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

“Pull that chair up behind you, Samwise, and tell me good things,” Anika said. He pulled the chair a little closer and sat. To me, Anika added, “Fred, there’s a chair here on the other side, come grab it.”

So I slowly walked into the room and went around to the other side of Anika’s bed, while she took Sam’s hands and he quietly started telling her about his day.

The partition between Anika’s and the other patient’s sides of the room was like a shower curtain—thin white plastic. I could only make out their shadow, but as I bent down to drag the chair over, I heard the soft sound of them crying.

Whoever it was sounded like a woman. She was trying to take deep breaths; I could hear her struggling to breathe and cry and making little sniffles in between, and I desperately wanted to pull the curtain back and see, but all I could make out from her shadow was that she was lying down with her head burrowed into the pillow, trying to muffle her cries.

“Fred?”

I jumped a little when Anika whispered my name, and when I looked over to her and Sam, she frowned and motioned for me to come away.

“Should I . . . ?” I started to ask, but Anika shook her head.

“She’s been like that all night and day,” she sighed, and then moved herself again to get more comfortable in bed.

“Is she all right?” I whispered.

Anika looked over her shoulder and then back to us, shaking her head again. “She’s from the haven.”

My eyes must have gone wide in shock, because Anika explained, “I tried talking to her last night, but I don’t think she knows much English, and my Albanian isn’t exactly great.”

“But—why is she here?” Sam asked quietly.

“Same as me,” Anika said. “She’s having a baby.”

image

26

One Part of the World

That night, Luca burned the garlic bread he’d made to go with the spaghetti Bolognese and then he burned his wrist trying to yank the tray out of the oven. He got frustrated by Sam’s math homework because the long division was different from the way he was taught in school, and he got a phone call after dinner asking him if he could volunteer at the safe haven that weekend.

And then right before bed, Sam’s dad called and asked to speak to him—but Sam shook his head and refused to take the phone, so Luca had to apologize and say he should try again tomorrow.

“It’s been a long day, Freddo,” Luca said, when he came into my room that night, and pretended to collapse facedown on my bed.