The two high school runners took up the width of the stone stairs in front of him, making it impossible for him to pass. To the side was a grassy hill that descended to the bottom of the park, so Oliver decided to go around them.
Because the grass was slippery from the rain earlier that day, and also because tree roots and acorns and pinecones were abundant, this detour turned out to be a big mistake. Oliver slipped on a pinecone and down he went, his feet sliding out from under him. And then, because his costume was so beautifully round as a result of Hyacinth’s costume-making skills, he rolled down the hill at a record rate.
Oliver thought he would never stop, but then a massive pile of leaves that the Parks Department had left by the curb swallowed him up. A cheer rose from the crowd when he came to rest.
“Oh my gosh! Oliver, are you okay?” came muffled voices.
Oliver sat up to find Isa, Miss Josie, Angie, and Jimmy L surrounding him, eyeing him in concern.
“I think so,” Oliver said, dazed.
“That was epic,” Jimmy L said. “Just incredible.”
Isa reached over and plucked some leaves from his hair. “That costume made you go down the hill so fast I was afraid you would roll right into the street!”
“We won!” Angie yelled, jumping up and down. “We beat a regionally ranked cross-country team!”
Oliver looked around. The high school team was scowling in his direction.
“We did it!” Oliver said, hopping up and high-fiving his friends. “Candy for eternity!”
He cheered and ripped off his tomato costume. He was never, ever going to be a tomato again.
Friday, November 1
Two Days Until the New York City Marathon
Twenty-Eight
On Friday morning, everyone woke up a little groggy. The night before, Oliver, Angie, and Jimmy L had gone trick-or-treating with Orlando, Jessie, and the cross-country team for three hours, and they’d returned to the brownstone with enough candy to last for years. They lugged the bags up to the treehouse, stashing it away before Mama could confiscate it.
“We’re rich!” Angie had said as she dug into the pile of candy in the hidden storage bin, then let it fall through her hands as if she were a pirate reveling in treasure.
Now that the festivities were over, Oliver dragged himself out of bed, feeling absolutely wretched from all the candy he had eaten the day before.
He brushed his teeth and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Mama was dishing out yogurt and fruit. Laney was just finishing her breakfast when he arrived.
“I’m going upstairs to Miss Josie’s,” Laney announced as she hopped off her stool.
“You are?” said Mama, Papa, and Oliver.
“Yup,” Laney responded. “Why? Is something wrong?”
And then Oliver noticed something about Laney: she wasn’t wearing her usual chewed-up turtleneck. It had been months since he had seen her wear something other than the turtleneck.
Mama put her arm around Laney. “Nothing is wrong, sweetie,” she said. “It’s just that you haven’t gone up to the second floor since Mr. Jeet passed away.”
“Miss Josie asked me to,” Laney said. “We decided that we’re going to take a walk together once a day to visit the garden and add new memories if we think of them.” Laney held up a fistful of fabric strips.
“I love that idea,” Papa said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
“Miss Josie said that she felt so sad about Mr. Jeet that she didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning, which is exactly how I felt. And then she told me she wanted to keep all her memories about Mr. Jeet, and then she asked me how the garden was looking. And I said it was looking nice, and maybe she would want to come and see it with me. And Miss Josie said yes, and then she said maybe we should go there every day to see how the memory fence looks. And that’s why I’m going upstairs. Because we both miss Mr. Jeet, but when we’re together, we feel better.”
And with that, Laney gathered up Paganini and marched to the first floor. They heard the door open and close, and then faint footsteps as Laney continued to the second floor.
Oliver sat and stared at the bowl of yogurt Mama set next to him. As he prepared to take his first bite, Hyacinth, Isa, and Jessie came down the stairs.
“What are you going to wear for homecoming tomorrow?” Jessie asked Isa. “Please tell me you’re not wearing that horrid orange dress. No offense, but it makes you look like a pumpkin. Not that Benjamin cares what you wear. He thinks you look good in everything.”
