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R EN STOOD , stretched, and said, “Now, we need to meet my friend.”
Kinchen shook her head to clear the cobwebs of the story. “Where are we going?”
“What about Venus?” asked Caesar. “What happens next?”
Ren smiled. “I thought you knew the tale.”
“Yes, but I want to hear it again. Anyway, where did you get the details from?”
“From someone who knew.” Suddenly Ren was all business, packing a bag with dried food and handing them each a waterproof jacket (Caesar got Pip’s—and it was just about the right size). “But we really must get going. To the beach,” he added to Kinchen. “To the bay.”
“Oooookay,” said Kinchen. His answer didn’t mean anything to her. No one lived at the bay.
“Will you tell more of the story after we meet your friend?” Caesar begged.
“If we get there early enough, I’ll tell more as we wait for him to...show up.”
“Let’s hustle!” Caesar grabbed Kinchen’s hand and tugged her to her feet.
Kinchen rolled her eyes but allowed herself to be tugged. She wanted to hear a bit more, too. And she wanted to meet this friend of Old Ren’s.
As the girls walked to the water, Ren following at his own pace, Caesar said, “I have a question. Your brother. He’s only a year younger than you, right? Eleven?”
Kinchen nodded.
“Then why did you say you need to take care of him? Can’t he take care of himself?”
Kinchen pursed her lips, thinking. She never told anyone about Pip’s strangeness with people; not wanting anyone to make fun of her brother, she covered up for him. But if Caesar was going to help rescue Pip, she needed to know. “He’s not stupid.”
“I didn’t say he was!”
“He—has a problem. He can’t see people. I mean, he can see them. He’s not blind. But he can’t recognize them. He doesn’t know who they are.”
“Not anyone?”
Kinchen shook her head.
“Is that why your hair?”
Kinchen stared at Caesar. No one had asked before—even Ren had never commented on her hair. She fingered the white stripe she’d bleached into it. “Yeah. So he’d always know me.” She shrugged. “My skunk stripe.”
“Well, I think it’s amazing .”
“My hair?”
“And Pip, recognizing your hair.” She fingered her own braids thoughtfully, then grinned up at Kinchen. “Amazing is a good thing, you know.”
At the bay, they looked out at the blue expanse, calm today. “Where is he?” Kinchen asked Ren when he arrived, panting a little. “Your friend.”
“We’ll wait.” Ren rested on a large rock that faced out to sea.
“And you’ll tell more about Venus!” said Caesar. She threw herself onto her back next to him. Kinchen perched on the other side. The sun brushed lazy late-afternoon fingers across her face. She closed her eyes to it and listened.