by Jill Diamond
“No, no,” Pea interrupted. “She said the secret ingredient is honeysuckle berries, not honeysuckle nectar. Didn’t you tell us that you can eat honeysuckle nectar, but honeysuckle berries are—”
“POISONOUS!” Lou Lou shouted.
The crowd turned in their seats to look at her.
“What did I tell you about causing trouble, little girl?” Andy Argyle boomed at Lou Lou. But Lou Lou wasn’t paying attention to him. She was staring white-faced at Mayor Montoya, who clearly hadn’t heard Lou Lou and was lifting her caracol to her lips.
“YOU CAN’T EAT THAT!” Pea stood up and shouted even louder than Lou Lou. Pea never raised her voice except for something very important. Mayor Montoya’s hand froze in midair.
“Don’t listen to her! Take a bite!” Amanda shrieked. Mayor Montoya seemed unsure of what to do, and she moved the pastry toward her mouth again. Lou Lou regained her composure.
“NO!” she yelled. “HONEYSUCKLE BERRIES ARE POISONOUS!”
The mayor raised her eyebrows. Her mouth formed an O and her arm went rigid. Mayor Montoya dropped the caracol onto the stage and came to stand next to the Argyles at the microphone.
“Is this true?” Mayor Montoya asked.
“Yes!” Lou Lou heard Juan call from the far side of the crowd.
“I don’t understand,” Mayor Montoya said. “Why would Giles’s diary say the secret ingredient is honeysuckle berries if they’re poisonous?”
Both the vice-mayor and his daughter seemed to be at a complete loss for words. “I … uh … um,” Andy Argyle replied in a not-so-booming voice.
“Because the diary is a fake!” Pea cried.
“The Argyles forged the whole thing!” Jeremy shouted.
Principal Garcia stood up and looked at the vice-mayor, aghast. “So the girls were right about the diary the whole time?” he asked.
Pea squeezed Lou Lou’s arm hopefully.
“‘Fake’? ‘Forged’? ‘Right about the diary’?” Mayor Montoya asked. “What’s going on here?”
Principal Garcia quickly explained the situation.
“No, of course they weren’t right.” Andy Argyle glared at Lou Lou and Pea, then smiled unconvincingly at Principal Garcia and the mayor. “I’m sure Giles just made an error when he wrote down the recipe.”
“That’s not true!” Lou Lou yelled. “We know the real secret ingredient, and we’ve got a caracoles contestant to prove it!” Lou Lou didn’t have to signal Jeremy. He was already heading for the stage. He pulled his backup killer caracoles out of his messenger bag and handed a pastry to Mayor Montoya.
“But his are made with honeysuckle, too, so you can’t eat them either!” Amanda said. She looked at Jeremy. “Ha! Gotcha!”
“Honeysuckle nectar, not honeysuckle berries,” Jeremy said.
“The nectar is not poisonous,” Lou Lou called.
“¡Es verdad!” Juan confirmed. “In fact, it’s great in tea.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Pea said to Lou Lou. “We should try honeysuckle nectar in our PSPP tea!”
Mayor Montoya took a big bite of Jeremy’s caracol, then gobbled the whole thing down. “We have a winner!” she declared. “Muy muy delicioso and just like our dearly departed Señora Basa used to make at her panadería! How did you know to use the nectar?”
“It’s all thanks to Peacock Pearl, proud resident of El Corazón and direct descendant of Diego Soto,” Jeremy replied. “She gave me the real recipe!”
The crowd looked at Pea and she smiled.
“His caracoles might be good, but let’s not get carried away! I don’t see how a silly mistake and a lucky guess at the secret ingredient changes anything or proves that the diary is a fake!” Andy Argyle said angrily.
“Perhaps I could have a look at that?” Mayor Montoya took the diary from Amanda and flipped through the pages. “Hmm, I’ve seen Giles’s handwriting on the city charter and this is not it.”
Andy Argyle nervously twirled the end of his goatee. “Mayor Montoya, if I could just—”
“This certainly doesn’t look good, Mr. Vice-Mayor,” Mayor Montoya interrupted. “A fake diary, plus, Amanda almost poisoned me. That’s no way to kick off the Bonanza.” The mayor frowned. “Do you have any explanation for this?”
Before Andy Argyle could reply, a large delivery truck pulled up alongside the park and honked loudly. Lou Lou, Pea, and the rest of the crowd turned to look. On the side of the truck, in big orange letters, was written SAMMY’S GAZEBO DELIVERY. A man, presumably Sammy, leaned out of the driver’s-side window.
