Awake and Dreaming (8 page)

The walls were lined with shelves decorated with stickers. The higher ones were crammed with books and magazines, model horses and two china piggy banks. On the lower shelves were more books, notepads, straw baskets overflowing with jewellery and shells, a snow dome, a pink dinosaur, a photograph of a lot of girls dressed in soccer uniforms, a baseball glove and dozens of hair elastics. Two dressers were against the far wall, their tops strewn with more stuff and most of their drawers gaping open.

From the ceiling were suspended a rooster puppet on strings and two mobiles, one of felt flowers and one of whales. A poster labelled “My Grow Chart” went up one wall and all around the top of it ran a peeling frieze of Beatrix Potter characters.

Theo kept gazing at the colourful chaos. Then she sat up gingerly; she didn't want to wake herself up. She glanced at the table beside the bed and gasped.

“THEO!” Her name shouted at her from the top of a piece of paper.

She picked it up and read with trembling fingers.

Good morning! We hope you're feeling better. Mum and

Dad said we had to go to school, so we won't see you until

lunch. I've put a housecoat and slippers for you on the chair.

Mum is working in the room at the back of the kitchen.

She says to come down when you're ready for breakfast.

Can't wait to see you again!

Love, Anna.

Theo tried to steady her breath. Had it happened? The last thing she could remember was standing on the windy deck of the ferry, while Rae strode towards her. Then Theo had made a desperate wish on the new moon. Wishing she could be in this family …

Had her wish come true? But how was that possible? She
must
be dreaming! She pinched the skin on the back of her hand—it hurt.

“It
has
happened!” she whispered. She felt ripped open with joy.

She stood on the bed and tugged at the blind covering the skylight. It shot up with a rattle, exposing tree branches dripping with water.

Now the colourful room was even brighter. A blue housecoat and furry red slippers lay on a chair beside the bed. Theo stepped onto the bare wood floor. She looked down—she was wearing red pyjamas she'd never seen before. They were too big and the sleeves and legs dangled below her hands and feet. She rolled them up and put on the housecoat and slippers.

The fat slippers made her feet look like red cushions. She padded around the messy room. The bottom bunk must be Lisbeth's—a small pink nightgown was scrunched on it. A beautiful, new-looking doll was leaning against the
headboard. It had red hair and a tartan dress edged with lace. Theo picked it up, touched each of the doll's shiny black shoes, and inhaled its clean rubbery smell. Then she put it back in the same place, smoothing its long hair.

A movement at the end of the bed make her squeal. What she thought was a stuffed animal stretched out its legs and raised its head.

A cat! A black and white cat with long legs. It came over and sniffed at Theo, purring. She patted it gently, trying to remember its name—Moustache?

Beardsley,
that was it. “Hello, Beardsley,” whispered Theo. The cat arched its back, pressing its head against her hand. She rubbed it in the hollow places behind its ears, the way she used to with Calico Cat.

Then she had to pee. She went out of the bedroom into a square hall and found the bathroom off it. It was as untidy as the girls' room, with damp towels in a heap on the floor and small pieces of bright plastic—Lego, a frog, boats—strewn in the bathtub and sink.

After Theo came out, she stood gloating for a few seconds in the middle of the hall. If she peed in a dream she'd wake up in a wet bed. But she was still here!

She glanced into the other open doors. One room was a grown-up's containing a wide, neatly made bed. The other room smelled like dirty socks. It was littered with little boys' clothes and toys and contained only one narrow bed. Ben must sleep here; she wondered where John's room was.

The house was very quiet. Some faint car noises came from outside and a gurgling sound came from below.
Theo hesitated at the top of the stairs, staring at the blurry view beyond the window: a holly hedge, layers of treetops and a leaden sky. Her stomach roared with hunger, but she felt too shy to talk to the children's mother alone. What was her name? Laura …

Then Theo's ecstasy faded as quickly as it had come. She was sure Laura would tell Theo she didn't really belong here. It was silly to think that her wish had come true. There was probably a reason she was in this house. Rae might have got sick on the ferry and Theo had come here to stay for a few days. Or maybe Rae—or Sharon—gave her permission to visit. But why couldn't she remember?

