“I imagine everyone leaves New York feeling influenced or inspired in some way,” Wendy’s dad said. “It really makes you think how many different people there are in this world. It reminds you how many different interests there are to devote your time and energy to. It sure makes Willow Crest and everyone who lives there seem rather dull. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The Book Huggers nodded in perfect unison without looking up. It was rather creepy, but their parents were thankful for any response they could get.
“Let’s address the elephant in the room, and I’m not talking about Cheesy Street’s mascot,” Mindy’s other mom said. “We know the last week has been really challenging for you. Recovering from a psychotic breakdown requires profound strength. Hallucination and obsession are very difficult things to recognize and admit to, but we couldn’t be prouder of you girls for taking the proper steps to treat yourselves. Dr. Jackson was very confident that all you needed was a little time, a little love, and some pleasant distractions, and you’d be good as new. Hopefully this spontaneous trip will be just what the doctor ordered.”
Finally, the Book Huggers looked up from their plates and smiled at their parents. The trip itself wasn’t enough to take the Bailey twins off their minds, but the compassion coming from their parents warmed their hearts.
“Thank you,” Mindy said. “And even though we’ve been quiet all week, we really appreciate you taking us on this trip.”
“Yeah, this week has been awesome,” Cindy said. “It was really nice of you guys to all take time off from work to treat us like this.”
“Whatever we may be going through, we’re lucky to have parents like you to go through it with,” Lindy added.
Wendy pointed to her heart and then pointed to their parents—implying that their compassion was fully reciprocated. The Book Huggers’ parents were so relieved to finally hear their children speak, tears came to their eyes.
“Fantastic,” Cindy’s mom said. “I’m so glad we’re all on the same page. Now, let’s make the most of our last day in the city. I say we take a helicopter tour after lunch, but first, let’s order some dessert!”
The party of twelve happily looked over the dessert menu. Their concentration was momentarily interrupted by a procession of four police cars speeding down the street with their sirens blaring.
“Wow, whatever is happening at the library must be serious,” Lindy’s dad said. “We’ve seen dozens of police cars headed that way, and I heard they evacuated all the buildings in a two-block radius.”
“When we were shopping on Fifth Avenue earlier, we asked an officer what was going on,” Wendy’s mom said. “They told us it was a big gas leak but nothing they couldn’t handle. The evacuation is just a precaution.”
The Book Huggers looked out the window behind their parents to watch the police cars racing down Fifth Avenue, but their hearts stopped at another alarming sight on Thirty-Fourth Street. Through the front window of a taxi van waiting for the cops to pass, they saw a very familiar freckled face.
“Conner!” the Book Huggers collectively gasped.
Their parents quickly snapped their heads back toward their daughters and stared at them as if they were explosives whose fuses had now been lit.
“What did you say, girls?” Mindy’s mom asked.
“Cobbler,” Cindy’s dad suggested. “I think they said they want the cobbler. Isn’t that right?”
“No, Dad!” Cindy said. “Look behind you! It isn’t a hallucination this time! Conner Bailey is in a taxi outside Cheesy Street!”
The Book Huggers’ parents quickly turned to the window, but thanks to some unknown force in the universe that constantly made them the punch line of a big cosmic joke, Conner bent down a second before they would have seen him. The only person the Book Huggers’ parents saw inside the taxi was its Middle Eastern driver. The taxi had continued down the street before Conner resurfaced.
“NOOOO!” Mindy screamed. “He was right there—right there!”
“I saw him, too, I swear it!” Lindy protested. “Conner Bailey was just outside the window!”
“But why would he be here?” Cindy asked. “Of all the restaurants in New York City, why would he be outside ours?”
“There’s only one explanation!” Mindy announced. “We’ve been right the whole time! Something otherworldly is going on with the Bailey twins! It started in school, it spread to the hospital, and now it’s in New York City!”
Wendy made two fists and slammed them on the table, as if to say “THERE IS A VAST CONSPIRACY AGAINST US AND WE MUST GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT!”
The Book Huggers burst into tears. Their parents exchanged exasperated looks and sighed—apparently New York City wasn’t the pleasant distraction they’d hoped it would be. Even though everyone in Cheesy Street was already looking at their table, Lindy’s mom raised a hand to get the waiter’s attention.
“Check, please!” she said.
After a turbulent flight and a rough landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Conner and his friends hopped into a taxi van for another bumpy ride into Manhattan. As if the driver were being paid per pothole, the taxi rattled and shook as it traveled down the highway toward Midtown.
Goldilocks had a difficult time holding on to Hero, so she put him in the BabyBj?rn Red had purchased. The newborn wasn’t bothered by the rocky ride at all. After nine months in Goldilocks’s womb, Hero was used to such commotion and found it quite comforting. The rougher things became, the easier it was for him to sleep.
Conner sat in the front passenger seat and changed the driver’s radio to the local news to hear if there had been any developments since the night before. According to the news, a massive gas leak was responsible for all the barricades and evacuations in the area surrounding the New York Public Library. However, to Conner’s surprise, nothing was mentioned about the lively lion statues they had seen on television.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “There was footage of the statues swiping at police officers! We can’t be the only ones who saw it.”
“They’re probably covering it up to prevent hysteria,” Bree said. “It’s just like the 1947 UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. Newspapers reported that wreckage of a flying saucer had been discovered, and then the following day, the army ordered the press to retract the story and say it was just a weather balloon.”
Conner gulped at the thought of Alex being turned into another weather balloon. He was so worried about his sister, he barely noticed the Queens neighborhoods zipping past his window or the Manhattan skyline in the distance ahead. The taxi entered the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which stretched underneath the East River, and reemerged in the middle of Manhattan. Conner and his friends stared at the city in awe as their taxi zigzagged between the crowded sidewalks and towering skyscrapers. The hustling metropolis was such a spectacular sight, it almost took Conner’s mind off Alex.
“The whole city feels like it’s buzzing,” Goldilocks noted. “They must sell a lot of caffeine here.”