I look at him in surprise.
“I know I’m not real good with words like Lennox here,” he says. “Me and Mad, we’re better with actions. You know, fists and dicks.” He breaks off and grins at me.
Maddox’s scowl deepens.
“Not the time,” Lexi warns.
“Right,” Billy says, clearing his throat and adjusting the bill of his cap before going on. “Now, I didn’t know this crow, but if it was anything like the Crows I do know, then she was a damn fine bird. And I’m sure her murder will miss her like the devil.”
“Thank you,” I say, smiling weakly. “I will.”
“I’ll say something too,” Lexi says, wiping rain off her face and turning to the grave. “I’m sorry I never met you, Poe the Crow, but you must have been a pretty kick-ass bird if Rae loved you so much. I can tell you were real special. Oh, and please don’t curse us with your bad-omen dead crow juju.”
I give her a grateful smile, tears blurring my eyes.
“Rest in Peace,” Lennox says, taking my hand and squeezing as he addresses the box. “You’re already missed. We’ll honor your memory and your spirit, and please know that we’ll take care of Rae. The promise of one Crow to another.” He taps his chest, then kisses to fingers and holds them up, like he’s watching her spirit go.
“Rae?” Lexi prompts.
And even though they’ve been so great, I can’t say what I want to say with an audience. It’s private, the things I would say to the second member of my murder. So I just recite the nursery rhyme.
“One for sorrow, two for joy
Three for girls and four for boys
Five for silver, six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be told.”
Poe was one, a sorrowful loner, until she found me. Then there were two of us, and she brought me the only joy I found in that dark, creaky old house.
When I’m done speaking, I kneel and pick up a handful of dirt with my clean hands, dropping it on top of the box. It makes a hollow sound, and I think of how small what’s left of her is in that big box. I start crying again, and a second later, a pair of knees lands on the soggy ground beside mine. When I glance over, I’m surprised to see Maddox beside me. He picks up a handful of dirt and adds it to mine on top of the cheap orange casket. After it’s covered, and she’s buried completely, he stands and takes the bottle of tequila from Billy.
“For Poe,” he says, tipping it and dumping some on the grave. It falls onto the dirt like the rain still slicing down, soaking us.
Then he tips up the bottle, taking a drink before passing it to me. I take a drink and pass it on, and we all stand there above the grave for a few minutes.
Finally Lexi hiccups and then lets out a soundless breath of a laugh. “Well, this is not what I had in mind when I asked you to hang out today, but if you still want to come over…”
“Rain check?” I ask.
“For sure, for sure.”
“And I’m… Sorry.”
It’s so inadequate it’s embarrassing, but I don’t know what else to say or where to even start.
“We cool,” she says, slinging an arm around my neck. “You’re an honorary slut, and now an honorary Crow. No apologies, ‘kay?”
I nod and give her a quick squeeze around her tiny waist, thankful she’s letting me skip the awkward stuff. “Cool,” I echo.
“Well, I don’t know about y’all, but I’m freezing my balls off,” she says. “Ready to roll, Billy?”
“Yeah, let’s bounce,” he says, holding out a hand to Maddox. They clasp, and then he does the same to Lennox, then to me. “Keep it real, crow girl.”
After they’re gone, an awkward silence falls over our group as we huddle in the icy drizzle.
“Vení,let’s get you inside,” Lennox says after a minute. “Mad, you gonna grab her clothes from the shed,o qué?”