Ann Martin - Dawn On The Coast

When my suitcase came around on the carousel, Mom grabbed it up and the rest of us followed her out the automatic airport doors. She strode right to the parking lot, directly to the row where she had left the car.

"Here we are," she smiled, very pleased with herself. "Bet you thought your old mom would forget where she parked. My memory's getting better. Really. I'm making an effort."

We all piled in and I squeezed next to Mom. She steered the car to the ticket window and stopped to pay the charge.

The ticket. Mom fished into the pocket of her blouse. She grabbed her purse off the floor and rummaged through the various compartments. She looked through her wallet.

"Dawn," she said. "Will you check the glove compartment?"

No ticket.

"Maybe you stuck it behind the sun visor," I said.

She flipped the visor down. There was the ticket, tucked into the visor's pocket.

Mom handed the attendant his money and we drove out of the airport, onto the highway. As we sped home, I couldn't help smiling. My friends were chattering, my mom was Mom, and I was snug in the middle. I was home, all right. And it felt super.

About the Author

ANN M. MARTIN did a lot of baby-sitting when she was growing up in Princeton, New Jersey. Now her favorite baby-sitting charge is her cat, Mouse, who lives with her in her Manhattan apartment.

Ann Martin's Apple Paperbacks are Bummer Summer, Inside Out, Stage Fright, Me and Katie (the Pest), and all the other books in the Babysitters Club series.

She is a former editor of books for children, and was graduated from Smith College. She likes ice cream, the beach, and I Love Lucy; and she hates to cook.