Puppies, cats, and rabbits were all up for adoption. Animals of all shapes and sizes were poking pink noses out of rows and rows of cages. Garrett bent down and looked into one. Tiny whimpers came from within. “Griffin, look!” There was a litter of five puppies bouncing around inside.
“Their mom got hit by a car, and they need good homes,” said the volunteer.
“Look at that one!” said Garrett. One of the puppies was rolling over on her back, her tiny white paws wiggling in the air.
“Can I hold her?” asked Griffin. The volunteer placed the puppy in Griffin’s arms. A pink tongue slurped all over her face. She giggled. Another one of the puppies was tugging hard on a piece of rope, wagging his tail.
“That’s my dog!” said Garrett.
Garrett’s dad bent down to look. “They both look great,” he said.
At the front desk they filled out all the registration papers. Mr. Forester explained to the woman at the desk that they were taking Griffin’s puppy straight to Florence; Garrett and his dad would come back for Garrett’s puppy in the afternoon.
In the backseat of the car Mr. Forester carefully placed the puppy’s cage between Garrett and Griffin so they could sit on either side of her. Her little paw kept shooting through the cage trying to touch them. Griffin giggled.
“What are you naming your puppy, Garrett?” asked Griffin.
“Nick, after Nicolas Flamel, or maybe Zosimos,” said Garrett.
“Cool,” said Griffin.
“How about you?” he asked.
“I think Florence should name her, you know?”
“Shhhhhh,” Griffin said to the puppy as she bounced up and down in the parking lot of the assisted living home. “Don’t ruin the surprise, silly!” Griffin dug her fingers in her pocket. The “puppy” penny was still there.
“Good morning. You must be Griffin and Garrett,” said Director Regan, meeting them at the front door.
“Hi,” they said in unison.
“I’m Garrett’s dad, Brian Forester,” he said. “The kids are so excited about this.”
“We are too. Florence will be so happy. Who do we have here?”
The director bent down to pet the new puppy through the cage. “Girl or boy?”
“Girl,” said Griffin.
“She’s perfect. Right this way. I told Florence she had some visitors today. A certain G. Penshine who wrote her a letter and her friend Garrett Forester. Florence got all dressed up, even put rouge on her cheeks!”
Garrett’s dad waited outside Florence’s room with the puppy to keep her a surprise until just the right moment.
“Knock, knock,” said the director, tapping on the door. “Florence, your visitors are here.”
“Come in,” said Florence.
Garrett and Griffin walked into her room. Florence looked very old and soft sitting in a chair by the window. She held out her hand to welcome them. “Welcome, welcome! Visitors to see me? What an exciting day. The real G. Penshine who wrote me a letter!”
Griffin said, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Busby.”
“Nice to meet you. Such a pretty and polite young lady. And who is this handsome young man?” said Florence.
“I’m Garrett,” he said.
“What a beautiful couple,” she said.
Griffin and Garrett both blushed a deep crimson.
“I don’t get a lot of young visitors. I was so excited when I was told you were both coming to visit me today.”
“Mrs. Busby, I was the one who wrote you that letter a few weeks ago.”
“Yes, yes, if I recollect correctly, you said you had something of mine? What could you possibly have that might belong to an old lady like me?” she asked.
“Someone gave me something that once belonged to you,” said Griffin, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the penny. Gently she placed it in Florence’s tender hand.
“A penny?” said Florence, and she studied it.
“I met a very, very old lady before she died,” said Griffin. “She said she overheard you make a wish for a puppy. She wrote down the wish in a guest book next to your name. She labeled your penny: ‘puppy.’”
“NO!” gasped Florence. She held the penny tight in her hand and closed her eyes. “I remember that summer day clearly, that scorching Kansas sun on my cheeks. I threw that penny high into the air. With all my heart I called out, ‘I wish for a puppy!’”
