Light Up New York

by Natalie Grant

  This man was starting to remind Mia of the kids in class who asked questions to show off that they already knew the answers. She elbowed Maddie and raised her eyebrows toward the man. Maddie nodded in total agreement.

  The ranger didn’t seem to mind. Probably having someone asking questions he knew the answers to was better than a ferry full of people who didn’t pay attention. That must happen sometimes too.

  “True,” the ranger said. “And raising the funds to build the pedestal proved harder than you’d think. At first, Americans didn’t realize what an important symbol Lady Liberty would become for our country. But since the time she was installed, her lantern has welcomed many immigrants to our shores. In fact, between 1886 and 1924, almost 14 million immigrants came through this harbor. They came from England, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and many of the Scandinavian countries, and passed the Statue of Liberty on their way to Ellis Island, which is right next to Liberty Island.”

  “Can’t we go outside?” Lulu asked, wiggling in her seat.

  “I’ll take you,” Miss Julia offered.

  The girls all went—out the door and up the steps to the top deck. There weren’t many people on the top deck, just a few clusters here and there, looking over the railings. The girls made their way to one railing to look at the city, and then to the other to look at the Statue of Liberty. She was coming closer all the time. Lulu rummaged around in her backpack and pulled out her magnifying glass.

  “What do you need to see close up?” Mia asked, puzzled. “We’re on the ferry. Everything is out in the distance.”

  Lulu ignored this and started investigating the railing. Sometimes—many times, actually—Mia didn’t understand her little sister. No point in making a big deal about it, though. She turned back to look over the water. Behind her, Lulu started to sing her cha-cha-cha song from this morning. Mia decided to ignore it, focusing instead on the wind in her hair and the salty mist on her cheeks. Just because Lulu wanted their attention didn’t mean she had to have it all the time.

  “Lulu, be careful near the railing,” Miss Julia warned.

  “Cha-cha-cha!” Lulu said.

  Mia rolled her eyes, and then caught herself. God, please help me be patient, she prayed.

  “Let’s take a picture of you girls with the city behind you,” Miss Julia said.

  Mia was grateful for the distraction. She and Maddie posed and smiled, and Miss Julia snapped a few photos.

  “Let’s try a silly one,” Miss Julia said.

  As they posed and she took the photo, Lulu’s song finally stopped. Mia breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the few other people up on the top deck. At least everyone would have a break now from her sister’s constant noise.

  “Lulu, come take a picture with us,” Miss Julia called over her shoulder.

  Lulu didn’t come right away, and they all turned to look for her. For one frightening moment, Mia couldn’t see her sister. Her heart started to thud. What if Lulu had tumbled over the railing into the water? She was about to run and look into the water when Lulu suddenly appeared. She came out from behind the white structure at the front of the ferry that looked like an enclosed little room. Mia assumed the room was for the ship’s captain.

  “Don’t scare me like that!” Miss Julia crossed the deck and wrapped an arm around Lulu’s shoulders. She brought Lulu over to join the girls and said, “Smile!”

  She adjusted her angle to take a few more pictures. The wind bit at their cheeks, so they soon decided to go back inside to sit with Mom and Dad. Everyone watched out the salt-crusted windows. Even though the view wasn’t nearly as nice as the one on the top deck, it was a relief to be inside, away from the cold. Out the window, Liberty Island approached, but they still had about half the harbor to cross. The boat rocked in the waves.

  “Mia, would you like to put together the scavenger hunt for tomorrow?” Miss Julia pulled out her copy of From the Mixed-Up Files.

  “But you’ll spoil the book,” Maddie said. “If you talk about what happens next, I mean. Remember, I haven’t read the whole book yet!”

  “We’ll be quiet,” Miss Julia said. “And we’ll choose items that don’t give the story away.”

  “We promise not to listen.” Lulu covered her ears and started to sing.

  A few people turned to look.

  “How about you come sit with me?” Mom suggested, making room for Maddie and Lulu by her window.

  Once the other girls were out of earshot, Mia told Miss Julia, “Let’s look for that fountain where Claudia and Jamie took baths. What was it called?”

