BooksBarbecue
Back The Year the Maps Changed Save as PDF
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. Map
  6. Prologue
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. About the Author
  75. About the Publisher

My mom was beautiful, even though she wasn’t wearing a proper wedding gown like the ones you see in movies and on TV—just this simple flowing dress, in a buttery yellow color with little pearl buttons all the way down the middle. Her skin was lightly tanned, and her hair was twisted up on her head so you could see the small diamond earrings that Luca had given her. They used to belong to his mama and are waiting for me in his dresser for when I’m older.

Luca looked a lot younger then, probably because he had long black hair. He shaved it all off when he became a policeman. He wasn’t wearing a tux or anything fancy in the photo either, just this crisp white shirt tucked into black pants. I had stuck a yellow daisy in a buttonhole on his shirt, right in the middle of his chest, so he’d match Mom. I fuzzily remembered picking it for him, and holding it up—him crouching down and helping me stick it through the buttonhole. . . .

He was holding me up in the photo, kind of in the crook of one arm and so my head was level with his, and Mom was standing on his other side, her arm hooked around his middle.

“We look really happy here.”

“Because you really were,” Pop said.

And I believed him. Even if I couldn’t really remember how happy we were, I felt better because Pop still did.

“Why didn’t you get married again after Nan died?” I asked. When I was little, I was so worried about Luca falling in love; but I figured that because Pop hadn’t, there was a good chance it would always just be the three of us.

“It was different for your nan and me. We had a lifetime together and there was never going to be anyone else. But with Luca and Maria . . . it wasn’t fair, they should have had more time.”

I whispered the next part, and Pop had to lean down a little to hear me: “Do you think he still loves her?”

I didn’t need to say who. Pop knew I meant Mom.

“Fred, you should know that it’s very easy to be both happy and sad at the same time, and it’s possible to love two people at once, and miss someone so much even while you move on without them,” he said, and sighed. “And yes, I think he still loves her. That’s a good question to ask Luca, so you can hear him tell you so.”

But I knew I wouldn’t. Because it was also possible to want to know an answer so badly, but still be too scared to ask the question.

image

5

The Good with the Bad

Anika drove us to school on the first day of term.