'I fixed it,' I said.
Susan nodded.
'And I had to fix it all the way,' I said. 'I couldn't let them fix the cover-up, so to speak.'
'Correct,' Susan said.
'It would have been a step back into childhood,' I said.
'Yes,' Susan said.
We were quiet. The light on Boylston Street turned green behind us and the traffic moved forward.
'You know a lot of stuff,' I said.
'I do,' Susan said. 'Tell me how Jeannie was.'
Chapter 27
It was late afternoon and starting to get dark. We were playing basketball, half-court, three on three, outdoors behind the junior high. There was a bench alongside the court and Jeannie Haden sat by herself on it watching us play.
When we got through, I walked over to her.
'You win?' she said.
'Jeannie,' I said. 'You been watching us play since school got out. Don't you keep track of the score?'
'I was just watching you,' she said.
'Oh.'
'Want to walk me home?' she said.
'Sure,' I said.
'Want to stop on the way and buy me a Coke?' she said.
'Sure,' I said.
We walked along Main Street to Martin's Variety, which sold bread and milk and canned foods and had a lunch counter down one side of the store. Most of their earnings probably came from the lunch counter, because the kids had pretty well taken over the store as a hangout, which meant that generally nobody else came in.
Jeannie and I said hello to some other kids as we walked down the counter and found two seats at the end where it curved.
A guy named Croy said to me, 'Hey, Spenser the river rat.'
'Just as smart,' I said. 'But not as good looking.'
Croy gave it a big haw and elbowed one of his friends. He was a year older than I was, a big kid, fat mostly, but big enough to bully the younger kids.
We sat. Jeannie ordered a Coke. I had coffee.
'You don't like Coke anymore?' Jeannie said.
'Like coffee better,' I said.
She nodded.
'Lotta kids know about us on the river,' she said.
