Mom paused and looked at Dad. “I’ve also decided to ask Carolyn Washington to have her shop in there too. Suzy Davis’s mom.”
“Wow,” Aly said. Her stomach flipped a little. “When is the salon moving?”
“Probably the end of the month,” Mom answered. “We need to do construction first, to build a space for Carolyn.”
“And for the Sparkle Spa,” Brooke said. “Right? A big beautiful room with a window for the Sparkle Spa?”
Mom sighed. “I have to talk to the architects,” she said, “and Carolyn. To make sure we have enough space. She needs a lot of storage for sweatshirts and T-shirts and aprons and pencils and buttons and key chains. It’s amazing how many items you can ask to personalize on her website.”
Aly’s stomach flipped again, and all of a sudden she wished she hadn’t eaten so many nachos.
“So . . . there might not be a Sparkle Spa anymore?” Aly asked. She looked at Brooke, who already had tears shimmering in her eyes.
Mom ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m going to do what I can. But if it doesn’t work out, you girls had a great run. You ran your own business for months, and did a great job.”
Aly was finding it hard to breathe. Mom couldn’t take away the Sparkle Spa! Not after all the work they’d done building it up.
“But we want to keep running our business!” Brooke wailed. “Forever! Or at least until high school! We love the Sparkle Spa. And we have customers who count on us, like the Auden Angels. What would they do if we didn’t give them pedicures every Tuesday? They need us!”
“Your mother said she’ll try, Brookie,” Dad said. “She doesn’t want to take away the Sparkle Spa from you, but she has to do what’s best for our family. That means being smart about her business plan, finances, and space in True Colors.”
Dad asked if anyone wanted to go on more rides that day, but the girls didn’t feel like having fun anymore.
Brooke and Aly went straight up to their room once they got home. First they called Charlotte, then Lily, and then Sophie, and told them they needed to have an emergency meeting using their computers.
“Oh no!” Lily cried when they could all see one another’s faces on-screen. “This is terrible news.”
“It’s not a definite no to the Sparkle Spa,” Sophie said quietly. “I think it might be okay.”
“I think we should write letters,” Charlotte said. “And get our customers to write letters too. Then your mom will see how important the Sparkle Spa is to everyone, and hopefully she’ll make sure that there’s Sparkle space in the new salon.”
Aly nodded. “I like that idea,” she said.
“Me too!” said Brooke.
“Okay,” Charlotte said. “I’m on it. We should all write our own letters first, but I’ll get Caleb and he’ll help me spread the word. Don’t worry, we’re going to prove to your mom that the Sparkle Spa is the awesomest kid salon there is.”
After they all logged off, Aly felt better than she had since lunch. She sat on her bed to write her own letter to her mom.
Brooke asked to borrow one of Aly’s favorite feather pens and did the same.
Would a letter-writing plan really change their mom’s mind? The sisters had to try.
six
Green Beans
That night, Brooke and Aly both slipped their letters under their parents’ bedroom door.
Aly’s letter said:
Dear Mom,
Please make sure you can find a way not to close the Sparkle Spa. Brooke and I—and Charlotte and Lily and Sophie and sometimes Caleb—have worked really hard to turn it into a good business. And we’ve helped a lot of people with all the donations we’ve made.
So many kids at school love the Sparkle Spa. The Auden Angels think that our pedicures give their feet superpowers—remember they won the championship last year?
Please, think about it again to see if there’s room for us. Girls have made friends at the Sparkle Spa, and it makes everyone—especially Brooke and me—really happy.
We don’t want the Sparkle Spa to die.
Love,
Aly
Aly had cried a little bit while she wrote the letter. Especially the last line. She really didn’t want the Sparkle Spa to die.
