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the heater still worked like new. Their five-mile trip to the Martial Arts Academy would take them down Center Street, the main thoroughfare through Whickett. Meredith marveled how the bedroom community for the city of Albany still managed to maintain a small town feel. Many of the homes were older, but people seemed to take pride in their town and, for the most part, kept their houses up. Greenspond, where Meredith’s family used to live, was smack in the middle of the Catskill Mountains. To get to the closest grocery store they had to travel about fifteen miles to Deposit, although they sometimes went to a small convenience store a few miles down on the Quickway in a pinch. She missed the mountains, but there were definite benefits to living near a big city, and Meredith definitely liked the convenience of the nearby stores.
    “Scawey house,” Mikey said as they came to a stop in front of the house that time forgot.
    “Scary, isn’t it, Mikey? I wonder who lives there.”
    The old Victorian house with its lacy ornamentation around the windows, doors, and roofline looked out of place along Center Street. She had learned about Victorian architecture from an art book she’d read at some point. She wondered what the four-gabled Victorian house looked like in its heyday. Meredith was sure that the peeling rose-colored paint had looked grand at one time. Three steps led up to a small landing surrounded by a darker rose-colored banister. Meredith admired the arched windows and the myriad geometric shapes that gave the house its old-time character. The trim surrounding the front picture window seemed to be waiting for one more snowstorm to smash it to its final resting place. She looked up at the second of three stories and imagined having an old-fashioned tea party on the balcony. She laughed. The balcony, overlooking the hustle and bustle of Center Street, would make for a noisy tea party, indeed.
    Although Center Street was zoned for commercial businesses, the old house seemed to have dug in its heels refusing to budge. Meredith wondered if people still lived in the old house, and if they did, they probably hated having an auto parts store on one side and a Mexican Restaurant on the other.
    The traffic light turned green, and they continued toward the Martial Arts Academy. Meredith pulled the old pickup truck into the parking lot.
    “Taekwondo, taekwondo.” Mikey mushed the words together.
    “All right, Mikey Pikey. Are you psyched?”
    “Psych!” He shrieked.
    She put the truck in park and was reluctant to turn off the engine because that would cut the heater and they would have to brave the mid-twenties temperature. She did it anyway. A sister’s duty. “Okay, little brother. Let’s do it. Take off your seatbelt and watch out for cars, okay? Ready?”
    “Yeah.” He said with excitement. Once he got his seatbelt off, his hand flew to the truck’s door handle. “Weddy, Mewey.”
    “Okay.” She grabbed her handle and yelled, “Go.” They both jammed opened their doors and jumped out of the truck. Mikey slammed his door first. He was beating her. Meredith slammed her door and ran after him into the Academy.
    “I win. I win.” Mikey giggled inside the Academy door.
    “You always win, Mikey. I have to get in better shape if I’m going to beat you next time.” Meredith shook her head. He really had beaten her that time. Usually she let him win, but this time she had all she could do to keep up. She wasn’t in the best of shape, and she even thought of herself as a little soft. Dani always looked strong and healthy and for the briefest of seconds, Meredith considered joining some kind of organized sports team. She rejected the idea just as quickly, though, because sports were as foreign to her as art seemed to be for Dani. She found a seat with the karate moms who sat in a line of fold up chairs along the mirrored wall of the workout area.
    One of the academy instructors helped Mikey take off his coat. The