A Rose for Melinda by Lurlene McDaniel

competitive, and with companies folding continually for lack of funding, spots in a good company are difficult to earn. However, I do believe you have a chance of achieving your goals. Work hard this summer, and I'll look for your package for Jeremy.
    Ciao
,
    Natalie Blackbird

    Dear Jesse,
    Paris is awesome. So far, we've visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, lots of shops and two art museums—the Musée du Louvre and Musée d'Orsay. Just walking through the galleries made me feel a part of history. When I saw the Mona Lisa, I got goose bumps, but when I saw some of the original Degas ballerina series, I cried. The paintings seem to glow and the dancers look as if they might stand or turn or smile at any moment. I was surrounded by the ghosts of greatness and long-dead images of once-living people. It was eerie.
    M
    Hey Bailey,
    You would absolutely LOVE Paris! A paradise for a fashion diva like you. The teens are très chic like nothing I've ever seen before. I look so totally frumpy by comparison. Biggest turnoff for me is that they all smoke. I'm not kidding; kids 11 and 12years old stand at bus stops with cigarettes, puffing away. Ugh. And little motor scooters dart around with girls holding on to some guy who's driving. No helmet laws either. I bought you a present at the cutest little boutique (the salesgirl said Madonna shops there). You must come to Paris someday (maybe to visit me when I dance here one day in the future!).
    Hugs, M
    Jesse,
    Arrived in Madrid yesterday. Today it rained and we spent the day at the Prado. More art treasures to see. I guess this might be boring to most American teens, but not to me. Dragging around with my parents can be a bore—honestly, they are so CONSTANT—but still I'm having a good time. It would be more fun if you and Bailey were along on the trip, but I can't have everything. Hope you're surviving your stay in New York.
    M
    P.S. Will try for e-mail hookup 8 P.M., July 4 (six-hour time difference should catch you at 2 P.M.).
     Are you there?
     You bet! Didn't get
your postcard until yesterday
though.
     I mailed it ten days
ago! Talk about s-l-o-w…
What's going on?
     Fireworks tonight at
Shea Stadium after Mets game.
How about you?
     We've toured most of
Spain. Loved Granada and
Seville best. No fireworks here
because no one cares that it's
America's birthday. It's funny
being in a foreign country for one
of our holidays. Anyway, last 4th I
was in D.C., and my troubles
began. Hard to believe it's been a
year since my diagnosis. Sure
glad it's all behind me.
     Me too. Where are you
headed next?
     We leave for
Germany tomorrow and then
we'll take a tour of what Dad
calls “the blond countries”
(cute, huh?) … you know,
Sweden, Holland, Denmark. I'm
having fun, but I'm getting
homesick.
     I guess you're not
dancing.
     No. And I feel stiff
and fat from nonmovement.
Oh, before I forget, today's
Bailey's birthday. I sent her an
electronic card, but it would be
nice if you e-mailed her and
wished her a happy birthday.
OK?
     Will do. When will you
be home?
     August 1. Europe's
nice, but there's no place like
home. (Didn't someone named
Dorothy say that?)
     It depends on where
your home is, I guess. Mine is
definitely not in New York! Keep
writing. Your postcards keep me
going.
    MELINDA'S DIARY
    August 3
    I'm glad to be home, but I'm so jet-lagged that I haven't even unpacked. While we were away, Dad had a gazebo built in our backyard as a surprise for Mom. She's always wanted one and it is really cool. I'm looking out my bedroom window and seeing her sitting there with her morning coffee and the newspaper. The lawn service planted vines around the base, and by next summer, it'll be covered with flowers. It'll be so romantic!
    Bailey loved her B-day gift from Paris and had a fit over the things I brought back from all the countries we visited. My big project