The driveway stones had baked all day in the sun, and were now burning small circles into the soles of my sneakers. August sun, so hot and close it left me gasping, beat down on our heads. Next to me, Ned switched his weight from one foot to another. He was impatient in spite of himself.

I stood stock still, waiting. Dr Bertram had told us to wait inside where it was cool. He was there now, reading the newspaper in the parlor while Mrs Bertram dozed on the couch. It was too hot, he'd said. There was no telling what time the taxi would arrive, what with the traffic on the highway. I had tried to listen, choosing first to sit by the window, pulling back the curtain every minute or so. I had tried to sit still when Mary had admonished me, but my legs kept shooting me upright to pace back and forth, checking the window again and again for the sign of my brother coming to see me at last.

Finally, Mary had suggested we head outside, a suggestion that Ned had taken up immediately, if only to give me something to do besides pace. After fifteen minutes of sweltering, Mary had headed back inside, leaving Ned and me out on the burning gravel. I could feel Ned starting to consider doing the same, and on a normal day I wouldn't have blamed him. Would have, in fact, felt guilty for keeping him out in the sun for so long. Today, though, I barely spared him a second thought. Billy was coming. Billy was coming.

I should have worn sunscreen, though. Mary had taken great care to explain the horrors of visible tan lines in situations requiring formal wear. If anything were to send me inside at this moment, it would be the promise of looking like a presentable human being at my party. The party my brother was coming to. But what if I went inside and missed Billy coming? What if I wasn't here to see him get out of the taxi? What would he think, if I weren't there waiting for him? My feet were rooted to the spot, anyway. There was no question of me going anywhere.

The preparations for the party were taking place around us. Besides buying a dress and shoes- at Dr Bertram's expense, to my humiliation- I had had very little involvement with any part in the planning. I wondered if that was normal, if Mireille and Julia's birthdays had been taken care of like that, or if it had more to do with a greater estimation of my abilities and the quality of my input. Certainly I didn't think that Mireille would have sat back while other people planned her party. Whatever the reason, though, I was grateful to not have to think about decorative details and the number of members of the live string orchestra. Billy was coming.

What would he think of me, though? I had spent every day since he'd told me his travel plans wondering, and as his arrival got closer and closer, I found that the answer worried me more and more. The times we'd spoken on Ned's laptop notwithstanding, we hadn't been in each others' company since Edwina had taken me to Connecticut. Would he like me? Would he forgive me for still not being able to speak? Would I disappoint him? My hands were shaking-I clasped them, running thumbs into opposite palms as if I were trying to dig a hole.

Ned cleared his throat, "What's his middle name?"

"What?" I didn't take my eyes off the gate, but the question had caught me off guard.

"Billy's middle name? What is it? William what Price?"

"We both have the same middle name," I said absently. "Susie, too." I thought of Susie's picture, taped to my mirror. That picture was two years old now-Susie had been just celebrated her seventh birthday. The familiar old twist of guilt hit my stomach. I wondered how tall she was-I had never seen her outside of pictures. Our uncle didn't have a laptop, and I couldn't speak on the phone.

There was a moment's silence. Then, "And what's your middle name?" That surprised me, and I turned to face Ned, who was considering me in his solemn way. The crinkle was back in his forehead. I saw, for the first time, the sun-splash of new freckles across his nose. We freckled so easily, Ned and Billy and I.

"Calhoun," I said. "My mother's maiden name." I mentally ran through the list of Bertrams: Thomas Samuel. Julia Evelyn. Mireille Cora. Edmund Nicholas.

"William Calhoun Price. Susan Calhoun Price." Ned grinned, and poked my upper arm with his finger. "Fawn Calhoun Price."

I considered him a moment, waiting for him to realize what he'd said to me. His grin fell as he caught my expression, whatever it was.

"What?"

"Flannery. My name's Flannery." A breeze whipped up for a second, stroking the sweaty nape of my neck with cool, humid fingers before retreating the way it had come. In the second before I turned back to the driveway, I saw Ned's face pale beneath his new freckles.