  Miss Julia flipped through the book to find that passage. “Looks like it’s called the Fountain of the Muses.”

  Mia thought hard, trying to remember. “And there were some works of art that Claudia liked. A necklace, I think, and . . . a stone statue of a cat?”

  Miss Julia flipped through the book, jotting notes.

  “That’s three, right?” Mia asked.

  “The fountain, the jewelry of Princess Sit Hathor Yunet, a bronze cat in the Egyptian Wing. Yes, three,” Miss Julia said.

  “We need more,” Mia said. “They slept in a bed with curtains and hid their stuff in a giant urn.”

  Miss Julia flipped through to find those pages, and then studied them more closely. “Yes, but it doesn’t tell us which bed or which urn.”

  “Oh,” Mia said.

  “We can look for a bed with curtains and any large urn. That way, we can’t look them up on a map—you’ll have to actually hunt,” Miss Julia said.

  “I want there to be ten things,” Mia said. “Is that too many?”

  “Not at all. You have five. How about I research and add five more? I’ll choose things you girls might like to see in the museum, even if they weren’t in the book,” Miss Julia suggested.

  EIGHTEEN

  We’re here!” Maddie said, pointing out the window. As if to agree, the ferry bumped up against the dock with a thump. The rangers opened the doors and got to work securing the ferry.

  “Welcome to Liberty Island,” one of them said. “This way, everyone!”

  On Liberty Island, a grand, paved path led to the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Trees lined the walk, and off to one side, statues were tucked between the trees.

  “What are those?” Mia asked.

  Miss Julia checked the map. “It’s a sculpture garden. We should go look closer after we’ve explored the pedestal.”

  “What’s there to explore?” Maddie asked.

  “There’s a museum in the building under the statue,” Mom said.

  Dad laced his fingers through Mom’s. “As an extra treat, we get to visit the top of the pedestal. It isn’t as high as the Statue of Liberty’s crown, but it’s still pretty high. We’ll see excellent views of the city from there.”

  Quiet fell over the group as they approached Lady Liberty. Right now, she faced away from them, but even seeing her from the back and up close was fascinating. For one thing, she was at least three times larger than any statue Mia had ever seen. In all the pictures Mia had seen of the Statue of Liberty, she’d taken all those folds in her gown for granted. Now, she realized how much patience it must have taken to create them. The statue’s beauty surprised Mia, and there also was an air about the whole island that made her feel quiet, respectful, thoughtful. And it seemed like it had the same effect on everyone in the group that was there, not just Mia or the rest of the Glimmers. The Statue of Liberty had become more than a work of art. She was a symbol for all those immigrants the ranger had talked about, and also for every American. She was a symbol of freedom. Well, actually, liberty, but Mia was pretty sure those words meant almost the same thing.

  Mia soaked up the silence. Then, she frowned. She honestly couldn’t remember a time when their family had been together and things had been this quiet. She glanced over at Lulu, who was walking with her head down, not even looking up at the statue.

  “Lulu, is everything okay?” Maddie had noticed Lulu’s qu
ietness too.

  Lulu nodded, but her nod wasn’t all that convincing. Mia decided to leave it alone. At least Lulu wasn’t throwing a fit about something or dancing around and singing, distracting the other people at the statue. Maybe she wasn’t all that interested in the Statue of Liberty. Maybe she was tired. Or maybe she was thinking about the girls’ concert on Friday. Guilt panged through Mia at the thought.

  Miss Julia wrapped an arm around Lulu and started pointing things out to her. Mia seized her chance to talk to Maddie without Lulu overhearing.

  “Maddie.” Mia caught Maddie’s arm and waited until everyone else was a few steps ahead. “I’ve been thinking about Friday morning.”

  “And the concert?” Maddie asked, nodding. “I have too.”

  “Should we ask if Lulu could sing with us?” Mia asked. “If we perform her song, it would only make sense for her to sing with us.”

  “But would you be okay with that?” Maddie asked. “We just sing backup in that song, nothing special. And we’re already doing her song for the concert on Friday night in Times Square.”

