IN DREAM, IN a field of red poppies, beside a yellow-brick road, Will sat beside Case. He’d willed his Dream Rider costume away, choosing instead a Billy Eilish t-shirt, black jeans, and high-tops. He felt he should be himself, the one she knew best. She was about to share something intimate. More intimate to her than what they’d shared in his bedroom. That made this important not only to her, but also to them—to the relationship they’d begun.
themShe sat cross-legged, twirling a red poppy between her fingers, gazing out across the field of flowers. “I hate my mother.”
Too many recent conversations involved parents, in his opinion. But he said nothing.
“Didn’t always,” she continued. “Once, she was my whole world. I barely remember our dad. They were young when I came along. I was a sur
