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come up with a small suggestion, he rules it out without even thinking about it.
    I grab some cookies and a can of soda and head down to my bedroom in the basement. lie on my bed and strum my guitar for a few minutes, then sit up and grab my phone.
    I scroll through my contacts and find Sandy’s name. Then, without giving myself a chance to lose my nerve, I call her.
    The phone rings a couple of times before someone picks up. I hear breathing on the other end of the line, but nobody says anything.
    â€œHello?” I say.
    â€œROOOOOAAAAARRRRRR,” someone screams, so loudly that I almost drop my phone. I hold it away from my head until the screaming has stopped, then listen again.
    â€œOh my god, Bailey,” I hear someone say. “What is wrong with you?” Then, into the phone: “Hello?”
    It’s her. “Hi, Sandy?”
    â€œYes, who’s this?”
    â€œIt’s Neil McClintock. Uh, from, uh, the Family McClintock.” It comes out sounding so completely ridiculous that I want to crawl under my bed.
    â€œOh, Neil! Hey!” she says. “I’m so sorry about the hollering. I try to keep Beast away from my phone, but he’s just too quick. So how’s it going?”
    â€œIt’s going good,” I say. “I was wondering if you were still interested in maybe getting together to jam sometime.”
    â€œTotally,” she says. “I’m dying to hang out with someone who isn’t a monster child or a senior citizen. When were you thinking?”
    â€œUh, I don’t know,” I say. I haven’t thought that far ahead.
    â€œWhat are you doing now?” she asks. “Can you get a ride to our cottage?”
    â€œI’ll have to see if anyone is around to take me,” I say. “I’ll let you know as soon as I check.”
    â€œSounds good,” she says. “I’ll text you directions.”
    This has turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. I run upstairs to look for a ride, but nobody is around.
    I finally find Gran in the garden. “Where are Mom and Dad?” I ask.
    â€œThey just headed out to run some errands,” she says. “They’ll be home for supper.”
    â€œWhat about Shamus?”
    â€œI think he’s out somewhere with whatever girl he’s dating these days.”
    â€œOh sh—”
    â€œLanguage,” she warns.
    â€œShoot,” I say. “I really need a ride somewhere.”
    â€œI think Kathy’s in her room,” says Gran. “Maybe she’ll drive you in the bus.”
    â€œSure,” says Kathy when I ask her. “I could stand to think about something else for a while.”
    It’s always weird to be driving in the bus when it’s not full of people. I try not to think about global warming and promise myself that I’ll buy some carbon credits if I actually score with Sandy.
    â€œSo who am I taking you to see?” Kathy asks as we bump along the unpaved road to Sandy’s cottage.
    â€œSome girl I met at the church show yesterday,” I tell her.
    â€œOooh,” she says. “A girl. Should I be intrigued?”
    â€œYou can be as intrigued as you want. Just don’t mention it to anyone,” I say.
    â€œDon’t worry,” she says. “I know all about trying to keep secrets in this family.”
    â€œWhat’s going on with you, anyway?” I ask. “Are you upset about that guy?”
    She sighs. “Yeah. I keep thinking about next year, and what’s going to happen.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    She glances over at me. She seems to be contemplating something. “Can you keep a secret?” she asks finally.
    â€œYeah,” I say. “For sure.”
    â€œThere’s a program I’m looking into. It’s offered through the university, and it would let me get credit for doing some international development work. I could probably arrange to work on the