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"I got the new Seventeen and Tiger Beat," Kate said, stretching out on the blue shag carpeting. "You want to read em? We can take the Can You Be Tony DeFrancos Girlfriend? quiz. "
Tully lay down beside her. "Sure. "
"Jan-Michael Vincent is so foxy," Kate said, flipping to a picture of the actor.
"I heard he lied to his girlfriend," Tully said, daring a sideways glance.
"I hate liars. " Kate turned the page. "Are you really going to be a news reporter? You never told me that. "
"Yeah," Tully said, really imagining it for the first time. Maybe she could be famous. Then everyone would admire her. "Youll have to be one, too, though. Cause we do everything together. "
"Me?"
"Well be a team like Woodward and Bernstein, only with better clothes. And prettier. "
"I dont know—"
Tully bumped her. "Yes, you do. Mrs. Ramsdale told the whole class that youre an excellent writer. "
Kate laughed. "Thats true. Okay. Ill be a reporter, too. "
"When we get famous, well tell Mike Wallace we couldnt have done it without each other. "
After that, they fell silent, flipping through the magazines. Tully tried twice to bring up the subject of her mother, but both times Kate interrupted her, and then someone was yelling, "Dinner," and her chance for coming clean had slipped away.
All through the best meal of her life, she felt the weight of her lie. By the time theyd cleared the table and washed and dried the dishes, she was stretched to the breaking point. Even dreaming about fame on television couldnt ease her nerves.
"Hey, Mom," Kate said, putting away the last white CorningWare plate, "Tully and me are going to ride our bikes down to the park, okay?"
"Tully and I," her mother answered, reaching down into the magazine pouch of the La-Z-Boys arm for the TV guide. "And be back by eight. "
"Aww, Mom—"
"Eight," her father said from the living room.
Kate looked at Tully. "They treat me like Im a baby. "
"You dont know how lucky you are. Come on, lets get our bikes. "
They rode at a breakneck speed down the bumpy county road, laughing all the way. At Summer Hill, Tully flung her arms out and Kate followed.
When they got to the river park, they ditched their bikes in the trees and lay on the grass, side by side, staring up at the sky, listening to the river gurgling against the rocks.
"I have something to tell you," Tully said in a rush.
"What?"
"My mom doesnt have cancer. Shes a pothead. "
"Your mom smokes dope. Yeah, right. "
"Its true. Shes always high. "
Kate turned to her. "Really?"
"Really. "
"You lied to me?"
