The Sweetness of Salt(5)

We split up after pictures, Mom and Dad going to their car, Zoe and I scrambling into Sophie’s old green VW Bug. I got in the passenger seat next to Sophie and rolled down the window. A few of the roses Mom had given me were already wilting, and my armpits were starting to sweat. A pop sounded in the backseat as Zoe cracked open a Dr Pepper. “Woo-hoo!” she yelled, as a little foam spilled out of the top of the can. “Here’s to Julia! The smartest chick in Silver Springs!”

I turned around and glared at Zoe. “Chill!” I mouthed the word soundlessly, tilting my head in Sophie’s direction.

Zoe nodded, unfazed, and took a swig of soda. She sat forward a little in between Sophie and me, and yanked at her T-shirt, the front of which said IT’S LONELY AT THE TOP, BUT YOU EAT BETTER. Zoe had a thing for weird T-shirts. “Thanks for giving me a lift, Sophie. My parents are parked all the way in the back. It’s gonna take them over an hour to get out of here. The parking here sucks.”

“No prob,” Sophie said. She had twisted her usually free-flowing blond hair into a knot and was wearing a pale pink slip dress that displayed both of her upper arm tattoos prominently—something Mom was sure to comment on. Her toenails were painted an electric blue, and she had a thin silver toe ring on her left foot. She waved a package of Camels in the air. “Anyone mind if I smoke?”

“Yes,” I said emphatically.

“Actually,” Zoe giggled, “could I have one?”

I gave her another look, but Zoe just shrugged.

Sophie laughed and pulled two cigarettes out of the pack. “That was a kick-ass speech you gave.”

I opened my window as Sophie lit both cigarettes with the button lighter in the car. She handed one to Zoe, who took it, inhaled, and immediately began to cough. Her eyes, already as large as zinnias, grew to planet proportions.

“Open your window,” I said, glaring at her. “It’s bad enough up here.”

The car moved forward another foot. Sophie clenched the wheel. The muscles under her arm tattoo were tight. “Seriously, Jules, that speech was fantastic. You were so clear, so concise. And you spoke with such conviction. Everyone in the whole place was just holding their breath.”

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. It was hard to know sometimes when Sophie was being sincere. “Thanks,” I said cautiously.

“And can you even believe Melissa Binsko invited everyone to her party tonight? Including me?” Zoe leaned forward conspiratorially. “I’m just a lowly junior. Un-friggin’-believable.”

“Who’s Melissa Binsko?” Sophie asked, looking at me.

“Just a girl in my class.” Melissa Binsko had said all of maybe three words to me in the four years we had gone to school together. The last time I had seen her in the hall, she’d been draped all over Milo. “We’re not even friends, but Zoe is going to have a heart attack if we don’t go.”


“Dude!” Zoe said. “Who cares if we’re not friends? Do you know how much money that girl’s family has? Come on! It’s gonna be the coolest party of the entire year!”

“So you’re just interested in going because she has money?”

“Money, great food, a pool, and a hot tub.” Zoe ticked off the items on one hand. “Um…yeah?”

“Whatever.” I turned to look at my sister. “So why couldn’t Goober come?”

“Greg wouldn’t switch weekends. You know how he can get.”

Actually, I didn’t know how Greg could get. I didn’t know Goober’s father at all. Neither did Mom and Dad. He and Sophie had split up early in her pregnancy and had never gotten back together. “Well, tell her I miss her,” I said. “To Pluto and back and around again to infinity.” That was Goober’s and my pet phrase. Goober had made it up. We said it all the time before we had to say good-bye.

Sophie made a gesture with her chin. “Will do.”

“So, Sophie.” Zoe brought her cigarette to her lips and inhaled, a little more confidently this time. “How’s Vermont?”

“Actually, I just moved,” Sophie said.

I glanced over at my sister again. This was news.

Sophie pushed a piece of hair out of her face. “Not very far from where I used to be in Rutland, though. I bought a little place in a town called Poultney.”

“Is that still in Vermont?” I asked.

“Uh-huh. Right on the New York border.”

“Do Mom and Dad know?”

Sophie shrugged. “No. But I just moved a few weeks ago. And I was going to tell everyone tonight at dinner.”

“Why’d you move?” Zoe asked.

“Well,” Sophie said, taking another drag from her cigarette, “I’m opening a business.”

I stared at her. “You are?”

“Awesome!” Zoe gushed. “What kind of business?”

“A bakery,” Sophie said. “Just a little one.”

“A bakery?” I struggled to suppress a wave of annoyance. It was embarrassing that I only knew as much about my older sister as my best friend did.

“Yeah,” Sophie said. “I’ve always wanted to open a bakery. And I’ve been saving for years. So when things finally started coming together, and I saw this place, I decided the hell with it, I was just gonna do it.” She took a drag on her cigarette. “It’s not in the best of shape right now, but I have the rest of the summer to work on it. I’m planning on opening for business in September.”