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"George and Arlene will look after it," she said. "And after we're settled somewhere nice, we'll have everything shipped to us."

"Mama Arlene," I muttered, realizing this meant I wouldn't see her anymore. "Did you tell her about this?"

"I was just going to do that," Mommy said, "but forcing me to stand here and talk, talk, talk, has cut down on my time. I have things to pack, too."

"But don't I have to tell the school and don't--"

"Will you stop all this chatter, Melody, and get packed! Everything will be just fine. We're not the first people to move, you know. Although, I bet you can count on one hand how many escaped this rattrap."

She smiled again and rushed off to her bedroom.

I just stood there, gazing around, still finding it hard to believe we were going to leave Sewell for good! What about going to Daddy's grave to say good-bye? And what about Alice and my other friends? I had to turn in my library books! What about our mail? And the bills we still owed--surely, we had to go to the bank. There was so much to do.

I put down my book bag and walked slowly down the short corridor. Mommy had her closet open and her clothes thrown on the bed. She stood in the center of the room, pondering.

"I hate to leave so much behind, but I'll get new things, won't I?" she decided.

"Mommy, please. Let's wait and do this right."

"Aren't you packing?" She turned to me angrily. "I'm warning you, Melody. When Archie arrives, we're going out that door," she threatened. "What you have packed, goes. What you haven't, stays. Understand?"

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and thought a moment. A suggestion born of desperation came to my mind.

"Maybe I should stay and live with Mama Arlene and Papa George until you find a new home for us, Mommy."

She shook her head. "I thought of that, but Papa George is sicker than ever and Mama Arlene has her hands full with him as it is. Besides, they are not really your family and can't be your legal guardians. It's too much responsibility for old, decrepit people to bear."

"They're not old and decrepit," I insisted.

"Melody, get your things into those suitcases!" Then her voice softened. "Don't make things harder than they have to be, honey. I'm depending on you to be a big girl. I'm a little frightened, too. Everyone's afraid when they start a new life. I need your support, Melody." She paused when I didn't move. "Besides, you know Daddy would want you to do what I ask," she said. "Wouldn't he?" She smiled. "Wouldn't he?"

"Yes," I reluctantly admitted.

I lowered my head and turned away. When I stepped into my small room and gazed about, I found myself confronted with an impossibility. There were so many precious mementos, especially things Daddy had bought me, like my first doll, and all the pictures. Those suitcases Mommy had set out for me were barely big enough to hold a tenth of my clothes, much less stuffed animals. And what about my fiddle?

"Ten minutes!" Mommy cried from her room.

I had ten minutes to decide what I would leave behind, maybe forever. I couldn't do it. I started to cry. "Melody! I don't hear you putting things into your suitcases," she called.

Slowly, I opened the dresser drawers and took out what I knew were necessities, my underthings, socks, some shoes and sneakers. Then I went to the closet and chose my skirts and blouses, two pairs of jeans, and some sweaters.

The suitcases filled up quickly, but I gathered as many of my photographs as I could and stuffed them under the clothes. Then I tried to squeeze in my first doll, my stuffed cat and Teddy bear, and some gifts from Daddy. Mommy came out and saw how full my suitcases were and how it was impossible to close them properly.

"You can't take all that," she said.

"Can't I have another suitcase?"

"No. Arch. . . Richard has his things, too, and I have to take four suitcases myself. I need my good clothes so I can look nice when I go for job interviews and auditions," she claimed. "I told you, we'll send for the rest."

"But I don't need much more. Maybe a small carton and--"

"Melody, if you can't decide what to leave here, I'll decide for you," she said and reached down to pluck the stuffed cat out of the suitcase.

"No!," I cried. "That was the last thing Daddy gave me!"

"Well, it's obviously either this or that Teddy bear or some of your clothes. Decide. You're a big girl now. You don't need toys," she snapped and threw the cat back onto the clothes in the suitcase.

I pressed the stuffed animals down and then I sat on the suitcase so it would close and managed to get the snaps to hold. The sides of the suitcases bulged and they were heavy, but I had gotten in the things I would positively not leave behind.