Forty-Four

Ali was five years old before she understood that not everyone’s father could change into other things. She and Digger had gone to the park on a hot July day to cool off in the wading pool. When they’d arrived, no one was around, so Digger had changed into a short-haired terrier—it was too hot to be his usual collie/black Lab self—and romped with Ali in the shallow water. They splashed and chased each other for twenty minutes, until a mother and her little boy appeared and caught Digger unaware.

Digger couldn’t change back into himself in front of them, so he scampered off behind a stand of pines. The mother was horrified to find Ali unattended; when Digger emerged from the trees seconds later, she berated him for ten minutes, threatening to call the police and child protection, telling him what a horrible father he was. Digger didn’t defend himself, just let her work through her righteous indignation.

“But Digger was here,” protested Ali on his behalf. She didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

The mother patted Ali on the head. “A little girl can’t be cared for by a dog,” she said, which confused Ali, because she was cared for by a dog all the time.

Ali sat on the edge of the wading pool and drew figure eights in the cool water. “What does your mama turn into?” she’d asked the little boy, who’d taken a seat next to her. He was chubby cheeked and sprinkled all over with freckles.

“Nuthin’,” the boy said, “’cept sometimes she changes from nice to mean.”

“Not good,” Ali had said, upset on his behalf.

The boy shrugged. “Nope.”

Later, when Digger carried her home on his shoulders, Ali asked why the little boy’s mother couldn’t change into something fun, like a dog or a bird or a horse.

“Some people have special abilities and some people don’t.”

“She was mean.”

Digger shook his head. “She was a good mother. She was worried about you. If everybody worried about other people’s children like she worried about you, this would be a very different world.”

Ali lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn’t get the image of Topsy attacking Alfie out of her head. She reached for The Golden Compass to try to distract herself. Except someone had put the old book written by Gigi’s uncle Percy in its place. There was a Post-it note stuck to the cover. You haven’t read this yet, but you must try again. Love, Gigi. Ali wasn’t in the mood to read about fog, but if it meant that much to Gigi, she’d try.

This time when she opened the book, she realized it wasn’t what it had seemed before. The original chapter titles and opening paragraphs, along with Teddy and Digger’s funny comments, dissolved and were replaced with information about Copycats. In fact, Uncle Percy’s old book was actually a handbook for Copycats, and it included some of the stories Gigi and Digger had shared with her, along with other, stranger topics. For example, Chapter One, “How Fog Is Formed,” became Chapter One, “How to Make Sure Your Family Recognizes You When You Show Up as a Ferocious Beast.”

A History of Fog in the Bay of Fundy	Copycats: A Primer
CHAPTER ONE: How Fog Is Formed	CHAPTER ONE: How to Make Sure Your Family Recognizes You When You Show Up as a Ferocious Beast
CHAPTER TWO: The Bay of Fundy	CHAPTER TWO: How to Recognize Another Copycat
CHAPTER THREE: Deadly Whirlpools and Fog: A Disaster in the Making	CHAPTER THREE: Seven Ways to Be Your Best Copycat Self
CHAPTER FOUR: Fog and Marine Disasters	CHAPTER FOUR: What to Do If Your Child Doesn’t Change
CHAPTER FIVE: The Benefits of Fog	CHAPTER FIVE: Is Fog a Copycat’s Friend?
CHAPTER SIX: Harnessing Fog	CHAPTER SIX: Pros and Cons of Two Copycats Marrying
CHAPTER SEVEN: Fog and Mental Health	CHAPTER SEVEN: Should Copycats Run for Political Office?
CHAPTER EIGHT: Predicting Fog Using Science	CHAPTER EIGHT: Should You Use Your Copycat Skills in the Workplace?
CHAPTER NINE: Predicting Fog Using Folklore	CHAPTER NINE: The Effect of Illness on a Copycat
CHAPTER TEN: Fog Technology	CHAPTER TEN: How to Make Sure You Don’t Drown When You’re a Fish or a Whale
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Fog and Weather	CHAPTER ELEVEN: Copycats in History
CHAPTER TWELVE: Fog Treasures	CHAPTER TWELVE: Are Copycats Mythical Beasts?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Fog Records	CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Aging Copycats
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Comfort of Fog	CHAPTER FOURTEEN: What to Do If You Can’t Change Back
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Animal Victims of Fog	CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Soothing Alligator Skin

How had she missed this the first time she’d looked at the book? Then it hit her: she hadn’t been a Copycat then. Thrilled, she skipped through the pages. It was like being inducted into a secret club, and it was the perfect diversion from what was happening in the rest of the house.

Twenty minutes later, when she was reading about how important it was not to panic when switching back and forth between lungs and gills, she remembered that Teddy had written one word on the original page: practice. It hadn’t made sense when she thought the chapter was about fog technology. Had he and Digger practiced being fish? She shivered. It made her sad to think of eleven-year-old Teddy telling himself to practice breathing underwater and then drowning years later.

Digger stuck his head in the door. “Good news. Alfie is back, and he’s fine. I was right; he was so shocked when Topsy attacked him that he couldn’t calm down enough to change back. He’s still pretty shook up.”

Ali started to rise. “Can I see him?”

“Sorry, Ali-Cat. He just left with his mom and Uncle Andrew. I’m sure they have a lot to talk about, and Alfie needs to rest.”

Ali slumped back against her pillow. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

Digger leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You were very brave, saving him like that. I’m proud of you.”

“I don’t feel brave. I’m pretty sure he tried to tell me the other day.”

“Well, he tried to talk to me and I ran away. We’ve both made mistakes.”

“I’m sorry I was rude to Andrew Sloane.”

Digger chuckled. “You shouldn’t have said those things, but maybe you gave him something to think about. We’ve all made choices. And some of them were mistakes. But I hope we can learn from them.”

He pointed to the book in Ali’s hands. “I see you’re reading Uncle Percy’s magnum opus.”

“I can’t believe all the stuff in here!”

“Pretty amazing, huh? Teddy used to pore over that book when we were kids. I’m sure you saw that we wrote in it here and there. Teddy wanted to write a sequel. Chapter One was going to be ‘How to Recognize Copycats on the Internet.’”

Ali smiled, but it quickly dissolved into a frown. “I suppose we have to cancel Gigi’s party.”

“Absolutely not! In fact, your mother’s helping her change right now. A party is exactly what we need after what just happened, so get dressed; we’re putting you in charge of greeting the guests. And wait until you see Gigi’s cake. It’s covered in flowers and butterflies and hummingbirds!”

As she changed into her party dress, Ali considered Digger’s comment about choices. Why was making the right choice so hard? Digger marrying her mother was the right choice. Digger and Teddy going over the Reversing Falls was the wrong choice. But if Teddy had survived, would that have made their adventure the right choice? Probably not. Gigi had decided to help Alfie out of love, and you could argue all day about whether that was the right or wrong thing to do. It made her head ache, trying to make sense of it all.

In the end, she supposed the best thing a person could do when making a choice was to base it on kindness and be true to herself. She grabbed a Post-it note, scribbled that down, and stuck it to the wall next to her bed. This might be the most important note of all.