“I’ve got new customers! They’re in my store every day gobbling slices of cake like starved turkeys. I can’t keep up with them!”
Aunt Esperanza’s face darkened. “Come, let me show you the potager while we discuss it. I’ve put in a lot of new plants since you were last here.” She slipped an arm through Garrie’s and steered her away from me.
“Pixie!” she snapped without turning around. “I told you to take care of Thomas!”
“You mean Trixie,” I said in a snarky voice that my mom would have scolded me for. I slid off Thomas and led him away, wondering why she couldn’t have asked me nicely.
“See you at the town fair, Trixie,” called Garrie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ye Olde Truth
I was sitting on the gate to Thomas’s stall, scratching behind his ear, when Aunt Esperanza found me. “I see you got his saddle off,” she said.
“It wasn’t hard,” I answered, reaching over to scratch Thomas’s other ear. “Your friend Garrie seemed nice. Why did you tell her my name’s Trixie?”
“Because I’m cautious—something you should be, too! Garrie’s harmless, but she’s a gossip. We used to be Goose Girls together.”
I didn’t mention I’d already heard that from Gray. Old Cone Hat would probably have called him a gossip, too. “Why isn’t Garrie a Goose Lady now?” I asked.
“Because she couldn’t rhyme to save her life, even though we tried and tried to teach her. She’s only distantly related to the family, I guess just too distant to have the gift of rhyme.”
“That’s sad,” I said, trying to sound sympathetic. But my heart clanged like an alarm. Raveneece Greed couldn’t rhyme, either.
Aunt Esperanza clucked. “I hate to admit it, but I missed Garrie when she left. Though I used to see her occasionally at the grocery store.”
“Why don’t you visit her there anymore?”
“What makes you think you can ask!” Aunt Esperanza said sharply.
“I have a right to know!” I exclaimed. “I’m part of this family, too.”
There was silence. Thomas snorted. “I was afraid I’d bring trouble to her doorstep.”
“Trouble? Do you mean the Sinister Sisters?”
Esperanza nodded. “For a long time, we didn’t hear from them. We delivered wishing cakes, sure that ordinary people would get their birthday wishes and that hope would be safe. But unfortunately, they always return.”
I swallowed. “H-how many of them were there?”
She shrugged. “It was hard to tell. Only Raveneece came to town, and not very often. But when she could afford it, she would go to Garrie’s for flour. Perhaps the sisters made their living selling their worm and beetle cakes to unsuspecting people. The only thing I’m certain of is that they were still trying to make wishing cakes.”
“Did any of them ever come here to the farm?” I wasn’t sure I really wanted to hear the answer.
“Oh, worse than that! One day Raveneece saw Doris dropping Wyatt and Pip at Garrie’s before school. Raveneece sent us a message saying that she was watching those kids. She asked for a wishing cake as payment for keeping them safe.”
I sucked in my breath. “What did you do?”
“I sent word to Garrie to let me know when Raveneece would be back to pick up her wishing cake. When she arrived, I was waiting.” A smile crossed the old Cone Hat’s face. “But not with a cake! I showed her what I’d do if she ever bothered Pip or Wyatt.”
“What?”
Aunt Esperanza looked at me. “I froze Raveneece,” she said quietly. “Though it was just for a few minutes, she never bothered our kids again.”
“You have that power, too!” I exclaimed.
I held my breath, waiting for her to declare, “That’s because I’m your great-great-great-grandmother.” But she only nodded and turned away, saying “Come on, let’s go back to work.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ye Olde Powerful Stories
Aunt Esperanza and I ate leftover mac and cheese for dinner. She seemed far away in her thoughts. Afterward, when I asked to be excused, she seemed glad to let me go. She even said I could use the computer in her office to write home. I guess she’d had more than enough of me.
The office was like a library. There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and lamps with good light for reading. On the desk was a photo of Esperanza and La Blanca, when Blankie was just a gosling. It seemed sad that there were no other photos of family. It made me feel guilty about taking my family for granted.
