Staying Together Read online

  For David Levithan, for helping to bring Camden Falls to life.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Map

  Dedication

  Chapter 1 A Peek in the Windows

  Chapter 2 Sisters

  Chapter 3 Keeping Secrets from Min

  Chapter 4 The Silent Treatment

  Chapter 5 Sarah

  Chapter 6 Friends and Enemies

  Chapter 7 Top Secret

  Chapter 8 Welcome Home

  Chapter 9 Or Else

  Chapter 10 Higglety Pigglety Pop

  Chapter 11 One Day at a Time

  Chapter 12 The Perfect Dog

  Chapter 13 Variety

  Chapter 14 The Perfect Day

  Chapter 15 To Tell the Truth

  Chapter 16 Excuses

  Chapter 17 Surprise!

  Chapter 18 By the Light of the Moon

  Chapter 19 Needle and Thread

  Chapter 20 The Row Houses

  Chapter 21 Camden Falls, Massachusetts

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Camden Falls, Massachusetts, is more than 350 years old, but some of the people who live in the small town think that only now is it starting to show its age. For three and a half centuries it has survived wars and fires and storms and floods, watched its residents weather heartache and sorrow, and rejoiced with them over births and graduations and marriages. During all those years, the town has stood sturdy and firm, even shone a little. But suddenly, now, cracks are showing in its foundation.

  “It looks run-down,” murmurs Min Read with astonishment as she rounds the corner of Dodds Lane one morning and turns onto Main Street.

  “What?” asks Ruby, her granddaughter, who’s walking into town with her. Min glances meaningfully at Ruby. “I mean, pardon?” Ruby corrects herself.

  “Main Street looks a little run-down,” says Min again.

  “What does ‘run-down’ mean?”

  “Shabby.”

  Ruby eyes the street. Camden Falls has been her home for only two years, but already she’s proud of it. “It doesn’t look shabby,” she says, but even as the words are leaving her lips, she knows her grandmother is right.

  In fact, much of Camden Falls is tinged with shabbiness these days. Times have been hard. As Min pauses on the corner of Main and Dodds, one hand resting on a lamppost, she notices things she’s sure have been in front of her nose for some time but that haven’t registered.

  “Funny what you don’t want to see,” she says to Ruby as they continue on their way to Needle and Thread.

  Ruby is silent for a few moments, not wanting to agree with her grandmother just yet. Finally, she says, “There are an awful lot of potholes in the street.”

  “Not enough money in the town budget to repair them.”

  “The paint on the lampposts is peeling.”

  Min nods. Quite a bit of Camden Falls could use a coat of paint. She sees that bricks have fallen off the fronts of several buildings, notes a broken pane of glass in the window of Time and Again, and sees a sign hanging lopsided from one hinge. Worse, two more businesses have closed since the holidays. And the Nelsons’ diner, she knows, is in serious trouble.

  “If we can hang on until summer,” people are fond of saying.

  No one bothers to finish that sentence, because if you live here, you don’t need to hear the end. If the people of Camden Falls can last until the summer, then maybe the tourist season will pull them through. All they need is a slight shift in the economy — a slight positive shift, of course — and the tourists will flock to Camden Falls as they usually do. Then, perhaps, potholes will be filled and lampposts will be repainted and stores that are struggling will be able to come up for air.

  Min Read is one of Camden Falls’s old-timers. She has lived here all of her life, more than seventy years. Her store, Needle and Thread, which she runs with her friend Gigi, is holding its own so far, and Min knows they’re lucky. The little deli on Boiceville Road closed after New Year’s, and so far nothing has replaced it. The FOR SALE sign is still in the window, and the bay of the window is filled with mouse droppings. Around the corner from the deli, a gift shop has closed.

  But come take a tour of Camden Falls and you’ll see that despite its new air of shabbiness, the economy isn’t the only thing on people’s minds. Walk back to Main Street, turn onto Dodds, and retrace Min’s and Ruby’s steps to Aiken Avenue and the Row Houses, where Min and her granddaughters live in the fourth house from the left. Here are eight identical homes standing in a solid stone row. And in these homes live eight families — twenty-eight people — with very different things on their minds.

