A/N: Some of you may have noticed that, instead of updates appearing on Sundays, chapters have been going up sort of randomly, sometimes with multiple chapters in one week. My schedule has changed drastically, and I'm finding more time throughout the workweek to edit before posting. It looks like this is going to be the new normal for at least until THLS is completed, which could be very soon. For check-in readers, be on the lookout. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 26

It's Time

After Fern took off, Buster had no idea what to do with himself. His mother was out shopping today, and apart from rehearsing with Fern, the rest of his afternoon was wide open. His mother had tasked him with putting a lasagna, another one of her masterful freezer meals, into the oven and making a salad, but he would not have to do that until five o'clock. Helping with meals had been his idea when he realized just how busy his mother was, that she was particularly tired on counselling days, and that, so far, he had done nothing to help make things easier for her. She had looked touched when he made the suggestion, and he was happy he had. With that one chore in mind, he thought he might swing by Arthur's house first and hang out for a while. However, instead of stopping at the Read residence, his feet carried him straight past it, to the fourth house down.

He had tried to talk to his father about the kiss Ladonna had given him. In the minutes that followed their moment on her front porch, it had been hard to express to him how much his head was reeling from it, to explain exactly what the confusing mixture of feelings inside him was like. How could he be sure of what he felt if he was not a hundred percent on what Ladonna felt? Just because a peck on his cheek made his guts all fluttery, that did not mean she had meant for it to. Did it? It was hard to accept his feelings without knowing where she stood. She was a close friend. She could be physically affectionate with all her friends, and even playfully flirty to a certain extent with some of them. Had she not referred to Alan as "heartbreaker" in the Sugar Bowl not long ago? She had not meant anything by it, just as he meant nothing by all the pestering he dealt to Francine. He was often wrong about a lot of things. What if he were wrong now and just reading way too much into it? Fern was so good at decoding people, including perfect strangers. Today, as he had begun to open up to her about yesterday, he secretly hoped she would be able to provide him with some insight, and then maybe he would have figured out how to proceed. But Fern had left for Sue Ellen's, and he was still confused.

It's a fact: I can't figure out what goes on inside the minds of girls. Better get it over with and find out straight from the horse's mouth.

The front door opened before he could knock. Ladonna stuck her head out, eyes gazing upward as if to look to the sky, only to be startled by his presence. The door swung open as she jumped back, and she quickly recovered with a broad grin.

"Buster Baxter…" she drawled.

There went his words again. She was not saying much either.

"Hi," he offered.

"Hi… Is it snowin' yet? That's why I came out. I've been lookin' for it since mornin', but so far, nothin'."

"You know it's not going to be a lot of snow, right?"

"I know. I don't care. I just wanna be out here when it happens."

"Are ya gonna kiss him again?" said a familiar, twangy voice.

The bill of a worn red baseball cap came into view over Ladonna's shoulder. Bud had been quiet while sneaking up behind his sister. At his words, Ladonna's eyes widened, and she turned to him.

"How do ya even know about that?" she said to him, regarding her brother with a look that was equal parts incredulous and impressed. There was a trace of pink in her cheeks now that possibly had nothing to do with the cold air she was letting in.

"I spied on ya when ya came home yesterday," Bud said as if the answer should be obvious. "Did ya forget we've got two great big ol' windahs on each side of the front door," he said, pointing to one of them, "or did all that smoochin' just go to your brain?"

Her cheeks were definitely getting redder, and Bud was definitely enjoying himself.

"So, are ya gonna kiss? If ya are, I'll have to tell Dad. He said no datin' until you're thirty."

"He was just joking, Bud," she said. "I'm pretty sure."

With haste, Ladonna retrieved her coat, scarf, and beanie from the rack next to the door.

"C'mon," she said to Buster as she stepped outside. "Let's take a walk. That way we can have a little more privacy."

"To kiss," Bud added.

"Hush!" Ladonna said, shutting the door in his face.

"Little brothers…" she said with a shake of her head as she donned her outerwear.

"I wouldn't know," Buster said.

Buster knew Ladonna thought the world of Bud, but even she was probably not immune to the annoyances younger siblings were fabled to cause.

"It's all in good fun," she said resignedly, "but sometimes he's so aggravatin' I could spit. Let's go 'round the block, away from pryin' eyes."

They took a right onto the sidewalk. A few moments passed before Buster got up the nerve.

"So, speaking of, you know, of the…you know…" he said.

"Oh, I know… So?"

"So what?"

"Ya began the conversation with 'speaking of'. That usually means there's a follow-up to it, goober. So, what is it.?"

"Right, right…"

"You've got questions?"

"Boy, do I, just as soon as I remember what they are."

"Did I really scramble your brains that badly?"

"They are definitely scrambled. Scrambled, scattered, smothered, covered and—wait, that's hash browns, not eggs. See what I mean?"

Ladonna giggled.

"I have to know," he said. "How real was that? You know, the kiss? It's like I think you might have meant it, but a part of me thinks my imagination was running away with me, like it usually does."

"Oh, no, I was definitely puttin' the moves on ya," she said.

"But, why?"

"I don't know why. I like ya? I think I like like ya, and I've like liked ya for a while. I just didn't know if I should say anything 'cause we're friends. But I was in such a good mood yesterday, and I thought, 'Aw, what the heck, I'll throw it at the wall and see if it sticks.' Did it?"

