Tonight the Streets Are Ours

“So where do you think he is? How do you think he’s surviving?” Arden asked, trying to picture a brother of Peter’s, fresh off the Cornell football team, living deep in the woods somewhere, off the grid.


“I can’t really say.” Peter buried his face in his hands. Arden resisted the urge to stroke his back, to hold him.

She considered saying she was sorry for Peter’s loss, but that wasn’t so much what she was thinking about. “It’s so selfish,” she said instead.

“What?” Peter looked up, and she realized that probably most people just said they were sorry, and that was the correct answer, and she should have stuck with that.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” she said. “I take it back.”

“No. Tell me what you meant.”

“Well,” she said, “he just … left you. He was thinking about himself, and where he was going, but he obviously didn’t give a damn thought to who he was leaving behind to worry about him and to pick up the pieces. Okay, so his life was hard. Big deal. Life is hard for you, too. And I’m sorry if he’s out there begging on the street or dealing drugs somewhere, truly, I am. But he’s not the only victim here. You are, too. And that’s what makes him selfish.” Arden shrugged. “That’s what I think, anyway.”

“I think you’re right,” Peter said. “And I don’t want to feel sad tonight.” Peter jumped off the rocking chair. “Screw that. I’m going to be a best-selling author, and you’re only in New York City for one night. And if my girlfriend or my brother or anyone else isn’t here to appreciate all that, then screw them. This is our celebration. From here on out, let’s have no more talk of death and heartbreak. Tonight, let’s have only happy things.”

“Tonight, the streets are ours,” Arden said, and she jumped to the ground.





Lindsey and Arden don’t see eye to eye

Arden and Peter were playing on one of the rooftop seesaws, Arden shrieking with laughter every time her butt hit the ground, when she heard a voice call, “Peter!” She turned around to see a girl in an ethereal pink slip dress stumble-running toward them.

“Hey, cutie!” Peter climbed off the seesaw and kissed both the girl’s cheeks. Without his weight to lift her, Arden thudded to the ground.

“I’m so glad you came,” the girl said, her voice a little too loud, like she couldn’t quite hear herself. She tilted to the side and balanced herself on Peter’s shoulder. “Oh my God it’s been forever! How are you, kiddo?”

He nodded. “I’m great. I’m doing great.”

“Oh, that’s so good. So where’s Bianca tonight?” She looked all around without lowering her eyes the few inches it would take to notice Arden. Arden sighed and clambered to her feet, pulling her skirt around her.

The girl raised her eyebrows dramatically as she suddenly took in Arden’s presence. “Oh. I see what’s going on here. Peter, you are such a ladies’ man. Like brother, like brother, am I right?”

“Oh, no,” Arden protested, noticing Peter’s hands clench. “It’s not like that—”

“’Sokay,” the girl said, leaning in close enough that Arden could smell the alcohol on her breath. “Your secret’s safe with me. Just between us girls. What Bianca doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?”

“Honestly,” Arden said, “I’d never even met Peter before tonight—”

But the girl was squinting at her cell phone now and had already stopped paying attention. “Oh, yay, Leo’s coming!” she squealed.

Peter startled, his whole body going rigid. “Here?” he asked, his voice strangled. “Leo’s coming here?”

“That’s what he says.” The girl held up her phone as proof.

“Did you tell him I’m here?”

“Nuh-uh. I can tell him now…”

She started typing, but Peter said, “No, no, that’s okay. We need to go anyway.”