Free Ring of Light by Isobel Bird Page B

T.J. “Cancer. That’s rough. Poor Kate.”
    â€œIf you want to go see her, that’s okay,” T.J. said. “We can skip the show.”
    Cooper shook her head. “No,” she said. “That won’t help anything. But I probably should go call her. I’ll be right back.”
    She left T.J. in line and went to find a pay phone. There was one right down the block, and she was surprised to find it actually working when she picked up the receiver. She rummaged around in her pocket for the right change and dropped the coins into the coin slot. Then she began dialing Kate’s number.
    Wait a minute, she thought as she punched in the numbers. What am I doing? She hadn’t talked to Kate in two weeks. Kate hadn’t bothered to call her to tell her what had happened. What made her think Kate wanted to hear from her now?
    She stood there for a moment, the phone in her hand, thinking about what she should do. Kate was her friend. Normally, Cooper would have been right there supporting her. But maybe Kate had stepped back for a reason. Maybe she didn’t want Cooper involved in this.
    Cooper hung up the phone and heard the coins clatter into the return slot. She fished inside and took them out, holding them in her palm for a minute as she considered making the call again. A big part of her wanted Kate to know that she was thinking of her. But maybe that connection, like some of the others in her life, needed to be cut. Maybe by leaving the group she’d gone too far away from Kate and the others in the Wiccan community and couldn’t go back.
    She put the coins in her pocket and walked back to T.J.
    â€œEverything okay?” he asked.
    â€œYeah,” Cooper lied. “Fine.”
    A minute later the doors opened and people began filing into the club. Cooper showed her license at the door and let the attendant snap a pink plastic bracelet around her wrist indicating that she wasn’t yet old enough to buy alcohol. T.J. got one as well, and then they went inside, bypassing the table of overpriced T-shirts and other souvenirs.
    Their seats were great, only a couple of rows from the stage and dead center. Cooper was amazed at how good they were.
    â€œHow did you get these tickets?” she asked T.J.
    â€œA buddy of mine at a record store had them,” he said. “It pays to have friends sometimes.”
    It sure does, Cooper thought. But what kind of friend was she being, not even calling Kate? She didn’t want to think about it.
    Fortunately, she didn’t have time to dwell on the subject. Not long after they sat down, the lights dimmed and the crowd leapt to its feet as Blink-182 took the stage. Cooper stood with them, enjoying the roar in her ears.
    Mark and Tom launched into one of her favorite songs, “All the Small Things,” while Curtis’s tattooed arms beat the drums with a vengeance. Cooper sang along with the guys, screaming the words. There was so much cheering, and so many other people singing along as well, that she knew no one would hear her, or mind if they did. Everyone was there to have a great time, and that meant getting into things as much as possible.
    For the next hour and a half she was on her feet, dancing and singing. From time to time she watched Tom’s hands, trying to watch how he played his guitar and seeing if she could learn anything new. All other thoughts left her mind, and she found herself enveloped by the music. The familiar sense of peace filled her, the feeling that nothing else mattered except singing and playing. It was a magic all its own, and she welcomed it, embraced it. For the first time since that awful night in the woods, she was enjoying music again. The throbbing chords of Blink-182’s songs had driven the eerie faerie melodies right out of her head.
    When the show ended, after three raucous encores during which the band did a bizarre but fantastic cover of the theme song from Josie and the