The Sky’s the Limit: My Journey with Maryellen

I decide it’s time to go home and make friends with Gran. At the Larkins’ house, I tell Maryellen I have to leave. Maryellen cheerily says that’s fine, I can come back and spend the night again.

But Maryellen misunderstands what I mean by leave. I’m not coming back. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I’m traveling to Cedar Top. I can’t say my watch is a time machine to sixty years ahead, so I say my family might stay in Cedar Top, and I should say goodbye.

Maryellen sounds sad, saying she’ll never forget me. I say the same, and we agree we’ll be friends forever even if we never meet again. We hug, and Maryellen goes inside. I duck into the trailer.

My hands shake as I put my ski uniform back on and hang Carolyn’s dress on a hanger. I’m worried but excited about going home. Once I clear up the misunderstanding about the ski race, I decide to ask Gran about her artifacts: where she found them, what they were used for, why they matter. I smile, realizing I’m about to do what Maryellen did, ask a million questions.