“Hey there, Vice-Mayor Argyle!” Sammy yelled. “I tried to deliver the gazebo to your backyard like you asked, but your gate was locked. I can try again tomorrow or you can give me a key.”
“Did he just say he tried to deliver the gazebo to your backyard?” Mayor Montoya asked in disbelief. Lou Lou’s ears turned a cherry color.
“Yes … well … um … you see…” Andy Argyle said.
Lou Lou thought about all the gazebo paraphernalia in the vice-mayor’s office. Clearly, he wanted the gazebo for himself! Then she suddenly remembered what they’d overheard at the Heliotrope. “Pea, the night of the Preview, Andy Argyle said something about the gazebo and a backyard!”
Pea nodded. “I know. We didn’t think much of it at the time but—”
Mayor Montoya’s voice cut off Pea. “Why would the gazebo be going in your backyard?”
“Yeah, por qué?” someone in the crowd yelled.
“The official city rules for the Bonanza say that Verde Valley can chose the location for the gazebo. We chose my—”
“¡No es verdad! Verde Valley didn’t choose your backyard. You did,” cried another audience member. “The gazebo is for the whole community to enjoy, not for just you! It should go in the park!”
“No! No! NO!” screamed Amanda. “The gazebo is for us because Daddy is a gazebo enthusiast! That’s why we moved the Bonanza to Verde Valley in the first place—so Daddy could have the gazebo. And so I could wear pretty hats so that people would like me! And to show you that stupid El Corazón isn’t as lovely as you think it is, even though you’re all so … nice!”
“Amanda, darling, please stop talking!” said Andy Argyle. But it was too late. The secret was out that the Argyles had planned to keep the beautiful gazebo all to themselves.
“Well, I never!” Mayor Montoya shouted. “This is outrageous, Vice-Mayor Argyle. I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were an honorable person. A bit odd and flashy, yes, but not unjust and devious. And you assured me that you could be a good leader, not just someone who shows up to ribbon cuttings and kisses babies at parades.”
“Joke’s on you! He’s devious AND he doesn’t even like babies!” shouted Amanda. Mayor Montoya ignored her.
“As of right now, you are hereby relieved of all duties as vice-mayor, Mr. Argyle,” said Mayor Montoya. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” It seemed that Andy Argyle had nothing to say because he’d taken Amanda by the elbow and was heading for his car.
It took a moment for everything to sink in, but then Lou Lou said, “We did it!”
“We proved that the diary is a fake!”
“Good riddance to the Argyles! Enemies of the universe.”
Lou Lou, Pea, and Kyle were all talking at once. Lou Lou could hardly believe it. Just when she thought all hope of exposing the Argyles was lost, everything had turned around. Lou Lou felt like cheering, but there was one more step to justice and victory.
“Mayor Montoya, does this mean the Bonanza belongs to El Corazón again?” Lou Lou asked.
“Without the diary, there’s nothing linking the celebration solely to Verde Valley, so the answer is yes,” the mayor answered.
“Great! So we can move the festivities back to—”
“Lou Lou,” Pea interrupted for the second time that morning. She eyed the crowd. “Maybe we should come up with a different plan.”
Lou Lou looked around at the faces of
the audience. Her El Corazón friends and neighbors were grinning. Juan waved, and Lou Lou’s dad gave her a sea captain’s salute. Danielle and her snooty-girl posse were already practicing their dance moves. But the people from Verde Valley looked crestfallen. Lou Lou remembered how it had felt to lose the Bonanza to Verde Valley. She imagined that the Verde Valley residents probably felt similarly now that El Corazón was set to reclaim the celebration at the very last minute.
Pea raised her hand. “I have an idea, Mayor Montoya. Since both neighborhoods have prepared for the Bonanza, what if El Corazón and Verde Valley share it?” A murmur went through the audience.
As usual, Lou Lou was impressed by Pea’s selflessness.
“We could have the Bonanza here in La Fuente Park, and El Corazón can pitch in for the celebration!” Lou Lou said. She thought of her honeysuckle in Limonero Park. Lou Lou wanted everyone to see her beautiful plants, and unsurprisingly Amanda hadn’t managed to grow any Verde Valley honeysuckle. But Juan could just bring over the extra potted honeysuckle from Green Thumb. Pea squeezed Lou Lou’s hand, and she felt a rush of pride at doing the right thing.
