by Ilene Cooper
“And I’m thinking you’ll need bunk beds,” his mother went on.
“Bunk beds?”
“You might want to invite your friends over for sleepovers,” Mrs. Quinn said.
Bobby thought about what his mother said while he was trying to fall asleep. Sleep wasn’t coming easy tonight. Not with so many things to think about. What a day!
He had tossed while remembering the vet visit. He had turned while wondering what it would be like when the babies arrived.
Now his thoughts were on the bunk beds.
He could see having Shawn sleep over at his house. He could see Dexter sleeping over, too.
It had only been last summer when he hadn’t had any friends at all. Tonight he was planning sleepovers. And for his whole life he had been an only child. Now he was going to have sisters.
Things sure did change.
Lucy was in her own bed on the floor. Bobby’s constant turning and twisting had bugged her. He had messed up the covers. There wasn’t a smooth spot for her to lie down.
But suddenly she jumped up on his bed and began licking his ear.
Bobby laughed. “Quit it, Lucy. It tickles!”
Lucy kept right on licking. It was like she was saying, Last summer you weren’t a dog owner. But you sure are now!
Bobby stood on the stage of the auditorium. He could feel himself shaking a little. In the audience, his mother sat next to his grandmother. They were smiling at him. He tried to smile back.
He was glad he had his poster board of Lucy to cling to. The words of his poem were written in large letters on the back.
Bobby had figured he’d be nervous in the days before the program, but too much had been going on to have time for nerves.
His parents were rushing around buying extra baby things.
His grandmother was cleaning the house and calling Aunt Kay to discuss food because his mom didn’t have time to cook anything else.
Lucy was feeling better, which meant she was in the middle of everything. Every time a piece of furniture was moved, Lucy followed along to make sure it went into the right place. Every time a new item was brought into the house, Lucy wanted to sniff it. And maybe even give it a lick—or a chew if no one was watching.
Bobby had his hands full making sure that Lucy wasn’t underfoot or in the way or causing trouble. He had to admit, though, he didn’t mind Lucy causing a little trouble. That meant the old Lucy was back!
All the hubbub had made it easy to forget he was about to stand up in front of a huge room packed full of people. Now, though, here he was. Pretty soon, after the Thanksgiving song was over, it was going to be time to read his poem.
What no one knew was that he had changed the poem. Just two lines, but his scare about Lucy being sick made him want to say them.
With Mrs. Lee standing in front of them, the third grade sang their song. Then, one by one, the students stepped forward to say what they were thankful for.
Bobby watched as Dexter, Shawn, and Candy took their turns. The closer it came to his, the faster his heart beat. Finally Mrs. Lee pointed at him. He tried to remember to speak up, just like she had told him to.
“Lucy, my beagle, is the best.
You could search north, east, or west,
And you’d see she’s better than the rest.
Lucy was sick, but now she’s fine.
I’m so thankful that she’s mine.”
Bobby hoped he hadn’t talked too fast. When he looked out in the audience, though, his mother gave him a big thumbs-up.
Whew! He was thankful that was over.
The next morning, Bobby woke to good smells from the kitchen. Lucy was already downstairs, practically swooning from all the delicious odors. She stood in front of the oven panting, her tongue hanging out.
“There’s not going to be any turkey for you, Lucy,” Mrs. Quinn said. “It’s not good for dogs.”
Lucy didn’t take her eyes off the stove where the turkey was roasting. She seemed to have a different idea.
“Bobby,” his mother went on, “we’re going to need your help today.”
“Okay, what should I do?” he asked.
“You’re on Nanny’s team,” his father said, coming in from the babies’ room. “I’m working on the cribs, your mom is putting things away, and you’re going to do whatever Nanny needs you to do for the dinner.”
“And right now, I’d like you to set the table,” Nanny said.
Bobby didn’t like setting the table. It was hard to remember which was closer to the plate, the knife or the spoon. And now there were salad forks to worry about. He guessed his mom and dad had a lot more to worry about, though.