To: Mom and Dad Piper
Subject: Super Sorry!
I’m sorry that I didn’t write
I really am okay
I’ve made new friends, I’m having fun
Still miss you every day!
Love you,
Pixie
P.S. When I get home, I’m cooking you breakfast!
To: Lucy Chang, Alexa Pinkston
Subject: Just Thinking
Have you got granny’s sunny smile
And grandpa’s love of sport?
When you grow up will you be like
Your mom, a judge in court?
I think I’ve got my great-gran’s moods
And also her green thumb
But I won’t wear her pointy hat
I still think it looks dumb
Ha-ha!
Pixie
I’d just pressed Send when I heard the office door creak open. “Time for bed, Pixie. The others won’t be back until after midnight.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“You can take Destiny upstairs, so you won’t be lonely.”
For a moment I was too shocked to say anything. She was giving me permission to let Destiny into the house! I spun around in my chair to thank her. But my perplexing great-great-great-grandmother was already gone.
On my way down the hall, I noticed the light still on in the dining room. When I peered in, I saw her seated in her chair with her head drooping over the table.
“Good night,” I said quietly.
She looked up and nodded. I wondered if her big cone hat was becoming too heavy. “Everyone sleeps in the morning after deliveries,” she said. “You don’t have to come down tomorrow until eight. It will give us plenty of time to prepare brunch.”
But the next morning, I got up early as usual. I had something to do. Destiny snuggled into my pillow while I pulled on shorts and a T-shirt. “Quiet, sweetie,” I whispered as I lifted her out of bed. She honked in protest anyway, but not one of the other apprentices stirred.
With Des nestled in my arms, I grabbed my photo of Sammy and tiptoed out of the room. On my way to the kitchen, I stopped in Aunt Cone Hat’s office and put the photo beside the one of her and La Blanca. I wrote a note to leave beside it.
“Here is a photo of Sammy, your great-great-great-grandson.”
She was already in the kitchen, making muffins when I arrived!
“Good morning,” I said as I tied on an apron.
“I said you didn’t have to come early,” she said, without looking up from the bowl. “But as long as you’re here, I need a half-dozen eggs cracked now.”
I smiled and hurried to the fridge.
Later, once everyone was up and seated at the table, it was time for sharing delivery stories.
“Gray and Pip, why don’t you begin,” said Aunt Doris.
Gray wiped his mouth on his sleeve and took a deep breath. “Okay. The person we were delivering to lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building. No one was home when we rang the bell, so it looked like this was going to be easy. Pip used her power to unlock the door and I was about to sneak in with the cake when this really ferocious dog attacked me!”
“Yeah, a Chihuahua,” said Pip, laughing.
“It had sharp teeth!” exclaimed Gray. “I had to back out and close the door before it took a chunk out of my leg.”
Pip rolled her eyes. “It would’ve been a mosquito-sized bite. Anyway, when we got outs
ide again, I used my power to open the kitchen window. I was really proud, because I’d never tried it on anything so high up. But there was no way to climb the wall. Fortunately, Aunt Doris has the power of telekinesis. She used her mind to send the cake through the window.”
“You should have seen it, Pix!” exclaimed Gray. “A flying cake!”
It was a little tough to be a good sport, but I nodded and smiled.
Next River bragged about Nell’s power to make any noise—the ring of a telephone, a doorbell, a dog’s bark, a fire alarm, thunder—anything. “They all sounded real!” he exclaimed. “When we got to the house where our birthday person lived, Nell meowed really loudly. The woman thought she heard a cat crying and hurried to the back door. I tried the front door, but it was locked. I figured I’d have to climb in through a window, but Aunt Fancy said lots of people leave an extra key under the doormat, so I checked. She was right! I delivered the cake through the front before the woman came back. The whole thing took less than three minutes.”
“Well, it only took two minutes for me and Winnie to deliver our wishing cake,” Rain bragged as if she were competing with her twin. “We stood beneath the kitchen window of the house where our birthday person lived and Winnie sang a few bars of this song called ‘Mr. Sandman.’ She has a beautiful voice! Instantly the family that lived there put their heads on the table and began to snore. Even the dog fell asleep! I left the cake in the middle of the table and snuck back out, without anyone catching me.”
