Keeping Secrets (19 page)

This is Camden Falls, Massachusetts, on the evening of the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The day is gloomy, but most people don't care. The dark skies and frosty air feel wintry, and that seems appropriate since the holidays are close at hand. The tourists who explored town this afternoon found Main Street windows aglow in the fading light, decorated with a curious jumble of paper turkeys and cornucopias, droopy witches and graying ghosts. Main Street is a bit behind Bingham Mall when it comes to Christmas decorations; Mr. Freedly's work won't begin until next Saturday. The last vestiges of Halloween can still be seen, and in the window of Camden Falls Art Supply, an old back-to-school banner is still clinging to the glass by the tape on one corner. But the air is humming with the excitement the holidays bring, and everyone is feeling festive.

There's Sonny Sutphin calling good-bye to his coworkers at Time and Again and wheeling himself through the doorway and down the sidewalk. He has fastened a wreath to the back of his wheelchair and looks very jaunty as he crosses Main Street, whistling softly to himself. As he passes Needle and Thread, he waves to Min and Gigi, who are getting ready to close the store. They wave back to him, calling, “Good night, Sonny!” This year for the first time in ages, Sonny will be going to a real Thanksgiving dinner — he's been invited to join Mr. Freedly and his family — instead of dining by himself in his kitchen with a football game on the TV for company.

Walk a bit farther down Main Street, cross Dodds Lane, and pause before the Marquis Diner. A sign in the window reads
OPEN FOR THANKSGIVING
. Hilary and Spencer are disappointed by this — they long for the kind of Thanksgivings they used to have — but they understand that things have changed since their parents opened the diner. Besides, they've been promised a turkey dinner of their own at home after the diner has closed.

Go back to Dodds Lane, turn right, then right again onto Aiken. Here are the Row Houses, a friendly fortress in the deepening darkness. In the nearest one, the Morrises are starting to get ready for the enormous family dinner they'll be hosting, and the children have been put to work making decorations for the table. Lacey is in charge of place cards and she colors away busily until Travis peers over her shoulder and says, “Hey! You spelled your own name wrong!”

Next door, the Hamiltons are preparing to go away for the weekend. They've decided not to spend the holiday in their new home. (The Malones will be away, too, and so will the Fongs and the Edwardses.)

The fourth house from the left is buzzing with energy. Flora and Ruby, home from their adventure in the mall, are waiting for Min to return (at this very moment, Min is locking the door of Needle and Thread and calling good-bye to Gigi), and they are in a great state of excitement about the upcoming holiday.

“I can't, can't, can't, wait, wait, wait for the Thanksgiving concert!” cries Ruby as she bounces down the stairs. “It is going to be so excellent! I'm so happy that Lacey and I
both
have solos.”

“I'm going to wear my new outfit,” replies Flora with satisfaction.

“The one you made?”

“I made half of it — the vest. Min made the pants. Velvet pants. I don't know how she did it. Velvet is
so
hard to work with.”

Ruby regards King Comma and Daisy Dear, who are curled up at opposite ends of the couch in the living room. “Remember when they were scared of each other?” she asks.

“Now they're buddies,” says Flora.

“It's a Thanksgiving miracle,” says Ruby.

Next door, Olivia is in her room with her door partially closed. From downstairs she can hear pots clanking as her mother, who has come home early from Sincerely Yours, begins cooking dinner. Olivia opens her desk drawer and withdraws from it the card she has read over and over in the past two weeks. It's from Jacob, a birthday card, and the message is simple:
Happy Birthday, Olivia. Love from Jacob
. The word “love” is the one Olivia keeps studying and also is the reason she believes she will keep the card forever. She sighs and returns the card to the drawer, taking care to slide it under a stack of papers. She's eleven now, eleven at last. She's not sure what difference this makes, since her body is as skinny and straight as ever, but at least she
is
eleven.

Next door to Olivia, Mr. Pennington is seated contentedly in an armchair. He has decided to reread some of the classics, and his copy of
Bleak House
is open in his lap. He scratches Jacques's ears absentmindedly as he reads.

Leave downtown Camden Falls behind now. Several miles out on one of the county roads lies the home of Nikki Sherman and her family. It is a happy place on this evening. Mrs. Sherman has come home from Three Oaks early (she'll have to work half a day on Thanksgiving, but only half a day), and Tobias has called to talk about Thanksgiving plans. Mae is chattering to him on the phone. “Remember when we visited you and I ordered coffee?” she cries. Nikki feels contentment wash over her. Only four days until Tobias will come home and the long holiday weekend will start.

Travel several miles in a different direction from Camden Falls and you'll find Three Oaks resting placidly at the edge of a small woods, the trees now bare. Mr. Willet is feeding Sweetie in his kitchen before he goes downstairs to join Mary Lou for supper. “Thanksgiving soon,” Mr. Willet tells the cat. “And we'll have five guests for dinner.” Mr. Willet, whose apartment looks as settled as if he had moved in years ago instead of weeks ago, thinks happily of the holiday. The tables in the Three Oaks dining room, he has been told, will be covered with white linen cloths and decorated with vases of chrysanthemums, and Mr. Willet plans to add a chocolate turkey to each setting at his table. “All the fun of Thanksgiving and none of the cooking,” he tells Sweetie.

Back in Camden Falls there is a house with just one person living in it and just one light on. The person has been hard at work all day, but now is about to spend a relaxing evening. The computer has finally been shut down and the desk cleared when the phone rings. The person sighs. It's too late in the day for more work. But the call is not about work. It's from someone this person has spoken to only once before. And what the caller says will change this person's life forever.

Author photo © Dion Ogust

ANN M. MARTIN
lives in upstate New York near a town not unlike Camden Falls. She loves to sew and loves to take walks with her dog, Sadie. She also has three cats, Gussie, Woody, and Pippin.

Ann's acclaimed novels include
Belle Teal
,
A Corner of the Universe
(a Newbery Honor),
Here Today
,
A Dog's Life
, and
On Christmas Eve
, as well as her much-loved series The Baby-sitters Club.

To find out more about Ann, please visit
www.scholastic.com/mainstreet

Belle Teal

A Corner of the Universe

A Dog's Life

Here Today

On Christmas Eve

P.S. Longer Letter Later
written with Paula Danziger

Snail Mail No More
written with Paula Danziger

Ten Kids, No Pets

The Baby-sitters Club series

Main Street #1:
Welcome to Camden Falls

Main Street #2:
Needle and Thread

Main Street #3:
'Tis the Season

Main Street #4:
Best Friends

Main Street #5:
The Secret Book Club

Main Street #6:
September Surprises