September Surprises

  “Whoa. Look,” said Ruby a few minutes later as she rounded the corner onto Main Street. “Look how many people are here.”

  The window of the Marquis Diner was swathed in red-white-and-blue bunting, beneath which was a sign announcing the grand re-opening. Ruby, peering through the doorway, could see a large crowd and hear the sound of laughter and a great many people all talking at once. “There’s Hilary! I see Hilary!” Ruby called over her shoulder to Min and Flora. “Oh, and there’s Robby and his parents, and Sharon from the pet store, and Mr. Samuels from the grocery store, and Frank and — hey, is that Frank’s wife? I bet that lady is his wife.”

  “Ruby, you need to calm down a bit,” said Min quietly, taking Ruby by the elbow.

  “Okay. Hey, hi, Hilary! Hi!”

  “Hi, Ruby,” replied Hilary, pulling her friend inside. Hilary was carrying a basket, and she removed three slips of paper from it and handed one each to Ruby, Flora, and Min. “These are your sandwich coupons,” she said. “Good for six months.”

  “And these are for the door prizes.” Spencer stepped around his big sister and pulled three red tickets from a large roll.

  “What are door prizes?” asked Ruby suspiciously. “I already have a door.”

  “They’re really cool,” said Spencer. “One lucky winner will get an iPod and one will get dinner for four at the diner.”

  “An iPod! I want an iPod!” cried Ruby.

  “Well, tear off the ticket stub and don’t lose it,” said Hilary. “Drop the rest of the ticket in the soup pot over there. And keep your fingers crossed.”

  Ruby carefully tore her ticket in two and put the stub in her pocket. Then she made her way through the crowd to a large ceramic pot bearing a sign that read DRAWING AT 8:00. She dropped her ticket in the pot and stepped back to look around the room. She had just spotted Lacey Morris sampling teeny sandwiches with Alyssa and was about to call to her, when she heard someone laugh and say, “I’ve got her doing half my homework for me.”

  The laugh was nasty, and Ruby stopped and turned around. A familiar-looking girl was standing with two other girls under a large photo of Judy Garland.

  “What? Who’s doing your homework for you?” asked one of the others.

  “Her.” The first girl pointed across the diner. “You know. Olivia Walter. The smart one.”

  Ruby gasped. The girl was one of the two who had been at Minnewaska State Park. When Ruby looked in the direction in which she was pointing, there was Olivia, all right. She was talking with Flora and Robby. Ruby turned back to the group of girls. They were laughing. She narrowed her eyes at them.

  One of them noticed her. “Something wrong?” she asked.

  “No,” said Ruby. “No.” She pushed her way through knots of people until she reached Olivia. “Excuse me, you guys,” she said to Flora and Robby. “I have to talk to Olivia. In private.” She hauled Olivia to a quiet corner and told her what she had overheard. “Is that true? What did she mean when she says she has you doing her homework for her? That doesn’t sound very nice. It sounds —”

  Olivia clapped her hand over Ruby’s mouth. “Shh! I don’t want anyone to know about this.” She glanced around the diner.

  “But, Olivia —”

  Ruby struggled, but Olivia’s hand remained clamped firmly in place. “I said, shhhh!” said Olivia.

  “Take your hand off,” Ruby tried to say.

  “Not until you promise to keep this a secret.”

  Ruby stuck out her tongue and licked Olivia’s fingers.

  “Oh, ew!” squealed Olivia. She jerked her hand away and wiped it on her jeans. “Ruby, seriously, you can’t tell anyone. Only Flora and Nikki know about this.”

  “You told Flora and Nikki and you didn’t tell me?” Ruby’s voice was rising.

  “I was going to tell you, but I hadn’t seen you.”

  “Really? You were going to tell me?”

  “Um, yes.”

  “So tell me now.”

  Olivia led Ruby outside the diner and hurriedly whispered the story to her.

  “Man,” said Ruby. She peered through the window. “Where are those girls? Where’s Melody? I’m going to —”

  “Ruby,” said Olivia sternly. “I mean it. Keep quiet. I’ll figure this out.”

