Cute as a Button

by Chloe Taylor

  Kate and Zoey laughed.

  “You’re right,” Zoey said. “That is perfect for you!”

  She stared at the box of beads.

  “Now the question is . . . which one is perfect for me?”

  One color after the other seemed to call to Zoey, each for its own reason. It was impossible to choose.

  “How about this one?” Kate suggested, picking up a twinkly, silvery bead. “Because it’s kind of starry, and you’re becoming a fashion star.”

  “And you’re going to be an even bigger one someday,” Priti said.

  Suddenly, the twinkly, silvery bead seemed like the absolutely perfect one for Zoey.

  “That’s it!” she said. “Now we have to work out a pattern.”

  They each laid out the pattern of beads on a tray and then got to work making the bracelets.

  “So how’s the dog clothing project coming along?” Kate asked. “Do you know when it will be ready?”

  “Hopefully in the next two weeks,” Zoey said. “Marcus is making me a video for the campaign page. He filmed it the other day, and he’s going to edit it for me.”

  “That’s so nice,” Priti said. “I can’t imagine Tara or Sashi doing that for me. Tara’s always studying and Sashi’s always practicing.”

  “It is really nice of him,” Zoey said. “I have to admit, when it comes to brothers, Marcus rates pretty high.”

  “What else do you have to do after the video is done?” Kate asked.

  “Wait till Aunt Lulu gets back to help me work out the business plan,” Zoey said. “Dad can help me, but he says Aunt Lulu is really the expert.”

  “And then . . . ,” Priti prompted.

  “And then we launch!” Zoey said.

  “I can’t wait,” Kate said. “Mom already talked about it to some of the soccer moms, and they love the idea.”

  Zoey couldn’t wait either. But Dad was firm about making sure they had the business plan all figured out before the page went live.

  When the girls finished their bracelets, they put them on and went downstairs to watch a movie. Mrs. Mackey made them brownies as a special treat, because she was so happy they’d finally used the beading kit!

  When Zoey got home the next morning, the house seemed oddly quiet. She realized she’d become used to the padding and scraping of Draper’s paws on the hardwood floor as he scampered to the front door to welcome her whenever she came through it.

  “Draper!” she called. “Come here, boy! I’m home!”

  But there was no sign of the faithful pooch. He’s probably going for walkies with Marcus, Zoey figured. Lucky dog!

  “Hi, honey!” her dad called from upstairs. “I just got out of the shower. I’ll come say hi in a bit.”

  Zoey went up to her room to check her blog and work on her project page. Her dad had set it up but thought she should write the descriptions. She looked at the more successful projects and tried to figure out what it was about their pages that got people interested. Was it a great video? Was it a cute message? Did it have really cool rewards for each level of giving? Or was it the project itself?

  She was busy writing her project description when her father knocked on the door and then came into her bedroom.

  “Hi, honey. How was the sleepover?”

  “It was fun! We made friendship bracelets.” She held out her arm to show her dad. “See?”

  “Very pretty,” Mr. Webber said, taking a seat at the end of the bed.

  “How was your date?” Zoey asked.

  “It was”—her dad hesitated—“good.”

  “You don’t sound very sure about that.”

  “No, I had a nice time. Cara is a great lady—smart, pretty, interesting to talk to. . . . She even laughed at my jokes,” he said.

  “Nobody’s perfect,” Zoey said.

  “Ha-ha, very funny,” her dad said. “She also complimented me on my jacket.”

  “Oh, well, she has good taste in clothes,” Zoey said.

  “Listen, Zo, I’ve got something difficult I need to tell you.”

  He sounded and looked very serious all of a sudden. Zoey started worrying about the difficult things he could need to tell her. Did Ms. Austen call to say she was in trouble? Or wait—maybe her dad had fallen head over heels in love with that Cara lady and married her on the first date, and she already had an evil stepmonster she’d never even met! “Did you marry that Cara lady?”

  “What? No! Where did you get that idea?” exclaimed Mr. Webber. “She’s really a lovely person, but . . .”

  “But?”

  “There wasn’t any special connection—not the kind I had with your mom the first time we went out.”

