“I know just the place. Chester’s Chicken. Chester is my cousin. He makes the best chicken in town,” said Robert.
“You have a lot of cousins don’t you?” I said.
“You are not the only one with a big family,” replied Robert.
“I bet my family is bigger than yours,” I said.
I sat at the front of the van and told Robert about my two families. Then he told me about his family. Guess what. His family was even bigger than mine!
Daddy wrote down the directions to Chester’s Chicken.
“Tell him Robert sent you!” called our friend as we climbed out of the van.
The restaurant was small with a beaded curtain for a door. Daddy introduced himself to Chester and told him that Robert had sent us.
“Any friend of my cousin’s is a friend of mine. Sit down and make yourselves at home,” said Chester.
There were three kinds of chicken to choose from. Each had a funny name. The name told you how spicy the chicken was. There was peace-and-quiet, have-some-fun, and get-out-the-fire-extinguisher.
David Michael, Andrew, Emily, Elizabeth, and I ordered peace-and-quiet.
Daddy and Kristy ordered have-some-fun. (I tasted a piece. I did not think it was fun at all.)
Sam, Charlie, and Nannie ordered get-out-the-fire-extinguisher. Their eyes teared up and their noses ran. They said it was the best chicken they ever ate.
We also ordered drinks, french fries, and coleslaw. When we finished eating, Kristy and I led everyone to the Cheap Stop Food Market.
Daddy told us we had to stick with buddies in the market because it was so big and crowded. That made me think about Sandy. She had seemed very sad and worried. I wished she would let me be her friend. I could cheer her up.
We bought six different kinds of fruit for dessert. Then we went to a park in the center of town to eat it. I ate a piece of mango and two slices of watermelon.
We brought Robert some fruit for his family. He thanked us for the gift. We thanked him for sending us to Chester’s Chicken.
It had been a delicious day.
My Island Club Friend
On Wednesday I went to the Island Club with a plan. The plan was not to be pushy with Sandy. When I arrived, she was sitting alone on a bench by the poolhouse.
“Hi, Sandy. Do you want to hear what I did with my family yesterday?” I asked.
I thought that was a very unpushy thing to say.
“No thanks,” replied Sandy.
“You could tell me about your afternoon if you want. I will just listen,” I said.
“I do not feel like talking now.”
The old pushy me would have asked why. The new unpushy me said, “Maybe later you will feel like talking.”
“Let’s get started, Island Clubbers!” said Jenny. “Who wants to have a water relay race? All in favor say aye!”
“Aye!” shouted almost all the Island Clubbers.
I knew Sandy would not want to be in a water relay race. But I did not say one word. I pinched my lips shut and headed down to the water. Being unpushy is hard.
Being in a water relay race is easy. And fun. There were five of us on each team. I was first on line. Jenny handed me a Ping-Pong ball. When she blew her whistle, I was supposed to swim to a red buoy, tap it twice, and swim back to my team. I swam fast. Everyone on my team swam fast. We won by a mile!
After the race, Jenny asked everyone to gather around for a club meeting. Sandy sat down between two girls. I squeezed in next to her. (Oops. That was a little bit pushy.)
“I thought it would be fun for us to play some games with the Dolphin Club tomorrow,” said Jenny. “Let’s decide together what games we should play.”
“My sister Emily likes Simon says. My brother Andrew likes duck, duck, goose,” I said.
Jenny made a list of the games we suggested. We voted for three games. We picked Simon says; duck, duck, goose; and let’s go fishing.
“I also thought it would be nice to make gifts for the Dolphin Clubbers,” said Jenny. “I have some small visors. We can decorate them now and hand them out tomorrow.”
I turned to Sandy and asked in a very unpushy way, “Do you want to sit next to me?”
Sandy did not even answer. She stood up and sat at a table by herself. That made me mad. I marched over to the table where she was sitting.
“I am only trying to be your friend,” I said.
“Well, I do not want another friend!” replied Sandy.
“Why not?”
“When kids find out I have a heart condition they stop wanting to be my friend. It is even worse when I tell them I had surgery,” replied Sandy. “So I don’t want friends because friends do not last anyway.”
“Those kids were being silly. I know plenty of people who have had surgery. Even my best friend, Nancy Dawes. She had her appendix out. We did not stop being friends for one minute. So you do not have to worry about me,” I said.
Sandy smiled. It was just a little smile. Then she scooted over on the bench. I sat down next to her.
“I have one brother and one sister in the Dolphin Club,” I said. “That means I have to make two visors.”
“I can make one for you,” said Sandy.
“Thanks. You can make the visor for Andrew,” I said.
Sandy took a visor and squeezed glue in the shape of an A onto it. Then she sprinkled on green glitter.
“What did you do with your family yesterday?” asked Sandy.
I told her about Chester’s Chicken. Sandy told me about the drive she took with her parents. We talked and worked on the visors. I felt good. Finally I had an Island Club friend.
Emily the Fish
I ate lunch with my family on the beach. When we finished, Nannie and Sam hurried off to work on their golf games. Daddy and Elizabeth looked for hammocks to read in. Charlie took David Michael, Andrew, and Emily to the beach. And I went for a walk around Palm Isle with Kristy.
