Friends till the End (15 page)

Unfortunately, Madison and Mom hit all the traffic lights and stalled vehicles imaginable on the way to the airport. They couldn’t catch a break at the toll lines either, where they waited for at least ten minutes to get through a cash lane. Mom had forgotten her E-ZPass.

“When your grandma gets here,” Mom warned Madison as they drove on, “I want you to be on your best behavior.”

“Aren’t I always?” Madison asked.

Mom shot her a look. “Yeah,” she said, smiling. “Usually.”

“So what are you worried about?”

“Oh, I guess I’m thinking about Gramma being here, and then all of your dad’s family being around the house, and I just don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable, and there’s so much to do…”

“This whole thing was
your
idea, Mom,” Madison said. “Are you thinking about canceling it?”

“Cancel? Are you kidding?” Mom cried.

“Yeah, I guess we can’t cancel. And since we can’t, you should try to relax,” Madison suggested.

“I know, I know,” Mom said. “Oh, honey bear, I just hope this wasn’t a bad idea.”

“Mo-o-o-o-o-om!” Madison crooned. “It was a good idea. I’ll help you get through the whole party, I swear. It’ll be like old times.”

“But things are so different now. Your dad has a whole new life. And your uncle Rick and your aunt Violet…I haven’t seen them in over a year now.”

Mom pulled off the main highway and followed the signs for United Airlines arrivals. Once the car was parked in short-term parking, Mom and Madison raced inside, up the escalator, and through a maze of concessions and shops toward the gates.

“Howdy-dooooo!” There was Gramma Helen, straw hat on her head, flowered scarf around her waist, standing with her rolling luggage in front of the security area. She waved as if she were flapping her wings.

“Gramma!” Madison howled when she saw her. She ran over and threw her arms out wide.

Gramma pretended to be winded by the hug. “Mercy!” she cried. “That’s some kind of greeting! You’ll squash me!”

“Hello, Mother,” Mom said, leaning in for a kiss. They exchanged pleasant hellos and other small talk. Mom apologized for the traffic.

“I figured I’d wait right here at the X-ray station,” Gramma said with a wink. “They won’t let anyone through these metal detectors now. It’s a shame you can’t meet family right at the gate anymore.”

“I have so much to tell you!” Madison said, jumping into the conversation.

“Well, I’m all ears—and I’m all yours,” Gramma chuckled.

Gramma took Madison’s hand in her own soft one, and they followed Mom back down the escalator to the parking lot.

O
N TUESDAY MORNING, PHIN
moped around the house.

Company wasn’t the problem. He seemed thrilled that Gramma Helen was there. Since her arrival, he’d gotten one of her hand-knit sweaters (although it was really too hot to wear), a huge number of liver snaps and rawhide chews, and more kisses and back-scratches than he could have dreamed of.

What Phin wasn’t too happy about was being left home alone while Madison, Mom, and Gramma Helen headed into New York City for a girl’s day out: no dogs allowed.

Mom had written a special note to get Madison out of classes for that day. Although it meant Madison would miss a revue rehearsal and a possible pop quiz, she didn’t mind. How could she? Days when she could bond with moms and grandmas didn’t come along very often. Besides, she felt she could use a break from school and the craziness of the week before.

Mom decided it would be better to take the train in rather than risk the annoyance of rush-hour city traffic. The three of them had a quick cereal-and-OJ breakfast before heading down to the train station.

Sometimes things got tenser when Gramma Helen visited. Gramma and Mom would argue incessantly about household chores or politics or even Madison. Past visits had led to some feuds that had taken a day or more to get over. Madison typically felt trapped, forced to take sides. It was like the way Madison felt about the Big D between Mom and Dad,
and
the way she felt when her BFFs split ranks. Madison often ended up in the middle of things.

But today was different. Mom and Gramma were on their very best behavior, and Madison wasn’t in the middle in a bad way at all. All morning long, Mom and Gramma both crowed about how proud they were to see Madison get through seventh grade with such good grades and good friends. And all that crowing gave Mom and Gramma a common bond. No arguing necessary.

