The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found

by Karina Yan Glaser

  “A girlfriend?” Benny said, his brow creased in confusion. “What girlfriend?”

  There was a long period of quiet when everyone just stared at each other.

  “Oh boy, this is going to be good,” Oliver said. Laney settled down next to him on the stairs.

  Jessie yanked Oliver by the shirt. “This is not entertainment,” she announced. “Up we go.”

  “But—” Laney protested.

  “Aww,” Oliver said, but he followed Orlando, who’d slung Laney over his shoulder and headed up the stairs.

  “Come on, Hyacinth,” Jessie said.

  Hyacinth whistled to Franz. “Let’s go visit Miss Josie!” she said, scuttling up the stairs behind her siblings, Franz’s claws clicking against the hardwood floor.

  That left wet and disheveled Mama, Papa, and Isa staring at Benny.

  “Uh, I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Benny began, glancing at the three remaining Vanderbeekers.

  “You think?” Papa said, his arms still crossed.

  Isa regained her ability to talk. She looked at Benny. “You’re right. I don’t understand. You never asked me to homecoming. I thought you were going with someone else.”

  “I was never going with someone else! And I did ask you,” Benny said, then he paused to consider. “Didn’t I?”

  “No,” Isa said.

  Benny tried again. “But we’ve gone to every dance together for the last year and a half. I assumed we would go to this one.”

  “You still have to ask,” Mama advised.

  “You’ve been with another girl these past couple of weeks,” Isa said. “You two were talking about homecoming on the way to class, so I just assumed . . .”

  “. . . that I was dating some girl without even saying anything to you?” Benny said. “I would never do that!”

  “Well,” Mama said, heading toward the laundry room and collecting the wet towels on the floor. “I think I’ll just throw these wet towels in the wash.”

  “Okay,” Papa said, not budging from his spot between Isa and Benny. Then he saw the look on Mama’s face and followed her to the laundry room, closing the door with a click.

  “Who is she?” Isa asked.

  “Who?” Benny said.

  “That girl you’ve been hanging out with!” Isa said, exasperated. “The one I thought you were dating. The tall one. Always flicking her hair over her shoulders.”

  “Oh, ick, you thought I was dating Imogene?” Benny said, his face horrified. “She’s my cousin! You’ve met her before, haven’t you? She comes into the city a few times a year. She just moved here permanently a couple of weeks ago, and my parents asked me to make sure she adjusted well and everything. But she can be sort of . . . prickly, so she’s had a hard time making friends. I felt bad abandoning her at school.”

  Isa searched her memory for a person named Imogene, and now that she thought about it, the name did sound familiar. “But you two were talking about homecoming . . .”

  Benny shuddered. “I can’t believe you thought I was taking my cousin to homecoming! She had asked me to help her find a date. Maybe that’s what you heard?”

  Isa let out a relieved sigh. “I guess when you didn’t ask me, and then I saw you hanging out with her nonstop and talking about the dance . . . I should have asked you about it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Benny said, his eyes remorseful. He held out the corsage. “Forgive me?”

  Isa smiled and took the corsage. “I forgive you.”

  Benny put his hands in his pockets and shifted from foot to foot. “So, are you ready to go to the dance, or do you want to change?”

  Isa’s hands flew up to her hair. “Oh my gosh, I am such a mess!”

  “We’ll help you get ready!” Hyacinth yelled from above.

  Isa looked up. Her siblings and Orlando were at the top of the stairs, their heads peeking over the top of the railing.

  “You can use my glitter!” called Laney. “We can sprinkle it in your hair and you’ll look like a fairy princess!”

  “Just don’t wear that orange dress,” Jessie said. “That orange dress is just . . . no.”

  “I’m never going to a school dance,” Oliver declared, and Franz woofed in agreement.

  Mama and Papa came out of the laundry room, Isa ran upstairs to get washed up, and Oliver made Benjamin go outside to practice basketball drills with him in front of the brownstone until Isa was finished. Twenty minutes later—with the help of Jessie, Hyacinth, Laney, and Mama—Isa dashed down the stairs and poked her head out the front door.