Brooke’s letter said:
Dear Mrs. Tanner (I’m calling you that because I’m SO MAD at you that I don’t want to call you Mom),
Please, please, PLEASE don’t close the Sparkle Spa! I’m so proud of everything Aly and I have done there. I’m friends with so many kids—especially sixth graders who probably wouldn’t have talked to me otherwise. And I even learn math every time I organize the nail polish bottles. Aly and I are such a good team—we’re not just sisters now, we’re business owners, and it’s SO MUCH FUN. Also, we donated so much money to good places because of the Sparkle Spa. We’re not just helping ourselves, we’re helping tons of people and the shelter animals! Please, please, PLEASE make us space in your new salon! If you don’t, I’ll be mad at you FOREVER.
Sincerely,
Your daughter who is SO MAD at you, Brooke
Brooke did not cry when she wrote her letter. She was just madder than she’d ever been.
“Do you think Joan can help us?” Brooke asked while the girls were getting ready for bed.
“Maybe,” Aly said. “But I think it really depends on the space and if there’s enough of it.”
Brooke sighed. “That salon was really big, though. How much room do you think Suzy’s mom really needs?”
“I don’t know, Brookester,” Aly said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
The next day, the girls opened the Sparkle Spa. Every kid who came for an appointment wrote a letter and left it with Mrs. Tanner on their way out through True Colors. Then other kids who didn’t have appointments came by to drop off letters. By the end of the day, the girls’ mom had twenty-three letters.
The day after that, more letters came.
And the day after that, even more.
“I have to say,” Mom said to the girls when she was driving home on Tuesday night. “Your clients really love you.”
“I know,” Brooke said. “Because the Sparkle Spa is the best, and that’s why you can’t close it.” She was staring out the window, refusing to look at their mom.
“Will it help?” Aly asked. “That all our clients love us?”
Mom sighed. “I’m doing what I can . . . ,” she said.
Aly felt her stomach drop. That wasn’t the answer she wanted.
The next day, at recess, Charlotte was sitting on a bench in the playground holding a Green Beans–colored sign that said: HELP SAVE THE SPARKLE SPA! WRITE A LETTER TO MRS. TANNER! PENS AND PAPER AVAILABLE! Aly and Lily were sitting with her.
“Hey, what’s going on?” a sixth grader named Daisy asked. She and her sister, Violet, had come to the Sparkle Spa lots of times, but Daisy had been out sick with an ear infection for a few days.
After Charlotte explained, Daisy sat down and wrote a letter on the spot and handed it to Aly. “I’ll ask my sister to write one too,” she said. “And I’ll tell her to give it to Brooke.” Violet’s classroom was right next to Brooke’s.
“Thanks,” Aly said. “That’s really nice, and helpful.”
Suzy Davis had walked over in the middle of the conversation.
After Daisy left she said, “Is it really helpful? Is it changing your mom’s mind? Because my mom said she doesn’t think there’s space for my makeup store either. And I think they need to make space for us both.”
Aly shrugged. “I don’t know if it’ll matter,” she said. “But it can’t hurt, that’s for sure.”
Suzy scootched Lily over a little so there would be room for her on the bench, and then sat down. “Maybe you need more than letters,” Suzy said.
“Like what?” Lily asked.
“I’m going to think about it,” Suzy answered, and got up.
“Are we going to like what she plans?” Charlotte as
ked after Suzy had left. “I always get worried with her.”
Aly tucked Daisy’s letter into the back pocket of her jean shorts. “Well,” Aly said, “the good news is I don’t think anything could make things worse for the Sparkle Spa.”
After school the next day, the girls walked over to True Colors with Lily to give their mom more letters. And that’s when they discovered what Suzy’s idea was. She was standing in front of True Colors holding a huge sign: SAVE THE SPARKLE SPA! it said in sparkly glitter paint. Suzy’s little sister, Heather, was holding a sign too that read: MAKE ROOM FOR THE SPARKLE SPA! They were marching back and forth in front of True Colors.
“What do you think?” Suzy said when the girls walked over. “Nice, right?”
“Very nice,” Aly told her.
“Great sparkle paint,” Brooke added.
“I hope it works,” Lily said.
The girls walked into True Colors, where Joan stopped them before they could hand the packet of letters to their mom. “I just wanted to let you girls know, I’ve been working on your mom,” she whispered. “I told Suzy too. We can’t let the Sparkle Spa close.”
