Bacon? Grammy was frying bacon? Abby couldn't believe it. Grammy never cooked breakfast. Never. Chester must like bacon, of course Chester liked bacon, that was the only reason it was being fried by Grammy. Abby went down stairs. She was not happy to see Chester sitting at the breakfast table. Grammy said, "Good morning Abby," like she had just had a swig of joy juice.

Chester didn’t look at Abby when she sat down. It was the first time she had been this close to him since they picked him up at the airport three weeks ago. She didn't know what to say or do. Grammy put a plate in front of her. She was beaming. Abby glanced from Chester to Grammy. They did look alike. They were both thin with long fingers. Abby looked at her hands. She did not have long fingers.

Grammy asked, "Does that song you were playing last night have a titled yet, son?"

Chester shook his head. "I haven't been able to come up with anything." He put his fork down and looked directly at Abby. "What instrument do you play?"

"I don't."

"Ma had me strapped to the piano when I was four." He looked at his mother. "I am surprised at you.”

Grammy fingered the rim of her orange juice glass. "That was when your father had his stroke. I didn't have time."

Chester’s eyes clouded over. “Oh.” He picked up his coffee cup and went back to his room.

The doorbell rang. Grammy said, "That'll be Samantha, could you get the door?"

"Sure." Abby left her cold untouched plate of food and went to the front door. When she opened it Samantha's mother waved from her car and drove off. Samantha marched into the living room and seated herself at the piano. She had a very determined look on her face. She told Abby, "I been practicing the Animal Fair every day. I can play it through. Want to hear?" Without waiting for a reply Samantha began to play the song from memory.

Abby clapped her hands when she finished. "That was wonderful Samantha."

A big smile spread across Samantha’s tiny face. Dramatically she gasped, "Oh, thank you.” Her tone changed when she added, “My mom hopes I get a new piece today. She's had about all the Animal Fair she can stand for the rest of her life." Abby knew the feeling. Grammy came in and sat down on the piano bench beside Samantha.

Abby dismissed herself and went outside. The air was damp with a hint of autumn's coolness. She walked across the street and knocked on the Spenser's front door. Of course David would open the door. He grinned, started to call her Juliet, then stopped. He said, "Follow me." Without teasing her, he led her to his mother's tiny studio, it had once been the kitchen pantry. "If you need anything my uh..." He squeezed her arm, and left her with his mother.

At the window Lila was working on a painting. She had a green smear of paint across her nose. She up looked from her painting to Abby and asked, "Bad morning?"

Feeling tears building inside Abby nodded.

"What is wrong?"

Unable to articulate what she felt Abby just stood there. In an instant Lila's arms were around her. The tears she had held in since yesterday spilled out of her. She blubbered, "Chester said, I might not be his and if I'm not his then I am not Grammy's either."

Lila let out a disgusted sigh. "Chester can be so hateful. You are his, you are Grammy's."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"I don't look like them."

Lila took Abby by the hand and took her to her filing cabinet. She opened and drawer and pulled out a folder. In it were old black and white pictures, one was a young woman. The eyes that looked at her in the photograph were similar to her own. Lila said, "This is your Grandy's older sister Beth when she was young. I did a portrait of her for her husband after she passed. See, those eyes and that nose. You look like her." Though Abby did see the similarity, she was not convinced. She wanted to hope, but she didn’t have the courage to do so. If she were Grammy's wouldn't she be musical in some way? Her life so solid, so sure was now a land of shadows. She did not know anything for sure except that Susan had given birth to her. Lila put the folder back in her filing cabinet.

Ryan came into the room followed by the Spenser's gray cat, Mr. Nick. Both looked like they had just woken up. Mr. Nick rubbed himself against Abby's leg. She stooped down and picked him up. He was heavy. Softly she rubbed his fat tummy. He closed his golden eyes and began to rumble like distant thunder. It must be nice to be a cat.

Ryan cleared his throat. She looked up at him. He asked, "You busy this afternoon?"

From long experience Abby had learned it was better to question a Spenser boy before she agreed to anything. "Why?"

"There's a football scrimmage. Want to come?"

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More information was necessary. There was something odd about the way Ryan was looking at her. "Who else is going?"

"Just me and David."

That should be safe enough, and it would be better than being stuck at home. "Okay."

*

Abby sat on the metal bleacher wedged between Ryan and David. Every so often David would lean his head on her shoulder and bat his eyelashes at her. He was so annoying. Still she would rather put up with him, than spend the afternoon with her maybe grandma and maybe father. While she was distracted by a cheerleader spinning through the air, David's arm inched slowly around her and rested on her shoulder. She glared at him and tried to shrug it off. "Move your arm."

David just smiled at her.

Abby shrugged her shoulder again, but he did not remove his arm. She jabbed him hard in the ribs. He let go and said, "If love be rough with you, be rough with love. Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet Act I Scene iv." He slid his arm around her shoulders again and crushed her to him.

This was too much. Loudly she said, "Stop it or I'm leaving."

“Will do.” David pulled his arm away and grinned. In a stage whisper he added, "Besides they all think you're here with me now," he paused, before he added, "as my girlfriend."

Three rows down Abby saw a clump of boys David’s age jabbing each other and pointing at her. She glared at them. David was such a pain. She got up and moved to the other side of Ryan. There was no way David was going to touch her again. There was no way those little junior high boys could believe she was David's girlfriend. She glanced at them. They were so dumb.

