Pine Island Visitors
Pine Island Visitors
Charlie loved pulling out the couch. She had done it several times in the store with Al and many times that afternoon while they waited for their visitors to arrive. To her it was still magic. She tossed the cushions off and opened the hide-a-bed for their guests.
“TA-DA!” she said. “It's brand new! Al and I bought it and it just got here today!”
There was a silence.
“Oh,” said Jo. “Who is this for?”
“Both of you,” said Charlie. “It's really big!” She hopped onto it and started to jump but Fiona ran over and pulled her off.
“Stop that, Charlie,” she said. “You'll break it and it's not for you anyhow. It was for Mrs. Weatherspoon, but now, I guess, I mean it's the only spare bed...”
There was another silence and then Jo said, “Oh, but I have sleep problems. Especially since Hugh died. I really think two of you girls would fit better on it. Tildy and I can sleep in your beds, the ones Charlie showed us upstairs. I don't usually like a twin bed but I think I could make it work. Especially since the arrangement is so TEMPORARY. And it would be better for you too. You would get this nice brand-new bed!”
Fiona didn't know what to do. She could hardly argue with a guest and a grown-up one at that, no matter how rude the grown-up was being. She was about to say, “All right,” when Marlin leapt in.
“I have sleep problems too,” she said. “And I have to get up early for school so I really need my sleep.”
“Well, Jo, I think it will be okay for one night and then maybe we can talk about it in the morning,” said Mrs. Weatherspoon quickly. “Perhaps we can make the switch then.”
“One bed, Tildy? For two people?” argued Jo.
Before Jo could come up with any more arguments, Marlin grabbed Fiona's hand and yanked her upstairs, saying, “You come too, Charlie. We're all going to bed. Good night, Mrs. Weatherspoon and Jo. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite!”
The last thing the girls heard as they went upstairs was Jo saying, “BEDBUGS? Do they have BEDBUGS?”
Fiona, Marlin, Natasha and Charlie are finally relaxing into their new lives with their perhaps somewhat unorthodox guardian, Al. While the girls live together in their deceased aunt's lovely house on Pine Island, Al lives in his own rundown trailer next door. He joins them for dinner (which is usually prepared by Marlin who has discovered a talent for cooking) and their daily dose of Jeopardy. He also drives them to town and offers help when needed, pays for things when Fiona grudgingly allows him to do so, and shares his opinions when he feels it is warranted...whether the girls ask him to or not. The situation works for them, and now they are ready to focus on the more ordinary aspects of their daily lives, such as school and hobbies and making friends and maybe even getting a dog (or two!).
Then Fiona receives word from Mrs. Weatherspoon, their former neighbour and the woman who had looked after them when their parents died. Mrs. Weatherspoon has decided to come visit the girls and plans to stay for three months. They are more than a little dismayed by this news, but Fiona can't think of any way to politely discourage her from coming. The situation goes from bad to worse when Mrs. Weatherspoon arrives with her friend Jo in tow. From the moment they arrive, Jo proves to be an overbearing, self-centred and demanding houseguest who throws their household into disarray and inserts herself into their lives in the most unsettling of ways. Kindhearted Fiona is too polite to stand up to her but grows increasingly frustrated by the situation. Soon both Fiona and Marlin recognize that Jo is bringing out the worst in each of them (as well as Mrs. Weatherspoon), and when the two women decide to extend their visit, the girls are nearly beside themselves. It then falls to Al to orchestrate a Christmas miracle that restores peace to their Pine Island home once more.
This continuation of the McCready sisters' saga is every bit as delightful as their first story, Pine Island Home (www.cmreviews.ca/node/2008). While this story focuses mostly on Fiona and Marlin, the two older sisters, they emerge as very sympathetic and believable characters. Fiona's efforts to oversee and protect her family give her a level of responsibility that makes her seem wise beyond her years, but she also displays a touching vulnerability when she worries about her sisters (especially Marlin and her problems at school). Marlin struggles to make friends and deal with antagonistic classmates, and she especially chafes under Jo's manipulations. Horvath skillfully depicts the upheaval that Jo causes in their lives and Fiona's helplessness in the face of Jo's tyranny. Their story is told with compassion and nuance as Horvath depicts the girls' awareness of their own negative reactions in response to Jo but wrestle with how to deal with someone who is both their guest and their elder and so, in theory at least, is someone they feel compelled to treat with respect. Meanwhile, the girls have their own individual challenges and situations to contend with at school while also juggling the strained situation at home. Horvath deftly balances all of these elements with the perfect mix of humour and heart. The relationships between the sisters, as well as between Al and his charges, are touching and imbued with emotional integrity, and the eventual resolution to their dilemma is utterly satisfying. Horvath has once again created a family drama that is authentic and charming and wise, leaving readers hopeful that there will be more Pine Island tales to come.
Lisa Doucet is Co-Manager of Woozles Children’s Bookstore in Halifax, Nova Scotia.