  Peek in the windows of the house at the left end of the row and you’ll find the Morris family. On this Saturday morning, all four of the Morris children are reading, even Alyssa, the youngest, for whom reading is a newly acquired skill. The Camden Falls library is sponsoring a kids’ contest, and anyone who reads twenty books by the end of the month will earn a coupon for a free slice at College Pizza. The Morris children are determined to earn their slices.

  Next door are the Hamiltons, the newest family in the Row Houses. They’ve been having a difficult time but not because of the economy. Mrs. Hamilton, who has been hospitalized after years of unstable behavior, will finally be coming home soon. Willow Hamilton, friend to Ruby’s sister, Flora, isn’t sure how she feels about this. She knows she ought to be excited — after all, her mother will finally be rejoining the family — but instead she fears that things will not be right after all.

  Next to the Hamiltons are the Malones, and in this household there is a certain amount of excitement. Margaret Malone will be going to college in the fall, and she’s preparing to leave the town she loves for a town that she hopes she’ll love just as much.

  Now, the next house belongs to Ruby and Flora Northrop and their grandmother Min Read. Ruby and Flora are still considered newcomers to Camden Falls, having moved in with their grandmother after they lost their parents in a car accident. The last two years have been a time of adjustment for the sisters. Flora finds it ironic that just when she feels her life is settling down, she’s having an awful lot of trouble getting along with Ruby.

  Peek in the windows of the fifth house in the row and you’ll find Olivia Walter. Olivia is a lifelong resident of Camden Falls — and Flora’s best friend. She’s noticed the trouble between the sisters, and she’s determined to fix it. Somehow.

  Next to Olivia’s family lives Rudy Pennington. Rudy, the eldest member of the Row House community, is Min’s dear friend. You’ll find him sitting in an armchair in his living room. His favorite spot on a Saturday morning used to be the couch, but in the days since he lost his devoted dog, he finds that he can’t bear to sit next to the empty spot that was once occupied by Jacques.

  In the next house, the second from the right end, live Robby Edwards and his parents. Robby, who has Down syndrome, is excited because his mother has just shown him the flyer from Mountain View Center, where Robby has recently registered for the Special Olympics. “Look at all the activities!” says Robby. “They have a theatre class, too, Mom. And a dance is coming up! Can I go to the dance?”

  In the very last house, Barbara Fong and her husband watch their toddler, Grace, as she plods through the living room in search of a toy, then suddenly plops onto her bottom, well cushioned by diapers. “She’s very tippy, isn’t she?” says Barbara fondly. Her left hand is clasped in her husband’s. Her right hand is massaging her belly.

  On other streets in other houses, in town and in the countryside, life marches on for the residents of Camden Falls. In her isolated house bordering acres of farmland, Nikki Sherman — the fourth of the group of tightly knit friends that also in
cludes Flora, Ruby, and Olivia — is contemplating her volunteer job at Sheltering Arms, the local animal shelter. She’s remembering her promise to be on the lookout for a dog for Mr. Pennington, and she’s determined not to disappoint him. Several miles away, in Three Oaks, the retirement community where Nikki’s mother works, Mr. Willet — the former resident of the Hamiltons’ Row House — slumps in his desk chair, eyes trained outside the window, and has the oddest feeling that something (but what?) is missing from his life. Back on Main Street, Hilary Nelson, eager to escape the tension that she always seems to feel in the diner these days, sees her friend Ruby on the sidewalk outside and rushes to meet her.

  “Walk with us to Needle and Thread,” says Ruby, and arms linked, Ruby, Hilary, and Min make their way along the street, trying not to notice the shabbiness that has crept up around them.

  Flora Northrop, lying lazily on the couch in her living room on that same Saturday morning, reached for the telephone and dialed Nikki Sherman’s number. She listened to the ringing of the phone, her hand absently patting the giant blond head of Daisy, Min’s golden retriever.

  “This is Mae!” a voice announced so loudly that Flora had to yank the phone away from her ear.

  “Hi, Mae. This is Flora. Is Nikki there?” Flora crossed her fingers. If Nikki wasn’t there, her sister, Mae, who was seven, was capable of talking at great length.

  “Yes,” replied Mae, and Flora uncrossed her fingers gratefully. “But do you know what?” Mae continued. “The Shaws invited me over and I get to spend the whole day at their farm. I can feed their chickens —”

  “Mae?” (Flora heard Nikki’s voice in the background.)

  “— and groom their horse. I think I’ll braid his mane. And usually for lunch we have —”

  “Mae? Is that for me?” asked Nikki.

  “— grilled cheese.”

  “Mae?”

  “All right!” Mae exclaimed suddenly, and there was a fumbling and some rustling on the line before Nikki said, “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s me,” said Flora.

  “Sorry about that. Mae’s really excited about going to the Shaws’.”

  “If she’s going to the Shaws’, does that mean you’re free today?” asked Flora.

  “Yup. As soon as Mrs. Shaw picks her up.”

  “Is your mom already at work?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  Flora groaned. “Oh. I was hoping she could drive you into town. Min and Gigi asked if you and Olivia and Ruby and I would decorate the window of Needle and Thread.”

  “I can come,” said Nikki. “I’ll ride my bike into town. The snow’s all gone. Decorating the window will be fun.”

  “Excellent!” exclaimed Flora. “Come as soon as you can. The rest of us will be waiting for you.”

  Flora let Daisy out in the backyard, calling “Go pee!” after her. Then she checked to make sure the water bowl was full, patted King Comma the cat, who was curled up in a black-and-white ball underneath the kitchen table, let Daisy back inside, and ran next door to Olivia’s.

  “Ready?” she asked when Olivia answered the door.

  Olivia was already shrugging into her coat. “Ready. Bye, Mom!” she called over her shoulder. She glanced at Flora. “Where’s Ruby?”

  “At the store. She went in with Min this morning.”

  Olivia paused slightly before saying, “Flora, are you and Ruby still —”

  But Flora interrupted her. “What do you think we should choose as our theme for the window?”

  “I thought Min and Gigi wanted something for spring.”

  “They do. But that’s all they said. We could do so many things — butterflies, flowers, baby animals.”

  “Easter?” suggested Olivia.

  “No, I think just generally spring. Hey, how about turning the window into a giant flower garden?”

  “I like that idea. But doesn’t the window also have to have something to do with sewing?”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Flora. “I forgot about that.”

  The girls reached the Morrises’ house, the last in the row, and Flora glanced at it and recalled the first time she had ever seen the Row Houses. She had been a very little girl then, visiting Camden Falls with her parents and Ruby, who had been a baby. Flora had been fascinated, and slightly frightened, by the enormous granite structure, three stories tall. It had looked like a palace, far too big for one person, and Flora had been relieved to find that the old building in fact consisted of eight homes, and that Min occupied only one of them.

  Flora had visited Camden Falls many more times before she and Ruby moved there after the accident. She was familiar with the Row Houses by then, and with Needle and Thread, one of her favorite places in the entire world. Flora loved to sew. How lucky, she thought, that she had wound up with a grandmother who loved to sew and who owned a sewing store. Min co-owned the store with Olivia’s grandmother, but sewing was not an interest shared by scientific Olivia. Or by dramatic Ruby. Olivia would rather gather facts about unusual insects than thread a needle. And Ruby would rather sing and dance and act on a stage in front of a large auditorium full of people than look dreamily at bolts of fabric — something Flora could do happily for long periods of time.

  “I have an idea,” said Flora as she and Olivia turned onto Main Street. “We could stick big fabric flowers to the window —”

  “How?” asked Olivia.

  “I don’t know. We’ll figure that out later. But anyway, we’ll use fabric — nice calicos in pastel colors — for the flowers, and then Min and Gigi and I can make spring outfits out of the same fabrics, and we’ll display them behind the flowers.”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea!” exclaimed Olivia. “But are you going to have time to do that and finish the quilts, too?”

