First Came the Owl by Judith Benét Richardson

hard with one arm. “Oh, Daddy, you came back.”
    â€œHey, I wasn’t gone that long. Do you think your teacher will spring you a little early?”
    â€œSix days is long,” said Nita, but she ran back to ask Mrs. Sommers and get her coat. Dad’s coming home felt like snow in July or a surprise party. Like the owl, he just flew into her world and made it seem so different. “Where are we going?” she asked as she got back in the car.
    â€œI thought we’d go out to our house and see the new construction you and Pudge got going while I was out of your hair.”
    Was he pleased? Nita couldn’t tell. “Did he tell you about the Roots Committee?”
    â€œYes, and he told me about some other things, too. Seems like you’ve been very busy while I’ve been gone.”
    They drove along Water Street and turned down toward the beach. Nita wondered if he knew Bill was angry at him.
    As they got closer to their house, they could see the new window bulging out of the white side wall. A man on a ladder was painting the trim.
    â€œHi, Frank,” said Nita’s dad.
    â€œHello, Lieutenant Orson, sir,” said Frank.
    Inside, the whole kitchen was torn up. Nita stumbled over some cans of paint.
    â€œPutting in that window turned out to be more complicated than Pudge thought,” said Dad. “They found some water damage in the walls. Then they decided to paint the kitchen and the living room while they’re at it.”
    Nita felt confused. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? she said to herself. For Dad to come home, for us all to come home. But now, even if they all did come home, it would be different. Better? Or just different? And it smelled funny because of the paint, so it seemed even less like home than when she had been there with Petrova.
    Dad was looking kind of unhappy, too, not the way he had when he first picked her up. “So, we can’t stay here. I guess I’ll stay down at the base and you can stay with the Stillwaters’ for a few more days. Marian says it’s fine, she loves having you. Okay, kiddo?”
    â€œNo, it’s not okay,” said Nita.
    Dad looked at her in surprise.
    â€œI mean, I thought Mom could come home when you got here. I thought…” She couldn’t go on.
    â€œI’ll go see her tonight.” Dad had his old worried look again.
    â€œShe talked to me. She is better,” said Nita firmly, as if this would make it true.
    â€œI know. They told me on the phone, but she can’t come home just yet. You have to be patient, Nita. We want her to get really better. We don’t want her to slip back again.”
    Nita tried to smile.
    â€œThat’s my girl,” said Dad. “I tell you what. Let’s go get a cup of coffee, I mean, some ice cream or something. I’ll tell you about the cruise.” Nita leaned against Dad in the car and pretended he had never been away and that Mom was waiting for them at home.
    They stopped at the Docksider on Water Street.
    Nita sat down at the sunniest table and said, “I’ll have a banana split.”
    â€œI thought you hated your flavors all mixed up.” Dad looked surprised.
    â€œI did? I guess I’m different now,” said Nita slowly. When her banana split arrived, in a dish shaped like a boat, she took a bite each of the chocolate ice cream with marshmallow sauce, the strawberry ice cream with pineapple sauce, and the vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. Then she took a bite of banana. Dad had coffee and mud pie while he told her about the new navigation system of the Islandia. Then he said, “So what have you been doing?”
    â€œWell,” she said, “Petrova and I banded the snowy owl. Remember the snowy owl I told you about? We used my earmuffs for bait and the owl thought they were a rabbit! So he swooped down and we caught him. Petrova had this great trap that doesn’t really hurt the