Just Visiting

by Laura Dower

  “Let’s head inside for some lunch,” Gramma said when they hopped out of the car. “I’m starved.”

  No sooner had Madison entered the kitchen than Gramma began heating up some kind of brown stew. She had it prepared on the stove already. Madison laughed when she saw—and smelled—it. Gramma’s food always smelled weird, but tasted great. She’d even set aside a goody bag of food for Phin.

  Phin’s nose was going crazy.

  “So we’ll eat and then play some cards,” Gramma Helen announced. “You still good at crazy eights?”

  Gramma was addicted to cards. Madison had to play three games of crazy eights before she was finally able to sneak Phin away for a short walk.

  When they went out, Madison and Phinnie strolled past some of the other homes in Gramma’s area. Kids were running through sprinklers on one lawn, and it reminded Madison of home. She and Aimee always cooled off that way in the summer.

  What was Aimee doing right now? Madison wondered.

  On the way home she bumped into Mr. Miller, the neighbor with all the windows. He introduced himself and his own dog, Cha-Cha, a terrier. Madison almost laughed out loud when she heard the dog’s name. Cha-Cha and Phin seemed to “sniff” it off perfectly.

  Gramma had turned on her afternoon soap operas and mystery programs by the time they returned to the house. She was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea, knitting blue and gold afghan squares.

  “I’m making a blanket for the neighbors’ new grandchild,” she said, knitting one and purling two. Madison marveled at how her grandmother always kept herself busier than busy.

  “So have a seat and tell me everything,” Gramma said.

  “Everything? Like what?” Madison asked. During their card games, she’d already filled Gramma in on the basics: school grades, friends, and even Dad.

  “How are your files?” Gramma asked. “I see you brought your laptop here, so you must be keeping up with them.”

  Gramma always remembered to ask about the really important things.

  Madison stood up, leaned over, and gave her a big hug and kiss. “I am so happy to be here,” she said. “My files are great.”

  “I just want you to make yourself at home, dearie,” Gramma went on. “I want this to be a great vacation. I know it’s hard without your pals…”

  Madison sighed.

  “I set up a little table in the back guest room for you and your laptop,” Gramma said, winking. “So you can e-mail them.”

  Madison hadn’t noticed it before, so she dashed into the other room to check it out. Indeed, there was a small table near a phone jack, a chair, and even a jar with pencils, pens, and a ruler. It inspired Madison to pull out her computer immediately.

  “Do you mind if I try it out?” Madison asked.

  “Go on, Maddie,” Gramma called back. “That’s what it’s there for.”

  Madison quickly plugged in the modem and logged in to check her e-mailbox. Someone would have written by now, she thought.

  But the message on-screen read otherwise.

  Mailbox is empty.

  Madison clicked the mail icon again. Not a single friend (or enemy) had written a note? She hadn’t even received any spams or messages from unknown sources.

  Mailbox is empty.

  Madison had to find out what was happening. Where was everyone? Immediately she opened a new e-mail and started to type.

  First she wrote to her BFFs back home.

  From: MadFinn

  To: BalletGrl, Wetwinz

  Subject: WHERE R U GUYS???

  Date: Sun 29 June 3:12 PM

  Where r u guys??? I am here at my gramma’s house and I MISS YOU SO MUCH. You would like it here. Gramma’s house is on a small pond and she has a wooden dock, but we’re only a little walk from the big beach on Lake Michigan. So I can go to the beach, too. Are you spending every day at Lake Dora? I bet ur having the best time getting ready for the carnival and all that, aren’t you? You have to write and send me details!

  I MISS YOU!!! Did I say that already?

  p.s. Phin misses Blossom, too, LOL

  p.p.s. HB! xoxoxxo,

  Maddie

  After hitting SEND, Madison typed a couple of other e-mails to Dad, Mom, and even Egg. There was a definite theme:

  WRITE!

  She sent her third note in two days to Bigwheels.

  From: MadFinn

  To: Bigwheels

  Subject: R U OUT THERE?

