“The Purple Turnip—what kind of a place is that?” asked Mart.
“A vegetarian restaurant,” answered Wanda.
“Oh, no!” Mart let out an exaggerated groan. “I’m a growing boy, you know. I need food! That’s capital M-E-A-T. Maybe we’d better eat here first.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty to eat, Mart,” chuckled Wanda. “I’ll make you a deal—if you’re still hungry after dinner, I, personally, will fix you a giant hamburger with all the trimmings.”
“I can taste it now!” said Mart appreciatively.
“It’s a nice family-run restaurant,” Linda told them. “They have a folk singer, too. I think you’ll like it a lot.”
“Have you told them about Jenny yet?” Wanda asked her twin.
Linda turned to the Bob-Whites and explained shyly, “Jenny is our little sister. She’s a beautiful, wonderful, and very special person. Physically Jenny is nine, but because of the brain damage she suffered at birth, she has the mentality of a four-year-old.”
“A very bright four-year-old,” Wanda added. “She looks at the world with such joy—we can’t help being very proud of her.”
“If you don’t mind,” Linda said, “we’d like to stop in and see her before dinner. We try to see her every time we get into town. She’d enjoy meeting you. She likes company.”
“Oh, we’d love to meet her!” exclaimed Honey.
“We have a few chores to do before we leave,” Wanda said. “So we’ll meet you about four if that’s okay.”
When it came time for the girls to get dressed for the trip into town, Di chanted playfully, “Oh, what to wear, what to wear? I brought two nice after-ski outfits, and I just can’t make up my mind.”
“I’ll decide for you,” Trixie offered. “Wear the rosy pink sweater and matching plaid pants. You look stunning in bright colors. Honey, why don’t you wear your dark gold sweater and pants? With your hair, you’ll look like the traditional golden girl. As for me, I will just be my average old self,” she finished, pretending to sigh heavily.
“Jeepers, Trixie, you’re about as un-average as they come,” Honey told her.
“Sure,” teased Di. “Just because you get average marks in a few subjects at school doesn’t mean you’re an all-around average person.”
Trixie aimed a pillow in Di’s direction and began changing into her navy blue turtleneck sweater and blue plaid slacks. Then she had an interesting idea. “If Eric’s back, why don’t we ask the twins if we could invite him along?” she suggested. “He’s probably lonely. Maybe he’d enjoy an evening out.”
Honey snorted, and even Di laughed.
Trixie became indignant. “What’s your problem? I just thought it was a nice idea.”
“Oh, Trixie! Of course, it’s a good idea,” said Honey. “But isn’t it possible that maybe—just maybe—you were thinking more about getting another clue than about keeping Eric from being lonely?”
“Well...”
Honey looked in the mirror and brushed her hair. “If you two are ready, why don’t you go ask Linda and Wanda if we could invite Eric? I’ll check on the slowpoke boys.”
After speaking with Linda and Wanda, Di and Trixie stopped at Eric’s door. “Sure you wouldn’t rather invite him, Di? He seems to like you.”
“Moonshining thieves aren’t my style,” sniffed Di, giving Trixie a push. “This was your idea.”
Trixie knocked on the door.
“Who is it and what do you want?” called Eric, sounding weary and irritated.
“It’s Trixie Belden. Linda, Wanda, and all of us are going into town to visit Linda and Wanda’s sister and then go out to dinner. We wondered if you wanted to join us.”
She heard some scuffling in the room, and then the door opened. Eric was wearing an undershirt and jeans that were wet from skiing in the rain. His hair was messed up, and there were bags under his eyes. “You’re going to dinner in town? In a restaurant?” he inquired.
Trixie nodded. “A vegetarian place called the Purple Turnip.”
Eric paused thoughtfully, then said, “Yeah, I’ll come. Can you wait about ten minutes while I shower and get pulled together?”
“Sure. We’ll meet you in the lobby.”
His acceptance took Trixie by surprise. She had hoped he would come, so she could keep an eye on him. But he looked so tired. He really must be lonely, she thought. Then something startling occurred to her.
Maybe he was coming so he could keep an eye on her!