Finally she worked up enough nerve to go down the stairs. They led into another hall. On one side was a living-room, on the other a den lined with books. Theo kept following the hall to a large kitchen with a smaller room at the far end of it. Through the open door she could see a woman sitting at a table, her back to Theo.

A big black dog leapt up from the woman's feet and galumphed over to Theo. It jumped up and slathered her face with its tongue, its thrashing tail hitting the wall. Theo backed away; she had always avoided dogs.

“Down, Bingo! Come here!” Laura hurried over and took the dog by its collar. “You're awake, Theo! I hope you don't mind dogs. He's very gentle—he's just kissing you.
Bed,
Bingo!” The dog went over to a large round cushion in the corner of the kitchen; but he kept his eyes hopefully on Theo.

Theo wiped her face. A kiss? It was more like a wash.

“Did you have a good sleep?” asked Laura. “Do you feel better?”

Theo nodded with confusion. Had she been sick?

“You must be starving—it's almost eleven! Come and sit down and I'll get you some breakfast. Would you like cereal? Toast?”

Theo sat at a scratched wooden table and gulped down a bowl of puffed rice. Then she ate two pieces of toast and peanut butter and an orange cut into sections. She sipped at a mug of cocoa, her stomach finally satisfied.

Laura didn't seem to mind that Theo didn't speak. Her movements were precise and orderly as she buttered toast and poured cocoa into the mug. Her smooth dark hair met in points below her narrow chin; her long fingers were stained yellow and red.

“Feel better?” She sat down beside Theo with a mug of coffee. “We had a hard time getting the others off to school! Lisbeth wanted you to go with them, but you're supposed to take it easy. Did you know you fainted? Luckily there was a doctor on the ferry. You weren't out for very long, but as soon as you came to, you went right to sleep. You slept all the way back to the city in the car. We had to carry you up to bed. Do you remember fainting?”

Theo shook her head. Why had she been brought to this house? Where was Rae? She waited for Laura to tell her, but Laura just sat there calmly, smiling at Theo.

Theo tried to think of something to say besides asking where her mother was. “Where's Ben?” she asked finally. Surely he was too young to go to school.

“Ben goes to preschool every morning. My neighbour brings him home at twelve. And Dan's at work. He teaches English at the University of Victoria. I work at home—I'm a graphic artist. Right now I'm doing a line of greeting cards. I'll show them to you later.”

So that was why her fingers were stained.

Laura leaned forward, her eyes full of affection. “Dan and I have been discussing what you should call us, Theo. Of course we aren't your real parents, but since you're part of this family now, do you want to call us Mum and Dad like the others do? Or would you prefer Laura and Dan … It's entirely up to you, and you don't have to decide right away.”

Theo almost fell off her chair. “Part of this family now.” Then it
had
happened! But how? How could she possibly just wish on the new moon and have her wish come true? Even in a book that would seem unbelievable.

But Theo didn't want to think about how or why. She was
here,
in this safe, cozy house. Somehow her wish had come true—a pleasant woman was sitting beside her and asking Theo if she wanted to call her “Mum.”

Maybe it would all turn out to be a dream, or to have some other explanation. Maybe this would end as suddenly as it began. In that case she was going to soak up as much of this wonderful adventure as she could, before it was snatched away.

“If you don't mind … I'd like to call you Mum and Dad,” Theo whispered.

“Are you sure? You don't want to think about it?”

“I'm sure.”

There were tears in Laura's eyes. “I would be honoured if you would, Theo.” She kissed her cheek gently. “Now you really are part of us.”

Theo felt herself melt, just as she had on the ferry when Lisbeth had hugged her. This
was
magic. Her legs were wobbly and she could hardly stand up when Laura suggested they go upstairs and find some clothes. “The others will be home for lunch soon.”

