They turned onto Douglas Avenue, and she paused. She loved her new street, which ran the length of a narrow peninsula separating the Saint John River and the Bay of Fundy. The peninsula’s existence created the city’s famous Reversing Falls, thanks to the twice daily twenty-eight-foot ocean tides that rushed into the bay and forced the river to flow backward. A reluctant Digger had taken Ali to see the falls the previous week, even though he’d said there wasn’t much to see. She’d stood on the observation deck and watched the water churn, thinking about a scientific law she’d studied in sixth grade—Newton’s second law of motion—which explained what happens to a mass when it’s acted on by an external force. The massive bay and its tides might push the river back twice daily, but the force of the river was unyielding. Thanks to force, something small could stand a chance against something much larger.

Gigi’s Victorian house came into view. Did Alfie know this was where she lived? As they got closer, she pointed up at the turret. “That’s our great-grandmother’s room. Notice the open window?”

“Uh-huh.” Alfie studied the window like it was a problem to be solved.

“She always leaves her window open to feed the birds and squirrels. My dad hates it when she does, because he worries the house will be taken over by animals.”

Alfie chuckled.

“Want to come in?”

Ali imagined taking Alfie inside. She’d introduce him to Digger, then take him upstairs to meet Gigi. It made her shiver with excitement about how thrilled they’d be. She was already on the first step when Alfie shook his head and began to walk away. Stunned, she gaped at his departing back, then ran to catch up with him.

“You don’t want to come in?”

Alfie shook his head. Ali swallowed her disappointment. She hadn’t even told him about Gigi’s party yet.

“Can we talk for a few minutes?” She pointed toward Riverview Memorial Park in the distance. Maybe he’d be willing to talk someplace else. He didn’t say no, so they kept going. They passed the old New Brunswick Museum, with its imposing pillars and dark stone, and arrived at the park on the other side, cutting across the leaf-strewn grass until they reached the statue of a Boer War soldier. They took a seat beneath the sad-looking man, who clutched his bayonet as if he expected to be called into battle at any moment.

Alfie checked his watch. “I have to be home in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes wasn’t much time if you had a lifetime of questions you wanted answered.

“Did you know that my parents and I were living here?”

“My mom told me last week.”

Phew. That meant seeing Ali at debate team hadn’t been a total shock.