by Annie Bryant
My lip started to tremble. This time I wasn’t faking. I was about to cry. We couldn’t just leave him here.
“Could we just hide him in the Tower for a few days?” I begged. “You can take his picture with your digital camera, and we’ll make a poster. My mother has a friend who was a vet. She’ll check him out and then I’ll put posters up, and we’ll see if an owner wants him back.”
“Oh, right, Avery,” grumbled Charlotte. “And whose phone number are you going to give them? Not mine.”
“I’ll make up a special e-mail name, just for this!”
Charlotte sighed. “I know I’m going to regret this. All right, but just for a few days.”
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!! You’re my best friend in the entire world!”
The dog tried to scramble up and lick Charlotte’s ear. Good move, dude, I thought. I scooped him up and tucked him into my soccer bag. Then we headed up the hill to Charlotte’s house.
DOG IN TUB…AND EVERYWHERE
We took off our muddy shoes on the front porch. Charlotte’s dad had left a note that he was out picking up Chinese food, so I thought it was safe to take the dog out of my soccer bag. As soon as I unzipped the bag, he jumped out and ran up and down the stairs, leaving muddy paw prints everywhere. Charlotte had a fit.
“Catch him! Avery, he cannot be loose in this house!”
“Gotcha!” I said, grabbing him.
“The first thing we need to do is clean him,” said Katani. “The smell is killing me. Come with me to Charlotte’s bathroom, dog.”
“Wait a minute!” said Charlotte. “What about this mess? How do we get the dirt up before Dad gets home?”
“I have an idea,” said Maeve.
She ran outside, put on her filthy sneakers, and handed us ours.
“Watch this.”
She followed the paw prints up and down the stairs, slapping sneaker prints over every single one. After we joined in, it looked like we had run races from the front door to the second floor.
“Brilliant,” I said. “No one will ever know a dog’s been here.”
“Let’s just hurry and get him into my bathroom,” said Charlotte, looking nervous.
I held the little dog tight in my arms.
“No more adventures for you until you’ve had a ‘Katani Makeover.’”
Katani loaded the tub with bubble bath and lukewarm water. The dog began barking and yipping. As I put him into the tub, he tried to run in mid-air and began to bark for real. Then we heard the front door open. Charlotte’s dad was home.
“What’s happened downstairs?” he asked. “Were you playing soccer or mud-wrestling?”
The dog let out a bark. Charlotte turned the shower radio on full blast.
“Avery!” she whispered. “Keep him quiet.”
“Charlotte! What’s that racket?”
“Hi, Dad! Sorry! Must be the song on the radio!” She pulled the bathroom door shut behind her.
“Yeah! ‘Who Let the Dogs In,’” said Katani.
We all dissolved in nervous giggles.
“Shhh!” begged Charlotte.
“Anyone want Chinese food?”
“Coming! We’re just getting washed up!”
I scrubbed the dog, rinsed him, and he took it pretty well. His collar was really dirty, so I gave it to Maeve to wash in the sink. She held the dirty collar away from her, as if it might be alive.
“Yuck,” said Maeve. “Couldn’t we just toss this? It’s totally disgusting.”
“No, Maeve,” I answered. “The poor little fella’s lost, or worse, abandoned. We’ve got to save anything that will help us know who the real owner is. We don’t even know this dog’s name.”
“Oh, please,” said Maeve. “How hard can it be to name a little dog?”
She handed the collar to Charlotte.
“Well, for your information,” I answered, “once it learns a name, a dog won’t respond well to anything else.”
“Avery,” said Charlotte, “you’re just making a big deal about nothing.”
Charlotte tossed the collar to Katani.
“Ewwww,” said Katani. “Thanks for nothing.”
“I mean,” Charlotte continued, “how hard could it be to name a dog?”
“Yeah,” Katani chimed in. “Just pick any old name.”
“Oh, so it’s that easy, is it?” I asked.
I was starting to get tired of them not taking this seriously. Fine. I’d show them.
“Go ahead, then,” I said. “Pick a name.”