“¡Creo que es una solución genial!” Rosa said as she stood up.
“Me too!” Sarah was on her feet. It wasn’t long before the whole crowd was standing and shouting.
“Let’s do it!”
“¡Una idea maravillosa!”
“We can both host the Bonanza!”
“So what do you think, Mayor Montoya?” Thomas asked.
“I think that’s un plan fantástico,” replied the Mayor. “We will hold the Bonanza here in Verde Valley, and both neighborhoods will co-host the festivities.”
Pea clapped and Lou Lou let out a cheer. The rest of the audience followed suit. When the commotion died down, Jeremy said, “Well, now that that’s settled, let’s get back to my killer caracoles. You mentioned something about a winner.”
“That’s right,” said Mayor Montoya. “It’s you!” She handed Jeremy the shiny trophy. He grinned and raised it high above his head. Applause erupted in the crowd again, and Lou Lou and Pea were the loudest of all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Blue Beauty
Lou Lou and Pea felt exhilarated after the caracoles contest. But they didn’t have time for a happy dance or a celebratory cupcake because there were so many things to do. The contest ended at eleven-thirty, and the Bonanza celebration started that afternoon at four. That meant there were only a few hours for everyone to work together to make sure this was the best Bicentennial Bonanza celebration a city had ever seen!
La Fuente Park began to fill with even more people setting up for the festivities. Sarah hung Bonanza papel picado and balloons. Ella Divine practiced a duet with Ruby Sol, Verde Valley’s best-loved singer. Kyle was finally reunited with his beloved space goats, and he and Tommy worked together to be sure Jupiter didn’t eat his helmet.
The first thing Lou Lou and Pea did was look around for Mr. Vila to ask him about the return of the hats. But it appeared he’d left the park right after the caracoles contest.
“If the Argyles have your hats, how will we get them back?” Lou Lou asked. “I doubt they’ll show their faces at the Bonanza later.” Lou Lou and Pea had always assumed the hats would be returned with the Bonanza, but since Andy Argyle said he was personally keeping them until the celebration, they hadn’t really thought this through.
“I don’t know,” said Pea. “Mr. Vila is probably working on that now.” She smiled, but Lou Lou could tell she was concerned.
“I’m sure you’re right.” Lou Lou patted Pea’s arm and hoped this was true. After their hard work to reclaim the Bonanza, it would be terrible if Pea didn’t get her hats back.
Lou Lou’s parents drove Lou Lou and Pea back to El Corazón so they could get things ready for the celebration. The first stop was Green Thumb, where Lou Lou and Juan chose the finest potted honeysuckle to bring to La Fuente Park. Afterward, Lou Lou and Pea headed to Marvelous Millinery to look for Mr. Vila. As they were walking to the hat shop from the greenhouse, a tiny car pulled up beside them. The car’s unusual plum color and old-fashioned style made it recognizable anywhere.
“Mr. Vila!” Lou Lou and Pea exclaimed when the milliner rolled down the window and poked his head out.
“Greetings, Peacock. Hello there, Lou Lou. Lovely day day for a Bicentennial Bonanza, don’t you think? And aren’t we lucky that El Corazón gets to co-host?”
“Absolutely,” said Pea. “Mr. Vila, I wanted to ask—”
“The hats, Mr. Vila! Where are the hats?” Lou Lou blurted out.
“Never fear, Lou Lou. I have just come from La Fuente Park where I have left all the hats hats so that they are ready for the Bonanza.”
Pea’s eyes lit up. “¡Que buenas noticias! I was so worried we wouldn’t get them back from the Argyles!” she said.
“That wouldn’t be right, now, would it?” said Mr. Vila. “Vice-Mayor Argyle was keeping the hats in a closet at City Hall. Even Mayor Montoya didn’t have a key key but hatpins make excellent lock picks.” Mr. Vila winked.
“Wow!” Lou Lou was impressed with the hatter’s resourcefulness.
“I thought you might like to have this one right right away.” Mr. Vila lifted something from the passenger seat and passed it to Pea through the window. It was Abuela Josie’s lucky hat.
“Mr. Vila, you’re a hero!” Pea exclaimed.
“One one thing, though,” said Mr. Vila. “I couldn’t get back the hat you made for yourself, Peacock, as that dreadful girl is still wearing it. Which is why you need to come with me to the hat shop. Quick quick. We don’t have much time before the Bonanza.”
