Epilogue
T he Atkinsons’ station wagon is parked in front of my house when I park my bike to the side of the long row of bushes. Robyn asked me to ride home to grab her and Mom some snacks and a blanket when the wind picked up. I was trying to make it a quick trip, so that I wouldn’t miss Atta whenever she decided to show up to see Diana run the 4x400 meter relay, but here she is parked at my house.
Did she think we were meeting here?
She must have completely forgotten that both Diana and I told her pole vaulting started at 11:00.
Our front door slams shut and I have to do a double take of the scene in my front lawn.
Atta is walking out of our house holding Mom’s new phone and its wires are slapping her shorts, the way a house burglar would smuggle a treasure trove of jewelry on their way out from their escapade.
I watch from behind the massive bush, completely disregarding the reason I came here in the first place, and instead of grabbing what I need, I hop back in the car and follow Atta as she peels out from my house.
This is weird.
I sit in my car outside her home thinking about how I should approach this. She didn’t even take the neighboring back road to be cautious of the neighbor cop.
Let’s add this to the list of unconventionally weird behaviors she’s exhibited lately. The most recent one being the fact that she asked me to ask Tyler’s dad to investigate the mine explosion. I brought it up to Mr. Jacobson and despite the implied trust we had with each other about what he did for a living, he’d given me an awestruck expression before assuring me he’d look into it.
I went into it feeling slightly awkward to bring up one of Atta’s petty concerns but I did it because I didn’t want to disappoint her. I did it this time but I couldn’t go on making this a habit. I can’t do everything Atta wants me to do just because she has an intrusive mind.
She’s made up of curiosity. And that fact right there is going to get me into a lot of trouble if I don’t set my own boundaries. “No Atta, I will not fulfill your request to have law enforcement look into why the neighbor gardens in the dead of the night.” I laugh at my parody of what would be one of Atta’s logic-defying concerns.
I could deny her absurd requests before we started dating, so I can do it now. Her curiosities were as extensive as the stars, her mischievousness—I’m learning—might be just as boundless.
It was times like these that I found it exhausting to like my sister's best friend. She’s just gone and jacked my family’s main line with no explanation, but she’s pretty, so I guess I’ll put up with it.
That’s what I plan to do, but first I must find out what she plans to do with my landline.
This girl.
When I find her, I will wrestle with my sister's best friend until she confesses that she has a problem and then I’ll wrap my arms around her and kiss her, because regardless of the circumstance, it’s the first thing I want to do when I see her every day.