“Carson’s mom made them,” Elsie said before she took a bite and nodded in agreement.
“I hope he didn’t poison mine,” Hannah said. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”
“I don’t think he likes anyone very much, except maybe himself,” Elsie said. “And what do you mean you don’t want to ride in the parade? Of course you do. You’ve got to show everyone how great Stardust is, in all the ways that are important.”
“I still haven’t ridden him yet,” Hannah said, staring at her cupcake.
“Are you afraid?”
“Of Stardust?” Hannah asked. “I don’t know what I am. Confused, I guess.” She took another bite of her treat.
“You need to ride him. I swear, you won’t be confused anymore after you ride him.”
“Let’s not talk about him anymore. How are things going for you?”
Elsie looked around and then leaned in. “Daddy said tonight at supper that we have to start packing soon. Our landlord is evicting us at the end of the month if we can’t pay our rent.”
So the rumors were true. Suddenly Hannah felt sick to her stomach again. “But where will you go?”
“I don’t know,” Elsie said. “Might have to move in with my grandparents for a while. And there isn’t much room at their place, so it doesn’t sound fun at all.”
“Where do they live?”
“Houston, Texas.” Elsie took Hannah’s empty plate from her and threw them in the trash.
When she returned, Hannah said, “Elsie, I’m so sorry. I feel terrible for you and your family. Is there anything we can do?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, unless you know someone who’s hiring. My daddy’s smart and a hard worker, he just needs someone to give him a chance.”
“I’m gonna talk to my dad and see if he knows of any jobs,” Hannah told Elsie.
“Thanks for wanting to help. It’s real nice of you.”
Nervously, Hannah fingered the charm bracelet as she tried to think of more ways to help. Then, she had an idea. “Here,” she said, unclasping the bracelet from her wrist. “Take this and wear it. It might bring you luck.”
Elsie gave her a quizzical look as she took the bracelet from Hannah. “Luck? What do you mean?”
Hannah wasn’t sure how much she should tell her. She wasn’t even sure if the bracelet was actually lucky or, if it was, if it would work on someone outside of the four camp friends who bought it. “Just put it on,” Hannah suggested. “See if anything happens.”
Still looking confused, Elsie put the bracelet on her wrist. Hannah waited a few seconds and asked, “Did you see anything?”
“See anything? Besides you standing here next to me?”
“Yeah. Like, in your mind, did anything pop up?”
“No. Hannah, I’m kind of worried about you. Do you need to sit down?”
Hannah smiled. “Sorry, I know it sounds strange. Never mind. Please, just wear it. If it really is lucky, you can use all the luck you can get right now.”
Elsie fingered the three charms: the flower, the bird, and the peppermint candy. “It’s really cute. Where’d you get it?”
“I bought it along with my three best friends from camp, while we were on a field trip together. We’re taking turns wearing it.”
“Oh, that’s sweet,” Elsie said, before the corners of her mouth turned down. “But won’t your friends be upset that you let me borrow it?”
Hannah shrugged. “We didn’t really talk about loaning it to other people. I’m pretty sure they won’t mind. Like I said, you need all the luck you can get right now.”
“If you say so. I’ll get it back to you soon, okay?”
“I’m not worried,” Hannah said. At least, not about getting the bracelet back. But as far as Elsie’s family getting kicked out of their house?
She was very worried about that.
The next evening, Hannah decided to ask her dad about job openings, like she’d told Elsie she would do.
“Daddy,” she said as she ate the last bite of her cheeseburger casserole. “Are they hiring at the electric company?”
“Not right now, sweetheart.”
“Why are you asking?” Eric said. “Aren’t you a little young to be looking for work?”
“I’m not asking for me. It’s for Elsie’s dad. If he doesn’t find something soon and pay their rent, the entire family is going to get evicted.”
“It’s a sad situation, that’s for sure,” Mrs. Crawford said before she took a sip of water. “Wish there was something we could do to help, but at this point, I think it’s going to take a big, fat miracle.”
