Free Garden of Angels by Lurlene McDaniel

me. I felt undressed, and I crossed my arms over my chest and hunkered down into the straw. At last the song ended and the radio played something more upbeat. I got mad at Becky Sue for getting her period and not coming. And mad at myself for coming anyway.
    The ride seemed interminable, but finally the truck turned into a large open field and stopped in the center, where a huge pile of wood had already been laid for the bonfire. Logs for us to sit on had been placed around the perimeter of the pile. A table, holding stacks of hot dogs and buns and bags of marshmallows, stood to one side. Three ice chests held cold drinks. J.T. leaned over one, rummaged and came up with a bottle of orange soda. “What, no beer?” he asked, making kids laugh.
    “Cool it, J.T.,” Pastor Jim admonished.
    Carole came to me and asked about Mama. “She doesn’t look real good,” I said.
    “Chemo is difficult,” Carole said, “but I’m sure her doctors are doing what’s best for her.” She handed me a paper plate and a raw hot dog. “Darcy, your mother has so many friends who want to do something for her.”
    I shrugged. “There’s nothing anybody can do.”
    “We can help her family.”
    “How so?”
    “Her friends can take turns bringing over suppers for as long as she’s in Atlanta. I’ll organize a list of her church family and garden club ladies, if that’s all right. I know Adel’s cooking for your family, but—”
    “That would be great,” I said before she could even finish her sentence.
    “Your mother’s been so good to me, and I’d love to help your family while she’s going through this.”
    Carole moved off and I stared down at the plate I held. The hot dog looked unappetizing. Still, the fire had been lit and kids were roasting their dinners on sticks they’d found in the field. I went off in search of one for myself.
    I’d gotten a late start in the stick search. The ones closer to the fire had already been claimed. I was glad of the moonlight as I looked over the ground, walking farther into the field. I circled around a clump of live oak trees, and a voice asked, “Who’s there?”
    Startled, I jumped backward and dropped my plate.
    The red glow of a cigarette preceded Jason from the other side of a tree. “Oh, it’s you,” he said.
    “You scared me to death,” I whispered fiercely. My heart was pounding, and not just from fright. “What are you doing over here? And—are you smoking?”
    He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and offered it to me. “Want a drag?”
    I’d never had such a long conversation with him, and suddenly he was inviting me to smoke with him. If I took the cigarette, would he think I was mature and sophisticated? I almost reached for it. “Uh—no thanks. I don’t smoke,” I finally said, picturing myself having a coughing fit in front of him. That was what had happened the one time Becky and I had tried smoking.
    He took a long drag, dropped the butt and ground it into the dirt with the toe of his boot. “Good. Girls who smoke look trashy.”
    I stood feeling self-conscious as the acrid smell of the cigarette dissipated into the cool night air. I caught the subtle scent of his leather jacket and cinnamon as he popped a breath mint into his mouth. “You looking for a stick to roast a hot dog?” I asked. I had no experience talking to boys. Not to boys who made my heart beat faster and my knees wobbly.
    “I came because Carole and Jim made me come,” Jason said. “As you might have figured out, I don’t like being here. And I don’t just mean at this hayride.”
    I knew. “I reckon Conners is a big letdown after living in Chicago.”
    “I promised Carole I’d finish high school.”
    “Is that why you’re staying?”
    “That’s the only reason.”
    I thought of how J.T. and his jock friends had treated Jason from the minute he’d arrived. “You know, we’re not all like J.T.,” I said.
    “People give him a lot of respect. Why is that?”
    I