thirty-three
I had never run away before, but I knew that all I needed was a good plan.
Since I was little, DiDi has been telling me that a good plan is just like a good recipe. You find out what you need. You find out what to do. Then you follow the directions. I’ve been watching DiDi follow recipes since the day I was born, and you can bet I knew a good recipe when I saw one.
This was not a good recipe.
RECIPE FOR RUNNING AWAY TO FIND YOUR MAYBE NO LONGER DEAD MAMA
Friday night
• 1 Fake Sleepover with Haven and Allie (for me)
• 1 Fake Sleepover with Billy (for Trip)
• 1 “borrowed” credit card (Trip’s dad’s)
• “Borrowed” cash from the cookie jar where Trip’s mom keeps grocery $ for the housekeeper
• My little stash of babysitting money
• Two tickets on the local Long Island train into New York City
• Then two tickets on the Overnight Express train from New York to South Carolina
First of all, give friends no information other than This Is Life or Death, Can I Fake Sleep Over at Your House?
Trip and I sneak out. (Haven and Allie and Billy turn all lights out early and stuff sleeping bags with pillows in case parents peek in on them.)
Next morning, they tell their parents we got sick and quietly went home, but DON’T CALL to check up on us, because we are probably sleeping and it would be rude to wake us up.
If possible, mention a High-Grade Fever. That’s a fever of, like, 104 degrees or more. Parents lose their minds over a High-Grade Fever. DiDi will make me crawl to school with a sore throat and buckets of green stuff coming out of my nose, but if I have a High-Grade Fever, she’ll let me sleep a week. Even my darn fever has to sound like it’s on honor roll for DiDi to pay attention.
Keep all grown-ups from talking to each other till we get back.
Mix it all together.
Cross fingers. And just see what happens.
Like I said:
Not a good recipe.
But we only had that week to plan it, and it was the best we could do. We would sneak out of the house, and Trip would pay for a cab to get us to the local train that would take us to the big train station in the city—which for some reason was called Pennsylvania Station even though it was in New York. From there, we would have to transfer to another train and ride all night till we got to South Carolina. It was going to be expensive, but I had enough money saved for some of my ticket, and I promised Trip I would pay him back for the rest when I could.
The night of the Fake Sleepover at Haven’s house, I peeked out the window about three hundred times. We were having the pretend sleepover downstairs in the TV room, so I’d be able to climb out a window close to the ground. Her parents had two other couples over, and they were laughing and talking in the dining room. Haven said it was called the Supper Club and they took turns having dinner at each other’s houses. At first, I thought it’d be a bad idea to try the Fake Sleepover on Supper Club Night, but Haven said it was probably a good thing.
“Believe me, if they didn’t have company over, my parents would try and hang out with us and make us do karaoke with them or something. But when their friends are over, they don’t even peek in on me. It takes them like five hours to eat. They don’t even have dessert till eleven. Plus, they put the Beast to bed early. Trust me, it’s better this way.”
I still didn’t know the Beast’s real name, since that’s what Haven always called him. She had warned him to stay in his room and not bother us. Allie told him she would tell all the kids in kindergarten that he still wet his pants. Haven kidnapped his favorite army men and threatened to torture them. DiDi always says it’s easier to make a friend than fight an enemy, so I snuck three forbidden slices of pizza to him after his lights were out. And so far, we hadn’t seen him or Haven’s parents since they dropped off the pizza cartons and plates in the TV room before their guests arrived. I hadn’t eaten a bite.
“Where is he?” I whispered. “Where is he?”
“Leia, calm down,” Haven said, chewing her fingernails. “He’ll be here.”
Meanwhile, Allie was pacing back and forth, twisting this old baby blanket of hers she called Banky. “I knew this wouldn’t work. I bet the cops got him. I bet he got caught by the cops.”
“The cops?” Haven said. “Seriously?”
Allie moaned and began tying poor Banky into a giant knot. Just like we planned, I hadn’t told the girls what was really happening. Only that I needed to run away with Trip for a few days and it was Life or Death. Watching Allie torture Banky made me wish I could tell her the truth, but I doubted it would make things any better. I peeked out the window again. A cab pulled around the corner and parked behind the third tree on the sidewalk. That was the signal.
“He’s here!” I started grabbing things, my backpack, my jacket, the cell phone Haven was lending me. “Okay, everyone stay calm. I’m just going to climb out the window like we rehearsed. I guess this is it.”
Allie looked at me all tragically, then threw herself back on the sofa and pulled Banky over her head.
“Good luck!” said Haven, giving me a quick hug. She opened the window to let me out.
I put one leg over the sill. Trip was late. I wondered if we’d still have time to make the first train. I jumped out. Haven threw down my backpack and quickly closed the window and turned out all the lights. The plan was in effect.