“Who, me?” asked Katani.
“It’s just a dog, Avery,” said Charlotte. “How tough could it be?”
“I don’t care, if you’re all so smart, why don’t you all try.”
“Oh, well…” said Maeve.
“How…” said Charlotte.
“…about…” said Katani.
“Mr. Wiggle,” Maeve said brightly. “He really likes to wiggle about.”
Everyone laughed. I said, “That is the worst name I have ever heard for a dog, Maeve. It sounds more like a name for an earthworm.”
Maeve insisted that we try it anyway.
I put him on the floor and called him. “Here, Mr. Wiggle, come here, Mr. Wiggle.”
No response.
“Even if it is his name,” Katani said, laughing, “I bet he would like a new one ’cause no self-respecting dog would answer to Mr. Wiggle.” Even Maeve laughed.
“Charlotte, why don’t you get his collar over there? He’s all dry now and we can put it back on him.” I picked up my new pet and gave him a scratch behind his ear. Suddenly, his back leg started kicking wildly. And the more I scratched, the faster the leg went. Maeve and Katani went into a complete giggle fit and I started to join them.
Charlotte, who had picked up the collar, told us to be quiet.
“My dad will kill me if he finds this dog up here. Here, let me put his collar on.”
She had the leather collar in her hand, and typical Charlotte, somehow she dropped it into the soapy, dirty bath. She stuck her hand in to fetch it and than grabbed a towel to dry it off. When she turned it over to dry the back side she let out a yelp.
“Guys, I know his name. Look.” She pointed. “It’s written on the back of the collar. And then she read out loud, “To our precious little man, Marty, on his fifth birthday.”
“Marty,” I said loudly to the wiggly bundle in my arm.
“ffwuffwuffwuff!” he barked excitedly.
“Marty,” said Charlotte. “Boy, is that a funny name for a dog.”
Maeve said she had an uncle Marty.
Katani thought it sounded like a name an old person would give a dog.
We all grew silent at that one.
“Do you think his owners died?” ventured Maeve.
“Maybe they are in a nursing home and they couldn’t keep a dog,” Katani followed up with.
I felt sad. I wanted to keep Marty, but not if some old people somewhere were looking for him or thinking about him.
“Girls,” hollered Charlotte’s dad. “Food’s getting cold. Is there someone else here?”
“No, Dad,” called Charlotte, looking even more nervous than usual.
“Good!” he yelled from the kitchen. “Because I only got enough food for the four of you. And I thought I heard someone yell ‘Marty.’”
“Wurff,” answered Marty.
That busted Katani, Maeve, and myself up all over again.
“Shhh!” said Charlotte, looking fiercely at all of us. She opened the door and called, “Party, Dad! Party!”
“Wurff,” barked Marty again.
“Hey!” said Charlotte to me, “I thought you said he only answered to his name.”
I shrugged. “Guess he’s just Party Marty.”
“Woof. Woof.”
Even Charlotte was laughing at that point, but we had to cool it or we’d get caught for sure. So, Charlotte and Maeve hustled out to help set up dinner while Katani and I fluffed and drie
d the most adorable, well, maybe most interesting-looking, dog in the world. I even let Katani put bows in his fur. I hoped Charlotte wouldn’t mind, but I gave Marty a rubber ducky to chew on before we shut him in the bathroom and went to eat. This was definitely the best night of my entire life.
We inhaled wonton soup, dumplings, and Sichuan chicken like vacuum cleaners. All any of us could think about was hiding Marty in the Tower.
“Whoa!” said Charlotte’s dad. “Breathe, girls, breathe.”
“Sorry, Mr. Ramsey,” I said. “We’re full already. Could we please be excused?”
“Not so fast,” he said. “You ladies have some floor-mopping to think about. But first, I want to hear everyone’s fortune.”
“Absolutely,” said Maeve. “We do that at my house too.”