"Stick?" Buster said. "Yeah. I think it stuck… But this feels weird. It's not just me, right? It's weird. Uh, not that you're weird. I'm weird. It's just—"

She took his hand and laced her fingers with his. And there was that fluttery-gut feeling again.

"It does feel weird," she said. "'Cause it is. And new, and scary… But it also feels kinda nice, too, don'tcha think?"

Buster nodded. "That's exactly what it feels like."

They walked hand in hand as the first snowflakes of the year began to fall. Buster lost track of time, but it must have been more than a couple of minutes of silent travel while Ladonna enjoyed the weather. Finally, she spoke.

"You wanna go to the tree house, watch the snow, and talk?"

"As long as I can be home by five," said Buster, "I'll go anywhere you want."

"What do you mean he has a girlfriend?" Bitzi sputtered.

She sat in the passenger seat of the U-Haul rental Bo had picked up for the afternoon. They had made small talk as he drove toward their destination, trying to maneuver the large and unfamiliar vehicle through the streets of downtown Elwood City as best he could. From the moment Bo had picked Bitzi up near the Times building, they had made a valiant effort to chat about the crazy weather, their jobs, and whether Buster had enjoyed himself the day before, but it was hard to sustain the conversation for long without both of them falling silent on this somber day. Bo supposed that was to be expected, considering the task that was ahead of them. He desperately wanted to know her thoughts about a certain subject, however, so he attempted to open a dialogue once more with, "So, Buster has a girlfriend now, huh?"

"Why are you laughing?" she said.

"Sorry, I thought you knew," he said, choking on his chuckles. "You're Supermom—you usually know everything, so I definitely wasn't expecting that reaction."

"Because he used to tell me everything. Is he going to be secretive about every single thing he does from here on out?"

"He is a teenager," Bo said. "To be fair, I don't think even he knew, not until Ladonna kissed him on the cheek yesterday. She kind of blew his mind."

"Ladonna…" she said. "A girl kissed my little baby boy Boo-Boo? How could this happen?"

"It's puberty, Bitz," he said, using the same words she had said to him not long ago, "not sorcery."

She was thoughtful for a moment.

"Did he talk to you about it, say anything?"

"Uh, not much. I asked him how he felt, and he said he wasn't sure. In total denial throughout dinner. He said he likes her for a lot of different reasons, but he didn't think the kiss could have been a real romantic gesture. I told him it seemed pretty real to me. Then he asked me what he should do about it. Well, that's not my decision to make, so I told him to think about it and listen to his heart but also to his gut, that sometimes the two don't always agree, but sometimes they do. He was pretty quiet after that… Did I do it wrong?"

"That's…pretty solid advice, actually."

"You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm just absorbing it. Big changes… They come fast sometimes, even when you know they're inevitable."

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought this up," he said, "today of all days."

"No, I'm glad you told me. And I'm glad you got to have that experience, share that talk with him."

"So am I… Well, here we are," he said, and the heavy shift in his tone was not lost on him.

They were stopped outside the main gate of Superior Storage. Bitzi had come to the conclusion that holding onto all of Byron's things was far from healthy and that perhaps it was time to finally clear the storage unit and donate them, give them new life elsewhere. Of course, Dr. Bernice Chen, their grief counsellor, had suggested that she need not purge all of their son's things, and that keeping one small item to remember him by was perfectly acceptable, should she feel so inclined. Bo was supportive of all these ideas, and he offered to help Bitzi through every step of the process, just as long as she wanted him there.

"He's your son, too," Bitzi said quietly during their session, sitting on Dr. Chen's sofa, hands folded in her lap. "Of course I want you there."

The U-Haul rolled to a stop outside unit BB-22, just as the snow began to fall. Bo remembered it had snowed the day he brought Byron's things here nearly eleven years ago, on a November day much like this one. It was akin to reliving the moment all over again. He had been hoping not to become too emotional; he would rather remain strong for his ex. However, it did not feel like the odds would be in his favor. Maybe they just needed to be as strong as they could be for each other, and that was the best for which they could hope.

Bo waited on Bitzi as she fished around in her purse, at last withdrawing a ring holding various keys, a silver carabiner, and a red plastic key charm baring the embossed white Superior Storage logo. She paused and looked at him, gripping the door handle. It would seem neither wanted to be first out of the vehicle. They nodded at each other, then exited in an almost synchronized fashion. Bitzi unlocked the unit, tossed the key and the lock to one side, and together, she and Bo rolled back the white metal door of the locker. Bitzi took a step back, glancing over its contents, her hands clasped under her chin. Moments later she was weeping, which, in turn, made Bo weep. Instinctively, he enveloped her in an embrace and whispered to her.

"Remember, Bitz, I'm with you every step, but if you're not ready, you're not ready. If you feel like you need to stop, just say so. We'll put it all back and try again later."

"Thank you," she said, her tearful voice muffled by his thick jacket.

She pulled away and looked into the locker once more. Her watery eyes flitted over the white baby furniture, the teddy bear decorations, and various odds and ends as if she were somehow documenting each piece, taking snapshots with her mind. Then she nodded, as if answering a question she had silently asked herself.

"It's time," she told him. "It's time."

To be continued…