Sunday evening Munch made his way to the old cotton field. A slight breeze was kicking up. It brushed against Munch’s skin. The sky was full of filmy clouds that were beginning to catch the oranges of sunset. Since dark could fall so quickly, Munch had brought his flashlight. When he was out in fields alone, he often lost track of time. Every time that happened it made for a hard trip home. The dirt road that ran through farm was full of pot holes and squishy mud. In darkness it turned into a hazard. Once he had tripped and bloodied his nose. He hadn’t minded that as much as he minded the blood stains that ruined his new Eric Frampton T-shirt. Inside his emotions were in a jumble. The joy of having Thahn Ho as his not a secret any more girlfriend brought him such joy while at the same time his worry over Lolly’s health kept him on edge.

He left the old cotton field and made his way for the stream. The wind carried the sound of someone crying. It did not sound like girl crying at all. It was a guy. Was it Max? Had something happened to Max? No, it couldn’t be. Uncle Luke had taken Max to the hospital to see Lolly.

As quietly as he could, Munch walked to the stream. He looked down. A crouched form was huddled beside the stream. In the shifting shadows of the leaves he recognized Trevor Long. He was in his running gear. His face was buried in his hands. Max’s grief was something Munch could handle they had known each other for years, but Trevor Long? Trevor was his friend because of Lolly. They weren’t close. Still, Munch wondered if he upset about his dad. If so why would he be by the their stream crying? Was it Lolly? Had something happened between them? Munch was tired. It had been a long, long few days. He was worn out with worry. If those tears had anything to do with Lolly, he did not want to know. Whatever the problem was, it was between them. At this moment, Trevor was not someone he wanted to deal with. It would be best if he just let this be. He took a step back. A small twig broke beneath his left foot. Instantly, Trevor turned and their eyes met. Even at their current distance Munch could read his pain. He thought, Dammit all!

Vigorously, Trevor wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his sweat shirt. He let out a very controlled, “Hey.”

“Hey.” Munch remained where he was. The last thing he wanted to do was get in the middle of anything that concerned Lolly and this boy.

Slowly, Trevor levered himself into at standing position. His voice cracked when he said, “We are moving to Corpus Christi.”

Munch repressed a sigh. So it was happening after all. Lolly had been right, Trevor’s mom had gotten her way.

Trevor said, “I don’t want to move. I don’t want to leave Lolly, especially since she’s sick.”

This was something Munch could completely understand. There was no way in hell he would move away from Lolly, especially now. He asked, “When are you moving?”

“Second week in June, right before…” Trevor let out a jagged sigh, and continued, “Right before Lolly’s birthday. My mom has already found a house and a school for me. It’s gonna be a private school…again.” He turned his gaze back to the stream.

The thing was solid done. Trevor was upset, but he hadn’t said a word about not leaving Lolly, he had only said he didn’t want to leave her. Munch asked, “Have you told Lolly yet?”

“No. I just found this afternoon. I wanted to go see Lolly this evening, but I was too upset, so I went for a run and ended up here. You are the first person I’ve told and the last for now. I don’t want Lolly to find out while she’s in the hospital. How, how do you think she will take it?”

Truth was, Munch suspected Lolly would take it better than Trevor thought she would. For awhile she had been struggling with her relationship with Trevor and his family. This move might be the best thing for her. She wouldn’t have to live in the shadow of Mrs. Long and what Mrs. Long wanted. The problem was would it be a good thing for Trevor? Probably not. Munch said, “She will miss you.”

Trevor whispered, “I will miss her too. I don’t think I can bear it. I just don’t think I can. With Dad being sick and…” His voice broke and he started crying again.

Slowly, Munch made his way down the steep bank to where Trevor stood. He placed his hand on Trevor’s shoulder. There were never enough words to ease this kind of pain. For quite a while Munch just stood and waited for Trevor to calm down. His hand registered every ragged sob that came from Trevor. This guy really loved Lolly. It was too bad he had the mother he did.

In silence Munch watched the sun tip toward the horizon. He had no idea how much time had passed, but the hand he had on Trevor’s shoulder was going numb. The instant the sun disappeared, Trevor moved away from him. Munch’s arm dropped. It started to hurt as the blood rushed down. Several moments of silence passed before Trevor said, “Thanks man for being here. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”

“No problem.”

Trevor mopped his face with the hem of his sweat shirt and then asked, “Do you think Lolly and me can survive a long distance relationship?”

Could they? Maybe…maybe not, but Munch didn’t say that aloud. There was no way of knowing if it would or wouldn’t work. According to statistics a lot of long distance relationships fell apart, especially with kids their age. Now was not the time to be statistical. Now was the time to be hopeful. He could hope it would work out, Trevor could hope it would work out because maybe didn’t mean no, it just meant it was possible. “Yeah, it could work.”

