reach out and hold his hand. I was floating through the cosmos like a dream. And then I heard a toilet flush. I said, “Where are you, Connor?” He was in the bathroom. I said I thought we were sharing a tender moment gazing at the stars. He said we were. He could see them from the bathroom window.
Connor doesn’t get back till Wednesday night because every summer over the Fourth and on Labor Day weekend he goes fishing with his dad and his grandfather. It’s a Bowden men tradition. They have pioneer ancestors. The fishing meant we were out of communication the whole day. I kept thinking I’d lost my phone.
Lenora’s still banned from the Palacio pool, so Nomi and I went to Cristina’s this afternoon. Asked Cristina if she misses Max a lot. She said not so you’d notice. She talks to him every couple of nights unless they’re all singing songs around the campfire or someone sets off a stink bomb in the bunkhouse or something like that. And anyway if she wants to fight with someone she has her sister. Nomi says Jax’s never gone away long enough for her to miss him. It’s weird. I know I only just met Connor, but not being able to talk to him all day made me feel kind of lonely. Told Nomi when we were walking home. She says I’ll get over it. She says it’s like when you get a new pair of shoes and at first you’re so careful with them you clean them every time you wear them. But soon the only time you clean them is when you step in muck. I said she’s such a romantic I may start calling her Cupid.
Mr Kitosky’s still away, so we all went bowling tonight, including Grady (I should stop saying stuff like “including Grady”. He’s definitely part of the Mob now). I had them all in stitches over Paola shoving Gus in the lake. (Think how much funnier it would’ve been if I’d actually
seen
it and didn’t have to rely on what Gran and Zelda told me.) Cristina wanted to know if Gus really was flirting with Paola’s boyfriend. I said, “Only in his dreams.” Believe me, of the two of them, Del isn’t the one who’s stun-gun gorgeous. Besides, I know my sister. She doesn’t go after other people’s boyfriends; she has plenty of her own. There aren’t any cell phones allowed in the alley because a sudden burst of music could throw off someone’s game (which is why Mr Kitosky pushed Mr Ledbetter that time – his phone was playing “I Did It My Way” at top volume), so it wasn’t till I got home that I saw there was a text from Connor. It said:
SIX BIG ONES
! It took me a minute to realize he meant fish.
Ely showed up at the stand today dressed as the Vegetable Avenger. The Vegetable Avenger rights wrongs to the Vegetable Kingdom. He turns back pesticides, saves organic farms from being contaminated by GM seeds, rescues plants from polluted land and water, and is the enemy of industrial farming. Ely was wearing green leggings (at least the heatwave finally broke – otherwise he would’ve had to paint his legs), this orange smock thing of his mom’s, and a green paper bag with crêpe paper fronds glued to it. So basically he was a carrot. I said if only I’d known I would have come as celery. He said, “Then we could go to the beach for a dip!” I said you know, nobody’d believe you’re in college. Choked, we were laughing so much.
Connor texted me at least six times at work today! There’s a big softball game tomorrow afternoon and he wants me to go, to bring him and the team luck. Swapped my shift with Mike again.
Ely said if I spend much more time with my head bent over my phone, he’s going to forget what I look like. Ran out of charge around 4.30. Ely got on his knees to thank the gods of wireless communication just as the Countess pulled in. She wanted to know if he’d lost something. He said just some of his mind.
Had a dentist appointment this afternoon. Ely gave me a lift in his pick-up. He was still dressed as the Vegetable Avenger. The Vegetable Avenger may have several
Connor doesn’t get back till Wednesday night because every summer over the Fourth and on Labor Day weekend he goes fishing with his dad and his grandfather. It’s a Bowden men tradition. They have pioneer ancestors. The fishing meant we were out of communication the whole day. I kept thinking I’d lost my phone.
Lenora’s still banned from the Palacio pool, so Nomi and I went to Cristina’s this afternoon. Asked Cristina if she misses Max a lot. She said not so you’d notice. She talks to him every couple of nights unless they’re all singing songs around the campfire or someone sets off a stink bomb in the bunkhouse or something like that. And anyway if she wants to fight with someone she has her sister. Nomi says Jax’s never gone away long enough for her to miss him. It’s weird. I know I only just met Connor, but not being able to talk to him all day made me feel kind of lonely. Told Nomi when we were walking home. She says I’ll get over it. She says it’s like when you get a new pair of shoes and at first you’re so careful with them you clean them every time you wear them. But soon the only time you clean them is when you step in muck. I said she’s such a romantic I may start calling her Cupid.
Mr Kitosky’s still away, so we all went bowling tonight, including Grady (I should stop saying stuff like “including Grady”. He’s definitely part of the Mob now). I had them all in stitches over Paola shoving Gus in the lake. (Think how much funnier it would’ve been if I’d actually
seen
it and didn’t have to rely on what Gran and Zelda told me.) Cristina wanted to know if Gus really was flirting with Paola’s boyfriend. I said, “Only in his dreams.” Believe me, of the two of them, Del isn’t the one who’s stun-gun gorgeous. Besides, I know my sister. She doesn’t go after other people’s boyfriends; she has plenty of her own. There aren’t any cell phones allowed in the alley because a sudden burst of music could throw off someone’s game (which is why Mr Kitosky pushed Mr Ledbetter that time – his phone was playing “I Did It My Way” at top volume), so it wasn’t till I got home that I saw there was a text from Connor. It said:
SIX BIG ONES
! It took me a minute to realize he meant fish.
Ely showed up at the stand today dressed as the Vegetable Avenger. The Vegetable Avenger rights wrongs to the Vegetable Kingdom. He turns back pesticides, saves organic farms from being contaminated by GM seeds, rescues plants from polluted land and water, and is the enemy of industrial farming. Ely was wearing green leggings (at least the heatwave finally broke – otherwise he would’ve had to paint his legs), this orange smock thing of his mom’s, and a green paper bag with crêpe paper fronds glued to it. So basically he was a carrot. I said if only I’d known I would have come as celery. He said, “Then we could go to the beach for a dip!” I said you know, nobody’d believe you’re in college. Choked, we were laughing so much.
Connor texted me at least six times at work today! There’s a big softball game tomorrow afternoon and he wants me to go, to bring him and the team luck. Swapped my shift with Mike again.
Ely said if I spend much more time with my head bent over my phone, he’s going to forget what I look like. Ran out of charge around 4.30. Ely got on his knees to thank the gods of wireless communication just as the Countess pulled in. She wanted to know if he’d lost something. He said just some of his mind.
Had a dentist appointment this afternoon. Ely gave me a lift in his pick-up. He was still dressed as the Vegetable Avenger. The Vegetable Avenger may have several
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