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“Yes.” He paused. “Ah, I wanted to let you know that I have to go out of town for the next couple of days. Nothing serious. A kind of business trip. But I won’t be able to come by.”
“Oh.” I felt a sharp pain in my stomach—not really a pain, more a tiny explosion that seemed in danger of getting bigger.
“But I’ll be back Friday. That’s still the date of the hearing, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. I know this is very ill-timed for you. But I’m afraid it can’t be helped.”
I worked to control my voice. “That’s okay,” I said.
“Anyway, Friday’s the important day, and I promise I’ll be here for that.”
“Okay.” Friday was now a straight, downhill fall away. All the possibilities had been wrung out of time until then.
“Will you be all right?” He had heard the disappointment in my voice.
“Oh, I’ll be fine, thanks. Thanks for thinking about me.”
“All right, then. I’ll see you Friday. If I get back Thursday night, I’ll give you a call. Okay? Chin up.”
“Chin up,” I repeated stupidly and put down the phone. In the kitchen, the water wasn’t running in the sink anymore. I stood there in the stillness in the hall, and in a few seconds Mrs. Vernon stuck her head out the door. She was startled to find me looking right at her.
“Oh,” she said. “Who was that?”
“Reverend Vaughn. He’s going away for a few days.”
“That’s a shame. What bad timing.” She stepped into the hall, drying her hands on her apron. “If you’d like, I can arrange for you to see Reverend Wallenback. He’s a very nice man, very helpful.”
“No, thanks.” I wanted to say something cruel, something hurtful to her. How could she even think that that dismal man could take the place of Reverend Vaughn? But I fought the urge and ran upstairs. “I’ll be all right,” I called back.
Twenty minutes later, the phone rang again. Soon Mrs. Vernon was at the bedroom door to explain that Mrs. O’Brien wanted a session that afternoon with Bunny and me. There was a problem, though—Mrs. O’Brien couldn’t reach Bunny at home or at work. I said I thought I could find her with the help of a phonebook. We trudged downstairs, and Mrs. Vernon handed me the Katydid directory. But then she stood there, apparently curious to see what I’d look up. I didn’t want to let on, so I riffled the pages until I got an idea. Then I found the listing for the News Depot and asked the operator to ring that number. After the first ring, Frank Winwood, the counterman, answered.
“Is Bunny Calhoun there?” I asked.
“Who?” Frank was in Tom’s class, and the two used to get into fights.
“Bunny Calhoun.”
“Why the hell would she be here?” Frank demanded. “She never comes in here. Who is this?”
“Okay. Thanks.” I hung up and shook my head.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Vernon said. “Mrs. O’Brien really wants to find her.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” She turned away. “Just concerned, I guess.”
We went into the kitchen. Mrs. Vernon put the kettle on the burner and scooped some loose tea into the wire nest in the top of her orange pot. After a minute or so, I said I’d try Bunny again. I hurried into the hall, just out of Mrs. Vernon’s sight, and thumbed through the phone book until I found Eddie Boggs’s number. Then I whispered it to the operator. The phone rang eight times, and the operator broke in. “No one’s home,” she said.
“Keep trying,” I whispered.
After four more rings, Bunny answered.
“Who is this?” she said.
“Me.”
