Who was that on the phone Lily asked quietly She didn't want to upset anyone further but she was unable to hide her curiosity for another second That was your aunt Roxanne Dad said We have some bad news about Grandma Mom's face was a funny color like she wasn't feeling very well Suddenly Lily didn't feel like eating waffles anymore She let her fork fall down on the plate not caring that the handle landed in a smear of maple syrup Grandma was one of her favorite people in the whole entire world with her long nails and her red lipstick and her sweater pockets filled with butterscotch candies Lily hadn't seen Grandma in five months because of how far away she lived What about Grandma Lily managed to say and that's when Mom started crying The sight of it shocked Lily so much she had to resist
the urge to flee the room and hide under the covers of her bed Dad I'm scared I'm sorry honey Mom said through her tears She moved to take Lily's hand in hers I don't mean to scare you I'm just very sad is all Grandma had a heart attack and it doesn't look like she's going to get better Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence She cleared her throat as more tears slipped down her cheeks So many thoughts flashed through Lily's mind at once What did all of this even mean Dad continued to explain while Mom sniffled and rubbed Lily's hand Your mom and I will need to travel to California as soon as we can he said Unfortunately we won't be able to take you with us because they won't let kids into that part of the hospital And there's nobody here who can watch you for the amount of time we'll be away
Lily's eyes widened in panic If they couldn't take her with but there was nobody to watch her did that mean that she'd be home all alone During monsoon season Lily took pride in being able to do things herself even creating meals from whatever she could find in the refrigerator But the idea of being all alone in their house for more than a few hours was chilling Are you going to leave me here Lily asked feeling very small By myself Of course not Mom assured her giving Lily's hand a little squeeze But you're going to have to do something kind of scary
CHAPTER 2 Something Scary Everything became too much Lily couldn't even bring herself to ask what her mother possibly had in mind Knowing that it was scary was bad enough Before Mom could say another word Lily started to cry It's alright Lily Dad said He pulled his chair closer to hers The scary thing Mom is talking about is just an airplane that's all Lily looked up and wiped away her tears An airplane I've never been on one of those We know you haven't Mom said gently