  Date: Sun 29 June 3:41 PM

  Did you get my other e-mails? R U still in Oregon or another state? I am FINALLY here with my gramma Helen and my dog. I love her soooo much. She always plans stuff for us to do. She says she wants to teach me how to knit. My grandmother is so smart about things. She cooks fun food and plays the piano and all sorts of other stuff. You never told me about ur grandmother. Do you have one or two? Are they nice?

  BTW: what do u do all day inside a camper when ur driving around? Does ur little sister get on ur nerves? I will try to find an e-postcard from here that will make u laugh.

  Yours till the globe trotters, MadFinn

  Madison marked the entire e-mail as priority, with a red exclamation point, and then she typed an extra P.S. in big, capital letters.

  P.S. WRITE BACK SOON! PRETTY PLEEZ?

  Madison left TweenBlurt.com to visit her own personal files next. Without friends to chat with all the time, Madison could always talk to her files—especially when she had a lot on her mind.

  Summer Vacation

  Rude Awakening: I’ve got a case of the summertime red, white, and blues.

  Gramma says my summer visit will be a real blast, but I’m not sure. Can I have fun on the Fourth of July without my BFFs?

  For a few minutes today I thought I could. Of course, being around Gramma is the best. She always is laughing. But even though Gramma is fun, I can’t talk to her about boys. And Phinnie is fun, but he only speaks dog. LOL.

  I did see a sign that says fireworks displays are here in Winnetka just like at home. Maybe I will have a good time—if Gramma goes with me.

  What are Aimee and Fiona doing at this exact moment back in Far Hills? Aimee’s probably with her Russian ballet friend Sasha buying chocolate cows at Freeze Palace. Fiona and her old BFF Debbie are probably off somewhere gabbing at the mall. Egg and Drew are at the lake, I bet. And Hart is somewhere having fun, too, still laughing about our splash fight. Hopefully he’s not with Ivy.

  Am I missing all the fun? It’s hard to think about. So I’ll try not to—as if that ever works.

  After logging off again, Madison and Gramma hung out together in the living room—just talking. Madison had only been at the cottage for a few hours, but she already felt like she was at home.

  “When do I get to meet Mabel?” Madison asked, looking out the window over at her neighbor’s house. She was eager to meet Gramma’s best friend and guessed that Mabel probably knit and played crazy eights, too. Maybe they’d have a three-way card game?

  “Oh, we’ll see Mabel tomorrow,” Gramma said. “It’s my first day with my only granddaughter! I want you all to myself right now.”

  Madison grinned.

  “Hey, did I ever show you these?” Gramma Helen said, holding out two very fat scrapbooks that appeared to be overflowing with photographs and papers. On top of one Madison saw gold, embossed letters: FRANCINE. On the other she saw: ANGIE. One was obviously devoted to Mom. The other one was for Mom’s sister, Aunt Angie.

  Madison had never seen either book before, so she and Gramma sat together on the living-room sofa to take a look.

  Gramma cracked the binding of Mom’s book first, just as the phone rang.

  “I bet that’s your Mom right now,” Gramma Helen said.

  And it was.

  Madison grabbed for the phone right away. “I love it here!” she gushed to Mom, explaining how she and Gramma Helen had shopped and played cards after leaving the airport.

  But in spite of all her good che
er about Gramma’s place, Madison was happier than happy to hear Mom’s voice.

  “I love you, honey bear,” Mom said.

  Madison felt like she might cry. She took a little breath. “I love you, too.”

  As soon as she hung up the phone, Madison settled on the couch next to Gramma Helen to finish looking at the album.

  Inside FRANCINE, there were pages of baby photos and ribbons and cards. One photograph showed Mom in a baby bathing suit standing on the edge of a dock like she was getting ready to dive. She wore a little float in the shape of a giraffe.

  Gramma pointed out page after page of pictures from each summer Mom had spent up at the lake house during her childhood.

  “When your mom was just seven,” Gramma said, turning a page, “she ran away. I thought my heart would stop. We had a neighborhood search party.”

  Madison giggled. From all the stories she’d always heard, Mom was good at getting herself into trouble. “So what happened?” she asked.

