Camille grinned and stepped up beside the cake. “I wish—” she started.
“Don’t say it out loud,” I warned her. “It needs to be a secret so it can come true.”
She nodded and closed her eyes. I watched her lips moving slightly as she said her wish to herself. Then her eyes popped open. “Okay, let’s blow the candles out together,” she said.
We each inhaled a deep breath and BLEEEEEEEEEEEEW out the candles—all ten of them. Camille and I pulled out the candles and licked the frosting off the bottoms. Then Dad took the cake away to cut it. “I have a first piece for the birthday girl,” he said. “And a second piece for the half-birthday girl, and a third—”
“Excuse me,” a man said, walking into the room. “I’m looking for my—”
“DAD!!!!!” Camille shouted.
I watched Camille cross the room, pulling her IV pole along before she jumped into her dad’s arms. I could tell she was crying because her back was shaking. But it was the happy kind of crying. I felt my eyes get wet, too.
Camille pulled her dad over to my bedside, and we shook hands. He told me his name was Ed Markley. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Markley,” I said. “I’m so glad you came because it made my wish come true.”
“You wished MY dad would visit you?” Camille asked. “Why? You already had so many visitors!”
“I know,” I said. “That’s why I wished it—because I wanted you to have a visitor, too.”
“That’s so sweet of you, Stella,” Mom said. “I’m proud of you. You really are a grown-up nine-year-old girl.”
I nodded, smiling. “I feel nine,” I told her. “What about you, Camille? Do you feel nine and a half?”
“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Camille said. “Before now, I’d never stayed the night without parents.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been here on your own,” Mr. Markley said.
“Well, I wasn’t completely on my own,” Camille said. “I had Stella.”
“And I had Camille,” I added. “We had each other.”
“That’s great to hear,” Mr. Markley said. “And are you ready for more great news?”
“Oh yes!”
“The doctor said you get to come home today! Just as soon as you finish up the celebration in here, we can go. Lexi is off on a playdate this morning. Imagine how happy she’ll be when we pick her up—together.”
Camille let out a whoop. “Was that your half-birthday wish?” Penny asked. “Did it just come true?”
Camille shook her head. “Nope,” she said.
“Oh, did you wish the same thing as Stella?”
“No, not that, either. I wished my dad would have a different job, so he could take a break if he needs to see me.”
“Oh no!” Penny said. “You said your wish out loud!”
“You’re the one who was asking her all about her wish,” I told Penny.
“I’m sorry,” Penny said, and she looked like she was going to cry, too—and not the happy kind of tears. “I didn’t mean it. I take it back.”
“That’s okay,” Camille said. “I didn’t expect it to come true anyway.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Dad said. “Because with Stuart leaving, I do need a new manager at Batts Confections, and I heard from your daughter yesterday that you have management experience.”
“No kidding?” Camille’s dad said.
“I’m not kidding at all,” said Dad. “Why don’t you come in tomorrow and I can show you the ropes.”
“Do you know what this means?” I asked Camille.
“My wish came true?”
“That,” I said. “And—we’ll get to see each other a whole lot more! And it won’t be in the hospital anymore!”
“Thank you,” Mr. Markley said to Dad, and they shook hands.
“Thank you,” Camille said, too.
“Yeah, Dad,” I said. “Thanks. Thanks so much.”
I wished I could get out of bed and leap up and hug him the way Camille had hugged her dad. But of course I couldn’t. Not right then, anyway. Sometimes wishes come true. Sometimes they take a long time. And sometimes you have wishes that aren’t really possible at all, but that’s okay, because other things come true instead. I had my family with me, and my old best friend, and my new one, and a brand-new friend, all celebrating my birthday with me. I had this feeling inside me that was so big, it was making me smile and cry at the same time. I didn’t want to just hug Dad. I wanted to hug the whole world.
“Are you okay, Stella?” Penny asked.
“Yes, I am,” I said. “I’m great. In fact, I need to make friendship bracelets for everyone!”
“Everyone?” Willa said.
“You can never have enough friendship bracelets, right, Dad?” I asked. Dad winked at me. “That’s right, darling.”
“Well, we better get started,” Willa said.
And so we did.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR
Courtney Sheinmel
Courtney Sheinmel has authored over a dozen highly celebrated books for kids and teens, including the Stella Batts series for young readers, the YA novel, Edgewater, and the middle-grade series, The Kindness Club. Like Stella Batts, Courtney was born in California and has a younger sister. Unlike Stella, her parents never owned a candy store. Courtney lives in New York City. You can visit her online at www.courtneysheinmel.com.
Jennifer A. Bell
Jennifer A. Bell is an illustrator whose work can be found on greeting cards, in magazines, and in more than two dozen children’s books. After several years of living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she recently relocated to Toronto, where she lives with her husband and cranky cat. Visit her online at www.JenniferABell.com.
Praise for Stella Batts
“Sheinmel has a great ear for the dialogue and concerns of eight-year-old girls. Bell’s artwork is breezy and light, reflecting the overall tone of the book. This would be a good choice for fans of Barbara Park’s ‘Junie B. Jones’ books.”
— School Library Journal
“First in a series featuring eight-year-old Stella, Sheinmel’s unassuming story, cheerily illustrated by Bell, is a reliable read for those first encountering chapter books. With a light touch, Sheinmel persuasively conveys elementary school dynamics; readers may recognize some of their own inflated reactions to small mortifications in likeable Stella, while descriptions of unique candy confections are mouth-watering.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Why five stars? Because any book that can make a reader out of a child deserves five stars in my book! It’s all about getting kids ‘hooked’ on reading.”
— Pam Kramer, Examiner.com
“My daughter is nine years old and struggled with reading since kindergarten. Recently we found the Stella Batts books and she has fallen in love with them. She has proudly read them all and she can’t wait till #6. We can’t thank you enough. Her confidence with reading has improved 100%. It brings tears to my eyes to see her excited about reading. Thanks.”
— K.M. Anchorage, Alaska
Other books in this series:
* Stella Batts Needs A New Name
* Stella Batts Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
* Stella Batts Pardon Me
* Stella Batts A Case of the Meanies
* Stella Batts Who’s in Charge?
* Stella Batts Something Blue
* Stella Batts None of Your Beeswax
* Stella Batts Superstar
* Stella Batts Scaredy Cat
Meet Stella and friends online at www.stellabatts.com
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