The Saddest Song - By Susie Kaye Lopez Page 0,41

love the Raspberry.”

Yeah, I loved it, but it wasn’t going to ruin my day. That is until mom burst in to tears and dad’s eyes welled up as he comforted her. Then we all three just kind of stared at Garrett’s empty chair. At that exact moment, the fire alarms began to go off all over the house. Jumping up, I knocked my chair to the floor and shouted “I’ll check upstairs!” Dad headed toward the garage as mom began checking the downstairs. No sooner had I got to the master bedroom, the alarms silenced and my dad yelled that it was all clear in the garage. I still checked all of our bedrooms and baths, going into Garrett’s room last. I jumped when I saw his Television was on, his favorite video game on the screen. “Uh, Mom! Dad! I think Garrett’s home!”

The two of them came running and stood staring at the TV while trying to catch their breath. “Garrett!” Mom said, “I am so glad you are here baby!” Dad said nothing.

I said, “Mom likes you better! She got you your Cherry Kringle!” Then, the insanity of the moment took over and the three of us laughed until we could barely breathe.

Dad wiped tears from his eyes and said, “He always did want to be the center of attention.” He turned towards my mom and put his arm around her shoulders, “Come on honey, I’ll help clean the kitchen while you bake your pies to take to the Martin’s.”

I stayed behind and sat on Garrett’s bed watching the TV to see when he would turn it off. He didn’t, so a half hour later I turned it off myself and went to take a shower and get ready to go to Rainey’s.

The Martin’s house was a nice change from ours. Everyone was in a festive mood, even Rainey. She looked really pretty. She was wearing a short red dress I had never seen before and had her hair pulled up in a loose bun. She looked older. Mr. Martin had a tray of martini glasses filled with something he called Pilgrim Punch. Looked like Cranberry to me. Rainey gave me a wink and grabbed my hand, “Come help me decide what to drink.” We went over to the bar and I saw they had a huge assortment of alcohol, mixers and garnishes. We made virgin Pina Coladas and Rainey topped hers with several cherries. But not mine. Rainey knew full well that I hated cherries.

The rest of our Thanksgiving was completely normal and pleasant. The food was great as was the conversation. We made no mention of my brother’s visit knowing that only Rainey would think we weren’t crazy. I would tell her tomorrow on the drive. We all talked about our trip and our parents gave us a lot of warnings about driving in snow and being sure to check in often. We said goodnight and I hugged both Mr. and Mrs. McKinley. When I got to Rainey she kissed my cheek, hugged me tightly and whispered, “I am so thankful that I have you Max. I don’t know how I would survive without you.”

“Ditto,” I whispered back. I drove my tipsy parent’s home, a strange feeling making butterflies swirl in my stomach. It was only after I had packed and set my alarm that I realized what it was. I was excited. It had been a while since I had felt that way. The weekend away was just what I needed.

Chapter 16

Rainey

Friday morning began with a downpour. This made my mom and dad crazy with worry for our drive up to the mountains. Max’s dad checked his truck for snow chains and made sure it was up to the trip. He too was worried about us driving in snow, but we were thrilled with the weather. In two short hours we would be in a winter wonderland! I felt like a little kid, giddy with the thought of it.

“Max, I am so excited! It feels so good to be heading to the snow!”

He looked over and smiled. It was a real smile that reached his turquoise eyes. Those smiles were rare.

“Me too. I refuse to feel guilty about being happy this weekend. We need this.”

“I don’t think we need to feel bad at all. I know Garrett is happy for us. He wants us to have fun. He’d never begrudge us, he loves us.”

“You’re right. Besides, it beats the hell out of feeling bad, at