An Evening to Remember • 10
DUSK WAS ALREADY FALLING as the group pulled into the charming little village of Groverville. Quiet streets and cozy homes encircled the parklike town square as if it were a magnet. At one end of the square was a picturesque New England church, its steeple silhouetted like a white spear against the darkening sky. Opposite the church was the old town meeting house, with the date 1799 over the doorway. Linda explained that it was still used for town meetings.
Trixie was most impressed by the huge old maples lining the streets. When those trees leafed in the spring, they would form a honeycomb of tunnels throughout the town.
Wanda pointed out a particularly gnarled old tree in the center of the town square. “They say that’s where Thomas Mead was hanged,” she told them. “There’s a statue nearby of the two men who captured him, but the hanging tree gets a lot more attention.”
“Don’t you think we should take them by the restaurant now while it’s still light?” asked Linda. “Then we can go back and see Jenny.”
Wanda agreed and steered the Tan Van along the river until they were out of town. They turned a corner and came to an old covered bridge. As the van rumbled over the wooden structure, Di sighed, “Isn’t this romantic?” No one disagreed with her.
On the other side of the bridge were an old sawmill and barn. Both were blanketed with snow. “Everything looks just like a scene from a Christmas card!” exclaimed Trixie.
Wanda explained that the sawmill was no longer in use, but that it had been the one that provided the boards for the bridge. To the Bob-Whites’ surprise, they discovered that the old barn was the Purple Turnip restaurant.
It was all but dark by the time they reached the Fleming home, though just light enough to see a white picket fence and snowman in the front yard, and a little girl running down the front walk toward the van, blond pigtails flying behind her. She was wearing blue jeans and a turquoise T-shirt. Her gait was awkward, but her smile was one of pure delight. She gave giant bear hugs to her sisters and sunny greetings to the rest of them.
“Come inside,” she begged, tugging on Wanda’s hand. “Come on, the tea party’s all ready!”
The inside of the house was simply furnished, although, like the Belden home, it was overflowing with years of accumulated Christmas decorations. On one wall were several neatly framed crayon scribblings. Trixie went over to look. Each picture was a combination of brilliant colors signed with a careful, though not always accurately spelled, “Jenny.”
Jenny had them sit on the floor around a long low coffee table in the living room. In front of each of them was a doll-sized plate and teacup and a Christmas napkin.
The door from the kitchen opened, and a largeboned woman came out. She had short black hair that was turning steel gray at the temples and eyes that crinkled at the corners. Moving with the grace of a ballet dancer, she set her tray down near Jenny.
As the boys started to stand to greet her, she said, “No, please keep on sitting. I know how difficult it is to get up from that table! I’m Mrs. Fleming. I told Jenny that you were going to eat dinner right away and that it was too late for a tea party, but she insisted. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Mart spoke up quickly. “We’re in favor of eating any time.”
“We’re going to take them to the Purple Turnip, Mom,” Linda said.
“Oh, good, then we aren’t spoiling your dinner. Service is very slow there,” Mrs. Fleming said, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “Thi
s tea party is special for Jenny. She has learned something very difficult, and when she found out you were coming, she chose this as her reward. Jenny, why don’t you show off what you learned?”
Jenny ran back to the entry way, where all the boots and shoes were lined up, and grabbed a pair of tennis shoes. She came back and sat down on the floor in front of the fireplace. She put them on and slowly tied the lace on the right shoe into a bow.
“Oh, Jenny,” Wanda breathed.
“Not done yet,” Jenny cut her off. Then, with the same concentration, she tied her left shoelace.
Linda and Wanda jumped up and hugged their sister while everyone else clapped and cheered.
“Jenny, you little sneak!” cried Linda. “We didn’t even know you were working on tying your shoes.”
Jenny glowed under all the praise and approval.
“A tea party is the perfect celebration,” agreed Wanda. “Shall I pour while you pass the cookies, Jenny?”
As Wanda poured the fruit punch, Jenny handed the platter of green-frosted Christmas-tree cookies to Mart. Mart politely took one and put it on his plate.
“You get two,” said Jenny. “Everybody gets two.”