  “I’m ready!” Isa called.

  Benny abandoned the ball mid-drill and let it roll under a parked car. Oliver grumbled as the basketball got stuck between the undercarriage of the car and the pavement. He had to knock it free using a broom handle. Mama and Papa took the requisite pre-dance photos, and off Isa and Benny went to the dance.

  As they watched them go down the street, Papa wrapped his arms around Mama and kissed the top of her head. “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you too,” Mama said.

  “Ick,” Oliver said. Mama reached out, and Oliver put his basketball under his arm and let himself be hugged.

  As Oliver looked up at his parents, he caught sight of one of the brownstone windows on the second floor. Miss Josie was sitting there with a haunted look on her face. When Oliver followed her line of sight, he realized she was looking at Orlando, who was sitting on the stoop with Jessie. When Oliver looked up at the window to see Miss Josie’s face again, she was gone.

  Thirty-One

  After giving Isa and Benjamin a proper sendoff, Jessie and Orlando went down to the basement to work on their science project. Jessie wondered whether she should bring up the impending deadline for Orlando’s decision as she watched him create a spreadsheet for testing their hypothesis. He appeared tired from the events of the last month, but when he caught her watching him, he flashed his signature grin.

  “Watch and learn as I create the ultimate spreadsheet for true scientific inquiry.” Orlando cracked his knuckles and turned back to the computer.

  Jessie glanced over his shoulder and gave him some suggestions, and a few minutes later they had a good-looking chart.

  “This is cause for celebration!” Jessie said, leading the way upstairs, where the smell of popcorn was wafting through the brownstone. Laney was standing on a step stool, drizzling chocolate into a bowl filled with freshly popped corn.

  Hyacinth was sprinkling Parmesan on top of popcorn in another bowl, and Papa was at the stove with the ancient iron corn popper, cranking the handle that rotated the kernels inside.

  “It’s nice outside,” Jessie said. “Should we do a REP Movie Night?”

  Papa looked as if someone had just given him season tickets for his favorite basketball team.

  “It’s Hyacinth’s turn to choose a movie,” Laney announced, and everyone groaned. Hyacinth was so empathetic that all but one movie terrified her. She always selected Babe, the story of a pig living on a farm in England.

  The Vanderbeekers grabbed Mama from the couch, where she was happily buried in a pile of throw blankets, reading a novel and drinking tea. They forced her upstairs, through Isa and Jessie’s bedroom window, and up the fire escape. Tapping on Miss Josie’s window as they passed by, they asked if she wanted to join them, but she shook her head and pointed to the television, where Jeopardy! was on. Miss Josie loved Jeopardy!

  Pretty soon the Vanderbeekers were relaxing in the Adirondack chairs with bowls of popcorn in their laps. Before Jessie pressed play, Orlando stepped in front of the projection screen and cleared his throat.

  “Can I just say something before the movie begins?” he asked.

  Everyone nodded, and Jessie’s stomach dropped. He was going to tell them he was going back to Georgia; she knew it. As she braced herself, Orlando’s words registered in her head.

  “I’m going to stay here with Miss Josie,” he said.

  Hyacinth, Laney, Oliv
er, and Jessie sprang from their seats, popcorn bowls upended, and rushed to him for hugs.

  “I knew it, I knew it!” Laney said. “I knew you couldn’t leave us!”

  “This is the best news ever!” Hyacinth exclaimed.

  “Now you can help me train for basketball tryouts!” Oliver said.

  “Science fair reigning champions, here we come!” Jessie said. “Oh my gosh, Miss Josie must be so excited.”

  Orlando grinned. “I told her yesterday, but I think she filled out the guardianship paperwork last week in hopes I would say yes.”

  Once the Vanderbeeker kids were done jumping all over Orlando, Mama and Papa came to give him hugs.

  “We’re so glad, Orlando,” Mama said.

  “We love you, Orlando,” Papa said. “Don’t ever forget that.”

