“Sounds nice.”
“It’s not,” said Elly as they rounded the corner. This neighborhood was even worse than the rest of the town. Small, dilapidated houses with tons of trash in the yard rose out of overgrown weeds and wild grasses. Barefoot children ran wild in front of the homes, staring at the car with suspicion. There was one nice house on the block, and a handsome man in his sixties was mowing the lawn as they drove past. Keith pulled the car up next to his house. Elly leaned out the window. “Excuse me, sir?”
The man looked out from below his camouflage hat. “Can I help you folks?”
“Yes, I am looking for Dennis Trager? Do you know him?”
The man jerked his head. “Oh yeah, I know Dennis. Saw him come this way early this morning, looking pretty weary. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t even look my way. His house is gone, so I’m not sure where he was going—the train yard, maybe?” The man turned off his mower. “Musta had a bad day. He’s such a good kid, Dennis. When my wife was dying of cancer, Dennis would come over every day after school to bring in the mail for her, and sometimes even read the articles for her.”
This should have surprised Elly, but it didn’t. Dennis had a solid heart, it was just hidden away under layers of bitterness and insecurity. The man wiped off a thick layer of sweat with a bandana. “I don’t know what’s going on with him, but if he didn’t stop in to say hello, he’s in a right bad place.”
“And he lived just down the road?”
The man squinted. “Did live, yeah. That nasty house was torn down when it was foreclosed. It’s the last lot, the one that backs up to the yard.” He looked at the sky. “Best hurry. It’s gonna rain something wicked in a few minutes here. Best of luck to y’all. Tell him he can stop by for lemonade whenever he would like.”
“Thanks.” Keith drove the car slowly forward, where the houses became fewer, and the empty lots grew until it seemed they were just driving into a field.
“There!” shouted Elly. “Pull over!” A huge clap of thunder rolled overhead and Elly ducked her head. She jumped out of the car, her adrenaline racing as the wind whipped around her body. “Dennis? Dennis?” She was screaming out over an empty lot. Crumpled magazines, large pieces of wood, a stained toilet seat, and a disgusting floral couch that was currently occupied by a coiled queen snake were all that remained of Dennis’s home. Elly felt a tear make its way down her face. There was truly nothing left for Dennis. She thought she had understood, but she didn’t. She thought that she understood struggle, but she didn’t. Elly felt a light, hot rain on her face. “Dennis! Dennis!” Her voice rose in pitch as she walked around the empty lot, her heart pounding, her voice rising. “Dennis!”
She heard a car door slam. Keith was pointing to something. “There! Elly, I bet he’s in there!”
She followed his finger to the train yard, where the gate bucked in the wind, its broken lock rocking on a rusty hinge. Elly forgot everything—the wedding, Lola Plumb, Gemma Reynolds, BlissBride, the new store, the crumpled note in her mother’s handwriting, and even Keith, her mind shedding everything else like an old, flaky skin. One thing mattered. “Dennis! Dennis!”
She pushed her way through the gate. The train yard was everything that Elly loathed: humid, wet, sticky, dirty, all rolled into one depressing landscape that seemed to suck the very joy out of her. Rain hammered down on the sidewalk, the thick plip-plop sound echoed through the dilapidated yard and out through its gates. Elly leaned against the iron fence posts, wrapping her fingers between the sharp slots. She looked up at the gigantic empty cargo containers in front of her, stacked as though a drunken toddler had assembled them, rain dripping down her nose and over her lips. Warm rain and the hot wind lashed the damp curls around her face. She was unable to move, her fear paralyzing her from the ground up. What if he never comes back? What if …? She had another thought—this one much worse. Her fears welled up within her chest, drenching her along with the rain. How did they get here? Elly clamped her lips together to keep from crying. Do not cry. Be the strength. Find him. Find him and tell him. He’s all you have.