Ding-dong. Alma raced to the door, thinking it was her friend Jessie. To her surprise, it
was Grandma Joan, a small suitcase on the ground next to her.
"Grandma!" Alma said, beaming. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting for the weekend," Grandma Joan said. "Your mom and dad kept it a secret to
surprise you."
Alma hugged her grandma and told her she was happy to see her. As they were talking,
the doorbell rang a second time. This time it was Jessie. "Jessie's picking me up for a
sleepover tonight," Alma told Grandma Joan. "I'll see you soon!"
After a lazy Saturday of sleeping in and watching movies, Alma came home that evening.
The family decided to head out for ice cream, but Alma's favorite TV show, Face the
Music, was about to come on.
"Alma, aren't you coming?" asked her mom.
"I have to watch this," Alma said. "It's the final round, and I'll find out the winner
tonight!"
"But you haven't spent any time with Grandma," her mom said quietly.
"We'll hang out tomorrow," Alma replied.
The next day, Alma had a swim meet in the morning. When two teammates invited her to
lunch afterward, Alma said yes. Then her friend Zhu texted her asking for her opinion on
a new pair of sandals, so Alma walked to Zhu's house to see the shoes.
When she finally got home in the late afternoon, Grandma Joan's suitcase was next to the
front door, and Grandma Joan was putting on her coat.
"Grandmal" Alma exclaimed. "You're not leaving already, are you? I barely got to see
you."
"My plane leaves at five, sweetie," her grandma replied as a taxi pulled up. "I wish I'd
seen more of you, but you were so busy all weekend."
Alma felt terrible. As she watched the taxi pull away, she wished she could jump back in
time.