Just then Julia called. She never called, only texted, so I answered right away.
“Charlotte! We’ve got an emergency at the museum. Can you meet me there?”
“What’s going on?”
“Gloria just called. A pipe burst in the back room. There’s water all over. I’m on my way. Can you meet me now? Like right now?”
This wasn’t my emergency. It wasn’t Julia’s emergency, either, but I hadn’t told her yet about Gloria and Teresa and their budget problem.
“Charlotte?”
“I suppose.” I huffed. “See you in a few.”
I ended the call and rolled my eyes at Rose. “Emergency at the museum. You might as well come with.”
After she paid the bill, we bundled up and crossed the highway. Rose tugged on my jacket. “What are you going to do?”
“Get in and out as fast as I can. Expect me to develop a headache.”
“Should I get a headache, too?”
“Good idea.”
“Wouldn’t it be less suspicious if you got a headache and I got a stomachache?”
“Doesn’t matter. After what they’ve done, I don’t even care if they believe us.”
I thought about how I’d felt when they’d said I was brilliant, how that feeling had kept me happily afloat for months. That feeling was a big, ugly lie. By the time we opened the museum door, my stomach was in knots. I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself.
Julia came in behind us. “Hi guys. Where are Gloria and Teresa?”
“Five bucks says they’re in the break room drinking coffee.”
We went to the break room to hang up our gear, and, sure enough, those two gray-haired liars were sitting at the table sipping coffee. Some emergency.
“Hello, girls,” Gloria said. “Cold enough for ya?”
“Definitely.” Julia hung up her coat.
“And Rose came to help, too. What a sweetie.” Teresa said the words so nicely it was almost like she believed them.
Rose looked at me and cleared her throat. “Yes, even though my stomach hurts very badly.”
Julia was all business. “So what happened?”
“Thankfully the damage is all in the back room,” Gloria said. “Everything back there we can replace—supplies for the bathroom, merchandise for the gift shop, and whatnot.”
“Imagine if it had damaged the artifacts.” Teresa put her hand on her heart.
“Imagine!” Gloria nodded.
They didn’t care about Rose and her stomachache, obviously.
“What kind of merchandise?” Julia asked.
“We’ve got books, cookbooks, aprons, T-shirts, mugs, postcards … some of it we can salvage. That’s what I need you girls to do. Open all the boxes and sort what we’ll need to toss and what we can clean up and sell in the shop.”
“Insurance should cover the price of the lost merchandise,” Teresa said.
“Good,” I said. “It’d be awful if you had to use the money you owe Julia to pay for that.”
I thought being a smart-mouth would burn off my anger, but it didn’t. I felt even angrier. Gloria acted like she didn’t hear me. Teresa said, “Anyhoo, we should get busy. Lots to do.”
“I brought a special vacuum from home that sucks water.” Gloria leaned against the counter. Apparently she planned to relax while we did all the work. “The carpet in the hallway is soaked. I’ll show you how to use it.”
I pressed my lips together to hold back my temper. It was Saturday. We weren’t even scheduled to work. Julia said, “Basically we need to get rid of the water in the carpets and sort through the boxes for the gift shop. Is that right?”
“That’s right,” Teresa said. “There’s water on the bathroom floor, too. Charlotte, I’ll get you a mop.”
Have you ever thought something in your head, and somehow the words slip out of your mouth?
Words you know should never be uttered?
That’s what happened. I thought, “And what the heck are you going to do? Drink coffee?” And then I said it.
Rose gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Excuse me?” Gloria said.
“I’ll be using the second vacuum,” Teresa said. “Young lady, maybe it’s okay to be rude to adults where you came from, but around here children respect their elders. Maybe your mother allows—”
“Don’t blame my mom. Don’t even talk about my mom.”
“That’s what happens when fathers aren’t involved,” Teresa said to Gloria. “Kids get no discipline, and they fall apart.”
