Melody (Logan 1)

"But how are we going?"

"Archie will be here in twenty minutes," she replied. "So we don't have much time to jabber about it."

"Archie?"

"He's leaving, too. Actually, it was his idea," she added with a happy smile. "We'll go off in his car and--"

"Archie? We're going away with Archie Marlin?" I asked, incredulously.

"It's more like he's going away with us," she said and followed it with her nervous little laugh. "But he's going to be a big help. He has friends in the entertainment business. He says I can be a model."

"Oh Mommy, he's lying! He's telling you these things just so you'll stay with him."

"What? How dare you." She wagged her forefinger at me. "Archie is a sensitive person. He cares about us. As it turns out, he has no one either. It makes sense for us to all go off together. Please," she pleaded, rolling her eyes. "Get busy packing." "But what about my school and--"

> "You'll make up the work in a different school--a better school! Oh honey," she said, clapping her hands together, "isn't this exciting? What could possibly be wrong with our trying to find a new place to live? I know you're not happy here anymore, right?"

"That's because of what happened to Daddy."

"Exactly. And nothing is going to change that, so why stay? A new beginning--a fresh start--is what we all need. But we have to do it before it's too late, Melody. Do you want me to wait until I'm too old to have another chance? That's what happened to a lot of the people who are stuck here. Well, it's not going to happen to me," she said with determination.

She smiled again. "I have another surprise. I was going to save it until we actually left, until we were on the road with nothing ahead of us but a better future," she said.

I stared at her dumbly, wondering what additional surprise she could possibly have.

"Don't you even want to know what it is?" she asked when I didn't speak.

I shook my head and gazed around. It was overwhelming. The suitcases on the floor, the house in a mess, clothes thrown everywhere . .

"What?" I finally asked.

"Our first stop is going to be Provincetown, Cape Cod. You're going to see your father's family, finally. Well?" she said when I didn't reply. "Aren't you excited? You were always asking about them. Now, you'll get all the answers."

"Provincetown? Daddy's family?"

"Yes. Isn't it a good idea?"

"I don't know," I said. She was right: she had surprised me, something wasn't ringing true. I took a deep breath. My heart pounded. With everything happening so fast, I couldn't think straight.

"Shouldn't we plan this better, Mommy? Can't we sit and talk about it first and get organized?"

"No, because that usually means we won't do it," she whined. "As Archie says, if you don't do something when you have the urge, you probably never will."

"Why do we have to go with him?" I pursued.

She tightened her face and narrowed her eyes. "I like Archie, Melody. He makes me laugh and I'm tired of crying and complaining. I'm tired of people looking at me as if I were some sort of freak because my husband was killed in a mining accident.

"But not Archie." She sat down on the sofa and motioned for me to join her. I sat down next to her, but I was cautious. Then she pulled me into her arms for the first time since Daddy had died. She held me tightly and began to stroke my hair and slowly I began to relax. It felt so good to have my Mommy back. I'd missed her so much. "You'll like Archie once you get to know him. He's just the medicine I need and you need, honey." She paused, but kept caressing my hair. I hoped she would never stop. "The only thing," she added softly, "is after we leave Sewell, I don't want you to call him Archie anymore."

"Why not?"

"His real name is Richard. Archie is just a nickname."

"How come he can leave so quickly? He has a job," I said, hoping she wouldn't get mad and stop holding me. Perhaps he had been caught watering the whiskey as Alice's father thought.

"It's not the sort of a job a man like Arch. . . Richard wants for the rest of his life. So we made a decision. Now, Pumpkin, I want you to go pack, and remember, only two suitcases."

"But I'll have to leave so much behind," I protested.