Chapter 9
Our creek project began again when school started.
Lila helped from a distance. She compared my new readings with the ones we had taken at the program and sent careful notes. Ms. Harris found two younger students who wanted to learn how to collect samples. I showed them what to do, including how to fix a label before it caused trouble.
On Saturday, Dad came in shoes he didn’t mind getting muddy. Caleb brought his camera. Ava wanted to collect stones, and Vanessa met us after taking her to an early art class.
We worked along the bank until the clouds darkened.
“Time to pack up,” Dad said.
“I need one more sample.”
“Can we get it safely?”
I checked the path. “Yes. It’s right there.”
He carried the kit while I collected the water. We reached the car before the rain began. Caleb took a picture of Dad’s muddy shoes to prove he had worn them without complaining much.
At home, I spread the samples on the kitchen counter and checked every label.
Vanessa stood nearby with a towel.
“You were right about the rain,” she said. “It changed fast.”
“That’s why I wanted the last sample first.”
She handed me the towel. It was such a small thing, but I liked that she understood what I had been doing.
A few weeks later, my school asked me to speak at an evening event for families. Ms. Harris wanted me to show my project and talk about the summer program.
I accepted. Then I took the invitation home.
Dad read it at the table. “I’m putting it on the calendar.”
I handed a second copy to Vanessa when she arrived to pick up Ava and Caleb.
“I’d like you to come,” I said.
She read the date. “I’ll be there.”
I believed she intended to. That felt new.
The week before the event, Dad told us he and Vanessa had made a decision. He asked us to sit together in the living room so both of them could explain it.
My stomach tightened when I saw where everyone was sitting. It was the same room where I had held my first invitation and asked to leave.
Vanessa looked at each of us.
“Your father and I are going to continue living separately,” she said. “We’ve decided that’s best for now.”
Ava slipped closer to her. Caleb stayed beside me.
Dad added, “We’ll both be here for the things that matter to you. We’ll keep sharing plans clearly.”
“Are you getting divorced?” Ava asked.
“We haven’t made that decision,” Vanessa said. “If we do, we’ll tell you ourselves.”
Caleb asked whether his time with each of them would change. They showed him the schedule they had discussed and asked what he thought. Ava asked if she could still call Dad from Vanessa’s house. Dad told her she always could.
I waited until the others had gone to get drinks.
“You aren’t saying this because of my ceremony?” I asked.
Dad sat beside me. “We’re saying it because we needed to make a plan for this family. You brought something important into the open. The decisions afterward belong to us.”
Vanessa sat in the chair across from me.
“I kept your letter,” she said. “I made you miss a deadline and believe your father didn’t care. I understand why a family announcement in this room would worry you.”
I looked down at my hands.
“We should have chosen another room,” Dad said.
“I’m okay,” I told him. “I just remembered.”
“You can say that,” Vanessa said.
The three of us sat quietly until Ava came back carrying four glasses and asked who wanted juice.
On the night of the school event, I arrived early to arrange my display. Lila had helped me make a chart we could both read. Ms. Harris checked that the photographs were in order.
Families filled the room. I spotted Dad at the door, followed by Caleb, Ava, and Vanessa. They found seats together. For a moment, the old fear rose in my chest: perhaps one of them would decide to leave.
Dad saw me and raised a hand. Ava waved. Caleb pointed his camera toward me. Vanessa smiled.
I looked back at my notes.
When my turn came, I carried them to the front, then set them down. I knew my project well enough to speak without reading every line.
I told the families what I had found, what I still wanted to test, and how Lila had helped me ask better questions. At the end, I thanked Ms. Harris for nominating me.
Then I looked at my family.
“I also want to thank the people who brought me here tonight,” I said.
May you like
I could see Dad blink hard. I saw Vanessa put her hand over Ava’s.
When the event ended, several younger students came to ask about the summer program. I told them where to find the application and offered to show them my notebook. I stayed until each of them had finished asking questions.
