She led me into the backyard, then into a stand of trees, and down a red-clay bank rutted out by heavy rains. At the bottom, we picked our way into deeper forest and along a footpath to a creek that gurgled among the stones.

“I found this place when I was six.”

Becky spoke over her shoulder as she led me deeper, parting a tangle of vines so I could follow her into a clearing where the creek spilled into a basin dappled with light, its loveliness so unexpected and complete it startled me.

“Isn’t it something? Sit here.” She gestured at a mossy spot near the water’s edge. “Give me a second, okay?”

I watched her gather bits of trash washed in by the creek, making a neat pile of it beside the trail.

“I have to stay on top of this, especially after it rains.” She dropped a final bit of plastic, then sat beside me with her knees up and her arms crossed to make a place for her chin. “So,” she said. “Gibby French.”

“Becky Collins.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“What?”

“Whatever it is I see down in the bottom of those pretty green eyes.”

I didn’t want to talk about Jason or Tyra, so I changed the subject. “This place is pretty amazing. How’d you find it?”

“Any kid would have.”

“Have others?” I asked. “Found it, I mean.”

“Not for a while, I guess. I don’t see people here. There are houses that way—a whole other street—but there are brambles and kudzu. The drop is steeper.”

“Do you ever swim?”

She raised one eyebrow into a perfect arch. “Do you want to?”

I did want to. It was the coolness and the depth, the vines that made a curtain, and the stillness of the deep, green shade.

“I’m not taking off my clothes,” she said.

“Me, either.”

“Underwear, then?” I looked for the joke, but there was no such thing in her eyes. “You first,” she said, and then watched as I took off my shoes, stood awkwardly, and fumbled at my belt. “Do you want me to turn around?” I nodded stupidly, surprised when she closed her eyes and covered them with her hands. “How about this instead?”

I took off my shirt and pants, realizing then that her fingers were spread and she was grinning as she watched. I said, “Cheater,” then stepped into the pool, which was deeper than I’d thought. I moved to the middle and sank to my chin.