  “Okay.” Ruby tried to enjoy the rest of the party. She sampled a vegetable kabob. She helped Hilary hand out the coupons. She shared an ice cream sundae with Alyssa. And she listened with interest when the door prizes were announced. (She didn’t know the winners.) But she couldn’t stop thinking about Melody and Olivia and the homework assignments and the fact that someone was bullying one of her best friends.

  From across the diner, Ruby Northrop gave Melody Becker the evil eye.

  Surprises, Flora thought, happened when you least expected them. Well, of course they did. That made sense. If you expected them, they wouldn’t be surprises.

  Flora had a very surprising Friday. One of the most surprising things was that after a fairly routine day, Flora experienced one surprise after another that night, until finally she was surprised by the sheer number of surprises. Who would have thought she’d have so many surprises in just one evening?

  “Ready, girls?” asked Min the moment she returned from Needle and Thread.

  Flora and Ruby, who had been on their own in the Row House that afternoon, chorused, “Ready!”

  “We packed all our stuff in one bag,” announced Ruby. “One bag for both of us.”

  “Did you remember your toothbrushes?” asked Min. “Your nightgowns? Clothes for tomorrow?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes,” replied Flora.

  “We’re only going to be at Aunt Allie’s,” Ruby pointed out as she and Flora followed Min to the car. Then she added, “Min? Do you think you’ll be lonely tonight?”

  “I’ll have Daisy Dear and King Comma for company,” Min replied. She didn’t point out that until her granddaughters had come to live with her, she had spent every night alone.

  Min drove slowly through the streets of Camden Falls, Daisy sitting solemnly beside her, eyes focused straight ahead, on the lookout for squirrels.

  As Min pulled into Allie’s driveway, Flora suddenly exclaimed, “Hey! There’s Mr. Barnes!” Her favorite teacher at Central was unlocking the front door of the house across the street.

  “Who’s Mr. Barnes?” asked Ruby.

  “One of my teachers. And he’s the advisor for our book club. I guess he lives here, right across from Aunt Allie — the person who started our summer book club. Isn’t that a coincidence?”

  “All right, girls,” said Min. “Mind what Aunt Allie tells you tonight, remember your manners, and have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Flora and Ruby scrambled out of the car and ran to the front door. “Isn’t it cool that we have our very own room here?” said Flora.

  “Yes,” replied Ruby. She paused. “I do wonder about the food, though. What do you think we’ll be eating?”

  “I don’t know,” said Flora in a hurried whisper as she heard her aunt turn the doorknob, “but I packed four candy bars and a package of cookies, just in case.”

  “Good thinking,” Ruby whispered back.

  It turned out that — surprise — they needn’t have worried. Aunt Allie had made a regular salad and prepared macaroni and cheese and hot dogs. “Everything is organic,” she said. “And the hot dogs are really chicken dogs, but I promise you won’t be able to tell the difference.”

  For dessert there was ice cream.

  “Yum,” said Flora later, patting her stomach as she pushed her empty bowl across the table.

  “Double yum,” said Ruby. “That was great. Thank you.”

  “Yes, thank you,” said Flora.

  “You’re very welcome,” replied Aunt Allie. “Okay. Ruby, Min said you need to take a shower tonight. Why don’t you do that now? I’ll show you where everything is.”

  It was while Ruby was taking her shower and Flora and her aunt were curled u
p in armchairs in the living room that Flora — to her surprise — found herself saying, “Aunt Allie? How much do you know about old people?”

  Allie smiled. “What do you mean?”

  Flora laced her fingers together. “Nikki said she didn’t know that old people could date. And then I started wondering how often old people get married.”

  “Are you thinking about Min and Rudy Pennington?”

  Flora nodded.

  “Well, people can get married at any age. I suppose it’s less likely to happen as they get older, but it does happen. I’m not sure that Min and Rudy are ready for that yet. But if they were, what would you think, Flora?”

  “I’d think …” Flora chose her words carefully. She started over. “I love Mr. Pennington. And I love Min, of course. But I’m not sure … I’m not sure …”

  “Are you not sure you want to share Min with anyone?”