A long sad pause penetrated the room. “My very own penny returned. My very own wish taken out of the fountain and returned to me after all these years. What a beautiful thing to make something right even after so many years have passed.” From her faded-blue eyes a single tear tumbled onto the penny.
A glow crescendoed through the entire room as if the sun had charged on full blast and poured the brightest rays into Florence’s room. “Well, that’s not all,” said Garrett. “Dad!”
Mr. Forester walked into the room holding the puppy. “Good morning, Mrs. Busby. I’m Garrett’s dad. The kids have brought you a present. A surprise just for you!”
Mrs. Busby’s eyes lit up like a child’s. Jumping up from her seat, her arms flew into the air, springing the penny like metallic confetti. “A puppy! A puppy!” she shouted, clapping her hands together.
“Do you want to hold her? She’s a gift for you,” said Griffin.
“A puppy for me?” She cried even harder now, her shiny eyes crinkling. “A puppy to keep me company! It’s hard to feel lonely with a bouncing pup! My first puppy in my whole life!” She held out her old hands to the dog. Florence giggled like a girl as the puppy licked her wrinkled cheek. Laughter and tears came at the same time. “What’s the puppy’s name?”
“It’s up to you,” said Griffin.
“Penny! That’s her name!” said Florence. “This is a wish worth waiting for!”
Never give up on a dream just because it takes time.
The time will pass anyway.
Chapter
45
Griffin waved as Garrett and his dad backed out of her driveway. Griffin couldn’t wait to call Libby and tell her everything! Garrett was so nice and cute and kind to Florence and funny and smart and great at drums. Also seeing Florence so happy made this one of the best Saturdays that Griffin had ever had. Smiling and giddy, Griffin couldn’t wait to tell her mom about the puppy, too. She pushed on the front door, but it was locked.
“Mom, I’m home!” she called. She rang the front doorbell. But no one came. Three times she rang the bell. “Mom! Dad! Hello!”
Nothing.
Griffin checked her cell phone. She had turned it off at the Sunflower Home. Her message box was full. “Griff, it’s Dad. Everything is okay. I’m taking Mom to the hospital because the baby is on the way! Hang tight. When you get this message, please go to Mrs. Jasper’s house. I called her, and she is going to stay with you until I can come pick you up. I love you.”
“Griffin!” called Mrs. Jasper, running toward her. “I’ve been looking out my window for you ever since your dad called me!”
“Did the baby come yet?” asked Griffin.
“I don’t know. I just know your mom is in the hospital, and your grandma, too.”
“Grandma, too?” Griffin’s heart started racing. “They’re both at the hospital?”
“Yes,” she answered.
Griffin trembled. This is my fault, she thought. She still had three pennies. Although she had given away “no homework,” “most beautiful,” “change the world,” “a dad,” “baby,” “success,” “popular,” and “puppy,” the “STOP” penny, “world peace” penny, and the unlabeled penny remained in Mariah’s black box.
“Your dad said it would be best if you stayed with me until he calls, and then I can drive you to the hospital to be with him. Okay?” she said.
“Okay,” said Griffin slowly, finding it hard to breath. “Both Mom and Grandma in the hospital,” she whispered to herself. Why is my grandma there? Will the baby be okay?
They walked o
ver to Mrs. Jasper’s house. Eight times Griffin called her dad on his cell phone, but he did not pick up.
Griffin sat at Mrs. Jasper’s table, pushing noodles around on her plate. When the phone finally rang, it sounded like a fire alarm and a rushing ambulance to her ears. Mrs. Jasper grabbed for the phone. “Hello. Yes, she’s fine. We’re eating some dinner. Is everything okay?” There was a long pause and Griffin gripped the sides of her chair. “Here’s Griffin!”
“Hi, Griff,” said her father, sounding exhausted.
“Hi, Dad.”
“You doing okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Are Mom and Grandma okay?”
“Your mom is doing just fine. I’m so sorry you had to come home to a locked house. My cell phone ran out of battery in the hospital and I was with your mom in the delivery room. But … dun, dun, dun … drumroll, please. … You have a new happy, healthy baby brother!
