by Laura Dower
Madison couldn’t share her true feelings—especially not online.
She’d considered the idea that Dad might cancel the trip, but hearing him actually do it didn’t help the sadness Madison felt inside. Had Mom been right about Dad? Why did Madison expect the best when everyone else thought the worst? What was Dad’s problem?
Madison signed off and scanned the buddy list again. She searched for Bigwheels in all the chat rooms, but Bigwheels was still nowhere to be found.
Why wasn’t her keypal online when Madison needed her? Madison sent an e-mail right away.
From: MadFinn
To: Bigwheels
Subject: Ski Trip
Date: Thurs 6 Dec 4:08 PM
I wrote a day or so ago asking if you knew how to ski. Well, ignore that one. I’m not going on a ski trip of any kind. My dad bailed!!! Mom will probably freak out on him. That is no fun to watch.
Do you have any advice 4 me? Ur parents argue a lot too--right? What r they like when they fight? Do they scream and put you in the middle of the whole mess or do they leave you out of everything? My parents do all those things but mostly they pretend to be nice when I know they really don’t mean it. It’s so confusing. And it’s the holidays. Which means more fights to come. HELP.
I am sad about missing the skiing trip but how do I get my mom to be nice to my dad? How would you deal?
Yours till the ski lifts,
Maddie
P.S. All is NOT lost for Christmas b/c I’m volunteering at this nursing home and singing in chorus. So I am keeping busier than busy. U know me. WBS.
Somewhere downstairs, the front door slammed. Madison jumped so suddenly that Phin started to howl.
“Maddie?” Mom called out. “Are you home yet?”
Madison gulped. “Mom?” she said weakly. “I’m up here.”
Madison prepped herself for speaking to Mom.
She would dump the bad news and accept the consequences. Simple. Mom could handle it calmly.
“I’ve had the worst day,” Mom groaned as she climbed the stairs to Madison’s bedroom. “The worst day in a long, long time. How about you? Could it get any worse?”
Madison gulped.
She was NOT telling Mom about the canceled ski trip.
At least not tonight.
Chapter 4
BY THE TIME FRIDAY AFTERNOON ROLLED around, Madison had nearly forgotten about Dad’s bad news. She still hadn’t mentioned the canceled trip to Mom.
All she could think about now was The Estates. The very first visit to the nursing home was this afternoon. Señora Diaz’s volunteers were excused early from their other classes to go meet the minivan.
Madison and Ivy left science class early together along with Hart. Walking down the silent corridor, Madison felt like she was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Not because it was dark and creepy, but because it was so strange.
Ivy was talking to Madison instead of Hart?
“What do you think your person at The Estates will be like?” Ivy asked Madison, flipping her red hair as she spoke.
“Nice, I hope,” Madison said.
“I hope I don’t get someone who’s sick,” Ivy said, talking fast. “I mean, I guess I’ll deal with it if I do, but I’d rather have someone who wants to walk around and talk a lot and not just sit there.”
“I’m sure you’ll like whoever you get,” Madison said.
Ivy smiled again. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Madison wanted to grab Ivy by the shoulders and ask her what was going on. Why was the enemy being so friendly?
Hart just walked along in a daze. “I am so tired,” he said. “Hockey practice is killing me. And I have a game tomorrow.”
“I’m going to the game with Aimee and Fiona,” Madison said, smiling.
“I’m going, too,” Ivy said.
Madison shrugged as if she didn’t know what Ivy was saying. Luckily, Hart kept changing the subject.
“The coach had me doing skating drills yesterday after school,” Hart said. “My left knee hurts.”
“Why did you sign up to do volunteer work if you’re so busy with hockey?” Madison asked him.
“Because,” Hart answered, “it’s Christmas and my Ya Ya, my grandmother, said I should. It’s the right thing to do. And because Egg begged me to do it with him.”
“Oh,” Madison said, a little disappointed by Hart’s answer. She’d been hoping he would say something about wanting to save the world.
