in Boston would never think so, but I couldn't
remember ever feeling as small and alone as I did
right this moment.
I looked up and saw the North Star, and I
recalled Daddy explaining how sailors depended on it
whenever they were lost. Could I depend on it? It
twinkled back down at me. Maybe somewhere Daddy
was looking up at it too. Maybe he threw me a kiss
and that kiss bounced off the North Star and came
back to me here at Farthy.
"Good night, Daddy," I whispered.
"Good night, Princess," I pretended I heard him
say.
And I crawled back into bed, and for the first
time in my life, I wasn't so anxious for Christmas
morning that I couldn't wait to fall asleep.
I felt myself being jolted awake and opened my
eyes to see Troy tugging on my hand.
"Wake up, Leigh. Wake up!"
"What?" I scrubbed my eyes with my fists and
gazed around. It would be a while before I was used
to waking up in such a big bedroom.
"It's Christmas. Come on. We've got to go
down and open our presents. Come on. Hurry." "Oh Troy," I groaned. "What time is it?" I
looked at my clock. It was just seven A.M.
"Hurry up," he pleaded.
"All right. Okay, Troy. Give me a few minutes. Girls take longer to get up than boys," I said, hoping
for a small reprieve.
"Why?" He swung his dark brown eyes
skeptically at me.