Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Chapter One
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Chapter Two
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Chapter Three
- Ten
- Eleven
- Chapter Four
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Chapter Five
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Chapter Six
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Chapter Seven
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Chapter Eight
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Chapter Nine
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Chapter Ten
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Chapter Eleven
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Chapter Twelve
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Chapter Thirteen
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Chapter Fourteen
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Chapter Fifteen
- The Following Summer
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
“Us too,” said Cassie.
“Actually, I was going to check out the food,” joked Murray.
They arrived at the front door just as the doorbell rang. When Ali opened the door, she stepped back, bumping into Cassie. The porch was filled with the Other Sloanes.
Forty-Six
It wasn’t just Alfie and Colleen and Andrew Sloane, but Aunt Karen and her family, too. They all wore the same half-nervous, half-excited expression, especially Andrew Sloane, who held a massive bouquet of flowers. Ali swallowed hard, afraid she might burst into tears. “You came.”
Colleen, who held a stack of pizzas, stepped forward. “Can we join the party?”
Ali’s parents stepped into the hallway and froze, unable to hide their dazed expressions. Her mother found her voice first. “Come in!”
Digger rushed forward, said a shy hello, and began to collect coats, which he passed to Ali’s friends. The arrival of the Other Sloanes filled an already-crammed living room and dining room to bursting, but no one seemed to care. Everybody cried when Karen introduced her daughters to Gigi, and they stared with disbelief when Andrew Sloane took a seat next to his mother and took her hand.
“We did it,” Alfie mouthed to Ali, then hurried away to find Digger. Ali smiled; they would have so much to talk about later. Then Ali’s mom and Digger presented both birthday cakes, and everyone sang happy birthday to Gigi, who managed to blow out every single candle without any help at all.
The party was like a happy dream. Digger and Alfie and Karen kept hugging. Andrew Sloane smiled at everyone, even at Ali when she took his empty plate. Across the room, her friends, along with her cousins Jennie and Jordan, passed a broomstick back and forth in an attempt to break the piñata. Everything was perfect, except one person was missing: Teddy. Overwhelmed with emotion, Ali escaped to the kitchen. She was rinsing dishes in the sink when she sensed someone behind her. She turned to find Andrew Sloane.
“You were right,” he said.
Ali stared down at the plate in her hand, unsure of what to say.
Andrew Sloane kept going. “I’m sorry to say that I’m a weak man. I always wanted to be like everybody else. Since they didn’t have powers, I didn’t want mine, either.”
“I used to want to be like everybody too,” Ali offered. She wouldn’t be mean this time.