“Lucky me!” Daddy laughs. “Can Ugly Brother judge the ones with the dog bones on top?”
We all look at Ugly Brother. His tongue is hanging out of his mouth.
“I think he’s counting on it,” Momma says.
Ugly Brother is so excited about getting a cupcake that he chases his tail in a circle. Momma pours Daddy a tall glass of milk. She brings it to the table. Then I set three cupcakes on a pretty blue plate and carry them to Daddy.
I set the dog bone cupcake on the floor. Ugly Brother gobbles it up and barks, “Ruff, ruff!”
Daddy takes a big bite of each cupcake. Ugly Brother whines under the table.
Daddy says, “The winner is . . .”
You probably already guessed. Momma wins the bake-off!
The vanilla doggie bone cupcakes look good, and Ugly Brother has tried several. He loves them, but he eats anything. I wonder if other dogs will like them, too.
“Do you think other doggies will like my cupcakes?” I ask.
He barks, “Ruff.”
One bark means no, but I do not believe him. He just wants to eat all the cupcakes.
Before I sell any cupcakes, I have to make sure other dogs will like them. Suddenly, an idea hits me like fleas on a dog. The Puppy Place Doggie Shelter is the perfect spot to bring cupcakes and find out if other doggies will like them.
So the next day after school, that’s what my plan is! On the way home on the bus, I tell Mr. Jim all about my business.
“Have you ever heard of cupcakes for dogs?” I ask as soon as I get on the bus.
“No, can’t say that I have,” he replies.
“That’s because I made them up,” I tell him. “Ugly Brother loves them. Today I’m going to try them out on some other dogs.”
“I’m a cat person,” he mutters.
I pat his arm and smile. “It’s okay if you like cats better,” I say. What I don’t tell him is that he gave me a great idea about cat cupcakes for later!
When I get off the bus, I wave to Mr. Jim with my beauty queen wave, nice and slow, side to side. He waves back.
Inside, Momma makes me change clothes. Once I pull on shorts and a T-shirt, I am ready to pack up a bag full of cupcakes. But as I’m riding my bike over to the shelter, I notice that Ugly Brother is tagging along.
“Just because you’re comin’ doesn’t mean you can have another cupcake,” I tell him. He whines, but keeps right on following me.
The Puppy Place is in an old mossy green house on River Street, down from the library.
The man who works at the shelter is Mr. Jay. His beard is gold like a lion, and he has a big laugh.
“Hi, Mr. Jay,” I say. “I was wonderin’ if it would be okay to give the doggies a treat today.”
“What kind of treat, little miss?” he asks.
I explain all about my doggie cupcakes, and Mr. Jay smiles. “The pups will love getting a special treat,” he says. “Follow me.”
Ugly Brother and I follow him into the back of the house, where there is one big room with neat rows of cages along the walls. Right away, I notice the cutest little girl doggie named Countess. She is black and has a wrinkly face. I run over to get a closer look at her. She licks my hand.
“She’s a sweetheart,” Mr. Jay says. “I like to call her Tess.”
I ask, “Can Tess come out of her cage to play with Ugly Brother?”
Mr. Jay lets her out. First Ugly Brother and Tess sniff each other a lot. Then they start playing with a pink chew toy.
While they play, Mr. Jay and I pass out cupcakes to all the sweet little doggies. The puppies love them. There’s a wiener dog, a poodle, a lab, and a terrier.
“What kind of dog is Tess?” I ask.
“She is a Shar-Pei,” Mr. Jay tells me. Then he sighs and adds, “I hate to do it, but I am going to have to close the Puppy Palace. I don’t have enough money to keep it open.”
I gasp. “Oh no! I hope all of these doggies get new homes soon!”
“They’ll have to,” Mr. Jay says. “I’m going to close in one week.”
Ugly Brother puts his paws over his eyes and whines. This is terrible news. There has to be a way we can help.
Poor Ugly Brother hates to leave his new friend, but we promised to be back by dinnertime. Besides, I need to talk to Momma and Daddy about something important!
