dreamland pt 1.

"We saw her mom at the store," I explained.

"Oh," he said, popping [one frito] into his mouth. "How'd that go?"

"Shit!" Corinna said loudly, as something crashed and broke in the kitchen. "Goddammit."

"Not so good," I told him.

He sighed, standing up. "Here," he said, handing off the Fritos to me. "I'm going in."

I watched as he pushed the kitchen door open. It started to swing shut behind him before catching on the stubborn piece of kitchen tile that poked up at the edge of the threshold. He walked over to where Corinna was standing, crying, holding a piece of broken plate in her hand.

"This fell," she said, holding it up as proof. "I didn't drop it."

"I know," he said, taking it out of her hand and putting it on the counter. "It's okay."

She wiped at her eyes, impatiently. Then she said, "I hate that I let her do this to me. It's so dysfunctional."

"It's not your fault," Dave said as Corinna closed her eyes, leaning her face against his chest, and I felt bad for watching, turning my attention to the Brady Bunch rerun on the TV.

I wondered again if this was what Cass's life was like with Adam in New York. I hoped so. Even if she was struggling and living off Ramen-noddle soup, it seemed perfect to be in this kind of love.

Corinna was still crying, even as Dave kissed her forhead and smiled, taking one of her hands and twirling her around the small, paint-peeling kitchen. "Stop," she said, half-laughing as he dipped her over the garbage can. "David, honestly."

He was humming something, a song I didn't know, as he twirled her out, then pulled her back, scooping an arm around her waist, and led her into an exaggerated tango, both of them stepping expertly over the dog bowl.

"You're crazy," she said, but now she was smiling.

Outside the window over my shoulder it was winter, flat and gray. But in the kitchen, under the warm bulb light, they were still dancing, laughing, twirling across the tiny floor while those silver bracelets jingled, making music all their own.

page 125 DREAMLAND, Sarah Dessen