by Sheryl Berk
Kylie delicately placed a few cupcakes on a silver platter. “Do you think our doggies need doilies? Or is that too fancy?”
“I think we should put them on white paper napkins to look like wee-wee pads,” Jenna chuckled.
“That would be really funny!” Kylie agreed. “I think I saw some with the sandwiches out front.” She went to search, leaving Jenna with Dulce and her puppy playmates.
“Your family is bigger than mine,” Jenna observed, watching Dulce run with the pack in circles. She noticed that Dulce often got edged out of the group and left behind—the same way Jenna did in the Medina clan. Her mother was with Leo; Ricky and Manny were a duo; Gabby and Marisol stuck together like glue. That always left her out in the cold. Just like Dulce, she was always fighting to maintain her place in the circle.
She stepped in and scooped up the little puppy before she could get trampled again. “I know how you feel, girl,” she said, stroking Dulce’s furry head. “Nobody pays much attention to you. But I will. I even brought you a present.” She sat down on the floor and pulled a chew toy out of her pocket. It was shaped like a cupcake. She tossed it high in the air and called, “Fetch!” Dulce scampered after it.
Just then, she heard a loud noise and lots of excited barks behind her. The entire display of pupcakes went crashing to the floor as Trixie pounced on it.
“Wait! No!” Jenna screamed. But it was too late; the dogs were devouring the pupcakes, and it was all she could do to wrestle the Styrofoam bone away before that was in shreds. Kylie, Leo, and Lucky came running.
“Oh, no! The pupcakes!” Kylie cried.
“Looks like Miss Trixie is up to her old tricks,” Lucky said. “She’s a master at getting the latch on the pen gate open. I guess she smelled your treats and couldn’t wait to have a taste.”
Jenna stared in disbelief: all that was left of their pupcake sculpture was a pile of crumbs. Dulce hopped into the center of the mob and nabbed a few.
“All our hard work,” Jenna sighed. “Gobbled up before anyone got to see it.”
“Doggone dogs,” Leo said, trying to brighten the mood. “Where are their manners? Don’t they know you wait to eat until all the guests have arrived?”
“Well, at least we have plenty of beautiful cupcakes left for the people coming,” Lucky said. “Save me a vanilla Maltese one—I’m going to open the doors. It’s noon!”
The afternoon flew by with lots of praise for PLC’s cupcakes and lots of adoptions for the dogs at Rescue Rover. Jenna wanted Dulce to find a good, loving family, but she secretly hoped no one would take her away. By 4 p.m., most of the crowd had cleared out, and the tiny Havanese puppy remained in her crate. Jenna heaved a sigh of relief.
“I guess we’re meant to be together for a little longer,” she said, reaching in to tickle the puppy’s tummy. “I’ll come back and visit you in a few days, I promise.”
•••
Jenna’s report was due Monday morning, and she decided, as Lucky had advised, to let the dogs do the talking. She created an iMovie filled with photos and videos of the Rescue Rover residents. There was even Trixie gobbling up the pupcake sculpture! Jenna’s voice narrated the movie as it played on the classroom SMART Board.
“Rescue Rover is run by Lucille ‘Lucky’ Gilligan, a lady who gives her heart and soul to saving dogs who have been abused, abandoned, and otherwise forgotten. Rescue Rover is trying to recruit dozens of volunteers from the Connecticut community and to raise funds for everything from training to treats. Lucky’s goal is to find every pet at her shelter a loving home.”
The last image was a photo Leo had snapped of Jenna snuggling Dulce. “Won’t you reach out to a puppy in need? Rescue Rover needs you!” Jenna concluded. The class applauded.
“That was a very moving and heartfelt presentation, Jenna,” Ms. Heller commended her. “I can see you really spent a lot of time researching your cause and becoming involved in it.”
“Oh, I am.” Jenna nodded. “In fact, I’m going back today to visit my puppy.”
“I bet it’s supersized like her,” Meredith muttered under her breath.
Jenna ignored the nasty comment. It was what she did most of the time when Meredith tried to get a rise out of her. But then, she went too far.
“Is it that messy black-and-white thing in the video? What a mutt!” Meredith snickered. “My Fifi comes from a long line of purebred poodles. She’s a show dog.”
