Mavis jerked her head in the direction of the highway. “Landry Elementary.”
“But I don’t go to that school.”
Disappointment crashed down on top of Mavis so hard she nearly fell right off the window seat. “You don’t?” she said, even though in her heart she had known that all along.
Rose shook her head. Then she explained that she went to a school called Grove Road Academy in the next town over. A lot of kids in Magnolia Estates went there.
“Oh,” Mavis said in a voice so tiny she hardly recognized it as her own.
Rose rested her chin on her knees and stared glumly out the window.
“What’s that?” Mavis said, pointing to something on the windowsill next to Rose.
“A silver dollar.”
Rose told Mavis how Grace had found it on the beach, and it was special.
“She gave it to me when she left for college,” Rose said, putting the coin in the palm of her hand and drawing little circles on it with her finger.
Then Rose told Mavis about Mr. Duffy’s new job. How he would be helping to find homes for the greyhounds at Wonderland because it was closing.
“Why’s it closing?” Mavis asked.
“I guess people don’t go to the racetrack as much anymore. And the dogs need to have better lives instead of just racing all the time.”
“I know you’re going to miss Mr. Duffy,” Mavis said. “I will, too.”
Rose nodded. “And I’m going to miss you.”
“You are?”
Rose nodded again.
Mavis felt a little tingle inside. She was pretty sure no one had ever missed her before. When she’d moved away from all those places, had anybody ever said, “Whatever happened to that girl Mavis? I sure do miss her.”
Probably not.
But here was Rose, a real best friend, who was going to miss her when she moved out of the little apartment over the garage.
Then Mavis said something she had never said before. “I’m going to miss you, too.”
HENRY
Each day, as soon as the sun came up, Henry and Mr. Duffy headed down to the lake. They strolled through the dewy grass, listening to the birds chirping their good-morning songs and watching the turtles in the lake climb onto logs to bathe in the warm sun.
Sometimes Mr. Duffy threw a stick for Henry to fetch or pointed out a rabbit for him to chase. His hip still hurt him occasionally, but not nearly as much as it had when he was racing.
After breakfast, they were off to the little gatehouse at Magnolia Estates.
The beginning of a new day.
But then one day, something bad happened.
Something that made Henry’s heart race.
Instead of driving to Magnolia Estates, Mr. Duffy drove to Wonderland.
What was going on?
Why was Mr. Duffy taking him to Wonderland?
When Henry saw Roger come out to the truck to greet them, he began to shake.
When Mr. Duffy opened the door of the truck and motioned for Henry to follow him into the cinder-block building with dogs howling in their kennels, Henry tucked his tail between his legs and hung his head.
But when they got inside, Mr. Duffy and Roger talked a while, and then Mr. Duffy took an old blanket out of his truck and made a bed for Henry beside a desk.
All morning long, Mr. Duffy looked at papers and talked on the phone. Henry stayed on the blanket, wondering what was going on. Was Mr. Duffy going to leave him here? Just the thought of it made Henry’s heart ache.
But then, at the end of the day, when Mr. Duffy motioned for him to get back in the truck, Henry’s heart soared.
Mr. Duffy wasn’t leaving him at Wonderland after all!
They drove back to the little trailer by the lake, and Henry chased bees and romped in the weeds while Mr. Duffy fished.
Then the two of them had liverwurst on white bread for supper while sitting on the couch in the glow of the television.
When the sun went down and the moon came up, the crickets chirped and the fireflies flickered down by the lake.
And Mr. Duffy and Henry went to bed.
MAVIS
Once again, Mavis found herself whispering goodbye.
Goodbye to the little apartment over the garage.
Goodbye to Pete and Larry.
Goodbye to Magnolia Estates.
Rose and Mavis sat in the back seat of the Tullys’ shiny black car on their way to the bus stop, staring glumly out the window.
Summer was over.
School would be starting in a few days.
Mr. Duffy was gone.
And now Rose and Mavis wouldn’t be together every day.
Up front, Mrs. Tully sat ramrod straight and gripped the steering wheel while Miss Jeeter complained.
The humidity was ruining her hair.
She had lost her reading glasses again.
Why in the world did cable TV cost so much?
On and on.
As if anyone cared, Mavis thought, glaring at the back of her mother’s head.
She was going to hate Garden View Apartments, and she was going to make sure her mother knew it.
She glanced over at Rose, who stared out the window, looking small and pitiful.
When they got to the bus stop, Mavis slammed the car door extra hard, ignoring her mother’s look of disapproval.
Rose helped Mavis get the overstuffed duffel bag out of the trunk, and then they looked at each other with sad eyes and droopy shoulders and did their special handshake in gloomy silence.
Slapping, snapping, and fist-bumping.
Miss Jeeter got out of the car, wiggled her fingers at Mrs. Tully, and said, “Toodle-oo,” before settling on the bus stop bench with her duct-taped suitcase.
