Last Summer in Louisbourg by Clare Mowat

interesting to say when she had been awake for only a couple of minutes. For a while she simply listened as her mother chatted.
    â€œHow do you like your new job?”
    â€œI like my job. I like my boss. I like my roommate. But the big news is that I got to play a part in a movie.”
    â€œA movie?”
    â€œYes, a film is being shot in the Fortress of Louisbourg because the story is set way back in history and the fortress looks absolutely right for that. Justine, my roommate, was in it too. We were supposed to be servants. It wasn’t a very big role.”
    â€œHow wonderful! When can I see it?”
    â€œNot for quite a while. They’re still working on it. And we’re back to our real jobs,” Andrea explained, a bit wistfully.
    â€œWhat’s the weather like down there?” her mother asked. She always asked that.
    Andrea hadn’t even looked outdoors yet. She went to the top of the stairs, where she could see the sky through a small window. It was beginning to rain. “It’s raining, Mom,” she replied dismally, not looking forward with any joy to the prospect of a damp day full of restless little kids and no likelihood of seeing Calvin.
    â€œToo bad. The sun’s shining here.”
    â€œAnyway, Mom, I’d better go. I have to get dressed and then eat and get to work. I promise I’ll write and tell you more about it, okay?”
    â€œOkay. Take care. Stay out of trouble.”
    â€œMu-um. Stop worrying about me.”
    â€œBrad sends his love.”
    â€œThanks for calling.”
    â€œBye.”
    Andrea and Justine were gulping a fast breakfast when Jackie Cormier dropped by to offer them a lift to work. By then a steady rain was pelting down. When they reached the fortress parking area, the girls climbed out of the car, but Jackie remained inside, along with her five-year-old son, Kenzie.
    â€œAren’t you coming with us?” asked Andrea.
    â€œI’ll be along later. I’m going to Sydney first to see my mother. She’s in a nursing home there.”
    â€œOh. Too bad.”
    â€œIt is. She’s got Alzheimer’s disease. She has good days and bad days. It’s hard for us sometimes, especially for Kenzie. He never knows whether his grandma will recognize him or not.”
    Andrea thought about how sad that must be. Her own mother was still young and healthy enough to worry about her.
    â€œAnyway,” Jackie continued, “I’ll be back soon. And I’m looking forward to a relatively quiet day without that film crew in my hair. They always seem to need something—permission for this or that, or else they want to borrow things, or rearrange the furniture. Today they’re spending the entire day filming in the chapel.”
    â€œIs that so? Thanks for the ride, Jackie,” Andrea called as she swung the car door shut. She ran to catch up with Justine, who was already on board the bus.
    The volunteer children soon began to arrive in plastic raincoats and wet sneakers. They donned their costumes and prepared for a day that promised indoor activities only. There would be many games of checkers. Some of the girls would work on their embroidery. There might even be a session of blowing bubbles through the stalks of angelica plants, a simple pastime that the colonial children had invented using the tough, celery-like stalks of a flowering plant that grew in their gardens.
    However, Andrea had a plan of her own. Once the children were dressed in their costumes, she sprang it on them.
    â€œKids! I’ve got an idea for this morning. Instead of just hanging around and doing handicrafts, I thought it would be fun if we walked up to the chapel for a while.”
    Justine stared at her in utter surprise. “In the rain? Are you crazy? Why on earth do you want to do that?”
    â€œBecause…the chapel is so beautiful. It’s peaceful and it’s…I can’t explain…I was just in the