And that is how Mimi suddenly knew what the perfect room decoration should be: white walls with big round circles in all the colors of the rainbow.
WHAT WE WERE RIGHT ABOUT
After breakfast Mimi and I walked Lily home. Sammy was standing at Mrs. Luther's house. As soon as Lily saw him she said, "Guess what? Guess what Mimi's getting?" Lily was not even a little bit of a secret keeper.
WHAT WAS A SURPRISE TIMES THREE
Lily was waiting for Sammy to make a guess but he wasn't saying anything so she gave him a hint. "It's something super cute and fun!" Sammy looked nervous. "Give up?" asked Lily. She didn't wait for him to answer. "A sister! Mimi's getting a little sister. And I'm helping her learn all about little girls." Sammy looked relieved. "Wow, that's great. I thought you were going to say a cat." How Sammy could forget that Mimi was allergic to cats is another of those big Sammy mysteries.
And then without even asking a question about it or anything more, Sammy said, "Okay. Are you ready to look for rocks?" "You bet!" said Lily. "Bye, Grace. Bye, Mimi. I have to go. I'm getting a rock collection."
Mimi and I both looked at each other with our mouths open, because that is what you have to do when you are fully surprised.
And then Mimi said something that was perfect, because sometimes if your world is full of changes, it's nice to do something regular and familiar.
We walked to Mimi's without saying a word, but even though my mouth was quiet, my brain was doing lots of thinking. It was thinking about Sammy and Lily knowing each other, Sammy and Lily liking each other, and Lily finally liking Mimi. Then when I turned around for one last look, it started thinking something new.
And for the first time ever I thought, Mimi's new sister is probably going to be a lot of fun for me too. This was a good thought to have, because as soon as we walked into Mimi's house Mimi's mom came over and gave us both a big hug. "Good news!" she said. "We passed the parent test! Now all we have is the house test." "Oh my gosh!" said Mimi. "I've got to clean my room!" She was right. Her room was a disaster again, and even though my stomach wanted the banana bread, I made my brain win. Mimi needed my help, and sometimes there are things more important than food.
Just Grace and the Terrible Tutu Page 6