“If that happens, I’m writing a book about it,” Adam said.
“And I’ll direct the movie,” Eric said. “Everyone loves those miracle stories.”
Hannah ignored her brothers. “There must be something we could do. What if we made them a bunch of meals, so they could use their grocery money for rent instead?”
“Oh, honey,” her mother said. “It wouldn’t be nearly enough. I know it’s hard to sit back and feel helpless, but sometimes all we can do is just be a good friend.”
“That’s right,” her father said. “Be a good listener for Elsie. Let her cry on your shoulder if she needs to. And when you can, try to make her laugh. Because you know what I say.”
Hannah sighed. “I know, I know. Laughter is the best medicine. But none of that will fix their problem.”
Her mother stood up. “I don’t like seeing you so worried about this. Tell you what. We’ll leave the boys to clean up and do the dishes, while you and I go visiting this evening. Someone else we know is in need of a friend.”
“Who’s that?” Hannah asked.
“It’s a surprise. Now, do me a favor and go wrap up some of those chocolate chip cookies you made after school. I know she’ll appreciate some of those.”
* * *
Hannah decided her mother needed someone to sit down and explain what a surprise is supposed to be. Or what it’s not supposed to be. For example, a surprise Christmas gift is not supposed to be a mule instead of a horse. And a surprise visit is not supposed to be to see Louanne Dodger.
When Louanne opened the front door of her apartment, with her mascara smudged so much around her eyes that she looked like a raccoon, Hannah glared at her mother. Mrs. Crawford didn’t skip a beat though.
“Sweetie, we stopped by to make sure you’re doing all right.” She held out the plate of cookies. “Hannah baked these earlier today and we thought they might cheer you up. Chocolate is a girl’s best friend and all of that.”
As Louanne took the cookies, Hannah said, “I think the saying is about diamonds, Mama. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”
Louanne’s bottom lip began to tremble. “And I’ll never get a diamond from Dwight now,” she said with a shaky voice, before she closed her eyes and started to cry.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Crawford said, stepping forward and putting her arm around Louanne. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.” She led Louanne inside and motioned to Hannah to close the door.
Mrs. Crawford took the plate of cookies and set them on a coffee table that sat in front of a blue-and-green plaid sofa. While she and Louanne settled in on the sofa, Hannah stood there, looking around. There was a curio cabinet in the corner filled with music boxes. Hannah was pretty sure she’d never seen so many music boxes. On the walls were pictures of various country music singers, holding guitars or sitting at the piano. Louanne was crazy about music, that was for sure.
Hannah sat down in a wooden rocking chair across from the sofa while her mother fished a tissue out of her purse for Louanne. She wished she could be anywhere but here, because this was not fun. Not even remotely fun. Like, scrubbing the toilet would have been more fun than sitting there, watching Louanne cry her eyes out.
“I’m sorry,” Louanne said after she blew her nose. “My heart is just completely and utterly broken, you know?”
“Well, what happened?�
�� Mrs. Crawford asked. “I thought the two of you were getting along like two doves in a tree.”
“That’s just it,” Louanne said, leaning back into the sofa. “We were. And then he came over here last night and told me it was over. When I asked him why, all he said was, ‘sometimes feelings are too complicated to put into words.’ ”
“I agree with that, actually,” Hannah said, thinking about her feelings for Stardust.
Mrs. Crawford gave her daughter a look that told Hannah that probably wasn’t the best thing to say right now.
Louanne wiped her nose again. “He said I just had to trust him that this was for the best. That we both deserved better.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. We had the best time together.”
As Louanne looked at Mrs. Crawford, tears filled her eyes again. Mrs. Crawford pulled her close and stroked Louanne’s hair. “Shhhh. There, there. I know it hurts. I wish there was something I could do for you, honey, but it’s just gonna have to hurt for a while. There’s no real cure for heartbreak except time. Sometimes, lots of it.”