“I’m doing it because I’m class president and I’m supposed to do these kinds of things,” Ivy said in a loud voice, strutting along. She flipped her hair again.
“Why are you doing it, Maddie?” Hart asked.
“Because she’s little Miss Do Everything,” Ivy said.
“No,” Madison corrected her. “I want to do it.”
“Whatever you say, Maddie,” Ivy said.
“I like to volunteer. Sometimes I volunteer at the animal clinic. I helped my mom once serve at a soup kitchen. And it’s Christmas now. We’re supposed to do stuff like this. Señora Diaz said some of these people at The Estates have no families of their own.”
“I know,” Ivy said, sounding a little more sympathetic.
Madison was sure she hadn’t heard Ivy agree with her in a long time. She’d add that tidbit of information to her “Ivy” file when she got home.
“Over here!” Señora Diaz called out as the trio reached the school lobby. The other kids from their volunteer group were gathered together in a huddle except for Egg, who was missing.
Señora Diaz tapped her foot impatiently. “Does anyone know where Walter is?” she asked.
As if on cue, Egg jumped out from behind a bank of lockers. He leaped in front of the group with a bold “Ta-da!”
A few kids laughed, but Señora Diaz frowned and pushed him toward the school exit. “Follow us,” she told the rest of the group. The corners of her mouth got all scrunched up as if she was about to spit. “Next time, we have to get to the lobby on time, don’t we, Walter?”
Egg just sighed. “Yes, Señora Diaz.” He often called his mother that when they were at school. As silly or as angry as Egg got, and as much as Señora Diaz could push his buttons, Egg tried not to disrespect his mother in the school building.
Everyone rushed the van and took their seats.
Hart and Egg sat in the middle with Joey O’Neill, who didn’t seem to care much where he sat or who he sat with. Davy sat in the back row behind Hilary Klein. She wasn’t too happy about that one. She had to plug her nose during most of the ride. A fourth girl named Monica Rizzo sat across the aisle from Hilary.
Once again, Madison and Ivy faced a seating dilemma, just like at the meeting. They sat a row apart this time, far enough to have their own “space,” but close enough to talk—if they wanted to. Ivy sat closer to Señora Diaz. They would spend the entire ride chatting, Madison guessed. Ivy pretended to be soooo interested in everything their teacher had to say.
Señora Diaz explained how The Estates mansion and guest homes had been built by a rich landowner searching for a sanctuary away from New York City. Here, it was private and peaceful. Madison looked around as they approached the property. She could understand why people would want to live there. Owners over the years had planted beautiful gardens where visitors and residents could walk around. As the seventh-grade minibus pulled into The Estates cul-de-sac, Madison could see the shallow dirt where rows of flowers would grow in springtime.
Egg’s aunt Ana greeted th
e van with a grin.
“Hola!” Ana cried, sounding an awful lot—and looking an awful lot—like her sister, Señora Diaz.
Ana threw her arms around Egg to say hello. His family had always been affectionate like that. Madison knew it embarrassed him.
“Hola, Tía Ana,” he said softly.
Ana grinned. “I’m glad to see you here.”
Davy Miller snickered and Hart elbowed him to shut up.
The group was led through the front doors of The Estates, past two huge potted plants, a pile of suitcases, and a cluster of older people seated in a lounge area. One woman was knitting, a few men were playing cards, and the rest were just staring off into space.
“Look at them,” Ivy whispered to Madison. “It’s like they’re not really there.”
“I wonder what they do all day?” Madison wondered aloud. “I would get so bored, I think.”
Ana showed the group into a small office with a conference table and sodas. Egg grabbed a Sprite as soon as he sat down. Davy Miller grabbed two.
“First of all,” Nurse Ana said, “I want to thank all of you for coming to see us today. I know the group of seniors you will meet is very thrilled to meet you, too. Our activity director, Mr. Lynch, will take you inside and pair you off. Then you and your partner can spend the afternoon together. Sound good? We’ll all come back in an hour or so for a little refreshment.”