“I thought of what I want to do for Daddy’s birthday,” I told Kristy. “I have decided to write a skit about friendship and perform it.”
“That sounds great,” replied Kristy.
“I am glad you think so,” I said. “Because I would like you to be in my skit.”
“Oh, Karen, do I have to? I am not really in the mood to be in a skit. It sounds like work and I am on vacation.”
“But you would do the best job because you are my friend,” I said. (I had thought about asking Sandy. But we were just starting to be friends. And I would not have enough time to rehearse with her.)
“Okay,” replied Kristy. “After all, what are friends for if not to help each other out.”
“Thanks!” I said. “Will you help me write it, too?”
“Ka-ren! Whose gift is this anyway? Yours or mine?”
“It is mine,” I replied. “But I need a little help from my big sister and good friend.”
“Do not push your luck,” said Kristy, grinning.
We looked for a shady spot to sit in while we worked on the skit. On the way, we passed the golf course. We did not see Nannie and Sam. But we did see some of the other players.
“They look pretty good,” said Kristy. “I hope Nannie and Sam will not be too disappointed if they do not win the tournament.”
“I hope so, too,” I replied.
We walked until we found a bench under a tree. We sat down and put our heads together. We came up with some good ideas. But after awhile we got stuck.
“Come on,” said Kristy. “Let’s go to the beach. We can work on the skit later.”
We ran to find our brothers and sister. They were building a sand castle by the water. We sat down and helped them. Then we all decided to go in the water. Charlie got water wings for Emily. Then we found a calm, shallow spot.
“Karen and Emily, you can be buddies,” said Charlie. “David Michael and Andrew can be buddies. Kristy and I will be watching in case you need us.”
I took Emily’s hand and walked a few steps w
ith her into the water.
“Whee!” shouted Emily.
She started splashing water. We walked a few more steps. Suddenly Emily dunked down and paddled around like a puppy.
“Look who can swim!” I said.
Emily jumped up and clapped her hands. Then she dunked down again and paddled around some more.
“Hooray for Emily!” we all called.
Round and round she went. Then she jumped up and started clapping for herself.
“Emily is a fish,” she said proudly.
She was very excited. She swam around and around like a mermaid.
Friends
I ran all the way to the Island Club on Thursday morning. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my new friend. Sandy greeted me with a huge smile.
“Hi!” she said. “I can hardly wait till the Dolphin Club gets here. I want to meet Andrew and Emily.”
“They want to meet you, too,” I replied. I told Sandy how Emily had started to swim yesterday.
“That is great,” said Sandy.
“Okay, everyone! We have time for a quick swim before the Dolphin Club gets here,” said Jenny.
“Are you sure you do not want to come?” I asked.
“I am sure,” replied Sandy. “I will see you later.”
I ran to join the others. I love the Caribbean Sea. It is just the right temperature. And sometimes little schools of fish swim by. They are tiny fish and not one bit scary.
For awhile I floated on my back and looked at the sky. Then some kids started a game of water tag and I joined in. I had just finished my turn at being it when Jenny blew her whistle.
“It is time to get ready for our visitors,” she said.
I ran to meet Sandy. She showed me the card she had made. On the outside was a picture of a fish with bubbles that spelled Emily. Inside it said Congratulashons. At the bottom Sandy had signed her name.
“Emily will love that. You can read it to her,” I said. (I did not tell Sandy that she spelled congratulations wrong.)
All of a sudden we heard little kids shouting and laughing.
“They are here!” called Jenny.
Andrew and Emily ran to say hello to me. I introduced them to Sandy. Sandy read the card to Emily.
“Fish swim. Emily swim!” said Emily.
We handed out the sun visors we had made. The Dolphin Clubbers loved them.
“We are going to play some games,” said Jenny. “The Island Clubbers are going to take turns being the leaders. They will play the games, too. I have some prizes for the winners.”
I was the first leader in Simon says. I had to call Emily out right away. (She is still too young for that game.) Andrew concentrated very hard. He was the winner. His prize was a plastic monkey on a string.
We played duck, duck, goose. Then we played let’s go fishing. Each of us held a stick with a string and a hook at the end. Jenny had scattered prizes on the ground, and we tried to catch them with the hook.
I liked this game best because it was a quiet game that Sandy could play. (She did not play duck, duck, goose because she did not want to run around the circle.) I also liked it because we got to keep the prizes we caught.
My prize was a seashell in a plastic bottle. Sandy won the same prize. Only the bottle was a different color.
Suddenly, I heard Andrew crying. David Michael and I ran to him to see what was wrong.
“I dropped my monkey in the sand and I cannot find it!” he cried.
We all began to look for it. Andrew just stood there crying. Then Sandy talked to him for a moment and he stopped.
Nobody found the monkey. But Andrew seemed to have forgotten about it. That is because Sandy had given him her shell in the bottle.
“That was really nice of you,” I said.
Sandy smiled.
“I will be right back,” I said.
I found Jenny and told her what had happened. She gave me another prize to give to Sandy. She did not have another shell in a bottle. But she had a cool whistle shaped like a coconut. I handed it to Sandy.