Players ran up the field and down the field. Abby had no idea what was going on. She asked, "Are we winning?"

Without taking his eyes off the field, Ryan said, "Look at the score board."

On the other side of him David said, "Yes, honey we're winning."

She pretended not to hear. To Ryan she said, "I'm going to get a coke. You want one?"

Ryan shook his head. David stood up and said, "I do. I'll come with you."

"No, you won't. Ryan, make his stay." Ryan grabbed hold of David's sweatshirt while she left the bleachers. At the concession stand she saw Jaspar Glenn and his mother.

Jaspar said, "Hi, Abby." He smiled big and pointed at the latest gap in his teeth. "Lost another one." He pulled a dollar out of his jeans pocket. “This is what the Tooth Fairy bringed me last night.”

“You are rich.”

He grinned. "I know."

Mrs. Glenn nervously said, "Uh-h I heard your father has come for a visit."

Great, Abby thought. "Yes Ma'am." The woman at the counter asked for her order. “Two large cokes.”

Mrs. Glenn blushed before she spoke again. "I remember when I was in the eighth grade, Chester was the drum major. I will never forget the way he'd throw his head way back and march across the field. He was something.” She sighed then added, “I had the worst crush on him."

Abby's mouth silently formed the word, oh. The woman at the counter gave Abby her drinks. Abby slid the quarters to her.

Jaspar saw someone he knew and took out after them. His mom told Abby, "See you, Thursday."

"Yeah, see you then." Thursday seemed like a long time from now. She sighed and headed back up the bleachers. Ryan was still holding onto David. He let go and she handed David his drink.

Ryan said, "The shrimp almost go away twice."

David smiled up at her. "Where love goes I must follow."

Abby didn't respond. She was getting a headache and she wanted to go home. Before she could tell Ryan she was leaving, David said, "Lookey over there."

Ryan asked, "Who's that man with Mom?"

At first Abby didn't recognize him. He had his head tilted back laughing. She had never even seen him smile. Lila leaned against the fence and made a funny face.

David said, "Must be somebody she went to school with."

"It is," Abby said. "That's Chester."

David asked, "Your daddy?"

Abby glared at him. "Don't ever call him that."

David squinted at Chester.

Lila motioned for them to come down. Abby wasn’t going down there. She looked away. Ryan and David got up.

Ryan asked, "Aren’t you coming?"

"No." She took a slow sip of her drink as they passed by her.

*

When Abby got home from the game, Grammy was in the kitchen sorting through coupons. "We win?"

"Yes," at least that is what David told her.

Grammy looked at her kind of funny. "You and Ryan are just friends, right?"

"Yes." She pulled a glass out of the cabinet and sat it on the counter.

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

What was Grammy getting at? “Why are you so interested in Ryan's love life?"

Grammy shrugged and crumpled up an expired coupon. “I’m not. I am interested in you. Was today a date?”

“No.”

Grammy seemed relieved.

Abby poured herself some apple juice and went up to her room. Through the window the sun tossed peach fire upon the water. It was beautiful. Her eyes traveled down the shore. She saw two people huddled together on her favorite piling. It was Chester and Lila. They were sitting so close, too close. She saw Chester kiss Lila’s cheek. Abby waited for Lila to slap Chester or at least move away from him. Instead she smiled and put her head on his shoulder.

*

Abby groaned. It was after midnight and she couldn't sleep. On bare feet she crept out of her room and down the stairs. The front door creaked softly as she opened it. The sound of the night waves reached out to sooth her. She slid onto the porch swing, curled her legs beneath her. Back and forth she swung. The beams of head lights slashed through the dark. She scrunched down on the swing and hid. A car pulled up into the Spenser’s driveway. Someone got out of the car. She heard Ryan's voice and then the car pulled away. She waited awhile before she sat back up. She didn't want Ryan to know she was awake.

From the bushes a dark form appeared.

Abby squealed.

Ryan laughed. He came through the screen door followed by Mr. Nick. The cat jumped on the swing and curled up in Abby's lap. Ryan sat down beside her. He smelled sweaty.

He asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Listening to the waves."

Without asking if she wanted his company, he sat down beside her. Truth was she really was sick of her own company, so she didn’t tell him to go. Gently he set the swing in motion. The sound of Mr. Nick's purr blended with the shush of the waves against the pilings. The pilings...all at once Abby blurted out, "I saw Chester kiss Lila."

Ryan slammed his feet down and stopped the swing. Mr. Nick jumped out of his arms. Angrily Ryan asked, "What did you say?"

Though she knew he had heard her, she replied, "I said, I saw Chester kiss your mother this evening." Abby pointed toward the pilings and said, "Over there."

Too loudly he asked, "On the lips?"

If he woke Grammy, there would be hell to pay. "Shh, not so loud. They were sitting really close and he kissed her cheek. I don’t know if they mouth kissed."

In a firm but worried voice, Ryan said, “My mom would not mouth kiss anybody but my dad.” He got up and opened the screen door. Mr. Nick scampered into the night and Ryan followed.

Miserably, Abby drew her knees up under her chin. From the house the sound of the guitar began to play. There was no way she was listening to that tonight. Quietly, she went up stairs to her room and jammed on her rifle range headphones. Chester’s gentle music could not penetrate the sound barrier.