Chapter 15

Mom thinks we should move to New York? What about Stephen? What about her job? What about Grandma and Grandpa Monroe? What about my friends? We can't just pack up and leave everything, that's not fair!

"Why?" I ask.

"Well," Mom pulls me on to the bed beside her, "You want to be close to your dad, and that's fine. I want you to be able to see him as much as possible. If we live in Montana and your dad lives in New York, isn't that a little far?"

"Yeah…" I say, and I voice how I feel. I don't wanna leave Grandma and Grandpa Monroe; I don't wanna leave my friends! I wanna stay in Montana to go to school.

"Sweetie, there are plenty of schools in New York too," she says. "You'll make new friends, and you can still write to them whenever you want." She hugs me tighter. "And Grandma and Grandpa Monroe will come visit for Christmas and Easter, too." I don't know…

"Okay…" I say, drawing it out. "But Mom, what about your job?"

"I can get another one here," she tells me, "and I promise it won't be in a restaurant."

I giggle. I guess Mom is tired of working around food and stuff like that. I think she likes being challenged, not making food and being yelled at by a cook who can't tell a piece of eggplant from a leek. I spend a lot less time at the restaurant than the cook and even I know the difference between an eggplant and a leek!

"What about Stephen?"

"He's my friend, Maddie, he'll understand."

Danny flipped open his cell phone and dialed his mother. He waited for someone in the house to pick up, and when someone did, it was his mother, Edith.

"Hey Ma," he waited for her reply. "No, everything's fine. Ya, of course I'm coming for dinner, but can you set two extra places? I'm bringin' two very special people along." He listened to the response on the other end of the line. "Yeah, okay, Ma. Buh bye now." He hung up and exhaled sharply. This was going to be interesting….

Mom and me are in the car with Dad. He says we're going to meet his mom and dad, and I guess that means they're my Grandma and Grandpa too, but they're Grandma and Grandpa Messer. Dad says his mom likes to meet new people, but we just won't tell her that I'm related to them until the very end of dinner.

"Danny, really, is this a good idea?" I hear Mom say as we pull into what I think is his parent's house. It's white, with a white fence around it. I see that there's a blueberry bush in front of it, and I think there's a flower garden there too. It's pretty; we don't have one of those in front of our apartment in Montana.

"Of course it's a good idea, Linds." Dad answers her. "They'd love ta meet you."

"Danny, I don't want them to think I'm some sort of hussy that knocked up their son and made him responsible for a life he didn't even know he had for seven years."

"What's a hussy?" I ask from the back seat.

Mom laughs, unbuckling me from the back seat and helping me out of the car. "Never mind," she scolds.

We walk up the steps, and I'm holding Mom's hand very tightly. Dad knocks on the door, and a few seconds later a man answers it. I think it's his dad.

"Edith, Danny's here!" he turns around and yells to her.

I see an older woman come from the kitchen in an apron, kind of like the one Mom wears to work. "Danny!" she pulls him inside and kisses him on both cheeks.

"Hi Ma," I hear him say. She lets go of him and turns her eyes to my Mom. She stares at her for a few seconds before Mom sticks out her hand.

"Hi I'm Lindsay."

"Lindsay, hello!" she pulls Mom toward her and gives her a kiss on both cheeks. When she lets go of Mom she bends down and looks at me. "And who's this?"

"I'm Madison." I say, "Madison Diana Monroe."

"Well aren't you just the sweetest little thing!" she pinches my cheek. "Come in, come in, let me get you something to drink!" she hurries back to the kitchen. When she's gone I rub my cheek and mouth "Ouch" at Mom.

"I know, baby." Mom whispers back.

Dad comes to our rescue and has us sit on the couch with him. He turns off the baseball game that his dad was watching so we can talk. The couch is so big and fluffy that my feet don't even touch the ground.

"So Lindsay," I hear a voice. It's Dad's dad. "Tell me a little about yourself."