“Terrific!” said Mart as he snatched another from the platter he’d already passed on to Eric.
“Did you help make these cookies, Jenny?” Eric asked, speaking up for almost the first time that evening.
She nodded proudly. “I got to help punch them out with the tree cutter and put the little red decorations on the top.”
“They look very nice,” said Eric. “I liked to make cookies when I was your age, too.”
Somehow, Trixie thought, Eric looks out of place sitting on the floor, drinking juice out of a doll’s cup, and talking about baking cookies.
After the group was done eating, Linda and Wanda insisted on doing the dishes. Jenny took Eric’s hand and said, “Come see my new puzzle. I have lots of ’em.” She led him to the dining room table where her puzzles were spread out.
The Bob-Whites settled on the floor around the fireplace and listened to Mrs. Fleming explain what it was like to have a handicapped child. She told them about the adjustments and sacrifices they had to make when they discovered that Jenny was handicapped, about Jenny’s schooling and all that she was learning, and about the specialness of having Jenny as part of their family. “It’s important for kids like Jenny to have friends, to feel loved and needed,” she concluded.
“It’s easy to see that you and your family are making her feel exactly that way,” said Honey.
Mrs. Fleming smiled. “It’s not hard to do.”
Jenny and Eric came back into the living room. “You know, Mrs. Fleming, your daughter is one fantastic puzzle-putter-togetherer,” Eric said. “She was showing me where the pieces go when I couldn’t figure it out for myself.”
“Some of her puzzles are a bit tricky if you’re not familiar with them,” Mrs. Fleming responded. “But she loves them and does very well with them. She even has her own puzzle company.”
“What?” asked Trixie.
“Go get a couple of your puzzles, Jenny. My husband designs children’s puzzles,” Mrs. Fleming explained. “He cuts them out of wood, and we all help with the sanding. Then Jenny chooses the colors and paints the puzzle pieces, frequently without any assistance. They’re called ‘Jenzles’ and are sold on consignment in several stores around the area. The money goes into Jenny’s savings fund.”
Jenny came in carrying a few brightly colored wooden puzzles in animal shapes and simple designs.
“What a neat gift for Bobby!” Trixie exclaimed. “Will you sell me the star puzzle, Jenny?”
“And I’ll buy four more for my twin brothers and sisters,” Di said enthusiastically.
“These are very easy puzzles,” Mrs. Fleming reminded them. “They really are for preschoolers. How old are your brothers and sisters?”
“Bobby is the oldest and he’s six,” Trixie answered. “But that doesn’t matter. The colors are so pretty it’s like giving them a picture.”
While Linda and Wanda wrapped the puzzles in leftover Christmas paper, the others thanked Mrs. Fleming and Jenny for the tea party.
Jenny vigorously shook hands with each of the Bob-Whites, and when she came to Eric, she added a shy hug and said, “Thank you for playing puzzles with me.
He gave her a small kiss on the cheek and said, “You’re a very nice young lady, Jenny.”
I don’t get it, Trixie thought to herself once they were back in the van. Eric’s so kind and gentle with Jenny; she obviously adores him. And kids, especially ones as sensitive as Jenny, seldom make mistakes about people....
Trixie lost her train of thought about Eric when she saw the interesting decor of the Purple Turnip. Inside the old barn, it was cozy and bright. All kinds of healthy plants were suspended from the open-beamed ceiling. Where the milking stalls had been, a bustling kitchen now existed. People were actually working behind stanchions that had once held cows in place.
An assortment of tables covered the main floor and the small loft. Some were old kitchen tables, some were ornate tables that could have come from the Wheelers’ formal dining room, and some weren’t really tables at all, but other things converted into tables. In a far corner, the Bob-Whites found a large table that had apparently been the door to the old barn. It had plenty of room for everyone, so they claimed it.
Trixie gazed around and saw that nothing matched. The cloth place mats and napkins were all different colors and designs, the dishes were of various types of pottery, and the chairs were equally incongruous.
Honey picked up her knife, fork, and spoon. Each was a different pattern. “This reminds me of dinner at the Belden house when it’s Mart’s turn to set the table,” she giggled.
