“He came three or four times a year, and we’d take trips together. He took me to see the Colosseum in Rome. Have you ever been there?”

“No.” She’d never been outside of New Brunswick. “Do you like your teachers?”

“They’re okay. I skipped a grade when I came here. I guess my old school was accelerated.”

“I wondered why you were in grade eight when you’re only a month older than me. Are the kids in your classes nice?”

“I guess so. I’m making lots of friends. Everyone is quite friendly. How about you?”

Ali considered Cassie and Emily. Were they friends? She wasn’t sure. “Uh-huh.”

“I bugged my mom for us to come here for a long time. I felt like I knew everything about my mom’s family, but nothing about my dad’s. I mean, Granddad and Mom have told me all about him, but I wanted to see where he grew up. I knew about your family, and Gigi, and I hoped that if I came back, even for a while, they’d stop fighting.”

It had never occurred to Ali that Alfie might not live in Saint John forever. “But aren’t you and your mom staying here?”

Alfie stuffed his hands into his pockets. “No. My mom’s a professor. She’s on this thing called a sabbatical, which means her university gave her a year off to do research. We’re moving back at the end of the school year.”

It was like the earth tilted on its axis. Until that moment, Ali hadn’t realized how much she had counted on Alfie being there. But he wouldn’t be, at least not for long.

Her voice was shaky when she responded. “Your mom teaches at the university, right?”

“She does. The university agreed to lend her an office if she’d teach one class.”

“Oh.”

They trudged on without speaking. When they arrived at Gigi’s house, Ali was surprised to see Digger standing in the picture window. She expected Alfie to bolt, but he didn’t. Instead, he stared at Digger as if he was in a trance. Then he waved. Digger smiled, then turned away.

“He really does want to meet you,” explained Ali, anxious that Alfie would be offended. “But he won’t go behind your grandfather’s back.”

Alfie seemed to be on the verge of tears when he responded. “I wish . . .” He paused. “I just really need to talk to him. I hope Granddad listens to you. I should go.”

Ali watched him disappear into the mist, ready to burst into tears herself. Whatever it took, she would convince Andrew Sloane to come to the party.