the air seemed so much fresher.
A couple minutes later we rounded the corner of Riverdale Avenue. Once the ice-cream parlor was in sight, Charlie started walking so fast that he was pulling me. We walked in and I spotted Avery and Callie sitting at the back. âHey, look,â I said to Charlie. âAveryâs here.â
âWhere?â he asked. I bent down to him and pointed to the back table. âI like Avery,â Charlie announced. âEvery time I see her I get to eat dessert!â
I wanted to say hello to Avery and Callie, but Charlie couldnât wait to get his ice cream. I gave him money to order for both of us and went over to the table in the back. Charlie likes to order by himself, but I didnât let him out of my sight. His head was barely higher than the counter. I watched the guy behind the counter hand Charlie his change, and then Charlie headed over to us. He walked extra slowly because he was carrying ice cream for both him and meâa scoop of chocolate in a cone with rainbow sprinkles for himself, and a plain scoop of chocolate in a cup for me. I donât really like cones. Theyâre okay in the beginning, but I like to eat my ice cream slowly, so that it gets kind of soupy, and the cone gets too soggy and messy that way. I stood up to help Charlie, and Avery got up and sat in the booth next to Callie so that Charlie could sit next to me.
âOooh, itâs a music box,â he said.
âA jukebox,â I corrected him.
âHere,â Avery said, fishing a quarter out of her pocket. âWhy donât you pick a song?â
âCool,â Charlie said. âHey, Leah, whatâs that song Daddy always sings that Mommy doesnât like?â
ââYou Give Love a Bad Name,ââ I told him.
âYeah, thatâs it,â he said. âI love that song.â
âBon Jovi,â Avery said. âThatâs very old school. Awesome choice. How come your mom doesnât like it?â
âShe doesnât like that Charlie points his fingers like a gun whenever he sings about being shot through the heart,â I told her.
âHelp me find it, Leah,â Charlie said.
âWhat do you say?â I asked, the way Mom sometimes does.
âPlease,â Charlie said automatically. I reached over him and turned the dials on the jukebox.
âThey might not have it,â I warned him. Charlie clasped his hands together like he was praying. I heard him mutter âplease, pleaseâ to himself. âYouâre in luck,â I said after a few seconds. âHere it is.â Charlie dropped the quarter in, and I showed him what button to press.
âHow come itâs not coming on?â Charlie asked.
âYou have to wait,â Avery explained. âAll the little jukeboxes are hooked up to the same system, so you pay for a song, and then when itâs your turn, it will come out of the big jukebox in the front and everyone will hear it.â
âHow long will it take?â he asked.
Avery shrugged. âIt depends on how many people bought songs before you did.â
âWhat if we have to leave before it comes on?â Charlie asked.
Charlie has a habit of sometimes asking too many questions. I hoped Avery and Callie didnât think he was being too annoying. I was still the new kid in school. They could still decide not to be my friends, so I wanted Charlie to act as adorable as possible. âFinish your ice cream,â I told Charlie. âIt will come on soon.â I stirred the ice cream in my cup to make it more soupy and hoped Charlie would be quiet for at least a few minutes.
âHey, did you guys hear from Brenna last night?â Callie asked.
âWhoâs Brenna?â Charlie asked. His mouth was full of ice cream so it came out kind of muffled, but I knew what he was saying.
âSheâs another friend of ours,â I said. âSheâs on a trip with her
Legs McNeil, Jennifer Osborne, Peter Pavia