I hid my bike behind the holly bush so it would be the last thing to go into the moving truck. I wanted to trick Mom, so I could go back to the pond one last time. I rode down the street on the sidewalk going as fast as I could pedal because…because…

Cady bolted out of the shower, the door swinging crazily as she reached for a towel that she wrapped around her middle. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she raced down the hall, shouting to Lola and anyone else who could hear her. “I remember something! I remember. It just came to me in the shower.”

She stood at the top of the steps, her hair full of shampoo, her body dripping wet and puddling on the floor at her feet. Her hands were clenched into tight fists as she squeezed her eyes shut trying to remember more. She needed to remember more.

And then they were there, jabbering and laughing, hugging her as they led her back to the bathroom. “My God, Lola, I’m really starting to remember. I was just standing in the shower thinking about how Mom never hugged or cuddled me. You were the only one who ever did that. It came to me out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. I remember that the reason I hid my bike behind the holly bush was so I could go to the pond one last time because…Because why, I don’t know. It’s coming back, little pieces at a time. I had to trick Mom. I did, too. I told her Mrs. Hollister said her cake was so heavy it could be used as a doorstop. Mom got all flustered, then I asked her what sanctimonious meant. She got all flustered again and went back into the house, and that’s when I took my bike out of the bushes and rode off.”

“We’re so happy for you, Cady. The rest will come, I’m sure of it,” Lola said, hugging her.

“Why didn’t they kick up a fuss, Lola? How could they have gone off and left me like that?”

Lola shooed her into the bathroom. “We can talk about it later. Finish your shower and come down to the kitchen.”

Even with the water running in the shower, she could hear their raspy whispers. What were they talking about? Did they know something they weren’t telling her?

Fifteen minutes later, barefoot, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, Cady galloped down the steps, Atlas at her side. She needed to talk to her mother. Maybe she even needed to talk to her father. Like that was really going to happen. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually spoken one-on-one to her father.

They were seated at the table, waiting for her. She had the same feeling she’d had the day they’d gone to the pond. They were up to something now, too. Or else they had a secret only the three of them knew.