“I’d give anything to have a sister,” she said.
“Count your blessings,” Nina would say, rubbing her head where her big sister Loretta had just pulled her hair. “You do not want a sister. Or a brother.” One time, her brother Carmine had stolen her diary and read it aloud over the school’s PA system when he was supposed to be reading the morning announcements. The prospect of her writing being broadcast like that secretly thrilled Jenny, but she didn’t say so.
On a summer day the grown-ups had declared a “scorcher,” Jenny and Nina found themselves with nothing to do. They went to the bakery then, which was something Nina loved so much that her pleasure made it seem special to Jenny, too, even though it was as ordinary to her as her own backyard. To Jenny’s surprise, they found about a dozen little girls in the bakery kitchen, all lined up in the prep area. Laura Tuttle explained that it was Parents’ Weekend at Camp Kioga. The parents of all the campers came from far and wide for a visit, and the camp hosted special outings, like tours of an actual working bakery. It seemed people had an endless fascination with how a simple loaf of bread came into being.
The girls were wearing red shorts and gray T-shirts with the Camp Kioga logo. Their parents—the mothers in crisp, sleeveless blouses and the fathers in golf shirts and Bermuda shorts—stood back, looking on. On each girl’s chest was a sticker that said “Hi! My name is…” followed by what Jenny considered rich-girl names—Ondine and Jacqueline, Brooke and Blythe and Garamond. Dare and Lolly.
“We’re the Fledglings,” the perky counselor “—Hi! My name is Buffy—” was telling Laura. “That means we’re in the eight-to-eleven age group. And it also means we get to do the best field trips, don’t we, Fledglings?”
The girls chirped in reply.
Jenny and Nina clapped their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing aloud. A chubby blond girl at the end of the line lingered near Jenny. While the rest of the group checked out the prep area, she said, “I’m Olivia Bellamy.”
“Hi, Olivia,” Jenny said, though she observed that the name tag read “Lolly.”
She glanced over at a tall, serious-looking man who stood with the other visiting parents. He had sandy hair and light eyes, and he seemed to be wishing he could be anywhere but crammed into a bakery prep area. The girl glanced at him and whispered, “My parents are getting a divorce.”
“I’m sorry,” Jenny said awkwardly. Sometimes kids were funny, telling their secrets to strangers the way Jenny told them to her diary. “Have a donut, Olivia.”
Laura clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “My name is Miss Tuttle,” she said. “Let me show you around, and then we’ll have a cookie tasting.”
Bored, Jenny and Nina helped themselves to fountain lemonade from behind the counter and headed outside. They could easily pick out the Camp Kioga parents. They didn’t wear uniforms like the campers, but they were all creased and expensive-looking, as though they’d spent hours trying to achieve that casual air. The kids in camp colors swarmed the town in packs, showing off the town to their parents.
Jenny immediately spotted Rourke McKnight, off by himself. And he was looking right at her.
Okay, she thought. Now what? Decision time. She could pretend she hadn’t seen him. Or she could act like his friend.
“Come on,” she said to Nina. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” Maybe she would go with Rourke, and Nina would go with Joey, and the four of them would be friends forever. How cool would that be? Except Nina wouldn’t be interested. She had a secret boyfriend who went to the prep school in the next town. She had to keep him a secret because she said her brothers would rearrange his face if they found out, because they considered her way too young for a boyfriend.
Jenny tried to figure out which set of parents belonged to Rourke. Unlike most of the other campers, he wasn’t playing tour guide to anyone. Maybe his folks hadn’t shown up. Maybe he’d be glad to see a friendly face. Towing Nina behind her, she went right up to him and said hi. She was amazingly not tongue-tied. He looked even better than he had the first time she’d met him. He had a golden suntan and even blonder hair, and the scar on his cheek had nearly healed, though it was still visible, a small crescent moon.
“Hi,” he said. “I was just—”
“Rourke, hey, Rourke!” Joey joined them, grinning with exuberance. Unlike Rourke’s cautious smile, he wore an exuberant grin. “Hey, Jenny,” he said without a shadow of bashfulness. “This is my father, Bruno Santini.”
Jenny greeted him and introduced Nina.
Mr. Santini didn’t look a bit like the other parents. He was squat and strong, with dark, wavy hair and a way of gazing at Joey that just glowed with love. Watching them, Jenny felt a pinch of envy.
“So you made some friends,” Mr. Santini said, giving Joey a gentle slug on the shoulder. “Good job, sonny-boy.”
“That’s Jenny’s bakery over there.” Joey pointed it out. “And Nina’s mom runs the kitchen up at the camp.”
“I can tell they been feeding you well,” Mr. Santini said, beaming. “My mama used to say good food is more important than a long life.”
Rourke was very quiet, politely so, standing off to the side a little. He was eyeing Joey not with the envy Jenny felt, but with genuine affection. She knew he was best friends with Joey the way she was with Nina. Then, as Jenny watched, Rourke’s face changed, his blue eyes turning hard and cold. She followed the direction of his gaze and spied a