Julia’s face went as red as mine felt, but she didn’t say anything. Rose stood as frozen as Mount Rushmore. Even if I apologized, it wouldn’t matter. My outburst would be all over town by morning. I pictured Gloria serving up chicken strips and gossip at the Prairie Diner, where kids eat free on Wednesdays, telling everyone I’d been a rude brat and it was my mom’s fault. Why’d I ever think people in this town, especially these ladies, were nice?
“Sad state of affairs,” Gloria said.
“You’re cheaters! I hate this town, and I hate this museum!” I grabbed my coat and ran toward the door. “Come on, Rose!”
As I stepped outside, Rose at my heels, I turned and yelled one last thing into the building. “And yes, it’s definitely cold enough for me!”
I ran as fast as heavy snow boots would carry me, past the fake sod house, past the replica church, toward the park. I hit a patch of ice, and my legs flew out from under me, and I landed on my back. It hurt, and I was glad. I had an excuse to cry.
* * *
It started snowing as soon as we got home. The radio said it wasn’t going to be a heavy snowfall, but the winds were going to pick up and make driving difficult. Basically, it was a stupid typical winter day on the Minnesota prairie.
Rose made hot chocolate and turned on The Hunger Games. The movie had just ended when there was a knock on the basement door. We yelled, “Come in,” and Julia came downstairs. I didn’t feel like talking about the museum, but Julia needed to know the truth. When the story about my rudeness spread through town, I wanted people to at least know I had a reason—a good reason.
“What the heck happened back there?” Julia threw her arms in the air. “That was the most awkward thing ever, and I was stuck alone! Don’t think I didn’t want to run out behind you.”
She looked mad, and I didn’t blame her.
“You need to know the whole story,” I said.
“My dad is going to be here any minute. I have to hang out with him tonight.”
Our phone buzzed with a text. Rose said, “Mom says the roads are too bad to drive home. Mia is arranging for them to stay with her family.”
“Ugh.” I dropped to the couch in a heap. “The prairie hates us.”
“Tell me quick,” Julia said. “What happened?”
Rose said, “Charlotte was eavesdropping and—”
“Was not!” I said. “I accidentally overheard. There’s a difference.”
“Just hurry up,” Julia said.
“I overheard Teresa and Gloria talking about a budget problem, and they said they wouldn’t be able to pay you, and that our work wasn’t good anyway.”
“Are you serious?”
“That’s what they said. I slipped away and waited for you. Then I said I had a headache and went home, because I didn’t know what to do or say. So when I got there this morning, I was really mad, and then they were—”
“Bossing us around!” Julia said.
“And being totally lazy themselves,” Rose said.
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“No wonder you were mad.” Julia crossed her arms. “When they said that stuff about single moms, I wanted to yell at them myself.”
“We happen to have the greatest mom ever! Let’s tell that to the gizzard ladies!” Rose said. “What happened after we left?”
“Gloria said Mrs. Newman got to help choose the winners of the essay contest. Gloria said your essay was ter
rible, but apparently Mrs. Newman said you’re a deep thinker with a strong vocabulary. Something about knowing the difference between literally and … what’s the word?”
“Figuratively.”
“Gloria said your essay was disrespectful to Laura. I guess Mrs. Newman said it was original and that you had great potential. Then Gloria said Mrs. Newman tricked her by saying she had an opportunity to turn you into a Laura fan.”
Wow. Was anyone a better schemer than Mrs. Newman?
“So now what?” Rose said. “Julia, are you going to ask about getting paid?”
“Maybe I should wait for them to say something.”
“Or should we talk to Mom and Mia?” Rose asked.
“They’re just going to get upset,” Julia said.
“But they’ll make them pay you,” Rose said.
“I don’t want Charlotte to get in trouble for eavesdropping. I think we should wait for them to tell me I’m not getting paid. Then we can tell my grandmother and your mom.”
As Julia and Rose debated a plan, I thought about Freddy. He was the one I talked to about stuff like this. Not Julia. Not Rose. I felt lonely. Without thinking, out of instinct, I said, “Maybe we should ask Freddy what he thinks.”
