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Images upon images flow freely before her. There are countless memories hiding behind flimsy plastic and a flash. In the first picture her thumb halts to, the family dog Pal is only a puppy. He’s got some sort of powder on his fur, with eight-year-old Arthur and four-year-old DW chasing after.
“Arthur!” DW warns. “He’s going to shake!”
“No, Pal!”
The kids raise their arms in self-defense as Pal shakes his fur clear of the baby powder that was unintentionally doused over him. Grandma Thora chuckles from behind the camera. She sets it down and whistles for the dog.
“Having a puppy is a big responsibility.” She explains. “But it’s one that everyone should have at some point. When you get older and have kids of your own, you’ll understand.”
“I don’t want kids,” DW complains. “Look at Kate. All she does is cry and poop.”
Grandma Thora simply smiles and pets the dog, signaling the kids to come over and do the same.
Back to the present, a hand skims over some more images. Even the ones she wasn’t a part of, she has been told many of these stories uncountable amounts of time, and she loves to hear them. She comes across another with Arthur and Pal, as the dog pulls at the leash. Arthur’s friend Francine is also in the image, straining with a leash attached to her newly adopted cat, Nemo.
“Arthur! Tell your dog to stop!”
“It’s not Pal’s fault!” He counters the fellow fifth grader.
“Well, it’s not Nemo’s fault either!”
Both kids are startled when a flash goes off. They quickly realize it is their friend and classmate Fern. Still pulling on the leashes, the kids signal for her to join them on their side of the road.
“Sorry, guys. I’m trying to work on a photographic collage in case Sue Ellen wins the prize and leaves town. I’m taking pictures of everyone over town.”
“Cool!” Arthur smiles, though Francine remains unimpressed. “Who all do you have?”
“I caught Brain brushing his teeth in the fountain because he was late, and I got Binky tap-dancing at the playground. He’s getting really good!”
Before Arthur can respond, Pal breaks free, and Nemo joins him. Arthur and Francine yell after their pets, while Fern turns the other way to find someone else to photograph.
Two pages over, she comes across a screenshot of a game show. Riddle Quest. Arthur had been doing very well, beating even eighth graders despite being only in fifth grade. He knows his stuff, but he had confided his insecurities with Kate. He doesn’t want to win because that would pull him away from his life. On screen, the commercials are ending, and the questions commence.
“Alright, kids.” Alek Lebeck looks down at his trivia card. “A celestial break in the atmosphere or a fruit-flavored treat.”
“What is Sunkist?” Arthur purposely answers incorrectly.
“No, I’m sorry. That’s incorrect.”
“What is Starburst?” His competitor answers instead.
She’s correct. Arthur starts watching the scores intently, being sure not to overcrowd his competitor but also not to look like he’s throwing it. In the end, she wins by a margin of five hundred dollars, and she’ll be back to play next week. Arthur can keep the money he won on the previous days and return home.
The pictures flow freely as she overlooks a great majority. Near the back of the book, she comes across a darkened photo compared to the others. A great blackout has hit Elwood City.
It’s the middle of summer, so everyone is dressed down. Arthur is thirteen, wearing his Bionic Bunny boxers and nothing else. He’s smothering his chest in a bag of frozen peas. DW and Kate are beside him. DW is nine, wearing her baby pink two-piece swimming suit and fanning herself with a teen magazine. Kate is six, wearing a damp tank top and damp play shorts she’s just taken out of the sink. The heat is already crinkling them. They’ve eaten a lot of ice cream since the refrigerator and freezer are out of order. The kids are still hungry but unwilling to eat David’s creations.
“What’s that sound?” DW asks, referring to the shifting and giggling outside.
“Go look.” Arthur shrugs, unwilling to get up.
“I’ll go.” Kate rolls her eyes and bypasses her siblings, as well as her mom trying to fiddle with the camera. “Hey, the Molinas are digging in the yard. And they don’t look sweaty.”
DW jumps up. “I must learn the secret.”
Arthur follows. “Mom, Dad, we’re going next door!”
The Molinas are digging up their underground food supply an offer to share with the kids – who eagerly accept without question.
A hand absentmindedly trails over the pictures. The book closes, and she collects the next in sequence from the shelf. Flipping through the first ten pages, a hand stops at a certain awkwardly snapped photo.
When Arthur, Buster, Muffy, Francine, Brain, and Binky were eleven (and twelve), they submitted a short story about their friendship – with added measures of a Jekyll/Hyde thing, a soccer game, aliens wearing glasses, and a bully makeup guide – to have it appear as an episode of their favorite show. The very episode has been shown as a promo to finally come on, five years later. Arthur is no longer wearing glasses, sitting on the edge of the couch beside his best friend Buster. Buster smells of marijuana due to the jacket he always wears when he smokes. Francine is also still friends with them but to a lesser extent. She sits beside Buster. At school, Francine plays soccer and is on track, battling for the top spot against Jenna.
Muffy is now Mary Alice, and she has a YouTube channel where she evaluates fashion trends and gives advice. She’s working on obtaining her own makeup line. She sits on the far end of the couch, by Francine. They’re no longer on speaking terms. Brain is back to using his first name, Alan, and he works with NOAA. He’s already graduated high school early. He’s sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Binky. The former bully is wearing Spandex since he has a ballet practice to attend after the episode airs. Nine-year-old Kate walks in while they watch their episode, and she snaps a picture.
“That was whack,” Buster comments as the credits roll.
“Whatever.” Mary Alice scoffs. “I’ll be in my trailer.”
