Free The Forget-Me-Not Summer by Leila Howland Page B

to shut the door and block out hersisters. She needed her own space: her own closet, her own window, her own four walls. Marigold was very particular about the way things needed to be set up. Zinnie was so messy, it gave Marigold anxiety to think of her room back home, with the clothes on the floor and the homework all over her desk. Marigold had lowered her expectations and didn’t think she’d be lucky enough to have her own bathroom, but she took comfort from the thought that there had to be another room, another space, for her. No one would expect her to sleep on the floor, and these beds were way too small for sharing.
    â€œI hope you girls will be happy here,” Aunt Sunny said. Marigold noticed Aunt Sunny’s accent then. “Here” sounded like hee-ah. “I know it’s simple”—Aunt Sunny continued—“but simple things are often the best.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” Marigold said. “l’ll help them get settled just as soon as I put my things in the room where I’ll be staying.”
    Aunt Sunny smiled, walked across the floor, and unfastened a latch on the wall, and presto—another boat bed.
    â€œA secret bed!” Lily clapped. Zinnie smiled. Marigold swallowed.
    â€œIsn’t that neat?” Aunt Sunny asked. “You’ll all be here together. Three beds for three sisters. Now raise your hands, who wants a hamburger for dinner?”

    While Aunt Sunny made hamburgers on the grill, the girls called home. The phone was in the middle of Aunt Sunny’s living room, and the talking-into part was attached to the dialing part with an old-fashioned curly cord, the kind that was in the classrooms at school. Marigold didn’t even know it existed in people’s homes. With no cell phone reception and only one phone in the whole house, Marigold felt all hope of the privacy she treasured evaporate. Since she was the eldest, it was understood that she would be the one to make the call. She picked up the phone and dialed.
    â€œHello?” Mom said.
    â€œHi, Mom,” Marigold said, and out of absolutely nowhere a big lump formed in her throat. This was the first time Marigold was going to be away from her parents for more than a weekend. She had expected to miss Pilar and her bedroom and all her things, and she was prepared to take care of Zinnie and Lily if they missed their parents. She and Mom had talked about that. But she hadn’t expected to be the one to be sad. Maybe it was because she was the oldest, and everyone depended on her to be strong. Or maybe it was because she’d been so mad about missing the audition for Night Sprites that she hadn’t processed that they were going to be all the way across the country without their parents for three whole weeks. Or maybe she was just tired from a long, bumpy plane ride and fighting with Zinnie. But whatever the reason, Marigold hadn’tanticipated that the sound of Mom’s voice, so warm and familiar, would make her feel like crying.
    â€œHow are you, honey?” Mom asked. “How was the flight?”
    â€œOkay,” Marigold said. Zinnie and Lily were sitting on the couch, staring up at her with their big brown eyes. Marigold couldn’t let them know that she was on the verge of tears. As angry as she was at Zinnie for ruining her first kiss, she knew that if Zinnie saw her cry, she would cry, too, and then so would Lily. Marigold took a deep breath and said, “We just wanted to let you know we’re safe.”
    â€œOh, good. I love you so much,” Mom said.
    â€œMe too,” Marigold answered. “Here’s Zinnie.” She passed the phone off and turned away as fast as she could so that no one would see the two tiny tears that had escaped despite her best efforts to hold them back.

18. Pancakes and Dreams
    T he next morning Zinnie woke up to the smell of pancakes. Lily wasn’t there, though her small body had left an imprint