Mom paused and looked at me for a moment. "I don't understand why that girl can't talk to her own mother."

"I can't speak for Maisie," I protested.

I didn't tell anyone about Sister Honororia's kindness. Not even my mother. I was pretty sure that she'd tell Maisie's mother, and who knows who she would talk to.

To tell the truth, I didn't get a *chance* to tell my mother. She wasn't there when I left detention, so I walked home by myself. A lot of the snow had melted and all the sidewalks were clear. I started thinking about what it would be like when we moved across town. It was nice, being able to walk home. After we moved, I'd have to get a ride every day. Maisie said we could walk in nice weather, which meant we had to get a ride when the weather wasn't so nice. This was something I'd have to figure out. I didn't want to depend on someone else to get home.

When I walked into our apartment, Mom was on the phone. It didn't take long for me to figure out that she was talking to Ida, Maisie's mother. Mom sounded all happy and excited — "giddy", like Maisie said. I was glad for her. I know she had friends back in California, but not like this — so close and giggly, like kids. I wondered whether Dad was making friends, too...

I changed into the short skirt that Eden had gaven me and a t-shirt. It was pretty warm in the apartment. Then I flopped down on the couch with the Cosmo from Cassie. I mostly looked at the pictures, even the ads, just absorbing the clothes, the shoes, the hair, the looks, the poses... as I did I realized something. I was never really interested in girls. I mean, dating girls, kissing girls... none of that stuff ever entered my head. I did admire the way some girls and women looked, and now that I had the chance to look that way too... well, that's what I wanted all along. I went back to the beginning of the magazine and started looking for a girl whose coloring was similar to mine.

Mom hung up and rushed over to me. "I've got big news!" she said. Her eyes drifted to my legs, and I saw the isn't that skirt a bit too short, young lady? thing coming up, but it never got out — it was trumped by whatever it was she wanted to tell me. "GREAT big news! I've ready told your father. We're closing tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" I repeated. "So we can move in..."

"Tomorrow!" she replied. "After the closing, the house is ours! The earliest I could get the movers to come is Friday morning. Your father is going to take off work–"

"I could take off school," I offered hopefully.

"Nice try," she grinned, "but no. You wouldn't be any help on moving day. The movers will do all the work. But don't make any plans for the weekend. If any of your friends want to come and help, they're welcome, but they have to be ready to work. Ida will be there... you can invite Maisie."

She paused and looked at me for a moment. "I don't understand why that girl can't talk to her own mother."

"I can't speak for Maisie," I protested.

"She must have told you something," Mom persisted.

"Will you tell me what Ida's said about it?" I hazarded, hoping for a no.

"No, of course not!" Mom snapped.

I smiled. She understood. We each had to keep our own friend's secrets.

"Okay, Miss Smarty-Pants. In any case... about the house: tomorrow after school, Ida will pick you up and bring you to the new house, and we — WE, got it? We will do as much cleaning as possible."

"Remember, I have detention," I said. For once, I was glad about it. "Friday, too."

"Hmmm." Mom considered this. She was probably thinking of calling Sister Honororia to see if some arrangement could be made. Then she let the idea go. "All right. But make sure you do all your homework while you're in there — Friday, too — and be ready to work afterward."

Then she floated off, singing some goofy song about "moving on up" as she got dinner ready. I kept flipping the pages of Cosmo, but I couldn't really concentrate.

Suddenly the singing stopped and Mom re-emerged from the kitchen, her hands dripping. "Marcie? Go pick out some work clothes for tomorrow. I'll bring them with me so you can change when you get there. Something that can get dirty. Don't forget whatever shoes, socks, underwear you need."

"Okay," I said without looking up. "Shoes, socks, underwear."

Mom didn't move. She stood in the doorway, waiting.

"I meant now," she said.

"OKAY!" I jumped up and picked out my sneakers, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a do-rag to tie up my hair. Plus the incidentals (socks, underwear). I put the sneakers in a plastic bag and threw everything into my gym bag. Then I left the bag by the front door. Mom went and checked it.

"Don't you trust me?" I asked.

"Of course I do," she answered. "But you might innocently forget something that would prevent you from working..."

"Oh, Mom," I groaned.

At dinner, Dad seemed a little nervous. "Aren't you happy?" Mom asked.

"Sure," he said. "It's just that there's a lot to do."

She waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I found out that our house has a name!" she announced. "It's called the Villa Sabatino."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it was built by a man whose last name was Sabatino in the 1920s, and he gave the house his name. His family lived in the house ever since — well, except for the current owner, who apparently never actually lived there. So, the house really only belonged to two families: the Sabatinos and now the Donners!"

"The twenties isn't all that long ago," Dad puzzled. "I wonder..."

For some reason the face of the girl I'd seen in the window came to my mind, along with Maisie's voice saying Maybe it was a ghost, Nancy Drew!

I shivered.

"What's wrong?" Mom asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said. "Just a shiver."

"A shiver of excitement," she commented, smiling.

© 2007 Kaleigh Way