That’s when Hannah figured out why her mother had brought her along. To show her that being a friend didn’t always mean fixing things, because sometimes, it was simply impossible. It meant listening and being there, just like she and her daddy had said earlier.
Hannah stood up. “Mama, I thought I might make us some tea, if that’s all right?” Her grandma had taught her that when you don’t know what else to do, offer to do that, because a warm cup of tea is always appreciated.
“That’s a fine idea,” her mother replied.
“Tea bags are in the canister, next to the toaster,” Louanne said in between sniffles. “I stocked up when Dwight told me he preferred tea over coffee.”
She burst into tears again. Hannah scurried off to the kitchen, glad to have something to do besides sit there and feel helpless.
It seemed like she felt helpless a lot recently, Hannah realized. And she didn’t like it one bit.
On Friday, the science teachers passed out forms for the science fair that would take place in April. They also shared a list of possible experiments, with a link to a website that had even more ideas. There were a few on the list involving astronomy, and one that sounded especially interesting to Hannah. After school, she found Elsie at her locker to see what she thought of the experiment.
Elsie had on a short brown skirt and a soft pink sweater with brown trim that Hannah had never seen before.
“I love your outfit,” Hannah told her. “Is it new?”
“Thanks,” Elsie said. “I got it for Christmas. I couldn’t wear it, though, because we had to return it and get a different size. My mom isn’t very good at keeping track of our sizes. Since there’s so many of us, you know?”
“Well, I’m glad you got something nice, even though your family is kind of struggling right now,” Hannah said.
“Me too,” Elsie said. “It helps that my mother is a thrifty shopper. You should see the number of coupons she clips every week for groceries. It’s pretty amazing. Anyway, did you need something?”
Hannah smiled. “I was wondering, do you want to work together on a project for the science fair? There’s this cool one that involves tracking the changes of the moon to see if it makes a difference on how well you can see the stars. It’d be pretty fun doing it together, right?”
Elsie put on her coat, grabbed her backpack, and shut her locker door. “That does sound fun,” she said with absolutely no enthusiasm. “Except I don’t think I can say yes, because I probably won’t be here in April. You should find someone else to do it with you.”
“Maybe we could work on it together until you know for sure if you’re moving or not,” Hannah suggested. “I could finish it on my own if I had to.” She paused. “It’ll be way more fun doing it with you, is all.”
“I don’t know,” Elsie said softly. “Can I think about it and let you know? The forms aren’t due for a while yet, right?”
She looked so sad, and it made Hannah feel terrible. She hadn’t meant to stir up Elsie’s worries all over again. Thinking about what her mother had said, Hannah decided that the only thing she could do was to be a good friend. “Sure. That’s fine. Hey, do you want to come over tomorrow? We can do whatever you want to do. Watch a movie or make cookies again. Something that will cheer you up.”
“Can I ride Stardust?” Elsie asked.
Hannah shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Will you ride him too?” she asked.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Please? Pretty please? It’d cheer me up for sure.”
Hannah bit her lip. How could she possibly say no when she put it like that? “You drive a hard bargain, as my daddy says. All right. I’ll do it.”
“Yippee!” Elsie said as she threw her arm around Hannah and gave her half-a-hug.
* * *
That night, it was Hannah’s turn to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Her mother offered to help her.
“Louanne made it in to work today,” Mrs. Crawford said as she wiped down the stove. “She seemed a little better. Said she really appreciated us coming over there last night.”
Hannah set a bowl in the dishwasher and turned around to face her mother. “I promise you, I will never go on and on like that over some guy. It was worse than a lost baby goat crying for its mama.”
Her mother laughed. “Now, now. Never say never. You don’t know what the future might bring. Though a mother always hopes her kids won’t have to endure any kind of heartbreak, I think in life, with its ups and downs, it’s pretty much inevitable.”
