Flyaway by Helen Landalf

Author:Helen Landalf
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

A week goes by and I don't hear from Mom. I check the mailbox every day, but it's always stuffed with bills and catalogs for Aunt Mindy. I tell myself Mom's busy or maybe they don't let her write letters.

Then on Saturday morning I'm cracking open one eyelid, checking to see if it's noon yet, when there's a knock on the guest room door.

"Stevie," says Aunt Mindy, "mail for you."

I jump out of bed and throw open the door. Aunt Mindy's wearing black spandex shorts and a sports bra, and she's got a flowered gardening glove on her left hand. In her right hand she's holding an envelope. Even from across the room, I can tell the handwriting on it is Mom's.

It's weird: I've been waiting forever for this letter, but the thought of actually opening it makes me so nervous I could puke.

She looks at me and frowns. "You want me to read it to you?"

I nod.

"I planted your mom's hydrangea in the front yard, next to my azalea," she says as she gets rid of the glove and then perches on the edge of the bed. "They can keep each other company."

I plop down next to her; she smells like plants and dirt. She slits the envelope open and slides out a folded sheet of paper. It's the kind with blue lines, like you tear out of a notebook. I want to tell her to hurry, but it's hard to talk when you're not breathing.

"Hey, Honey Pie," she reads.

I can imagine Mom giving me a squeeze as she says this. I can even imagine her smell and the feel of her arms around me.

Aunt Mindy looks up. "You want me to keep going ?"

I can't talk through the tears I'm choking back, so I just nod.

"Got your letter. Sorry it took me so long to write back. They keep me busy around here. I'm not mad at you. I'm the one that screwed up.

"My counselor here helps me understand stuff about my life. Like that I've been a crappy mom. Being a good little prisoner (ha ha), so they'll let me out of here early.

"P.S. Soon as I get back, let's do a Smackdown party—popcorn with extra butter. I promise you things will be different."

Aunt Mindy folds the paper real slow and sticks it back in the envelope. "I'm glad she answered your letter. Be careful, though. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighs. "How can I put this? I'd take it with a grain of salt if I were you—all that business about things being different. I'm sure she means well, but people don't change overnight."

I look at her like she's gone crazy. "You saying my mom's a liar?"

"June always has lots of big ideas, but she can be skimpy on the follow-through."

Great. Right when I'm starting to think Aunt Mindy might not be that bad, she goes and pulls this your-mom's-a-loser crap again.

I stand. "Like you're so perfect."

"All I'm saying is, your mom hasn't got much of a track record.

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