Kim was happy that she had found herself a summer job.

“Let's go and visit Mom,” she said. “She will be finished teaching by the time we get there.”

Mrs. Gunter was a math teacher. She taught at a college in lower Manhattan.

Kim held up a hand to hail a cab.
A yellow cab screeched to a stop on the side of the street. Kurt and Kim hopped in.

“Where to?” asked the driver.
Kim told him the address.

The cab went sho!oting off. Wind came rushing in the windows as the cab sped past stores on both sides.

Kurt hung on tight. It was a crazy ride. The cab man was weaving in and out of traffic. Kurt thought they might crash. Part of him was frightened. But part of him found driving at that speed exciting. It was like riding in a race car.

“Do you have a license to drive?” Kurt called to the driver.

“Yes. All cab drivers must have a license,” the driver said. “And they teach you to drive like this?”

“No, no,” said the driver. “It takes years and years of driving to become an expert like me!”

They made it safely. Kim paid the driver and gave him a tip. She and Kurt went in to see their mom.

Mrs. Gunter gave Kim a big hug. Kurt snuck in between them so he could be part of the hug, too. Then Kim told her mom how they had spent the day.

Kim listed the places they had visited. She explained what had happened with Tom and Beth, with Alberto at the Corner Market, with Dwight, the Man of Light, with Hester the Florist, and, at last, with Mr. Fremont. She told her mom how she had used math to help her get the job at the grocery.

By the end of the story, Mrs. Gunter was beaming. “You see,” she said. “I told you math would help you out one day. You thought I was crazy.”

“I never dreamed I would have a job in a grocery,” added Kim, “but I think it’s going to be a good job for me.”

“It may not be the job of your dreams,” said her mom. “But it’s a job. The next job you get can be better. And the next one can be even better. If you study hard in college, you will have a chance to get the job of your dreams some day. Until then, just do a good job and save as much of your paycheck as you can.”

“I will,” said Kim.
“Let’s do something fun!” said Kurt.

“I know!” said their mom. “Let's celebrate Kim’s new job by getting some subs and snacks and going down to Battery Park for a picnic. Are you two hungry for dinner?”
“You bet!” said Kurt.

“This is crazy!” Kim said. “Mom, all day, Kurt ate and ate. Each time I got him a snack, I said, that’s the end of that. But he was still hungry.”

“Well, he’s a strong, growing child,” said Mrs. Gunter. “And he was busy all day.”

“That's right!” said Kurt.
They went to a sub shop nearby. Mrs. Gunter ordered sub for each of them, plus some snack sand drinks.

Then Mrs. Gunter hailed a cab. The three of them got in. The cab took them down the West Side Highway. It dropped them off in Battery Park, on the south end of Manhattan.