“This one is my favorite,” Shelby says as she hugs Wilmer, the massive Saint Bernard mix. He laps at her face with a tongue that’s almost the size of her head.

“You say that about all of them,” I tell her.

“Well, I mean it about this one.”

“You say that, too.”

“I can’t help it!” Shelby releases Wilmer, who lets out a loud, excited woof ! before running off to play with some of the other dogs on the other side of the dog run. “I just really love dogs!”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” I tease.

We’ve been volunteering at the dog rescue for the past week. Nearly every day for the past week. Beth says most volunteers just come in once or twice a week or on the weekends, but after our first day, Shelby has insisted we come in every morning to help. Well, help and play with dogs, of course.

I don’t really love cleaning out the dog kennels, but doing it with Shelby makes it more interesting, at least. And it has kept me busy since Lila left. I still miss her a whole lot, but it is easier to deal with when I’ve got stuff to do and a friend to do it with.

It’s nearly ten. Usually we don’t finish until noon, when Mrs. McGraw comes by to pick Shelby and me up to take us back to our neighborhood. But today, I’m leaving early, and Beth is the one who appears at the gate of the dog run.

“Hadley?” she calls out. “You ready to go?”

I nod. My stomach gets really tight all of a sudden as my nervousness creeps up on me.

“Good,” Beth says. “Shelby, I just called your dad and reminded him he’ll need to pick you up today. He’ll be here at noon.”

“Okay,” Shelby says. “Thank you, Beth.” She turns to me and gives me a big hug. She’s still real good at them. “Have fun today,” she says. “Tell Maya and Joey I say hi. I know they don’t know me, but they post really cute pictures. And their comments on your photos make them seem real nice.”

“I’ll tell them,” I say.

“Okay. See you in a couple days!”

She lets me go. I unfold my cane and walk over to Beth, who opens the gate for me. We’re quiet as we make our way around the side of the building toward her little blue car.

I ain’t actually told Shelby where I’m going today. Not the whole truth of it. I ain’t ready for that just yet. Seeing Joey and Maya will only be the first stop of the day. Beth and I are gonna meet them at our favorite pizza place in my old neighborhood to have a late lunch. But we’ve got somewhere else to go after.

It’s the last Sunday before school starts on Wednesday, and Beth and I got a long trip ahead of us. We make the most of it in silence. It ain’t as tense as the first long drive we took together at the start of the summer. This time, I’m glad she’s here. I just don’t know what to say. And I’m glad that, for once, she ain’t pushing.

Joey and Maya are waiting outside the pizza place when Beth’s car pulls up. They run to my door as soon as I open it and immediately engulf me in hugs.

“It’s so good to see you!” Joey says.

“We’ve missed you so much!” Maya exclaims.

“I’ve missed y’all, too.”

When they release me, I unfold my cane and hold it in front of me like I’m supposed to. I don’t even think about it first. It’s starting to become a habit now. So it ain’t until there’s a beat of silence that I realize it’s the first time Joey and Maya have seen it in person.

If I’m nervous about that, though, I quickly realize I don’t gotta be.

“Cool,” Maya says. “Do we get to see how you use it, then? I’ve been curious.”

“Sure, I guess. Though we’re just going inside to eat so we probably won’t be walking too much.”

“Do you ever, like, trip people with it?” Joey asks.

“No. Not supposed to do that.” I gotta hold back a laugh when I answer him.

“But you’ve thought about doing it, right?”

“Oh, definitely.”

Beth comes around from her side of the car then. “Sorry. Had to answer a text. I’m Beth, Hadley’s big sister. Y’all must be Joey and Maya.”

“That’s us,” Maya says. “Also, wow, Hadley, you and your sister look a lot alike.”

“You do,” Joey says, and I can tell from his tone that he’s grinning. “And that’s a compliment. If Hadley grows up to be half as pretty as you, Beth, she’ll be a lucky girl.”

Maya and me both elbow him at the same time.

“Stop flirting with my sister,” I say. “She’s got a girlfriend.”

Beth just laughs. “Thank you, though. I do think Hadley and I look a lot alike. We take after our mama.”

“Oh … that’s right,” Maya says. “You’re gonna see her today, aren’t you?”

I nod.

“I still can’t believe she’s in jail,” Joey says. “How’re you feeling about seeing her there?”

“I dunno.”

“Well,” Maya says quickly, “you don’t gotta think too much about it just yet. First, you’ve got some pizza to eat.”

“That’s right,” Beth says. “Oh man. Mr. Gino’s Pizzeria. I haven’t eaten here in so long. Is their sauce still amazing?”

“It is,” Joey assures her.

“Good. Let’s get some lunch, then.”

We spend the next hour shoving our faces with pepperoni pizza and talking like it’d only been a day since we’d last seen each other. I’m surprised by how easy it is. Even though we’ve been staying in touch more lately, I was still worried. Worried that them knowing about Mama or seeing my cane would make it feel weird. But it doesn’t.

They’re still Joey and Maya.

And I’m still their best friend.

