1
" Daddy sleeked back his hair and the doorbell rang.
'Answer the door, Rose,' said Indigo.
'I will,' said David kindly, and began getting to his feet, and Saffy and Caddy and Indigo and Michael all grabbed him, exclaiming 'No, you won't!'
So I answered the door.
How can that be?
How can it be that this person is here?
Is it a trick?
Is it Christmas magic?
That guitar strap looks exactly like the one I bought.
'TOM!!!' I screamed, and dragged him in through the door.
Tom said 'Happy Christmas, Permanent Rose! I can't believe you didn't guess!'
I said 'But what time is it in New York?'
'What does it matter what time it is in New York?' asked Tom. 'I'm not in New York. I'm here. "
― Hilary McKay , Forever Rose (Casson Family, #5)
5
" There are many safe places in my bedroom, and with Molly and Kiran's help I searched them all. I found a bundle of dead roses, a homemade CD from America, several guitar picks (how I wish I could see Tom again), a photo of me on Grandad's knee, a sponge shaped like a dinosaur, a T-shirt with teh sleeves chopped off and CRIME PAYS in iron-on letters across the front, a hat that I had when I was five and which was exactly like a hat Sarah used to wear, a packet of banana-flavored chews (why did I keep them?), and a picture of our house that I drew long, long ago on my first day at school. And I found, last of all, in the pocket of a jacket that used to be Indigo's, the diamond ring. "
― Hilary McKay , Forever Rose (Casson Family, #5)