26

—

Nicola and Lindsay went back to Shady Oaks after school the next day. They kept their eyes open for signs, even watched the Shopping Channel with Mrs. Cream, but couldn’t find any significance in the Lint-o-matic Furniture Brush. They walked up and down the shiny halls, allowing June Bug to scratch under Mr. Fitzpatrick’s door and, farther down the hall, Mrs. Michaels’ and Mrs. Tanaka’s.

They tried opening the doors.

Locked.

Nicola pressed her ear against each one. Each time she felt a light vibration.

Glenda appeared, hands on her hips.

“What are you doing?”

Nicola pulled back with a nervous smile. “Could we say hi? June Bug really wants to. Look.”

June Bug was crouched down with her nose right in the crack under the door, snorkeling.

“I’d lose my job,” Glenda said.

“What if we got in on our own? What if you didn’t know about it? It’s mean that they never have visitors.”

Glenda waved them out of the hall with broad sweeps of her thin arm. The girls followed her swinging ponytail, disappointed.

When they got to the nursing station, Glenda said goodbye at the same time she pulled a yellow lanyard out of the front pocket of her pajama uniform.

A key hung on the lanyard.

Glenda opened the cupboard where all the medicines were kept. Inside hung two other yellow lanyards with keys. Glenda placed hers on an empty hook.

She turned and said, “Oh,” as though she was surprised to see them still standing there watching her. Then, with the cupboard door open and the keys in full view, she buzzed them out, a little smirk brightening her face.

* * *

The last sign they needed came on the weekend, on Saturday night, while the Breams were playing rummy.

Jackson dealt first. It was his favorite thing, but his clumsy hands and terrible counting slowed the game. June Bug circled the table pushing an old sock against everyone’s legs, trying to get someone to pull it. And Jared did that annoying thing he always did, laying his runs and sets face down on the table instead of face up, so no one knew which cards to stop collecting.

Nicola took hold of the sock. June Bug snarled and tugged on her end, almost pulling Nicola right off her chair.

“June Bug,” Mina said. “You’re scaring me!”

Triumphantly, Jared laid down another run. He was fiendishly good at cards. Nicola glared at his hoard spreading across the table in front of him. Then she noticed something that made her let go of the sock.

And the funny feeling started up. The fluttery, butterfly feeling she’d been hoping for.

By the time rummy was over, it was too late to call Lindsay.

So it wasn’t until Sunday morning that Lindsay got to see the sign. She hurried over to Nicola’s house as soon as Nicola called.

Nicola drew the playing card from her back pocket and showed it to Lindsay before she was even out of her coat.

“Three of hearts?” Lindsay said. “Didn’t we already get the heart sign?”

Nicola turned over the card and showed Lindsay the pretty curlicued border. Perched in each of the four corners was an angel. But that was not the sign. The sign was in the two circles in the middle of the card, one upside down, one right side up. Two more angels.

Angels on bicycles.