“Don’t you have a headache?” Jack asks. 

“I feel a lot better now.” I say. 

“Well, no thank you then. I have to get back to school.” He says. I nod. “Do you need help with anything else?” He asks. 

“No. Thank you for being so kind.” I say, leaning against a chair for support, because I really don’t feel better. 

“Well, you were kind to me. Might as well return the favor.” I smile and laugh, my head spinning. I cross my legs under me so I don’t collapse. Jack starts to leave, then turns around again. “I hope you weren’t offended by my curiosity about your father. Could we just forget I mentioned any of that?” I nod, relying more and more on the chair by the second. “Goodbye, Lara.”

“Bye, Jack.” I manage to get out. Once he leaves completely, I collapse onto the cool tile floor. A chill runs from the hard stone to my body, and I shiver. The only warm part of me is my eyes, which are letting tears flow by the dozen. 

Mom arrives home from work an hour after I get home, and sees me leaning against the kitchen table, sobbing. 

“Oh, Larabee.” She says, running over and putting her arms around me. “What happened?” I sob into her chest. 

“Boys are jerks.” I say, and that’s the only explanation she needs. 

“Yeah, they are.” Mom says, and she glances up at the family photo. At Dad. “Let’s go get ice cream sundaes with as many cherries as you want, okay?” She asks. I nod and force a small smile, then get to my feet. Mom fixes the black satin ribbon in my hair, then kisses my forehead and grabs her purse from the countertop. 

The walk to the old ice cream store is silent, but peaceful. Things might finally start to cool down. I can see that the great open blue of the sky is finally making way for a blanket of clouds. Once Mom buys our ice cream, I move to sit down at our usual table in front of the shop, but she stops me, and instead leads me silently down a path that leads through a birch grove. The sun shines through the gaps in the trees, making a decorative pattern of light and shadow on the forest floor. 

We finally come out into a little open spot with a pond only about twenty feet across. Turbrook Pond. The only thing that remains of the grand saltwater lake that claimed Jack and George’s lives 53 years ago. All of the salt is now condensed in this tiny pond, giving it a deep purple hue. The water is used for medical stuff that I’ll learn when I’m older and they teach it in school. 

The pond was drained about 40 years ago to fuel the Royal Canal, and when they did it, they found George’s boat, sunken and rusted. Right now the boat is in a junkyard somewhere, because the people who found it didn’t believe in the story. 

Mom sets down her bag, slips off her sandals, and dips her feet in the cool violet water. I take off my shoes, and leave them with our stuff, then put my feet in as well. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Mom asks. 

“No.” I answer. 

“Okay.” She says, then dips her fingertips into the water, making little ripples. “Do you like it here in Turbrook?” She asks. 

“It’s all I’ve ever known.” I say. “I guess that makes it my default favorite place in the world.” Mom nods. 

“I know how you feel. I’ve never left this place either.” She says, plucking the cherry from her sundae and eating it, then throwing away the deep crimson stem. 

“Never?” I ask.

“Not once in my entire life.” She says. “Life outside of Turbrook just seemed so scary, and I didn’t want to leave.” She sighs. “Your father wanted to travel the world, but we were so young, and not very wealthy. Plus, we had you and Teresa  on the way, so I thought we should make a family before any of that adventuring stuff.”

“And then Dad left.” I mutter. 

“I suppose he’s on his honeymoon now with that annoying Sharon girl from the city. He’s probably taking her all over the world with the money he stopped giving to you girls..” Mom pulls a decorative piece of paper out of her purse. “He had the gall to send me a wedding invitation.” She sighs. “He never was one for domestic responsibility, Larabee.”

Dad loved us girls, and he loved Mom. He just didn’t want the responsibilities of being a father and husband, especially a poor-as-a-church-mouse father and husband. So he packed up and left, telling us lies about how he’d be back someday.

“Lara, if you ever get married, make sure you choose a man who will stay by your side no matter what.” Mom tells me. She puts her plastic spoon back in her little cup.

“I don’t ever want to get married.” I grumble. “Boys are the worst nowadays.” Why can’t I live in Jack’s time? I think.

“They are.” Mom says. “But we can die alone together, okay?” I nod in agreement. 

“We can get a little house down by the Canal, and listen to the birds sing every morning.” I say, building a little yellow and white cottage in my head. “We can watch the boats go by, and meet lots of new people from all over!” I stand up. “And maybe we can meet pirates or something. I’ve heard about them attacking ships on the Canal. It would be kind of scary to meet a pirate, but exciting all the same.” Mom smiles up at me. 

“You have your father’s adventurous spirit, that’s for sure.” She says. “At least you’ll stay with me, unlike him.” I nod. Mom’s face lights up, so she must have gotten an idea. “I think I know something that you’ll like. It’s a surprise, and I’ll give it to you on Halloween.”

“That’s a month from now.” I say. “Why can’t you give it to me now?”

“Because it’s not Halloween!” Mom says with a smile. “Just be patient, Lara. It will be worth the wait.” I nod. She changes the subject. “I found something in the mail yesterday. Apparently there’s going to be an autumn dance at your school. 

“A great opportunity for Tessa to have fun.” I say, smiling. 

“And for you to have fun.” Mom reminds me with a smile. 

“No, I’m a wallflower.” I say. “I’ll be hiding near the snack table.” Mom laughs. 

“You said you don’t like any boys nowadays. But what if there was a boy from the past, with gentlemanly manners?” Mom asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“First Tessa, now you.” I say, wishing I had my protective curtain of hair, now more than ever. Wait a minute. “You know about Jack and George being from the past?”

“Larabee, I’m observant. I think I’d know if someone was raised in a different decade.” She says. Yeah, George calls me Miss Austin. All the freaking time. “And I think I’d know if they had taken a liking to my daughter.” She says. I groan. 

“I think I know which parent Tessa gets her teasing talent from.” I say, finishing my ice cream. 

“I’m not teasing you, Lara. He’s a good kid, and he’s kind and honest.” She says. “Maybe we should bring everyone back from the dead.” She says. 

“How do you know they were brought back from the dead?”

“You should know this. You were eavesdropping on my conversation with Miss Mortimer.”

“How did you know?” I ask, dumbfounded. 

“I’m observant.” She says, in a sing-song voice. “And I know you eavesdrop a lot, so I know it was you and not Teresa, even though she likes some good gossip as much as the next girl.” I laugh and look at the cloudy sky. 

“What time is it?” I ask, remembering I don’t have a watch. Mom doesn’t either, so she shrugs. 

“It’s about time to pick Emie and Kelsie up from school. Teresa’s already home, probably.” Mom puts her shoes back on and picks up her purse. “Love you, Larabee.”