Imagining the family’s surprise when they awoke and saw the cake made me laugh. But the best story belonged to Perrin and Wyatt. On their way to deliver their wishing cake, Wyatt—who drove a little too fast around a curve—rolled the car into a ditch on the side of the road.
“The wheels kept turning, but the car was stuck,” Wyatt explained. “I was afraid it was going to get dark before we got out of there. But Perrin got us moving again.”
“How?” I asked.
“It was nothing,” said Perrin with a little shrug. “All I did was lift up the rear end of the car and give it a good push back on the road.”
I gaped at Perrin, who didn’t look like she even could lift a bowling ball. “What happened after that?” I asked. “Did you deliver a cake?”
“Oh yes. When we finally found the right address, all Wyatt had to do was put on his postman’s hat and say ‘Special Delivery.’ The girl who took the cake inside was so delighted, she didn’t even ask who it was from.” Perrin shook a fist. “But I told Wyatt the next time he didn’t obey the speed limit—pow! I’d deliver him to the moon.”
“And she could do it, too!” Wyatt exclaimed. We all laughed.
“Do you want to share something from your day, Pixie?” asked Perrin.
“Um, sure.” Suddenly I realized I wasn’t jealous of their days at all. “Aunt Esperanza let me ride Thomas yesterday. First we walked around the corral, but then we trotted on the field. It was super fun!”
I looked over at Old Cone Hat, but she was pushing her chair back and didn’t act as if she’d heard me.
“Need more coffee,” she mumbled. But when she passed behind me on her way to the kitchen, I felt her quick squeeze on my shoulder.
“Wow! That’s really cool,” said Rain. “I love horses.”
“You love armadillos, too,” River said.
I smiled. Someday I wanted a delivery story of my own. But I liked yesterday just the way it was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ye Olde Bad News of the Week
While everyone else gathered in the TV room, I helped Aunt Esperanza make popcorn and arrange cookie platters. Finally I went to sit on the rug with Gray, Pip, Rain, and River.
“Welcome to Good News of the Week,” said Toni Tellsit from the crumbling steps of a long, low building. “This is Crumbleview Elementary School. The students say it’s a wonderful place, but over the years it’s become overcrowded. There isn’t space for a technology center. Science classes are conducted in the cafeteria. Crumbleview even lost its library a few years ago, when they needed the space for another classroom.”
“Holy goose!” exclaimed Pip. “Gray and I delivered our cake to someone in Crumbleview.”
“What this school does have,” Toni Tellsit continued, “are hardworking, deserving teachers and kids. That’s why the good news this week is really great news. Crumbleview Elementary is getting a new addition.”
We heard the sound of kids cheering as Toni Tellsit walked down into the schoolyard, where the students and staff were waiting.
“This is Principal Darnell James, who inspires the students every day,” Toni Tellsit said.
I liked how the principal looked. His jeans, plaid shirt, and beaming face reminded me of my dad.
“Please tell us the good news, Mr. James,” Toni Tellsit said, holding up the microphone.
“Please call me Darn, Toni—everyone does,” said Mr. James. “Well, we started by having the students vote on what they thought our school needed most. They were the ones who chose a library. Our idea was to raise money for it as a community. We held bake sales, read-a-thons, and other fund-raisers. Some students donated their weekly allowance or babysitting money. We figured it might take us four or five years to raise enough to start construction. But Cheralyn here helped us get there a lot sooner.” The principal gestured to the girl beside him, who looked about my age. She had bright eyes and a messy ponytail. I liked her right away.
Toni Tellsit nodded and smiled. “Could you explain how you helped your school get its library, Cheralyn?”
“Sure. I turned ten on the last day of school. Every year on my birthday, I have a family party with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This year I asked everyone to make donations toward the library. I even made a wish on my birthday cake for enough money to get the library going faster. After I blew out the candles, I began opening the envelopes my family had given me.”
