“WEAR YOUR HELMETS!” CORA CALLED FROM THE KITCHEN AS RUDY AND Joe hurriedly tied their sneakers. It was Saturday morning and Kari and Kayden were outside, waiting on the front step.
“Oh, Mama, Kari doesn’t wear a helmet!” Rudy complained.
“Well, she should, and you most certainly are!” Cora commanded as she appeared, drying her hands on a dish towel.
Joe finished tying his shoes, and before his mom could make any more demands, he was out the door. A moment later, Rudy heard him swearing as he tried to pull his bike out of the pile of folding chairs, rakes, and outside toys in the makeshift storage area next to their apartment. “Hang on, Joe,” she called. “I’ll help you!” She pushed open the door and found Kayden and Joe tugging on Joe’s bike. “You have to move stuff first,” she said in an exasperated voice.
Joe stepped back and folded his arms over his chest. “Fine! You do it!”
Rudy shook her head and surveyed the array of obstacles. “That is why I leave mine out,” she said, gesturing to her bicycle lying on the grass. She moved some chairs and then motioned for her brother to help. “Here, pull the rake out of the spokes when I’m moving the bike.”
Joe knelt down and freed the rake tines while his sister pulled out his bike. “Thanks,” he said, hopping on the seat.
“Don’t forget your helmet!” Rudy reminded, holding it out.
Joe groaned, took it from her, and plopped it on his head. “There . . . happy?”
“Clip the strap,” she commanded. “It won’t do you any good if it falls off.”
He rolled his eyes, but did as she said, and then turned to Kayden. “Let’s go before I have to put on knee and elbow pads, too.”
Kayden nodded and bumped off the curb after him.
Rudy looked over at Kari. “Is Kayden as much a pain in the butt as Joe?”
Kari laughed. “Worse!”
Rudy laughed, too. “Where should we go?”
“Want to go to the big playground?”
Rudy hesitated. “Sure . . . do you have to ask your mom first?”
“No, she doesn’t care where we go, as long as we’re outta her hair.”
“Okay,” Rudy said, glancing back at her front door to see if her mom was watching. Then she looked around for Joe and saw the boys jumping their bikes over a small pile of dirt with a piece of plywood on it. “C’mon, J . . . ,” she started to call, but Kari stopped her.
“Let them stay here,” she said. “Then we don’t hafta watch ’em.”
Rudy nodded, clicked the strap of her helmet, and followed Kari down the sidewalk toward the street. The playground was only a few blocks away, and they wouldn’t be long—they’d probably be back before anyone even missed them.
They rode slowly, each lost in her own thoughts, simply enjoying the clear, crisp morning. When they got to the playground, they discovered—to their delight—they had the whole place to themselves. “I wonder where everybody is,” Kari mused as she leaned her bike against the jungle gym.
“Probably soccer or something,” Rudy surmised.
“How come you don’t play soccer?” Kari asked, sitting on a swing.
“I don’t know,” Rudy said, sitting on the one next to her. “I guess it’s because my mom’s always working and I can’t get to practice.”
“Yeah, me, too. But when I get to junior high, I’m going to try out for the school team.”
“Even though you never played?”
“Mm-hmm. I think it looks fun. Besides, how hard can it be?”
Rudy laughed. “You’re right. Maybe I’ll try out, too. My brother’s trying out for the high school basketball team—that’s why Joe and I started the after-school program.”
“I saw your brother walking to the bus the other morning. He is cute!”
Rudy looked over and frowned. “Frank?! Are you kidding me?”
“I am not kidding you, but don’t you dare tell him.”
“Don’t worry—I won’t. I don’t need anything else goin’ to his big ole head! He’s already full a himself, bossin’ us around like he’s the man in charge.” As she said this, she backed up, swung forward, and started to pump, and Kari joined her, pumping, too, until they were both swinging high up in the air.
“Touch the sky with your toes!” Kari called.
Rudy laughed as they swung back and forth, higher and higher until they were even with the top crossbar and the legs of the swing set were bumping off the ground.
“I wonder if anyone’s ever gone all the way around?” Kari called.
Rudy smiled wistfully, remembering how Harper had always wanted to do that . . . C’mon, Rudy, she’d shout. Let’s go all the way around!
“I’m gonna do it, Kari!” Rudy suddenly called. “Watch me!” Again, and again, she pumped her legs as hard as she could and leaned back as far as she dared as the swing swept forward, and then suddenly, as if she was a toy with a worn-out battery, she stopped pumping and the swing slowed. She dragged the toes of her pink sneakers in the sand, making them dusty.
Kari slowed down, too. “What’s the matter?”
Rudy shook her head. “The swings always remind me of Harper, and my mom found out that she’s back in the hospital.”
“She is? I’m sorry.” She put her hand on Rudy’s arm. “Is she going to be okay?”
Rudy shrugged. “I don’t know—she needs a new heart.”
“Oh, man . . .”
Rudy nodded. “I’m sorry to take the fun outta everythin’.”
“That’s okay. You want to head back home?”
Rudy nodded and they picked up their bikes, but as they rode home, they were each so lost in their own thoughts, they didn’t notice Mr. Glover backing his car out of his spot.