Staying Together

  “I work at a store,” said Robby.

  He had about a million other questions to ask Sarah, such as what TV shows she liked to watch and whether her parents had said she could have an iPod, but Sarah said, “Let’s dance again.”

  So they did. They danced and danced and had some more refreshments.

  Robby could hardly believe it when the director of Mountain View stepped into the center of the room and announced that the dance was over. “Oh, no,” said Robby. “We have to go.”

  “Will you call me?” asked Sarah. “I’ll give you my phone number.”

  “Okay. I’ll give you mine.”

  Later, when Robby was sitting in the car with his mother and they were pulling out of the parking lot, he fingered the slip of paper in his pocket and remembered Sarah’s face as she’d said, “Bye, Robby. We’ll talk soon, okay?”

  Robby planned to call Sarah that very night. He would say “Thank you” and “I had fun” and “I hope we can see each other again soon.” Maybe he would even buy Sarah a present the next time he was working at Sincerely Yours. He wondered what he should get for his very first girlfriend.

  “What kind of changes?” Olivia asked as she and her parents and brothers sat around the dinner table one evening.

  It was Friday night and lights were on in most of the Row Houses. Two doors away, Robby Edwards was whistling up the front walk with his mother, saying, “My first girlfriend, Mom!” At the other end of the row, the Morris kids were trying to convince their parents that they should go out for dinner. Couldn’t they please go to the mall and eat at McDonald’s? Next door, Flora, Ruby, and Min were in the kitchen. Min was stirring something on the stove, and Flora and Ruby had turned their backs on each other.

  “Not big changes, honey,” Olivia’s mother replied.

  “Is the store in trouble?” Olivia wanted to know. Please don’t let Sincerely Yours be in trouble, she thought. It hasn’t even been open for a year. We haven’t given it a chance.

  “It isn’t in any immediate danger,” Mr. Walter told her.

  “The Nelsons might have to close the diner,” Olivia’s brother Jack spoke up. “Spencer said so.”

  “Well, we do not have to close Sincerely Yours,” said Mrs. Walter.

  “You said you have to make some changes, though,” Olivia reminded her.

  “That’s true. We need to think very carefully about our overhead —”

  “Oh,” groaned Henry. “Not overhead. Don’t use business words. I never understand what you’re talking about when you use business words.”

  “All right. We need to be very careful about the money we have to spend in order to run the store. That’s all. Tighten the store’s belt a little,” said Mr. Walter.

  “How do you tighten its belt?” asked Olivia. “You’re not going to fire anyone, are you?”

  “No. We said we would make small changes, and that’s what we mean.”

  Olivia believed her parents. But the thought that the store was in any kind of trouble at all disturbed her, and by Saturday morning she felt she needed some sort of fun distraction — something to take her mind off of inflation and recession and foreclosures and the economy and struggling people everywhere.

  “A Saturday adventure! That’s what we should have today,” Olivia said aloud, and the very thought of it made her hop out of bed and snap up the shade to see whether the morning was sunny. It was. Aiken Avenue sparkled in sunshine, and Olivia could see that across the street two of her neighbors were already working in their flower beds.

  Excellent. Now — what kind of adventure should she and Nikki and Flora and Ruby plan?

  Their Saturday adventures had begun the summer before when a nameless someone had arranged for the girls to be members of a secret book club. Every few weeks each girl received a copy of a book from an anonymous sender, and after they had read the book they were sent on a surprise adventure. Long after the book club had ended and the identity of the nameless someone had been revealed, the girls had continued the tradition of Saturday adventures, only now they arranged them on their own.

  What could they do today? Olivia wondered. The adventure didn’t have to be elaborate, and it would be a good thing if it weren’t expensive, either. Just something fun. An afternoon at the movies? A trip to the mall, even if they didn’t buy anything?

  Olivia, still in her nightgown, brought the cordless phone into her room, closed her door softly, and punched in Nikki’s number.