On the way home, I think about finding homes for all of those doggies. We could probably make sure the doggies there find new places to live, but if Mr. Jay closes, what happens if more dogs need help?
Slamming the door, I shout, “I need help!”
Everyone comes running. Momma asks, “Are you okay?”
“They are closing Puppy Place!” I cry. “We have to help Mr. Jay get enough money to stay open.”
“Let’s give the shelter our garage sale money,” T.J. suggests.
“That’s a great idea, son,” Daddy says. “And my newspaper can run a story about the Puppy Place. Maybe it will get folks to donate.”
I can’t wait to tell Mr. Jay. I call him right up to say Daddy is going to put the shelter in the paper. He is so happy he hardly can talk. That’s okay. I’m pretty good at talking, so I tell him all about our garage sale, too.
Mr. Jay is quiet for a minute after I tell him. Then he says, “You really do love dogs. Keeping the shelter open will save a lot of pups. They can’t say thank you, but I am very grateful for any help your family can give us.”
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be just fine. Goodbye for now,” I tell him as I hang up.
Now it’s really important for our sale to make a lot of money. Tomorrow when we get ready, we’ll have to put higher prices on our old stuff. I sure hope folks will buy it all up.
On Friday, I ask Cara, Paula, and Lucy to come home with me after school. My family is going to need help getting ready for the big sale. Our teacher lets us go to the office and use the phone during recess so they can get permission to ride the bus with me.
When Mr. Jim sees us all waiting at the bus door, he frowns and says, “Hold on just a minute! I see one girl who rides this bus and three who don’t.”
I smile my best dazzling beauty queen smile. Then I explain all about the dog shelter, the sale, and how we went to the office to use the phone. I can tell he wants me to finish talking, because his mouth is open like he wants to say something.
“Are you sayin’ you have a note from the office that gives these girls permission to ride my bus today?” Mr. Jim says once I quit talking.
“Yes!” I say, throwing my hands up. “That’s what I’ve been sayin’!”
By now there is a big long line behind us so we jump on the bus. I sit with Lucy. Cara and Paula sit across from us. We can’t wait to get busy working. Before long, we pull up in front of my house. I see Daddy’s truck in the driveway. He’s home early to help, too!
Momma and Daddy are in the garage sorting things. Momma is the boss. She smiles when she sees us.
“Girls, you can make the signs and put the price tag stickers on things,” she says. “T.J., bring out all those clothes from the hall closet so we can add them to the sale.”
T.J. heads inside to grab the clothes. Momma has him hang them on the old clothesline beside the garage. Then she covers them with an old quilt.
“There’s no chance of rain in the weather forecast,” Daddy says.
“That’s good,” Momma says. “We don’t want to have a rainy day sale. That would be just awful!”
My friends and I make the signs on white poster board squares. On each sign, we write GARAGE SALE in capital letters. Then we write my address in our best handwriting. Under that, we put the hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
I make little doggie faces and bones along the edges of my sign.
We make cupcake posters, too. Our posters are
so cute. They have pink cupcakes with glitter on them and all the names and prices of the cupcakes.
T.J. walks by with his old sports gear for the sale. He tells us we should work more and talk less.
He just says that because he doesn’t have anyone to talk to but Ugly Brother, who is following him around like a caboose on a choo-choo train.
Next, my friends and I use the pink stickers I picked out to make price tags. Lucy and I write the prices down, while Cara and Paula help Momma set things up on the tables.
Ugly Brother gets tired of helping T.J. and wanders over to me. I ask, “Are you goin’ to help us now?”
He barks, “Ruff, ruff.”
I give him a sheet of stickers to take to Momma. “Don’t drool on these,” I warn him. He gets one stuck on his nose. I laugh, pluck the sticker off, and tell him, “You’re worth more than fifty cents!”
T.J. has a stack of video games he doesn’t play anymore. “These are only worth fifty cents,” he says. Paula starts putting the stickers on them right away.