“Great minds can’t be bothered with such trivia when contemplating loftier considerations”—Mart waved toward the loft in an unnecessary attempt to get his pun appreciated—“namely, the food one eats with these various implements.”
As if on cue, a waitress came over to their table and handed each of them a menu. “It’s an interesting menu,” she informed them. “Here are some sunflower seeds to munch on while you read it.” She set a pottery bowl in the middle of the table.
“That’s her way of saying it will be a long time before she'll be back to take our order,” Linda explained good-humoredly. “We have to suffer through reading about terrific-sounding foods, meanwhile contenting ourselves with seeds and water.”
Trixie, sitting across from Eric, watched him carefully. He kept fidgeting and tapping his fingers. Almost as soon as he picked up his menu, he put it down again. “Have you decided already?” she asked him. “Yeah, I guess I’ll just have the special. The menu’s too long to bother reading.”
“Mushroom goulash—that does sound good,” agreed Jim. “ ‘Mushrooms sautéed with nuts, tomatoes, water chestnuts, celery, green onion, and Chinese peapods, topped with grated cheese. Served with a green salad and a choice of beverage.’ Mmmm... I can’t decide between that and the vegetarian pizza.”
“Everything is tasty here,” Wanda said. “Mart, are you finding anything you like?”
“The cheese lasagna is whispering sweet nothings to my taste buds,” Mart admitted.
Trixie laughed. “Lasagna ranks right after hamburgers with Mart. He can eat it by the panfuls. I’m tempted by the eggplant Parmesan myself.”
“The cheese and bean sprout sandwich with the bowl of lentil soup sounds about right for me,” said Honey.
“I could go for some vegetable chop suey,” Brian decided.
The waitress did not return until long after the sunflower seeds were gone and the menus had been read and reread. But the food turned out to be well worth the long wait, and the portions were giant-sized. Di offered to trade bites with anyone who wanted a taste of her avocado soufflé, which led to a bite-swapping circus.
“A veritable vegetable feast” was the verdict from Mart. “Wanda, you’ve
won your bet. Meat is not required for a palatable meal!”
“The Purple Turnip will fit right in with a natural resort on Mead’s Mountain, don’t you think?” Linda asked.
Everyone agreed immediately.
In the midst of an argument over ordering zucchini cake or frozen yogurt for dessert, Trixie looked up and exclaimed, “Why, Miss Trask! Pat, Katie, what are you doing here?”
“It was rather impulsive,” said Miss Trask. “Katie was telling me what an interesting restaurant this is, and Pat said that it’s better to show than to tell, so here we are.”
“I’m so glad you came,” said Honey. “The food is delicious, almost as good as yours is, Katie.”
“Oh, we’ve already eaten,” explained Katie. “Pat cooked one of his specialties tonight. Actually, he’s a better cook than I am. We just came to get some dessert and to listen to the music.”
The Bob-Whites pushed their chairs closer together to make room for the newcomers.
“Is Rosie holding down the fort out at the lodge all by herself?” asked Brian.
“That little rabble-rouser could bring down the entire mountain in five minutes flat by herself,” Pat chuckled. “No, the honeymooners offered to watch her.”
“I didn’t know people on their honeymoon liked to baby-sit,” Di said. “I thought they were just supposed to want to be alone together.”
Miss Trask smiled. “It seems the man is an English teacher, and there’s a special showing of Macbeth on TV tonight that he told his students to watch. The only television set at the lodge is in Pat and Katie’s apartment.”
“It really worked out nicely,” said Katie. “We rarely have a chance for an evening out with adults, or even teen-agers!”
After the waitress had taken their dessert orders, Pat commented, “This seems to be where the action is for Mead’s Mountain people. I saw Bert and Jack over by the door as we came in.”
“Really?” asked Trixie.
“Why don’t we invite them to join us, too?” suggested Honey. “There’s enough room to add two more chairs.”
Bert and Jack brought over their pots of herbal tea and seemed happy to join them. “How are things with the famous junior detectives?” hailed Bert. “I suppose you’re on the trail of the ghost of Mead’s Mountain.”
The Mystery at Mead's Mountain Page 9