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
“Another thing to worry about! Emily wants ours to be the best.”
“Wait until you see what Cassie and Murray have up their sleeve. It’s epic.”
“Uh-oh. What are they doing?”
Alfie shook his head. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”
“But I’m your cousin!”
“I’m still sworn to secrecy.”
Ali kicked at a stone on the sidewalk and sent it flying. “Emily will be so mad at me if they get a better grade than us.”
Alfie laughed. “I don’t know Emily, but she needs to relax. Like my mom always says: There’s no I in TEAM.”
“Yeah, but there’s an E for EMILY.”
“And an L for let it go. Don’t worry; I bet you guys will be awesome.”
Ali sighed. “You’re right.” She glanced up at the gloomy sky. “I’d give anything for one sunny day. Digger says the fog won’t lift until it’s ready to and that wishing for something doesn’t make any difference.”
“He’s right about that,” said Alfie.
Thirty-Three
Ali’s parents were whispering at the kitchen table when she came downstairs the next morning. Their expressions were so glum it made Ali’s breath catch.
“Is Gigi okay?”
Digger motioned for her to take a seat. Ali braced herself for bad news.
“Your mother and I were just talking about Gigi. We’re worried about her. I couldn’t get her to leave her room at all yesterday. She seems distracted, and when I took her dinner up to her last night, she was talking to herself. We love living with Gigi, but we’re worried that at some point we won’t be able to care for her.”
“But Mom knows how to care for elderly people; that’s her job!”
Her mother winced. “You’re right. But at work we have special equipment, and alarms that tell us when a resident has left their room or is hurt, and there are lots of staff to help. At home, it’s just your dad.”
“I can help Digger after school and on the weekends. Please don’t make her leave.”
Digger’s voice was thick with emotion when he responded. “Ali, we’re not saying she’s going to have to go into a home, at least not yet. We’ll monitor her for a few weeks and hope things get better.”
“Can’t we hire a nurse?”
“Gigi doesn’t have money for a nurse. That’s why she asked us to move in with her. But we didn’t realize how unwell she was until we got here.”
“Where would she go if she couldn’t live here?”
“If it comes to that, I’ll try to have her placed in my nursing home soon,” said Ali’s mother. “I’ll talk to the administrator. We’ll likely need to get Gigi assessed in advance.”