Lou Lou and Pea hopped into the backseat of Mr. Vila’s funny little car to drive the few blocks to Marvelous Millinery. On the way, Pea called Abuela Josie, who was thrilled to hear that her lucky hat had been returned. She was heading to the stables because she’d be performing her one-foot-drag, around-the-world combo after all.
Inside the hat shop, Mr. Vila said, “Wait wait right here. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” He disappeared into the workshop and reemerged a moment later holding a hatbox. On it was a gift tag that read For Peacock Pearl, the Best Best Milliner’s Apprentice That Ever There Was. Pea took the top off the box and lifted out a beautiful hat. It had a huge light blue straw brim and a royal blue feathered ribbon curlicue on the side. The top of the hat was embroidered with navy polka dots. It was elegant and eye-catching—perfect for Pea!
“Gorgeous!” Lou Lou gasped.
Pea was speechless. Finally she said, “Oh Mr. Vila, it’s truly extraordinario! Muchas gracias a million times over!” Pea put on the hat and looked in the mirror. “Christian Dior said, ‘Pale blue is one of the prettiest colors, and if you have blue eyes no color is more becoming.’”
“He was right!” Lou Lou replied. “Your hat needs a name, Pea. Mine’s Pride of Pinky, so what should yours be?”
Pea closed her eyes and thought for a second. “I’ll call it Blue Beauty,” she said.
“Perfect!” replied Lou Lou. “Bicentennial Bonanza, here come Lou Lou and Pea!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
¡Gracias por el Mirador!
By four o’clock that afternoon, a giant crowd had filled La Fuente Park for the main Bonanza events: the performances and citywide celebration. Not only were there participants and spectators from both El Corazón and Verde Valley, but also from the other neighborhoods in the city. The park looked amazing. Sarah’s decorations were complemented by Jane Bombay’s origami birthday cakes. There were colorful paintings showing streets, festivals, and landmarks, as well as the photographs from the City Archives and the painting of Diego and his horse, which Pea had brought for the occasion. Rosa’s Celebrar candles were everywhere, waiting to be lit once the sun set. Lou Lou and Pea helped Juan place the honey-suckle plants around the edges of the park. Mayor Montoya joined them as Lou Lou was pruning one of the bushes.
“¡Su madreselva es muy b
onita!” Mayor Montoya said.
Lou Lou recognized the words honeysuckle and pretty and grinned. “¡Gracias!” she replied.
“I can’t thank you both enough for warning me about the honeysuckle berries and figuring out the diary was a fake,” Mayor Montoya said to Lou Lou and Pea. “I promise to find a way to honor you for helping our city root out injustice. Les debo mucho.”
Lou Lou’s ears went pink with excitement, and when the mayor was gone, she elbowed Pea. “Did you hear that? She’ll find a way to honor us!” The day just kept getting better.
When they’d finished with the honeysuckle, Lou Lou, Pea, and Mr. Vila gave out hats to the Bonanza participants. Lou Lou and Pea knew the hats were beautiful, but they were an even bigger hit with the crowd than they’d imagined.
“Ooh!” said a group of people when Pea handed out the hats representing the different city neighborhoods.
“Ah!” Another group marveled at the exact replica of Giles’s jaunty cap. There weren’t enough hats to go around, but everyone happily took turns wearing one of Mr. Vila and Pea’s gorgeous creations.
The Bonanza performances kicked off with a song from Ella Divine and Ruby Sol. Lou Lou and Pea sat on the grass on Pea’s checkered blanket to watch. Next up was Abuela Josie performing her famous stunt. Pea’s abuela came into the park with her horse at a full gallop, wearing her lucky vaquera hat. Pea knit her fingers together and watched intently.
“I hope she pulls it off!” Lou Lou said. She and Pea were both nervous for Abuela Josie since it had been so long since she’d done her one-foot-drag, around-the-world combo.
“I’m so happy she has her lucky hat to help her,” replied Pea.
Everyone held their breath as Abuela Josie prepared for her stunt. She swung quickly from the saddle into the one-foot-drag. But before she did the around-the-world part, she reached into a saddlebag and pulled out her new red hat. Abuela Josie tossed her lucky hat at Pea, who caught it with ease, then Abuela Josie put her red one on for the second part of the stunt. She performed the rest perfectly, even managing to add in the belly flip.