“Thanks,” said Sandy. “That was really nice of you.”
“That’s what friends are for,” I replied.
Snorkeling
It was Friday, the last day of the Island Club. That was the bad news. The good news was we were going snorkeling!
“You are going to get to see all kinds of beautiful fish and plants today,” said Jenny. “I have masks and snorkels for each of you. We will walk down the beach and find a quiet, shallow area away from the other swimmers. No one has to go in deep water or do anything scary.”
I looked at Sandy. Maybe she would try snorkeling.
“You could swim alongside Mark,” I whispered.
“I better not,” Sandy replied.
“Are you sure? It will be fun.”
I could tell Sandy wanted to go. She knew it was not going to be scary or dangerous. But she would not change her mind.
“I do not want to take any chances,” said Sandy.
“Well, okay. I will tell you about everything I see,” I said.
I was disappointed. But I did not want to push. I did not want to make Sandy feel any worse than she already did.
We walked to a quiet spot on the beach. Sandy spread a towel on the sand and made herself comfortable. Jenny and Mark helped the rest of us put on our masks.
“Let’s go,” said Jenny. She led us into the water.
“Try to talk quietly and do not move around too much,” said Mark. “The quieter we are the more we will see.”
I waded in slowly. Then I put my face in the water and looked through my mask. I could not believe the things I was seeing. At school we had read a book called The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor. I had learned a lot about life underwater. Now I was seeing some of it for real. I saw butterfly fish and angel fish. I saw a school of anchovies. I saw turquoise sea coral and hot pink sponges.
I took a photograph in my mind so I could tell Sandy what I had seen.
I heard Jenny calling and I lifted my head.
“Those of you who are comfortable in deeper water can come out a little farther with me,” she said.
I followed her, along with David Michael and a few other kids. We swam under the water with our tubes up in the air so we could breathe. My eyes opened wide when I saw one of my favorite sea creatures swim by. It was a turtle. I love turtles! The turtle seemed to be looking at me. I waved to him. He waved back. (At least I think he waved. He may just have been paddling.)
I wished I could turn into a fish and stay underwater all day. But it was time to go. Jenny was leading us back to shore. I ran to meet Sandy.
“Did you have fun?” she asked.
“It was great. Maybe you will try it another time,” I said.
Our parents were at the poolhouse when we returned to the Island Club.
“Do you want to play together later?” asked Sandy.
“Sure. I will ask if it is okay,” I said.
Daddy said it was fine with him. He talked with Sandy’s parents. They planned for us to meet at the coffee shop after lunch.
It was going to be an exciting afternoon. I would get to play with Sandy. Then we would watch the big golf tournament. Hmm. I wondered who was going to win.
The Big Secret
“Can we go by ourselves?” I asked. “Can we puh-lease?”
We had just finished lunch. Sandy and I wanted to go off on our own.
“I don’t know if that is a good idea,” said Daddy.
“We will be very careful,” I said. “We will not go swimming. We will not go far from the hotel. We will wear sunscreen and sun visors and not talk to strangers.”
I tried to think of all the things grown-ups worry about.
“We will not even be gone long,” said Sandy. “We will be back in time to see the golf tournament.”
Finally our parents agreed we could go.
“Yippee!” we shouted.
We held hands and rac
ed to the beach. First we went on a seashell hunt. Then we built a sand castle with some kids from the Island Club. (It looked great until someone’s little brother stomped on it.)
“I will be right back,” I said to Sandy. “I am going to wash the sand off myself.”
When I came back I had an idea.
“You know what?” I said. “If we went out in the ocean just a little way, you probably could see some of the things I saw when I went snorkeling.”
“Oh, no. We promised we wouldn’t,” replied Sandy.
“We promised we would not go swimming,” I said. “This is not swimming. It is just wading. We will not go far.”
“I guess you are right,” said Sandy. “I watched you snorkeling this morning. You were not swimming. At first. It looked like something I really could do.”
“Come on, then!” I said.
We headed out into the water. At first it just covered our toes. We went a little farther. It splashed around our ankles. We kept walking till the water was up to our knees.
“We have gone pretty far,” said Sandy, looking back.
“So what? It is not deep here,” I replied. “And look! There are fish! Do you see them?”
Sandy looked down.
“Wow. They are gorgeous!” she said.
Her smile was about a mile wide.
“And there is sea coral,” I said.
We were standing in a great spot. We saw everything I had seen except for the pink sponges and the waving turtle.
I saw something move a little way out. It looked as though it might be the turtle after all.
“Come on,” I said.
We waded out a little farther. It turned out it was not the turtle. It was a piece of dark seaweed floating by.
I could see lots of interesting things. But the interesting things seemed to be deeper and deeper under the water. That is because the water was getting higher and higher.
“Uh-oh. I think the tide is coming in. We have to go back,” I said. “We have to swim to shore!”
“I can’t! It is too far!” shouted Sandy.
“You do not have a choice,” I said. “You have to swim. Now. Let’s go.”
The most important thing was to remain calm. If we swam slowly and did not panic, we could make it back.