Letters from the Heart

by Annie Bryant

  Her father’s new apartment was in a brick building with gables on Washington Street. The building was what her father called a mock-Tudor—it looked old-fashioned and a little bit mysterious. Dad’s apartment was on the second floor, which Maeve liked. It reminded her of their place over the Movie House.

  She was amazed when her father opened up the door. It looked so moved-in! Her father had set up the living room already—three of his houseplants were even there. It was definitely not huge, but the room had a pretty fireplace and nice high ceilings. At the end of the living room was a kind of nook with a small kitchen in it. Her father said it was called a “galley kitchen,” after the kinds of kitchens used on ships. There wasn’t a lot of room, but her dad had set it all up so neatly—pots, pans, glasses, plates—that Maeve thought it looked almost cozy.

  “Not bad, Dad,” Sam said admiringly.

  Maeve was pretty impressed, too. Her father had even set the table in the kitchen. He’d knocked himself out, getting things ready for them. She felt a lump forming in her throat, but she fought back tears. It was just…well, it was so touching to see what he’d done to make them feel comfortable here. He’d even brought over some of Sam’s video games, and Maeve saw the latest issue of People magazine on the coffee table.

  “Daddy, this is nice,” Maeve said.

  It helped having seen the living room first. Next came her father’s bedroom. It was small, but had a nice view of the garden below. Maeve noticed that there were pictures of her and Sammy everywhere. It looked like her dad had put those out first thing!

  “And now—” her father said, throwing open the door to the room across the hallway. “TA-DAH!” Maeve had to laugh. He sounded just like her. The whole performance thing was definitely “in the genes,” as her mother would say. That and making things happy and nice for other people.

  She turned to look in the room…then gulped. This was going to take some courage. The room was cute, but no kidding—it was SMALL. Avery’s Closet Number One was probably bigger than this. Her dad had set up bunk beds on one wall, which made Sam go into whoops of ecstasy. Not that there was much choice, there wasn’t room to fit two beds in side by side. Maeve had to summon up every single ounce of acting skill she had. Think of Sara Crewe in The Little Princess, she told herself. Think of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, before she goes to Paris. Think of Drew Barrymore in Ever After. Think of every noble, suffering, I-have-to-live-in-a-garret-but-I’m-still-a-princess movie that you can.

  Of course, most garrets only come with rats…not with an eight-year-old brother.

  “Daddy, this ROCKS!” Sam yelled, hurling himself up the ladder and onto the top bunk.

  Maeve took a deep breath. “Sam,” she said, as calmly as she could, “you and I are going to talk LATER about how we’re going to divide the room.” She dragged in her pink beanbag chair, which filled one entire corner. “The pink side is going to be MINE.”

  Her father shook his head with a rueful smile. “I know it’s a small room. Will you two be okay in here?”

  Something about the tone in his voice made Maeve forget all about how small the room was and how on EARTH she was going to deal with sharing a bedroom with the Military Maniac. Her dad looked so woebegone and so worried all of a sudden that all she cared about was making him feel better.

  Maeve flung her arms around her father, forgetting all about the bunk beds and her brother and the unbearable question of which was worse, having Sam on the top bunk snoring over her head or on the bottom bunk where he could kick her mattress and send her flying. “Dad, it’s fine. It’s sweet,” Maeve assured him.

  “I think it’s the coolest,” Sam announced. “I’m gonna put my posters ALL OVER. And I’m—”

  “Sam,” Maeve said calmly, hoping to defer this conversation until later, “I think we better go help Dad with dinner.”

  This was NOT the time to squash her younger brother. Not on their first night here. And thank heavens, they didn’t have to spend the night here. Not yet. Maeve would have all week to Sam-proof herself before she had to endure THAT.

  Dinner was actually nice. Her father had made their all-time favorite—American Chop Suey. It was macaroni, ground beef, tomato sauce…and totally delicious. It felt funny sitting at the small table in the kitchen and eating there, just the three of them, but not funny as in BAD—just new. They talked about a bunch of stuff. Maeve’s award ceremony. Things coming up at school. The baseball play-offs. Dinner seemed to fly by, but as soon as they were finished eating, an awkward silence descended.

