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
“You’re too kind, Ali, but it gets worse. I punished Teddy and Karen when they used their powers, and I was often petty with my mother and brother because I was sure they were doing things humans beings weren’t meant to do. I thought I knew best. Now I see how wrong I was. We’ve been given these powers for a reason. They don’t make us good or bad, but they do make us different. You saved Alfie’s life, and mine too.”
This was a shock. “I did?”
“Yes. You made me remember that there are only two important things in life: loving your family and others, and loving yourself. Want to know a secret?” He sounded giddy.
“What?”
“I’m going to sign this house over to your parents, if they’ll let me live here for a while and help take care of Gigi. Would you mind having an old codger like me around?”
Ali flung herself into his arms. They hugged for a full minute before Ali broke away. “Thank you, Uncle Andrew.”
“Thank you. Now, I think I’d better go check on Gigi and Walter Pidgeon.”
Ali watched him leave. You never really knew what was going to happen in life. She used to think that was a bad thing, but now it was kind of exciting.
Ten minutes later, Alfie found her on the back deck, bundled up in Digger’s plaid coat and staring up at the sky. She smiled when he sat down beside her. “Look—the fog is gone! I forgot how much I missed the stars.”
“You know, there used to be a squirrel constellation. Sciurus Volans, the Flying Squirrel, named by William Croswell in 1810,” said Alfie. “Sadly, it got sucked into Camelopardalids, the giraffe constellation, which totally bites.”
They gazed upward, neither speaking. For the first time in weeks, the foghorn was silent.
Alfie exhaled. “Saying thanks doesn’t seem like enough, but it’s the best I can do.”
“You would have saved me if the situation was reversed,” Ali pointed out.
“Yup. And Gigi got her birthday party and Granddad has forgiven everyone, including himself. He told me he’s always regretted not training my dad.” He took a breath, and there was a catch in his throat. “You know, when I found out that they never found his body after the accident, I used to pretend he was just lost somewhere, even though I knew it wasn’t true.”
A strange jolt reverberated through Ali. “They never found his body?”
“Nope. Granddad says that’s not unusual when someone drowns in the ocean.”
Ali closed her eyes. Uncle Percival’s chapter about not drowning when you were a fish or a whale popped into her head. Teddy had written “Practice” at the beginning of that chapter. But if Teddy had practiced, what had happened?
She hopped up. “I need to go the bathroom.”