Chapter 17
OF ALL THE PLACES ALONG the parade route to stop, the convertible I was assigned to halted right in front of Rhino’s house. I was sitting on the trunk, my blissfully shoeless feet resting on the backseat. I’d arranged the fake fur stole behind me so I didn’t actually have to touch it. I might need to wear it later, but that afternoon the sun was drenching the street and the temperature felt closer to August than October.
I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, letting the heat soak through me. Members of the marching band clomped by. The rattle of a snare drum and the reedy sound of a clarinet filled my ears. I didn’t open my eyes until I heard something scrape along the concrete. That scrape was Rhino. And his couch. He’d hauled his coffee table out of the garage too and ha
