Miracles Retold Read Free Page A

another dog to fill the void.
     
    “I miss Rufus,” Grace told
Benji. “And Carmela, and Lucy, and John Boy. And George. George
Burns.” Lon’s late father had said because she was his Gracie, they
needed a George to have their very own Burns and Allen show, a
popular TV show in the 1950s. “And … I miss my husband too. Still.”
She took a few more steps with Benji at her side. “Darn it, Benji,
I hate getting nostalgic. I just have too much time to think! I
need something to do . When I get home, I am going to find something to
do.”
     
    On a day like today, before
the stroke, she might have been substitute teaching. She would have
been gardening: pulling stray vines off the fence, getting rid of
weeds, planting amaryllis bulbs, and admiring her blooming
camellias. She might have chatted with her neighbors, looked up
yard sales happening that coming weekend or met her friends for
lunch. Many times, Grace would be at the local church to pack boxes
of food or bags of toiletries for donations to local shelters. A
friend had also talked her into yoga and tai chi classes at the
YMCA. She missed that life, ended by a terrible blank moment five
months and two counties ago. Grace stopped walking for a few
seconds, clenched her teeth, and tried to focus on just
breathing.
     
    Benji nudged Grace, then
sat back next to her on the street, waiting for her to go on. Grace
finally bent over to stroke the dog’s head. “You’re such a sweet
boy,” she told him. He gazed up at Grace expectantly. Then they
started walking again.
     
    Benji ambled beside Grace
for the whole block and back home again. “Well, this is it, boy.
Same time tomorrow? I’ll bring the snacks, you bring the attitude.”
Grace rubbed Benji behind the ears. “Don’t forget.”
     
    She hated closing the door
on Benji’s cute little face, but what could she do? He was someone
else’s dog.

 
    Hide and Seek
     
     
     
    Hannah closed her school
locker door for the last time that year. The days right before
winter break had dragged by. Sure, she had done her homework,
turned in that ridiculous gorilla diorama and studied for her final
tests, but really all she could think about was spending time off
from school and doing what she wanted to do.
     
    Mainly, Hannah wanted to
spend time with her friends. Except … she wasn’t sure they wanted
to spend time with her. The first thing she thought about after
waking up each day in December was that Allison might invite her to
the Keys house, as Allison called it — her family’s vacation condo in
Islamorada in the Florida Keys. Was it too much to expect a friend
she had grown up with to invite her? Apparently it was. Allison had
invited Macy last summer and winter, and Sheeka had gone with her
this spring. Maybe other friends had been to the Keys house too,
and Hannah didn’t know it. Maybe she was the only one in their group of friends
who hadn’t gone. Hannah’s shoulders slumped at the thought. Hannah
wanted Allison to think of her as one of her closest friends. But
here it was, the end of the day on the last day of school, and no
word from Allison. Hannah was too shy to be upfront and just ask.
She shifted her backpack into place and headed for the school exit,
hoping to not run
into any of her friends right when she felt like an outcast. Hannah
wouldn’t be going to Allison’s, and she didn’t want to know who
would be going.
     
    Now Hannah was faced with
two long, dull weeks of listening to her brothers drone on about
video games, having Ryder mock her about how much time she spent
getting ready in the morning, and seeing her parents’ blank, tired
faces as usual. What kind of holiday was that? Hannah sighed as she
walked the three blocks home.
     
    If there was anything good
to look forward to, it was spending time with her grandmother. Now
that Grace was living with them, Hannah and her brothers would have
more fun things to do. Their parents certainly didn’t have the time
for anything