  “Hi, Olivia!” cried Mae’s voice. “I saw ‘Walter’ on the caller ID. That’s how I knew it was you. Are you coming over today?” Before Olivia could answer, Mae continued, “You know what? I’m making macaroni jewelry. Would you like a necklace? Or a bracelet? I haven’t figured out how to make earrings yet.”

  “Oh. Well, let’s see. I would love a bracelet. That would be very nice.”

  “Great. Bracelets are two dollars each. You can give the money to Nikki the next time you see her.”

  “Um, okay.”

  “I’ll get right to work on the bracelet. Bye!”

  “Wait, Mae! Don’t hang up. I need to talk to Nikki.”

  “Okay. Just a second.”

  When Nikki got on the phone, she said, “Did Mae make you order any of her jewelry?”

  “Well, she offered to make me a bracelet and then she said it would cost two dollars.”

  Nikki laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her. Don’t you think she’ll make a good salesperson someday, though?”

  “I think she’ll make a sneaky one. Listen, Nikki, I was thinking. Why don’t we have a Saturday adventure today? We don’t have much weekend homework and an adventure would be really fun. We haven’t gone on one in a while.”

  “That’s a great idea! What should we do?”

  “I’m not sure. We’ll all have to decide together. Maybe go to the movies? Or to the mall if we can find someone to drive us there? Or, I know! How about lunch at College Pizza? That wouldn’t cost too much.”

  “I like that idea. And guess what. Mom isn’t working today. She was about to go into town to run errands with Mae, so she can drop me at your house first.”

  “Perfect. While you’re on your way over here, I’ll call Flora and Ruby.”

  Olivia clicked off the phone, threw on some clothes, dashed to the kitchen, where she slurped up a bowl of cereal, and then returned to her bedroom with the phone. She dialed Flora’s number and, as she often did, immediately put her ear to her bedroom wall and listened to the phone ringing next door.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi … Ruby?”

  “Hi, Olivia.”

  “Guess what. Nikki is on her way over. We thought we should have a Saturday adventure today.”

  “The four of us?”

  “Of course.”

  “As in you and Nikki and me and Flora?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Nope.”

  “What do you mean, nope?”

  “I mean I’m not going on any Saturday adventure if Flora is going, too.”

  “But that’s what a Saturday adventure is. The four of us doing something fun together.”

  “Believe me,” said Ruby, “if Flora goes along, then the adventure will not be fun for me.”

  Olivia let out a long, loud sigh. “We are not,” she said firmly, “leaving Flora out of an adventure. We’ve never left any one of us out.”

  “Then I’m not going.”

  “Ruby!” exclaimed Olivia in frustration. Then she lowered her voice. “Put Flora on the phone, will you, please?”

  Olivia heard Ruby set the phone down. Then she heard her call “Flora!” in an unnecessarily loud voice. And then, “FLORA!”

  “WHAT?” answered Flora in an equally loud voice.

  “PHONE!”

  Olivia heard nothing more until, after a number of clicks, Flora said, “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s me. What is going on over there?”

  It was Flora’s turn to sigh. “Just … noth
ing.”

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing,” replied Olivia. “But listen, I called because Nikki is on her way over and we thought it would be a good day for a Saturday adventure, but Ruby says she won’t go if you go, and we’re not leaving you out.”

  “Well, I won’t go if Ruby goes.”

  “What? Are you kidding me?”

  “No.”

  “You won’t go if Ruby goes, and Ruby won’t go if you go.”

  “Correct.”

  “But it isn’t a proper adventure unless all four of us go.”

  “I’m sorry, Olivia. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Olivia!” called her mother from downstairs. “Nikki’s here!”

  “Okay, thanks!” Olivia called back. She considered inviting Flora over, but she was feeling irritated with her friend, so instead she simply said, “Got to go. Bye.” And hung up the phone.

  “Nikki!” she exclaimed a few moments later when Nikki flopped into Olivia’s armchair. “You won’t believe this. Flora and Ruby are still mad at each other, and Ruby won’t go on an adventure if Flora goes, and Flora won’t go if Ruby goes. So the adventure is off.”

