"Probably," Alex said. "You know Aunt Lorraine. She's only happy when the world's coming to an end." He noticed all the cartons Julie had assembled. "You've really been working," he said.

Julie nodded. "I figured I'd better," she said. "Otherwise

Aunt Lorraine will have a fit if we take any stuff for ourselves. And if we don't, Mami'll get mad."

"Good thinking," Alex said. "Uncle Jimmy says to use the plastic bags for our stuff."

"Sure," Julie said. "They'll hold less."

"It's his food," Alex said. "He's doing us the favor. Why don't you fill as many bags as you can while he's gone."

Julie nodded and began stuffing bags with jars and canned goods. Alex did the same with the cartons. As he worked, he tried to figure out just what was really going on. The moon was responsible for tides, so it made sense if it was closer to Earth, the tides would be higher. How quickly could NASA solve the problem? The distant rumble of thunder unsettled him more.

He jumped when Julie broke the silence. "Do you think Carlos is okay?" she asked.

"Sure," Alex said, silently laughing at himself. "He must be pretty busy. I don't know when he'll have a chance to call."

"Mami, too," Julie said. "With all the looting and everything, the hospitals must be full."

"And Papi's safe in Milagro del Mar," Alex said. "We're all fine. By Monday everything'll be back in order."

"I wonder if they've called off school," Julie asked. "I have an English test I haven't studied for."

Alex grinned. "You're safe," he said. "Even if Holy Angels is open, they'll probably cancel the test."

Julie continued filling the plastic bags with as much as each could hold. Alex did the same with the cartons. It was nice to tell Julie things would be back to normal by Monday, but he thought that was unlikely. The more food they had at home, the better.

"How are you doing?" he asked Julie.

"I've packed twenty bags," she said.

"Good," Alex said. "Keep on. You know the kind of stuff Mami gets."

"Better than you do," Julie muttered.

Alex laughed, but the truth of the matter was he couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a supermarket, and he certainly couldn't remember Papi or Carlos going to one. Groceries, cooking, cleaning —all that was done by Mami, Bri, and Julie. Alex kept his room tidy, and Carlos used to help Papi out occasionally, but it was Bri and Julie who knew how to sew and iron and cook. Even when Mami went back to school, first to get her GED and then to learn how to be an operating room technician, she and the girls did all the housework.

Not that Alex had ever heard Mami complain about it, or Bri. Julie certainly did, but if Julie were a crown princess, she'd complain about the crown.

Right on cue, Julie whined, "My arms ache. And I can't reach stuff on the top shelves."

"Then just take stuff from the shelves you can reach," he said. "Be sure to take canned mushrooms. Papi likes them."

"I already have a bag," Julie said.

"Good," Alex said, and went back to packing and thinking. NASA was most likely consulting physicists and astronomers from around the world about the quickest way of getting the moon in place. Things would eventually get back in order.

By the time Uncle Jimmy returned, Alex had filled all the empty cartons. He and Jimmy loaded the van while Julie returned to assembling the few remaining boxes. Then he and Jimmy filled those boxes and whatever bags remained.

"Julie, you stay here," Uncle Jimmy said. "Benny'll be out-

side. Alex and I'll empty this stuff at my place, and then we'll come back and drive you home."

Alex wasn't crazy about leaving Julie alone in the store, but he supposed she'd be safe locked in with an armed guard standing watch. "Behave yourself," he said to her.

Julie glared at him. Alex pitied any looters who might make it past Benny.

Jimmy swiftly drove the four blocks back to his apartment. "Lorraine'll help us unload." he said. "But it's going to take a while to carry all this stuff upstairs."

Jimmy and Lorraine lived in a second-floor walk-up. Jimmy unloaded the cartons from the van to the first floor, and then Alex carried them upstairs, where Lorraine met him and brought the cartons into her apartment. Alex could hear his little cousins screaming in the background, but that was nothing new. Lorraine said nothing, just grunting occasionally as she pushed the heavier cartons into her home.

When they finally finished, Lorraine looked up at Alex. "Thank you," she said. "You've helped save my babies' lives."

"Things'll work out," Alex said. "Give the scientists some time and they'll figure out what to do."

"This is too big for the scientists," Lorraine said. "Only God can save us now."

"Then He will," Alex said.

"Come on, Alex!" Jimmy called from downstairs. "Let's get going."

Alex gave Lorraine an awkward hug, and raced down the stairs.

Jimmy drove them back to the bodega, where Alex noticed Benny was no longer standing guard. "Dammit," Jimmy said. "I told him to stay until we got back. Julie, you okay?"

"People were banging against the steel door," Julie said, crouching behind the counter. "I heard gunshots." "It's all right," Alex said. "We're going home now." "Okay," Jimmy said, still looking annoyed. "I'll finish packing what's left on my own. Come on, let's load up your stuff." Alex was impressed with how many hags Julie had filled and how heavy the bags were. They'd certainly have enough food to last until things got back to normal.

Jimmy helped them bring the food into the living room, then went back to the bodega. Alex, Briana, and Julie carried most of the bags into the kitchen. Whatever didn't fit there stayed in the living room.

"The phone rang while you were gone," Briana said. "I think it was Papi, but I can't be sure."

"What do you mean you can't be sure?" Alex asked, every muscle in his body aching. All he wanted was a hot shower and four more hours' sleep.

"There was a lot of static," Briana said almost apologetically. "But I heard a man's voice and I'm sure it was Papi's. I think he said something about Puerto Rico."

"Well, that's good news," Alex said. "If he called, he must be all right. He probably called to say he won't be coming home on Saturday."

"I told him we're all fine so he won't worry," Bri said.

"They left me alone," Julie said. "People tried to break in. Someone could have killed me."

"Are you all right?" Bri asked. Alex could see the worry in her eyes.

"Of course she is," Alex said. "We all are."

"Can we call Mami?" Briana asked. "We can tell her about the groceries and that we heard from Papi."

"We shouldn't bother her at work," Alex said. "She'll call

us when she can, or maybe she'll just come home. Look, how about making us some breakfast. We'll all feel better after we've eaten."

"I can make scrambled eggs," Briana said. "The stove's still working. I checked."

"Sounds good," Alex said. "I'm going to take a shower. After breakfast we'll go to school."

"I'm not going anywhere," Julie said. "Not in the blackout."

"I don't want to go, either," Bri said. "Can't we stay here until Mami comes home?"

"All right," Alex said. "But I'll go out after breakfast and see what's happening."

He got into the shower only to find there was no hot water. He got in and out as fast as he could, then dressed in his school clothes.

"There's no hot water," Alex told Bri.

"You don't think the people in the apartments will blame Papi, do you?" she asked.

"No one will blame Papi," Alex said. "It's not just this building. The whole city is probably blacked out. Where's Julie? Did she eat already?"

"She went back to bed," Briana said, putting scrambled eggs on Alex's plate. "I hope the orange juice is still okay."