"Of course. Fawn, I'm sorry, I just-" I gasped then, cutting him off. A yellow taxi was trundling over the bump at the end of the driveway, making its way toward us in the heavy air. Even from so far away I could see the waves of heat blasting in waves from the car's exoskeleton. I took three unconscious steps forward, and then the car had stopped, and the door was opening, and my heart leapt up to choke me as there he was. Simple as that. His face, sunburned and wind-roughened, was split in a smile from ear to ear. He held his arms open to me, and I launched myself into them, knocking us both back against the car frame.

I buried my face in his neck. He smelled of sweat and laundry detergent and soap and shaving cream. With a growl, he lifted me off my feet, swishing me from side to side. I clung to him, feeling oddly breathless, until I realized I was saying his name over and over and over. I hiccuped to a stop. He set me back down on my feet but seemed unwilling to let me go. We stood still, arms wrapped around each other, until he let out a short breath.

"Hi."

I pulled back, looking up at him through the tears that had sprung, unbidden, to my eyes. "Hi," I managed, before they spilled down my cheeks. He pulled me back to him, and we stood like that, as my body was wracked with sobs that started out small but grew larger and larger the longer my brother was still there, still holding me, still real. I hadn't realized before how much I'd missed him. Hadn't realized how much I had needed him. A wave of loneliness rose up in me, bursting from my stomach and out my throat and from my eyes, and I have to admit I wailed like a child, as hard as I tried to stop it.

He held me, and rocked me, and made small shushing sounds until I quieted down. When I was finally able to let him go, his eyes were wet. He was grinning, though.

"Did you miss me?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, rubbing my hands under my eyes. He laughed in triumph, turning around to grab his bag from the taxi, who then pulled away. I held onto his left arm with both hands, unwilling to let go, certain that he would leave if I did, even though I knew it wasn't true. My heart was hammering in my chest, but after my outburst of emotion, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and melt into a puddle, or fall asleep for a thousand years.

I turned, remembering Ned for the first time, to find him standing a little way off, his body turned away from us as if to give us privacy. I felt another wave rise up in me, and I wiped away more tears before they fell, blinking them away as fast as I could. As Ned and Billy introduced themselves and shook hands, I fought to get myself under control.

Control was tenuous.

Ned followed us up to the third floor, showing Billy the guest room that was closest to mine. Someone had aired out the room and changed the sheets. The shades were thrown up to the ceiling, letting the brilliant light in to cheer the room. Billy flung his bag down unceremoniously on the bed, then turned to me.

"Alright, now let's see your room," he pushed me out of his room, not giving it a second glance, then followed me, hands on my shoulders, down to my door. He talked the entire way there, something about wanting to see my palace, so I threw open the door with exaggerated vigor to make him smile, and when he threw his head back and barked with laughter, happiness burst out of me in small hiccups.

By the time we remembered Ned, Billy had picked me up over his shoulder and was marching around the room, me laughing hysterically. Billy stopped as he caught Ned's reflection in my mirror, then turned sideways so that we could both see Ned, standing in the doorway, watching us with a small smile.

"Hey, listen," Billy said, sticking out his hand. Ned came to shake it again warmly. Billy put me down. "Listen, thanks for everything. And for looking out for this kid here," he ruffled my hair messily, to which I scowled. "But it's been a long time since we've seen each other, so..." he trailed off, a little expectantly.

Ned blinked, then shook his head and grinned. "No problem. We'll talk when you've settled in. Faw-" he paused, "Fla-um, I'll see you later," he finished, covering up his fumbling with a wink. We watched him back of the room, closing the door behind him.

I turned to Billy, and he grinned at me, still there. I opened my arms wide, and he grabbed me up to spin me around again, and even though we were in my cold room in Mansfield, we could have been on our street in Chelsea, we could have been in a field or a foreign town, we could have been under the sea. It was just us, Billy and me.

Just like it was always supposed to be.

A/N: I know, I know, it's super short, and I'm so sorry. Sorry for a lot, especially the delay. My computer suffered a terrible demise, and I lost the next two chapters of the story, so I'm re-piecing them from memory (note: not fun). This chapter used to be longer, but I didn't want you to have to wait for me to be done with it all right now. Hopefully this will be a little band-aid for you until the next bit is done.

My birthday is this Saturday; I'll try to have something up by then!