When the bus rumbled into sight, Rose handed Mavis a small white box tied with purple ribbon and quickly climbed into the front seat of the car beside her mother.
As the Tullys’ car pulled away, Mavis opened the box. Nestled inside, on a bed of tissue paper, was Grace’s silver dollar.
Mavis watched the car disappear around the corner and thought about that day when Mr. Duffy had talked about vines and taters and told Edna to keep the coffee warm. She remembered how jealous she had been of Rose and Mr. Duffy being such good friends. But now Rose had given her this silver dollar that meant so much to her. Maybe she, Mavis Jeeter, had finally learned how to be a good best friend.
* * *
Mavis tried her hardest to hate their new apartment, but, actually, it was kind of nice.
It had a microwave and a dishwasher.
She had her own room.
And there was a soda machine down by the laundry room.
Mavis also tried to stay mad at her mother, but it was getting harder every day.
Her mother liked her new job at Clyde Waterman’s insurance agency.
She worked from seven to three, so she was home for Mavis after school.
She had a big desk with a fancy computer and a view of the parking lot.
Mr. Waterman loved the way she was so friendly with folks on the phone.
There were some other women who worked there who invited her out to lunch.
And the only thing she ever complained about lately was the bathroom faucet in their new apartment, which dripped all night and kept her awake.
Then one evening, her mother propped her bare feet on the railing of the balcony and said, “I think this might be it, May May. I think Landry, Alabama, is where we’ll stay.”
Mavis had heard that before, so she pretended to be interested in a caterpillar inching along the top of the railing.
“I love this job,” her mother said.
Well, that was a first. Her mother had never said that before.
“And they’re sending me to school,” her mother went on.
Mavis kept watching that caterpillar and said, “What for?”
“To learn about insurance!” her mother said in a voice so excited you would’ve thou
ght she’d said they were flying her to Paris to go shopping. “And after that,” she added, “I’ll get to do more than just answer the phone. So I’m pretty sure I’ll make more money.”
Her mother took her feet off the railing and said, “And guess what else?”
Mavis waited.
“I bought a car!” her mother squealed.
Mavis jumped up. “Really?”
“Really.”
Mavis could hardly believe this stroke of good luck. “Will you take me and Rose to visit Mr. Duffy at Wonderland?”
“Sure I will, May May.”
Mavis sat back down and smiled out at the kids playing in the courtyard below. Her mother had never even liked her job before, much less loved it. She had never gone to school before. And she had definitely never bought a car. This seemed like a good sign.
Maybe things were going to work out in Landry after all.
ROSE
At first, when Mavis had called to tell her about her mother’s new car, Rose had been excited. Miss Jeeter had offered to drive them to Wonderland to visit Mr. Duffy. But Rose was pretty sure her mother would never let her go. She hadn’t told Mavis that, of course. Mavis would tell her not to worry.
Mavis would say, “Trust me.”
But still, Rose worried.
When her mother called her to supper, Rose clomped heavily down the stairs, across the marble foyer, and into the dining room.
“The new gatekeeper starts Monday,” her mother said.
Her father said, “That’s good,” and concentrated on the roasted brussels sprouts.
Her mother made a sour face. “I’m so glad that crazy Mr. Duffy is gone, and we don’t have to be embarrassed to have guests over anymore.”
When Rose heard that, a funny thing happened.
First she felt sad.
Then she felt mad.
And then she felt brave.
She sat up very straight, put her hands in her lap, and said, “Miss Jeeter got a car. She’s going to take Mavis and me to Wonderland to visit Mr. Duffy.”
There!
She had said it!
Her bravery settled over her, making her lift her chin a little and set a smile on her face.
A small smile, but still …
Her mother looked at her as if she had just spoken Greek. Then she looked at Rose’s father, whose mouth was turned up in the tiniest trace of a smile.
Then she turned back to Rose and said, “Are you out of your mind?”
“No, ma’am.”
Her mother said, “Absolutely not,” but her father said, “I don’t see what’s so wrong with it, Cora.” He stabbed a piece of leg of lamb off the platter in front of him and turned to Rose. “Maybe I can drive you to Mavis’s after work some time.”
Her mother folded her arms and sat back in her chair, tight-lipped and red-faced.
And then Rose’s bravery began to grow, making her feel as if it would lift her right up out of her chair and spin her around the chandelier and carry her out of the French doors and into the yard, where she would hover over the potted ferns like a hummingbird. Wouldn’t Monroe Tucker be surprised?
With all that bravery spinning around her, Rose explained to her mother that she didn’t want to have to do things with Amanda Simm anymore. She told her how Amanda liked going to the mall and talking about lip gloss, but she didn’t. She told her that Amanda said mean things sometimes, especially when she was with other girls, but Mavis never did.
“Grace thinks I’m lucky to have a friend like Mavis,” Rose said.
Her father nodded. “I agree.”
