Before the month was over, Mrs. Grey dropped by the Albatross to ask if Anneth and Lowen would be willing to babysit. Dr. Grey had scheduled a visit to another rural vet clinic, and she was going to drive her father to the airport. (Apparently he had been staying with them only temporarily, to help out as they settled in.) The day would be long, which is why she thought it might be better if the two of them did it together. Anneth wanted the sewing machine, and if Coach was really serious about Lowen needing to be on the soccer team, then Lowen needed cleats. Both said yes.

The first few hours went quickly. The day was sunny but pleasantly cool, and there was no end to the games that Lagi, Lily, and Wanda wanted to play in the park across the street: Hide-and-Go-Seek; Mother, May I?; Freeze Tag; Duck, Duck, Goose (Lagi’s favorite); and Red Light, Green Light. By noon, the three Greys were still raring to go, but Lowen was worn out. He collapsed onto the newly cut grass, where Lagi proceeded to turn him into a pillow.

“What do you see in the clouds?” Lowen asked.

“A cheeseburger,” Lagi said. “And French fries.”

Lowen laughed. Clearly, it was time for lunch.

He dutifully pulled himself up and held Lagi’s hand as they crossed Maple Street, Anneth and the girls behind them. As they entered the living room, Lily ran over and turned on the TV. She and Lagi plunked themselves down on the rug on the newly varnished wooden floor. “This room looks great,” Anneth said to Wanda, who was following them into the kitchen.

Lowen agreed. He remembered the filthy green carpet that had been there the day of the lottery. Recalling other unpleasant aspects of this house, he held his breath as they entered the kitchen.

“Whoa,” Anneth said as she turned the corner. “You have a new kitchen, Wanda!” The once pink cabinets were now gleaming white. The countertops, appliances, faucet, and flooring were all brand-new.

“Yeah. What a pain!” Wanda said. “The workers have been banging like crazy! My grandfather couldn’t wait to go back to Honolulu for the peace and quiet.”

Lowen ran his hand along the smooth, stony kitchen counter. There wasn’t a trace of the pink lady and her cupcakes. It was as if she had never existed.

After helping Anneth and Lowen find the peanut butter and jelly, Wanda drifted back into the living room.

“Do you think the Greys are rich?” Lowen asked in a low voice.

“Richer than we are,” said Anneth. “But maybe they had to repair their kitchen to meet the requirements.”

Lowen sighed. “It makes me feel way behind on our house.”

Anneth agreed. “But we’ll do work on the house when Mum and Dad aren’t so busy with Mum’s shop.”

After Lagi’s nap, they decided to head to the playground. But they weren’t the only ones who had decided to hang out there. Clem and his buds were goofing around on the rec equipment. Mason and a group of boys and girls were camped out on the merry-go-round. (And Lowen had thought he was too old.) They were seated between the animals and using their feet to twirl themselves around, though their movement was more of a jolt, jolt, jolt than a whirl.

“Don’t get too dirty,” Anneth said to the Grey kids in a too-loud voice that annoyed Lowen. He knew she was trying to make it clear that she wasn’t just hanging out with little kids — that she was working. But at the same time, it sounded as though she were babysitting him, too. He tried to think of some order he could give the Greys, but since they were just standing there, watching the older kids, he had nothing.

Clem stood at the base of the slide with two Millville kids — a guy and a girl. All three kids held cans of soda.

“Catch me, Clem!”

Lowen looked up. There, at the top of the slide, sat Luna. She was wearing shorts and some sort of top that looked floaty. He imagined himself at the base of the slide with outstretched arms.

“Aren’t you worried about hurting your bow hand?” the other boy asked.

“What? And never do anything?” she snapped back.

Clem smiled. “I’ve got a better idea,” he said. He ran up the ladder and sat down behind Luna. “Ready?” he asked.

They pushed forward — but didn’t go very far. The slide had lost all its luster. Instead of providing a slick surface, the weathered sheet of tin offered only friction.

They laughed as they inched their way down.

Anneth laughed, too.

That’s when Clem glanced up and saw them. With a small, almost undetectable look he suggested to his buds that they move on.

Lowen went from feeling totally self-conscious to feeling shunned. He could tell that Anneth was feeling disappointed, too. Ever since she was a little kid she’d wanted to tag along with Clem and his friends.

With Luna at his side, Clem walked right by Lowen and didn’t say a word. Not one.

But he did slip him his can of soda.

Cool!

Lowen hid the can behind his thigh, then walked toward the picnic table. The Grey kids raced toward the equipment and called out for Lowen to join them.

“In a minute!” he shouted. He snuck sips of soda. What was it about the bubbles, the caramel-y sweetness, that made it taste so welcome on a hot day?

The kids came running over, begging him to join in their swing game.

Knowing he was caught, he tilted the can to his lips and gulped the final drops.

“Where did you get that?” Lily asked.

There had been something in the can, something solid. Now it was in his mouth. Something vibrating. Something alive.

Lowen jumped up and spat, projecting whatever it was onto the picnic table.

“A bee!” cried Wanda. “You almost swallowed a bee.”

“Did it sting you?” Lily cried.

Lowen opened and closed his mouth a few times as if to try it out. He hadn’t been stung. He’d had a bee inside his mouth and he hadn’t been stung.

He looked down at the wet insect on the table.

Lagi leaned over, too.

“Stay away from it, Lagi!” cried Wanda. “It will hurt you.”

The bee was pinned on its back, its wet wings stuck to the surface of the table. Tiny, spindly legs pedaled the air, trying to gain traction.

“Kill it!” Lily said. “Quick, kill it!”

“No, don’t!” Lowen cried. The legs started to slow down, but still the bee hadn’t turned over. Feeling a rising panic, Lowen looked for some scrap of paper, a bit of foil. His eyes landed on a twig. A twig would do it.

He hovered the stick just above the bee’s legs. The bee grabbed on to it and Lowen slowly lifted it off the table.

The kids screamed and backed away.

The bee flew.

As Mrs. Grey had warned, the day had been long. By the time she returned, both Anneth and Lowen had run out of ideas for entertaining the kids. But she paid them in cash, and when Anneth suggested they go to Dollar Mart before heading back to the Albatross, Lowen agreed. It would be fun to buy a small treat with the money. He chose Doritos.

He was already munching on them when they turned the corner to head up Maple. Three older boys that Lowen didn’t recognize called out loudly:

“Hey, got a dollar?”

“Yeah, I could really use a dollar.”

Lowen’s heart beat faster. He put his hand in his pocket and wrapped it around the bills Mrs. Grey had just given him.

“If I had a dollar, I could buy a house.”

He exhaled. The boys weren’t out to mug him.

“Then I could spend the rest of my money on Doritos,” said one of the kids, cracking them all up.

“Dipheads,” Anneth mumbled as they climbed the hill, pretending to be deaf.

Lowen didn’t know what else to say. They’d just been ambushed. Back in Flintlock, when they told other kids they were buying a house for a dollar, everyone thought that was so cool — that Lowen had been so smart to see the announcement in the magazine. But here in Millville, lots of folks seemed to think that the Dollar Families were so poor that they could only afford to pay one dollar for a house. Even though Lowen’s family had never been super well-off — Mum had always encouraged them to economize and be smart with money — they’d been comfortable enough, and it felt weird to be treated like a moocher.

When they passed the garbage can at the park, he dropped the rest of the Doritos bag in.