Before Maya’s parents come to pick her and Joey up, we make Beth take our picture so we can post it on all our socials. It’s been a while since we’ve taken a photo together. It’s long overdue.

We make promises to text and video chat as often as we can. Maya starts planning fall break and scheming so that I can come down and stay with her for a few days. And then lunch is over, and we gotta say goodbye.

“Good luck,” Joey murmurs as he hugs me goodbye. “With your mama.”

“Thanks,” I say.

I wave as I watch them climb into Maya’s parents’ car and drive off.

Beth puts a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, Baby Sister,” she says. “We don’t wanna be late.” She pauses. “Sorry. Hadley, I mean.”

I shake my head. “No,” I say, finally feeling okay to acknowledge the slow thawing that’s been happening in my chest for a couple months now. “Baby Sister is all right.”

Beth smiles. “All right, then. Let’s get going, Baby Sister.”

And we get back into her little blue car.

It’s right about four o’clock, according to my phone, when we pull into the parking lot and Beth cuts the engine. For a second, we both just sit there, staring out through the windshield.

“We have an hour,” she tells me. “But we don’t gotta stay the whole time if you don’t want to.”

“Okay.”

I slide my hands nervously over my jeans, and little strands of dog hair cling to my palms. Silly as it sounds, realizing that none of them belong to Lila hits me with a pang of aching sadness.

Beth waits another minute before asking, “You ready, Baby Sister?”

I take a deep breath, then nod slowly.

Beth unlocks the doors and we both climb out of the car. It’s still summer, so the back of my shirt and jeans feel warm and wrinkled from sitting too long. I spend more time than I need to smoothing them out, but Beth waits. When I’m done, I unfold my cane and follow my sister across the parking lot and toward the large, block-shaped building.

We’ve gotta go through security as soon as we get inside. A woman in a uniform takes my cane from me for a second, since it’ll set off the metal detector. She gives it back with a quiet, “Here you go, sweetheart,” when we’re through. I hold it tight in my right hand while Beth squeezes my left. I ain’t sure if the gesture’s more for her or me.

My sister leads the way down a short hallway and to a set of double doors. Another security guard opens them for us, and we step into a big, square room. A few long tables are lined up end-to-end, dividing the room in half. On one side—the side Beth and I walk in on—there are a bunch of people. Men, women, even a few other kids. All dressed in various colors. All chatting or laughing or even crying, if I’d have to guess based on the sniffling I can hear. And on the other side of the table are people in bright orange jumpsuits.

Beth stops next to two empty chairs. I don’t sit down right away, though. I’m too busy looking at the woman on the other side of the table. She’s got blonde hair, the same color as Beth’s and mine, pulled back into a low ponytail, and she’s wearing the same orange jumpsuit as everyone else on her side of the table.

And even though I’m going blind and I ain’t seen her in months, I recognize her immediately.

“Hey, Hadley,” she says. Her voice is a bit hoarse, and I can tell she’s trying not to cry.

“Hi, Mama.”

For a second, I’m overwhelmed. I think about those letters she sent, the stack of them I read all at once. They’d been full of apologies and promises that things would be better one day. But also just stories about what she was doing in jail—working in the kitchens, reading lots of books. Until now, though, all of that had been hard to imagine—Mama actually in jail or the future she kept assuring me of in that big, bold print.

But now I’m here, seeing her in person for the first time in months. And it all feels real. Her actually living in this place, locked away. But also that, eventually, she’ll get out of here. And we’ll get to be together again.

And despite everything I’ve said or felt all summer, looking at her, hearing her voice—I know that’s all I really want.

Mama turns and looks over at my sister then. “Hi, Beth.”

“Hey.” I think Beth might be trying not to cry, too.

“It’s good to see y’all,” she says. “I … I’ve missed you. Both of you. Come on and, uh, sit down, okay?”

Beth sits down. I take a second longer, giving myself time to fold up my cane before sitting beside her, across from Mama.

There’s an awkward silence for a minute, then Mama reaches across the table and takes my hand. Glancing over, I can see she’s taken one of Beth’s, too. My sister and I look at each other for a second, then look back at her.

“I’m sorry,” she says, and she ain’t bothering not to cry now. “To both of y’all. I’m … I’m so sorry.”

“Me, too,” Beth says, and now she’s crying, too.

“And me, too.” And, dang it, I’m crying as well.

I’d be embarrassed if I didn’t get the feeling everyone in this room was far too preoccupied to notice us.

We all take a minute just to sit and look at each other before Mama focuses on me, squeezing my hand. “You start school this week, right?”

I nod.

“Sounds like you’ve had a busy summer,” she says. “I heard there was a dog named Lila involved. And I can see you’ve got a shiny new cane here. Can you tell me about it?”

“I thought Beth had been filling you in on everything,” I say.

“I did,” Beth agrees. “Most of it.”

Mama nods. “She did. But I’ve missed your voice, Hadley. And I wanna hear it from you. Why don’t you start at the beginning. Tell me all about the adventures you’ve been on this summer.”

So I do.