis player, Andre Agassi. Then, of course, I’m hooked. When he was only seven years old, his father forced him to hit balls for hours every day. As a kid, he was scared of his father. As a champion, he hated tennis.

I’m scared of Floyd and I hate hockey. Logically, I should be on the fast track to the NHL.

3.2 [don’t cry over spilled ...]

LIGHTS OFF around midnight, so I wake up later in the morning than I planned. Bathroom’s empty, but from the hall I can hear Opal and Floyd talking downstairs, Floyd’s voice tight.

“I told you, sales were down last month and they’re not happy at head office. Pete did his Big Boss act yesterday, with the result that I’ve been moved to this morning’s schedule ... do you think I’d be going to work on a Saturday otherwise? He’s even thinking of putting me on Saturdays permanently ... There’s a sale I’ve almost nailed down. He’d better not run interference.”