Chapters (37)
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- BEFORE
- AFTER
- ONE THOUGHTS ON SUN HATS
- TWO TIME FOR CAKE
- THREE TWELVE MONTHS
- FOUR PSYCHIC KARAOKE
- FIVE A SECOND SLEEPING BAG
- SIX SIX MONTHS
- SEVEN THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE PANCAKE
- EIGHT SIX MONTHS
- NINE FOLLOW THE MUSIC
- TEN THE STARS ARE BRIGHTER IN THE DESERT
- ELEVEN SIX MONTHS
- TWELVE EVERY STAR HAS A SONG
- THIRTEEN PSYCHIC KARAOKE
- FOURTEEN ONE MONTH
- FIFTEEN A WELL-TRAVELED HAT
- SIXTEEN JOEL VS. THE VOLCANO
- SEVENTEEN TWO WEEKS
- EIGHTEEN HOUSE OF MEMORIES
- NINETEEN IF TREES COULD TALK
- TWENTY THREE DAYS
- TWENTY-ONE SEARCH PARTY
- TWENTY-TWO NOT THE SAME ZADIE
- TWENTY-THREE WAVES OF SMOKE
- TWENTY-FOUR THE DAY OF
- TWENTY-FIVE THE SKY IS FULL OF BIRDS
- TWENTY-SIX NEST
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- EPILOGUE
- TWENTY-EIGHT A SONG ABOUT A BIRD
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Also by Ruth Emmie Lang
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
“We have to find her, Zadie,” Finn said, urgency creeping into her voice. “She could be hurt, or—” She let the end of her thought hang, fearing that finishing it would make it true. Her ribs still ached. She wondered fleetingly if she had fractured a bone when she’d fallen but even as she considered if she should see a doctor, she knew nothing would show up on the X-ray. Some aches were deeper than bone.
Zadie finally capitulated. “All right. Joel, call your friend.”
Ten minutes later, they had a name and an address:
VAN HOUTEN, MYRON
3763 GRANITE RD
MILLPORT, WASHINGTON
SEVENTEEN TWO WEEKS
(UNTIL NORA WILDER’S DISAPPEARANCE)
Five days had passed since open mic night at Hound Dog’s. Zadie had made pains to avoid her mother when she could, going straight to the library after school and staying there until the voice on the PA system informed her of its closing. When she got home, she’d sneak leftovers from the kitchen—ignoring the place setting that had been left for her on the table—and take them to her room. Nora didn’t knock on her door or ask to talk. She gave Zadie her space, even if that meant catching nothing but glimpses of her daughter as she moved from one closed door to another like a ghost.
On the sixth day, Zadie didn’t go to the library after school. When it was time for dinner, she emerged from her room and took a seat at the table next to her sister. Nora talked a little, Finn talked a lot, and Zadie listened. When the plates were clean and Finn had scampered off to her room to play with her Legos, Zadie tried to slip away before her mom had a chance to initiate a conversation between the two of them.
“Hey, Zadie. Hold up a minute.” Zadie reluctantly turned to face her mom. “I wanted to run something by you.”
“Yeah?”
“I was thinking…” There was a glint in her eye like a ring catching the light. “Since Finn has that Girl Scout trip next weekend, maybe you and me could do something together.”
“Like what?”
“What about the beach?”
“The beach?”
“Yeah. We could get a motel for a night. Lay out on the sand, then fall asleep and get sunburns. Whaddya say?”
It sounded fun enough, but Zadie was uncertain. If her mom could ditch her at a bar, what was to say she wouldn’t run off and leave her alone on a beach somewhere? If she did, Zadie wouldn’t be able to just walk home. “I dunno…”
“Please. I screwed up. Bad. Let me make it up to you.”
Her contrition looked genuine even if the gesture was a little over the top. Zadie considered the offer, made it dance for her, do backflips. “Can I pick the music on the drive down?”
“Yes.”
“And do you promise not to talk the whole time?”