Isa helped herself to yogurt and fruit, then sat in her usual seat. “Actually, I’m not going to homecoming with Benny.”
Mama dropped the cup she was washing in the sink. “What did you say?”
Papa looked as if Christmas had come early. “You’re not going to the dance? Well, that’s wonderful! If you’re going to hang around here tomorrow, let’s plan a movie night. You choose the movie, I’ll make the popcorn. Jessie, you’re not going either, right? We can have some father-daughter ti—”
“Papa,” Isa interrupted. “I’m going with Jason.” Papa’s mouth dropped open. “Jason? As in Jason-who-works-at-the-Treehouse-Bakery-Jason?”
“Why would you do that?” Jessie asked, horrified. Jason is so . . . so . . .
“I like Jason,” Oliver interjected. “He has cool shoes.”
“I like Jason too,” Mama said. “He’s a nice kid. I mean, I did hire him. He asked me if he could take you.
“He did?” Papa asked, his eyes swiveling to stare at Mama. “Wait, what am I missing? What happened to Benjamin?”
“Benny is going with someone else,” Isa said, carrying her bowl to the sink and nudging her mom out of the way so she could wash it. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She wiped her hands on the nearest kitchen towel, then packed her bag.
Oliver kept his mouth shut. After all, he hadn’t lived around his sisters for eleven years without learning a thing or two. He watched Isa get her backpack ready and said goodbye to her when she left for school. What he really wanted to say was “What’s the big deal? Jason’s cool!” But some inner voice told him that it would be the exact wrong thing to say.
* * *
Isa was not surprised when she had another absolutely terrible day. School had been awful ever since she had spotted Benny hanging out with that girl a week earlier. She found herself nervous to look too intently around the halls, afraid that she would see him with the mystery girl, or worse, that he would catch her alone, which would mean she would have to talk to him. What would she say?
Her fears were fully realized when the last bell rang and she headed to her locker to get the books she needed for the weekend. Allegra wasn’t waiting for her; she hadn’t been feeling well and had left school early. Isa was putting her last book into her backpack when she heard that familiar “Hey.”
She didn’t dare turn around.
Benny leaned against the locker next to her. “I feel like we haven’t spent time together in forever.”
“Yeah,” Isa said.
“You’ve been really busy,” Benny said as he looked at her.
Isa let her hair fall in front of her so he couldn’t see her face. “You’ve been busy too.”
“How are you feeling, with Mr. Jeet and everything . . . ?” He trailed off.
“We’re doing okay,” Isa said, zipping up her backpack.
“Cool,” Benny said.
Then a girl’s voice echoed down the school hallway. “Benny, hurry! We’re going to be late!”
“Gotta go,” Benny said. “I’ll see you soon, right?” Isa glanced in the direction of the voice. That same girl was standing there with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. Isa looked back at Benny. She used to feel so comfortable with him, and now she had nothing to say except “Bye, Benny.”
He jogged down the hall to join up with his friend, maybe girlfriend. Isa turned on her heel and headed the opposite direction. It was time to move on.
Steppin
g out of school, Isa paused right outside the door to feel the sun touch her face. Then she headed toward the cat café.
Saturday, November 2
One Day Until the New York City Marathon
Twenty-Nine
On the evening before the New York City Marathon, the whole cross-country team came to the Vanderbeekers for a pre-race dinner with Mr. Beiderman. Since the homecoming dance was also that night, Mama had planned an early meal so those who were going to the dance would have enough time to get ready. She cooked most of the day, making food she had carefully researched and found to be good for runners. All sorts of homemade pasta with anchovy and garlic, pesto, and red sauce, plus huge bowls of roasted vegetables, filled their dining room table. When the doorbell rang at four thirty, Papa opened the door to find Orlando and the cross-country team. Franz weaved between their ankles and rubbed his head against their sneakers.
Papa’s eyes widened. “We’re supposed to feed all of you?”