Cheralyn’s eyes widened as if she were surprised all over again. “Inside my Uncle Orson’s envelope, there was a lottery ticket. Oh, and a quarter because it was the scratch-off kind.”
“That must have been unexpected,” said Toni Tellsit.
“Not exactly. Uncle Orson is my mom’s baby brother. She nicknamed him Dreamer when he was still a kid.” Cheralyn brushed back a strand of hair. “Anyway, Uncle Orson insisted I scratch it off right then and there.”
“And?”
Cheralyn shook her head like she still couldn’t believe what came next. “The ticket was a grand prize winner. Twenty-five thousand dollars!”
“Wahoo!” Toni Tellsit exclaimed. “What did Uncle Orson say?”
Cheralyn shrugged. “Nothing. He fainted.”
At first we were laughing so hard we didn’t hear the ringing. Then Aunt Bernie shouted, “Hush! I think I heard your office phone, Espy.”
Aunt Esperanza launched herself out of the rocking chair and rushed out of the room.
I was thinking about how Cheralyn had donated her birthday money for her school library and whether I’d have done the same, when Aunt Esperanza appeared in the doorway. Her face seemed to have grown more wrinkled in the few minutes she’d been out of the room.
“Rain and River, come with me,” she said in a hoarse voice. “Doris, you’d better come, too.”
Silently we watched them follow her out of the room. Gray plucked at his shoelaces. I lay my head on my knees. From behind me, Winnie leaned forward and squeezed my shoulder.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ye Olde Trouble Finds its Way
It was agonizing knowing that bad news was waiting for Rain and River. When Aunt Esperanza returned to the TV room, she just stared at us for a long moment. “There’s been a fire at United Pets and People,” she said finally. “It was started by a lightning strike to the barn, but it spread quickly to the other buildings. Rain and River need to be with their parents. Doris will take them home in the truck tonight.”
The air in the room grew so heavy, I
felt like I was breathing soup. Life at Chuckling Goose Farm had been like living inside a fairy tale. There were cakes that granted wishes. There were mixing spoons that called batter imps. There were Sinister Sisters who wanted to steal our rhymes. We hadn’t been concerned about the ordinary kind of troubles, like sickness, accidents, or fires. We’d almost forgotten those things could happen.
When Aunt Esperanza said my name, I jumped. “Pixie, go upstairs and help Rain. I asked her to pack a small bag to take home with her. We can send the rest of her things later. Wyatt, you get Drizzle from the barn and help River with his things. Everyone else should stay here and give them some time.”
I found Rain sitting on her bed, studying a photo. The duffel bag beside her was open, but she hadn’t packed yet.
“Rainey—I’m sorry. Aunt Esperanza told us what happened,” I said softly, so I wouldn’t startle her.
When she looked up, her face was damp and splotchy. “United Pets and People is gone, Pixie. Our house was destroyed, too.”
My throat burned with tears as I sat down beside her. She was staring at the photo of her family that had been taken in front of the clinic. Everyone was smiling at the camera. Even the animals seemed to be grinning.
“Are they all okay?” I asked.
Rain nodded. “All except for our three cats. My dad thinks they ran off, and that they’ll be back soon.”
Footsteps sounded in the hall. Then Pip appeared in the doorway. “Hey, can I come in?” she asked.
Rain nodded, but for a moment Pip just stood there. I was surprised to see a tear running down her cheek. “Cats are quick and clever,” she said, wiping her face on her arm. Although I didn’t have a cat, I hoped it might be true.
Rain nodded. “My dad says they’ll come back. But we’re going to live with my grandma until we can rebuild. They’re sending Fifi, our pig, and Clover, our goat, to a farm for a while.”
“I wanted to give you something before you go.” Pip took a jelly jar stuffed with money from her bottom drawer. It was mostly coins with a few bills mixed in. “You might need this,” she said, handing it to Rain.
Pixie Piper and the Matter of the Batter Page 9