CHAPTER ONE
Seth
Ten Years Old
“I don’t want to go to Grandma’s,” I whined.
“Seth, listen to me.” Mommy crouched down in front of me, staring into my green eyes. She’d been crying all night, I could tell. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy. Even though I was ten, I still noticed. It happened when Mommy and Daddy fought, or when she was worried because she was scared of Daddy’s job. He was a Police Officer, and one day, I would be too. I didn’t understand why she worried. Daddy was the best. He caught bad guys. I wanted to catch them too, so I practiced often, pretending to chase them and then put them in jail. Sometimes Daddy would let me use his handcuffs, and I’d pretend my stuffed animals were the bad guys.
“You need to go stay with Grandma because I need to do things here. It will just be for the summer.”
“What kind of things?”
“Daddy and I need to work some stuff out.”
I didn’t know what that meant. What I did know was that my mom wanted to send me down to Florida for the summer. Usually, Grandma would come to our house for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’d never been to her home, but I’d seen pictures. She lived in what Mommy called a trailer. To me, it looked like a long, skinny house.
“But why do I need to go?” I frowned.
She sighed. “Because this is adult stuff.”
“I’ll stay in my room,” I pleaded. “I promise. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Seth, baby. I need you to go to Grandma’s, and it’s not because of anything you’ve done. Think of it like a vacation. I bet Grandma will even take you to Disney World. You can ride the rides and stuff. Eat all the cotton candy you want. Grandma will spoil you rotten.”
A small smiled spread across my face. “I’ve never been to Disney World.”
“I know. Grandma will take you. You’ll have fun, and before you know it, you’ll be back home and going to school.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t want to go to school either.”
Mommy chuckled. “School isn’t for another two months. You’ll be fine. Now pack everything you want to bring. We need to leave in an hour.”
We drove for a long time. So long that it was starting to turn dark when Mommy pulled into a parking lot.
“You know what’s fun about staying in a hotel?”
I looked over at her. “What?” I’d never stayed in a hotel before. My friends would tell me about the places they would go over the summer, but I never went anywhere because my dad was always on a case. But now, going to Grandma’s, I could tell my friends all about Florida and Disney World. That made me a little more excited.
“We can go swimming before bed.”
I smiled. “And play Marco Polo?” I played Marco Polo with my friends all the time during the summer. I was so good at catching people, especially when I would play cops and robbers. They didn’t know I got to practice with my dad’s handcuffs. When someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, a policeman was always the answer. My dad was one, and his dad was one too. I’d never met my grandpa, though. He died before I was born. Daddy said it was in the line of duty.
She smiled back. “Of course. That’s what you do in a pool, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
The next morning, Mommy woke me up early and we ate pancakes at a restaurant next door to the hotel. I liked hotels. Not only did we play Marco Polo, but they had a hot tub. It was so much fun, and the best part was that Mommy didn’t cry once. We got to talk to my dad on the phone, and he said that he wasn’t able to tell me goodbye because he’d caught a murderer. I understood. Catching bad guys was the most important thing.
I wasn’t sure how much farther we had to go to get to Grandma’s, but I was tired of riding in the car. I just wanted to go to Disney World already. “Can we get McDonald’s?” I’d seen those golden arches in many towns we’d passed.
“We can’t. We’re having lunch with Grandma.”
“We are?” I perked up.
“We are.”
“How much farther?”
“Not far.”
I sighed. That was too long. I wanted her to tell me now. “Can she meet us at McDonald’s?”
“No, baby. We’re meeting her at a rest stop, and then I’m turning around and going home.”
I’d never had more than a night away from my parents before. “What am I going to do at Grandma’s when we aren’t at Disney World?”
Mommy shrugged a little. “You’ll play with the other kids around like you do now.”
“But I won’t have any friends.”
“Make some.”
My forehead scrunched up. “There are kids that live in trailers?” I’d assumed only grandparents did.
She chuckled. “Of course.”
We pulled off the road into a rest stop, and I immediately saw my grandma sitting at a picnic table. The moment the car stopped, I reached for the handle.
“Stop!” Mom bit out. “Not so fast.”
“But I want to go see Grandma!”
“We are, but I don’t want you to get run over.”
“I won’t get run over.”
“Just grab your bag, and we’ll walk over together.”
I sighed as I grabbed my backpack from the back seat. We walked across the parking lot toward Grandma, and I watched as her grey-haired head lifted. The moment she saw us, she stood.
“Grandma!” I rushed into her arms. Grandma was the best. She taught me how to play this card game called Gin Rummy and every time she came to visit, we’d play for hours.
“Hey, Sethie. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
“How was the drive?” Grandma asked my mom as we sat at the wood table.
“It was good. I would have driven all the way yesterday, but we left late.”
Grandma pulled sandwiches out of a red cooler. “It’s not a problem. Sixteen hours in a car is too long. I didn’t mind meeting you a few hours from Miami.”
“Thank you. And thank you for taking this one for the summer.” Mom rubbed her hand in my brown hair, and I shrugged her off.
“I’d do anything for you and Troy.”
“I know. We appreciate it.”