The cross-country team laughed good-naturedly and trickled inside. They greeted the Vanderbeeker kids, gave Oliver a special fist bump, met all the animals, and said hi to Mr. Beiderman and Miss Josie. After the formalities had been exchanged, the team converged around the table, grabbing plates and utensils and serving themselves massive amounts of food.
“Wow,” Oliver said, watching them heap pasta on their plates. He stared longingly at the anchovy and garlic pasta, which happened to be his favorite. “Do you think there will be anything left when they’re done?”
“I don’t think so,” Laney said, standing on a chair so she could update her siblings on the state of the dining room table. “They’re taking so much!”
The cross-country team finally moved away from the food and filled the living room, sprawling out on couches or on the rug. They quickly learned to shoo away Tuxedo (who was notorious for stealing pasta), and they made lots of noise talking and laughing and teasing.
The Vanderbeekers, meanwhile, looked forlornly at the ravaged table, which held little but empty dishes.
“Pizza it is,” Jessie said, taking out her phone to dial their local pizzeria. “That stinks. I’ve been looking forward to pasta all day.”
“Hold on one second,” Mama said as she disappeared into the closet that held the washer and dryer. She emerged with a platter of pasta.
“This one is anchovy and garlic,” she said with a wink. “There’s another with red sauce in there.”
The Vanderbeekers happily filled their plates and sat in the living room with Mr. Beiderman and the cross-country team.
Laney took a seat next to Mr. Beiderman and twirled strands of spaghetti around her fork. “At school, Pedro said his uncle ran a marathon and there was lots of poop on the course. Like, people just poop while they’re running!”
Mr. Beiderman looked up, startled, as if he were surprised to find himself sitting in this very loud living room surrounded by dozens of people. “Oh,” he said.
One of the guys on the cross-country team sitting next to Laney choked on his mouthful of spaghetti.
Mr. Beiderman coughed. “I’m not worried about that.”
“You’ll be great!” Laney said. “We’ll cheer you at Fifty-Ninth Street and then Ninety-Sixth Street and then a Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Street, and we’ll be at the finish line to help you get home! Papa put an app on his phone that will track you. And look . . . I have a special surprise for you!” From behind the couch, she whipped a box bedazzled to the extreme with plastic gemstones, glitter, and puffy stickers.
Mr. Beiderman looked at it warily. “I’m afraid I’ll be covered in glitter if I touch it.”
“I’ll open it!” Laney said, lifting the lid with a flourish and showering Mr. B in sparkles as she did so.
Inside the box was the flashiest purple running shirt imaginable. It made the box look boring by comparison. Sequins on the front spelled out “Cheer for Me! I’m Mr. B!” Feathers were sewn along the neckline, and dozens of large, mirror-like discs were sewn indiscriminately all around.
“The discs will reflect the light and be super sparkly when you run!” Laney said, hopping around in excitement. “Do you love it?” she asked Mr. Beiderman.
Mr. Beiderman glanced around; the Vanderbeekers and the cross-country team looked back at him expectantly.
“I, uh, love it,” Mr. Beiderman said.
“Put it on!” Laney said.
“I think I’ll save it for tomorrow,” Mr. Beiderman said, but then everyone started chanting, “Put it on! Put it on!”
Mr. Beiderman sighed loudly; then he layered Laney’s shirt over his black shirt and held out his arms. “How do I look?”
Mama, Papa, and Miss Josie suddenly found themselves very busy gathering dirty cups, and the cross-country team found their own sneakers fascinating. Oliver gave Mr. Beiderman a thumbs-down, but no one could see him because he was standing in the back by the food table.
“Perfect!” Laney said, clapping her hands.
After Mr. Beiderman and Miss Josie retreated to their apartments, the cross-country team headed to the kitchen to help Papa load the dirty dishes. Mama sent them away, saying that they should spiff themselves up for the dance and that her family would take care of cleanup.
“Does that mean us?” Oliver said, eyeing the mounds of dishes on the kitchen counters.
