“Not if it costs money,” Thea said, and she and Gina both laughed.
“Disneyland is kind of a kid place,” Gina said. “Now, I’d really like to meet Dirk Marshall. He’s on The Forever Family. Do you watch that?”
“I’ve seen it once or twice,” Thea said.
“I think he’s so cute,” Gina said. “Here’s a picture of him. I’d put it up over my bed, but they don’t let us. Isn’t he cute?”
Thea checked out Dirk Marshall’s picture in TV Dreamstars. He was cute. “You’re right,” she said. “Look at those eyes.”
“You have blue eyes, too,” Gina said. “My eyes are brown. So are Kip’s and Dani’s. Dani is really pretty. She doesn’t come to visit me very often because she hates hospitals. She says it isn’t fair to expect her to spend time in them when she isn’t the one who’s sick. I’m talking a lot. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Thea said. “I think you’re interesting.”
“Do you really?” Gina asked.
“I really do,” Thea said. “I’d like to be your Friendly Visitor if you’d like it.”
Gina nodded. “Maybe we could be friends, too,” she said. “Marie and Bucky aren’t friends with their Friendly Visitors, but that’s because their Friendly Visitors are grown-ups. Could we be friends?”
“I don’t see why not,” Thea said. “Maybe when you’re feeling up to it, you could visit me at home. You could be my Friendly Visitor for the day.”
“And I could meet your sisters,” Gina said. “Maybe Sybil and I could become friends, too.”
“I think you’d like each other,” Thea said.
“Who would like who?”
“Kip!” Gina said. “Kip, this is Thea. She’s my Friendly Visitor. Thea, this is Kip, my brother.”
Thea smiled. “Hi, Kip,” she said. “I didn’t hear you walk in.”
“I walk softly,” Kip said. “But I carry a big stick.” He looked at Thea, who waited for him to smile, which he didn’t. Eventually she stopped waiting. She would have liked to see him smile, to see if his smile rivaled Gina’s. Not that he wasn’t good-looking without the smile. Not as cute as Dirk Marshall, but definitely good-looking, with dark brown hair and brown eyes.
“Gina’s been telling me all about your family,” Thea said. “We only met a few minutes ago, but I feel like I know all of you.”
“Lucky girl,” Kip said, and then he turned his attention to Gina. “Hi there, pumpkinhead,” he said. “How has your day been?”
“Boring,” Gina said.
“Did you do your arithmetic lesson?” Kip asked.
“I tried, but I couldn’t figure it out,” Gina said. “It’s hard when there’s no one to ask. I did my English, though. I read the story in the book and I answered all the questions.”
“Good,” Kip said. “Did Mom help you?”
Gina shook her head. “Mom brought her checkbook and her bills,” she replied. “And she said there wasn’t enough money for any of them. She complained about Dani a lot. She said Dani got caught shoplifting and the store was making her pay for all the stuff she stole. She said she wished Dani would steal from cheaper stores and that if she got into trouble like this one more time then she’d just let her go to jail and see how Dani liked that.”
“I’ll talk to Dani tonight,” Kip said. “I don’t really think she wants to go to jail.”
“I bet the food in jail is even worse than it is here,” Gina said.
“Speaking of which, I brought you a doughnut,” Kip said. He whipped out a paper bag and handed it to his sister. “Chocolate creme. Your favorite.”
Gina looked in the bag. “Maybe later,” she said. “I’m not really hungry right now.”
“Later, then,” Kip said. “All right. If you feel up to it, why don’t we start on that arithmetic lesson.”
“Not while Thea is here,” Gina said. “Thea’s going to be my friend, too, Kip. And she’ll visit me and then you won’t have to come here so much.”
“I like coming here,” Kip said. “Are you going to deprive me of that, pumpkinhead?”
“Nobody likes coming here,” Gina said.
“True,” Kip said. “I like seeing you. And if the only place to see you is here, then coming here isn’t so bad. Is that honest enough for you?”
Gina nodded.
“So let’s get to work on that arithmetic lesson,” Kip said.
“Can Thea help?” Gina asked.
“Sure,” Kip said. “How’s your long division?”
“Fabulous,” Thea replied. “I’m the envy of all I know.”
Gina giggled, and even Kip smiled. It was half Gina’s smile and it looked like it took him twice the effort.
“No arithmetic now, I’m afraid,” a nurse said, walking toward Gina’s bed. “I need a few minutes alone with Gina, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course we mind,” Kip said. “But what must be must be.”
“Don’t go,” Gina said. “You, too, Thea. Thea’s my Friendly Visitor.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Thea,” the nurse said. “I’m sorry for the interruption, but, Gina, honey, you know the routine.”