“Stop!” I shout. “We should mark them a dollar. Remember, we’re tryin’ to save the doggies.”
Paula says, “Right. I need some dollar stickers.”
Daddy is selling his old stamp collection, some books, and some black boots with spurs on the backs. Momma thinks we can get a lot of money for the stamps and the boots. Books will only get fifty cents, but we put ten dollars on the boots.
I price my lemon cupcake cutie doll for five dollars. Momma marks the baby clothes, winter coats, Christmas ornaments, and my stuffed animals.
Ugly Brother wants to bring something to put in the sale, too! It’s an ice-cream-cone chew toy, but he chewed the bottom right off and now it looks like a cupcake.
“Don’t hurt his feelings,” Lucy says. “Put it in the sale anyway.”
I put twenty-five cents on it, but seeing that dog toy makes me think of that poor little girl dog at the shelter. I tell my friends all about Tess the dog. Then I add, “I sure hope she gets a family.”
“Who do we know that needs a dog?” Paula asks.
Lucy shouts, “Miss Clarabelle!”
“That’s right!” I say. “She said she gets lonely in her house. Tess would be perfect!”
Daddy always says that seeing is believing. If I bring Miss Clarabelle to the Puppy Place, seeing Tess will make her want to take that doggie home and keep her forever.
But that will have to wait until after the sale. Tonight, Momma’s ordering us some pizza, and then we need to get lots of rest before the big day. All we have to do is wait until tomorrow. Hurry up, morning!
The next morning, Momma wakes me up while it’s still dark outside. Time to get my cupcakes ready!
After lining the cupcakes up on trays and piling them on stands, I carefully cover them with plastic wrap. I twirl it around and around so they will stay fresh.
Then I grab my little pencil bag with change in it, a notepad to write my sales on, and some brown paper lunch sacks to put the cupcakes in.
I set up right in front of the garage where everyone can see me. Kylie Jean Cupcakes is open for business!
People begin to arrive just as the sun comes up! Those garage sale customers are serious. Momma and Daddy don’t even get any coffee. We are busy!
Soon, Miss Clarabelle comes over. “I just love Christmas decorations,” she remarks, digging through a box.
I know I need to ask her about going to the Puppy Place. “Are you busy tomorrow after church?” I ask. “Because I want you to meet someone.”
“Why, I’d love to meet a friend of yours,” she tells me, smiling. “I’ll see you right after church, then.”
“Do you want to buy one of these scrumptious strawberry cupcakes?” I ask, holding up a cupcake.
She smiles again and says, “How can I refuse? They sound wonderful.”
She pays me with a five-dollar bill. When I try to give her change back, she tells me I can keep it. Yay! I have some extra money for the puppies!
More of our neighbors and friends come to our sale. Daddy tells them we’re donating the money we make to keep the dog shelter open. A lot of people tell us to keep the change for the dogs.
Every time someone walks up, I say, “Delicious cupcakes for sale! Get your cupcakes!”
Granny and Pappy arrive with donuts, coffee, and Lucy. They buy a dozen of my cupcakes! Ka-ching, ka-ching!
Then Lucy comes to help. Together we shout, “Delicious cupcakes for sale! Get your cupcakes here!”
I am pretty excited when my bus driver, Mr. Jim, comes by. He looks down at my table and says, “I’ll take a dozen cupcakes. Did your momma help you bake them?”
“Yes, sir,” I say, “and she is the best baker in Texas.”
“They sure do look tasty,” he says. “I don’t think I can wait to eat one, so I’ll have one right now.” He chooses a red velvet cupcake and finishes it in two bites!
Mr. Jim looks around for a while and buys some of Daddy’s old tools.
I think I am in garage sale heaven, but after lunchtime, it slows down. Lucy and I stand by the street with a cupcake sale sign, ready to wave at any cars that pass by. We don’t see any.
At three o’clock, a lot of customers start coming again. I think these people are hoping to get a deal. Granny says that people like to offer less and they figure at the end of the sale you might just take less.
