Where We Belong (51 page)

“Okay…” my mom said.

We pulled into the parking lot behind one of the two local banks. We all piled out. Except Scout. Paul cracked all four windows for the dog and then locked up.

“Heads up,” he said.

“What?” my mom asked, looking around.

“No. Literally. Hold your heads up.”

So we lifted our chins. And we followed Paul inside.

He led us straight to the desk of a guy I figured must be a loan administrator. He was young. Maybe thirties. Younger than my mom. I was hoping that would help. He had a beard, and, even though he was wearing a nice suit, he didn’t look all that clean-cut. He wasn’t too intimidating.

Paul shook hands with him and introduced us. I listened to them talking, and my head was spinning, and I could have gotten anything wrong, but I got the impression that they had already talked earlier that morning.

“Have a seat,” the man said. Joseph Greely. I got that from Paul’s introduction and from the nameplate on his desk. “Let’s see what we can get done. I have to tell you both, you’re fortunate to have Mr. Inverness advocating for you. We’re here to make loans, and we love nothing more than to get people into houses. And we try to help as much as we can, in the interests of the first-time buyer. But, really, there’s nothing as helpful to your situation as having an older, well-established person with great credit who’s willing to co-sign for you. That’s going to make all the difference.”

Silence. Absolute and utter silence. I was waiting for Paul to tell Mr. Greely that he’d misunderstood. He never did.

“I’m sorry,” Mr. Greely said. “You look confused. Did you not know that?”

My mom opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“We do know that,” I said. “We definitely know how lucky we are to have Paul’s support.”

My mom walked to Paul’s car as if she was wandering in a dream. I purposely hung back, hoping Paul would stop and talk to me.

He did.

“Where’s Rachel?” I asked. “I can’t believe you left her home alone. On your very first day… as… I mean… together.”

“I told her I had some important business to attend to. You got a problem with that?”

“Guess not.”

I was just about to throw my arms around him when he said, “Do
not
get all mushy with me. Like that day at the lake.”

“
Me
? You were the one who started that. Kissing me on the forehead so hard you almost broke my neck.”

“That’s entirely beside the point. Keep your head in the game. We’ve got a lot more work to do. Next we go by the real estate office and put in a lowball offer.”

“Think they’ll take less?”

“We don’t know. We just know it’s the next step. Just follow my lead, kid. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

I led her down the driveway by the arm, looking over now and then to make sure she wasn’t peeking. Every time I looked, her eyes were closed.

That’s a lot of trust for my mom.

“Thank you for waiting,” I said. “I know it must be very weird to buy a house you’ve never seen. And you must’ve thought I was plenty weird for asking you to. But it was really important to me to get it cleaned up first.”

I stopped in front of the house and tugged her arm to cue her to stop.

“You can open your eyes now,” I said.

I watched her face, but I didn’t know what to make of anything I saw there.

“Oh, honey,” she said, putting an arm around my shoulder. “That is… so ugly.”

I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. It was the way she said it. Like she was looking at a smelly old dog who she really loved in spite of himself.

“You should’ve seen it before I cleaned it up.”

“I hate to think. All those hours of work… all those weeks… that was all cleaning?”

“No. Not all. Mostly. There were a bunch of broken windows. Paul gave us windowpanes cut to fit. As a housewarming present. And new locks for the doors. Locking knobs and deadbolts, both. He installed those. He showed me how to replace window glass on the first one, and then I did all the rest myself. And he gave us a ladder. Turns out you’re supposed to get fruit and nuts out of trees with a long, telescoping ladder. And somebody is supposed to hold it, or you’re supposed to lash it to the tree. Turns out there isn’t supposed to be any running or jumping involved at all. Who knew?”

“We’re learning all kinds of new things, aren’t we?”

“We are. Now that you’ve seen the bad news with your own eyes, how about some good news?”

“Shoot.”

“It has three bedrooms.”

“You are… kidding me!”

“I wouldn’t kid. They’re small. But there are three of them. Come on. I’ll show you the inside. But first… the best news of all. Listen.”

We stood for a minute, side by side. Her arm still draped on my shoulder. Birds chirped, leaves rustled in the wind. Far away, there was some kind of motor, but I couldn’t tell if it was a loud car or a small plane. It never came close.