Brooke threw her arms around Joan, hugging her tightly. The rest of the girls nodded. And for the first time in days, Aly started getting her hopes up. With Joan and Suzy and all of their clients helping them out, Mom had to find a way to keep the Sparkle Spa in business . . . didn’t she?
seven
Shimmy Shake
By Saturday, Suzy and her sister had marched in front of True Colors with their signs for three days straight. And they weren’t alone: Fourth graders Zorah, Eliza, and Hannah joined them. So did Annie and Jayden, who brought their dog. The whole soccer team came dressed in their soccer uniforms, but wearing flip-flops instead of cleats to show off their pedicures. Mom also had a stack of more than fifty letters! Aly was amazed when Auden Elementary School’s assistant principal, Mr. Amari, gave her a letter for her mom too.
“I just wanted to add my support for the Sparkle Spa,” he said.
Aly made sure that letter was at the very top when she’d given them to her mom on Friday. But Mom hadn’t said a word. Not yes, not no, not anything. So Brooke hadn’t said a word to her—not in three days. That’s why, on Saturday morning, Aly had to do the talking for both of them.
“Do you girls want to see the new space for True Colors?” Mom asked. “We’re in the middle of renovations, and I have to check on a few things.”
Brooke stared out the window of the girls’ bedroom.
“No thanks,” Aly said, looking up from her book, Jacob Have I Loved.
Mom pressed her lips together. “I think you girls would really like it,” she said.
Brooke sent Aly a Secret Sister Eye Message: Until she tells us we can have the Sparkle Spa in the new place, I’m keeping up the silent treatment.
“Um,” Aly said. “I’m having a good time reading my book. And Brooke’s having a good time . . . looking out the window.”
“Well,” Mom said, “Dad went to the grocery store, and I can’t leave you girls home alone. You’re going to have to come with me.”
Aly was confused now. Going to the grocery store didn’t take very long—Dad would be back soon. And Mom had left the girls home alone for short periods of time before.
“Why do we have to come?” Aly asked. “Can’t you just wait for Dad? Or leave us alone until he gets here? He’ll be home really soon.”
Mom closed her eyes. She did that whenever she was trying not to be mad. “Girls, please come with me. It would mean a lot to me.”
Aly looked at Brooke. Brooke looked at Aly. They nodded at each other.
“Okay,” Aly said, sighing as she stood up. She marked her place with a bookmark. “We’ll come.”
Aly was actually pretty impressed Brooke had managed to not speak to their mother for so long, since Brooke was a champion talker. Of course, she talked to Aly a lot. And their friends. And even Suzy Davis. And Joan. But just not to Mom.
When they got in the car, Aly said, “So . . . did you read all the notes from our clients? And from Mr. Amari?”
“I did,” Mom answered.
“What did you think?” Aly asked.
“I think you girls are terrific businesswomen who have really loyal customers,” Mom said. “And that’s wonderful.”
Brooke exploded. “Does that mean we get to keep the Sparkle Spa or not!” She couldn’t hold her words in anymore.
Mom didn’t answer Brooke. By that time they had arrived at the new True Colors location, and the girls followed Mom toward the new salon.
“It actually looks really nice,” Brooke sighed. “I love the new sign.” It looked like the old True Colors sign, but was bigger and brighter. The letters were glowing, and they shimmered, like the pearlescent polish called Shimmy Shake.
Mom smiled as she unlocked the door.
“Hello?” she called.
The woman in charge of the salon’s construction came over. She wore a bright blue hard hat with stickers on it. “So great to see you, Karen,” she said. Then she turned to the girls. “You must be Aly and Brooke. I’m Sawyer.”
“She’s got the best hat on,” Brooke whispered to Aly. “It’s the same color as Blue Skies. I love how she decorated it.”
“Karen, I have to show you the new sinks. Over here, please.”
Sawyer led the way toward the back of the salon and opened a door.
Brooke and Aly gasped.
WELCOME TO THE SPARKLE SPA!
The words were stenciled on the back wall—big, bright, and beautiful.
