The Truth According to Ginny Moon Benjamin Ludwig (books to read in your 30s .txt) 📖

a part of her life so you can see firsthand just what a delight she can be.”

Rick looks down and away. Then back. “I just—” he starts to say but my Forever Mom interrupts him.

“Thank you, Rick,” she says. “Thank you so much.”

EXACTLY 3:03 IN THE AFTERNOON,

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22ND

There will be a Winter Concert tonight and Rick and my Forever Dad are coming to see me play my flute in it. My Forever Mom will stay home with my Forever Sister. Rick is eating over before we leave. We’ll eat early at exactly four-thirty. Then I’ll change into concert attire and we’ll go.

Rick is walking in the door right now.

“Patrice says the social workers went to the apartment,” I tell him. “She says they’re having an investigation. They’ll be going to visit every day.”

“I bet Gloria doesn’t like that,” says Rick. He takes his coat off. My Forever Dad takes it from him and hangs it up in the closet. We go to sit in the living room. I sit on the couch and my Forever Dad sits next to me. Rick sits in the chair by the window. My Forever Mom leans in the doorway. Her hair is longer than I remember it.

“The paper they wrote said upon their arrival my Baby Doll exhibited no unusual signs of stress,” I say. Because Patrice read the paper to me on the phone last night.

“Well, that’s good,” says Rick.

“They’re going to visit it every day,” I say, “because Crystal with a C isn’t there anymore. They’re going to keep an eye on things for a while.”

Rick takes a drink of his coffee. “Did you ever wonder if maybe Gloria changed?”

“Her shirt looks mostly different.”

“Right, but I mean maybe who she is changed. Moms are people, too, you know. They change, just like everyone else. From what I understand, things were pretty difficult for Gloria when you were in the apartment with her. You’re a pretty special kid, Ginny. Plus, there was the baby to deal with, and she was an addict.”

In my brain I see that he is right. People change. I changed and no one knows it. I changed into (-Ginny).

“So you don’t think she gets mad and hits anymore?” I say.

“I didn’t say that,” says Rick. “But if we’re honest, we don’t know that she still does. Like I said, moms change.”

“My Forever Mom changed,” I say.

On the other side of the couch my Forever Dad sits up. My Forever Mom stands up straight.

“Really?” says Rick.

I nod my head yes. “She—”

“Ginny,” says my Forever Dad, “Rick’s right. Gloria probably changed a lot since you were living in the apartment. But we have to let the social workers finish their investigation. No one realized that your aunt went over there every day to help her take care of your Baby Doll.”

“Who knows?” says Rick. “If Gloria gets the help she needs, maybe she can come visit you.”

Everyone looks at Rick.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” says my Forever Mom.

“Why not?” Rick says.

“Yes, why not?” I say.

“Because I won’t allow it,” she says.

“We’re talking about someone who was involved in a kidnapping,” my Forever Dad says.

“Crystal is in jail,” says Rick.

“Crystal with a C,” I say.

“Right, but you don’t think she acted alone, do you?” says my Forever Dad. “We don’t know what the police discovered, but I don’t believe for a second that the two weren’t working together. The case is far from over, but come on, Gloria isn’t someone we want around Ginny. She’s way too volatile.”

“Like I said before, people change,” says Rick. “Didn’t you folks ever go through a rough patch? I know I sure have. And now look at all of us.”

I look but I don’t see anything different. I hope no one looks at me.

“Gloria will never come to this house for a visit,” my Forever Mom says. “Not over my dead body.”

“All right, then,” says Rick. “I see how it is. I’m a little more open than you, that’s all. Maybe a little more forgiving.”

“We just want everyone to be safe,” says my Forever Dad.

“I know, I know,” says Rick. “But sometimes it’s safer to get people together than it is to keep them apart. I sure appreciate what you’re doing here, though. With me and Ginny. Just being able to see and talk with her after all these years has sort of filled me up. And if everything works out...”

He stops talking and smiles at me. I don’t know why but I smile back.

EXACTLY 11:56 AT NIGHT,

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24TH—CHRISTMAS EVE

At exactly seven o’clock I took my shower at Grammy’s house and then I put on my jammies even though I wasn’t in my bedroom at the Blue House. Everyone knows that the true meaning of Christmas is Jesus the Crisis Savior of the World but what it’s really about is presents. There were lots of people at Grammy’s house and all of them had presents for me. I got a new Michael Jackson T-shirt and a book about Michael Jackson and some clothes and some coloring books. Plus a Michael Jackson puzzle and a Michael Jackson mug.

After opening the presents I ate fish and broccoli and sauerkraut and something called pierogi with meat and cheese in them and mashed potatoes and salad for supper and then after supper at exactly 9:07 we had little hot dogs on toothpicks and little kielbasas and I threw up in the sink. I wanted to go have some more but my Forever Mom said no, that was quite enough.

Now I am sitting in the car and we are on our way home. The clock in the car says 11:56. It is past my bedtime but all week we talked about how it’s all right to stay up late on Christmas Eve because Christmas Eve is a special occasion. My Forever Sister is asleep in its car seat and my Forever Dad is driving.

At the Blue House we pull into the