“Do you think it will all work out?”
Mommy didn’t answer Grandma for a few seconds. “I don’t know. I love your son so much, but—”
“You don’t need to tell me details. I love you like my own daughter, Aubrey. If it doesn’t work out between the two of you, you’ll still have me. I know firsthand what it’s like to lose a man to the force. Every day I’d worry he wouldn’t come home, and then it happened. It’s ten times more dangerous now than it was back then.”
I turned my head, watching a man walk his dog in the grass. I wanted a dog.
“When can we go to Disney World?” I asked Grandma as we drove to her trailer. Mommy had left. She was crying again, but this time it was because she was leaving me. I wondered how she would be without me for the summer.
Grandma looked at me and raised her eyebrows. “You want to go to Disney World?”
I smiled. “Yeah, I’ve never been, and Mommy told me you’d take me.”
She chuckled. “I’ll have to find someone to go with us. I can’t ride those crazy things.”
“What things?”
“The roller coasters. I’d throw my back out.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Okay. Well, who can go with us?”
“My friend Dovie has a teenaged son. We can ask them if they want to go.”
“Okay.” I didn’t care who went with us as long as I got to go. “So when can we go?”
“I’ll check with them and let you know. Maybe next week. Better to go during the week instead of the weekend with all those people. And in this heat,” she shook her head slightly, “I don’t want to melt.”
“Grandma!” I laughed. “You won’t melt.”
“You don’t know about this Florida heat, Sethie. Us old people can’t stay out long, or we’ll get a heat stroke.”
I stared at her for a moment. “Um, okay. Well, then can we go when the place opens?”
“We’ll need to stay a few nights in a hotel. It’s almost a four-hour drive.”
I got excited. “Another hotel? I like hotels.”
Grandma laughed. “Good. We’ll have fun.”
I wished my dad was here and going with us. He’d love all the rides, I was sure of it. “Can I call my dad?”
“Of course, sweetie. When we get to my house, we can call him.”
“How much longer?”
“Not long.”
I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window. I didn’t want to whine, or we might not go to Disney World. I had to pretend that riding in a car for a long time didn’t bother me.
Grandma finally turned onto a street, and I saw a bunch of trailers. “If the little girl next door is outside playing, I’ll introduce you to her.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Little girl?”
“She’s a sweetheart. Her mother works nights, so I usually take care of her until her mother gets home.”
“How little?” I didn’t want to play with a little girl.
“She’s six.”
“Six? She’s a baby.”
We pulled up to Grandma’s trailer. It was bigger than I thought it would be but still skinny. She parked her car under a roof with no walls.
“You’ll like Joss. She’ll play with you.”
“Is she the only kid here?”
“No, but until you can meet the other kids, you can play with Joselyn.”
“Okay,” I agreed, though I wasn’t liking the idea of playing with a six-year-old girl.
We got out of the car, and I grabbed my backpack. When we rounded the corner to where her front door was, I saw the little girl on her step that was facing my grandma’s step. The girl was playing with a Barbie doll.
“Joss, honey. This is my grandson, Seth.”
“Hey.” I waved.
The girl smiled. “Hi! Want to play Barbies?”
I frowned. I didn’t want to play with dolls. “No. Do you want to play cops and robbers?”
She shrugged. “Sure. I’ve never played before.”
Grandma opened her door and walked inside, leaving me with my new friend.
“Well, we can’t play with just the two of us. You got a brother or sister?”
Joss shook her head. “No. Just me.”
“Well, what do you do around here for fun?”
A small frown curved her lips. “I play with my Barbie and Ken mostly. After my mom goes to work, I watch Judge Judy with your grandma.”
“What’s Judge Judy?” I asked, adjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder.
“Some show with a lady in a black robe. I don’t understand it, but I like to watch it with your grandma ’cause she fixes me ants on a log or cheese and crackers.”
I smiled. “Ants on a log’s my favorite snack.”
Joss finally smiled again. “Mine too. I only get it at your grandma’s.”
“When does your mom go to work?”
“I think soon.” She shrugged. “She works nights.”
“Think Grandma can make us ants on a log now?” My grandma always made me snacks when she visited us in D.C.
Joss frowned again. “I can’t come over until my mom goes to work. I better go inside in case she’s awake. I’ll see you later.” I watched as Joss stood and went inside the screened door to her trailer carrying her dolls.
I went inside Grandma’s trailer, and it was nothing like I’d expected. Her living room was small. At home, I could run around and hide from my dad when we played, but I couldn’t run in my grandma’s trailer. Her couch with orange roses took up most of the room. And I could touch the hall walls with my arms reached out. I couldn’t do that at home.
“Grandma?” I called.
“I’m in the bathroom. Put your stuff in your room.”
My room? I had a room? There were two doors open and one closed as I continued down the small hall. One of the doors was straight ahead, and I saw my grandma’s purse sitting on the bed, so I went to the other door that was only a few feet from where I stood. There was a small bed against the wall, a dresser that seemed to be attached to the wall, and a closet. No toys, no TV, and no room to play. I didn’t care about Disney World anymore.
I wanted to go home.