* * *
“I know it’s not a new new car,” Miss Jeeter said as she drove Rose and Mavis to Wonderland, “but it’s new to me.” She had hung a pair of Mavis’s baby booties from the rearview mirror and taped a plastic flower to the radio antenna so she could find the car in the parking lot at the grocery store.
When they got to Wonderland, Mr. Duffy greeted them with, “What’s shakin’, bacon?”
“Let’s play gin rummy,” Mavis said, shuffling the cards on Mr. Duffy’s desk in the cinder-block building.
Rose and Mavis and Mr. Duffy played cards all afternoon, interrupted every now and then by someone calling about adopting a dog. Henry lay curled up on his blanket bed beside the desk, making little yipping noises as he dreamed a doggie dream.
Suddenly the door opened, and a man with two noisy kids stepped inside. While the kids ran from kennel to kennel, making the dogs bark, the man explained that they were looking for a dog.
“It has to be one that’s good with kids,” the man said. “And won’t chase cats.”
Mr. Duffy introduced them to one dog after another.
Chuckie.
Caroline.
Gabe.
Pippin.
Henry got up from his blanket bed and went over to greet the kids, wagging his tail and letting them rub his ears.
“What about that one?” the man said, nodding toward Henry.
Mavis looked at Rose and Rose looked at Mavis and they both looked at Mr. Duffy, who said, “That one’s mine.”
Bingo!
Their plan had worked!
Mr. Duffy had fallen in love with Henry.
Rose and Mavis slapped and snapped and fist-bumped.
* * *
At the end of the day, Miss Jeeter drove Rose back to Magnolia Estates with that plastic flower flapping in the breeze. When they got to the gate and the new gatekeeper slid the little window open, Miss Jeeter said, “Luanne Jeeter here to see Cora Tully.” Then she turned and winked at Rose.
When they drove by the Simms’ house, Amanda was sitting on her porch with some other girls. Rose felt confidence float in through the open car window and settle on her shoulders. Here she was, Rose Tully, sitting beside her best friend, not worrying one bit about those girls.
She waved at them.
Amanda waved back.
Some of the other girls waved, as well.
When Miss Jeeter turned into the Tullys’ winding driveway, she honked the horn at Monroe Tucker, who was trimming the azaleas. Then she waved to Mrs. Tully and some ladies drinking tea on the screened porch. Rose and Mavis leaned out the window of the car and hollered, “Yoo-hoo!” Then they collapsed on the back seat, giggling hysterically.
When Miss Jeeter stopped the car in front of Pete and Larry, Rose said goodbye and dashed upstairs to her bedroom.
She sat on the canopy bed and thought about the very first day that Mavis had been here, inspecting Rose’s things and saying “holy cannoli.”
She remembered how she had been worried that Mavis might think having a doll bed in her room was babyish, but Mavis hadn’t.
Then Rose walked over to the dresser and looked at herself in the mirror.
The Rose looking back at her was a different Rose from the one who had been here that day.
Rose smiled and whispered hello to this new Rose.
The brave Rose who didn’t have that tornado of worry spinning around her nearly every minute of the day.
The Rose who had a best friend.
The Rose who went to Wonderland with Mavis.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With heartfelt thanks:
To my editor, Janine O’Malley, for loving Rose and Mavis from the get-go;
To the rest of my FSG team, for their hard work and much-appreciated contributions: Melissa Warten, Aimee Fleck, Jen Bricking, Jennifer Sale, Melissa Zar, and Kelsey Marrujo;
To my agent, Barbara Markowitz, and her husband, Harvey, for everything;
To Michele Kophs, my event coordinator, for keeping me organized and sane;
To my husband, Willy, for never complaining about eating leftovers;
To my son, Grady, just because;
To my Asheville writers group, The Secret Gardeners, for being kindred spirits and dear friends;
To my sister, Linda, for traveling this rocky road of life with me;
To my niece, mean ole Amanda
Simm, for being my Asheville family;
To Monika Schroeder, for being my grumpy companion in the balcony;
And to all the parents, teachers, and librarians who connect young readers with books.
It really does take a village.
Thank you all.
Also by Barbara O’Connor
Beethoven in Paradise
Me and Rupert Goody
Moonpie and Ivy
Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia
Taking Care of Moses
How to Steal a Dog
Greetings from Nowhere
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester
On the Road to Mr. Mineo’s
Wish
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barbara O’Connor is the author of numerous acclaimed books for children, including Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia, How to Steal a Dog, The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, and The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. She has been awarded the Parents’ Choice Gold and Silver Awards, the Massachusetts Book Award, the Kansas William Allen White Award, the South Carolina Children’s Book Award, the Indiana Young Hoosier Award, the South Dakota Children’s Book Award, and the Dolly Gray Award, among many honors. As a child, she loved dogs, salamanders, tap dancing, school, and even homework. Her favorite days were when the bookmobile came to town. She was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and now lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a historic seaside village not far from Plymouth Rock. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Mavis
Rose
Mavis
Rose
Wonderland Page 13