Diana rolled her eyes and glanced up with a look of disapproval.
Mara picked up on the expression. “What?”
“What were you thinking, sending this little girl into the past all by herself? What in the world were you hoping to accomplish?”
“How am I supposed to know? I haven’t even done it yet. Haven’t I committed enough past infractions for you to harp on without looking for trouble in the future?”
“No, not when the future is sitting at the table calling me Nana.” Diana looked up from her sewing and winked at Hannah. Turning to Mara, she said, “But speaking of infractions, let’s talk about lying and sneaking out in the middle of the night.”
“I’m sorry about that. I knew that something had to be done about Juaquin Prado possessing all those shedding victims, and I knew it might be dangerous. I just didn’t want you to feel responsible, if something went wrong.”
“That’s not your choice. I’m still the mom around here, and you’re still the kid, at least for another year or so. I understand you wanted to help Buddy—”
Mara sat up straight, her eyes widened. “Buddy? What happened to Buddy?”
“After that black cloud left his body, he recovered from the shedding fairly quickly. Last night he asked if I could run him home, so I dropped him off.”
“Is he okay?”
“He seemed fairly upbeat. Looks like he has a bad case of eczema, but that is fading quickly. I invited him for Thanksgiving dinner, but he said he had plans. I got the impression that is why he wanted to go home.”
Mara nodded. “He helps out at one of the shelters near his apartment, serving dinner to homeless people. It’s a big deal for him, something he and his dad used to do each year.”
Diana reached back and stuck the needle into a little red tomato-shaped pin cushion on the counter behind her. She pointed to the side of her chair and said to Hannah, “Come stand right here, and hold up your arms.”
Hannah hopped down and stood next to Diana, who slid the cloth over her arms and head. It was a bright green hoodie that matched the sweatpants Hannah wore.
“Okay, turn around, and pull up the hoodie,” Diana instructed.
Hannah reached behind her and slipped the hood over her head, revealing a row of increasingly large felt triangles that had been sewn onto the scalp and down the center of the back, forming a scaly-looking spine that stopped at her waist.
Mara smiled and said, “Look, you’re a dinosaur!”
Hannah shook her head. “Nuh-uh, that’s wrong.”
Diana patted her shoulder. “Lift up your arms, honey.”
She raised her arms, showing that material had been stitched between the arms and body of the hoodie, forming wings that hung down to her shins. “I’m a dragon, just like Ping!” She ran in a circle in front of the kitchen counter, flapping her wings.
“That is so cool,” Mara said. “You are such a good nana, Nana.”
Diana reached down and grabbed a bag on the floor next to her chair. Out of it, she pulled another piece of green material and a plastic bag stuffed with white cottony batting. She placed them on the table in front of Mara’s coffee cup.
“What’s that?” Mara asked.
“Penance for your bad timing and infractions. You get to make the tail, Auntie Mara,” Diana said.
Hannah ran up to the table, still flapping her wings and turned her back. Wiggling her rear end, she chanted, “Make my tail! Make my tail!”
CHAPTER 5
Squinting was the only way Mara could see out the large window of the living room. It was one of those rare chilly fall days when no clouds filtered the sun or insulated the ground, bright and cold at the same time. Sam pedaled up the driveway and turned onto the short path leading to the front porch. Grabbing a jacket from the wall peg to the right of the front door, Mara stepped out onto the front porch. Her brother toed the kickstand on the bike, removed his helmet and placed it on the bicycle seat. Turning to face the house, he shrugged a book bag off his shoulders.
“Hey, sis. I see you finally got up,” he said.
“What’ve you got in the bag?” Mara asked.
“I ran over to the convenience store on Seventh and picked up a few things for Mom. And I got some treats for Hannah.”
“To make up for missing Halloween.”
“Yeah, but don’t tell her. I stopped by a few of the neighbors’ houses and