  Her father looked sad, and Zoey leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. He planted a kiss into her hair and put his arm around her.

  “Zoey . . . last night while I was out with Cara, Marcus was watching TV with Draper. Draper seemed fine. Marcus went up to his room to work on the video for your project for a while, but when he came back down an hour or so later, Draper hadn’t moved an inch,” Dad said. “Marcus didn’t want to bother me while I was out, so he called the vet. The vet said to take Draper straight to the emergency animal hospital, so Marcus did.”

  “Is Draper okay?” Zoey asked, suddenly overcome with dread.

  “I saw the note from Marcus when I got home and rushed to the animal hospital. I got there in time to see Draper and say good-bye, but . . . I’m sorry, Zo, he’s gone.”

  “What? But I didn’t even get to say good-bye to him!” Zoey exclaimed, bursting into tears.

  “I know, honey. I know,” her dad said, holding her while she cried. “It’s never easy to lose someone you love, whether it’s a person or a pet.”

  “It’s all my fault,” Zoey wailed. “If Marcus wasn’t working on my stupid video, then he’d have been with Draper and Draper would be okay.”

  “No, Zoey, that’s not true. It’s not anyone’s fault. Draper was fourteen years old, that’s . . . How old is that in dog years?”

  Zoey did the math in her head. “N-ninety-eight,” she muttered with a sniff.

  “The vet said he didn’t suffer. He was an old dog who’d had a good life, surrounded by people he loved,” Mr. Webber said.

  “I guess,” Zoey said. “But I still wish I’d been able to say good-bye to him.”

  “I know, honey,” her dad said. “I expect Aunt Lulu will feel that way too.”

  Poor Aunt Lulu. She doted on Draper like he was her child.

  “Did you tell her yet?” Zoey asked.

  “I’m going to wait until later this afternoon, when the conference is over. It’s important for Lulu’s business, and there’s no point upsetting her till then,” he said. “She can’t do anything for him now.”

  He sighed. “Your brother is really torn up. I remember when Lulu brought Draper home from the rescue place. He was the cutest little puppy, and Marcus had just started crawling a few months before.” Zoey saw her father’s eyes grow moist even though he smiled at the memory. “Marcus and Draper used to romp together on the floor like two little puppies. They were inseparable.”

  As bad as Zoey felt about not being there to say good-bye to Draper, she could only imagine how scary it must have been for Marcus to have to take him to the pet hospital all by himself.

  Mr. Webber hugged Zoey again and then got up. “I have to go grocery shopping or we won’t have anything to eat for the rest of the week. Call me if you need anything or if you want to talk, okay?”

  Zoey nodded.

  As soon as he left, Zoey felt at a loss. She didn’t have the heart to work on any sewing—especially any dog outfits. She thought about writing a blog post about Draper, but then she realized they hadn’t told Aunt Lulu yet. The last thing she wanted was for her aunt to find out that her beloved dog had died by reading it on Sew Zoey.

  Instead, Zoey got up and went to find Marcus. He wasn’t in his room. But as soon as she got down to the kitchen, she could tell from
the crash of cymbals and the back beat of the snare that he was down in the basement. She got some cookies for Marcus—and herself—and headed down to join him.

  As soon as he saw her, he stopped playing. “Hey . . . did Dad . . . ?”

  “He did,” Zoey said, nodding sadly. “Do you want a cookie?”

  “Yes, please.” Marcus took a cookie from the plate. “The house feels so empty without Draper, doesn’t it?”

  “I know. It felt weird as soon as I got home, before I even knew anything, because he didn’t come to greet me at the door.”

  “I hope Aunt Lulu isn’t mad at me,” Marcus said. “I wouldn’t have left him alone if I thought something was wrong with him. Honest.”

  “It’s not your fault, Marcus. Dad told me what the vet said,” Zoey reassured him. “It’s because Draper was an old dog. It was just his time to go.”

  “I know. But why did it have to happen when Aunt Lulu was away and when I was the only one home?”

  Zoey shrugged. “Bad luck?”

  “The worst luck in the entire universe,” Marcus said.

