Free Bittersweet Summer by Anne Warren Smith

speakers. “You’ve been gone too long. Katie and I want you to come back to live with us. Will you?”
    Katie and I want you to come back to live with us! The words echoed around the big tent. The crowd grew silent. Everyone waited for Mom’s answer.
    She held her hand over her eyes, shading them from the lights. Finally she saw Dad and me and gave us a little wave. She gathered Tyler into her arms and whispered something in his ear.
    He nodded. “I love you, too,” he said.
    She set him on his feet and gave him a gentle push in our direction. Once Dad had lifted him off the stage, she reached for her guitar and moved to the main mike. “This is for every person . . .” she said. Then, she coughed and cleared her throat. “For every person, who for some reason, cannot go back.”
    The band swung into action and suddenly they were playing a familiar song. Mom stepped to the mike, and her voice came out sweet and quiet. “Where is the place where all my dreams start?” she sang. “Where is the home that lives in my heart?”
    Dad picked Tyler up, and a moment later, we were sitting again in our seats.

Chapter 22
The Answer
    T YLER CRAWLED INTO DAD’S lap. “I don’t think she’s coming,” he said.
    “It was okay to ask,” Dad said in a husky voice.
    I leaned against Dad’s arm. We were three people stuck together in this huge crowd of people who loved Mom. And Mom? Who did she love?
    I knew the answer to that. She loved Tyler and me and Dad. But she loved being a star more.
    Dad’s arm felt good against mine. I grabbed it and pulled it around me.
    Bittersweet. I knew exactly what that meant.

Chapter 23
Pizza with Mom
    M OM DID THE REST of her show—fast songs and slow songs, and songs that everyone sang along with her. At the end, people cheered and yelled until she did two more songs. Finally, she waved good-bye and left the stage. The lights came on. Everyone stood up, and I did, too, blinking and exhausted.
    Dad looked at his watch as we shuffled along with all the people. “Wow. It’s late. She wants us to have supper with her.” He picked up Tyler and took my hand. We moved through the lines of people toward a side door of the tent.
    “Tyler’s not going to eat anything,” I said. His head bounced on Dad’s shoulder; his eyes drooped.
    A man met us at the side door and led us through the fresh, cool air toward a huge black-and-gold RV. “Is this Mom’s?” I shivered. She really was a star.
    Dad knocked on the door. “This is how she lives now that she’s performing so much. It’s more comfortable than finding a motel every night.”
    This is Mom’s real home, I thought. Her house has wheels, but it’s her home just the same.
    Standing at the door was the bass player, looking like somebody’s grandpa. His shoulders drooped, and he looked tired. He waved us inside, where there was a whole living room and a kitchen. “She’s taking off the make-up,” he said in a soft, rough voice.
    “I’ll be right out,” Mom yelled from somewhere down the hall.
    “So here’s the newest member of the band,” the bass player said to Tyler. Tyler raised his head and blinked.
    Mom came in, wearing a soft green robe and slippers. “Feels so good to get that stuff off my face,” she said. “And those boots off my feet.”
    “See ya later, Roxie,” the bass player said. He went out the door.
    “Oh, he’s gone,” Mom said, “I was going to introduce all of you to him. Guess he figured out who you were.” She reached out to me, and I stepped into her hug. “Did you like the show, honey?”
    “You were great, Mom,” I said, breathing in clouds of perfume, feeling her arms warm around me.
    “Hey there, Tyler,” she said with a grin as Dad handed him over to her. “The big star of my show.”
    “Hi, Mommy,” Tyler said. He wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a wet kiss.
    “I’m sorry that happened, Roxie,” Dad said. “I hope it didn’t mess things up.”
    “It