looked like a slash across her face. Melody was pretty sure Leah had heard her. Why didn’t she answer?
Suddenly Melody felt awkward. Maybe Leah’s grandfather was crippled—and maybe it had been insensitive of her to ask Leah about it.
When the ride stopped, the girls made their way back from the carousel on the paved path that wound through the zoo. The noisy gibbons sounded like a flock of birds, and llamas gazed at them through long-lashed eyes. They paused to watch the baby elephant get a bath from a hose, then wandered slowly on toward the aquarium and the conservatory. The air was hot now and humming with the sleepy drone of midday insects. As they passed a playground, swing chains clanged and little children shouted and scrambled over a metal jungle gym. The doors of the aquarium were propped open, and people streamed in and out.
Leah and Melody chatted as they walked. Leah was easy to talk to, Melody thought, and she laughed a lot. Melody noticed, though, that Val was unusually quiet.
Leah veered off the sidewalk. “Here, let’s cut through by the conservatory. This way leads right to the shelters.” The noises of the zoo and the playground faded as the girls padded through the short, thick grass. Gardens rose around them, lush and fragrant in the humid air. Leah led the way confidently, like a forest guide, weaving between flower plots with rows of tulips and clumps of huge ornamental grasses. Through the tree branches, Melody could just see the silvery walls of the conservatory rising into the sky.
“Oh, this is so pretty,” she breathed. “I’ve never been back here.”
“Are we even supposed to be going this way?” Val asked from just ahead of her. “There’s no path or anything.”
“It’s okay!” Leah called from ahead. “It’s just a shortcut.”
The girls walked single file, pushing through the tall dry grasses left from last year. A yellow and black butterfly lit on a shrub covered with purple flowers, and Melody slowed to inspect its intricately patterned wings opening and closing. She bent down so that her eyes were level with the insect. Its two black antennae waved delicately. Melody caught her breath as the butterfly’s black tongue, slender as a hair, unrolled to taste the center of one of the purple flowers.
“Val,” Melody murmured. “Look at this.”
But her cousin did not answer. Melody raised her head. She was alone. Val must have thought Melody was still behind her or she wouldn’t have gone ahead.
Melody looked around. The corridor of flowers was deserted. “Val!” she called. “Leah!” But there was no answer.
Melody hurried through the shrubs and flowers, but whatever map Leah was following in her head was invisible to her. Melody followed a faint trail that she thought would lead to the shelters and the river, but she found herself wandering in an apple orchard, frosted thickly with fragrant white blossoms. Then abruptly, the trees cleared, and the conservatory loomed in front of her.
“Definitely not the right way,” Melody murmured to herself. But she knew that if she went around to the front entrance, she could follow the sidewalk back to the park shelters. She trotted across the expanse of lawn and toward the side of the huge glass building. Leah and Val were still nowhere in sight, but a man stood bent over by a side door in front of her. The door was shut, and he appeared to be inspecting the doorknob. The air was very still.
“I think the entrance is around the front,” Melody called out.
The man straightened up. He was nicely dressed in a brown suit. His red hair was brushed back under a tan fedora. His face was smooth and bland. “Thank you, little girl,” he said quietly. “I seem to have taken a wrong turn.” He walked off around the side of the building.
Melody squinted at the door the man had been looking at. The shiny metal handle was smudged with fingerprints as if he had been trying to open the door.
Melody walked around to the front of the building, the same way the man had gone. When she reached the front sidewalk, Val and Leah were waiting for her, waving. But the man was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he hadn’t really been looking for the front entrance.
“Hurry up, Melody!” Val looked annoyed, but also slightly worried.
“We thought you got lost,” said Leah.
“Sorry,” said Melody. “Come on, let’s get back to the picnic.” She sighed as they hurried along the walk. “I love the conservatory.”
“Me too!” Leah agreed. “Have you seen the giant ferns?”
“Yes!” Melody remembered the giant, towering fronds.
“The birds-of-paradise are my favorite.” Leah’s face was lit up. “Blue—”
“And orange!” Melody broke in. “I love them, too! My grandpa had one in his flower shop once—remember, Val?”
“Um…” Val looked blank. “Was that the little tree thing he had?”
“No, that was a rosebush in a pot!” Melody laughed. She turned back to Leah. “And did you know there are orchids there? There’s a whole orchid room. I haven’t seen it, but I bet it’s beautiful.”
“Yeah!” Leah agreed. “They’re gorgeous, and so many different kinds—moth orchids and boat orchids and cattleyas and vandas—”
“Wow!” Melody was impressed. “You really know about orchids! I know more about plants that grow around here. I have a book that has orchids in it, but I’ve never seen one in real life before.” Melody’s well-worn copy of Plants of the World had been on her bedside table since Poppa had given it to her three years ago, and she liked looking at the orchid pictures. Some of the blossoms looked like exotic spotted butterflies, others like fancy purses.
“Orchids are so neat,” Leah said, enthusiasm bubbling in her voice. “There’s a chocolate orchid that smells just like chocolate, and there’s one called the white egret orchid. It’s my favorite. It looks like a bird spreading its wings. And the monkey orchid actually looks like there is a tiny monkey face in the middle of the flower.”
“And some of them are very rare, right? That’s what my book says.”
Leah paused. “Yeah. And the rare ones can be worth a lot of money. Not many people know that.” She shot Melody a strange glance and walked a little faster. Her cheeks were red.
Melody started to ask Leah what was wrong, but she had a sudden feeling Leah didn’t want her to. Anyway, they were almost back to the picnic shelter.
chapter 2
Flowers and Family
“DINNER, MY CHICKS!” Melody’s grandmother, Big Momma, called as she carried a big dish of pot roast from the kitchen. “Melody, will you put the napkins out?” Big Momma wasn’t very big at all, but the whole family called her that as a way of showing respect for the oldest mother in the family.
Melody distributed paper napkins at each place, while her older sister Lila filled the water glasses. Melody’s family always had Sunday dinner together at Big Momma’s after church, and it was Melody’s favorite time of the whole week. She loved the sight of her family’s faces gathered around the table.
“Here,