Julia reached into her pocket for her phone. “Guys, I have to go. Grandma’s texting me about Dad. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Rose flopped onto the couch and crossed her arms as Julia headed upstairs. “That was a stupid thing to say.”
“What?”
“About Freddy. He wasn’t even there.”
“Duh. But he might have an idea. That’s all. There’s no reason to make Mom stress out over this. She’s already stressed out.”
“Whatever,” Rose grumbled. She pointed the remote at the TV and started the next Hunger Games movie.
While the movie played, I decided to do my homework. Mom was going to hear about my explosion at the museum. At least I better be able to show her I’d done my work. It was easy stuff, anyway. The worksheet for language arts was called “context clues.” We had to figure out the meaning of underlined words in a sentence, which was pretty easy. I’d scribbled in most of the answers when the pen snapped and ink leaked on my fingers. I threw the pen away and got a pencil.
“Rose, you should do your late assignments. Let’s not spend another weekend thinking positive affirmations and redirecting energy.”
She didn’t laugh. She didn’t get my sense of humor at all.
I really missed Freddy, you know?
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
When Mom and Freddy returned Sunday afternoon, Mom was frazzled. Normally the trip from Minneapolis to Walnut Grove took about three hours, but icy roads required slow speeds.
“We saw a dozen cars in the ditch between the city and here,” Freddy said. “No joke.”
Mom flopped onto the couch. “Please make me a cup of lemon tea. My whole body aches. My hands were glued to the steering wheel. My arms were tense. My back was tense. My shoulders were tense.” Freddy warmed a cup of water in the microwave while Mom wrapped a blanket around herself. “I kept wondering how many pioneers died in the winter. They had no weather forecasts. They didn’t have expensive winter gear to protect them from the cold. There was no way to call for help.”
“People died in blizzards even when they were near their homes. They got lost going from the house to the barn,” I said. “I read about it in those articles about pioneer life.”
Freddy put a tea bag in the cup and handed it to Mom. She pulled a blanket over her lap and leaned her head back. “How was your Saturday?”
I said, “Let’s just say there weren’t a lot of positive affirmations.”
“Oh boy,” Mom said. “You’ll have to fill me in.”
“I’m starving,” Freddy said. “Can I make a pizza?”
Rose handed Freddy his coat. “Forget the pizza. I took Charlotte out for lunch yesterday. It’s your turn for a treat. We can have some Rose-and-Freddy time.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Come on! We’ve never gone to the diner just the two of us. We can split a chicken strip basket and then get dessert.”
Freddy was going to refuse, but Mom’s face made it clear he was going. “Such a generous offer. I am sure Freddy will accept graciously. Then Charlotte can tell me about the weekend.”
Freddy wasn’t thrilled, because he sort of huffed and puffed, but he put on his coat and they headed to the diner. Freddy and I used to roll our eyes when we were stuck with Rose, but she’d changed. Over the past few months, she spent a lot more time at home, so we’d been together constantly. I thought Rose had become less annoying. Maybe I was getting used to her. When I was little, I hated spaghetti, but it was on the weekly lunch rotation at every school we attended. Slowly I got a taste for it. Then I shocked Mom by ordering it at a restaurant.
But the opposite happened, too. Once I ate so many Twinkies I got sick. I never ate another Twinkie.
Was Rose spaghetti and Freddy a Twinkie?
I sat on the couch next to Mom. “Why didn’t you tell us Rey and his wife are having a baby?”
Mom’s face went white. “I had no idea! He told Rose?”
“Yes.”
“We have a deal. He lets me know news first so I’m prepared to help Rose. What is going on with him? It’s like he’s so caught up in this woman he’s forgetting his daughter.”
I leaned against Mom’s shoulder. She smelled like lemon tea and lavender oil. “Freddy’s spreading bad energy, too. He’s been weird. He’s been mean, like not accepting Rose’s invitation to lunch.”