  Mia swallowed hard. The minute Jennifer had suggested they sing on Friday, Mia had pictured singing one of the songs that featured her. From there, she hadn’t been able to stop her mind from leap-frogging from possibility to possibility. What if someone important heard them and asked them to record another album . . . What if they could someday be famous just like Mom? That word was a problem for her, she knew. Mom had talked to them often about guarding their hearts, about remembering that gifts were from God. One reason Mia had been so excited about the album in the first place was because it wasn’t about them. Even though they were doing a thing she’d dreamed of doing—recording an album!—the point was raising money for teens in need, not bringing fame and fortune to the Glimmers.

  “I’d be okay with it,” Mia said. “But do you think we can trust Lulu to take it seriously? I mean, you know what could happen.”

  “Yeah,” Maddie agreed. “You know how Mom said we should pray for Lulu? I’ve been doing that, and ever since I started praying, I keep having this thought about Rise and Shine. I can’t help wondering—?”

  “If it’s an idea from God?” Mia asked. “To help us start building trust back with Lulu?”

  Maddie’s mouth tilted up in a half smile. “It doesn’t feel like an idea I’d have on my own.”

  “Yeah.” Mia nodded her head. “I think it’s the right thing to do. We should ask Mom when Lulu isn’t around, though. Just in case Mom says no or it doesn’t work out or whatever.”

  “Okay,” Maddie agreed.

  “Girls, are you coming?” Dad called.

  They hurried to catch up. Inside, the building wasn’t nearly as dark as Mia had expected it to be. Outside, the building resembled Castle Clinton, more like a bunker than a building. To her surprise, light poured in windows set high in the walls. For a little while, they wandered through the museum. Exhibits told the stories of immigrants and the history of the construction of the Statue of Liberty. Even though there was an elevator to the top of the pedestal, they climbed the 215 steps to the top.

  When they looked out the windows at the New York City skyline across the harbor, Dad asked, “Worth the climb?”

  “Worth it!” Mia and Maddie said.

  “What do you think, Lulu?” Dad asked.

  Lulu nodded and smiled a watery smile.

  “How about I take Lulu down in the elevator and out to the sculpture garden?” Miss Julia suggested to the family, seeming to notice that Lulu wasn’t her usual self. “I have some snacks. I’ll bet you’re hungry, Lulu.”

  Lulu didn’t put up any resistance as Miss Julia took her outside. Dad was busy taking photos of the New York skyline. Maddie nudged Mia. It was time.

  “Mom, do you think we could ask Rise and Shine if they’d let Lulu sing with us on Friday?” Mia asked. “We could sing her song.”

  Mom looked surprised. “Let’s find a place to sit so we can talk about this.”

  Once she found a bench, she turned to the girls. “Tell me what you’re thinking here.

  “Lulu has been trying hard lately,” Maddie said. “I mean, since the hair mess.”

  “And it’s true that the album is our project, so it was fair for us to be interviewed about it without Lulu,” Mia said. “But I’m not sure if it’s fair for us to also have a chance to sing on television without her. It seems like a lot of special things for us, and only the ice skating for her.”

  “Singing on Rise and Shine would mean a lot to Lulu,” Maddie said. “And she’s not saying so, but something is obviously upsetting her. Maybe singing with us would cheer her up.”

  “Part of me wants to keep punishing her for what she did to our hair, and to not include her. I feel like saying, ‘It serves her right,’” Mia said. “But that seems like a not-very-forgiving attitude.”

  “True,” Mom said. “A sweet gesture like this is a generous way for you to work toward mending things with Lulu. You’re offering her the chance to rise to the occasion as well. But are you sure? Once I call Jennifer and put this in motion, it won’t be easy to take back.”

  “We know,” Mia said.

  “It’s still the right thing to do,” Maddie said.

  “Okay,” Mom said. “I’ll call Jennifer when we get back to the hotel. Sound good?”

  They agreed on it, and then went to find Dad, who was still snapping photo after photo.

  “Ready?” Mom asked.

  Dad took one last shot. “Ready.”

  They made their way down the steps and out of the building to find Miss Julia and Lulu. After everyone had a snack in the sculpture garden, they lined up to take a photo in front of the Statue of Liberty.

