Sure enough, Alex got it right. As soon as I told him to guess where Lily was, he hightailed it out the back door and started jogging toward the hill. I was bouncing on my toes, watching him through the window of the utility room, so happy he passed the test.

After I talked with Darby via the walkie-talkie, I slipped through the door to follow him. We’d worked so hard to arrange this moment, I needed to find out what happened. Plus, I wanted to make sure Lily was okay.

The thing was, I knew that if they saw me, they wouldn’t be able to talk to each other — not in a real, opening-up kind of way. So if I wanted to hear them without being seen, I’d have to come up through the brushy part and stay very still. That’s hard for me to do. Dawn and Darby are much better at eavesdropping than I am. Dawn especially. She can win staring contests with fish.

I cut across the yard to the part of the hill where cactus and cedar scrub are mixed in with the oak trees. The rest of the hill is cleared of brush and covered with wildflowers. Lily likes to sit at the top, lean against the oak trees, and watch the wind ripple the flowers.

It was hard not to race up to the top, but I knew if I did that, I would make too much noise. I had to be patient and carefully choose my steps to make sure I didn’t break any branches or rustle any leaves. It was also a smart thing to do because of the cactus and rattlesnakes.

I poked my way up and knelt behind a big juniper bush. Lily had come into view long before I reached the crest. She was easy to spot because of the gigantic white dress.

Alex was just cresting the hill. He came to a stop a couple of feet away from Lily and stood there, looking at her. His arms were slightly out in front of him, as if he wanted to reach for her but wasn’t sure if he should.

Lily’s hands were over her face, and at first I assumed she didn’t realize he was there. Then I heard her say, “Is everyone mad at me?”

“No. No one’s mad at you. Your family is worried because they don’t know where you are.” He walked a little closer and sat down beside her. “What’s wrong, Lily?”

Lily shook her head over and over. “I just can’t go through with it. I realized a while back that I was making a mistake, but by then, it seemed too late. So many plans had already been made. So much money had been spent.”

Alex’s mouth curved into a sad sort of grin. “Just like you to not want to inconvenience people.”

Lily let out a groan and put her hands over her face again. “Oh, I feel like such a fool!”

“You’ve got to tell your family. They love you; they’ll understand.”

“I know. It’s just hard to disappoint them. And I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

Alex slowly lifted his hand and placed it, gently, on her shoulder. He patted her sort of stiffly and then Lily just seemed to slump over against him — as if her gravity gave out and sent her toppling sideways. Alex relaxed and put his arm around her. For a while, no one talked and the two of them sat there, leaning into each other, the way I used to see them do all the time.

I wanted to bounce around so bad, but that would surely give me away. And if Alex and Lily knew I was there, they would focus on me instead of each other. So I pretended that a big, thick cement wall was going up around the jumpy feelings inside me — damming them up like a wild river. Amazingly, it seemed to work. Even my toes didn’t jiggle.

After a few quiet moments, I heard Lily say, “I’m so sorry the girls got you mixed up in this.”

“Hey, no apologies necessary,” Alex said. “Last night, I got to eat four delicious asparagus spears, and today I got to see Reverend Hoffmeyer with a flowered towel on his head. It was awesome.”

Lily started laughing and then stopped herself. “Seriously. I know how much they meddled. The girls just never could accept that you’ve moved on.”

“Who says I’ve moved on?”

She sat up and gave him a confused look. “Haven’t you?”

“Um, forgive me for pointing this out, but … you’re the one wearing a gigantic wedding dress. It seems to me that you’re the one who’s moved on.”

Lily glanced down at herself. “I guess I did. Even if I didn’t want to.”

“Wait….” Alex scooted around to face her. “What are you saying?”

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. It matters a lot. I don’t know what happened last September. I’ve been trying to figure it out ever since.”

“You wanted your space,” Lily said with a shrug.

“No, I didn’t. You suggested that we give each other space. I figured you wanted it, so I agreed.”

“But I didn’t want it. I just thought you did.”

Alex’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Seriously?” he said. “We broke up because we were being polite? Because neither one of us could admit what we really wanted? That’s so … sad.”

“I know.”

The two of them were looking right at each other, so intensely, as if the rest of the world had dissolved and they were the only things left. Miraculously, my invisible dam held strong and I continued being still and quiet. But even if I’d charged out of the brush and started dancing around, I’m not sure they would have noticed.

“I miss you, Lily,” he said.

“I miss you, too,” she said.

Alex lifted her hand and held it between the two of his. I held my breath, waiting. And then …

Dawn’s staticky voice filled the air. “Incoming! Incoming! Armadillo is headed your way!”