Susan Pfeffer - The Dead And The Gone

"What we need are refreshments," Kevin said, walking to the kitchen. "Does anyone here want a Coke?"

"Coke?" the girls shrieked.

"I'll get the cups," Bri said, and out of nowhere, it seemed, came paper cups.

"They're my contribution," Tony said. "Paper goods, Kevin gave me my instructions, and I did exactly as I was told."

"I wish you'd do the same in Latin class," Father Mulrooney grumbled, and everybody laughed.

Kevin poured each of them a cupful of Coke. "To Julie," he said. "May she have a life full of love and happiness."

Everyone raised their glasses and said, "To Julie."

Even though the Coke was warm, it was like the songs on Tony's CD, a reminder of how life had been just a few-months back.

"And now for something really special," James said. "Well, I hope really special, but I make no guarantees." He went into the kitchen and took a few moments before returning to the living room. When he did, he was carrying a birthday cake, blazing with fourteen birthday candles.

"Happy birthday to you," everyone sang. "Blow out the candles, Julie! Make a wish!"

Julie closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and blew out the candles. It took her two or three attempts. Alex told himself it wasn't because she was no longer strong, but because there were so many candles on her cake.

"It's chocolate cake," Julie said, cutting into it. "Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Oh, James, where did you find it?"

"I didn't exactly find it," James said. "It's just an old box of cake mix and a package of icing we had lying around. It was pretty exciting, actually. We have an electric oven, so it was just a case of the electricity staying on long enough to bake the cake, which it almost did yesterday. It may be a little soggy on the inside, but it was the best I could do."

"It's the most beautiful birthday cake I ever had," Julie said. "I can't believe your family gave up a real cake."

Alex couldn't believe it, either. He wondered how many pairs of shoes it had cost Kevin to get the cake mix and icing, and he appreciated how 7his friend had set things up so no one would think of the loss of life that simple, underbaked cake had cost.

But one bite of chocolate cake made him stop thinking about death. It's a miracle, he thought. Chocolate cake and Coke and music and seeing his sisters look young and beautiful were all miracles.

"Tony brought the paper goods, and James brought the cake," Kevin said. "So I brought the birthday present. Happy birthday, Julie. It's not much, but I hope you'll like it." He handed her a small, oddly shaped package, wrapped in leftover Christmas paper.

Julie unwrapped it as though the paper were solid gold. Under the wrapping was a layer of tissues, and lying in the tissues was a lipstick.

"Oh my god!" the girls squealed. "Oh, Julie, it's a perfect color. Oh, Julie, put it on."

Julie turned to Alex. "May I?" she asked.

"Only if you dance one final dance with me," he said.

Julie ran to the bathroom, the girls following in her footsteps. Alex took the opportunity to thank James, Tony, and Kevin for making his sister's birthday so special. They all acted as though it wasn't a big deal, but Alex knew how important it was to Julie, to Bri, and to Julie's friends. No matter what else happened to them, they had gone to a party and danced with real boys.

Julie's lips were a bright pink when she came out of the bathroom, and so were her cheeks. Alex bowed to her and escorted her onto the dance floor. James found a slow song, and Alex and Julie danced for a moment —until Kevin tapped him on the shoulder and cut in.

"We'd better move the furniture back into place," Father Mulrooney said when the song ended. "We don't want to be out after curfew."

It only took a minute or two for the four boys to get things back in order. None of the cake was left, but there were still a couple of cans of Coke, which Kevin told them to keep.

Tony said he'd walk Lauren home, since she lived only a couple of blocks away from him, and Kevin promised the same for Brittany. Both girls giggled some more as they hugged Julie good-bye. James, Tony, and Kevin all gave Julie-pecks on the cheek, causing another avalanche of giggles. Everyone put on coats, gloves, and scarves and went out into the icy-cold autumn night.

Julie walked over first to Bri and then to Alex and embraced them. "This is the best birthday I ever had," she told them. "When I say my prayers tonight, I'll thank Maria, Madre de Cristo, for giving me the best brother and the best sister in the world, and for letting me be thirteen."

Monday, October 3

As Alex walked toward his locker, he saw James and Tony standing there. Neither of them looked happy, and Alex worried immediately that something bad had happened because of the party.

"We need to talk to you," James said, which didn't brighten Alex's mood any.

Tony looked almost pained. "We know things are rough for your family right now, and we don't want to make things worse," he said. "But I thought about it all weekend, and James talked to his dad, and at church yesterday we all had a conference, and we need to tell you something."

Alex's mind raced through all the catastrophic possibilities. None made sense, except perhaps that he should be asked to leave Vincent de Paul. But he couldn't think of any reason why. He clenched his fists and waited.

"It's about Briana," Tony said. "Your sister."

"I know who Briana is," Alex said.

"Tony," James said. "Here's the thing, Alex. Bri has asthma, like Tony, and it isn't good for her health to live in a basement apartment. We're not saying you don't keep it clean, because we're sure you do. It's just that basements grow mold, and nowadays with so much water around, that's an even bigger problem."

Alex looked at his well-meaning friends. Tony, with his asthma, probably had never been in a basement before last week. And James, son of a cardiologist, was a model of healthy living.

"My mom says there are still some shelters open," Tony said. "They're under city supervision, and they're still pretty safe."

"We're not moving to a shelter," Alex said. "But I'll see what I can do about getting us out of the basement."

"We apologize for interfering," James said. "If it were just you and Julie, we wouldn't say anything. But we know you're doing everything you can for your family, and Bri really needs to be moved out of the basement."

Alex nodded. Asthma was a whole new world for him, but not for Tony or James's father. If they said Bri needed to get out of the basement, it would be sinful to let pride interfere with good judgment.

Tuesday, October 4

"Julie and I are skipping school tomorrow," Alex announced over supper of elbow macaroni and marinara sauce.

"We are?" Julie asked. "What about lunch?"

"I can skip lunch tomorrow," Bri said. "The two of you can share my meal."

"You eat lunch," Alex said. He was already concerned that Bri wasn't eating when he wasn't around to supervise her. "Julie and I'll manage."

"So why are we skipping school?" Julie asked.

"We're moving," Alex said.

"We can't move!" Bri said. "If we move, Mami and Papi and Carlos won't be able to find us."

"We'll leave a note for them," Alex said. "On the table where they'll be sure to see it. We're not moving far anyway. Just upstairs to apartment twelve B."

"What's wrong with right here?" Julie asked. "All our stuff is here."

"I know," Alex said. He'd spent much of the night trying to work out a system for moving all the things they'd taken from the other apartments up to 12B. Not to mention their clothes and their food. "That's why we're moving tomorrow. Wednesday's usually a good day for electricity, so we'll be able to move the stuff in the elevator. We'll get Bri upstairs first, and then you and I will pack things and take them up. We'll do the unloading, too. Bri can make sure doors stay open, stuff like that."