  If Jessie had been watching her parents’ faces more closely, she would have seen a worried wrinkle around their eyes. But she was too excited and missed it entirely, not even noticing when her parents excused themselves halfway through the movie to put Hyacinth and Laney to bed.

  The movie was nearly done when Jessie looked around and realized that only she and Orlando were there.

  “Where did everyone go?”

  “Your sisters were falling asleep.”

  “So here we were watching Babe when we could have been watching a National Geographic documentary?” Jessie flicked the computer and projector off, closed the laptop, and leaned her head back. A few clouds drifted lazily in front of the moon. Footsteps creaked up the fire escape, and Jessie and Orlando turned toward the sound.

  Papa appeared. “Hey. Miss Josie would like to chat with you both before bed. Can you come down?” Orlando shot up out of the Adirondack chair. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. Come on, let’s go see her.”

  Orlando and Jessie glanced at each other, then grabbed the laptop and projector before silently following Papa down the fire escape. They waited for Papa to awkwardly squeeze through the second-floor window before hopping inside themselves. Jessie froze at the sight of Miss Josie’s red eyes. She held a crumpled tissue in her hand.

  “What’s going on?” Orlando asked.

  “Sit down,” Miss Josie told him.

  Orlando and Jessie didn’t sit down. They just stood there, waiting, while Papa took a seat next to Mama and Miss Josie.

  “You know I love you,” Miss Josie said to Orlando. There was silence.

  Miss Josie cleared her throat and began again. “I submitted paperwork for guardianship last week, and part of the application requires a home visit. When the officer came a few days ago to inspect the apartment, he said that there needs to be a separate bedroom for you.

  “I don’t mind sleeping on the couch,” Orlando said quickly. “That’s fine with me.”

  “The officer said I need a two-bedroom apartment,” Miss Josie clarified. “I’m going to look for one, but it might take a while.”

  Jessie glanced around the apartment Miss Josie had lived in for decades. The furniture was perfectly arranged to fit, and every nook and cranny was filled with the things she and Mr. Jeet had collected over their lifetimes.

  Orlando shook his head. “You can’t move, Aunt Josie. This is your home.”

  “The officer gave me a week to figure things out, but I wanted to let you know what’s going on. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re cared for.”

  There was a long pause, then Orlando nodded. “You’ve done so much for me already. I’m grateful.”

  “You have always been a bright light for me and Mr. Jeet. We love you.”

  Orlando stood up and kissed Miss Josie’s cheek. “I love you too,” he said, then, “I’ve got to get up early tomorrow to train with the team and then head to the marathon route. Good night, everyone.”

  “Good night,” Miss Josie, Mama, Papa, and Jessie said. They watched him go into the bedroom and shut the door.

  “We should get going too,” Mama said, standing up and giving Miss Josie a hug.

  Jessie trailed behind her parents as they went downstairs to their apartment. Her parents followed her into her bedroom. Isa was still at the homecoming dance, and the room was empty and lonely.

  “Are you okay, honey?” Mama asked.

  Jessie shook her head. “This whole situation is wrong. He should be able to stay with Miss Josie. He should be with someone who can take great care of him. We can help Miss Josie find a two-bedroom apartment, right?”

  “We could,” Papa said slowly, “but it would be hard. She’s lived in this building so long, and Mr. Beiderman doesn’t charge her a lot of money for rent. Trying to get a bigger apartment will most likely be beyond her budget. She’s also had some health challenges recently, and she worries about how long she can take care of him.”

  “But Orlando is no trouble,” Jessie said. “He can help her. ”

  “Orlando has been taking care of his mom his entire life,” Mama said. “Miss Josie thinks it’s time for someone to take care of his needs for once.”

  Jessie’s heart gave a heavy thump. “So he has to go back to Georgia?”

  Papa shook his head. “We don’t know yet. We have to see what happens.”

  Jessie crawled into bed without changing into her pajamas, buried herself in her covers, and turned toward the wall. “That’s so messed up. Hasn’t he been through enough?”

  * * *

  Later that night, Jessie sent a text to Orlando.

  JESSIE: Thinking about you.

  JESSIE: We’ll figure something out. Everything is going to be okay.