  “Smile, Lulu,” Miss Julia said.

  Mia glanced at her sister and saw again how uncomfortable she looked. Something was obviously wrong. Maybe having a good attitude about Friday was wearing her out. Plus, they hadn’t heard anything about the Snow Angel for hours, so Lulu wasn’t distracted by mystery-solving either. Well, soon they’d have good news for Lulu. Maybe they could put all this behind them. At least, Mia hoped so.

  NINETEEN

  They rode the ferry back across the harbor, and then found another red bus to ride uptown and back to Times Square. They passed Little Italy, Chinatown, and One World Trade Center. The tour guide on this red bus didn’t have as many stories as Ruthie, but he shared little tidbits about the city too. Plus, he pointed out a few Snow Angel sites as they passed by.

  “Do you have any idea who the Snow Angel might be?” Mia asked as they passed the guide on the way down the stairs and off the bus.

  “If I had to guess,” he said, “I’d say it’s the mayor. Wanting to take part in Light Up New York Week, but not wanting anyone to know it’s him. Or I guess some other kind of celebrity. But I’d put money on the mayor.”

  Mia thought this over as they walked back to the hotel from Times Square. Would it be a satisfying end to the mystery if the Snow Angel was the mayor? Maybe. She hoped whoever the Snow Angel was, his or her reason for giving gifts was kind and meaningful. After all the attention, it would definitely be disappointing to find out the Snow Angel was giving gifts for some selfish reason.

  When Mom opened the door to their rooms, she said, “It’s been a long day of exploring, and I’m sure you girls are tired. I have a couple phone calls to make, and Dad wants to take a nap. After we’ve rested a bit, we can figure out dinner.”

  “Sounds good!” Mia said, trying to stay excited about sharing the Rise and Shine concert with Lulu. She curled up on the bed with her book, and Maddie took out her sketchbook and pencils.

  After a few minutes, Mia looked up. The room was too quiet. “Where’s Lulu?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Lulu!” they both called.

  No answer. They exchanged a look, and then climbed off the bed to check in Mom and Dad’s room. If Mom was calling Jennifer Jensen at Rise and Shine, Lulu couldn’t
be in there, could she?

  Mom was finishing up her conversation. She held up a finger, and the girls waited, but Mia didn’t feel all that patient. Where was Lulu, anyway?

  “Perfect. Thank you, Jennifer,” Mom said. “See you tomorrow.”

  When she hung up the phone, she asked, “What’s up?”

  “Have you seen Lulu?” Maddie asked.

  Mom exchanged a look with Dad and they went into the girls’ room, with Mia and Maddie following. Their room wasn’t all that big, and it didn’t take long for them to notice that the bathroom door was ajar. Now that she was just outside the door, Mia heard Lulu sniffle and then sniffle again.

  “Lulu?” Mom nudged the door open.

  The shower curtain was pulled around the tub. Gently, Mom pulled it back, and there was Lulu sitting in the empty tub, her arms around her knees.

  “I didn’t mean to drop it,” Lulu said, tears streaming down her face. “I promise, I didn’t mean to.”

  Mia had no idea what Lulu was talking about. “Drop what?”

  Lulu burst into loud sobs, and Dad lifted her from the tub. He carried her out of the bathroom, across the girls’ room, and took her into their room. No one could understand a thing Lulu was saying through her wails.

  “Stay here, girls,” Mom said. “Once we’ve figured out what’s happened, we’ll be back.”

  Mom closed the door behind her. Mia stood listening to Lulu’s sobs and tried to decipher the garbled things she was saying.

  “She dropped what?” Mia asked finally, eyeing the closed door.

  Maddie sat on the edge of the bed and swung her legs, staring at her toes.

  “What?” Mia demanded, and then opened her book. “She didn’t drop the snowflake, because that’s right here. She had her whole backpack on the trip, so she could have lost one of her toys, or . . .”

  Dad came through the door and closed it behind him with a soft click. Mom stayed with Lulu, who continued to sob and gasp loudly enough that they could hear it through the walls.

  “What did she drop?” Mia asked again, feeling exasperated now. She could not keep it out of her voice.