The Brightest Stars of Summer (25 page)

“N
ow,” Zinnie whispered to Max as soon as he and the band finished playing “Wake Up Little Susie,” a number that had everyone on their feet. The moment was perfect because Aunt Sunny was dancing near the band and Tony was standing all the way at the other side of the tent talking to Paul. In order for the dramatic effect of her toast to be achieved, Zinnie needed there to be some distance between them. “I'm ready to give my toast.”

“And now the fabulous Zinnia Silver, Sunny's niece, would like to give a special toast,” Max said into the microphone before he passed it on to Zinnie.

“Hi, everyone,” Zinnie said, feeling nervous as the crowd of guests faced her. She had her notebook in her hand but decided on the spot that she didn't need it. She was pretty sure she knew by heart what she
wanted to say. “Um, so, you all know how great Sunny is. Some of you know her as a teacher. Some of you know her as a neighbor. Some of you know her as your new grandma,” she said, and looked at Max, who played a little riff on his electric guitar, to the crowd's delight. “But to my sisters and me, she's Great-Aunt Sunny, and she's the best. Whether she's teaching us how to make a cake, or letting us search for treasure in her attic, or telling us a story of how things were a long time ago, she does it with so much love.”

Zinnie heard many of the guests say, “A
www.”
Mom and Dad were holding hands. Mom's head was on Dad's shoulder, and Dad gave Zinnie an encouraging
keep going
nod.

“I could talk all night about the many things Aunt Sunny has taught us,” Zinnie went on, “but tonight I'm going to tell you about something that she and Tony taught us together, the Summer Triangle.

“‘The Summer Triangle' is the name of the star formation made up of the three brightest stars in the summer sky, which, as you may have guessed, form a triangle. Aunt Sunny told us about the science of the stars, Altair, Vega, and Deneb, and Tony told us that when he was in the Air Force, they used the star formation to navigate their planes.”

Max played a guitar riff that actually sounded like zooming airplanes. Zinnie smiled at him and he smiled back. They hadn't planned this part in advance, but
it was working. Zinnie felt something in her tummy. Butterflies. Definitely butterflies. She wasn't ready to do anything about those butterflies, but it was kind of great just knowing that she could get them. She still wasn't sure if she liked him as a boyfriend or a boy-who-is-a-friend, but she decided she was having so much fun it didn't matter. Maybe she would try to find more boys-as-friends when she went back to Los Angeles.

And Aunt Sunny and the guests loved Zinnie and Max's collaboration. They clapped and whooped.

Zinnie continued, “Tony also told us about a Chinese legend associated with the Summer Triangle. The legend goes that the two lovers, Altair and Vega, are separated, except for one night of the year. On that one night, all the magpies—”

“Those are birds,” Lily shouted from the dance floor. Everyone laughed.

“Thanks, Lily. The magpies come together to form a bridge over the silver river—”

“That's the Milky Way!” Lily said, to more laughter.

“Yes, the magpies, which are birds, form a bridge over the silver river, which is the Milky Way, so that the lovers can be together again for this one night,” Zinnie said. Max played a little background music on his guitar as Zinnie continued. “Tonight, I'd like us all to be like the magpies, and make a bridge for Sunny and Tony to come together, not just for one night, but
for the rest of their lives. If you look under your chair, you'll find a sparkler. If everyone will light their sparklers, we can make a bridge of stars.”

As Max continued to play music, the guests found their sparklers and began to light them. Marigold brought a sparkler to Tony, and Lily brought one to Sunny. Then they all created a fiery passageway for Aunt Sunny and Tony to walk through. Everyone's face glowed as Sunny and Tony approached each other from opposite sides of the dance floor. When they met in the middle, they kissed.

“Now for a dance!” Zinnie said. “If you know the words to this song, please sing along.”

That's when Zinnie gave Max the signal and he began to play “Stand by Me,” the song that Sunny and her sisters had listened to over and over again that one summer Aunt Sunny had described as the best summer of their lives. It seemed like everyone knew the song. Sunny beamed as she danced with Tony. They broke apart briefly so that Sunny could kiss and hug her nieces, and then they reunited. Max launched into the song one more time, and people coupled off as their sparklers fizzled out and the music continued.

The sisters stayed in their own little group. They huddled together and swayed for a few measures, but soon silliness took over. They twirled, spun, and dipped one another, until they collapsed in a giggling pile on the dance floor.

During one of the last slow songs, Zinnie brought her laptop to the edge of the yard, just in case Mrs. Lee had written back—and she had. Zinnie's heart leaped when she read the note. Mrs. Lee really liked the first submission, and the second submission, but the third submission was the best, she wrote. It was so good, in fact, that she offered Zinnie a place in the Writers' Workshop. She also said that one of the reasons the final piece was better was because it felt authentic for Zinnie. “I've been hoping that this year's writers would be a more diverse group in lots of ways, including style. Your talent for fantasy and science fiction will expand our horizons. I think your work might inspire the other girls I teach to take more risks with form and genre. Looking forward to seeing you in the fall!”

Later, after the party, after the guests had gone home and Sunny and Tony had left to spend the night at the lighthouse, and Mom and Dad had fallen asleep on the pullout sofa in the living room, the girls brought the old sleeping bags down from the attic and spent the night under the stars, just like Aunt Sunny and her sisters had. They stayed up laughing and talking and looking at the sky until one by one they crossed a bridge of stars to their dreams.

Many thanks to my brilliant editor, Alexandra Cooper, my stellar agent, Sara Crowe, the superb Alyssa Miele, and the whole team at HarperCollins. Lots of gratitude to my writing group, Vanessa Napolitano and Kayla Cagan, for their insight, support, and friendship. I could not have finished this book without the help of Cecy Lopez and Maria Moran, who took such good care of my infant son while I wrote. Many thanks as well to my parents, Elyse and my Mommy & Me classmates, Holly Shakoor, Penny Hill, the St. Timothy School community, and my family—my heart—Jonathan and Henry.

Photo by Sally Peterson

LEILA HOWLAND
was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. A graduate of Georgetown University, Leila spent five years acting in New York, where she was a company member of the award-winning Flea Theater in Tribeca.
The Brightest Stars of Summer
is the sequel to her middle grade debut,
The Forget-Me-Not Summer
. She has also written two YA novels:
Nantucket Blue
, for which she was named a
Publishers Weekly
“Flying Start,” and
Nantucket Red.
Leila now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, baby boy, and two dogs. Visit her online at
www.leilahowland.com
.

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The Forget-Me-Not Summer

The Brightest Stars of Summer

Cover art © 2016 by JI-HYUK KIM

Cover design by KATE J. ENGBRING

THE BRIGHTEST STARS OF SUMMER
. Text copyright © 2016 by Leila Howland. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Ji-Hyuk Kim. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015950816

ISBN 978-0-06-231872-5 (trade bdg.)

EPub Edition © April 2016 ISBN 9780062318749

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FIRST EDITION