infinity.â
âInfinity?â Neally said. âI donât think youâre using that correctly. We could look it up.â
âI love that word,â Quinn said.
âIâm sure infinity means something that never ends, so you wouldnât use it for a ...â
Neallyâs father shook his head.
âSorry.â Neally looked down at her plate, trying to hide her guilty smile.
âMuffins were my culinary adventure project last winter,â Mr. Standers said. âMy New Yearâs resolution was to make a different batch every week. Neally started calling me the Muffin Man.â
âMy mom refuses to make New Yearâs resolutions,â Quinn said. âDad says thatâs because the one time she made a resolution she later changed her mind, but sheâd already told people what she was going to do and so of course they bugged her about it. I donât know why someone would promise to give up something they love that isnât bad for them, like chocolate.â
âSo, your mom couldnât swear off the candy bars?â Mr. Standers chuckled. âI donât blame her. But resolutions donât have to be about giving things up. They can be things you vow to start doing, or things you decide to do better. For example, you might resolve to eat healthier or get more exercise.â
âThose are typical, boring, adult resolutions,â Neally sniffed. âAnd then thereâs my New Yearâs resolution. You know what that is, Dad.â
âNo, canât say I do. Care to refresh my memory?â
âItâs to figure out how to stop bone density loss in astronauts.â
Mr. Standers placed his hands on his stomach andlaughed heartily. âDuring Christmas break we watched a lot of videos,â he said to Quinn. âThe first one was a documentary on the Apollo program. Ruthanne, Neallyâs mother, decided our holiday video theme should be space travel. We rented everything we could about the subject, and had some interesting discussions about the problems humans face in long-term weightless environments.â
âYeah, I get it,â Quinn said nonchalantly. What he got was that Neallyâs resolution wasnât a wacko statement out of the blue, and that his own half-hearted promise to help his sister clean out her ratâs cage every Saturday seemed insignificant by comparison.
âQuinn, eh?â Mr. Standers turned his chair backwards and sat facing the kitchen table, his legs straddling either side of the chairâs back. âThatâs a great name. The Mighty Quinn .â
Quinn stared blankly at Neallyâs father.
âYouâve never heard that?â Mr. Standers hummed a tune that was unfamiliar to Quinn.
Neally groaned, burying her face in her hands. âAll oldies, all the time ... youâve got to find another radio station, Dad.â
Mr. Standers grinned at his daughter and continued to hum.
âOh, that one,â Neally said. âI recognize the tune, but whatâs it about?â
Mr. Standers shrugged his shoulders. âItâs a song from the sixties, so who knows?â
âThe Mighty Quinn,â Neally said slowly. âThatâs way cool.â
âThatâs way not true ,â Quinn muttered. âCould you please not say it in class or anything?â
âSo, Neallyâ Mr. Standers said, âyou wanted to know about the Three Musketeers?â
âWho?â
âThe ESL students in our class: Arturo, Janos, and Lily,â Quinn said. âThe kids started calling them that because the three of them are always together, but no one ever says it in front of the teachers.â He grinned at Neallyâs father. âHowâd you know that name?â
âI didnât, but your teacher did.â Mr. Standers ran his fingers through his beard and lowered his voice. âItâsscary sometimes, to think of what the grownups are
Nicola Cornick
A Dedicated Scoundrel
Margaret Truman
Avril Sabine
Linda Rehberg
Aron Sethlen
Matt Ingwalson
Ms. Michel Moore
Lyra Parish
Deborah Crombie