The primary reason for the special day out in the big city was to purchase a new outfit for Moving Up Day. Mom had agreed to let Madison pick out a cool, new dress—
if
Mom came along on the shopping adventure. It seemed like a good plan to Madison. She got to spend quality time with Mom
and
get a groovy dress in the process. And having Gramma Helen along for the excursion made it that much better.

Boarding a morning train for New York during the workweek made Madison feel like some kind of executive, as if she were heading in for an important meeting or a business brunch. All around them she saw suit jackets and leather briefcases and people poking at their high-tech personal organizers. It was a world away from her FHJH homeroom.

The train ride to Grand Central terminal took only forty minutes. Madison loved the cool rush of the passengers moving out through the train doors, up the metal stairwells, and into the vast terminal. She, Mom, and Gramma quickly exited out onto Forty-second Street to grab a taxi. Mom wanted to show Gramma the new offices of Budge Films. They had just moved into a new space in Soho, in downtown Manhattan near Canal Street.

“We can check out the office and then head to Chinatown for lunch,” Mom suggested.

“Oooh! Dim sum! Yum,” Gramma cooed.

Madison laughed. “Fried rice and dumplings, please,” she added. “I’m hungry already.”

“I think there are some adorable boutiques near the new office,” Mom said. “Maybe we’ll find a sweet dress there. Otherwise, we can head back uptown to one of the department stores or maybe Madison Avenue.”

“Madison Avenue!” Gramma said. “Now, that’s the best name for a street!”

Madison grinned, because of course she’d shopped there before, with Lindsay and all of her friends. Lindsay’s aunt Mimi had taken them on a shopping spree for Lindsay’s thirteenth-birthday party. And Madison had always thought there was something too good to be true about shopping on an avenue named after her.

“It all sounds like fun, Mom,” Madison said as they climbed into a yellow taxi and rode over to Fifth Avenue.

They passed the New York Public Library, with its majestic lions perched out in front, and then moved downtown, past camera shops, restaurants, and loads of other taxicabs. Madison was stuck in the middle of the backseat between Gramma and Mom, on the hump, but she still had a good view out the window of the pedestrians. Some were tourists, with cameras dangling from their necks. Others held cell phones to their ears or adjusted their hands-free headsets. Everyone had somewhere to go and someone to talk to, even though most of the people were alone.

The taxi zoomed around a little green park at a part of the city called Union Square, where there was a vast dog park, people lying in the grass, and brightly colored paintings set out on display by various artists.

Just a few moments later, Mom said to the driver, “Stop over there,” and they exited the cab. Madison clutched Gramma’s hand as they walked across West Broadway toward Mercer Street. Mom turned into a brownstone building with a gargoyle staring down at them from over the enormous front door.

“What do you think?” Mom cried proudly. “Very cool place, right.”

“Oh, Frannie, dear,” Gramma said. “Everything you do impresses me.”

“Mother,” Mom said. “You’re too much.”

They entered a nondescript marble lobby that led to a large freight elevator. Several flights up, the elevator doors opened on to a sherbet-colored space filled with bright windows, plants, and geometric-patterned carpets. As they strolled inside, everyone said good morning to Mom, as though she were very important. Usually, Madison didn’t get to see that “executive” side of Mom; and she liked it—a lot. It made
her
feel just as important.

Rounding a corner, Mom showed Madison and Gramma into her new office. A brass plaque on the lemon-colored door read:
FRANCINE FINN, VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCTION
. From floor to ceiling, the room was stacked with papers and boxes of videocassettes and film. It looked a lot like Mom’s office at home—only bigger.

On the bulletin board behind Mom’s desk was a giant photograph of Madison and Phin taken at the beach the summer before. That caught Madison’s attention.

“Wait. You have me hanging on your wall in my bathing suit?” Madison cried. “How mortifying.”

“Oh, no,” Mom smiled. “Look at how beautiful you two look…”

“I look fat,” Madison complained.

“Maddie!” Mom said. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that. You look
beautiful.
You
are
beautiful.”

“I agree one hundred percent,” Gramma Helen said, squeezing Madison around the shoulders. “You shouldn’t be so self-conscious, dear. Stop reading all those magazines.”

“What magazines?” Madison asked.

“The ones with the skin-and-bones girls on the covers,” Gramma Helen said, wagging her finger in Madison’s face.

