Chapter 3
I woke to the sound of drawers opening.
Dad was in my room with an overnight bag. He was trying to fold my blue sweater, but one sleeve kept slipping out.
“Are we going somewhere?” I asked.
He turned around. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
He sat beside me and held up the bag.
“We’re going to stay with Aunt Lena for a few days.”
Aunt Lena was my mother’s sister. She lived across town and worked from home. I loved visiting her, but we usually planned it ahead of time.
“Is Grandma coming?”
“No.”
I sat up. “Is she mad?”
“She’s angry with me. You don’t need to fix that.”
He helped me choose clothes and the stuffed dog I slept with. In the kitchen, Grandma stood beside the sink. Aunt Celia and Paige were at the table.
Grandma watched Dad carry my bag.
“You’re taking her away because of a seating arrangement,” she said.
Dad stopped. “I’m taking her somewhere she can relax while I work out where we’re going to live.”
“We live here.”
“This is your house.”
“It was your home too, Marcus.”
He looked at me. “Put your coat on, Maya.”
I did it quickly.
Paige ran over and hugged me. “Can I call you?”
“Of course.”
Aunt Celia kissed the top of my head. Her eyes were red.
Grandma didn’t say goodbye.
Aunt Lena opened her door before we reached it. Dad must have called her the night before. She took my bag and asked whether I wanted the room with the yellow curtains.
I had stayed there before. There was a desk beneath the window and a shelf of books.
“Yes,” I said.
“Good. I made room for your things.”
Dad stayed until I had unpacked. Then his phone rang. He worked at the hospital fixing equipment, and someone needed him urgently.
He looked torn.
Aunt Lena put a hand on his shoulder. “Go. I’m here.”
Dad knelt in front of me. “I’ll be back before dinner.”
I wanted to ask if he was sure. Instead, I nodded.
Aunt Lena watched me watch his car leave.
“You can ask him to call,” she said.
“He said he’ll be back.”
“He will. And you can call anyway.”
She showed me where she kept her phone and let me choose lunch. We made grilled cheese. Nobody asked me to earn a seat.
At three o’clock, the doorbell rang.
Grandma stood on the porch holding my school photograph.
Aunt Lena kept the door partly closed. “Hello, Ruth.”
“I came to give Maya this.”
I was behind Aunt Lena. Grandma saw me.
“I didn’t want you to think I threw it away,” she said.
I wanted the photograph. Dad and I were smiling in it, and I had been scared it was gone forever.
Aunt Lena held out her hand. Grandma gave it to her.
“Thank you,” Aunt Lena said.
Grandma didn’t leave. “Maya, I know you’re upset with me.”
I stayed where I was.
“I hope you’ll remember all the things I’ve done for you. I’ve cared for you every day since your father and you moved in.”
It was true. Grandma packed my lunches and washed my clothes. Sometimes she helped me with spelling words. I felt guilty for remembering those things while Dad was angry with her.
“I know,” I said.
Aunt Lena looked down at me. “You don’t have to have this conversation today.”
Grandma’s face tightened. “I’m her grandmother.”
“And she’s a little girl who just moved into a different house this morning.”
Grandma turned to me again. “Your father has made a mistake.”
The guilt turned to fear. If Dad had made a mistake, maybe he would bring me back and tell me to apologize.
Aunt Lena stepped onto the porch and pulled the door almost shut behind her. I couldn’t hear everything they said. I heard Grandma say she had been “trying to help.” Aunt Lena answered, “Then give her time.”
After Grandma left, Aunt Lena handed me the photograph.
“Can I put it on the desk?”
“Anywhere you like.”
I placed it beside the lamp.
Dad arrived at six with a paper bag from a restaurant. He had stopped to get my favorite noodles. When I told him Grandma had visited, his face changed.
“What did she say?”
I repeated what I remembered.
“She did take care of me,” I said. “Was I mean to leave?”
Dad put the food down. “No. You didn’t decide to leave. I did.”
“Why?”
“Because you were afraid to sit at a table in your own home, and I didn’t see it happening. I need to make sure you’re safe while I figure out how to change that.”
“I liked some things there.”
“I know.”
“I’ll miss Paige.”
“We’ll make sure you see her.”
I took out the photograph. “Grandma brought this.”
Dad looked at it for a long time. “I’m glad you have it.”
That night, he called Aunt Celia about the visit. They talked in Lena’s kitchen while I brushed my teeth.
When I came out, Dad was sitting alone.
“Is Paige okay?” I asked.
“She misses you. Celia said you can talk tomorrow.”
He looked as though he wanted to say more. I waited.
“Aunt Celia told me she tried to get Grandma to stop sending you to the corner,” he said. “I wish she had told me sooner.”
“Why didn’t she?”
“She says she thought she could change Grandma’s mind herself.”
I remembered Celia putting an extra piece of bread on my little table some nights. I had loved her for noticing I was hungry. I wished she had done more.
Dad held out his arms. I went to him.
“Can we stay here tomorrow too?” I asked.
May you like
“Yes.”
I rested my head against him. He had promised to come home before dinner, and he had. Tomorrow was another day. For once, I didn’t have to spend the night wondering which chair would be mine.
