I wondered if that was good or bad. You could pretty much do what you wanted to do, but then again, if you didn’t show up somewhere, would anyone know? What if you needed help and didn’t know anyone to ask? What if you just wanted to see a friendly face but all you saw were strangers?

It was also a little weird being someplace with just Mimi and Dad. After Mom died, it seemed like three of us (me, Skylar, Dad), went everywhere together.

When we were a family of four, I didn’t really notice when Mom was out or Skylar was off doing something. And since Dad worked a lot, there were a lot of times it was just Skylar, me, and Mom.

Now I’m always aware of where Dad and Skylar are, and it’s like I’m constantly looking around for Sky if he’s not with us. If I moved to the city, it would just be Dad and Sky back home.

For some reason that thought made my throat feel a little funny. Maybe without the two of them, I would be lonely.

Dad must have read my mind, because he said, “Ah, it’s strange not to have Skylar here, but Mimi, you should consider this your last meal with no whining while you’re visiting.”

Mimi laughed. “Oh, Sky is a good kid,” she said. “I can’t wait to see him. But today is about Lindsay! Tell me about middle school. Are you excited?”

Here we go again, I thought.

“Not really,” I said. “It’s a new school but the same kids, so not much is different.”

“Oh!” said Mimi, surprised. “Your mom spoke so highly about the school, though. It has wonderful programs, especially for art. And some of her friends still teach there, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, Carla teaches there,” Dad said. “You remember her, right, Mimi? And Laurie is still the assistant principal.”

“Laurie is Casey’s mom,” I said.

“Of course!” said Mimi. “I remembered that. It will be a little weird for Casey then, right?”

I remembered talking about it with Casey before she left for camp, when she was packing up her stuff and there were clothes thrown all over her room. I knew she was not too happy to have her mom at school with her.

“I mean, I’ll see her every day, all day!” she said, flopping on her bed. Then she sat up. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ll bet you’d do anything to see your mom every day.”

I was quiet for a second, which I can only do with Casey. Usually I’d just quickly say, “Oh, it’s okay” to get the awkward moment over.

But Casey understood. She tilted her head and waited for me to think it through.