Ada had invited Nina to go hiking with her and Tycho, but Nina was too busy. She had been on fire since Miroir had left town. The San Francisco Chronicle received word about the stolen artwork. Journalists from the paper conducted their own investigation and published an exposé on Guy Miroir, detailing all the work he’d stolen over the years. Nina herself was interviewed in the piece, and Web traffic skyrocketed after that. Of course, having her artwork in the mayor’s office didn’t hurt either. The mayor was happy to tell the story behind the famous painting above her desk to anyone who would listen.
Ms. Lace had a lot of work to do after she’d essentially kicked Miroir and his paintings out of the gallery. After the news flurry around Miroir, she decided her next exhibit should highlight the work of artists he had stolen from. The exposé revealed this happened to nearly twenty artists from all over the world. Ms. Lace had her work cut out for her, but this time it was work she was happy to do.
• • •
Ada thought Tycho might suggest a nice easy trail in Golden Gate Park until he got used to the new wheels, but instead he suggested going to Mount Tamalpais. He was eager to try out the chair on a rugged trail. Ms. Lace volunteered to bring them. Ada hadn’t seen her mom in such a good mood in weeks. She even raced Tycho and Ada over parts of the trail.
At first Ada was worried she might not be able to keep up. Tycho had been practicing around the courtyard enough so that he was one with his new creation. He flew over the straight parts of the trail. There were still some things that were tougher to navigate with wheels, so Ada was able to catch up.
“Looks like you’ve got the hang of that handcycle,” said Ada. She took a minute to catch her breath. “This is turning into a workout for me.”
“Oh, I’m a pro,” said Tycho. “And I’m only getting faster. Soon you’ll need one too. Or a mountain bike, because those feet of yours will be worn out in an hour running next to me.”
Tycho was fun to hike with. They made a good team. Ada liked to stop and notice birds, flowers, different types of moss . . . but Tycho kept up the challenging pace. And he was the one who pointed out a gray whale when they passed a view of the ocean.
Ada gasped. “I didn’t even know. . . .”
“Yeah, that’s part of the reason I wanted to come here. I heard you might be able to see them migrating around now.”
• • •
When they got back to Juniper Garden, Ada asked if Tycho wanted to come over for dinner, but he had to go home and pack. Ms. Lace headed inside while Ada stayed to talk to Tycho a little longer.
“When do you leave?” asked Ada.
“Pretty early in the morning. It’s a long trip back to LA.”
“Oh,” said Ada. “Will you be back soon?”
“At least during summer vacation, but maybe before that. You know all those weird days we get off in May,” said Tycho.
“Yeah,” said Ada. She would miss Tycho. They’d gotten to be good friends over the last week. “What about when I run into another coding problem?”
“You can e-mail me! And we can FaceTime,” said Tycho. “Don’t worry. We’ll stay friends, Ada Lace.”
“I know we will, Tycho Wilson.” She leaned down and hugged him. “Say hi to Uncle Mr. Peebles for me.”
“I will,” said Tycho. He rolled up the ramp and into the building.
• • •
Ada was dying to hear from Nina. The mayor had invited Nina and her mom over to her house. She wanted Nina to meet some of her politician friends who loved her painting. Plus, after everyone heard the story of the fraud Miroir, they all wanted to meet the girl who helped take him down. Nina was supposed to come to Ada’s afterward for dinner.
“I just don’t understand why we’re letting Elliott cook,” Ada said to her mom. “Haven’t we all learned a lesson?”
“Dad says he’s getting better, Ada,” said Ms. Lace. “Let’s just give him a chance.”
Ada did not have high hopes. It smelled good, but smells could be deceiving.
Nina showed up at 6:30.
“I’m so hungry! The mayor had a lot of food, but I couldn’t eat any of it. I had such a nervous tummy!”
Nina wanted to describe the mayor’s house in careful detail for Ada, but the main thing she remembered was that there was an Indian rug in the entryway and striped wallpaper somewhere. Honestly, Nina was so excited and talking so fast it was hard to keep up with her. She was just telling Ada about the plush pink bath mats when Elliott and Mr. Lace came out with a roast chicken.
“Roast chicken with corn bread stuffing and oysters!” announced Elliott.
The chicken was a beautiful golden brown color. Stuffing spilled out from inside, and roast vegetables were carefully arranged around the edge of the tray.
“Wait,” said Ada. “Dad? You cooked?”
“Nope,” said Mr. Lace. “It was pretty much all Elliott.”
“Wow, Elliott,” said Nina. She was seated in front of a Pterosaur. “This smells great!”
Ms. Lace carved the bird and served it. There was more chewing than talking after that. At the end of it all Nina and Ada cleared the table.
“So, Nina,” said Mr. Lace. “I hear you have a new painting featured in Isabella’s art gallery.”
“Yes! I just finished it,” said Nina. “My creative energies have really been flowing these past few weeks!”
“That’s great,” said Mr. Lace. “You’ll probably be seeing even more Web traffic once the exhibit opens.”
“Definitely,” Ada chimed in. “I’ve been tracking it. We have people all over the world logging on to her site. About six thousand unique views a month right now. Many people from France and Germany.”
Everyone looked at Ada, impressed.
“Well, it looks like you don’t need Tycho’s help anymore,” Ms. Lace said.
“Yeah. I’ve gotten the hang of it. I’m hoping we can get traffic up to fifteen thousand views per month by the end of the year.”
“I better learn to paint faster,” said Nina.
“Maybe you can hire Miroir. I hear he’s not doing anything,” said Ada.
Ada nudged Nina, and her friend smiled.
Elliott walked in with a tray full of little dishes and set them on the table.
“Anyone up for some crème brûlée?”
