Free Libby on Wednesday by Zilpha Keatley Snyder Page B

Graham’s books set in Morrison had just come out and, as you know, not everyone was pleased. Some of the local residents accused him of spreading slander and gossip, and for a while there was even talk of lawsuits. Nothingcame of the suits, and of course nowadays no one cares about such things anymore.”
    Gillian smiled an ironic one-dimple smile and then went on. “I gather that some of the people who complained then that Graham had ruined their reputations are rather proud of it nowadays—now that ruined reputations are so much more popular.”
    But after a moment even the ironic smile faded, and Gillian sighed. “However—Christopher did have a hard time for a while, and sometimes I think that to send a small, sensitive boy to school in a town that has a grudge against his family is a rather foolish thing to do. Christopher didn’t complain very much, but I know that he wasn’t happy for a long time.”
    “Umm,” Libby nodded. She’d heard about it before, how much Christopher had hated going to public school, which was probably one of the reasons he’d agreed to having her taught at home for so long. Not that he’d expected her to have the same kinds of problems. “I was always such a shy, tentative child—not at all like you,” he’d told her before she started school. “I’m sure you’ll have no problems at all.” And Libby had pretty much agreed with him—until her first day at Morrison Middle School.
    They went back to their books then and read quietly for several minutes before Gillian asked, “What made you think about it, the front yard, I mean? Was it just what someone said about bringing visitors by to look at the house, or had you been worrying about it before?”
    “No. Not before. It was just what Tierney, this friend of mine, said, I guess, that made me think of it. I don’t think I thought much about it before that.”
    Gillian nodded and opened her book. But before she’d had time to get really into the story, Libby interrupted again.
    “What do you think people say about Mercedes? I mean, don’t you think people say it was wrong of her to go back to New York and leave Christopher and me here?”
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Gillian said. “What do your friends say about it? About having a mother who lives someplace else most of the time?”
    “Nothing,” Libby said. “That is, most of them don’t know. I don’t talk about it much. But if some of them came here, they’d probably ask where my mother was, don’t you think? And why she went off and left me?”
    Gillian nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I imagine they’re quite accustomed to the idea of parents who live apart, in the case of divorce.”
    “I know. But this is different, isn’t it? Christopher says he and Mercedes never considered divorce. He says they’ve always been very good friends.”
    “That’s quite true,” Gillian said. “And it’s also true that they’ve been even better friends since Mercedes has been spending most of her time on the East Coast. But I understand what you’re saying. It is more unusual for a mother to leave her family in order to carry out her chosen career. But I think you know how I feel about it. Acting is a ‘calling,’ just as writing or dancing is a ‘calling,’ and I don’t think anyone can be blamed for following a ‘call.’ ”
    Libby hung her head, studying her fingernails. She knew that was what Gillian would say—that she wouldn’t blame Mercedes. She herself had never blamed her, until recently. When she was younger, she had always felt it was a decidedadvantage to have a mother who lived in an exotic place like New York City and acted on the stage, and came home suddenly at unexpected times bringing gifts and all kinds of exciting stories, and making up for being gone so long by being particularly full of good ideas about exciting things to do. But she blamed her now—for Morrison Middle School—but that, of course, was not something she could say to