Ruby Reinvented (27 page)

“Thank you.” He says it so quietly I have to strain to hear him.

“There's something else.” Veronica hands Connor a large envelope.

“I can't accept—” Connor begins to protest.

“Please,” Veronica says. “It's important to us that you do.”

Connor nods and carefully tears open the top of the
envelope. He pulls out a parchment certificate with a gold seal at the bottom. I can't read what it says, but Connor's silver eyes get all watery.

“You named a star after my parents.” His voice is soft.

“We thought you needed something to look at through your telescope,” Eric says.

“We know how important they are to you.” Veronica dabs her eyes with a tissue. “And even though you're part of our family, you're also part of theirs. We never want you to forget that.”

Connor's staring at the certificate, his eyes filling up. He wipes them with the back of his hand.

I swallow the star-size lump in my own throat and glance over at Mom. She's welling up too.

“How about we check it out?” Eric stands, breaking the silence in the room.

Eric puts his hand on Connor's shoulder and leads him out to the deck. The telescope is set up next to the grill. The sky is clear and dark, and the stars are amazing enough without the telescope. I spot the Big Dipper immediately and want to tell Connor that I found it all by myself, but the words get stuck in my throat. He won't want to hear it anyway.

Everyone takes turns looking through the eyepiece—except for me. Connor's standing next to the telescope, and I don't want to ruin this for him. But when it's Mom's turn,
Connor is eager to help. He tells her where to look and even where to stand. I giggle. It's funny watching my mother be so clueless. It's something I haven't seen very often.

“Is it cool enough for some hot chocolate?” Veronica pulls her sweater tight.

“It's always cool enough for hot chocolate,” Summer says.

“I'll get some started,” Veronica says.

“Let me help,” Mom chimes in. I giggle again, wondering if my mom even knows how to make hot chocolate.

Holly, Eric, and Dad are still huddled around the telescope. Summer and I take a seat on the lounge chairs. We just stare at the stars for a little while. The sky is mesmerizing.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Summer smiles. “Connor's going to be my brother.”

“That's awesome,” I say. “Your parents are the best.”

She nods, and then looks at me, all serious. “Your parents are pretty great too, you know.”

I purse my lips. “They really are.”

“So.” Summer motions to Connor. “Are you guys ever gonna talk again?”

I shrug. “That's not really my decision.”

“Yeah, well, if your parents do get a house here, we'll be spending a lot of time together. And it wouldn't be good if my BFF and my brother didn't get along.” Summer wiggles her eyebrows, and her lips curl into a smile.

“Who's ready for hot chocolate?” Veronica asks, and Summer jumps out of her chair.

“That sounds pretty good right now.” Dad rubs his arms. “I guess I'm not used to this brisk weather yet.”

Eric slaps him on the back. “Come on in. Let's get you thawed out.”

They laugh all the way to the door, Summer on their heels. Before she closes the door behind her, she gives me a wink and then motions to Connor.

Connor and I are the only ones left outside.

We are alone.

 37 

C
ONNOR'S FIDDLING WITH the telescope, and I'm sitting on the edge of the lounge chair. I have to talk to him. It's now or never.

I scoot off the chair and slowly walk over to where he's standing.

“This is pretty awesome.” I point to the telescope.

“Yeah.” He's looking through the eyepiece, adjusting something.

“I mean, the whole night's been pretty awesome. You know, how you're going to be part of Summer's family and all.” I stick my toe in between the slats of wood on the deck.

“I know. I can't believe it.” He's still messing with the telescope.

“What are you doing?” I am a little curious, but mostly I'm just trying to make conversation.

He holds up the certificate in one hand, looks through the lens, and tweaks something on the telescope with the other hand. “Looking for this star.”

I don't say anything, just shove my hands in the pockets of my hoodie. I look up. There are tons and tons of stars. I don't know how he's going to find one out of the trajillion that are up there.

“There it is.” He's still looking through the lens.

“You found it?” I look up at the sky.

“I think so. It gives the coordinates.”

He looks for a while longer, then stands up.

“Wanna see?” He takes a step back.

“Really?” I shove my hands deeper into my pockets.

“Sure.” He shrugs. “I mean, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't even have an observation deck for this telescope, so—”

“No, it wasn't me. It was everyone. Summer, Holly, and the whole school.”

“Yeah, I know.” Connor looks at his feet. “But it was your project, so thanks.”

I take a deep breath. My heart is beating so fast. Maybe that's why my words spill out just as quickly. “I'm so sorry, for lying to you. I know I can never make it up to you, but I hope one day you'll forgive me.”