Laura took Theo's hand and led her out of the kitchen. Bingo followed them with a ball in his mouth. When they reached the upstairs hall, he dropped it in front of Theo. He looked so eager that she picked it up, gooey with saliva, and threw it down the stairs. He rushed after it and was back instantly. Theo reached out and timidly stroked his head. His black fur was as soft as velvet and his adoring brown eyes begged her to throw the ball again.

“Just ignore him,” said Laura. “He'll never leave you alone if you don't.” She sighed as they entered the girls' room. “I'm the only neat person in this sloppy family. All Dan keeps in order are his books, and the rest of them are hopeless.” She began picking up the clothes on the floor. “I hope you don't mind sharing a room with Anna and Lisbeth, Theo. At least they had this extra bed. Dan just converted a storage cupboard downstairs for John. It's minute, but he loves being on his own—he used to share with Ben. I wish we had more space, but we love this old house so much we'd never leave it. Now let's see … you're
in between Anna and Lisbeth for sizes. There's not much that's going to fit.”

Laura poked around in the drawers and the closet and came up with underwear, a baggy pair of jeans, a sweatshirt with a dancing cow on the front and striped blue and green socks. “Here, try these on.”

The jeans were too wide at the waist, but Laura cinched them in with a belt. She appraised Theo. “That'll do for now. Tomorrow morning I'll take you downtown and get you some clothes of your own. Here, try these old shoes of Anna's.”

Theo slipped on a pair of dingy white runners. She wondered what had happened to her own clothes—the ones she'd been wearing and the ones packed in the duffel bag. And Sabrina, and the library book she had taken … But that made her wonder about Rae again. She quickly pushed down any more thoughts of her life before today.

The cat emerged from under the bed and trotted over to Theo. It gave a short “Mrra!”

“I see you've already met Beardsley,” Laura laughed.

“Doesn't Bingo chase him?” asked Theo.

“Oh, no, they're the best of friends. Sometimes they even sleep together.”

Theo sighed with content. Even the dog and cat were perfect.

A door slammed downstairs. “Mum! Where are you! Where's Theo?”

Laura held out her hand. “Are you ready? Let's go down.”

8

T
heo sat quietly at the kitchen table while John, Anna, Lisbeth and Ben competed to tell her things.

“One at a time,” Laura kept saying. “Let poor Theo have some peace!”

But Theo felt like a limp rag doll that was being passed around from hand to hand. She listened to Anna's story about her friend and assured John that she felt all right. She nodded when Lisbeth asked if she liked her room and while Ben told her more about his imaginary iguana.

“Grace was allowed to record a new message on their answering machine and do you know what she said, Theo? ‘Please leave a message after the
honk
.' Her parents didn't notice until this morning and—”

“—Try one of these, Theo, they're—”

“—If you don't like the single bed you can have the lower bunk. And you can sleep with any of my animals or dolls you like, even Heather. She's my most favourite, I got her—”

“—Mortimer usually eats flies and bees, but sometimes he eats—”

“Everyone be
quiet
!” said Laura. They were for about half a minute and then they all started nattering again.

“You have really pretty hair, Theo. I wish I had curly hair. It's not fair that Ben got it.”

“—and my soccer team is in the finals this Saturday—”

“—and sometimes Mortimer
bites
but I won't let him bite you—”

“I'm learning a really hard piece on the piano right now.”

Theo turned her face to look at John. “That's nice,” she whispered. She nibbled her sandwich again, but she wasn't hungry. She was full of breakfast and full of something else—this new melting sensation that filled her like soothing warm water.

“It's twenty to one,” said Laura finally. “Off you go, you older ones. You can see Theo after school.”

“It's not fair!” said Lisbeth. “Can't we stay home? Theo won't have anyone to play with.”

“
I
can play with Theo. What about me?” demanded Ben.

“You'll be taking your nap.
Please,
Mum …”

“I want to stay home, too,” said Anna. John nodded beside her.

Laura regarded them. “I do have a lot of phone calls to make and I don't want you to be lonely while Ben naps, Theo.”

“I'm not
having
a nap,” said Ben.

Laura ignored him. “Okay, one of you can stay home … Lisbeth.”

“That's not fair!” said Anna. “Lisbeth always gets her own way!”