February was strange and quiet. We went on Saturdays to visit Olivia for a half hour. Maggie never went, and neither did Jacob.

One Sunday Maggie made oatmeal before we all woke up. Then, when we sat down at the table, she said, "I want to go to Rock Creek High School."

Luka coughed while drinking his juice. "Well, I don't know…"

Maggie had been attending the Sylvester P. Gobwhistle School for Handicapped Children. Rock Creek schools were Olivia and Daniel's domain. But Olivia was gone, and so was Daniel. "Why not?" she asked.

"Well, honey, it's just…" I didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"It's just `cause you think I can't do it."

"No," Luka and I hastened to say.

"But you don't like big places, and Rock Creek High is huge!" Jacob said with wonder, as though imagining the school.

"I don't belong at the Gobwhistle School anyway, and you know it."

She didn't. She would have to learn to fly now, as a regular teenager at a regular high school.

Maggie came running home from school the very next Monday. "I love it!" she exploded before I could ask. "I love it!" She grabbed my hands and swung me around the living room. "I love it, I love it, I love it!"

Luka came out, smiling. "You really like it, don't you?"

"I knew just about everything in my English class," she said with glee. "And the library is huge and so is the cafeteria!"

"How are the people?" I asked.

Her face fell a few notches, then she said, "They're okay."

"How are they really?"

"Some are mean, but I made a new friend. Her name is Lizzie and can she come over tomorrow?"

"Okay," I said, laughing. It was the first time I had laughed that winter.

"And can we buy the house on McKinley Street again?"

This was unexpected. "What?"
"No one's bought it yet, and we loved that house."

She had a point, but… "Yes, we did. But we belong here." The words sounded flat even to me.

"No, we don't," she said, looking around the crowded, small house.

Luka and I smiled. "Okay."

Jacob came bursting in. "Did I miss anything?"

Somehow, Eliza Weaver came more into our life. She helped us pack for the move, and she tutored Maggie for an hour each day.

Eliza was Kerry's niece. Her father, Tom, had killed himself and his wife, Heather. Eliza had an older brother and sister, David (Davy) and Clarissa (Clarey), who were living in Florida with their great-aunt Juanita. Eliza was the spitting image of Kerry, though Kerry said she looked more like her father. She had Kerry's temper, too.

One day in March, we were finally finished packing. Eliza helped us load the last few boxes into the car. We walked through the house one last time. All the rooms were empty. Maggie went ahead of us into Daniel's room, went into the closet, pulled up a loose board, and took out a box. "Let's go," she said, and left the room.

That night, as we were sleeping amongst the boxes in the McKinley Street house, I found the box and emptied its contents into my lap. There were various action figures, some assorted comic books, a worn Bible. Daniel's Bankie – his security blanket – was in there, too. There were various pictures of Daniel. One was framed. It was a picture of Daniel and Maggie after Maggie's eighth grade graduation from the Gobwhistle School. Daniel was sitting in his wheelchair – he used it whenever he got too weak – and was wearing a suit with a red carnation stuck in his hanky pocket. Maggie had a blue dress on, and she had her arms wrapped around Daniel's neck. Both were grinning.

I emptied the rest of the box and found some wrapped candies, a birthday candle, and a white envelope with "Maggie" written on it in Daniel's bright printing. I didn't open the envelope. I didn't have to.

Maggie was a happier person from then on. She lived to go to school, and counted the hours until she could go back on the weekends. Lizzie remained her constant friend, but her circle of friends grew to include Hannah, Madeline, Ashley, and Grace. And Eliza, too, who always seemed to be the head conspirator in everything they did.

Jacob continued to go to St. Ludvig's, and he continued to love the piano. He got his first gig, playing at the geriatric ward of County. He was a charmer, and all the nurses loved him.

Luka worked. He threw himself into his work, but he knew when to let go, too. It refreshed him. He would be spontaneous and happy and lovable.

And I was me. I was still concerned about Maggie, missing Daniel….