I waited impatiently while everyone read theirs. I’ve always thought fortune cookies were as dumb as horoscopes and weather forecasts. They make them so vague they fit anybody. But when I read mine, I almost fell off my chair. Lucky I was last, because everyone ran from the table so they wouldn’t burst out laughing. My fortune said: “Look for friends in unexpected places.” Can you even believe that? This dog was definitely meant for me.
CHAPTER 25
MAEVE
The Love Doctor
Saturday was only a few days away and I couldn’t wait. I wanted to see Marty again. I also planned to show the girls what true romance was all about. Avery had no clue. She figured Nick Montoya was only good for basketball. Katani needed a few tips, too. As gorgeous as she is and even with older sisters, Katani has never been on a date. She says having a grandmother who’s a principal stops a lot of boys from coming over to their house—no matter how nice Mrs. Fields is.
Charlotte is, well, Charlotte. She’s…different. You want to know how different? Just check out my conversation with her.
MAEVE: Tons of girls want to go out with Nick, Charlotte.
CHARLOTTE: They do? Why?
MAEVE: Cause he’s…I don’t know…really cute…and he’s…I don’t know! He’s just great!
CHARLOTTE: So can you just ask him to do something?
MAEVE: Of course not! Are you crazy? Would Scarlett O’Hara do that?
CHARLOTTE: I don’t know. But if you like him—
MAEVE: OMG of course I like him. But it’s all strategy. You’ve got to…you know…drop hints first. Then you sorta let him know by accident that you like him. Like you tell his friends or something, or you I.M. someone and they I.M. someone else and he finds out about it. You just can’t ask someone out. Never!
CHARLOTTE: OK, Maeve. You’re the expert. But it sounds like a long way around to me.
MAEVE: Well, maybe it’s ’cause you lived in Europe or something. But, trust me. This is the way it’s done.
Guess what? My dad just showed me the film schedule for the week and Gone With the Wind is showing Saturday night. This is like destiny. Maybe Charlotte is right—maybe I should just ask Nick out. My way, of course—with a little strategy mixed in. I could see Nick and me and Rhett and Scarlett, and Atlanta burning. It was too romantic for words.
CHAPTER 26
MAEVE
Recipe for Romance
Watch and learn,” I’d told the girls. So, I already had Charlotte’s telescope positioned at the table for two in Montoya’s window. Her dad was going to be out late at some poetry slam his students had entered. Destiny again! The girls could study my moves at the bakery from afar, and then follow us along our path to the movies. After that, they’d just have to wait for me to get back to the Tower for all the juicy details.
In the meantime, Katani decided that I should wear my hair up. She brought along some pictures from Seventeen magazine to show me. I couldn’t decide between the Audrey Hepburn look or a modern ponytailed look with sparkly pins. It was Avery who said that I should wear the ponytail. She said that since I did not have a cigarette holder, big sunglasses, and a black dress, my hair might look a little over the top in my blue jeans. She had a point.
We went with the ponytail. Katani said she’d done this look on Kelley plenty of times, so it was no problem. She got out her brushes and combs and pins and went to work. I felt like a goddess in some fancy Hollywood salon. Although at one point I did have to tell Katani not to pull my hair so tight ’cause I felt my face was being pulled back like I had been in a wind tunnel or something. She told me to “just relax,” adding “no pain, no gain” as she stuck a sparkly pin into my scalp.
Charlotte decided that I absolutely had to have nail polish to complete the look. She thought a bright color with little white hearts would be perfect. So did I. As she knelt beside me painstakingly painting hearts on top of “Glamour Girl Pink” polish, Marty decided to give me his own pedicure. He licked my toes until I couldn’t stand it any more. It tickled so bad I made Avery put him on his bed. She gave him a piece of a cracker so he would stay. Avery, to all our amazement, went through all of Charlotte’s potions and lotions to find the perfect fragrance for me. She decided on “Gardenia Love Potion.” “Maeve, if this doesn’t do the trick, I don’t know what will,” she sneezed. “You’re gonna smell like a flower garden in spring. What boy wouldn’t love that?” My confidence was soaring by the moment.