The other teenagers halfheartedly wave bye to her, though Binky is on her tail. He doesn’t want to be late for practice. Alan thanks Arthur for having him back in the Read house but says he needs to leave and does so. Francine waves to the boys after seeing Buster shuffling in his jacket. The rabbit turns to look at the aardvark, pulling out a baggie.
“Want to go up to the treehouse and get lit?”
The page flips over. It is sad how friendships come and go. People change, and sometimes, it isn’t exactly for the better. She remembers having crushes on several of her brother’s friends while growing up. More pages flip through, coming to a stop at an opening for a new business.
David has opened his own eccentric bakery. Someone has seen his talent and has helped him hone his craft. Many edibles from the past long years are to appear on the menu, and several people are around for the opening ceremony. Alan’s mom helped David open it, so those two are there. Arthur is eighteen, caught shirtless and in skinny jeans with his girls on either side. He’s become a ladies’ man, attracting Sue Ellen and Molly to his side. DW is fourteen, leaning against the side of the building with Buster. She and the rabbit have been sneaking out to the tree house to light up lately. Kate is dressed all in black, staying silent since Pal died and Thora fell ill.
The pages fly through again, stopping near the back of the album. The photo is taken at an airport, and everyone is older yet again.
Arthur is twenty-three, vlogging his departure to England for his YouTube channel. Buster is clean now and he’s dating Mary Alice. She has her own television talk show with Francine drumming in the show’s band, Nemo Rats. Mary Alice has a makeup line and a fashion line. Bailey also works with her. DW is nineteen and everyone calls her Winnie. She’s leaving on the plane too, but she’ll get off at the layover in New York. She’s closer now to Francine. Tommy Tibble no longer makes a lot of trouble. He plans on being a photojournalist. He is best friends with Kate, who is now sixteen.
“Good luck overseas, my main man.”
“Skype me every week?” Arthur smiles, eyes tearing up.
“Crying, man?”
Arthur shakes his head with a smirk. “Nah, just my contacts moving around.”
“Sure, man.” Buster grins, giving his best friend a hug.
Jane moves to put away the camera, but Mary Alice stops her. “Whoa, Jane. That is a fabulous camera. Where did you get it?”
While Mary Alice attempts to hook Jane in a spot on her show, Francine is talking to Winnie by the terminals.
“And if you get tickets to see Wicked or the Birdcage, you need to seriously listen to the score. Just feel the music when it plays. And take a lot of pictures. But not of buildings, okay?”
Winnie grins. “You’re acting like I’m never coming back.”
“You’ll be gone two years.” Francine counters. “The longest you’ve been gone is a summer. Call when you get to Molly’s.”
“I will. I promise.”
Over in the baggage claim area, Tommy is leaning against the machine with Kate.
“You tell your folks about the agency?”
Kate frowns. “I’ve never found a good time. Arthur’s changing countries because the tour was such a big success. Winnie’s moving to New York to work at the youth center with Molly. Mom and Dad didn’t even know when James got DW pregnant. She just left town for three months and got it taken care of.”
“They’re not you.” Tommy reminds her.
“But they’re living their lives for real,” Kate complains. “I’m thinking of dropping out of school to join a modeling agency. There’s a difference.”
He shrugs, placing a hand over her stomach. “Not really. And did you forget all the shots you’ve already taken? They say you’re perfect.”
“But I’m not.”
Tommy shakes his head, kissing her cheek. “Yeah, you are.”
The photo album closes, and hands collect the most recent picture book. It starts only two years ago, and it is almost full. She flips it open to one of the first few pages and smiles at a fond memory. Arthur had come to visit.
Arthur is twenty-seven. He’s still a YouTuber, but he is also a published children’s author. He’s married his publisher, Annika, and they have a three-year-old son Bandit. Buster is sitting on the footstep edge of the side of a van with an old classmate, George. The moose now goes by the alias Wally Weed and is a viral traveling guitarist. Buster now has his own stand-up comic routine in Vegas, but he and George aren’t committed to anyone. Francine and Mary Alice still have the talk show, and they are now openly dating. They’re under consideration for adoption, and Francine has a side job teaching drumming.
Winnie is twenty-three and dating twenty-nine-year-old Molly. Winnie has a three-year-old son Fawcett from a nameless one-night stand. Molly has helped her take care of the child, and they have adopted their four-year-old son Nicolas. They’re back in Elwood City, living in an apartment in the same neighborhood Francine had grown up in. Winnie teaches third grade at Lakewood Elementary, and Molly is a child psychologist. Kate is twenty. She is a successful model engaged to her manager Tommy. They have a four-year-old daughter Jessica.
“Wanna take Bandit to the Sugar Bowl?” Francine suggests when Arthur wants to start a tour for his son and wife.
“Unca Alan!” Nicolas claps his hands excitedly.
Buster offers to drive George’s van, plus Bailey has the limo, and Molly has her jeep. The crowd separates, everyone piling into a vehicle to get over to the Sugar Bowl. Alan came back to town last year, to take over the Sugar Bowl when his mom took sick. It was very possible that the restaurant was going to shut down, but Alan worked his magic and the Sugar Bowl is once again a hot spot in the town.
The book closes once more, and the hands clasp together. A smaller hand moves over them, and the bigger hands move. They wrap around the six-year-old girl next to her. They look up hearing the sound of a door closing. A man wearing a red Mary Alice men’s tee, skinny jeans and a digital camera around his neck enters the room with a fond smile.
“Looking through memories, Katie?”
“Mommy showed me all sorts of stories.” Jessica nods. “Why were you mean to Aunt Winnie?”
He purses his lips. “I was a silly boy.” He answers. “I wasn’t very smart.”
Jessica giggles at the answer, and Tommy joins his family on the couch. He reaches for the album and decides to look for a good story.