“So, I need to know what colors you girls want in here on the other walls,” Sawyer said, grinning. “And then I can get my team to start painting.”
“What?” Aly said.
“Oh my gosh!” Brooke squealed. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” She turned to hug her mom, and Aly joined in the embrace.
“You gave us the best salon ever!” Brooke said. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Mom rubbed her hand across her forehead. “At first I wasn’t sure if it was even possible. But yesterday afternoon, Sawyer figured out how to make the space work. We’re going to build a loft for Ms. Washington to store her supplies in, which is the perfect solution. And then Sawyer called me this morning to tell me she stenciled the words on the wall. I figured it was just easier to bring you over and let you see the good news for yourself.”
Brooke and Aly beamed at their mother.
“Once I saw how much your clients loved you two, and how important your donations were to our community, I knew we had to figure something out. Joan was on your side from the very beginning. But it’s really Sawyer who figured out how to save the Sparkle Spa.”
When Mom said that, Brooke ran across the salon to hug Sawyer. Mom pulled out an album from her tote bag and handed it to Aly. “I put all the Sparkle Spa letters in here for you to read. They’re really wonderful. I’m so proud of you girls.”
“Wow,” Aly said. “Thank you so much, Mom. This means everything to Brooke and me. Would you show us around?”
Even though the space wasn’t fully finished or furnished, Aly took her mom’s right hand and Brooke her left hand as the Tanners walked through the new True Colors, imagining what it would look like when it was done.
When the tour was over, Brooke, Aly, and Sawyer sat down to choose the Sparkle Spa color scheme. The girls decided they wanted all four of their favorite colors: pink and yellow for Brooke, and purple and green for Aly. Sawyer suggested yellow walls with purple trim, green tile on the floor, and pink furniture. The girls loved that idea.
“And,” Mom said, smiling, “how about four pedicure chairs and four manicure stations so you girls have some room to grow?”
“That’s . . . that’s perfect!” Aly said. “Just what we’d hoped!”
Brooke was walking around the new Sparkle Spa when she stopped in her tracks. “Mom, since we’re getting the Sparkle Spa, does that mean Suzy’s gett
ing her makeup store too?”
Mom frowned. “That’s not in the plans,” she said.
Just like Charlotte, Mom was not a fan of Suzy. She still wasn’t happy about how Suzy had treated Aly and Brooke when she’d interned at the Sparkle Spa for a week. Mom wasn’t sure Suzy could be trusted.
Aly and Brooke nodded, but Aly was thinking about how Suzy had stood outside True Colors for three days holding Sparkle Spa signs. Aly suspected Suzy was doing that just so she’d get her makeup store, but still, she’d supported them. And Aly knew Suzy would be sad—and mad—to hear she wasn’t getting her own space.
Aly glanced at Mom. The letters had helped convince her to find space for the Sparkle Spa. Maybe something else would help convince her to make space for Suzy’s Spectacular Makeup.
Aly would have to think about that. Was she really considering sharing space with her ever-since-kindergarten enemy? But in the meantime, she and Brooke had to call Charlotte, Lily, and Sophie and tell them the good news. The Sparkle Spa was in business!
eight
Clouder Than Words
By the next day, word had spread around town, and through the next town too: The Sparkle Spa was getting an awesome new home! So many girls stopped by to say congratulations and share in the excitement that the salon was close to hitting its maximum occupancy limit about eight different times.
“One out for one in!” Lily kept yelling. She had asked Aly and Brooke if she could be the “number monitor,” making sure they didn’t break any rules, since Caleb wasn’t around to do security. Aly and Brooke were really happy to give her that job, because they sure didn’t want it!
The whole soccer team stopped by to say how happy they were that their letters made a difference, and three of them even stayed for manicures. Most of the second- and third-grade Munchkins—and a few Flying Monkeys from the recent performance of The Wizard of Oz—came too. Two kindergartners even came in and asked if they could have their toes polished in a rainbow sparkle pedicure, just like the soccer team. It was chaos, but happy chaos.
Glam Opening! Page 3