Mr. Lynch came into the room next, followed by a cluster of older men and women. Madison felt her heart beat inside her chest. It was exciting to make a new friend, she thought, no matter what age she was. She stared at every new face.
Everyone waited patiently as Mr. Lynch handed a piece of paper to Señora Diaz. She read the list of pairs slowly.
Hilary Klein was first on the list, which wasn’t in any particular order. They placed Hilary with a woman in a wheelchair named Miss Peggy. It appeared that Peggy was shy, so the two of them seemed like a perfect match.
Davy Miller was assigned to a short, round, and very fat man named Mickey, whose last name just also happened to be Miller. Davy seemed to like that coincidence. Madison wondered if maybe Mickey had B.O. like Davy did. That would have been a better coincidence. He gave Mickey the extra Sprite and they walked out into the hall together.
Hart was assigned to a bearded man dressed in a brown suit and tie even though it was by no means a formal occasion. The man said his name was Mr. Leo Koppel. That was all he said. Hart looked nervous, but the man put his hand on Hart’s shoulder and they walked out together.
Egg was paired with a man wearing a brown T-shirt who called himself Smokey. He acted very serious because it was the anniversary date of the Pearl Harbor bombing. Madison could hear Smokey mumbling. “December seventh,” he said to Egg. “Day of infamy. My cousin Skeeter was there. Never forget him.”
“This guy seems pretty cool,” Egg said to Madison as he walked out with Smokey. Madison laughed.
Soon, the room was paired off except for Ivy, Madison, and two other women. One older woman had on a bright orange straw hat and a flowered dress even though it was wintertime. The other woman had on a blue-and-white-checked dress, buttoned all the way up to the top, and a fuzzy cardigan sweater. She wasn’t smiling at all.
Madison knew immediately who she’d get. The woman with the hat was wearing her favorite color. It was meant to be.
But then Señora Diaz read off Ivy’s name. And Ivy was paired with orange-hat lady, whose real name was Holly. Mrs. Holly Wood. Not only was she cool-looking, but she had the cool name to go with the looks.
Madison got Eleanor Romano and her fuzzy sweater dress instead.
“Hi,” Madison said as they walked out into the hall. “I’m Maddie. How are you, Mrs. Romano?”
Mrs. Romano sighed. “My back aches today,” she said. “Ana told me I should take on one of you young volunteers to cheer me up, but I don’t know that I need any cheering up. I really don’t like the holidays much.”
Madison froze up. “Oh,” she said.
“You have to excuse me. I’m always like this,” Mrs. Romano said. “Like I said, my back aches and I just … well, I’ll try to enjoy myself with you, young lady. What did you say your name was?”
“Madison,” she said. “Madison Finn.”
“That’s a nice name,” Mrs. Romano said. “My name is Eleanor Romano.”
“I know,” Madison said. “That’s a nice name, too.”
“Oh no, it’s a horrid name. I’m named after my crazy Aunt Ellie,” she said. “But the truth is, she wasn’t really crazy, she was just spirited. I used to be like that. A long, long time ago.”
“Oh,” Madison said.
“Do you want to go see my room?” Mrs. Romano asked. “I have flowered walls. It cheers me up in the wintertime especially.”
Madison shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“You know,” Mrs. Romano said as they walked down the hall toward her room. “You are a very pretty young girl.”
Madison beamed. “Thank you,” she said. “Mom says I look a lot like my gramma Helen, actually.”
“Are you and your grandmother close?” Mrs. Romano asked.
Madison nodded. “Totally. We talk on the phone and e-mail each other a lot.”
“You know how to do all those electronic mail gadgets? I could never figure out something like that. I just don’t understand how it all works. Computers baffle me.”
“It’s easy,” Madison said. “Maybe I can show you sometime.”
“So why are you adopting a grandparent when you already are close to one of your own?” Mrs. Romano asked.
Madison didn’t know what to say. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just wanted to volunteer, that’s all.”