“I don’t hear anything,” she said.

“That’s the good news.”

“When we move in with Sophie, it won’t be this quiet.”

“But no one will care. Because no one but us will hear her.”

I waited a moment for her to take that in. Not that I hadn’t tried to tell her. But it was different to hear it for yourself.

She gave my shoulder a squeeze. “House, I forgive you for being ugly,” she said. “In fact, you’re looking better all the time.”

“It’s not bad inside,” she said. “It’s really not. Once we get some furniture in it… Wait. We’ll have to get some furniture. Where will we get furniture?”

“We’ll figure it out. All the floorboards are nailed down now. And it’s really not drafty. Not like you’d think. And now that the electricity is on, the heater works. Which we thought was really surprising.”

“Gas?”

“We don’t get gas out here. There’s a propane tank.”

“Oh. Propane.”

She wandered off to look around. First in the kitchen. Then I heard her footsteps heading for the back bedrooms, the back porch. I sat cross-legged on the wooden floorboards in a beam of sun through the orchard-side windows.

After a few minutes, she came out and sat next to me, her arms hugging her knees.

“What day does Sophie get picked up here instead of there?” I asked her.

“Monday.”

“Good. Gives us all weekend to get our stuff in.”

“Seriously, kiddo?
Our
stuff? That won’t take a weekend. Three trips, maybe.”

Then we sat without talking for a long time. I was getting the feel of the place. Letting it feel natural to be there. I think she was, too.

She put an arm over my shoulder again.

“You know,” she said. “With Sophie still in the same school district… and the longer bus ride… and living in a place where she can scream till she’s blue in the face with no problems… I could really take care of her by myself. Mostly. You know. If you wanted to go to college.”

“Or Tibet.”

“Or both.”

“Right. College is important. I agree. Or both.”

“Wait. Tibet?”

I wondered where she’d been the first time around.

“Kind of a long story.”

She stroked my hair for a second or two.

“I’ll make time,” she said.

“A fantastic read which will have people talking about it for many weeks and months to come.” -Sarah of Sarah’s Book Reviews

“My favourite novel yet by this author!” -Lindsay of The Little Reader Library.

Russell Ammiano works on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. On the morning of September 11, 2001, the phone rings while Rusty is rushing to work. The news is devastating: Rusty’s mother has died of a stroke, leaving his brain-damaged older brother Ben alone. This news also saves Rusty’s life. He’s still at home when two planes hit the World Trade Center—and only one of his friends and colleagues survives. In a single day, the life Rusty built in New York crumbles to the ground.

Rusty returns to his tiny hometown and the brother he was more than happy to leave behind. Ben hasn’t changed a bit, but the town has. Tensions are running high in the wake of the terrorist attack, while Rusty struggles to put the the past behind him and care for the exasperating brother he loves. He finds refuge drinking coffee in the early morning with beautiful Egyptian-American Anat in her father’s bakery.

Rusty is beginning to get his life back…until one awful night threatens to take it all away again.

By the bestselling author of DON’T LET ME GO and PAY IT FORWARD, WHEN YOU WERE OLDER is the heartrending, thought-provoking, and life-affirming story of two very different brothers who try to build a new life together, against the backdrop of an uncertain and uneasy time in our shared history.

“…and the award for the amount of humanity woven into a book goes to Catherine Ryan Hyde.” -Ivana of Willing to See Less

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of 20 published and forthcoming books. Her newer novels include
When I Found You
,
Second Hand Heart
,
Don’t Let Me Go
, and
When You Were Older.
New Kindle editions of her earlier titles
Funerals for Horses
,
Earthquake Weather and Other Stories
,
Electric God
, and
Walter’s Purple Heart
are now available. Her newest ebook title is
The Long Steep Path: Everyday Inspiration from the Author of PAY IT FORWARD
, her first book-length creative nonfiction. Forthcoming frontlist titles are
Walk Me Home
and
Where We Belong
.

She is co-author, with publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of
How to Be a Writer in the E-Age…and Keep Your E-Sanity!

Her best-known novel,
Pay It Forward
, was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller.
Love in the Present Tense
enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the national bestseller list, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year award at the British Book Awards. Both
Becoming Chloe
and
Jumpstart the World
were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List, and
Jumpstart the World
was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards.