To Have and to Hold (29 page)

“Those are big dreams,” Wally said. “Good for you.”

“Thanks.”

“So, tell me something else.”

“Tell you something
else
?” Madison crinkled her brow and shook her head, not sure what he wanted to know. “Like what?” she asked. She felt the plane swoop down a few thousand feet more. They were almost there.

“You know, you remind me of my wife, Myrtle,” Wally said. “And my great-granddaughter, Myrtle Junior, of course.”

“Myrtle
Junior
?” Madison asked with a smile. “That’s different.”

“How old are you, anyway. Sixteen? Seventeen?”

Madison burst into giggles. “I’m twelve, sir,” she said.

“Ah, yes.” He waved Madison off. “These days it’s all the same to me,” he muttered, almost to himself. “When you get to be my age, everyone under sixty seems like a baby.”

“How old are you?” Madison asked casually, not wanting to offend him.

Wally looked at her and smiled. “Eighty-one,” he said proudly.

“You remind me a little of my Gramma Helen,” Madison said, “only older.”

“So, I guess that means we’re practically related,” Wally said.

Madison laughed again. Wally was like a lucky charm. He’d changed her mood, made her forget any airplane jitters she had had, and—most importantly—helped her get over the sadness of leaving Far Hills, her BFFs, and Hart.

The flight attendant came by and asked everyone to buckle up and prepare for landing.

As the 747 pulled up to the gate and attached itself to the proper jetway bridge, the plane began to buzz with the sounds of people shifting in their seats, unbuckling seat belts, and moving bags. Cell phones appeared like magic. Everyone seemed to have someone to call.

Wally shook his head and leaned over to Madison.

“Don’t ever let yourself get caught up in all this craziness …” He pointed to the people standing around with phones at their ears.

Madison nodded. “Oh, yeah?”

Wally squinted at her and lowered his voice some more.

“If you just stop and listen, you can change the world, you know,” he said, and Madison knew he meant it. “You’re an excellent listener. I can tell. You notice things. Things that other people don’t. I can tell.”

“So, I can change the world, huh?” Madison asked.

“You bet. All it takes is one. That’s what I always told my Myrtles,” Wally said. “You just have to understand that we’re sharing the world—all of us—the people, the animals, the water. It’s for sharing, not taking.”

Madison thought Wally sounded a little like one of the Zen philosophers Aimee’s mom liked to listen to on her meditation and yoga tapes. She was glad she’d met him.

Wally collected his things and headed for the exit along with everyone else. He gave Madison a little salute before fading into the flow of people; his gesture reminded Madison of Hart’s salute back in Far Hills. Madison’s chest tightened. Did good-byes ever get easy?

The flight attendant came over and made sure Madison was okay leaving the plane. Of course, she was. After all, she wasn’t a little kid. The walk to the gate seemed to take an eternity. And then Madison strolled out under the bright fluorescent lights of the airport.

Madison made her way to the baggage-claim area, accompanied by a nice lady who worked for the airline. As Madison came into view, Dad and Stephanie waved madly. “Here! Over here, Maddie!” Dad shouted.

Madison broke into a grin and raced over to her father. The three of them squeezed together in a hug and then went to get Madison’s luggage. As they walked over to the baggage carousel, Madison searched the crowd for Wally. But he was nowhere to be found.

They got Madison’s suitcase and headed outside to the parking lot. The air was like mashed potatoes—sticky and thick. No breezes blew.

“Welcome to Florida in the summer,” Dad announced. “Not my first choice, but it’s a lot cooler by the water where we’re staying. We’re in this area where the Indian River meets the ocean. No matter how hot it gets, there’s always some kind of breeze. You’ll love it.”

“So, Madison, did you have a pleasant trip?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes,” Madison said. “I sat next to this really old guy. He talked a lot. But he was cool. Actually, he talked a lot about animals.”

“Did you tell him you were going to Camp Sunshine?” Stephanie asked.

“Why would she tell him about Camp Sunshine?” Dad interjected.

“Because,” Stephanie said. “She was making conversation.”

“Anyway …” Madison said in a cheery voice. She leaned toward the front seat a little bit.

“Hey,” Dad cautioned, “shouldn’t you have your seat belt on?”

Madison leaned back and buckled up. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“No,” Dad said. “I didn’t mean to snap. You hungry?”

Stephanie turned around. “You e-mailed your dad about going to that cool restaurant we were telling you about,” she said, “so we made a reservation.”

“The place is called Seashores,” Dad said. “You’ll love it.”

“Way cool,” Madison said, gazing out of the car window. She stared at the scenery as they drove away from the airport.

Madison saw rows of lush palm trees and bougainvillea. She saw brightly colored stucco homes and office buildings with enormous shutters. She knew that hurricane season was there, although Dad assured her that the forecasters had predicted no major storms for the month of August—at least not yet.

After a short drive, they drove up a long ramp on to an enormous bridge. There was water everywhere Madison looked. Off in the horizon she saw the ocean, foamy waves breaking at the shore. All along the edge of the water, set back from the beach, Madison spotted apartment buildings and mansions. She could see everything from way up there on the bridge. Dad slowed the car down and pointed to a small, overgrown island in the center of the river under the bridge.

“That’s called Pelican Isle,” Dad said. “I just found out about it. I think Camp Sunshine takes a boat trip near there.”

“Really?” Madison asked, nose pressed to the window.

“The more I hear about this camp,” Stephanie said, “the more impressed I am. In fact, your father and I were just taking a look at the camp brochure before we picked you up at the airport.”

“You were?”

“I want this to be a special summer trip for you,” Dad said, reaching back for Madison’s hand.

Madison took his hand and smiled.

“Thanks, Dad,” she said. “I know it will be.”

She let go of Dad’s hand and hunkered down again in the backseat. She stared out the window and counted the other small islands dotting the river. If only it hadn’t been so terribly hot there in Florida, Madison thought. She was grateful that Dad and Stephanie had the air-conditioning on high just then. It would take her time to get used to the temperature—
lots
of time.

Madison wished her laptop had been working better, or, rather, working at all. She’d tried it once on the airplane (when Wally had gotten up to stretch his legs), but it had just sizzled and gone off before she had had a chance to log on. If it had been working, Madison could have e-mailed everyone right now: Aimee, Fiona, Lindsay, and even Bigwheels, her long-distance keypal. If Madison’s pals couldn’t be there with her in the car, or at camp, then she craved the next best thing: virtual contact.

Dad and Stephanie drove north. After a while, they finally pulled the car into the jam-packed parking lot of the restaurant. Madison saw a huge sign in the shape of a swordfish. It said
SEASHORES
. A parking valet dressed in a flowered shirt and shorts took Dad’s car as the three of them headed inside.

Dad had told Madison that not only was the food at Seashores delicious, but also the restaurant was known as one of the best waterfront dining locations on the coast. The front of the restaurant was a designated waiting room, since the lines for dinner were always longer than long. Madison dipped her fingers into a tank full of skate fish and stroked the smooth tops of a few while she waited with Dad and Stephanie for their table. Then she gazed at an enormous lobster aquarium off on one side of the waiting area. Lobsters climbed all over each other in a kind of tank dance.

As Madison stared at the tank for at least five minutes, she imagined Aimee back home, dancing. She thought about Fiona, too, arriving at the Los Angeles airport armed with a soccer ball, her lucky stuffed bear, and her annoying twin brother, Chet. And she imagined Lindsay making her way through the London airport with her nose stuck in a book, as usual.

Were her BFFs thinking of Madison, too, at that exact moment?

She hoped so.

Although they were all so far away, Madison felt her BFFs close to her, like warm breath. They were as close as the green-black lobsters, the wide ocean, and the promise of the unexpected at Camp Sunshine.

Somehow, knowing they were out there—anywhere—made
all
the difference.

Buy
Hit the Beach
Now!

Author Laura Dower has a lot in common with Madison Finn: They’re both only children and they both love dogs, the color orange, and books! Laura has written more than ninety kids’ books to date, including twenty-five in the series From the Files of Madison Finn. Her other books include the new Palace Puppies series and
For Girls Only
, a guide to girl stuff. When she’s not writing, Laura loves to garden, sing (loudly), and volunteer as a scout leader for her daughter and two sons. She and her family live in New York. Want to be keypals? Drop her a note at
www.lauradower.com.

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.

Text Copyright © 2004 by Laura Dower

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

978-1-4804-2274-2

This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com