the answer

excerpt from A Good Place for Maggie by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman The old man's words stayed with her as she drove up into the mountains. She began to feel shaky. This was the first time she had driven outside of Los Angeles. Still, last night she had poured over maps and written everything down; she knew exactly where she was going. So far, everything had been all right Even getting away fromm hore this morning hadn't been too bad. It was spring vacation, and her mom and steptather were away on business. Tne only person she had to explain to was the neighbor wornan who looked in on her. The hard part had been figuring what to say to her mother. She had sat staring at a blank sheet of paper for a long time. She Knew what she wanted to write: "Dear Mother, It was bad enough after the divorce, being without Dad, | mean. After a couple of years | got used to seeing him mostly an weekends, but now it's worse, Because he's dead. Three whole months and | still can't believe it. Maybe you can't help being away so much, but with both of you gone it's awfully lonely. Sure, there's been school, and | did have dinner at Mim's house and a move with Lorena on Saturday. But the good things are missing. Dad. Dad. Dad. | don't feel that I'm part of a family anymore. Jase is a good enough stepfather, but [told you both how | felt about that condo in downtown L.A. and you guys went ahead and bought it. It's a terrible place. All there is to breathe inside is processed air and outside, car exhaust. My vote doesn't count, does it, Mom?" That's what she wanted to say, but didn't."Mom," she finally wrote, "I've gone to Twisted Creed. Papacifo said he'd be there if | needed him. He won't mind. After all, he is my only living grandparent. I'll drive carefully, | promise. Please, please don't be mad at me." Then she had shoved two more sweaters into her suitcase, picked up her paint box and favorite brushes, and left. Once she was out of the city traffic, she had relaxed. But now