Cole, my friend from across the street, wanders over. He says, “Hey, y’all.”
“Want to buy a cupcake?” I ask.
Cole looks at the cupcakes on my table. “Sure,” he says. “But don’t give me one with a dog bone on it.”
There are only a few cupcakes on my table. There are a few dog cupcakes left, but every dog who tried them ate them right up. I’m glad I made them!
When five o’clock finally comes, we close the sale. It’s time to clean up, but we’re all tired. Garage sale days are long days!
There’s still work to do. Daddy and T.J. put the leftover sale stuff in the back of the truck to go to the Goodwill store. Momma counts the money. Lucy and I help. We roll the coins.
Finally, Momma announces, “We made two hundred and twenty dollars and twenty-five cents for the Puppy Place!”
Lucy and I jump around and do a happy dance.
“Pretty good for a bunch of old stuff we didn’t need anyway,” Daddy says, smiling. “Kylie Jean can take a check over to the Puppy Place tomorrow after church.”
“I hope it’s enough to keep the shelter open until we can get more donations,” Momma says. Then she looks at me. “We should figure out your profit,” she says. When she sees my confused look, she explains, “A profit is how much money you made, not including the money you spent on supplies.”
“How much did you spend at the Piggly Wiggly?” Daddy asks.
Momma thinks. “About twenty dollars, I think,” she says.
“And how much did you make at the sale?” Daddy asks me.
“I sold sixty-seven cupcakes!” I say proudly.
Daddy announces, “You made a forty-seven-dollar profit.”
I smile. “That’s a lot of money to bring to the doggie shelter,” I say.
Ugly Brother really likes the idea. He barks, “Ruff, ruff!”
I’m tired from working hard all day, but my job isn’t over. Now it’s time to find a home for Tess.
On Sunday afternoon, Miss Clarabelle comes over after church. “Who did you want me to meet, Kylie Jean?” she asks. “Is he or she here?”
“No,” I tell her. “We have to go to the Puppy Place. I want you to meet my friend Mr. Jay.”
“Oh, how nice,” Miss Clarabelle says.
“Besides, I have to take the check and the doggie cupcakes to the shelter,” I add. I don’t tell her that secretly, I’m hoping she’ll find
a new puppy friend!
Ms. Clarabelle drives us over in her big white Cadillac. When we get there, the sign on the door says “open,” so we go right in.
Mr. Jay looks up when we walk in. He says, “Well, hello, Miss Kylie Jean. How is our favorite patron today?”
I am puzzled. Frowning, I ask, “Can you please tell me what a patron is so I can answer your question?”
Mr. Jay laughs his big laugh. “A patron is a supporter,” he says. “Someone who helps out. Just like you, helping out the Puppy Place.”
“Oh!” I say. “Well, okay, I’m just fine and dandy. I brought my friend. We have something to give you, too.”
Miss Clarabelle nudges me. “Please introduce me to your friend,” she says quietly.
“Mr. Jay,” I say, “This is my dear friend Miss Clarabelle.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Mr. Jay says. He shakes her hand.
Then I hand him the envelope with the check and he opens it. He looks like a cat that just got a fresh fish dinner. He is so happy. “This is awesome!” he shouts. “With this money, we can stay open a little longer. Thank you so much, Kylie Jean.”
“You’re welcome,” I say. “We’re not givin’ up, either. I want to raise some more money for you.”
“That would be wonderful,” Mr. Jay says.
Then I hear a quiet bark from the back room. That reminds me of the other reason we’re here!
“Come on, Miss Clarabelle!” I say, grabbing her hand.
The puppies are all so cute. Miss Clarabelle and I stop at each cage. I tell her about each dog, and then we give them a doggie cupcake. They love them and eat them right up.
I save Tess’s cage for last. When we get to her, she has a pink bow tied around her neck and looks so adorable. Mr. Jay lets her come out to play. Right away, the sweet little doggie gives Miss Clarabelle some sweet doggie kisses.
Cupcake Queen Page 3