Connor looks at me for a split second, then he looks at the telescope. “So are you gonna take a look?”

I swallow the lump in my throat and step up to the eyepiece.

The stars look a lot like they look without the telescope, only they're much bigger and much, much twinklier. It looks like they're dancing.

Connor steps in beside me and bends down so he's at the same level as I am. My heart speeds up, and I take a deep breath to try to slow it down. “That's it. That's the Jack and Diane Sullivan star.”

“It's beautiful,” I say. And it is.

“Yeah,” Connor says. “It's a good one.”

I stare at it for a little while longer, until I hear Connor chuckle. I jerk my head up to see what's so funny. But he's just standing there, looking at the sky, laughing.

“What?” I ask.

“It's just that—” He shakes his head, but he's still smiling. “Now both our parents are stars.”

I give him a lopsided smile. I've really missed the sound of his laugh. “I'm happy for you. I mean, I know nobody can replace your parents, but now you have a whole other family.”

“I'm pretty happy for me too.” Connor smiles, and for the first time in a long time, I can see his dimples.

“Think we could be friends again?”

Connor shrugs. “I don't know. Maybe someday.”

My stomach sinks a little and I nod.

And then I see it.

A shooting star.

I squeeze my eyes shut and make a wish. And then I know. Connor and I will be friends again someday.

I peek through the window to where Mom and Dad are laughing and sipping hot chocolate with Eric and Veronica. Summer is chatting with Holly, Topaz curled up at her feet. And even though Connor hasn't quite forgiven me yet, I'm still here, with him, looking up at the most sparkly sky I've ever seen.

No secrets. No fake friends. Just me, Connor, and the stars. And families who love each other.

Best. Night. Ever.

 Acknowledgments 

F
IRST OF ALL, I'd like to thank you, awesome reader! I'm grateful you chose to share your time with Ruby and friends.

A huge thank-you to my wonderful editor, Alyson Heller, and the entire team at Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. Ruby and I couldn't have landed at a better home. And another giant thank-you to my magical agent, Sarah Davies. Thank you for believing in me. I'm forever grateful that you pulled me out of the slush pile, and I feel lucky to walk the publishing path with you by my side.

Thanks to cover artist Lucy Truman, who brought Ruby to life so brilliantly.

I can't give enough thanks to my critique group, the talented and insightful MGBetaReaders. This book is better than it would have been because of you. You're all spectacular. I'd especially like to thank the readers for
this manuscript: Jen Malone (such a wonderful friend and mentor to all newbie writers), Brooks Benjamin, Jeff Chen, Jean Giardina, and Karen Hallam, and query/early chapter readers Ella Schwartz, Melanie Conklin, Dana Edwards, Gail Nall, Rebecca Sutton, Chris Whitaker, Becky Appleby-Sparrow, and Ki-Wing Merlin. Big thanks also to my friends who read early versions: Stephen DeBock (my middle-school language arts teacher who is still teaching me after all these years!), Jane Coloccia, Rich Hoffman, Margaret Hoffman, Krissy Huetz, Susan Ilias, Rona Cherry, Madonna Kilcollum, Sean Dowd, and Michael Barron. Thanks also to my friend and writing teacher Jenny Milchman, who assured me I would get here someday soon.

I owe a debt of gratitude to SCBWI for helping all new writers learn their craft. And to the Camden Public Library in Camden, Maine, for being the most inspiring writing place ever.

And of course, big thanks and hugs to my young readers Ethan Hoffman, Maia Hoffman, Cole Huetz, Sierra Moench, Reese Barron, and Sophie Frank. Your enthusiasm encouraged me to keep going! I write for you.

The biggest thank-you of all goes to my family. To my parents, Lew, Joy, Ron, and Bonnie, for reading every single page and enthusiastically calling me with your thoughts. Thank you for teaching me that I could do anything I put my
mind to (I won the parents jackpot). And to my mother-in-law, Marianne Buehler, for sharing your thoughts on publishing and allowing me to share my pages with you (I also won the in-law jackpot). To my husband, Josh, thank you for your unwavering belief in me and my writing. I honestly never would have started if you didn't believe I could do it (see . . . I do listen to most of what you say)! And of course, thank you to my kids, Hallie and Morgan. Thank you for sharing your favorite books with me. Thank you for reading everything I write, and thank you for letting me stalk you and your friends for story ideas (you do know about that one, right?). But mostly, thank you for giving me the most important job of all . . . being your mom.