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Aunt Lilly is lucky!

Chapter Four
    SOPHIA’S JOURNAL
    Tonight when I stepped off the bus in Mount Pleasant, I felt as if I was landing on the moon. I wished I could stay on the bus, if you can believe that.
    â€œOver there,” the driver called after me. He pointed across the street. “That’s the only cab in town, and you’d better grab it. This is his last stop before he goes home.”
    I had a telephone number I was supposed to call, but I carried my suitcases over to the cab instead. I guess I wanted to put off meeting Lilly Crandall as long as possible. When I gave the old driver the address, he said, “Yup, the Crandalls,” and grinned. I wondered if he knew the address of everyone in town.
    The Crandalls’ house is old, with a wide front porch big enough for chairs and a swing. A tall blond woman in jeans and a man’s shirt opened the screen door almost the moment I knocked.
    â€œOh, Sophia, for goodness’ sake!” she said, as if we’d known each other forever. “Why didn’t you call when you got in? We would have come to pick you up. Well, never mind, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters. I’m Lilly Crandall and this is our son Dan.”
    â€œHi,” the boy said. He’s tall and thin, and he sort of unfolded from the couch where he’d been lying with his head on a paunchy gorilla’s stomach. Lilly swept some blocks off a chair so I could sit down.
    I never saw a room as messy as that one. I don’t mean it was dirty, just a mess. There were toy trucks and cars everywhere, and parts of puzzles and some torn coloring books. Broken crayons were scattered across the carpet.
    I started to say “Thanks for letting me come,” but Lilly was talking again a mile a minute.
    â€œWe’ve got a bed ready for you in the catchall room upstairs, Sophia. It’s kind of cluttered now, but we’ll clean it out, and then you can fix it up the way you like it. Our baby Mickey has been sleeping in there, but I’ve moved him into the twins’ room. You’ll meet them tomorrow—after you’ve had a good night’s sleep.” She chuckled as if a good night’s sleep was important before meeting the twins.
    I said, quickly, before she started talking again, “Thanks for saying it was all right for me to come.” It sounded stiff and standoffish, but it was the best I could do.
    Lilly said, “Well, of course it’s all right. Your great-grandpa was one of my favorite people when I was a little girl. I miss him! I never did get to know your great-grandma very well, but I’m glad she remembered me.”
    I sat still and let her words flow around me. They warmed up that numb place inside of me.
    â€œI’ll take your stuff upstairs,” Dan offered. But before he could move, a tall gray-haired man appeared, clutching a cardboard box stacked high with papers. When he saw me, he set the box on the floor and hurried across the room to shake hands. “Welcome aboard, Susie.”
    Lilly said, “It’s not Susie. Sophia Weyer, this is my husband, Will. He’s the one who makes things happen around here.” When she said that, the overflowing stack of papers in the box slid sideways and spread across the floor, adding to the mess.
    â€œThat’s my filing system, Su-Sophia,” Will said. He gathered the papers into a pile and dropped them on top of the other papers that remained in the box. By the time he stood up again, his hair was standing up straight and his horn-rimmed glasses were at an angle on his nose.
    â€œDon’t look so concerned, Sophia,” he said. “Lilly and Dan will tell you, we don’t let little things bother us in this family.”
    â€œWill teaches history at the high school,” Lilly told me proudly. “You might have him for a teacher this fall.”
    â€œI doubt it,” Will said. “How old are you,