Free No Such Thing as a Free Ride by Shelly Fredman Page B

system. She developed an infection and it attacked her heart.” She let out a weary sigh. “And as sad as it is, it’s a common story. My friend works in the coroners’ office in Camden. Called me up about a year ago in tears. Said this pretty little white girl had come in—she was a runaway and she’d O.D.’d. She’d just given birth. God only knows what happened to her baby.” Another sigh, then, “Well, I’d better go tend to the living. Brandy,” she added, “Dr. Sanchez was right. You a
re
one of the good guys. If more people cared about these kids, there would be far fewer that end up like this one.”
    After we said our goodbyes, I reached for the Homer Simpson Pez dispenser I keep on my coffee table for moments like these when I need some quick cheering up. Homer is hilarious, especially when he’s dispensing pure sugar pellets from his neck. Only the Pez dispenser wasn’t there.
    I crawled around on the floor, checking under the couch, but it was nowhere in sight. The last time I’d seen it, Crystal was helping herself to some candy.
    “Weird,” I mused aloud, plunking myself back on the couch.
    “What is?” Nick came into the living room and handed me a chocolate bar and some aspirin and sat down next to me again.
    “I’m pretty sure Crystal stole my Pez dispenser. I had a twenty dollar bill sitting right next to it, and that’s still here.”
    “Not so weird, darlin’. She wasn’t trying to rip you off, she just wanted something of yours to take with her. This may be hard to believe, but it’s actually a compliment. It shows that she trusts you.”
    I sandwiched the aspirin between two bits of chocolate and popped it into my mouth.
    “How do you know so much about this kid, Nick? You just met her but you seem to understand her better than I ever will.”
    Nick’s normally placid face showed the slightest bit of distress, but it was enough to send a pang through my heart. “Why is that?” I pressed. “Why did you guys connect the way you did?”
    He cut me a lopsided smile and my heart officially broke. “The reason I understand Crystal is because when I was a kid I lived on the streets too.”
    Woah! I did not see that one coming… although, now that he’d told me, it made all the sense in the world.
    “I’ve been on my own since I was twelve,” he continued, quietly. “Luckily, I had some help along the way.”
    My eyes got all teary again. “Nick, I’m so sorry.”
    “It’s okay, Angel. I got through it,” he said, pulling me to him. I rested my head against his shoulder and prayed to the universe I’d never have to move again.
    “But how?” I nearly sobbed. “How do you ‘get through’ something like that?”
    Nick stroked my hair, comforting me. “My maternal grandfather was Cherokee. He died when I was just a little boy, but he taught me a very wise Cherokee saying. ‘Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.’ I try to live by that.”
    “Nick,” I said, turning to face him. “I asked you something a while ago, but you never gave me an answer. Tell me about your childhood. Please.”
    “Someday,” he said, returning my gaze.
    “But—”
    “Shhh,” he whispered, and cupped my face in his hands. “I’ve missed you, Brandy Alexander.” And then he kissed me.

Chapter Five
     
    “… and then he kissed me.”
    “Tongue?” Janine asked.
    “Janine! Please. I’m trying to eat, here,” John grumbled.
    I gave a silent nod to Janine and smiled, remembering.
    We were crammed into a booth at DiVinci’s Pizza; Carla, Janine, Johnny and me, AKA “The Party Planning Committee.” Mrs. DiAngelo couldn’t make it. She was having a gnocchi crisis. Janine said her mother, famous for her Italian dumplings and the undisputed neighborhood champ, was recently usurped by Eddie’s mother, who, according to a reliable source, had been perfecting a new recipe for months in an effort to capture the coveted title.
    Carla, her foot-high beehive shrinking in