down to help watch Aiden."
"What's the matter? You look like you've been crying."
"You can tell?"
"Salt puckers your cheeks. You need some moisturizer." She started digging through her purse. "If it's that Irish idiot making you cry, I swear I'm gonna call
my
cousins. He thinks he's got family? I'll show him Family."
"Finn didn't make me cry." Teagan unlocked the door.
"He's trouble." Abby pulled some lotion out of her bag. "I've got instincts about boys, and they're telling me something is wrong with this guy. Something is...
wrong.
"
Teagan washed her face with cold water before she told Abby about Tiny Tiddly. The tears started to well up again, but she pressed the washcloth to her eyelids.
"Dr. Max thinks you left one of those babies out on the floor and then stepped on it? What, is he an idiot or something?"
"No," Teagan said. "He's my boss. It's like everything I've worked for this whole year ... all the trust ... just went away." She threw the washcloth in the sink and put some of Abby's lotion on her face. "Come on, I'm late already."
Â
The five acres tucked behind the old brick library building were half library grounds, half city park. Houses had grown up against three sides of the wrought-iron fence, hiding the park from the street. Teagan checked behind the gate as they went in. It was rusted open, making a little triangle-shaped corral full of weeds and completely covered with trumpet vines. Aiden liked to squeeze through the narrow opening and pretend it was his wild house. He wasn't in residence right now, though.
The library lawn was in chaos. Kids dressed as characters from their favorite books ran around under banners that read, LET Your IMAGINATION RUN WILDâAT THE LIBRARY! and SPRING FEVER MADNESS: EXPAND Your MIND. There was a crowd of tiny princesses and strange creatures from her mother's books waiting to have their copies signed.
Her dad was lining up the older middle-graders on the far side of the lawn for the costume contest. A few wore the predictable Harry Potter themes. A bespectacled girl with a notebook was sitting on a tree branch; Harriet the Spy, Teagan decided. A boy who had a pair of sneakers hung over his shoulders by their laces could have been Maniac Magee or Stanley Yelnats. Stanley, she decided when she saw the shovel he was carrying. A diminutive Jack Sparrow swung a fake sword. He wouldn't get any points from her dad, even if the movie had been turned into a book. John Wylltson was a purist.
Closer to the trees, teen vampires mingled with High Elves and angels. A lone werewolf wandered the grounds, seemingly torn between the cake table and a group of girls gathered around the old willow.
"There he is." Abby pointed.
Aiden, in a wolf suit like Max from Where the
Wild Things Are
, was riding on Lennie's shoulders.
Lennie's face was painted like the biggest, toothiest Wild Thing, and he had pinned a feather boa to his pants for a tail. Aiden was bouncing on his shoulders, swinging a stick at a banner.
"What's he doing this time?" Abby asked.
"Making mischief of one kind and another," Teagan said.
"Is he carrying a purse?" Abby asked.
"A kit," Teagan said. "It has socks and Scotch tape in it."
"Scotch tape?"
"We didn't have any duct tape," Teagan explained.
"What?"
"Never mind. Aiden! Stop that!" Teagan said as they walked up. "Hi, Lennie. You have to put Aiden down now."
"Okay." Lennie pulled Aiden off his shoulders and set him down gently. "Hi, Ab-by. Are we in trouble, Tee-gan?" He looked like he might cry.
"No," Teagan said. "But you almost were. You shouldn't help Aiden tear things down."
"No." Lennie stared at his feet. "That would be bad."
"That's right," Teagan said. "Is your mom here?"
"I came by myself," Lennie said proudly. "I'm going to get cake. Mom said to come home after cake. And not to eat too much. She's making lasagna."
"Lasagna!" Aiden shouted. It was his favorite food. He'd probably try to sneak over to Lennie's for supper.
"If
"What's the matter? You look like you've been crying."
"You can tell?"
"Salt puckers your cheeks. You need some moisturizer." She started digging through her purse. "If it's that Irish idiot making you cry, I swear I'm gonna call
my
cousins. He thinks he's got family? I'll show him Family."
"Finn didn't make me cry." Teagan unlocked the door.
"He's trouble." Abby pulled some lotion out of her bag. "I've got instincts about boys, and they're telling me something is wrong with this guy. Something is...
wrong.
"
Teagan washed her face with cold water before she told Abby about Tiny Tiddly. The tears started to well up again, but she pressed the washcloth to her eyelids.
"Dr. Max thinks you left one of those babies out on the floor and then stepped on it? What, is he an idiot or something?"
"No," Teagan said. "He's my boss. It's like everything I've worked for this whole year ... all the trust ... just went away." She threw the washcloth in the sink and put some of Abby's lotion on her face. "Come on, I'm late already."
Â
The five acres tucked behind the old brick library building were half library grounds, half city park. Houses had grown up against three sides of the wrought-iron fence, hiding the park from the street. Teagan checked behind the gate as they went in. It was rusted open, making a little triangle-shaped corral full of weeds and completely covered with trumpet vines. Aiden liked to squeeze through the narrow opening and pretend it was his wild house. He wasn't in residence right now, though.
The library lawn was in chaos. Kids dressed as characters from their favorite books ran around under banners that read, LET Your IMAGINATION RUN WILDâAT THE LIBRARY! and SPRING FEVER MADNESS: EXPAND Your MIND. There was a crowd of tiny princesses and strange creatures from her mother's books waiting to have their copies signed.
Her dad was lining up the older middle-graders on the far side of the lawn for the costume contest. A few wore the predictable Harry Potter themes. A bespectacled girl with a notebook was sitting on a tree branch; Harriet the Spy, Teagan decided. A boy who had a pair of sneakers hung over his shoulders by their laces could have been Maniac Magee or Stanley Yelnats. Stanley, she decided when she saw the shovel he was carrying. A diminutive Jack Sparrow swung a fake sword. He wouldn't get any points from her dad, even if the movie had been turned into a book. John Wylltson was a purist.
Closer to the trees, teen vampires mingled with High Elves and angels. A lone werewolf wandered the grounds, seemingly torn between the cake table and a group of girls gathered around the old willow.
"There he is." Abby pointed.
Aiden, in a wolf suit like Max from Where the
Wild Things Are
, was riding on Lennie's shoulders.
Lennie's face was painted like the biggest, toothiest Wild Thing, and he had pinned a feather boa to his pants for a tail. Aiden was bouncing on his shoulders, swinging a stick at a banner.
"What's he doing this time?" Abby asked.
"Making mischief of one kind and another," Teagan said.
"Is he carrying a purse?" Abby asked.
"A kit," Teagan said. "It has socks and Scotch tape in it."
"Scotch tape?"
"We didn't have any duct tape," Teagan explained.
"What?"
"Never mind. Aiden! Stop that!" Teagan said as they walked up. "Hi, Lennie. You have to put Aiden down now."
"Okay." Lennie pulled Aiden off his shoulders and set him down gently. "Hi, Ab-by. Are we in trouble, Tee-gan?" He looked like he might cry.
"No," Teagan said. "But you almost were. You shouldn't help Aiden tear things down."
"No." Lennie stared at his feet. "That would be bad."
"That's right," Teagan said. "Is your mom here?"
"I came by myself," Lennie said proudly. "I'm going to get cake. Mom said to come home after cake. And not to eat too much. She's making lasagna."
"Lasagna!" Aiden shouted. It was his favorite food. He'd probably try to sneak over to Lennie's for supper.
"If
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