Staring off into space, he took a sad bite of his sandwich. The boys had gone completely quiet. Annie couldn’t keep from smiling, though. Seamus spotted it and realized that Raj had put one over on them. Furious, he said, “Your mom was a nigger, nigger boy.”

“Why don’t you just leave us alone, you knucklehead,” Annie shouted, turning herself around.

“Drop dead, garlic breath.”

Annie was just wild now and gave Seamus a glancing slap that caught his cheek. He reacted by throwing a hard punch right beneath her eye. She tried to get up to hit him, but her sweater snagged on one of the bolts holding the bench together. Taking his chance, he punched her again, hitting the side of her mouth. Nora got up and Seamus ran, Nora chasing after.

Annie freed her sweater and covered her face. She hated it that she was crying but couldn’t stop herself. All the boys who had been having lunch with Seamus stood awkwardly around, calling him a knucklehead and a no-ball man. Everybody liked Annie. Raj nervously touched her shoulder and said he was sorry. Nora returned, flushed and out of breath. She pushed in next to Annie. As efficient as she had been with the death, she eased Annie’s hands away and examined her face. Her eye was already swelling, and blood leaked from her lip.

Frank pulled up outside the grocery store but remained in his truck, not wanting to go in and have his dad make jokes about what he had been doing with his girlfriend. Esta had asked him to come for a walk with her this morning out by the floodplain and had broken up with him. Almost two years from the day of their first date. In a week, he had planned to ask for her hand.