Zoe in Wonderland by Brenda Woods Page A

realized she was missing her usual perfumy smell too.
    â€œAll finished with my treatments. Docs are saying it’s looking good.”
    Quincy took his mom’s hand and together we walked down the corridor toward the exit doors. On the way, nurses and other people called out to Kendra, wishing her well. Giving her smiles and hugs.
    â€œGonna miss you round here,” one nurse told her.
    â€œGonna miss you too, but hope never to be back here except to visit, if you catch my meaning.”
    Before we reached the door, Wes took Kendra’s hand and Kendra leaned into him.
    Are they un-splitsville? I wondered.
    Wes and Kendra also acted like they were married again when we stopped at the hardware store.
    â€œYour parents are sure being nice to each other,” I commented to Quincy as we trailed behind Kendra and Wes’s shopping cart.
    He grinned. “Yeah, I know. It’s kinda awesome.”
    Wes stopped the cart and loaded on a bunch of moving boxes.
    â€œI hate packing. And I mean hate it!” Kendra proclaimed.
    â€œWho’s moving?” I asked.
    â€œDidn’t Quincy tell you?” Wes asked.
    â€œTell me what?”
    â€œI’m selling the house here and moving to San Francisco,” Kendra answered.
    My eyes flew to Quincy. “Huh?”
    â€œI was about to tell you,” he said. “My mom is going to move in with us because she can work from home anywhere but my dad can’t leave his job.”
    â€œYou’re going to be in San Francisco forever?”
    â€œLooks that way,” Kendra told me.
    Instantly I went blank inside—like a book with all of its words suddenly erased. I was on the verge of tears.
    â€œSorry. But I wanted to tell you in person because I was afraid you’d get all sad and stuff.”
    â€œThat’s why you didn’t get mad about the baobabs, huh? Because there isn’t going to be any movie, right?”
    â€œSorry,” he repeated. “But it’s good news that my family will all be back together again. Plus it’s not that far away, Zoe.”
    â€œAnd you can come visit anytime,” Kendra added.
    Wes patted my shoulder and smiled. “Plane ride only takes an hour, Zoe.”
    I’m not sure why, but right then this thought showed up from out of nowhere, which I suppose is where thoughts hide. I thought about Adam and all the places he’d been to and how I’d felt like a very boring girl the other day when he’d talked about his adventures—as he called them.
    â€œIt’s not that far away,” I said out loud as if I were trying to convince myself.
    Suddenly, I didn’t feel like a book with no words. Instead, I felt all mixed up, like when you fill your cup with five different kinds of soda. Most of me still wanted Quincy to live right down the street, but some of me was glad he had his parents back together again. Some of me was sad. But some of me was excited to think about taking a plane to visit Quincy. I’d never been on a plane.
    Zoe, wearing safari clothes, boarded the jet. The flight attendant fluffed Zoe’s pillow and offered her hors d’oeuvres—shrimp wrapped with bacon—Zoe’s favorite. The pilot started the engine and in no time the plane was on its way to the African Serengeti. The baobabs would be beautiful this time of year, and perhaps after that she would head to Madagascar . . .
    â€œZoe?” Quincy whispered.
    â€œI was just wondering . . . how much do plane tickets to San Francisco cost?” I asked Kendra.
    â€œNot that much,” she replied. “I’ll see if you can use my frequent flier miles.”
    â€œAnd I can visit anytime?”
    â€œAnytime,” she replied.
    I turned my watery eyes to my best friend. “And you guys could come here and visit too, right?”
    â€œRight,” Wes replied.
    â€œPlus it’s not that far away,” Quincy repeated.
    I wanted