  Gramma sighed a deep, long sigh. “Turns out she was hiding under the porch.”

  Madison imagined Mom on her hands and knees, hanging out with the worms and spiders under the porch. She’d changed a lot since then.

  “And what’s this picture, Gramma?” Madison pointed to a candid shot of Mom with very short hair. It spiked around her forehead.

  Gramma laughed out loud. “Oh, my, that’s the summer your mom’s hair caught fire,” she explained. “What a horror. Leaned into the stove. She cried for weeks. By the time she stopped crying, her old hair had practically all grown back.”

  Madison couldn’t believe the wild things Mom had done at the lake house.

  “Have you ever been fishing?” Gramma asked, turning another page. “Your grandfather used to take the kids out fishing every day of summer, I swear. See this photo here? The one with her inside the fishing boat?”

  She pointed to a picture of Mom sitting in a canoe with her sister, Angie, and her father, Madison’s grandpa Joe. In her hands, Mom held an enormous fish that measured almost the same size that she was.

  Angie was pouting. Grandpa was posing.

  Gramma caught her breath and placed her hand over the center of her chest. “Just look at the three of them,” she said. “My dears.”

  Madison noticed that Gramma’s eyes were getting a little wet.

  “I miss him,” Gramma said. “Your grandfather was a good man. You remind me of him sometimes, do you know that?”

  Madison didn’t remember much about the lake house, but she remembered lots about Grandpa Joe. It was like everything from the past blurred together a little, but he stood out. The way his scratchy beard felt when he hugged her. The way he always clicked his dentures. The way he’d play the guitar sometimes at night after they had supper. In her mind, Madison always liked to think of him as her “Pa” from Little House on the Prairie. He was nothing like Dad or Mom, and Grandpa Joe didn’t know anything about computers, but he was that kind of superspecial that only comes along once in a while.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzing!

  Gramma Helen jumped into the air when the phone rang. She leaned over the arm of the sofa and picked up the portable.

  “Angie!” she said, her voice cheering right up again. “Well, I’m just sitting here with your niece, looking through some old albums… Yes, we are behaving ourselves. … Yes, she’s doing just fine…”

  Gramma winked at Madison.

  It sounded like they’d be talking on the telephone for a while, so Madison bopped into the guest room to give Gramma some privacy.

  Plus she had to see if anyone had gotten her latest e-mails.

  Chapter 7

  THE LAPTOP CONNECTED IMMEDIATELY again and her e-mailbox appeared. This time, however, Madison was in for a big surprise.

  Mailbox is full.

  She blinked at the screen. Full? Scrolling down, Madison was amazed to discover more than twenty e-mails. A few of them were duplicates, which seemed to have been uploaded and downloaded more than once, but there was three days’ worth of mail here!

  Right away, she deleted all the spams and advertisements, which left messages from friends and family.

  Madison cruised through the rest of the list.

  FROM

  SUBJECT

  FHAS

  Newsletter Update

  Wetwinz

  Lake Party

  GoGramma

  Your Trip

  TheEggMan

  Computr Camp Adress

  Bigwheels

  You Have an E-Card

  Dantheman

  Pooches

  BalletGrl

  Sasha’s HERE!!

  ff_BUDGEFILM

  Safe & Sound

  JeffFinn

  Joke 4 You

  Sk8ingboy

  Vacation

  BalletGrl

  Re: WHERE R U GUYS???

  Wetwinz

  Re: WHERE R U GUYS???

  Some of the mail had been sent before Madison had left for Chicago. She realized that the TweenBlurt.com server must have been down. Whenever it crashed, the nasty server ate e-mails and then spit them back out again a day or so later.

  The animal clinic had sent along its latest newsletter. Madison saved it so she could read it more closely later.

  Fiona sent news about plans for meeting at Lake Dora, which had obviously already happened. Madison hit DELETE.

  Gramma Helen had written with wishes for a happy journey to her house. Another DELETE. She was already here!