  Maeve wondered if Sam was thinking the same thing she was. What now?

  Dad’s TV wasn’t set up yet. Neither was his stereo. The living room was feeling quieter and quieter. Maeve’s eye flew to the new issue of People magazine on the coffee table. If she were at home, she’d be running off to her room to I.M. her friends or to read that enticing magazine. But here at Dad’s she felt more like she was VISITING. You couldn’t just go off and read a magazine when you were (sort of) a guest, could you?

  But what else were the three of them supposed to do?

  All of a sudden, Maeve remembered Avery’s tip.

  “Anyone want to play cards?” she asked, taking the cards out of the pocket of her jacket. Thank you, Avery Madden, she thought. YOU WERE SO RIGHT.

  “Poker!” Sam shrieked, looking like he’d just won the lottery.

  Maeve wanted to play Spit, so they flipped for it, and she won. Before she knew it, the three of them were sitting on the living room floor, hands flying, laughing their heads off. Maeve even forgot about acting brave. The truth was, she was having a good time. Okay, the bedroom situation was a little less than perfect. But she liked her dad’s new place. It obviously had good karma—Maeve won every single game.

  JOINT CUSTODY

  “So how was it?” Avery asked, in her usual blunt manner. “What’s your dad’s new place like?”

  It was Monday at lunch, and the girls were catching up on the weekend.

  Mostly, though, they wanted to know how Maeve was doing. How the move had gone, and how she was feeling about it all.

  “I can’t lie—my bedroom over there is the size of your closet, Avery. AND I have to share it with Junior Military Man,” Maeve said, dipping a carrot stick into some hummus. “But Dad’s made it look nice. And once I figure out what goes where, it may be okay.” She shrugged. “It’s just weird, that’s all. With my mom working part-time and my dad not there…well, there’s all this STUFF to do.”

  “What do you mean?” Isabel asked.

  Maeve’s cheeks turned pink. “I know this is going to sound awful,” she confessed, “but I’m not used to doing stuff like laundry and helping with dinner. Mom’s always done all of that.”

  Isabel nodded sympathetically. “Since my mom’s been taking this medicine, she has ZERO energy. And Elena Maria claims she has too much homework. So guess who ends up doing all the dishes? ME!”

  Maeve was surprised to discover that her friends all shared her pain when it came to household chores. Charlotte and her dad took turns cooking dinner. Katani said she had to help with laundry. “With four girls, you wouldn’t believe how much there is to do,” she told Maeve. “Of course Patrice has to wash something if it so much as TOUCHES her body.” She grimaced. “And since I’m the designated neat freak, everyone always wants me to fold their stuff. I have these tricks so you don’t even need to iron.”

  “Well, I’m drafting Sam to help,” Maeve announced. “There’s no reason he can’t fold laundry. Even if he IS the messiest kid on the planet.” She giggled. “I’ll just tell him it’s like folding up war maps. Then he’ll love it!”

  The conversation turned serious for a moment. “Are you doing okay, Maeve?” Isabel asked, her dark eyes concerned.

  Maeve nodded. “You know,” she said slowly, “I’ve been so stressed out about Dad moving out. And now that it’s happened…I mean, it’s sad and everything…but I kind of feel like the worst is over. You know what I
mean?”

  “Still, it’s probably good to keep busy,” Charlotte said thoughtfully. “Why don’t we all plan a sleepover at my house on Friday night? We haven’t done that in ages!”

  Everyone was excited about this. Katani said she could come, and so could Isabel and Avery. “A Tower party!” everyone cried.

  “I can’t,” Maeve said with a sigh. “I’m supposed to go over to my dad’s. But you guys go ahead,” she insisted, though the other girls suggested they wait for another time. “No, really, go ahead,” Maeve said, despite her friends’ protests. “I’ll call from my dad’s. And you guys can give me moral support over the phone. Come on, you guys, I’m FINE.” Avery, Katani, Charlotte, and Isabel gave each other uncertain looks.

