51

FLIP’S MAGIC

She didn’t make it to Read to Rufus that time either. Afterward I gathered everybody together, the kids, parents, and teachers. We walked to the beach. It was a beautiful day. We made a get-well video full of stuff we thought might make her laugh. The kids made goofy faces, inside-out eyelids, huge balls of fake snot made from chewed-up paper, dripping out of their noses. One of the teachers was a gymnast a long time ago, and she did a split and ripped her pants up the butt. One kid hid behind another except for her arms, so the kid in front looked like she had four arms. One of the dads spun his four-year-old daughter in circles and then put her down on the ground, and she was so dizzy she giggled and staggered around off balance like she was drunk. Flip thought she wanted to dance with him, so he did his moonwalk thing.

They all left video messages saying “Feel better” and “We miss you.” Brian’s video to her was, “Ben said you promised you’d watch me read again. If you come I’ll give you a real long hug and I’ll let you kiss me on the cheek, even though I already have a girlfriend.”

I went back to the library and uploaded the videos and edited them. When I got back to the Lorentzes’ Halley was still in bed but awake and sitting up. She was making a sketch of the Golden Tower of Light as it was about to dock with an antenna on top of Mundum Nostrum’s tallest skyscraper.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey.”

“It was awesome today.”

“I’m sure.”

“Everybody misses you.” I handed her my phone. “We made a video for you.”

She handed me her iPad. More charts, more numbers. “It means it isn’t working, the chemotherapy. Not at all.” She rolled away. “I have to go to sleep.” I put my hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. She cried so hard I thought she’d die of shortness of breath. Flip wiggled into her arms and nudged her chin, and she started to calm down. She whispered things to him and then she got quiet and wiped her eyes and hugged him and he snuggled her, and I left them like that.

Mrs. Lorentz was on the phone, pacing up and down the kitchen. She said, “But what about the experimental drug? You said it looked promising. Then there’s still hope.” Mercurious was in the dining room, working on the model of Luna Park 1905. I sat next to him. “I could use some help with this,” he said. “You have time to give me a hand?”

“Sure,” I said, and we worked on the model together. I painted the smaller buildings with gold dots and put flags on them. Mercurious was hanging a crescent moon.

• • •

The next morning I delivered my coupons alone. Flip was spending all his time with Halley now, and I was glad. When he was with her she was calm and smiled more.

The air was cold, and I whipped through my route and got the deliveries done before sunrise. By the time I was back at the apartment, Halley and Flip were at the breakfast table. She still looked pretty sick, but she was grinning. Flip kept pulling off her socks. She was watching the video we made for her. “I won’t miss the next one,” she said.

“I know,” I said.

“Meanwhile, I need you to help Dad tomorrow night. It’s the huge bar mitzvah at the Museum of Natural History. I was supposed to assist. I was going to try, but Mom wants me to rest up before we get into this new chemotherapy thing. Dad says not to ask you, that he’ll be able to manage, because he knows the whole magician thing freaks you out. But I told him you’re a big boy and ready to face your fears and you’d love to help him. He’s unveiling a new illusion. He’s been working on it for the past year. It’ll be spectacular when he pulls it off. Congratulations, you’ve been promoted to magician’s assistant.” She snapped her fingers, and the sun just peeked over the horizon and nailed us with a gold beam.

“How’d you do that?” I said.

She spun the iPad around. It was on the weather page. Right at the top was sunrise: 6:55 a.m. Right above that was the time of day: 6:55 a.m. “I actually think I might be able to stomach half a waffle this morning,” she said.

“Cool,” I said, and I made us waffles.

• • •

That afternoon Aunt Jeanie picked me up and we headed out to the diner. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this,” I said. “You know, us hanging out because you think that’s what Mom would want.”

“But I want to. Do you?”

I nodded and forced myself to fake a smile.

She patted my hand, and then she took her hand away. “Yes. Well, Leo wanted me to, to tell you he’s sorry. He really did. He really is.”

I nodded. “How is he, like, doing?”

“Oh Ben, you’re so sweet. I’m touched, really. He’s going to be okay. I’ll let him know you asked about him.” She chewed her bottom lip for a bit. “Do you mind if I ask how Halley’s doing?”

“No, not at all. She’s doing great. Seriously. They’re putting her on a new medicine, and it’s going to do the trick.”

“I’m sure,” she said.

“It is. Really.”

“Oh, I know.”