A baby brother! The opposite of what I wished for! thought Griffin. A healthy baby brother is fine with me!
“Caelum came a week early. We were worried he might be born in the car! We almost changed his name to CAR-lum!”
Griffin laughed so hard tears filled her eyes. “Caelum’s here! I have a brother!”
“Yes, a healthy, happy baby brother. Ten pounds! As big as a turkey! A giant baby! He and Mom are doing great.”
“Can I come see him?”
“Yes. Mrs. Jasper is going to bring you to the hospital.”
“And Grandma?” she asked.
“Grandma had a fall this morning. Hit her head on the floor, Griff,” said her dad softly.
“Is she okay?” asked Griffin, her stomach squeezing up into her throat.
“She goes in and out of sleep, in and out of making sense.”
“Can I see her?” asked Griffin, starting to shake.
“Yes, we’ll see her together, okay? Hang tight, kiddo. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Dad.” Griffin sat down and couldn’t stop crying. Grandma.
Don’t let the teardrops rust your shining heart.
—Holly Cole Trio
Chapter
46
Dad!” called Griffin, running to her father in the hospital corridor, hugging him close. With a crumpled shirt and matted hair, he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great. Do you want to see your new baby brother?”
“Dad, is Grandma okay too?” she asked.
“She’s sleeping right now. We’ll go see her after you meet your brother, okay?”
“Okay,” she said.
Together they walked down the long antiseptic-smelling corridor. “This is it. The east wing. New arrivals!” he said. “Room 302.” She walked faster and faster. Poking her head inside the room, Griffin gazed at her mom sleeping with a bundle in a crib next to her.
“Mom!” said Griffin.
“Griff,” said her mom, lifting her head from the pillow, smiling. “Come here,” she said, reaching out her hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Couldn’t be happier! It seems Caelum was ready to come into the world, immediately!” She laughed and kissed Griffin on the forehead, smoothing back her hair.
“Can I look at him?” she asked.
“Of course,” said her mom.
Leaning over the plastic box next to her mother’s bed, Griffin whispered, “Hi, Caelum.” She touched his tiny pink hand, five velvet fingers. “He’s so soft!”
“Like when you were born,” said her mom.
“Really?”
“Really,” said her mom, smiling and leaning back against the pillows.
“Do you need anything?” asked Griffin’s dad, holding his wife’s hand.
“Just rest,” she said.
“Of course,” he said, kissing her. “Griff, let’s let Mom sleep a little. It’s not every day your mom gives birth to a ten-pound baby almost in the middle of Main Street!”
Dr. Penshine giggled.
“Let’s see Grandma and then have some dessert together in the cafeteria. Then we’ll come back, say goodnight again to mom, and go home, okay?”
“How long will Mom and Caelum be in the hospital?” she asked.
“Two nights,” said her dad. “Standard procedure.”
“And Grandma?” asked Griffin.
“I don’t know,” said her dad.
“Oh,” said Griffin, holding back tears.
He put his arm around her as they tiptoed away from Dr. Penshine and Caelum, who were now both sound asleep.
A good parent is the greatest treasure.
Chapter
47
Where’s Grandma’s room?” asked Griffin.
“On the eighth floor,” said her father. “The doctor made an exception to let you see her in intensive care when I told him how close you two are.”
They rode the elevator to the eighth floor and walked to room 807. Unlike her mom’s room, this room was very dark. Grandma Penshine was not propped up in bed, but looked shrunken under the white sheets. Up and down went her chest, IVs taped to her arms. Griffin shuffled to the side of the bed.
“Grandma?” Griffin whispered, taking her grandma’s soft hand in hers. “We love you.”
Suddenly Griffin felt her grandma’s palm press inside hers. A nurse talked quietly with her dad in the doorway. “Griff, I want to look at Grandma’s X-rays with the doctor. Stay with her, okay? I’ll be right back.” He left the room.