  Flora let out her breath. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “You and Ruby have been through an awful lot of changes in the last couple of years,” said Allie. “Maybe you’re simply not ready for another change, good or bad.”

  “Well, that makes more sense than thinking I was a mean person who didn’t want Min to get married. I do want her to be happy,” said Flora.

  “I know you do,” replied Aunt Allie. “But anyway, I think Min and Mr. Pennington are a long way from marriage.”

  Ruby, wearing a flannel nightgown Flora had made for her, bounced into the living room then, wet hair glistening. “All done!” she announced.

  “Good,” said Allie briskly. “I think I’ll take my shower now.” She got to her feet. “Oh, I just remembered — I meant to put a night-light in your room. Do you think you’ll want a night-light?”

  “Well …” said Flora.

  “Possibly,” said Ruby.

  Aunt Allie smiled. “There’s a spare one in the linen closet.”

  “I know where that is,” said Ruby.

  Flora followed Ruby and their aunt upstairs. Allie disappeared into her bathroom, and Ruby continued down the hall. “Right here,” she said, and flung open a door. Flora and Ruby stared at the items on the shelves.

  “Whoa,” said Flora.

  And Ruby said, “Well, this is a surprise. I guess I opened the wrong door.”

  “I’ll say,” said Flora. “What is all this?” She glanced over her shoulder. The door to Allie’s bathroom was closed.

  “Baby stuff,” replied Ruby in a low voice.

  Flora looked at a shelf filled with unopened packages of infant clothes — lace-edged rompers and floral T-shirts and tiny embroidered socks and knitted caps and dresses and sleepers and soft pink shoes. Below was a shelf full of supplies — bottles and teething rings and receiving blankets and a set of brightly colored plastic keys and a number of things Flora couldn’t identify. “It’s all brand-new,” she whispered.

  Ruby let out a muffled squeal. “Aunt Allie’s pregnant! We’re going to get a cousin!”

  But Flora shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. Look, the clothes are all for a girl. How could she know she was having a girl?”

  “She must have had that test done.”

  Flora shook her head again. “Nope. You can’t have it done until you’re several months pregnant. Remember when Mrs. Fong found out about Grace? She was definitely already pregnant then. You could tell just by looking at her. Aunt Allie is not pregnant. At least, not that pregnant.”

  “Well, maybe she just wants a girl really, really badly.”

  “But that doesn’t make any sense. Why go out and buy all this stuff now when she might have a boy?”

  “It’s not all for a girl,” said Ruby.

  “The clothes are,” Flora replied. “Look at all the lace and flowers. Not to mention the dresses. And those shoes. Anyway, this stuff has been around a while. Some of the packages are dusty.” Flora drew her fingers across a package containing a pink-and-white-striped sleeper, then wiped her hand on her jeans.

  “Well, this is just … weird,” said Ruby.

  “Girls?” called Aunt Allie.

  And in a flash, Flora shut the door to the closet and pulled Ruby into their bedroom.

  “Not a word, Ruby, not a word,” exclaimed Flora softly. And she made her sister pinkie swear.

  Surprise, surprise, thought Flora.

  “Please, please can’t I go with you? Please, please, puh-lease?” cried Mae.

  “Not this time,” Nikki replied patiently. “This is a trip just for Flora and Ruby and Olivia and me.”

  “But I got dressed for Davidson’s,” said Mae, and Nikki could tell that her sister wasn’t far from tears. “Look at me. Don’t I look a little like a farmer?” Mae was wearing jeans and a blue-and-white-checked shirt.

  “I suppose,” replied Nikki. She was tempted to remark that no one had asked Mae to get dressed for Davidson’s and that this particular behavior was a bit manipulative, but of course she said no such thing. “Mae, this is another one of our Saturday adventures. And Saturday adventures are just for —”

  “I know. You don’t have to say it again. They’re just for you and Olivia and Ruby and Flora. But that’s not fair!”