Jenna gritted her teeth. No one—especially not Meredith—was going to call Dulce nasty names.
“If anyone is a messy mutt, it’s not Dulce…” Jenna shot back.
Ms. Heller stepped between them. “I’m sure she’s a lovely dog. Meredith, kindly keep your opinions to yourself.”
“Just sayin’…” Meredith smiled innocently.
“Don’t let her ruffle your fur,” Ms. Heller whispered to Jenna. “Dulce is absolutely precious.”
•••
After social studies, Jenna caught up with Kylie in the hallway.
“I know that look,” Kylie said, observing the scowl on Jenna’s face. “What did Meredith Mitchell do now?”
“She said some totally mean things about Dulce.”
“Meredith is picking on an innocent little puppy?” Kylie had dealt with Meredith’s mean ways all through fourth grade, and had hoped she’d learned her lesson and stopped bullying. “I guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Meredith is always going to have a big mouth.”
“Exactly!” Jenna exclaimed. “And if she does it again, it’s gonna get ugly. No one messes with my puppy.”
Kylie laughed. “You sound like a fierce mommy protecting her young. I’ve never seen this side of you, Jenna.”
Just then, Rodney Higgins, Juliette’s boyfriend and Blakely’s visiting Shakespeare teacher, ran up to them.
“Girls, can I have a quick word?” he asked. He was looking around anxiously. “You haven’t seen Ms. Dubois on this floor of the school, have you?”
Jenna raised an eyebrow. “I think she’s teaching second-period drama to the fourth graders downstairs. Why?”
Rodney mopped his brow with a handkerchief. “Oh, phew! That’s a relief. I need to ask you a very important favor.”
“If you want us to convince Juliette to do a different Shakespeare play next year, it’s no-go,” Jenna said. “She’s determined to do Macbeth—even though she says it’s not your favorite.”
“I prefer Julius Caesar—but that’s not what I wanted your help with,” he continued. “Can you assure me I have your ultimate confidence?”
Kylie nodded. “If you’re asking can we keep a secret…our lips are sealed.”
He ushered them into a quiet corner and pulled a small velvet box out of his jacket pocket.
“Is that what I think it is?” Kylie gasped. “A ring?”
“Oh, no…not another engagement!” Jenna groaned. “It’s an epidemic! Wedding-itis!”
“I’m afraid so.” Rodney blushed. “And you’re to blame! If it hadn’t been for your fifth-grade Shakespeare class, we would never have met and fallen in love.”
Jenna remembered how Rodney and Juliette started off hating each other several months ago, fighting over which actor played the best Hamlet (Juliette thought it was Richard Burton; Rodney thought it was himself) and disagreeing over how to stage the fifth-grade performance of Romeo and Juliet. Then one day, as if a bolt of lightning struck them both, everything changed. They started calling each other “sweetheart” and “darling” and staring lovingly into each other’s eyes. It was pretty sickening!
Jenna knew her mother and Leo has fallen for each other even quicker than that. Her mami called it “amor a primer vista,” love at first sight. She insisted that she knew Leo was “The One” before he even spoke a single word. It seemed pretty crazy: how could someone know that in just one look?
But Kylie was a romantic: she believed that Rodney and Juliette, like Romeo and Juliet, were destined to be together, even when they hated each other’s guts back in the fall. “We’d love to help, Mr. Higgins,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’d like to place an order for a few dozen cupcakes.” Rodney winked.
Back at Kylie’s house that afternoon, Jenna admired the beautiful antique sapphire ring that Mr. Higgins had entrusted to them.
“Let me get this straight,” Sadie said. “He wants us to hide this engagement ring in the cupcake?”
“It’s his grandmother’s ring—so it’s really special,” Kylie explained. “Juliette is gonna flip!”
“Or freak out,” Jenna cautioned them. “What if she doesn’t feel the same way about Mr. Higgins? What if she doesn’t want to marry him?”
“Oh, she will!” Lexi smiled. “If Jeremy gave me an engagement ring in a cupcake, I’d say yes.”