  Nikki’s face fell. “What is wrong with them? What’s the fight about anyway? Do you know?”

  Olivia shook her head. “They won’t tell me. But it must be bad. They’re barely talking to each other.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Olivia picked at a bit of fluff on her bedspread. “I don’t know. I guess we can only see Flora when Ruby isn’t around and vice versa.”

  Nikki nodded dismally. “You have to admit that it isn’t very pleasant when they’re together.”

  “But I don’t want things to change!”

  “Oh, they’ll get over it. How long do you think their fight can go on?”

  “It’s gone on pretty long already.”

  “Well, look. We don’t have to let it wreck our day. Why don’t you call Flora back and just ask her if she wants to go to the movies with us?”

  “But we can’t leave Ruby out of a Saturday adventure.”

  “Then we won’t call it a Saturday adventure.”

  “Nikki. Ruby’s not stupid. She’ll know what we’re doing. And she’ll think we’re choosing Flora over her.”

  Nikki, who had been sitting up straight, attempting to stretch her spine and therefore increase her height, slumped back in the chair. “I know. You’re right.”

  “This is terrible.”

  “Yeah. Okay, then why don’t we talk to Flora about it?”

  “Because … do you really want to get involved with whatever’s going on?”

  “Well, no.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “So what are we going to do?”

  “I guess you and I could go to the movies by ourselves.”

  “That’s not what I meant!” exclaimed Nikki. “I meant, what are we going to do about you and me and Flora and Ruby?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I don’t know, either.”

  Olivia sighed. The day had been ruined.

  How was it, Nikki wondered, that a fight between two other people could make her feel so dreary? But she did feel dreary (Olivia did, too) and it was all because of Flora and Ruby. Everything was wrong. On Saturday, Nikki and Olivia had finally left Olivia’s house and ventured into town, where they had each ordered a slice at College Pizza (not as a Saturday adventure but simply as a sad, second-place lunch). Flora had walked by on her way to Needle and Thread, seen them through the window, rushed inside, and slid into their booth.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here?” she had asked.

  Flora had looked hurt in a way that instantly made Nikki feel cross, and she’d almost replied, “We don’t have to tell you everything we do,” but luckily had thought better of it.

  Across the table, Olivia had shrugged her shoulders. “We didn’t want to have a Saturday adventure and leave either you or Ruby out, so …” Her voice had trailed off.

  “But this isn’t a Saturday adventure.”

  “No. But you guys knew we were trying to plan one,” Nikki had told Flora. “We thought if we asked you to come to lunch with us, then Ruby would feel hurt.” She’d glanced at Olivia, who had said nothing further, and then at Flora, who had stared at the table. After a long embarrassing silence, Flora had said she’d promised to help Min with the quilts and had left College Pizza, looking tragic.

  School the following week wasn’t any better. Flora was glum, and the one time Nikki mentioned Ruby’s name, Flora said, “So you’re taking her side?”

  “A, all I said was that the fight must be hard on Ruby,” Nikki replied hotly, “and B, I don’t know what the fight is about, so how could I possibly be taking anybody’s side?”

  Flora shrugged.

  When school ended that day, Nikki couldn’t wait to escape to Sheltering Arms. It was her afternoon to volunteer there, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her as the van from the shelter pulled up in front of Camden Falls Central and Harriet waved to her from the driver’s seat.

  Nikki waved back and slid in next to Harriet, who was practically a full-time volunteer at the shelter. “Thank you for picking me up,” Nikki said. “Next week Mr. Pennington is going to drive me.”

  “No problem,” Harriet replied. “It’s been a busy day. I’ve been driving around all afternoon anyway.”

  “Making deliveries?” asked Nikki, and Harriet nodded.

  Sheltering Arms supplied chow to people who could no longer afford to buy food for their cats and dogs. Nikki noted that the number of people who had applied for help had risen steadily in the past few months.

  “Any new dogs come in this week?” Nikki wanted to know.