I sat there in the “Lime Swivel” as everyone put on the final touches. Katani told Avery to lighten up on the perfume or “Nick might get sick and throw up” after Avery sprayed my whole head with it. Avery got a little mad, but I told her that her choice was perfect and that I felt like a princess. She was happy.
Finally, Katani held up a mirror for me to see. I don’t mean to sound vain or anything, but my hair looked so adorable it almost took my own breath away. I told Katani that she was a “Style Miracle Worker.” She beamed. When Charlotte added that I looked so good it couldn’t help but be a perfect evening, I had to give her a hug.
I told them all that they were the best friends any girl could have.
It was time to go. Katani reminded me to walk with my theme song, “It’s Raining Men,” in mind. Then I handed out cards to the BSG and told them to pay careful attention.
* * *
Romantic Evening Recipe Card
Ingredients:
1 Romantic Boy (if too hard to find, substitute
1 unsuspecting boy)
1 Romantic Girl
1 Frozen Hot Chocolate, Maeve style
2 Straws
2 Free Movie Tickets (easier if you don’t mention it’s a romantic movie)
* * *
Directions:
Invite boy to help you with homework at Montoya’s Bakery. Say that you couldn’t possibly drink a whole frozen hot chocolate but that you would love the teeniest sip of one. Immediately upon delivery, stick two straws in drink. When he dips to drink, do same. If he tires of this, finish frozen hot chocolate yourself (win/win situation).
Casually wave movie tickets. When he looks interested, say you must do your homework first. After a few minutes, mention how cool it is to own a movie theater and be able to eat all the popcorn and Slushies you want for free. When he looks interested, say you need to do more homework. After five more minutes of homework, look at your watch, and say, “Gosh, the seven o’clock show is about to start. Would you like to come and we can do our homework afterwards?”
Sit in private balcony box of Beacon Street Movie House. Watch movie. Prepare for romance!
Sitting in Montoya’s with Nick, it was all I could do not to look up at the telescope and wink. I grabbed two straws. Steering him to the table was no problem, but the double straw thing turned out to be harder than I thought.
“So what homework do you need help on?” he asked.
“Umm…I bet you’re thirsty…You’ve been working so hard,” I said.
“Not really,” he said. “I’m good. So what do you need help on?”
“Look—this iced hot chocolate is huge. Let’s share it. I insist,” I said.
“OK,” Nick said, giving me a weird look. “Wh
en are we getting to the homework?”
I tried looking up at him like Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, but when Nick went in for a sip, our heads bumped. Hard.
“Ow!” he said.
“Oops!” I must have turned as pink as my straw. “You go.” I offered.
He leaned down to his straw again. Now was my chance. I leaned forward and tried to brush his cheek with mine.
“Maeve,” said Nick. “Your hair’s in the hot chocolate. Why don’t you have the rest?”
Not exactly the romantic warmup I planned. Oh well. Never mind. I slid my chair to Nick’s side of the table and pulled out my favorite notebook—the one with the purple stripes and green zigzags.
“I need help with math,” I said, opening my notebook between us, nice and cozy. “Could you show me how to multiply the denominators on this one?”
Nick slid his chair an inch to the right. Hey! Where was he going?
“Sorry, I’m left-handed,” he explained. “I can’t write when you’re that close.”
“You’re a lefty!” I exclaimed, inching my chair an inch to the right. “Me too.” I made it sound like we were the same astrology sign.
The more Nick explained about denominators, the cuter he looked.
“Maeve, are you getting this?”
“Uh…sure,” I said. “You’re a huge help, Nick. And you know what? You’ve helped me so much that I think we can make the next showing of the movie at the Movie House. Did you know that my mom and dad own it? So, we—uh, I mean I—can go for free whenever we want.”
Whew! That was a lot to get out in one breath, but we were running out of time. Nick kept multiplying the stupid fractions. I started stuffing my notebook away.
“Plus the popcorn is great,” I added.
“Did you figure this problem out yet?” he said.
“Nooo…” I said in my most patient, understanding voice. “But you know Nick, I think maybe math can wait. But the thing about the movies is…they kind of start when they start. You know what I mean?”