  Flora paused. “I guess so.”

  A couple of months earlier, when Flora had learned that Camden Falls’s community center was in just as much trouble as some of the businesses that were closing, she had come up with the idea of making a quilt that would be auctioned off to raise funds for the center. One Saturday, the people of Camden Falls had dropped into Needle and Thread and created quilt squares showing scenes of the town and its history. By evening, enough squares had been completed to make two quilts, and Min and Gigi and Flora had promised to sew them together and finish them in time for an auction in June. It was a huge job — but Flora loved nothing better than a big sewing project.

  Flora and Olivia reached Needle and Thread and stepped inside, shivering as they left the early April chill behind. The bell over the door rang, and Min and Gigi glanced up from the counter and smiled. Flora and Olivia waved to them. Then Flora’s attention was drawn to Ruby, who was draped across one of the couches at the front of the store, listening to her iPod and singing under her breath, eyes half closed. Flora nudged her sister’s ankle, and Ruby snapped her gum and opened her eyes the rest of the way. “What?” she said.

  “Stop singing,” Flora commanded. “People can hear you.”

  Ruby shrugged. “I’m rehearsing.” Then she added, “But anyway, no one can hear me. I’m not singing loudly enough.”

  “Yes, you —”

  The bell jangled then, and the Fongs entered the store, pushing Grace in her stroller.

  “We just wanted to say hi,” called Mrs. Fong. “We’re on our way to the studio.” The Fongs, who made furniture and jewelry, owned an art gallery and studio at the end of the block.

  Min and Gigi stepped out from behind the counter while Flora, Olivia, and Ruby fussed over Grace.

  “How’s business?” Gigi asked Mr. Fong, which, Flora thought, was pretty much how all the adults in town greeted one another these days.

  Mr. Fong looked thoughtful. “We’re holding our own, I guess.”

  Mrs. Fong nodded. “Well … we’re thinking of renting out the gallery space, though, and just keeping the studio. The gallery is expensive to maintain.”

  “But you don’t have to worry about that, do you, Grace?�
� Ruby cooed. “Babies don’t have to worry about anything.”

  Grace rewarded Ruby with a gap-toothed smile.

  “All right,” said Flora briskly, clapping her hands. “Let’s get down to business.” She plopped onto one of the couches.

  “Down to what business?” asked Ruby.

  “Decorating the window. That’s why we’re here.”

  “Well, excuse me if I don’t understand every little thing you talk about,” Ruby replied grouchily, and returned to her iPod.

  “How are you going to help us if you’re listening to music?” asked Flora.

  Olivia stood up suddenly. “Oh, look! Nikki’s here.” She sounded relieved.

  The Fongs left and Nikki entered the store, removing her hat, which caused her fine hair to dance around her face.

  “Static electricity,” said Nikki. “It’s driving me crazy. I can’t wait until the weather is warm again.”

  “Technically, spring is already here,” Olivia pointed out.

  “Which is why we’re here,” said Flora. “The spring window. Now, what I thought we could do is make a garden of gigantic fabric flowers, stick them to the window —”

  “How?” interrupted Ruby, who was still listening to her music.

  “Why does everyone keep asking that?” said Flora.

  “It’s a good question,” said Nikki. “How are we going to stick something to the window? Anything we use — tape or whatever — is going to show through the glass.”

  “Huh,” said Flora. “You’re right. Well, we’ll think of something.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to make a garden,” said Ruby.

  Flora glared at her. “Maybe the rest of us do.”

  Ruby shrugged again. “Okay. You guys go ahead.”

  “No, Ruby. You have to help us,” said Olivia pleadingly. “Making flowers will be fun. Come on, let’s go find the boxes of supplies in the storeroom.”

  Ruby got to her feet.

  “Min?” called Flora. “Can we have —”

  But she was interrupted by the jangling of the bell and turned to see Mr. Pennington.

  “Good morning, girls,” he said, removing his hat.