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surprising.
    “Everything means something, doesn’t it?”
    “What?” The vibration of his voice tickled her ear and she smiled.
    “We’re so busy living we forget to look and listen to the world. But it all counts.
    Every little moment. It’s all connected and…and important, every detail. It means something.”
    “Or it means nothing. It’s just random stuff. Shit happens, as they say, and we exist because we do. No reason for it.”
    She dragged herself away from him and looked up into his face. “You don’t really believe that do you? As much as you like nature you must see there are patterns , an organization to life that has to mean something.”
    He shrugged. “Whatever helps you get through your day. I choose to believe in randomness.”

    “No. Life’s like a big complicated jigsaw puzzle we haven’t finished yet so that’s why we can’t see the picture.” She paused as another brilliant thought floated by and she snagged it from her stream of consciousness. “Like one of those puzzles printed on both sides so it makes it even harder to put together.”
    “Okay. If you say so.” He paused then added, “You are so high.” He was being disagreeably smug and she wanted to smack him. She wasn’t that high. She knew what she was saying made sense even if it sounded like rambling.
    “Hey, are you hungry?”
    Jen took a breath that tasted like river water then exhaled. “Yes, I’m starving. I want… You know what I really want is gummies. The sour strings coated in sugar.” Saliva burst on her tongue at the thought of the chewy sweet and sour candy.
    “And I need cheese puffs. Let’s go.” Drake took her arm and hustled her back up the stairs.
    They’d climbed all the way to the top step when Jen tripped on the hem of her dress. Stupid pink prom dress and moronic high heels—she hated them both. Drake gripped her arm harder and stopped her from tumbling backward. He pulled her onto the boardwalk and wrapped one arm securely around her back again.
    “We’ll go to Big Ben’s. It’s the nearest convenience store.” Jen let herself be guided along, content not to have any plans in mind other than finding food and eating it.
    “You know, I think too much,” she said. “I’m always doing schoolwork or figuring out how to balance my schedule and lately, trying to figure out how to have a relationship. Why does the girl always work at it while the guy is just there and stupid and doesn’t give a crap about what she’s thinking and feeling or whether he’s making her wait for him?”
    “So, why do you wait? Don’t.”
    “But it’s common courtesy for one person to call another and say he or she will be late or can’t make it after all. It shouldn’t matter what gender they are,” she protested.
    “It’s just politeness .”
    He sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you and I really don’t want to hear about your boyfriend troubles. You caught your guy fucking some girl. If you can’t live with it, then dump him. But if you still want him, stop complaining and deal.”
    “’Deal’? What does that even mean?” she grasped a handful of her skirt and hitched it up higher so she wouldn’t trip again.
    “You can acknowledge he’s a douche and accept him the way he is, maybe even act the same way yourself. Or you can move on.”
    “With you?” She bit her tongue but the words were already out.
    He slanted a look down at her. “Did I say that? I’m just offering you some free advice. You seemed to want me to say something.”
    “Not that .” She snorted. “Deal.”
    He shrugged again. Oh, he was the master of the laid-back shrug. “If you want sympathy, go find your girlfriends. All I can give you is a good high and a bag of sour gummies.”
    His arm slid away from her back, leaving her to balance on her own unsteady feet.
    They’d reached Big Ben’s and he led the way across the littered sidewalk into the brightly-lit store.
     
    It was empty inside and quiet except