“It helps knowing you think so. I hope Lolly will think so too.”

Even though he knew the answer to this question, Munch asked, “How is Amber taking this?”

The ghost of a smile played on Trevor’s lips. “Right now she is calling down hell. If Bill’s grandma agrees, she will be moving in with them.”

Wow. That was a bold move. Munch asked, “What will she do if Bill’s grandma doesn’t agree?”

“Hell if I know. She will figure something out. Amber’s pretty resourceful.”

That Amber was. If only Trevor were just a bit more like his sister. “Yeah, she is.”

Trevor looked up at the sky. The light was beginning to fade and a few stars were popping through. In the distance a cow let out a low moo. A shuddering sigh went through Trevor. “If anything happens to my dad, I will move back here in a heart beat. I don’t want anything to happen to my dad at all, but I know I won’t stay with my mom.”

This was not something Munch was so sure of. Trevor’s mom knew how to work it. If she wanted Trevor with her, that is exactly where Trevor would be.

Trevor continued, “After I tell Lolly the news, I’m gonna ask Jake if I can come stay with him from time to time.” Trevor looked directly at Munch and asked, “Could I come and stay with you sometime too?”

“Sure.”

To Munch’s surprise, Trevor hugged him. He quickly let go and said, “Thanks man! I feel like its just might be okay.” Trevor glanced at his watch and said, “I best get going. It’s almost 7:30 and I want to call Lolly before it gets too late.” Trevor raced up the bank and disappeared.

The wind swirled around Munch and brushed against the oak leaves. For a few moments he listened to their gentle music. All around him the world was being washed in shades of purple. He watched the colors in the sky fade. Dusk never ceased to calm him. When the sky was full of stars, he pulled out his flashlight and made his way home.

*

Monday morning the bus pulled up to Trevor’s stop, he got on and sat down beside Munch. The boy got to pretty much sit wherever he wanted to with out a word from Mrs. Anderson. Really, it wasn’t fair, but maybe it was one of the perks of being a rich kid. After what happened by the stream yesterday evening, Munch was not eager for Trevor’s company. In fact he wanted to run far. Trevor’s pain was palpable. It just oozed out of him. Had he been shedding this kind of emotion on Lolly since his dad had his heart attack? It was burdensome. No wonder Lolly was worn out.

The bus took off. Trevor asked, “What time is her test this morning?”

Munch glanced at the Mickey Mouse watch he was wearing. Lolly had given it to him for his birthday two years ago. Mickey’s little gloved hands were pointing to 7:30. “She’s in prep right now. Another thirty minutes are so if all goes well.”

Trevor nodded. His eyes stared straight ahead. Munch turned to face the window. All he could do was pray the doctor was right about the colitis and that it wasn’t anything more serious.

At the junior high, Kevin stopped and asked Munch how Lolly was doing before he got off the bus. Poor kid was worried.

Once they got to the school, Trevor stuck to Munch like glue. It was annoying in a way that Munch couldn’t quite understand. So clingy. There was a difference between being upset and being clingy. Trevor followed him to the art room. Mademoiselle Petite gave him some construction paper to sort for a collage project. He joined Munch and Thahn Ho at their table. Silently, slowly, Trevor sorted the paper. He did not talk at all. Thahn Ho gave him a concerned look. Hopefully, she thought he was just worried about Lolly. Regardless, Munch couldn’t explain. He promised he wouldn’t tell and he wouldn’t.

In Math class, Grace whispered in his ear, “What’s wrong with golden boy?”

Munch shrugged.

Grace whispered, “He looks like he needs to go to the hospital too.”

Yup, he did.

When American History came around, Grace took her seat in front of Munch. This time she didn’t whisper, there was no need. Trevor wasn’t in this class. She asked, “Are you gonna tell me what’s up with King Trevor?”

“Nothin’.”

“Liar.” Grace dropped her voice and asked, “Did his bitch of a mother go through with her plans to move to Corpus Christi?”

Startled, Munch just stared. How did she figure that out? He said nothing.

“Dammit, she did. I did not like that bitch the minute I laid eyes on her. Does Lolly know?”

He was conflicted over if he should say anything at all. Still, what if Grace floated her theory out to Lisa or Thahn Ho? He needed to shut this down. He whispered, “No. Trevor doesn’t want her to know until she’s feeling better.”

Grace shook her head. “Well, if he don’t want her to know, he better work on his acting skills, cause it’s written all over him. The instant Lolly see’s him, she’s gonna know something is up, big time.”

It was true. “Yeah, I know. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t. But damn this just makes me so mad.”