Lily and the Lost Boy (16 page)

Authors: Paula Fox

BOOK: Lily and the Lost Boy

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“Will you miss it?” she asked.

Paul didn't answer. She turned to him and saw he was staring fixedly at something. She looked in the same direction. On the car ferry pier, a few hundred yards away, stood Mr. Hemmings, his hand resting on the handgrip of his motorcycle, two small suitcases by his side. Behind him stood Jack. No one had come to see them off. They looked solitary, hardly even together. Perhaps a fly lighted on his ear; something made Jack turn his head slightly. She saw his face as he recognized Paul. He didn't smile. He was as unmoving as a statue. Yet some emotion so troubled his face, he looked as if he were about to shout or cry. Abruptly, he turned his back.

She felt a rush of anger. Paul had shut her out for so long! Now Jack had done it to him. Good! She turned to her brother, meaning to say somethingâto tell him what an awful person he had chosen to be his friend. He was still staring at Jack Hemmings. His mouth was tightly closed. On his cheek there trembled a large tear. It caught the light as it hung there; it seemed to hold the colors of the clothes worn by the people waving to them on the wharf, the bright storefronts, the flowers in their pots and boxes; and in that second before it slid down his cheek and disappeared, she glimpsed, too, a world of feeling and of loss.

“Paul,” she said softly, “let's go in now and get seats by the window.”

He snuffled and swallowed loudly.

“All right,” he said. “That's a good idea, Lily.”

About the Author

Paula Fox is a notable figure in contemporary American literature. She has earned wide acclaim for her children's books, as well as for her novels and memoirs for adults. Born in New York City on April 22, 1923, her early years were turbulent. She moved from upstate New York to Cuba to California, and from one school to another. An avid reader at a young age, her love of literature sustained her through the difficulties of an unsettled childhood. At first, Fox taught high school, writing only when occasion permitted. Soon, however, she was able to devote herself to writing full-time, but kept a foot in the classroom by teaching creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and the State University of New York.

In her novels for young readers, Fox fearlessly tackles difficult topics such as death, race, and illness. She has received many distinguished literary awards including a Newbery Medal for
The Slave Dancer
(1974), a National Book Award for
A Place Apart
(1983), and a Newbery Honor for
One-Eyed Cat
(1984). Worldwide recognition for Fox's contribution to literature for children came with the presentation of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1978.

Fox's novels for adults have also been highly praised. Her 2002 memoir,
Borrowed Finery
, received the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir, and in 2013 the
Paris Review
presented her with the Hadada Award, honoring her contribution to literature and the writing community. In 2011, Fox was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.

Fox lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, the writer Martin Greenberg.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

ISBN: 978-1-5040-3748-8

This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

180 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

www.openroadmedia.com