Free Anastasia at This Address by Lois Lowry Page B

that she raced, and it wouldn't be a lie.
    And he thought she was a doctor. She would have to confess to him that she was not. But maybe he wouldn't be disappointed. Doctors always had to wear beepers, and when their beepers went off in restaurants and theaters, people glared at them.
    He was going to be in Boston next week. Anastasia had mixed feelings about that. She wanted to meet Septimus Smith sometime, but next week was too soon, so probably it was just as well that he knew her social calendar was full. She wanted to meet him after she was a little older, and had gotten contact lenses, and maybe finished college and all. The pierced ears were a good start—she glanced again in the mirror, thinking about them—but still, next week was too soon for their meeting.
    She wondered about the sloop lady in California. California was full of movie stars, Anastasia knew. Still, probably Septimus would have mentioned it if the sloop lady was Debra Winger.
    He had narrowed it down to 2, out of 416, and Anastasia was one of them. Much better odds than her seventh-grade class, where she felt fairly certain that Steve Harvey occasionally noticed that Emily Ewing had absolutely perfect hair and that the Wilcox twins had amazingly large bosoms for people thirteen years old.
    She took a fresh piece of stationery out of her desk and began to write.
Dear Septimus,
    Thank you for your letter!!! I was really thrilled to get it.
    I
do
race occasionally. Just last week I raced, and came in second. I have to confess that I am not extremely interested in racing "not I am willing to do it now and then.
    I always, of course, take a shower afterward.
    About my sloop: it is made of wood, painted red. It has not been in the water for a while, but when it is in the water, the red paint, which is a little faded, looks really neat because it seems darker. I am thinking of putting a fresh coat on it one of these days.
    Other people have sometimes commented on my interesting handwriting. Someone named Mr. Rafferty calls it indecipherable. But what does he know, right?
    Ho, I am not a doctor, and therefore I do not ever have to wear a beeper or anything else which might be a nuisance in restaurants or, for that matter, during races.
    My profession, which I forgot to mention, is that am sort of a scholar.
    I was interested to hear about your profession. I have a very close relative who has an extremely large portfolio and she sometimes has trouble managing it.
    I regret that circumstances make it impossible for us to meet when you are in Boston next week. But anyway, it would be better if our first meeting takes place sometime in the future. I need to complete some scholarly stuff first, and also to have some work done in the area of my eyes.
    Perhaps you ready know from
People
magazine that Debra Winger has a young son. I have no children. I like them, of course, "but in my current "busy life, being childless is an advantage, I feel.
    I am glad that you liked the photograph I sent.
    Sincerely,
SWIFTY
    (Scholar With Interesting Future: Tall, Young).

10

    "Do I look okay?" Anastasia asked anxiously. She turned around, slowly, in the doorway of the living room, where her parents were sitting. They looked over at her and smiled.
    Sam looked up from the complicated structure he was building from blocks on the floor. He smiled, too. He and Anastasia were pals again because she had agreed to loan him the sloop, free of charge, for his pre-wedding bath the next day.
    "You look wonderful," her mother said. "You really do."
    Her father gave her a thumbs-up sign. Sam watched his dad and tried to do the same thing, but he wasn't terribly good at it, and he went back to his skyscraper.
    It was the night of the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. Anastasia was wearing a yellow dress and a gold necklace to match her new earrings.
    They could hear the beep of a car horn in front of the house. Anastasia looked through the window.
    "That's Sonya," she said. "Her brother's