  “Mae,” said Mrs. Sherman as Nikki edged toward the front door, “I know you want to go with Nikki, but you simply can’t. For one thing, Nikki is riding her bicycle to Davidson’s, and you’re not allowed to do that. Anyway, sometimes Nikki does things just with her friends. And sometimes you do things just with yours. Besides, you and I are going to have fun today.”

  “What are we going to do? Clean?”

  “Mae,” said her mother warningly, and Nikki slipped out the door. She hoped her sister would be in a better frame of mind by the time she returned.

  Nikki hopped on her bicycle. She rode carefully to the end of her lane, which was not paved and was peppered with holes and stones, then turned right on the county road where she picked up speed. She pedaled along, the air cool on her cheeks, the sun warming the top of her head. When she reached the intersection with the billboard advertising Davidson’s Orchards, she parked her bike and was about to sit on a rock at the side of the road to wait for her friends when she heard a shout and saw Ruby, Flora, and Olivia riding toward her.

  “Hi!” she called.

  “Hi!” Ruby replied. “Get back on your bike!”

  Nikki did so, and the four girls turned onto Newtown-Pennswood Road. Every so often they passed another sign for Davidson’s until finally Ruby said, “How much farther? I can’t wait. This is going to be so much fun — hayrides, pony rides, a corn maze. I’ve never been in a corn maze.”

  “I’ve been going to Davidson’s since I was little,” said Olivia, puffing as she rode along. “Every year it gets bigger. First it was just a farm stand, then they added the pony rides, then apple picking.”

  “Now there’s a general store, too,” said Nikki. “And this year, I think there’s a display of scarecrows.”

  “Here’s the entrance,” Olivia called over her shoulder.

  The girls turned into a small parking lot and chained their bikes to a rack.

  Ruby began jumping up and down. “Oh! Oh! A carousel! No one told me there would be a merry-go-round!”

  “That’s new,” said Nikki slowly, and a very strange feeling came over her. She looked at the merry-go-round, which was noisy and festive, the horses colorful, the brass rings gleaming. She looked at Ruby’s beaming face — and then she looked at the people riding the merry-go-round. They were all either parents or very young children. And suddenly Nikki felt she was much too old to ride the carousel. She recalled, with great discomfort, the December three years earlier when her mother had taken her and Mae to see the Santa Claus at the department store in the mall, and Nikki had realized in one great disappointing instant that she was the oldest kid in line. Without a word, she had stepped away, leaving her mother to settle Mae on Santa’s lap, and had watched from the sidelines.

  “Nikki? What’s the matter?” asked Ruby
now. “Come on. Olivia and Flora are already at the entrance.”

  Ruby pulled Nikki’s arm and they joined a line of jostling, laughing people. When they passed through the gate, they found themselves in an autumn wonder-land. Along the pathways through the farm were sheaves of cornstalks surrounded by enormous pumpkins. Food stalls featured donuts and caramel popcorn and hot chocolate, apple pie and apple cider and jars of homemade applesauce.

  “Look, there are the scarecrows,” said Flora.

  The girls walked down a lane of scarecrows dressed as witches and monsters and princesses. “There’s Peter Pan,” said Olivia. “Oh, and the White Rabbit.”

  “It’s like a costume parade for scarecrows,” said Flora.

  “Let’s get a bag of popcorn,” said Ruby. “One big bag for us to share.”

  The girls purchased their popcorn from a man dressed as a mummy and ambled through Davidson’s. They watched a group of people leave on a hayride, inquired about apple picking, and wandered through the general store, paying close attention to an array of penny candy.

  “Let’s go through the corn maze,” said Olivia. “It’s really fun. It’s huge, but you can’t get lost because there are all these people in costumes who help you out if you get stuck.”

  “And then let’s ride the merry-go-round,” said Ruby.

  Nikki glanced at Olivia and Flora and saw the same uncertainty on their faces that she had felt earlier.

  “What?” asked Ruby. “No one wants to ride the merry-go-round?”

  “Well …” said Flora.

  “You think it’s babyish, don’t you?” said Ruby, sounding defiant. “What about a pony ride? Is that babyish, too?”

  After a brief silence, Nikki said, “I don’t think a hayride would be babyish. Or apple picking.”