The Truth According to Ginny Moon, Benjamin Ludwig [good books for high schoolers .txt] 📗

princesses. Someone is even dressed like a cow. And all of them are making noise. So much noise I can’t stand it. The music is way too loud. A lot of the kids are yelling and trying to scare each other. I see vampires and gypsies. I see a giant bug and a cat. I even see a kid dressed up as a baby. It is like all the things that are in my brain came out.

So I take my costume off. I pull the sheet down off my head and stand there holding it.

“Ginny, why did you do that?” says my Forever Mom.

And I say, “We need to leave now.”

And she says, “Why?”

“Because it’s too loud.”

“Ginny,” my Forever Mom says, “we just got here. I’m trying to spend time with you without the baby.” She looks back and forth fast and lifts her foot and puts it down again. “Don’t you want to walk around and find your friends?” she says. “What about Larry and Kayla? What about Alison? I bet Ms. Dana is here, too.”

I think she asked me a question but I can’t remember what it was so I don’t say anything. A small boy in a green mask runs past me. His shoulder touches my costume. “Ow!” I yell and step back. Someone else knocks into me. I recoil and almost bump into a boy who is dressed like a football player. He says, “Hey!” and makes an angry face. I recoil again.

My Forever Mom’s lip rises. “Fine,” she says. Through her teeth. “No one can say I didn’t try. Now let’s go.”

She shoves her hand out. I used to like holding her hand but I don’t take it. Because I’m not who I used to be anymore and I don’t think my Forever Mom likes the person I turned into. I don’t think I like the person I turned into either.

We walk back out of the gym and through the hallway and back outside. The air is cold but it feels good on my face. Halloween is not the same as it used to be when I was with Gloria. Nothing is the same as it used to be. I am not Ginny anymore.

I am not Ginny.

I am (-Ginny).

And that scares me, scares me, scares me. Because I don’t know that girl.

EXACTLY 2:52 IN THE AFTERNOON,

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND

My Forever Dad makes a breathing sound. “Ginny, please, stop checking your watch. I’m trying to talk with you.”

We are at the kitchen table. My Forever Sister is crying. It does that a lot. The sound makes me want to run upstairs and pick it up because I know exactly what to do to help it. But I don’t because I remember the most important rule.

“There are two things we need to talk about,” he says.

I am happy. He is using numbers and numbers make me glad.

“First, you have to stay away from your mother’s room. From our room, I mean. She’s in there all the time now with the baby because she needs some privacy. You can’t go in there anymore for any reason, and you can’t stand right outside the door listening. And when your mom comes downstairs with the baby, you have to stop telling her how to take care of it. No more advice on what to feed it or what it needs. And the most important thing is that you have to stop hovering so much. Give your mom some space, okay? She won’t put the baby down because she knows you’ll bend down over it and stare. It scares her, Ginny. It scares me, too. I know that’s hard to hear, but it’s the truth.”

“What is the second thing we need to talk about?” I ask. Because he finished with the first.

“The second thing is that I have the first letter,” he says. He puts a folded piece of paper on the table. His face looks a lot redder than it used to look and he takes more pills in the morning now. At night too. And sometimes he lies down on the couch to rest after he finishes talking to me and closes his eyes. And breathes deep and slow. “From your Birth Dad. Are you ready to read it?”

I nod my head yes.

“Getting to know your Birth Dad will be easier this way,” he says. “If the two of you exchange letters for a while, you’ll have more to talk about when you finally meet.”

“When will we finally meet?”

“We’re not sure yet. We’re going to give it a while and see how things go before we set a date.”

Upstairs the crying stops. I take a deep breath and uncurl my fingers. “Can I read the letter now?” I say.

“Sure.”

So I unfold the paper and read.

Dear Ginny,

I’m really glad to have the chance to talk with you. It sure has been a long time. By now you know that I’m your father. I met Gloria when a buddy of mine wanted a cat. He looked into Maine coons and set up a time to go see some. At your mom’s house. My buddy didn’t get a cat but I got a date. Your mom was the smartest girl I ever met. We dated for a while and then she said she was going to have a baby. I wanted to marry her. We even had plans for a wedding but she left with you a few days after you were born. I left to go to work and when I came back that night to the hospital she was gone. Apparently she went to Canada. I found her later back in Maine but she said she didn’t want to see me. I think another man was involved and maybe drugs too. Anyway it was over between us so I stayed away. Dads don’t really have any rights. I stayed in touch with her over the phone and email but that was the most she would allow. Then after