  She waited for a few minutes to see if Orlando would respond, but her phone was silent. She put the phone down next to her bed and closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted.

  Jessie could not understand why a person as wonderful as Orlando had to go through so much. He deserved a home. He deserved a father who would sit next to him in the hard times. He deserved three meals a day and a mom who picked up the phone when he called and a family who cheered for him from the sidelines when he ran cross-country. Jessie held all those thoughts close to her heart, wishing them into reality as she fell into a restless sleep.

  Sunday, November 3

  Marathon Day

  Thirty-Two

  When the Vanderbeekers woke up on Sunday, the sky was gray with low-hanging clouds. It was drizzly and cold, and for once, the Vanderbeekers could sleep in. Because the marathon organizers staggered the runners’ starting times, Mr. Beiderman wouldn’t begin until ten thirty, which meant that if all went well, he would arrive at the first agreed-upon cheer site at 59th Street and 1st Avenue around one o’clock. After that, the Vanderbeekers would have to rush to the other two cheer locations to catch him as he passed by.

  It was the last day of Daylights Saving Time—Mama and Papa’s favorite day of the year—and the clocks had all been turned back the night before, so everyone had gotten an extra hour of sleep. Isa, exhausted from staying out late at the dance the night before, slept through her eight o’clock alarm, while Hyacinth woke up at six. Determined to finish Orlando’s quilt, Hyacinth planned to give it to him that evening after the marathon.

  Mama was the first one awake and downstairs after Hyacinth. It was just before nine o’clock, and she kissed Hyacinth’s cheek on her way to the kitchen to make breakfast. Hyacinth, almost done with her quilt, got up and followed Mama. The quilt was huge and a little uneven, a natural outcome when multiple kids with varying knitting abilities contributed to the project. Hyacinth was sewing the last square to the quilt when Jessie, Oliver, Laney, and Papa tumbled down the stairs, following the scent of blueberry scones, scrambled eggs, and hash browns.

  “Eat up!” Mama said as she placed an enormous bowl of fruit salad on the table.

  “Did you know,” Laney said as she picked up a plate and tried to separate the “good” fruit (grapes, strawberries, and blueberries) from the “yucky” fruit (honeydew and cantaloupe), “that Mr. Beiderman had to get up at five in the mornin
g to take a bus to the starting line in Staten Island?”

  “That’s way early,” Oliver said with a loud yawn.

  “And he had to put everything except for his wallet into a clear bag that has his marathon number on it and the marathon people take it to the finish line so he doesn’t have to carry it when he runs,” Laney said expertly.

  “I had no idea. I can’t even imagine all the logistics related to such a huge event!” Mama said as she scooped a spoonful of eggs onto Laney’s plate.

  “I finished Orlando’s quilt! It’s done!” Hyacinth jumped from her seat and waved the knitted quilt in her arms.

  “Yay!” cheered everyone except Jessie.

  Jessie waited for her siblings to quiet down, then said, “You know that Orlando can’t stay with Miss Josie, right?”

  “What?” Hyacinth said. Her arms dropped and the quilt slid to the ground.

  “But he just told us last night he was staying!” Oliver said.

  Laney burst into tears.

  Papa put an arm around Jessie. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re figuring things out right now.”

  “We’ve hit an administrative hurdle,” Mama added, “that we hope to have solved very soon.”

  “I don’t want him to leave,” Laney cried.

  Mama held up her hands. “Listen, I know this is upsetting, but please don’t worry. We’re working on a solution, but right now Mr. Beiderman is expecting us to give him bananas and water on the marathon route. Let’s get moving, and I promise we’ll talk more about this later today.”

  The Vanderbeekers finished breakfast and were cleaning up the kitchen when someone pounded on the front door.

  Papa opened it to find Miss Josie, out of breath and flushed.

  “What’s going on?” Papa said, concerned. “Is something wrong?”

  “Have you seen Orlando?” she asked in a panic.

  “No,” Papa said, looking around. Everyone was shaking their heads.

  Miss Josie’s face was stricken. “He’s gone.”