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Show Fair Forever. ./• . • ! '. . 103 "And then she gave me a haircut," I add. "And Mom made me take a nap. And - Mom let Amanda stay past the weekend." , ••] "And you gave her rowing lessons on the catwalk," he continues. Then his eyes turn sad. "But she cried at night." "You're right," I say, my throat tight. "She cried at night." The fifth day, I taught Amanda to row for real, not just on the catwalk. It was April the ninth. I think she had it all planned, maybe since the day she arrived. The morning broke like a day in a fairy tale, silent and fair and warm. The bay was smooth as an ocean pebble. Even the gulls were hushed, floating in the shallows in a bunched slumber. 7 7* We started early, with,Amanda pushing me to the end of the dock in the wheelchair where Fair Forever was tied and waiting. I told her to sit in the middle of the skiff and brace,her feet. After pushing off, she set her jaw andjocked her fists around the oars like I'd taught on the catwalk. But she tensed, and suddenly the right oar dropped , and splashed, spinning the skiff backward with an awkward jerk. 'Whoa! 'I called out. 'Pull your hands closer together.' . / coached her like I did on the catwalk, telling her to lift her hands higher. She tried again and did better, but she struggled to time the long oars. And then I got an idea. . , ' . 'Start singing!' I said. 'Start singing and row with the song-it will blend all the, movements together. Pretend you 're a bird with wings, not a boat with oars.' - , |