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Go now in peace

Peace within you, peace surround you,

Go now in peace

It was a very si it a couple of times, the other kids joined in as best they could

Sahalia played the chords on her guitar

I didn’t want to sing the stupid song

I looked at the baby on my scrap of cardboard

I felt so bad for that baby

"Everyone sing," Josie co, Dean," she insisted

I couldn’t do it

"Sing"

Alex was on lad to have hiuilty that I had fa was too much for me

So I looked at my piece of cardboard and just focused narrower and narrower until that baby was the only thing I could see

And I opened , "Go now in peace," to the baby

I didn’t think about all the babies All the people All the everyone as lost now I just sang about the one curly-haired baby, singing hi the baby up to Heaven The one baby

I could sing for him and him alone

Eventually Josie said, "A down my face They’d soaked the collar of my button-down shirt and were somehow also in my ears, which had never happened to me before

"That’s it," Josie said "Our ceremony is over"

"Wait," said Batiste "Can I say a prayer?"

"Of course," Josie said

Batiste stood up and recited

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, Halloween Thy Nadom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive the breast passers, and forgive the breast passes against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil Amen"

"Amen," we echoed

I was quite sure that Halloas not the name of God, and I didn’t knohat on earth a "breast passer" was, though I enjoyed iree, but it was nice Batiste wanted tolook on his face Pride and happiness He had given us so on ave hiether Ulysses was up on Josie’s lap while Max cuddled into her side She was s Max’s cowlick Theup anew after her every stroke

Chloe had scooted over to Niko and was sidled up against hi at the floor with a studied concentration that made me think he’d been upset, too, and didn’t want us to see Jake pulled up the botto (of course) his perfect six-pack abs Then he blew his nose on the botto snort

I took a long breath and let it out

"Jeez Louise," said Chloe "Let’s eat I’h I had had in the last three days

CHAPTER TWELVE

ELECTIONS

Lunch: Pizza

Cook: me

Excited about it: no

"Oh man," Chloe ht I’d get tired of eating pizza but you knohat? I a the best I can and I’ much help"

"We can help!" Caroline said "Me and Henry are real good helpers"

"Yeah," Henry added "We help our , AND the led at that, what had to be old fareat cook, too," added Chloe "You should let ood"

"Okay," I said "I tell you what Every day I’ll pick a helper and that helper will pick out e’re going to eat, and soether"

"Yay! Yay!" the little kids cheered, ju up and down

Then it was a chorus of "Pickit over "Today’s helper will be Chloe And to kid over with first After all I had already cooked two out of the three meals for the day

We ate our pizza and aited for Jake and Brayden to show up

It was election ti over his notes He looked nervous, but eager

Jake and Brayden had skipped lunch and were nowhere to be seen

Josie paced up near the counter

"All right, h," she said, stalling "I know, let’s sing sos Who knows ‘She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain’?"

"She" had driven her six white horses and "She" had eaten chicken and du to sleep with Grandma when, at last, Jake and Brayden showed up

Apparently they’d been planning a splashy opening for his election speech

We heard Jake’s voice boo from a distance