“Please…not you too!” Jenna groaned. Lexi and Jeremy Saperstone had been “an item” since they played Romeo and Juliet, but they were both eleven years old! “I can’t take one more engagement!”
“Relax,” Lexi said, putting an arm around Jenna. “I plan on studying art at Sorbonne University in Paris before I settle down.”
“Thank you,” Jenna said. “At least someone around here hasn’t gone totally crazy.”
“What’ll we do?” Delaney asked. “How does Mr. Higgins plan on getting Juliette to take a bite?”
Kylie laid out the plan: “We’re going to tell Juliette we need to do a taste test of our new spring flavors. We’ll tell her we asked Mr. Higgins and Jack Yu to be the other tasters. When she bites into a cupcake and sees something sparkly, Mr. Higgins can pop the question.”
Lexi pulled out a list of flavors the club had planned on trying for their spring orders. “I have pink lemonade, mint julep, cherry blossom, peach cobbler, and coconut cream pie.”
“Perfect!” Kylie said. “Let’s whip ’em up and call a meeting for tomorrow after school. We’ll be ready…I hope Mr. Higgins is!”
•••
The next day, Kylie passed Jenna in the hall before the last period of the day and gave her a thumbs-up: “Just forty-five minutes ’til Operation I Do!” Honestly, Jenna didn’t see what the big deal was. Juliette was perfectly happy being the Blakely drama teacher and their cupcake club advisor. Why did Mr. Higgins have to go and change all of that? She secretly hoped Juliette would reply, “Gracias, but no thanks.”
Jack and Mr. Higgins came as planned to the PLC meeting. “So are we going to taste some delicious new cupcakes today?” Rodney said, entering the teachers’ lounge kitchen. “I’m starving!”
“Wow, he’s a pretty good actor,” Kylie whispered to Jenna. “I’d never know he was a bundle of nerves, would you?”
“Okay, tasting panel,” Kylie announced. “Please jot down your notes on the pads in front of you. Tell us if you think the cupcakes need more or less of something, or if you’d like to see some different decoration. We want your opinions.”
Jack raised his hand. “Do I get to eat all the cupcakes?”
“Sure,” Lexi answered. “If you’d like to. But save room—there are lots of different ones to taste.”
“That’s okay,” Jack said, rubbing his belly. “I’ve got plenty of room in here! And I love cupcakes!”
Delaney brought out the first tray with pink lemonade cupcakes. She and Lexi had created tiny, pink fondant pitchers on top.
“It reminds me of summer,” Juliette said, taking a sniff of the lemon-scented frosting. “Did you use zest?”
“Just a tiny bit,” Sadie replied. “Is it too much?”
“No, no. It has a sour kick, but I think the sweetness of the cupcake balances it out,” Rodney spoke up. “Don’t you agree, Jack?”
“What? Huh?” Jack asked. He had gobbled up the cupcake in two bites.
“How did you like it?” Jenna said.
“Oh, it was good. What’s the next one?”
The girls brought out tray after tray, and Jenna noticed that Mr. Higgins was starting to lose his cool.
“So, what’s your best cupcake?” he asked. “Is there one you really want Ms. Dubois to taste today?”
“Bring out our favorite cupcake,” Kylie said, elbowing Delaney.
“I thought I did,” she whispered. “Wasn’t the ring supposed to be in the mint julep one?”
“I thought you put it in the peach cobbler,” Sadie replied.
“Excuse us…” Kylie said, dragging the girls to the corner of the room. “There will be a brief intermission before the final course.”
Juliette looked concerned. “Is everything okay, girls?”
“Great! Fine! Perfect!” Kylie tried to cover.
When they were out of earshot, she handed each girl a pile of toothpicks. “Start poking all the cupcakes till you find that ring!” she said. “Mr. Higgins is going to kill us!”
“I just had a horrible thought,” Lexi said, watching Jack lick his fingers. “What if we accidentally gave the cupcake with the ring in it to Jack? He practically inhaled them. What if he ate Juliette’s ring?”
Jenna cracked up. “Over the teeth and under the gums, look out, tummy, here it comes!”
“It’s not funny, Jenna,” Kylie said, gently poking through mounds of frosting.
“Aw, I think it has a nice ring to it, don’t you?” Jenna joked.
