“Okay, then, where did you get this dog?” Gavin challenges her.
Before Deja can open her mouth, the other girl says, “We happened to save this dog’s life. She was almost going to get hit by a car, and we stopped her before she crossed in front of it. Anyway, my parents said that she’s a stray, just like Deja’s dog, Ms. Precious Penelope. She didn’t even have a collar, and they said I could keep her if no one claimed her, and we’re going to take her to the vet for her shots and stuff.”
“Nikki, you don’t have to tell him all that.”
It’s just then that Gavin realizes he’s left proof that the dog is his aunt’s on Richard’s porch. Again, he looks both ways down the empty street and then dashes across. He gathers the flyers and hurries back to the group.
“Look at this,” he says, holding up a flyer close to Deja’s nose. She bats at it and backs away. But she reads it. And her friend Nikki reads it too.
Under the paragraph is the picture of Carlotta. She has a jumbo pink bow in her hair. Nikki and Deja stare at it. They look down at Carlotta, still doing her sniffing routine, then back at the flyer.
“Well, I want my leash and collar back,” Nikki says sadly. “I knew it was too good to be true,” she adds, more to herself than anyone else.
“I’ll give them back on Monday at school,” Gavin says, scooping Carlotta up in his arms.
Gavin feels like a real hero when he climbs the steps of his porch with Carlotta squirming in his arms. Richard is right behind him, probably not wanting to miss the hero’s welcome his friend is about to receive. Before Richard can get the front door for Gavin, Uncle Vestor opens it. When he sees them, his eyes grow big and his lips part, but no sound comes out. Then he yells, “Myrtle, get in here!” His voice brings Gavin’s dad (back from posting flyers) and Gavin’s mom running too. They stand there together staring at Carlotta in stunned silence for a moment. It’s as if they can’t believe their eyes.
“Where did you find her?” his mom finally asks while Aunt Myrtle takes the dog out of his arms and gives her a hug. Danielle walks in the door just then with a few leftover flyers in her hand. Even her mouth drops open at the sight of Carlotta.
“These two girls on Richard’s street had her. They said they saved her from getting hit by a car. And that they didn’t know she belonged to anyone, because she didn’t have a collar.”
“It’s a miracle,” Aunt Myrtle says. “A miracle.” She takes Carlotta into the living room and sits down on the sofa.
Uncle Vestor walks over to Gavin and pats him on the back. His father stands there beaming. His mom smiles at him as well. Even Danielle is smiling at him. Now that’s a real miracle.
“Well, Gavin, I think we need to do some settling up?” Uncle Vestor says.
Gavin frowns, not sure what that means, exactly. Uncle Vestor takes out his wallet and extracts two tens. “Here’s what I owe you for walking Carlotta.” He hands over one of the tens. “And this is what I owe you for finding Carlotta.” He places the other ten in Gavin’s hand. Gavin stares at the richness in his possession and whispers, “Thank you.”
“Wow,” Richard says appreciatively.
But before Gavin can savor his wealth, Danielle marches over and plucks one of the tens out of his hand. “Thanks. This belongs to me,” she says, and struts off to her room.
Gavin doesn’t even mind. He is now finally free of his debt to his sister, Miss Danielle, Miss Know-It-All, Miss Just-Made-Teenager-Status. Oh, how good it feels. Plus he’s got his own ten. This has been a great Saturday morning.
Later, as he and Richard are gliding on their skateboard and scooter to Miller’s Park—after all the goodbyes have been said to Aunt Myrtle and Uncle Vestor and, of course, dear Carlotta, and the real Chew-Chew has been handed over (Aunt Myrtle didn’t even notice the difference)—Gavin feels a strange little twinge. An odd feeling that he just might, maybe, perhaps . . . No, it couldn’t be. And yet, somehow, he thinks he possibly could—miss Carlotta. And that would make three miracles in one day, Gavin thinks, and smiles to himself. Then he pumps his foot against the concrete and sails past Richard toward the park.
1
What Did You Do to My Hair?
Nikki and Deja are best friends. They live next door to each other. On Saturday they sit on Deja’s couch watching cartoons. Soon Nikki grows tired of The Mouse Queen and says, “Let’s walk to the store.”
“I can’t,” Deja says. “My hair’s not combed.” She plucks at Bear’s fur. Bear is her favorite stuffed animal. Deja’s hair sticks out all over, just like Bear’s fur. “And Auntie Dee can’t comb it ’cause she’s working in the garden right now.”
Just then, the garage door to the kitchen slams and Auntie Dee passes through the room carrying a tray of seedlings to the backyard. “You’re not spending the whole morning in front of that TV,” she announces.
After she leaves, Deja says, “See? She’s too busy to comb my hair right now.”
“Let me comb it,” Nikki says.
“You don’t know how.”
“Yes, I do. I know how to comb hair now.”
Deja looks at Nikki as if she doesn’t believe her.
“I comb my little cousin’s hair all the time,” Nikki says.
Deja gets off the couch and runs to the bathroom. Soon she comes back with her comb and brush and ten ball barrettes. She sets them on the coffee table. “I want the pink ones in the front, the blue in the middle, and the purple on the bottom” she says, scooting down onto the floor.
Nikki picks up the comb and tries to pull it through Deja’s hair.
“Ow!” Deja cries.
“I’ll use the brush first” Nikki says quickly.
“Everybody knows you’re supposed to use the brush first, Nikki.”
Nikki looks at the barrettes and realizes she hasn’t learned how to make them work yet. She brushes until she thinks she can pull the comb through, but it gets stuck again. She gives it a tug.
“Ow!” Deja cries. “That hurts!”
Nikki puts the comb down. She won’t comb anymore. She’ll just brush. Then she remembers that she hasn’t learned how to braid. So she decides to put bunches of hair in the barrettes. But she doesn’t really know how to do that, either.
Deja reaches up and touches her head.
“This doesn’t feel right!” She jumps up and runs to the bathroom to check it in the mirror. Then she comes running back.
“Look what you did to my hair!”
“I like it . . . ,” Nikki says weakly.
“It doesn’t look like it’s supposed to!”
“Yes, it does.”
“It doesn’t.”
Deja flops down on the couch. She slips her thumb into her mouth and turns back to The Mouse Queen, her favorite cartoon. Deja won’t let anyone except Nikki see her sucking her thumb. She knows Nikki won’t laugh. Nikki slides over next to Deja on the couch. There isn’t anything about Deja that Nikki would laugh at, and there isn’t anything about Nikki that Deja would laugh at.
After a while, Deja takes her thumb out of her mouth and says, “I’m tired of cartoons. Let’s go outside. I don’t need my hair combed for that.”
Buy the Book
Visit www.hmhco.com or your favorite retailer to purchase the book in its entirety.
About the Author
KAREN ENGLISH has been an elementary school teacher in urban neighborhoods for many years, and she wrote these books with her students in mind. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
About the Illustrator
LAURA FREEMAN has illustrated many books for children. Her drawings for this book were inspired by her own childhood. Laura lives with her husband and two children in Dunwoody, Georgia.
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Dog Days Page 8