  Harriet glanced at her. “You mean a dog that would be right for Mr. Pennington? No. Several new ones did come in, but four are large, two need a lot of rehabilitation, and the seventh is a mama with a litter of puppies. But don’t worry. You know the perfect dog will come along eventually.”

  Nikki began each of her afternoons at Sheltering Arms in the same way. First she checked in with a young man named Bill, who was the volunteer coordinator, to find out what needed to be done.

  “Just the usual today,” Bill said with a smile.

  “The usual” meant first checking the cages of the dogs that had been deemed adoptable, visiting with the dogs, cleaning up any messes, and refilling water bowls. After that, Nikki would enter the cat room, which was an enormous space inhabited by dozens of cats roaming freely in a feline-friendly environment. The room was full of climbing apparatuses, kitty condos, sleeping perches, blankets, beds, and toys. Again, Nikki would clean up messes, fill water bowls, and generally tidy things up. Often there were visitors in the cat room, people wanting to adopt, and Nikki and the other volunteers would talk with them and try to steer them toward the right cat for their family. When she left the cat room, she would set out for her favorite part of the afternoon — playing with the dogs outside in their runs.

  Nikki and an adult volunteer left Bill and opened a door marked DOGS (which Flora once said looked like an entrance that was for dogs, not one that was to dogs). On the other side of the door were the cages for the friendly, adoptable dogs. Nikki had been pleased, the first time she’d toured Sheltering Arms, to find that the cages were more like small rooms. Some were even furnished with a couch or a chair. And each had a large, comfy dog bed, clean bowls, and a number of toys. Nikki started at one end of the room and worked her way up and down the row.

  “Hi, Mystery,” she said, reading the notice that had been posted on the door to the first cage.

  Mystery, a large, very furry dog who looked like she might be part collie, greeted Nikki with a woof and planted her front feet on the ground, rump raised. She was ready to play.

  “Okay,” Nikki said, laughing, and started a game of tug-of-war with one of Mystery’s rubber toys. Eventually, Mystery lost the game. She rolled over on her back and gazed soul
fully at Nikki. “Belly rub?” asked Nikki, and obligingly patted Mystery’s belly.

  She moved on to the next cage, where she found a dog who looked like a mix of so many breeds that Nikki thought his name should be Mystery, too. However, when he had arrived at Sheltering Arms, he had been given the name Sparky.

  “Hello, boy!” exclaimed Nikki.

  Sparky tipped his tail at her, but he was in the middle of a nap, so Nikki patted him and left him alone.

  Up and down the row she went, patting, talking, and playing with the dogs and chatting with other volunteers. Every dog was glad to see her, and by the time she walked back through the DOGS door, she realized that her dark mood had lifted.

  She was working her way around the cat room again, rinsing off toys, sweeping up fur, and entertaining a pair of kittens who wanted to play with her dust broom, when Harriet entered, her arms loaded with bags of chow.

  “What’s the matter?” Nikki asked her. “Is something wrong?”

  Harriet’s face was grim. She set the bags down, then sat on the floor. Immediately, a cat climbed into her lap. She sighed, stroking the cat’s back. “We just got a call.”

  Nikki could feel the bleakness return. She loved the shelter, but sometimes working there was sad, and the words We just got a call spoken in Harriet’s dismal tone of voice never meant anything good.

  “Dog or cat?” asked Nikki.

  “Cat. Actually, a stray mama cat and three kittens.”

  “Are they sick?”

  Harriet shook her head. “No. But a woman called to say that she’s discovered the cats in her neighborhood and thinks someone is abusing the mother. The kittens are well hidden — smart mama — but when the mama goes out looking for food, someone keeps, well, torturing her. The cat is covered in scars and burn marks.”

  Nikki felt her stomach turn over, although it wasn’t the first time she’d heard such a story. “So what’s going to happen?” she asked.

  “We’re sending someone over to the woman’s house right away to help her trap the mother cat. The woman knows where the babies are. The mother is wary, as you can imagine, but if we can lure her into one of the humane traps, then we’ll bring her and the babies here right away. I don’t imagine that will happen until tomorrow, though.”