  “Seriously, don’t worry about Aunt Lulu. She knows how much you love—I mean, loved—Draper,” Zoey said.

  “I hope you’re right.” Marcus sighed, picking up his drumsticks. “Now if you don’t want to get a headache, run upstairs. I’m having myself some serious drum therapy down here, and it’s going to get real loud.”

  Mr. Webber returned with the groceries, and they were all in the kitchen unpacking when Aunt Lulu called to say she was done with her conference and about to leave the hotel for the airport. Marcus and Zoey stood silent and tense as their father, as gently as he could, broke the news of Draper’s passing to their aunt over the phone.

  “I’m so sorry, Lulu,” he finished. “We’re all devastated, especially the kids. . . . What? Sure, hold on.”

  He pushed the speakerphone.

  “Aunt Lulu wants to talk to you guys,” he said.

  Zoey heard her aunt’s voice, sounding kind of tearful, but . . . “Zo and Marcus, thank you both for taking such great care of Draper. I know you loved him as much as I did, and he always loved to spend time with you.”

  A lump formed in Zoey’s throat.

  “We loved having him here, Aunt Lulu,” she managed to say. “The house feels empty without him.”

  “I know, honey,” Aunt Lulu said. “And I know that he was an old boy and that every time I went away, there was a risk his time might come when I wasn’t around to be with him. I’m just glad we had so many happy years with him and he had such a wonderful, loving home. Actually, two wonderful loving homes. Draper was doubly lucky, wasn’t he?”

  “Definitely,” Marcus agreed.

  “I’d better get to the airport,” Aunt Lulu said. “I’m looking forward to coming home and hugging you all.”

  Zoey was relieved that Aunt Lulu seemed to take it so well. But missing Draper was a dull, heavy ache that hung over Zoey like a storm cloud.

  She went up to her room and sat at her worktable, hoping she’d be inspired to sew something. Maybe sewing therapy would work as well as drum therapy. But it just reminded her of how much she missed Draper’s warm body curled up beneath her feet, his wet muzzle tickling her toes while she pressed the foot pedal of the machine.

  Instead, she grabbed her sketchbook and pencil and curled up on her bed. The empty page made her feel even lonelier, but then an image of Draper came into her mind and she started sketching furiously. Soon, the page was filled with new dog-inspired designs.

  Chapter 6

  As the Saying Goes: All Dogs Go to Heaven

  I usually like to share good news with my Sew Zoey readers, but today is different. Something awful happened over the weekend—my aunt Lulu’s dog, Draper, passed away. I’ve never lost a pet before, and even though Draper wasn’t really my pet, he’s been a part of the family for as a long as I can remember—since before I was even born as a matter of fact! It’s so hard to imagine life without him. Last night, I thought I heard his tail thumping under the worktable when Dad came in to tell me to turn off the light. I was busy designing some new dog outfits, inspired by the thought of Draper making a beeline for the nearest treat jar. The one above is my favorite.

  It seems so unfair that just when I’m so close to getting the Doggie Duds project launched, Draper, the one who inspired the idea, won’t be here to see it happen. I mean, I knew he was an old dog, but he seemed fine, other than not exactly being the fastest runner you’ve ever seen. But he was ninety-eight in dog years, so it’s not like you could expect him to be winning Olympic gold, even if the medal was made of treats!

  Getting back to the school routine the next day wasn’t enough to distract Zoey from her thoughts of Draper and the hollow feeling inside she had from his absence. When she met her friends for lunch in the cafeteria, she confessed how sad she was.

  “I just can’t stop missing him,” she said. “It’s not like I used to see him every day, even. But I knew he was there. And now I’m never going to be able to see him ever again.”

  “I wish I could say I knew how you feel,” Priti said, “but the only pet we’ve ever had was Cheeto the goldfish, and all we did was say our good-byes when Mom flushed him down the toilet. It was sad, but not Draper sad. My grandparents have a Basset Hound, but they live far away.”

  “I’ve never had any kind of pet,” Kate explained to Libby. “Not even a goldfish. It’s too much responsibility.”

  Libby had a dog, though, so she had a deeper understanding of Zoey’s grief. “I can’t imagine what I’d do if we lost Chester. He’s part of the family. He’s only five, so hopefully it won’t be for a long time. I don’t even want to think about it.”