Though I couldn’t exactly appreciate it under the circumstances, Haven’s house had the biggest and most beautiful yard I’d ever seen. It was filled with all these different kinds of gardens, with trees and plants that flowered no matter what season it was. She said her parents were gardening freaks and were up every weekend at the break of dawn, tending to their plants and waking her and the Beast up—sure that they wanted to share in the excitement of pulling weeds. The front yard alone had to be at least as big as the football field at school. In gym class, we get timed running across that field, and I knew it wouldn’t be long until I was safe in that cab with Trip.
Luckily, there wasn’t anything planted under the window where I landed. It was one of the few empty spaces on the property. The dirt was soft and I crouched there for a second while I settled my backpack onto my shoulders. The street was quiet and it was pretty dark, so even if people were out, they wouldn’t necessarily see a twelve-year-old girl sprinting for her life across that big lawn. I took a deep breath and was about to make a run for it when a voice from around the corner whispered.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
I fell over and face-planted right in the dirt.
“Trust me, she loves surprises. Let me just show you this one empty spot under the window. It’s perfect. Next summer, I’ll grow my tomatoes there—”
One empty spot under the window? I scrambled on all fours as quickly as I could over to the next bush that would give me any sort of cover and curled up into a little ball behind it. “Tomatoes? You’re going to plant tomatoes in your wife’s rare-tree garden—”
“It’s not her garden, it’s our garden, and yes, she’ll love it.”
Suddenly, there were more voices. “What are you guys doing out here? The next course is up.”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Not a thing.”
“You’re not talking about putting tomatoes in my last empty spot, are you?”
“Maybe.”
Everyone started laughing.
“Not happening.”
“Not just any tomatoes—rare heirloom tomatoes. Just come take a look.…”
I could hear the sounds of Mr. Chang trying to drag Mrs. Chang toward me. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“And you really think it will help your cause to do this when I have food waiting?”
“Good point. Okay, but I promise, you’ll love it. They’ll be beautiful—just like you. Did you know the tomato is also known as the love apple?”
The grown-ups were laughing and it sounded like they were going to go back in. I had to hurry.
“C’mon!” I said to myself. I was going to have to make a run for it before Mr. Chang convinced his wife to come out and look at his dream tomato garden again.
Just like gym class, I thought to myself, standing up.
“Did you—Honey, what was that?”
I ducked back down. Dang it.
“That better not be the Millers’ dog, leaving his little—Shoo!”
“I’ll get him—”
I held my breath. This was it. I was a goner for sure.
“Mommy! Daddy!”
I looked up.
It was the Beast. Hollering from his bedroom window.
“What are you doing up this late?” Mrs. Chang yelled up. “And how did you open the childproof latch on that window?”
Oh, that Beast. He was grinning a wicked grin right down into my hiding place. Darn it. I should’ve wrung his neck. I should have threatened him with curses. I should have tied him up with old Banky.
“I—I’m scared! I want you and Daddy right now!”
“One moment, honey, I just have to—”
“RIGHT NOW!”
“Coming! Coming! Let’s get in. Honestly, he’ll keep this up all night—did you ever hear what Haven calls him?”
This time, I didn’t move until I was sure I heard the door open and close. I exhaled and looked up at the window. The Beast waved at me as he chewed on the crust of his pizza.
I gave him a shaky thumbs-up. It was time.
I brushed the dirt off my legs and tried to wipe it off my face, mostly just smearing it around more. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting to Trip.
I took a big breath and ran for it.
Thudding one foot after the other.
Focusing on that taxi.
Trip would have already told the driver a story about how we were cousins and our aunt was going to meet us at the train station in the city. With his Wish Pie eyes and Perfect Boy manners, Trip would make everything okay.
I ran harder than I’d ever run in my life, aiming straight at that cab, each step taking me closer and closer and closer, till finally, gasping for air and pushing the hair off my dirty face, I grabbed at the door handle and hauled it open, throwing myself into the backseat. “Why in the world are you so—”
I stopped short.
But then, I guess the smile on Mace’s face would be enough to stop anyone.
The Ol’ Switcheroo
You think you’re about to enjoy something warm and soft and comforting, straight from the oven, when WHAM! You sink your teeth into this icy brick of ice cream.
Friend, you’ve just been had by the Ol’ Switcheroo.
• 4 egg whites
• A pinch of salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• 6 individual sponge cakes
• Vanilla ice cream
Take out your old electric beater and beat those egg whites with the salt till they start to make peaks. Add the sugar a few spoonfuls at a time till they make glossy stiff peaks.
Arrange the cakes on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Scoop ice cream on top of each sponge cake. Spread meringue on top of each cake, covering the ice cream and cake and sealing it all the way down. Stick the cookie sheet in the freezer for at least an hour.
When you’re ready to serve, pop the cakes into a 425°F oven for 5 minutes.
Just enough time to turn that meringue a beautiful golden brown but still keep that ice cream frozen. Serve right away!
Give it a try. It’ll surprise your guests and it might even surprise you, too.
Serves 6.