Ali rushed into the house. “Hang on, Alfie!” she implored, hoping he wouldn’t wake up and decide to jump from her arms as she carried him up the steep staircase.
Gigi’s face was the color of her snow-white nightgown. “How is he? I tried to change so I could save him, but my powers are too weak—I couldn’t even fly.”
Ali placed Alfie on Gigi’s lap. “He’s not changing back and he’s bleeding and I can’t tell if he has any other injuries. What do we do?”
Gigi bent forward and ran her hands along Alfie’s squirrel spine. “Get a warm cloth,” she directed.
Ali grabbed the softest cloth she could find, ran it under the hot water faucet, and pulled a fluffy towel off the rack. Alfie was still unmoving when she returned. She handed Gigi the rag and waited, towel at the ready.
“Come on, Alfie,” Gigi whispered. “You need to change back now.” She began to clean his bloody paws.
Ali watched, fearful. Alfie wasn’t even whimpering now. That was a bad sign, wasn’t it? “How long has he been visiting you?” she asked.
Gigi, head down, continued to dab at Alfie’s paws and fur. “He showed up two nights ago. He wanted to wish me a happy birthday. He’s just started to change and he doesn’t have very much control over his powers. He hoped one of us had powers too and could help him. Did he ever ask you for help?”
Ali recalled their last conversation, when he’d told her he was in trouble. She had been mean. This was her fault.
The front door opened. “We’re home!” Digger’s voice called out.
“Digger!” Ali hollered. “Alfie’s up in Gigi’s room and he’s hurt!”
Digger flew up the stairs and through the door, Ali’s mother right behind him. He paused, flustered, and pointed at the squirrel. “That’s Alfie?” When Ali nodded, he leaned forward to take a closer look.
The story came out in one long run-on sentence. “He just got his powers and he came to see Gigi a couple of nights ago to wish her happy birthday and again today and then Topsy attacked him and Gigi tried to help but she couldn’t, so I changed into a cat and drove Topsy away and now he’s not changing back or waking up!”
Digger shook his head. “Oh Gigi—what have you done? You should have told me as soon as he came.”
Gigi began to cry.
“I’m sorry, Digger. I just wanted to meet him. Can you help him?”
Digger patted Alfie gently on the head. “I don’t know. But we have to call Colleen and Uncle Andrew and let them know.” He pulled out his phone and punched in the number. “Colleen? It’s Digger. Alfie’s here and he’s hurt. Apparently he’s been changing. . . . Yes, I figured you didn’t know. He’s turned into a squirrel and was attacked by the neighbor’s cat when he was leaving Gigi’s room. . . . Yeah, I know. . . . Okay.” Digger hung up. “They’re on their way.”
“I’ll go down and wait for them,” said Ali’s mom. “What can I do to help?”
“Maybe a hot water bottle. I think he’s in shock.”
Ali’s mother hurried away.
“Oh my,” Gigi whispered. The look on her face reminded Ali of a small child caught doing something naughty. What would happen when Gigi and Uncle Andrew saw each other?
She didn’t have to wait long to find out. Minutes later, Colleen and Andrew Sloane burst into the room and rushed toward Alfie, who lay on the towel, with the hot water bottle next to him. Ali backed against the wall and held her breath.
It wasn’t the family reunion she’d dreamed about. Colleen wept as she knelt beside the bed. “My poor baby,” she whispered, and kissed his head.
Andrew Sloane stood near the door, his arms crossed. “Did you know about this, Digger?” he demanded.
Digger shook his head. “I just found out, Uncle Andrew.”
“It’s my fault, Andy,” said Gigi. Ali could hear the pain in her voice. “He showed up at my window out of the blue the other night. I was so happy to see him. I should have told you. Then you could have started to train him.”
“If anyone should train him, it’s Digger,” said Colleen without looking up. “He told me he wants Digger’s help, but he knew Digger wouldn’t train him behind Andy’s back.”
The room got quiet. Everyone knew this was true.
Colleen held up a hand. “You Sloanes can fight later. Right now, we need to help Alfie. Why isn’t he changing back, Digger?”
“Maybe because he’s in shock? I think we need to let him rest.”
“Should we take him to a vet?” Ali asked.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“I can’t imagine a vet would want to help a squirrel, and what if he turned back into himself on the table?” said Colleen.
“Digger told me Uncle Percival was a rat for forty-two days,” offered Ali.
“Forty-two days?” whispered Colleen. She closed her eyes and shuddered.
“I didn’t know he was a Copycat,” Andrew Sloane said, more to himself than to anyone in the room. “Did you know, Colleen?”
Colleen murmured in Alfie’s ear and looked up. “I wondered. But I didn’t think he’d keep it a secret from me.”
“Or from me,” said Andrew Sloane.
Digger turned to Ali. “There’s a first-aid kit under the sink in the bathroom. Go get it.”
It was awkward going past Andrew Sloane, but Ali ran for the kit.
“Can I wrap his paws?” Digger asked Colleen. She nodded and moved out of the way so Digger could get to work.
Colleen turned to Ali. “Do you change, Ali?”
“Yes, but I just got my powers too.”
“Did you know he was visiting my mother?” Andrew Sloane asked her. It sounded like an accusation.
Ali shook her head. “He never told me.”
Andrew Sloane began to pace. “He knew he wasn’t supposed to visit her. He promised.”
Colleen sighed. “Oh, Andrew. You made him make a promise he couldn’t keep. We should have told him about Copycats a long time ago.”
Digger finished wrapping Alfie’s paws and stood up. “I’d like to move Alfie onto a bed in another room. Maybe with a little rest, he’ll wake up and turn back into himself.” He smiled at Gigi. “Besides, I think Gigi could use some rest too.” He lifted Alfie and carried him out of the room.
Everyone followed, but at the door to Ali’s parents’ bedroom, Digger said, “Colleen wants you to wait downstairs, Uncle Andrew. She doesn’t think Alfie will change back in front of you.”
“Come sit downstairs in the living room with me,” said Ali’s mother, placing a gentle hand on Andrew Sloane’s arm.
“But I’m his grandfather!” Andrew Sloane sounded like he on the verge of making a scene.
Something dark and angry bubbled up inside Ali, as if the stress of the last few weeks was a venomous ball that needed to be expelled.
“He needs to rest!” she shouted. “He needs to not have to sneak around anymore. He needs his family to get along.”
Andrew Sloane opened his mouth, but Ali kept going, her words spilling out in one unstoppable wave. “You can be mad at everybody, but this wouldn’t have happened if he could have just walked over and visited Gigi like a regular grandkid. If he could have been trained to use his powers. I never met Teddy, but everybody says he was wonderful and full of life. You want to suck every bit of happiness out of your family because you’re so unhappy. I bet Teddy wouldn’t like that at all. I bet he’d want Alfie to know Digger. Teddy and Digger were best friends. And Teddy loved Gigi. It’s cruel what you’ve done to our family. This is your fault!”
“Enough, Ali-Cat,” said Digger. “Go to your room. I’ll let you know when there’s news.”
Ali was glad to go if it meant not being in the same room as Andrew Sloane. She leaned over the banister and watched him follow her mother downstairs. But yelling at Andrew Sloane hadn’t made things better. Her anger was replaced by shame and regret. Alfie wouldn’t want her to be mean to his grandfather. Maybe she wasn’t so different from Andrew Sloane after all.