“Many hands make light work, or whatever,” Jessie said, then looked at Isa. “Hey, you go get ready for the dance. I’m volunteering Orlando to do your share of the work.”
Isa picked up the sponge and put dishwashing soap on it. “Actually, I’m not going.”
“What?” asked Jessie, Hyacinth, Laney, Mama, and Papa.
“I mean, it’s totally okay if plans have changed,” added Mama quickly.
“It’s just that we thought you were going,” Papa added.
“With Jason,” Jessie finished.
Isa shrugged. “I thought about it, but then I realized I didn’t really want to. He’s super nice and all, he’s just not . . .”
Since Isa was facing the sink, Laney couldn’t see her face, but she could hear a sadness in her sister’s voice.
“I’m totally fine,” Isa continued, as if hearing Laney’s thoughts. “Come on, let’s get this done, and then we can make popcorn with Papa.”
Papa grinned. “My heart just grew ten sizes.” He grabbed a second sponge and took up the spot next to Isa at the double sink, filling a basin with warm water and adding dish detergent to it so it bubbled nicely.
Mama put on her ‘Happy Beats’ playlist and cranked up the volume, and the Vanderbeekers took their places in the assembly line. Papa dunked the dishes in the soapy water and handed them to Isa for scrubbing and rinsing. Jessie and Orlando then rubbed them dry with dish towels and passed them to Hyacinth and Laney, who were in charge of putting them away. Papa insisted that Mama take a break from dish duty, but Mama didn’t want to sit around watching everyone clean without her, so she stood at the oven, scouring the stovetop until it gleamed.
Laney, Hyacinth, Mama, and Papa sang and danced along with the music while they worked. Even Isa started singing when a song she really liked came on. When Papa got to the last of the dishes, he drained the dirty water and started rinsing the basin with fresh water and soap. While he was rinsing it, however, the basin slipped from his hands, spilling soapy water all over Isa on its way to the floor.
Isa shrieked as the water drenched her clothes and splashed her face.
“Papa!” Isa squealed.
“I’m so sorry!” Papa said, his eyes wide. “It was an accident!”
Oliver coughed into his hand while saying, “Lies!” and that was all it took to trigger the Great Water War.
What ensued was a water fight of a magnitude never before seen on 141st Street. Oliver, who was always prepared in times of water battle, ran to the bathroom and emerged with a whole bucket of water balloons that he had stashed behind the washing machine for just such an occasion.
“Take it ou
tside!” Mama screeched as she was nailed with a water balloon.
The Vanderbeekers and Orlando raced outside, Laney slipping a little on the wet kitchen floor and almost squashing Tuxedo. Jessie pulled out the hose and sprayed her family with abandon. Oliver made his way up to the treehouse and hammered people with water balloons. Franz leaped through the backyard, shaking water off himself and howling with glee. The chickens, surprised to find their quiet backyard invaded by water warriors, squawked and fled to safety in their coop.
Fifteen minutes later, Oliver finally ran out of water balloons and everyone was out of breath from running and laughing. Mama dashed inside to get towels. After they had dried themselves off, they went back inside the brownstone to clean up the kitchen and take showers.
Laney, who had managed to get soaked as well as completely covered in mud, was being ushered upstairs for her nighttime bath when she caught sight of a familiar face peering into the apartment through the living room window.
A second later, the doorbell rang.
Thirty
Isa was wiping smears of mud from her face and neck when Papa opened the door.
“This is a surprise,” Papa said.
Isa glanced up and saw Benny silhouetted in the doorway.
Dressed in a suit, a purple tie, and dress shoes, Benny held a corsage in his hand.
“Wow, you look so fancy,” Laney said.
“What are you doing here?” Papa asked him, crossing his arms.
“Sir? I, uh . . .” He glanced past Papa’s shoulder and looked at Isa. “I’m here to pick up Isa for the homecoming dance?”
Isa couldn’t get a full sentence to form in her mouth. “What? I thought—but—You never asked. You have a girlfriend . . .” She trailed off.
The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found Page 14