They arrived at Mrs. Romano’s room a few moments later. The walls were covered with winding ivy wallpaper and framed pictures of different flowers. In one corner, there were some smaller framed photos of birds lined up in three rows of four across.
“Who are they?” Madison asked.
“My children,” Mrs. Romano replied. “I’ve had twelve different birds in my life. Each one has his or her picture up on this wall.”
“Wow,” Madison said, taking a closer look. “That’s nice.”
Mrs. Romano smiled. “You’re just saying that to be nice yourself. You think I’m a little weird, don’t you? There was another kid who volunteered here. He thought I was weird. Called me the bird lady. I got a kick out of that.”
“No,” Madison said nervously. “I don’t think you’re weird. I don’t think that at all.”
In this case, Madison figured it was okay to lie—a little. She didn’t want Mrs. Romano to feel bad after they’d just met.
For the next hour, Mrs. Romano showed Madison ten different kinds of birds that lived just outside her big bay window. The room overlooked the rolling lawn outside The Estates. Mrs. Romano said she would sit there all morning and watch the birds eating, flying, and playing.
“I always wished I could fly,” Mrs. Romano said. “Wouldn’t that be great?”
Madison nodded. “It’s almost time to go,” she said. “I guess we have to say good-bye.”
“I’ll walk you back to the lobby,” Mrs. Romano said. “I had a good afternoon. Didn’t expect to. But you’re sweet.”
“I had a good time, too,” Madison said. “And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. I really did.”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I do feel better. Next time you come, I want you to tell me all about yourself, okay?”
Madison nodded. “Okay.”
When she arrived back in the main lobby of The Estates, Mr. Lynch gathered all the volunteers into the room for a meeting. He wanted a report from all the kids about their visits. Madison was surprised to find that everyone had had a positive experience. Even Egg, who said Smokey yelled at him for no reason a few times, enjoyed himself. It was better than anyone had expected. Nurse Ana was pleased, too.
“Mrs. Wood was so f
unny,” Ivy said. “She and I tried on costume jewelry and other stuff all afternoon. She has like forty pairs of shoes in her closet!”
Madison smiled. “Wow, that’s really interesting. I wonder if she wears them all.”
“So what did you do?” Ivy asked Madison. “Was your lady stuck-up? She looked kind of boring.”
“We looked at birds,” Madison said. “I mean, it sounds boring, but Mrs. Romano made it fun. Even though she was complaining a little. She was nice. She reminded me of my own grandmother.”
“I wish my Grams was half as nice as Mrs. Wood,” Ivy said. “Can you believe her name? MY lady was the coolest.”
“Yeah, and Holly is a good name for Christmas, too,” Madison joked.
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So, when are you coming back here?”
“I guess next week,” Madison replied.
“Yeah, me too,” Ivy said.
Señora Diaz called everyone together for the minibus, and Ivy raced ahead.
Probably going to get the seat next to Hart, Madison thought, hanging back a little bit. Once the enemy, always the enemy?
In her heart, she secretly wished that maybe she and Ivy could make time for some real understanding between each other. Of course, that would take some kind of holiday miracle, and Madison needed to reserve miracles for something more important, like Mom and Dad. She’d need a miracle to get them to stop fighting.
When Madison arrived home, Mom was on the phone, so she couldn’t tell her about The Estates right away. Mom pointed to a note on the kitchen table: Aimee called about tomorrow. Call back.
Madison crumpled up the note and headed upstairs to change out of her clothes and pick out an outfit for the next day. She, Aimee, and Fiona were going to the hockey game together and that was a place to see and be seen. Madison guessed that was the reason for Aimee’s call. She always wanted to compare clothes before big events.
As soon as Mom was off the phone, Madison dialed Aimee’s house.
“Maddie! What’s up?” Aimee said, breathlessly. She’d been practicing ballet in her basement. Her Dad had constructed a wooden floor and attached a small barre for her along one wall.
“You called me,” Madison said. “What’s up?”