“What time are Aunt Kay and Uncle John coming?” Bobby asked.
“In a couple of hours,” his mother said.
Never had a couple of hours flown by faster. After Bobby finished with the table, he dusted the living room and helped his grandmother put flowers in vases. The turkey came out of the oven, and Bobby gave Lucy a can of dog food to get her mind off the great smells.
Meanwhile, his mother made the house look neater and his father even managed to finish both cribs. “Once I figured out the first, the second one was easy,” he said with a laugh.
“Their car is pulling into the driveway,” Bobby said, looking out the window.
In a few minutes, the house was filled with aunts, uncles, cousins, noise, laughter, and, of course, barking.
“Lucy’s not used to a crowd,” Bobby’s mother said, trying to pull her off Uncle John.
“She’s adorable,” he said, picking her up, but Lucy wriggled right out of his arms and started pawing at Ryan’s knees.
“You’ve gotten bigger since I saw you in July, Lucy,” Ryan told her.
“A little bigger,” Brian said. “She’s still pretty small.”
Lucy started barking. She barked loud. Lucy made up in noise what she might have lacked in size.
Aunt Kay was Mr. Quinn’s sister, so she and her family weren’t related to Nanny. But Nanny gave them all big hugs anyway.
“Hey, I hear you’re adopting twins,” Ryan said to Bobby’s family.
“Too bad they’re girls,” Brian added.
“Aunt Jane, twins are double trouble,” Ryan happily told Bobby’s mother.
“Oh yeah, you’re going to have your hands full,” Brian said. “Just ask our mom.”
“Well, we think two girls are going to be twice as nice,” Mrs. Quinn said.
Bobby noticed that Brian and Ryan didn’t answer that.
Lucy might not have been used to crowds, but they sure made her excited.
“Mom.” Bobby pulled his mom aside. “I think I’d better take Lucy out.”
Mrs. Quinn glanced at Lucy running in circles around Brian. “Good idea. Not too long, though. We’ll be eating soon. Just long enough to get the wiggles out.”
Well, that could be a while, Bobby thought. He put his jacket on, got Lucy’s leash, and told his grandmother he would be right back.
Bobby and Lucy slipped out the door. Snow was just starting to stick on the ground, but flakes were swirling all around them.
Bobby looked up into the sky. The snowflakes were fun to watch. Lucy thought so, too. She didn’t bark at them, though. She watched as they shimmered down and landed on her head and nose.
“Hey, girl, this is the first time you ever saw snow, right?” Bobby said.
Lucy just kept watching the snowflakes.
Bobby thought of all the things the babies would be seeing for the first time. Yes, there were going to be changes, but lots of fun might come with those changes.
Lucy batted her paws at a couple of big snowflakes. She gave one of her long Lucy howls.
She looked pretty pleased with herself when she was done.
“Not everything’s going to change, though,” Bobby said out loud. “You’ll always be Lucy.”
Lucy turned around to look at Bobby. She shook the snow off herself. She pulled on her leash. She
was ready to walk now. Ready to run through the snow for the first time. She couldn’t wait.
“Yep,” Bobby said, following her lead, “you’ll always be Lucy!”
Read more books about Bobby and Lucy!
Bobby’s mother smiled. “Now it’s time for your special present,” she said.
His father said, “Close your eyes.”
Bobby was glad to close his eyes. It would be easier to look surprised when he opened them.
“Okay, Bobby,” his father called, “you can look!”
Bobby opened his eyes. He didn’t have to pretend to be surprised. Or happy. In his father’s arms was a puppy. The cutest, squirmiest little dog Bobby had ever seen.
“Ben!” Shawn said. “What happened to Lucy?”
“She … she ran away!” Ben said in a shaky voice.
Bobby jumped up. “Ran away? Where?”
“That way.” Ben was confused. He pointed in one direction. “Or maybe that way.” He pointed in the other direction.
“Which way was it?” Shawn demanded.
“I’m not sure.” Ben was almost crying. “But she was chasing a big orange C-A-T!”