The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods Page A

really.”
    â€œBecause you know your whole family,” I explained. “But if you had a grandmother you’d never met, wouldn’t you want to meet her?”
    She smiled and said, “Yeah, I would.”
    â€œSo now you get it?” I asked again.
    â€œI do,” Daisy said. “Plus, since your dad adopted me, I suppose she’s sort of my grandmother, too, right?”
    â€œWow, I never thought about that. Humph. You get three grandmothers and I only get two. Not fair.”
    Daisy giggled. “Not fair, but true.”
    Something about that made me shrink a little, and the sweet smell of the gardenia Daisy had brought into my room went poof. What I felt right then was something I had never felt before, but I knew exactly which word from my word book fit the feeling—bewildered.
    Daisy kissed my forehead, said, “Sweet dreams, li’l sis.
Je t’aime,
” and before I could reply, she had quietly shut my door and was gone.
    I turned off the light and my head sank into the pillow again. I cuddled Hazel and thought,
Roxanne Diamond belongs to Daisy, too?
For what felt like a very long time, I stared into the night.
    I don’t want to share her—yet.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    Seattle is only a car ride away from Moon Lake, so we go there a few times a year. It’s where my mom, dad, and Daisy lived before I was born. I love Seattle. The countryside was every shade of green and the sun was shining its light in my eyes.
    As usual, Mom was listening to her public radio station, so I listened to my iPod. It seemed like the car was rolling along to the beat of my music when I yawned. What is it about long car rides that makes sleep show up?
    Maybe I need some fresh air,
I thought, and rolled down the window.
    â€œNo open windows on the freeway, V. You know that. Close it now.”
    I’d forgotten the
no open windows on the freeway because stuff can fly in and stick in your eye or something
rule.
    â€œIf you’re hot, I’ll turn on the air.”
    â€œI’m not hot.” Seconds later, I yawned again and started to nod off.
    Certain things seem to be unstoppable—Yaz once she starts a spin, a fall on the ice at the rink when someone bumps into you hard, and a nap when you hardly slept a wink the night before.
    No matter what I did, sleep wouldn’t give up, and in seconds I went from half asleep to all the way.
    Sometime later, I squirmed, stretched, and woke up. In seconds, my eyes landed on the Space Needle. We were in downtown Seattle.

15
IN SEATTLE
    I love fancy hotels. I love room service and towels that are always fluffy and beds that get made for you and chocolate candies on your pillow at night and indoor swimming pools. I just do. In fact, I was thinking just the other day that being in charge of a fancy hotel might be a very cool job.
    We pulled up to the extremely fancy hotel where we stayed the last time we were in Seattle, and two guys in burgundy valet suits opened the doors of our car. The reception at the gallery wasn’t until six p.m., so we had time just to be.
    â€œCan we order room service?” I asked my mom before the bellhop had even closed the room door.
    â€œYes,” Mom answered.
    I bounced on the soft bed and yelled, “Yay!”
    Mom and I pigged out on soup and sandwiches and salad and dessert and were watching her favorite movie,
The Wizard of Oz,
on an old movie channel, when she nodded off.
    I turned off the TV and stared out the window at the city below. Cars sped by and all kinds of people strolled along. A runner dashing across the street nearly got hit by a car, and the driver honked twice. A dog yanked its owner down the sidewalk, and four people on bicycles held up traffic while a blind man, wearing sunglasses, moved his long white cane with a red tip from side to side. At that moment, I decided that I prefer city life. And when I grow up, I’m going to live in a very big city where