My Summer of Pink & Green by Lisa Greenwald

Author:Lisa Greenwald [Greenwald, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781419704130
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

I’m at the kitchen table thinking about how much Bevin has improved already. Her socks always match, her hair is neat, she wears the clear lip gloss I gave her, and she hasn’t blurted out anything inappropriate since the Yamir incident.

I hate to be conceited, but it could be my influence. She’s getting positive attention from me and it’s going a long way.

We were hanging out at the mall food court the other day and we ran into some kids from Hebrew school. She was totally normal around them—for the most part. I mean, she did ask Elon Rosenberg ten times what his name was because she kept forgetting, but he seemed pretty understanding about it. I think she has a crush on him, but she hasn’t mentioned it yet.

She only tripped once, and in all fairness, it was because this guy left his tray on the floor next to the garbage can instead of putting it on the dirty-dishes cart.

She’s really improving.

I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself and all of my hard work with Bevin as I sip Mom’s fresh-squeezed OJ. And then my mom puts down the New York Times and stares at me.

“Lucy, I have to talk to you,” she says. “It’s about Dad.”

My throat immediately tightens up. My feelings about my dad are always wobbly like a seesaw. I used to secretly wish every night before bed that he’d come back. Then, over time, I sort of just stopped wishing for that. We had a great time when we were together, and life was pretty OK when we were apart too. But sometimes I can miss him really bad, with no warning. And then I get mad at myself for missing him and wishing he’d come back. He left us, and we’re fine without him, really. Plus, I don’t want to wish for something that may never happen.

We never really talked about it, though. Until now.

“Is he sick? What’s going on?”

My mom seems relatively calm. So why does she make everything sound so dramatic?

“He’s fine, he’s fine.” She laughs, but it sounds a little forced. “I know you and Claudia have been wondering when he’s coming this summer, and it’s been up in the air.”

I gulp the rest of the juice. “We know that.”

“Right.” She goes into the pantry and takes out a brown bag that’s greasy on the sides. “Chocolate croissants.” She puts the bag on the table and gives me one and takes one for herself. Since this is pretty much our second breakfast, she must be breaking some kind of bad news. “His contract with Oxford is still being worked out, and he doesn’t have the time this year for his regular two-week stay.”

See? Breaking bad news.

But at least I get a chocolate croissant.

“So when is he coming?” I ask after a bite.

“Well,” she starts, and then picks a few pieces off hers. “Remember our friend Esme? She’s the one who went backpacking across Africa and brought you back that handmade doll?”

“Yeah. I know.

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