While they were standing there, Mom’s assistant, Trey, came into the office. He carried a clipboard and a stopwatch and barely stopped to say hello on his way in or, later, out.

“Isn’t this a lovely view?” Gramma Helen said, leaning toward the giant picture window behind Mom’s messy desk. “I didn’t think we were up very high, but you can see a lot from here.”

Madison stared at the water towers, terraces, and building facades visible from Mom’s office.

“Pure New York,” Mom said. “I just love this new space. I’m so glad you helped me make up my mind to stay at Budge, Maddie.”

“Hold on, Mom, I didn’t do anything,” Madison said.

“That’s not what she told me!” Gramma Helen chirped.

Madison shrugged. “Well, I just want to see you more, Mom…and so does Phinnie, so I guess it made sense…to stay here. Besides, there’s the trip to Japan to consider…”

“Indeed,” Mom added.

Everyone chuckled. A few moments later, they left mom’s office and headed back to the elevator.

When they reached street level again, Madison took in as many of the sights and sounds of the area as she could: the smell of tar and garbage; the echo of bumper-to-bumper traffic on the side streets; the large canvases hanging in the windows of galleries, the small grocery stores, sometimes called bodegas, tucked in between the banks and the shoe stores. They had walked only a few blocks east when Madison happened to glance up at a large sign on a warehouse-type building located just across the street. It said,
BROOME CONDOMINIUMS, INQUIRE INSIDE
.

Madison racked her brain for a moment, trying to recall where she’d heard that name before.

“Mom, what streets are we near?” Madison asked.

Mom pointed up to the green street signs on the corner. They were standing at the intersection of Lafayette and Broome streets.

Madison’s jaw dropped.

Now
she remembered why the name sounded familiar.

This was Will’s neighborhood. He’d talked about it at Camp Sunshine. He’d mentioned the street names and the art galleries and this condominium complex where he and his parents lived. He was a city boy, and
this
was his part of the city.

Holy cow.

Madison did a 180-degree turn where she was standing. Was Will somewhere nearby? Would she see him crossing the street here—or stepping into a delicatessen—or hailing a cab? Mom worked near Will’s house! It seemed too coincidental to be believed, but it was true.

“Are you okay, honey bear?” Mom asked, gently taking Madison by the shoulder.

“Mom?” Madison looked up with wide eyes. “This is where Will lives.”

“Who’s Will?” Gramma Helen asked.

“Long story,” Madison explained. “I told you about him once, when I was at that camp in Florida. Do you remember?”

Gramma laughed and shook her head. “Goodness’ sakes, no! I can’t keep track of all the boys in your life, dear.”

“All the boys?” Madison said. “There aren’t that many. What are you talking about?”

Gramma and Mom both chuckled at that, but Madison did not look amused. Part of her reaction came from the fact that Madison knew she had an acute case of boys on the brain lately.

As they walked on together, strolling in and out of a few dress shops that Mom knew about, Madison went into more detail about Will and camp and the e-mails and phone call. Gramma seemed keenly interested.

“Sounds like that boy likes you, dear,” Gramma insisted. “A long-distance crush, eh?”

Madison kept shrugging it off. “No, not really,” she said, even though deep inside she was thinking that very same thing.

They stopped in front of a clothing boutique called The Pink Elephant. Madison liked the name, but there weren’t any dresses inside that were appropriate for the moving-up ceremony. Besides, everything seemed to be priced at $300 and up. As they strolled around, Madison kept her eyes open for signs of Will. She half-expected him to pop up from a brownstone stoop or jump out of a second-floor apartment window and yell, “Surprise! I knew it was you!”

Of course, that was all a zany daydream. What if Will didn’t even live downtown anymore? It had been a while since camp…

At that moment, Madison spotted a blond head across the street, standing by a street vendor. Her heart stopped, or at least it felt as though it had.

Could it be…?

She couldn’t make out the face, but her gut told her that maybe this really was him—the
real
him—the one she’d been thinking about ever since he had sent that e-mail. It had to be Will!

Madison started to breathe really hard.

“Maddie!” Mom said. “You sound like you’re about to hyperventilate.”

“Huh?”

The blond head was bobbing up and down. He was laughing. He was talking to another boy with black hair. They were buying hot dogs.