  She reached out to squeeze Zoey’s hand and noticed the BFF bracelet on her wrist. “That’s a cute bracelet. Is that new?”

  Zoey felt her cheeks flushing, and she tried not to look at Priti and Kate, who were wearing their bracelets too. She felt so awkward. Why hadn’t they thought to make one for Libby? “Um . . . yeah. I . . . we . . .”

  Priti moved her arm, as if trying to hide it under the table, and Libby noticed she was wearing a matching bracelet. And then she saw that Kate had one too.

  “Oh . . . ,” she said. “You’ve all got matching ones.”

  Silence. All there was at their table was awkward, uncomfortable silence, despite the surrounding clamor of the cafeteria.

  “They’re BFF bracelets,” Kate confessed finally.

  “We made them at the sleepover,” Priti added.

  “What sleepover?” Libby asked quietly.

  Zoey wished then that she’d asked Kate to invite Libby to the sleepover. “The one at Kate’s house,” she said, feeling really bad about the fact that Libby had been excluded.

  “I was going to invite you, but you were out of town,” Kate explained.

  “We each picked beads to represent us,” Priti said. “Kate is gold because she wants to win Olympic gold, Zoey is sparkly silver because she’s a fashion star, and I’m rose gold because it’s blingy and warm.”

  “Cool,” said Libby.

  But to Zoey she seemed subdued, and a minute later she said she had to get going, even though there were still five minutes left in the lunch period. Zoey felt terrible. She didn’t want to force her new BFF on her old BFFs. But wouldn’t it be great if they could all be BFFs together? She decided that when the time was right, she would talk to Kate and Priti about making a bracelet for Libby, too.

  Between missing Draper and feeling bad about Libby, Zoey was miserable when she got home. She flopped onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling and wishing like anything that she could turn back time to before the sleepover, when Draper was still alive and she could remember to make Libby a BFF bracelet so Libby wouldn’t feel left out.

  Sadly, she couldn’t do either of those things. But maybe what she could do was make something nice to cheer up her aunt. Sometimes sewing was a pick-me-up for Zoey when she was feeling do
wn, and making things for people she loved was even better.

  Zoey sat at her worktable with her sketchbook and picked up a pencil, trying to think of something really special to make Lulu. Her aunt already had lots of really great clothes, and now that Draper was gone, Zoey couldn’t make more dog outfits—that thought made Zoey feel sad all over again. Suddenly, Zoey remembered her aunt talking about the ballroom dance lessons she’d been taking recently and how much fun they were. Aunt Lulu really loved the merengue and the waltz, even though she said the waltz made her dizzy if she didn’t focus on her partner’s face. Zoey decided to make her aunt a flowing skirt like she’d seen some of the contestants wear on the dance reality shows they watched together. She sketched a few different designs until she came up with the one that seemed to scream Aunt Lulu. Zoey wanted to get a silk-chiffon fabric that would swish and swirl around her aunt’s ankles as she danced. But there was one big problem: Silk chiffon wasn’t cheap.

  Zoey rummaged in her bedside table and found the receipt from her last purchase at A Stitch in Time, so she could check the credit balance left from the Avalon competition. It was dwindling fast. She really needed to get Doggie Duds off the ground, and soon, or her sewing days would be through.

  But in the meantime she needed a ride to the fabric store to pick up the chiffon and look for Doggie Duds inspiration.

  “Marcus?” she called, heading toward her brother’s room.

  He didn’t answer. She went to his door and peeped in. He was doing homework with his headphones on, his head bobbing up and down to the beat. No wonder he didn’t hear her.

  “Yo, hermano!” she said, tapping him on the back.

  “Si?” he said, taking off his headphones.

  “Can you drive me to A Stitch in Time? I want to make a present for Aunt Lulu to cheer her up.”

  “Yeah, okay. I could use a study break,” Marcus said. “What are you going to make?”

  “A skirt for ballroom dancing,” Zoey said.

  “Bueno. Hey, did she tell you about dancing with the guy who kept stepping on her toes?”