“Try to think of it this way: you and Freddy aren’t growing apart, you’re just growing up. You and Freddy were so close that it kept you from interacting with the world. It’s good that you’re starting to let other people in.”
“I liked it the way it was.”
“You can’t stop change, so you might as well see the beauty in it.”
“Will you please stop saying things like that?”
“It’s my worldview.” She smiled. “My children are butterflies. Freddy is leaving the cocoon. Now it’s your turn.”
Someone knocked on the door. Before Mom had a chance to yell, “Come in,” feet came down the stairs. Right away I could tell it was Mia because she always wore fuzzy blue slippers.
Then I saw her face. Her eyes were serious, almost panicked. “Martha, someone is here to talk to you.”
A second set of legs appeared. It was a police officer. Mom tossed the blanket aside and jumped up. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Are you Martha Lake?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Officer Jeremy Otto. I’d like to ask your daughter a few questions.”
My heartbeat went from normal to nuclear in one second. Mom crossed her arms. “Why on earth do you want to talk to Charlotte?”
The cop stared at me. “The Ingalls museum was vandalized. I’d like to know where your daughter was late last night.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY
I had to remind myself to take a breath, but Mom responded without a beat. “She was here in her bed!”
“Are you certain? Mrs. Ramos said you were away last night.”
Mia said, “Now wait a minute, I had no idea something happened and—”
“What makes you think my daughter would do such a thing? She works at the museum, for goodness’ sake.”
The cop pulled a small notebook and pen from his pocket. “Apparently there was quite a dustup between her and the volunteers yesterday. I need to talk to potential suspects.”
“My daughter is not a suspect!”
“It’s true my mom was gone, but I never left the house last night.” I tried to sound firm and confident, but my voice shook.
Mia put her arm around me. “Charlotte is a wonderful girl. I wouldn’t let her live in my house if I didn’t trust her completely.” I looked up at Mia. I had no idea she felt so strongly about
me. I loved Mia so much at that moment.
But the cop was unmoved by Mia’s declaration. “Charlotte, what happened after you left the museum?”
“I came home and watched movies with my sister. Julia came downstairs and talked to us. And we went to bed about ten. That’s it.”
Mom said, “If Charlotte had left the house, Mia and Miguel would’ve heard her.”
“I think a person could walk up those steps and through the garage without people on the main floor hearing, especially at night,” he said.
“I have excellent ears!” Mia said.
He ignored Mia and stared into my eyes, like he was trying to read my thoughts. “Charlotte, why did you yell at Gloria Johnson and Teresa Meadows?”
I swallowed hard. “Because they said my project was bad, and they said mean things about my mom.”
“They didn’t tell me that.”
“See?” Mom said. “They’re leaving out information.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That certainly would give you a motive.”
I was scared. I’d seen plenty of movies. When cops used the word motive, they were hauling someone to jail. He pointed to my hand. “What’s that on your fingers?” I looked at the blotches of faded black ink, and before I could answer, he said, “Spray paint?”
“Ink! It’s from a pen.”
“The vandal used black spray paint.” He said it like he’d just made the final guess in Clue. Charlotte Lake in the Ingalls Museum with the spray paint.
“But this is pen ink! I swear!”
“What size boots do you wear?”
“Leave right now.” Mom marched toward him, completely unafraid. “Immediately. You cannot barge in here and accuse my child of crazy things.”
The cop tucked the notebook into his pocket. “I’ll give you folks some time to calm down. I’m writing a report. I’ve made note of the paint residue on her fingers and that she was unsupervised.”
“Leave!” Mom shouted. Officer Otto gave the door a hard slam on his way out.
Mia put her arms around Mom. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
Mom hugged Mia, then came to me and put her hands on my shoulders. Mom looked into my eyes. “I will only ask you one time. Just once. Charlotte, did you do this thing?”
Laura Ingalls Is Ruining My Life Page 13