“Wait! Did anyone put nuts in the coconut-cream-pie cupcakes?” Sadie asked.
“No,” Kylie answered. “They’re supposed to be light and fluffy, no nuts.”
“Then I think I found the missing ring,” Sadie whispered. They raced over to present the last cupcake tray to the tasters.
“I’m sorry, ladies. I’m stuffed,” Juliette said. “And I have costumes to go sew for the second-grade spring festival. I’ll take a pass on the last flavor. Jack and Rodney can give you their verdict.” She pushed her plate away and started to get up from the table.
“Wait! No!” Kylie shouted. “We really need you to taste this one!” She looked nervously at Jenna and mouthed, “Help me!”
“Right. This is the best one,” Jenna improvised. “I used a rare blend of shredded coconut…from Canada.”
Juliette looked skeptical. “Canada? Don’t coconuts grow on palm trees in the tropics?”
“That’s what makes this coconut so rare,” Jenna continued. “It’s called the Coco Canadian. And since you’re from Canada, Juliette, you’re the only one who can really tell us if it tastes, um, authentic.”
“Absolutely!” Mr. Higgins added. “I defer to Ms. Dubois on this cupcake.”
Juliette looked at the cupcake: it seemed normal enough. Lexi had created a delicate meringue frosting to hide what was really inside.
“Okay, I’ll take one bite,” Juliette said. She poked at the cupcake gingerly with her fork before digging in. “It’s good. Very moist. Very fresh. I think your Canadian Coconut is a hit, Jenna.”
“What? That’s all?” Kylie cried. “What about what’s inside?”
Juliette was puzzled. “I don’t taste any filling. Am I missing something?”
Mr. Higgins suddenly grabbed the cupcake and mashed it on the table with his fist. There was no ring.
“Rodney!” Juliette gasped. “What are you doing?” Frosting and crumbs went flying everywhere. He started sniffing the plate like a hunting dog.
“It…must…be…here…” he stammered, digging through the frosting.
“If you didn’t like the flavor, you didn’t have to destroy it!” Juliette exclaimed. “What’s come over you?”
“I didn’t love it either,” Jack said. “Mine was kinda lumpy.”
“Lumpy?” Jenna asked. “Gimme your plate.” She seized the cupcake out of Jack’s hands.
Jenna used a fork to pick through the remaining cupcake half on his plate. There, on the very bottom of the wrapper, was the sapphire ring.
She handed it to Mr. Higgins, who was frantically trying to explain his strange behavior to Juliette. “I think your cupcake was missing an important ingredient,” Jenna said, handing the ring to Juliette.
“What’s this?” Juliette asked.
Mr. Higgins got down on one knee and recited his favorite lines from Shakespeare’s The Tempest: “Hear my soul speak: The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service.” Then he took a deep breath, looked into Juliette’s eyes, and asked, “Will you marry me?”
Juliette was speechless. Here it comes, thought Jenna. She’s going to turn him down. No one said a word. They just waited.
Finally, Rodney spoke. “I know it was a crumby proposal…literally.” He dusted the cupcake crumbs off his shirt. “I wanted it to be perfect.”
“It was totally our fault,” Kylie added. “Please don’t blame Mr. Higgins. We mixed up the cupcakes. We ruined everything.”
“Nonsense!” Juliette insisted. “It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“Does that mean you’re saying yes?” Rodney asked. Jenna could see the beads of sweat on his brow and the tears in Juliette’s eyes.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Juliette cried and kissed him. Everyone cheered—even Jenna. But Juliette could see the concern on her face.
“Don’t worry, Jenna,” she said. “We won’t be getting married in a month. We both have the school year to finish out before we think about walking down the aisle.”
“Will you get married in Vegas too?” Delaney asked.
“Oh, no! Canada where my family is,” Juliette replied.
“Really, darling? I was thinking more of London where I hail from,” Rodney said.
“No, sweetheart,” Juliette said, patting her fiancé’s hand. “You know I always dreamed of getting married at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec.”
“But, Buttercup.” Rodney smiled sweetly. “What about the Barbican Centre Conservatory in London? It doesn’t get more theatrical than that.”