  Then there was a doofy e-mail from Egg about his extra summer e-mail address at camp for the end of July and August. Madison saved the name to her address book just in case. Even when he was at his most irritating, Egg was still one of Madison’s best friends.

  Dan Ginsburg wrote about a grumpy bulldog that he and Madison liked to play with at the Far Hills clinic. Someone had adopted the dog and named her Pooches. He thought she’d want to know.

  Bigwheels sent an e-card from another place in Oregon, Aimee announced the arrival of her ballet friend Sasha, Mom checked in from San Francisco, and Dad said “howdy” along with a dumb joke he had sent Madison at least twice before.

  What do zombies put in their computers? Flesh drives! LOL

  Love you, Dad

  Madison rolled her eyes. Would Dad ever stop telling terrible jokes?

  She scrolled down to the next e-mail … but blinked with surprise when she read the name at the top.

  From: Sk8ingboy

  This e-mail was from Hart Jones. Hart Jones? Madison pinched herself. Since Hart rarely sent her anything, she had trouble believing this was really his note up there on the screen. But there was no doubt. This was from the crush himself.

  Even though she was still a little mad at him, Madison’s heart thumped to see Hart’s name flash on-screen.

  From: Sk8ingboy

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Vacation

  Date: Sun 29 June 11:11 AM

  Howz Chicago? Sorry about what happened at the lake. Was that ur hair clip? I hope so. BCNU, Hart

  After staring numbly at the screen for a few moments longer, Madison hit SAVE. She would never delete that message.

  Never.

  Finally she moved on to a few of the other, more recent notes.

  From: BalletGrl

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Re: WHERE R U GUYS???

  Date: Sun 29 June 5:12 PM

  What r u talking about Maddie? I have written you at least 3 emails since u left! I thought u weren’t writing back to ME! Everyone MISSES YOU SOOOOO MUCH. It is so not the same without you here.

  Sasha saw a picture of you on my wall and she said you were superpretty. Isn’t that nice? Well, we have a special ballet class today so I am up early for vacation. Then we’re going to Lake Dora again with Fiona and her friend Debbie. Wish you were here.

  Love ya,

  Aim

  p.s. Blossom misses Phinnie, t
oo.

  After Aimee’s message, there was also a message from Fiona.

  From: Wetwinz

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Re: WHERE R U GUYS???

  Date: Sun 29 June 5:15 PM

  I have TOTALLY written back! Haven’t I? I think ur server is messed up or something BTW. That’s why u couldn’t get mail.

  OF COURSE WE MISS U!

  Life here is square. My brother, Chet, is being a loser, but Egg has been over visiting a lot this weekend, so he and I have been hanging out. Don’t SAY IT! You know what I mean. I can’t help liking Egg even if he is a weirdo. Besides, I am one too. :>)

  My friend Debbie sez hello 2 you. She’s different than I remember from home though. She is a little stuck up or something. More on that l8r.

  Sooooo you have 2 send news about ur Gramma’s house. Does she have a scanner? Can u send a picture of you and Phin? I can put it up like a screen saver while u r away. BYE FOR NOW!

  xoxoxoxxoxox Fiona

  Madison was just about to write to Bigwheels yet again when Gramma interrupted with a boom.

  “Maddie!” she wailed from the other room. “Come get supper!”

  It was already way after six o’clock. As usual, dinner smelled funny but tasted yummy. Only Gramma Helen could make a grilled cheese sandwich taste so good. And after the table was cleared off, Madison and Gramma played more games of crazy eights until almost ten o’clock. Madison was sure that after a week in Winnetka, she’d be addicted to card playing, too.

  With bedtime approaching, the dishes washed, and the cards (finally) put away, Gramma sent Madison out to the front curb with one last task: taking out the bag of garbage. She said it was nice to have a helping hand around to lift the heavy things.

  “Just drop it in the brown barrel, okay?” Gramma said. “The green container is Mabel’s.”

  Madison hoisted the garbage over one shoulder and pushed open the screen door. All she could hear was crickets. All she could see was pale moonlight. She walked with the garbage to the end of the path and slowly lifted the brown lid.