  “You may think you’re more fine than you really are,” Avery announced. “Some days you’re okay. Other days you think you will be sad forever. But my mother says ‘time heals almost everything.’ And she’s right. So just don’t ask too much of yourself, okay?”

  Maeve nodded. “I know. Poor Jen and Ben. I think they know there’s tension in the house. They didn’t even want to eat their lettuce this morning,” she said sadly.

  Avery was staring at her. “Maeve,” she said suddenly, as if she’d just had the most brilliant idea in the world. “Let me take care of the guinea pigs for awhile!”

  “WHAT?” Maeve asked, putting down her carrot. “Avery, wasn’t it bad enough giving your mother hives from Marty last weekend? You can’t bring Ben and Jen home. Your mom will kill you!”

  “Let me ask her,” Avery pleaded. “She might say yes. I don’t think she’s allergic to guinea pigs, just to dogs and cats. Please, Maeve. If I bring them over and she doesn’t sneeze and stuff, maybe she’d at least let me get a guinea pig one day.”

  “Well,” Maeve said doubtfully, “you’d have to check with her, Avery. No more hiding pets over at your place.”

  “I’ll ask,” Avery agreed. “But if she says okay, can I keep them for a little while? Please?”

  Maeve thought about this. On the one hand, she’d really miss Ben and Jen. They were her soul mates, and she didn’t really want to be without them, even for a little while. But this was going to be a pretty busy week. She’d promised to give her mom lots of extra help after school. She had lots of lessons, and Matt was helping her with math…and on Friday afternoon, she and Sam were going over to Dad’s for their first weekend at his place. Plus, Ben and Jen needed a fair amount of looking after—changing their bedding, making sure they had clean food and lots of water. And she had all this laundry to do, and helping her mom with dinner…

  “Okay,” she said, relenting. “But you HAVE to get your mom’s permission, Avery. And you have to let me show you how to take care of them! Guinea pigs are completely different than dogs. They are really sensitive.”

  “Marty’s sensitive,” said Charlotte.

  Avery clapped her hands together gleefully. “It’ll be like joint custody,” she cried. “We can share them!”

  When Maeve gave her a reproachful look, Avery thought quickly. “I mean, just for this week,” she added. Clearly Avery couldn’t be more thrilled. Now all she had to do was to convince her mother to let her baby-sit for a pair of guinea pigs.

  CHAPTER 13

  The Planets Collide

  Maeve! Wait up!” Dillon came over just as Maeve was trying to fit her tray into the metal rack by the garbage cans.

  Not exactly a romantic place to run into him. The tray started to tip, and Maeve had to grab it to keep her lunch from sliding all over the place. Food started to slosh back and forth—yuck. No wonder, Maeve thought, that not a SINGLE romantic movie gets filmed in a junior high cafeteria.

  “Here, let me help,” Dillon said, taking the tray and fitting it into the slot on the rack.

  Be cool, she ordered herself. But it was hard, especially since Dillon looked amazingly cute today. He was wearing a pale yellow shirt and a pair of blue jeans that were a little baggy and really faded. She LOVED the way his blonde hair fell over one eye. And those eyes…SO Orlando.

  “So,” he said, falling into step beside her as they walked toward the bank of seventh-grade lockers. “That award ceremony was awesome. You looked great up there, Maeve.”

  Maeve felt embarrassed. She may have LOOKED okay, but she hadn’t said even one percent of what she’d wanted to.

  “I blew it,” she told Dillon. “I meant to thank a zillion people. My friends, for helping me…and the kids at Jeri’s Place…and my mom and dad…”

  Dillon shrugged. “Well, I thought you were great,” he said loyally. “So. Want to go out and celebrate this Friday?”

  Friday. Maeve couldn’t believe her ears. This was for real. He was really and truly asking her out. OUT. As in—on a date! This question was not hard to answer.

  “I’d love to!” she said. Beaming from ear to ear.

  “Awesome!” Dillon looked happy. Happy—about going out with ME! Maeve thought. Her heart started to pound.

  “I was thinking of getting some tickets to a Celtics game. My dad could drive us,” Dillon went on. He started talking about some of the players…who was injured, who they were up against. Maeve didn’t exactly follow basketball, so none of what he was saying made sense to her. But she got the main point.

