1st 5 Pages August Workshop - Meehan Rev 2

Melanie Meehan
Middle Grade Fiction
Solstice- Revision 2

“I still don’t understand why we have to move now.” Katie closed her book, setting it on the floor next to her mattress. “Why can’t we stay in Connecticut until the end of the school year?”

Mom stood in the doorway with her arms folded. “I don’t have any new reasons, Katie, and I have gone over all of them with you already. Dad’s new company wants him now, the people who are renting our house want it on April 1st, and, most importantly, Nana needs us.”

“Is she that much worse than she was at Christmas?” When they had visited Nana in December, she had been redundant with her stories, but entertaining. Nana kept telling the story about how Pa was a camp counselor near the hotdog stand where she worked. He ate a lot of hotdogs that summer, always asking her out and being rejected. Nana finally said yes when he ordered a hamburger.

“Uncle David says she’s worse.” Mom crossed the room and sat down on the mattress next to Katie. “My goodness, that’s low without your bedframe.”

Movers had worked all day, packing everything except what was absolutely necessary.

“And hard,” Katie said.

“Uncle David says that Nana’s unsafe. She doesn’t get herself food and she forgets to feed Nellie. When he stopped by last week, the heat was off and Nana was on the couch wrapped in blankets.”

“Why can’t he take care of Nana until June?”

“He travels all the time.” Mom sighed. “I’ve tried to think of ways to work this out so that everyone is taken care of, but life’s not perfect in this situation, and we all have to give a bit.”

“Why can’t we just hire someone to check in on her?” It seemed to Katie that she was giving the most.

“Katie Crowe.” Mom shook her head and chortled. “Can you really imagine Nana allowing someone to check in on her? She’d never allow a stranger to do her grocery shopping. As it is, we are moving in under the pretense that we are staying temporarily until we know whether Dad likes his job.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Katie asked. “What if he hates it?”

“Sometimes, Katie, being happy is a decision we make, and we are choosing to make this situation work.”

“My room is echoing.” Katie rolled over on to her side and faced her mother. “Miss Devers taught us that sound travels in waves and bounces off of surfaces to make echoes.” A sudden tear pushed against Katie’s eye, and she rolled back toward the window. Miss Devers had given Katie a special notebook and made her promise to keep writing. Maybe her first entry would be about echos and empty spaces.

Mom lay down on the bed beside Katie and the two of them looked out the window.

“I love that the trees all look different without your bedframe.” Mom said.

Without the leaves, the trees were silhouettes against the night sky. Katie and Mom had discovered letters, animals, and other designs over the years among the branches. Mom was right, though. From a different height, the branches created a brand new kaleidoscope of pictures.

“I miss my bed.” Katie pouted in the dark.

“But you see different things from different perspectives,” Mom said. “The trees are making a whole new set of shapes and designs.

“Jenna invited me to stay with her family for the rest of the school year. She said that her mom even talked to you about it.” Katie knew that her parents had said absolutely no to the idea when Jenna’s parents had offered. She also knew that everything except her toothbrush, mattress, and outfit for tomorrow was in bags and boxes. And she knew that she belonged with her parents, her brother, and her grandmother. But she couldn’t resist asking.

“You’ve always loved visiting Nana,” Mom leaned her head against Katie’s. “You help her bake, work in the garden, build fairy houses--”

“I know that the fairies are not real, Mom. I used to believe, but I don’t anymore,” Katie said. “And you don’t want Nana to be baking anymore and the garden won’t be doing anything in Vermont until June. You’ve said yourself that Vermont is always a few steps behind and a few paces slower than the rest of the world. And the fairy houses were Pa’s thing. Nana just talks to the fairies, but it was Pa who loved to make houses with me, and he’s gone.”

Mom winced, and Katie wished that she hadn’t brought up Pa.

“It’s not a perfect situation, Katie, and I know it’s hard for you to think about leaving your friends, but you’ll make more.”

Dad appeared in the doorway. “How are my two favorite women?” He crossed the room and sat down on the floor next to the mattress. “I have achieved victory in the bedtime battle with the little man of the house.”

“We’re just talking about how much we are looking forward to the drive tomorrow with that little man.” Mom twisted a strand of Katie’s curls around her finger.

“Not exactly,” Katie said. “We’re talking about why I can’t stay here with the Bordens and finish fifth grade. Then, I could come live with the rest of you at Nana’s.”

“Hmmm.” Dad leaned against the wall and scratched his chin. “Who would make sure that Mom doesn’t burn her toast?”

Katie rolled her eyes in the dark.

“Or teach Will to climb out of his high chair?” Dad pinched Katie’s toes.

“I don’t think he needs any lessons in climbing,” Katie said. “I don’t even know why you’re bothering to bring that chair. He’s going to get out of it any minute.”

“I’ll take all the minutes of Will in captivity that I can get.” Mom stood up. “He’s a full-time job these days.”

“I love you, Katy-kin.” Mom leaned over, smoothed Katie’s curls away from her face, and kissed her forehead. “Good night.”

Dad leaned down and looked out the window. “Ring around the moon, tonight.” He shook his head. “I think we’re going to be moving in the rain.”

“We could stay,” Katie said.

“No dice, ace.” He kissed Katie’s nose. “”I’ll see you in the morning.”

As soon as Dad left the room, Katie’s phone buzzed. Hey came across her screen from BFFJenna. You still up?

Yes, Katie texted back. M and D just left.

Any luck?

Katie shook her head and typed. No. Leaving in the morning.

While Jenna was typing, Katie studied the picture of the two of them that was her background. They were making their favorite duckface with fingers in peace signs. Mrs. Borden had taken the picture earlier in the afternoon when Katie had been saying goodbye. When Jenna’s text came across the screen, Katie smiled.

You will still be my best friend. Don’t worry. This time Jenna replied with hearts and sad faces.

Before Katie could respond, another message from Jenna flashed across the screen, telling Katie that her mom was going to take her phone if she didn’t put it away right now.

Katie listened to the murmurs of her parents bounce and echo up the stairs, fantasizing that they would return to her bedroom with her backpack and suitcase, telling her that she could finish fifth-grade with her friends and her all-time favorite teacher. But the murmurs stopped and the house darkened. Katie watched the moonlight dance through the branches until she fell asleep.