“Inevitable?” Hannah asked. “What’s that mean?”
“Means you can’t avoid it.”
“Maybe not, but Mama, she cried when she thought of how much Dwight loves tea. It was ridiculous.” Hannah went back to the pile of dishes.
“Well, we did a good thing, anyway. She needed a little cheering up, that’s for sure.”
“Speaking of cheering up, I invited Elsie to come over tomorrow,” Hannah said after she rinsed off a plate. “She wants to ride Stardust again.”
“Wonderful. That’ll be good for her. Get her mind off their problems for a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Hannah paused. “I told her I’d ride Stardust too.”
She felt her mother’s arm around her shoulders. “I’m happy to hear that. It’s time you gave him a try. He needs to be ridden, sweetie. It’s not good for him to stand around, day after day, doing nothing.”
“Daddy said he’s been riding him sometimes,” Hannah said, grabbing a bunch of silverware and putting it in the dishwasher. “So it’s not like he’s doing absolutely nothing.”
“Yes, but your father doesn’t want to have to do that forever. Hannah, we bought him for you.”
Didn’t her mother know this was not new information? Hannah squeezed her mouth shut so she wouldn’t say anything she might regret. Her family simply didn’t understand how hard it was to be the weird kid in the horse club. The one who had to get special permission to ride in the Valentine’s Day parade.
What was so wrong about wanting to be a normal girl with a normal horse, like everyone else?
“You’ve got to give him a chance,” her mother continued.
Hannah sighed. “I know it may not seem like it, but I’m trying, Mama. I really am.”
“I believe you,” she replied. “You’re a good person, Hannah Nicole Crawford. And that animal out there is a good mule. I just want things to work out between the two of you. That’s all.”
Crystal called later that night. “Hey, my mom told me about this fun cake decorating class happening tomorrow afternoon at Craft World. She invited me to go with her, and I’m like, I have to see if Hannah can go too. She’s the one who likes to bake, after all. And we haven’t done anything fun together in forever.”
“Tomorrow?” Hannah gulped. “As in, the Saturday that is the day after today?”
>
“That would be correct. Please don’t tell me you have plans. Please? Don’t you know your life will not be complete until you’ve learned how to make roses out of frosting?”
“I have plans,” Hannah said, leaning back against her headboard. She closed the textbook that sat in her lap. “Sorry.”
“What kind of plans?”
“Well, I invited Elsie to come over. She wants to ride Stardust again.”
“Oh. Well, call her and reschedule. She’ll understand, right? Hannah, think about it. Cake and frosting, two of the best things in the entire world.”
“It sounds really fun, but I can’t reschedule. That’d be rude. What am I supposed to say, sorry, something better came up?”
“Yes. I think that is exactly what you should tell her. I mean, it’s true, right?”
Hannah didn’t like where this was headed. “You really don’t like her, do you? I wish you’d just give her a …”
She stopped as she realized what she was about to say. The same thing her mama had just said about Stardust. How could she be mad at her best friend for being that way with Elsie when Hannah was doing the same kind of thing when it came to the mule?
“Hannah?” Crystal said. “You there?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m here, but I gotta go. Sorry I can’t decorate cakes with you. I’ll see you at school on Monday. Bye.”
Before Crystal could protest, Hannah ended the call and put her face in her hands. She was treating Stardust exactly the same way Crystal treated Elsie.
Crystal wasn’t really mean to Elsie, of course. But she wasn’t nice either. And why? Because her family was having money problems? What did that have to do with the kind of person Elsie was or the kind of friend she might be to Crystal?
Crystal was judging Elsie on things Elsie had no control over in the same way Hannah was judging Stardust. Hannah felt sick to her stomach at the realization, and she knew there was only one thing to do.
She needed to give Stardust a fair chance.
* * *
When Hannah opened the door to let Elsie in on Saturday, she was greeted with a big smile on Elsie’s face.
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