  “Um…you mean like the Celtics—at the Fleet Center?” Maeve asked. That was all the way downtown.

  “Yeah,” said Dillon. “Are you a Celtics fan?”

  When Dillon had talked about going out, she’d assumed he meant to the movies or Montoya’s or some place close by. Maeve had actually never been OUT with a boy before, unless you counted The Worst Night in History with Nick Montoya. And that hadn’t involved getting a ride anywhere. It just involved all Maeve’s plans to have a romantic movie night with Nick going completely awry. She had wanted to see Gone With the Wind. He couldn’t wait to get to Spider-Man. What a disconnect!

  She knew this was different. Different as in needing to ask permission. As in needing to ask her parents. Half of Maeve’s brain was thinking rationally. Just say you need to check and you’ll get back to him. Not a big deal. You can even make it sound like you might have other plans (as if!). But the other half was excited beyond belief and didn’t think about parents or asking permission or anything but saying yes right here, on the spot.

  Maeve was almost dizzy with excitement. She didn’t know what to think about first. What to wear…who to tell first…She tried to seem nonchalant as she fumbled with her locker combination. She did a rapid review of her wardrobe. Basketball game. Might be kind of chilly. Jeans and a sweater? Hair in a cute ponytail with a little Celtics cap?

  She was so excited, she could barely even hear the rest of what Dillon said. It wasn’t until after he’d left that Maeve suddenly remembered. Friday night was her first night staying over at Dad’s place. She had completely, utterly forgotten that she had already made that commitment. They’d made plans to have dinner together first, and maybe see a movie. The three of them—Dad, Maeve, Sam. The excitement of being asked out…on a REAL DATE…just wiped that out of her mind, like a giant eraser. GONE.

  Maeve stared at her locker dial in disbelief. How could this have happened?

  Well, she couldn’t let Dillon down now. No way. He was off to get tickets for the game, and she’d said she was going to go. She couldn’t exactly call after him and tell him she’d made a mistake.

  She’d have to explain to her dad and Sam. And they were just going to have to understand.

  It’s not like I can’t have fun anymore, Maeve told herself quickly. Just because Dad has to move out, that doesn’t mean that my whole life has to stop in its tracks. Right? If Mom and Dad hadn’t separated I’d be FREE on Friday night. I could’ve said yes to the sleepover with my friends when they asked…and now to Dillon…

  If you looked at it from a certain perspective, this wasn’t Maeve’s fault at all. It was her parents’ fault.

  Maeve had a funny feeling in the pit of
her stomach, but she tried to ignore it. Dillon had asked her out. This was really her first date, ’cause going to see Gone With the Wind with Nick…that didn’t count. She’d asked HIM, and he’d thought they were just meeting to study. This was different! A real date, with the guy she’d had a crush on for almost EVER—well a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever.

  A real date. This was different.

  But weren’t her parents going to think this was different, too? To the tune of: Why Didn’t You Ask Us First?

  Maeve set her chin stubbornly. She didn’t want to ask because she was afraid they might tell her that she couldn’t go. They’d say that she’d already made plans with Dad and Sam, and she had to keep those plans.

  She wasn’t sure how to figure everything out yet, but she knew she’d think of something.

  Avery’s Blog

  Why Guinea Pigs Make Perfect Pets

  They are small and athletic. Like me.

  They are very well behaved—at least I think they are.

  My mother isn’t allergic to them.

  My friend has two that I can borrow.

  They are low maintenance!!!

  “Mommmmm,” Avery wheedled, pulling a stool up to the kitchen table, where her mother was looking through her address book, pen in hand. “Mom, PLEASE let me have them here. It’s just for a week. It’ll be such a big help to Maeve.”

  Her mother looked distracted. She was making a guest list for a big dinner party she was hosting on Saturday night. It was the last event in the Talbot Academy fund-raiser that she’d been helping to organize over the past several weeks.

  “Avery, sweetie,” her mother said, sounding a million miles away, “this really isn’t such a good time to talk about guinea pigs…I’ve got thirty people to call tonight. And after the Marty fiasco I am not sure I trust…”