“Grandma,” Griffin whispered, “did you see the sky today?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I still see it.”
“Yes!” said Griffin, squeezing her grandma’s hand harder.
“It was perfect blue, like satin streamers,” breathed Grandma Penshine, and slowly her soft brown eyes opened.
Griffin hugged her.
A peaceful smile spread over Grandma Penshine’s face, and she looked at Griffin. “Come closer,” she whispered.
Griffin bent her head down so she was cheek to cheek with her grandma.
“In my bedroom,” her grandma said, and took a deep breath, “there is a box on my bureau. Look inside it.”
“What’s in it?” asked Griffin.
“You look and see. I love you,” she said, her chest heaving another breath.
“Grandma?” said Griffin.
She squeezed Griffin’s hand.
“Will you get well?” asked Griffin. She tried not to cry, but her tears started falling, like raindrops dotting her grandma’s sheets.
“I am well, Griff. Just old. Half as old as a Galápagos turtle,” she said, taking a deep breath. “My bones are getting fragile, but I can’t complain. They’ve done such a good job all these years. Plus, it’s almost time to see your grandpa and all our flowers again. I’ve been having the most beautiful dreams about two white doves; at night they land on my windowsill, singing so sweetly. Don’t you waste one wish for me to get well when my heart feels so good. It’s your turn to make wishes for yourself. I already made all my wishes, and they all came true. I love you forever, my wish giver.” She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
Live the life you imagined.
—Henry David Thoreau
Chapter
48
Dr. Penshine and Caelum came home from the hospital on Monday, but Grandma Penshine was still in intensive care. Why did Grandma call me a wish giver? Why did she want me to look in the box on her bureau? thought Griffin as she folded baby clothes in Caelum’s nursery. Griffin’s mom placed the “baby” penny in a silver baby cup that had once belonged to Griffin’s dad. “A lucky penny! What a nice way to start life, don’t you think?” said her mom, bending over Caelum cooing in his crib.
“Yes,” said Griffin, inhaling the sweet scents of the nursery. Everything smelled like baby powder, lotion, and new things. Griffin’s parents let her take the day off from school to welcome Caelum and her mom home. In the afternoon she
’d visit Grandma Penshine at the hospital.
“Griff, could you help Dad pack some of Grandma’s things to take to her at the hospital? She really wants her favorite socks and a deck of cards,” said her mom.
“Sure,” she said.
Griffin’s dad grabbed a duffel bag before driving to Grandma Penshine’s house. Griffin could not wait to look in the box on her grandma’s bureau.
Carrying a bag, Griffin went with her dad down the hall into her grandmother’s bedroom. The floor creaked. Griffin turned on the lamp in the bedroom, illuminating the flowered wallpaper and cozy blankets on the bed. She wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her grandma and play pistachio poker. But the bed was empty. Inside the room, while her father packed some things, Griffin spied the inlaid mother-of-pearl-box on top of the bureau. She picked up the box and brought it to her grandma’s bed. Slowly she opened the box. Inside were four things: a blue sapphire ring, the skein of old yarn, a large flat white stone, and one supershiny Indian Head penny.
Griffin heart raced. The ring looked identical to Mariah’s ring except that the stone was blue. The yarn was exactly like Mariah’s gray spool. The smooth white stone was the same shape and size as Mariah’s black stone mirror.
“What do you have there?” asked her dad.
“Nothing,” she said, and gulped.
“Can you help me over here?”
“Yeah. Dad, I want to bring Grandma’s favorite box to the hospital to show her, okay?”
“Okay,” said her dad. “We’ll drive straight there.”
In the car Griffin kept the box sealed closed on her lap. Why does Grandma Penshine have the same yarn as Mariah? Why does she have a ring just like Mariah’s, except it’s blue? Why does she have a stone just like Mariah’s except it’s white? Why did she save one supershiny penny? The penny was as bright as the first one Mariah had given her.
The Wish Stealers Page 14