Waiting for Normal (21 page)

Authors: Leslie Connor

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BOOK: Waiting for Normal

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“That’s Mommers,” I said, wiping my face with my hands. “All or nothing.” I fell back on the grass and watched the sky spin.

chapter 49

all to home

W
ith just two weeks left until the start of summer vacation, we all decided together that it would make the most sense for me to finish out the year at Borden School. It was hard to wait, but it was also the first time I’d ever had the chance to get used to the idea of moving somewhere new.

I sat beside Dwight on the front seat of the pickup the day he drove me home to Lake George. I held Piccolo’s cage on my lap and settled my palm into the spot where Soula’s weight had bent the wires the morning of the fire. Dwight reached over and covered my hand with his. He gave me a grin and I matched it.

I knew I’d see Mommers again. Maybe someday she’d be allowed to bring her new baby to see her old babies. She
did
love us. I knew that, and I
289289
decided to look for a time to tell Brynna and Katie so. I wiped away a spill of tears, closed my eyes and remembered some of the times that Mommers had made me laugh.

Once off the highway, the truck wound along the old mountain road. I braced myself and held Pic’s cage a little tighter as we took the last sharp turn that met the straightaway up to the inn. It made me laugh when I thought about it; I had come twisting and turning home.

Sunlight glowed across the new lawn and broke into a patchwork of shadows on the porch. Brynna and Katie came running out the open door, giggling and carrying a long banner that circled and blew back against their legs. I watched the roll of paper straighten out before me. In big painted letters with little handprints everywhere it read: ALL TO HOME ADDIE!

“All,” I whispered to myself.

Then I hustled up to the porch to be with my sisters.

acknowledgments

With all my heart, I thank my family and
my friends for keeping the net pulled taut
beneath me. (You all know who you are.)

My special thanks to:
Jennie, for your unmatched energy.
Katherine, for your belief and your wisdom.
Emily, for braiding every end.

About the Author

LESLIE CONNOR
grew up outside of Schenectady, New York, and frequently crossed Freeman´s Bridge on her way into the city.
WAITING FOR NORMAL
was inspired by a not at-all-glamorous lot on a corner. Leslie thinks of this story as a love letter back to the city of Schenectady. She is the author of the award-winning picture book
MISS BRIDIE CHOSE A SHOVEL
and
DEAD ON TOWN LINE,
a young adult novel in verse. She lives with her family in Connecticut.

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Waiting for Normal
Copyright © 2008 by Leslie Connor
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © February 2009 ISBN: 9780061881640

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Connor, Leslie.

Waiting for normal / Leslie Connor. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Summary: Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother’s erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York.

[1. Family problems—Fiction. 2. Mothers—Fiction.
3. Stepfathers—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction. 5. Self-reliance—Fiction. 6. Schenectady (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.C7644Wai 2008
2007006881
[Fic]—dc22
CIP

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