“She could teach it to you,” Kip said. “Gina, we’ll be waiting outside. But as soon as we get back, it’s arithmetic time.”
“Okay,” Gina said.
Kip and Thea walked out of the ward as the nurse pulled the curtain around Gina’s bed. “I like Gina a lot,” Thea said as they stood outside the room. “She’s very sweet.”
“She talks too much,” Kip replied. “But I guess she doesn’t have that many chances to talk. I hope you didn’t mind all that stuff about Dani.”
“That’s okay,” Thea said. “I’ve heard worse.”
“Dani’s going through a rough time,” Kip said. “Mom works four to midnight weekdays, and she has a part-time job on weekends as well. Whatever spare time she has, she spends here. Dani’s alone a lot more than she should be.”
“That must be very hard on all of you,” Thea said. “Your mother working so much.”
“Working cuts down on her drinking,” Kip replied. “So in some ways it’s good. I work eight to four at the Burger Bliss. I’m the sub assistant manager. That means I’m eighteen and full time. Do you go to school?”
“Briarton High,” Thea said. “I’m a junior.”
“I don’t remember having seen you there,” Kip said.
“We just moved here,” Thea replied. “We used to live in Harrison.”
“Do you always visit hospitals?” Kip asked. “Is that how you get your kicks?”
“No,” Thea said. “This is my first time.”
“Well, I hope it isn’t your last,” Kip declared. “Gina seems to like you.”
“She said this was her fourth time in the hospital,” Thea said. “I can’t imagine what that must be like.”
“It’s hell,” Kip said. “Maybe a little bit worse than hell.”
“You must all be looking forward to when she gets home,” Thea said.
“Gina isn’t coming home,” Kip replied.
“You mean you’re moving?” Thea asked. “Gina said your apartment was small.”
Kip stared at Thea. “I mean Gina’s going to die here,” he said. “She’s never going to get well enough to come back home.”
Oh, God, Thea thought. Nicky, what have you gotten me into?
“You didn’t know?” Kip said. “Nobody told you?”
“No,” Thea said. “Mrs. Chambers just said there was a high cure-rate. Sixty percent. And Gina certainly didn’t say. Does she know?”
Kip shrugged. “Probably,” he said. “She hasn’t brought it up, at least not with me, and probably not with Mom, either. I would have heard about it if she had. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know, just that she doesn’t want to talk about it. So don’t you mention it, either, okay?”
“Sure,” Thea said. “I never would. How can you know? Did the doctors tell you?”
“Doctors don’t say
things like die anymore,” Kip replied. “They say there’s no point continuing treatments and we should prepare ourselves for the worst and it’s probably just a matter of months. This is Gina’s fourth bout with cancer. The first three times the treatments put her in remission. This time, they haven’t. Remission is life, no matter how short it lasts. No remission is death, which lasts forever I’m told. It’s that simple.”
“No,” Thea said. “It’s not simple.”
“You’re right,” Kip said. “It’s not simple at all. So do you still want to be Gina’s Friendly Visitor?”
Thea thought about it, while trying to look as though she weren’t. She’d never known anyone who’d died before, not even grandparents, let alone someone Sybil’s age. And what if that were Sybil lying on the hospital bed while they all waited out the time until she died. How would Thea ever be able to survive? No wonder Kip didn’t smile.
“I like Gina,” she said. “And Gina seems happy to have a Friendly Visitor.”
“Happier than I’ve seen her in a while,” Kip said. “Maybe you can talk her into eating that doughnut.”
“I’ll give it a try,” Thea said. “The doughnut, I mean. I’ll stick with being Gina’s Friendly Visitor.”
“Thank you,” Kip said. “In return, I promise we’ll never send you down to bail Dani out.”
Thea nodded. “It’s a deal,” she said.
The nurse walked through the door and smiled at them. “I’m all done,” she said. “And Gina’s eager to get on with your visit.”
“We’re eager, too,” Kip said. “Come on, Thea. Let’s teach the kid some math while we have the chance.”
Buy Thea at Sixteen Now!
About the Author
Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote her first novel, Just Morgan, during her last semester at New York University. Since then, she has written over seventy novels for children and young adults, including Kid Power, Fantasy Summer, Starring Peter and Leigh, and The Friendship Pact, as well as the series Sebastian Sisters and Make Me a Star. Pfeffer’s books have won ten statewide young reader awards and the Buxtehude Bulle Award.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1988 by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Cover design by Mimi Bark
ISBN: 978-1-4532-0105-3
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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Susan Beth Pfeffer, Evvie at Sixteen
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