Just Grace and the Flower Girl Power

by Charise Mericle Harper

  WHAT IS UNFORTUNATE

  Just because there is an easy way to solve a problem, it does not mean that you will be smart enough to choose that way. The smart me would have said, “Augustine Dupre, can you help me remember where I know Luke from?” And even though I would have maybe been embarrassed for a second, she would have for sure helped me.

  But I did not do this. Instead, I pretended that I remembered that I knew him. It saved me from being embarrassed, but now I was stuck in a yes-I-know-Luke lie!

  AUGUSTINE DUPRE'S BOYFRIEND

  When someone shows you a picture of their almost-husband, you should really offer up some compliments. It’s super bad manners not to say something nice—even I know that. “He’s very smiley” I said. "And I like this picture too.” I pointed to the one where they were both sticking out their tongues. Augustine Dupre smiled. It was a real smile, I could tell, because of her eyes.

  WHAT MOM SAID WHEN I TOLD HER ABOUT THE WEDDING

  “I know! Isn’t it exciting?” Mom did a twirl and started humming the wedding song. “Da dum da da. Da dum da—” I couldn’t believe it! “Mom!” I shouted. “You knew about the wedding? How come you didn’t tell me?” Mom stopped in the middle of her second twirl. “Sweetie, Augustine Dupre wanted to be the one to tell you. It’s her big news, not mine.” She came and hugged me. Weirdly, today was turning out to be a big day for hugging.

  WHAT MOM SAID NEXT

  “I know it’s a change, but it’s a happy change, right?” Mom was still hugging me tight. She was waiting for an answer. I could tell I was trapped. Her arms were like padlocks of love—they were only going to open if she knew I was feeling okay. I nodded my head yes. It worked. She gave me an extra squeeze and then let go. “Hey,” said Mom. “How about some French toast? Would you like that?” “No thank you,” I said. “I’ll have cereal.” “Okay,” said Mom. “If that makes you happy.”

  WHY CEREAL CAN MAKE ME HAPPY

  THE CEREAL GAME

  After breakfast Mr. Scruffers and I went up to my room, and even though my favorite stuff was all around me, I still couldn’t think of a single thing to do.

  MY HOUSE AS A HAPPINESS GRAPH

  As soon as I got upstairs to my room, I started to think about everything that had just happened. Sometimes doing lots of thinking by yourself is not a good idea. It can make you sad.

  I decided to go down to the living room. The ground floor was closer to Augustine Dupre. Maybe it would help to be closer to her bride-to-be happiness. Maybe some of her joy would float up from the basement and help make me feel better.

  I didn’t have much time to experiment because Mr. Scruffers started whining, jumping on me, and finally racing back and forth between my legs and the back door. She was 100 percent desperate to be let out! There are only two things that make her crazy like that—squirrels and Crinkles.

  Mr. Scruffers has a mini-superpower. It has to do with the backyard. Without even looking out the window or the doorway, she can somehow tell if there is a creature walking around on our lawn. I don’t know how she does it.

  WHAT I USED TO DO

  I used to let Mr. Scruffers charge out the door and chase after a squirrel or Crinkles, but then I started to feel kind of bad. It was my empathy feelings working. And they were working for Crinkles. Suddenly I was thinking about how he must feel super nervous and scared every time he steps into our yard. I’m sure the day we got Mr. Scruffers was one of the worst days of his whole cat life. He really has to be brave to come and visit Augustine Dupre.

  HOW I HELP CRINKLES

  I tried to get Mr. Scruffers not to chase Crinkles, but it’s impossible—she has to do it. She can’t help herself. It must be a nature thing: dogs can’t help but chase cats.

  To help Crinkles I invented a new way for letting Mr. Scruffers outside. First I check out the window to see if Crinkles is out there. If he is, I jiggle the door handle around before I open the door. That way Crinkles can hear the rattle and know what is about to happen. Usually he runs and hides. The extra waiting drives Mr. Scruffers crazy, but at least it’s more fair for Crinkles.

  I don’t do the door handle warning for squirrels, but that’s okay, because they eat all the strawberries off our strawberry plants. Plus, I don’t think they’re that scared of Mr. Scruffers anyway. Dad says she’d never catch one in a million years. Squirrels are fast!

  WHAT SQUIRRELS MIGHT REALLY BE SAYING

  I never really thought about squirrels until we got Mr. Scruffers. Some of her squirrel thinking has rubbed off on me. I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling she spends a lot of time thinking about squirrels.

  WHO WAS OUTSIDE

  Mr. Scruffers was whining and had her nose pushed right up against the crack where the door opens. I looked out the window to see if it was Crinkles or a squirrel, but I couldn’t see anything. Mr. Scruffers was going 100 percent crazy. Finally I just opened the door and followed her out. She ran straight to the side gate. Someone was banging on it and shouting. “Scruffy! Scruffy! Scruffy!”

  I didn’t have to be a detective to know who it was. It was Robert, Mimi’s new little brother. Robert is in love with Mr. Scruffers—at least that’s what Mimi says. Mr. Scruffers likes Robert okay, but it’s not love, except for when Robert is eating—then she loves him.

  THE TWO IMPORTANT THINGS I SAID TO ROBERT

  If you are a dog, food can change everything.

  “Robert, you are not allowed to bang on the gate. If you want to play with Mr. Scruffers, you have to come to the front door and ask.” I told him this because Dad says it’s important for people to not use the side gate. He’s worried that someone will leave the gate open and then Mr. Scruffers will get lost. This is a good thing to be worried about. Mostly this is a rule for tall people who can reach the gate latch, but I told Robert about it anyway. It is good practice, because one day he will for sure be taller.

  “You should probably go home and put on some pants and maybe some shoes.” Robert was wearing a T-shirt, racing car underpants, and striped socks. This was not the best choice for an I’m-going-to-play-outside outfit, but maybe when you are almost four years old you don’t care so much about pants—you just want to get out of the house really fast!

  WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

  Robert looked at me and nodded, but he didn’t move. It was confusing. Maybe he was only pretending to understand me. Thankfully two seconds later I heard Mimi’s voice calling him from her front door. I yelled back at her. “Mimi! He’s here!” I didn’t want her worrying that he was missing or something. And then I added some more information: "And he’s not wearing pants!” Somehow that seemed important. I guess it was, because five seconds later Mimi was suddenly standing in front of us. She was not happy.

  WHAT ROBERT SAID TO MIMI

  “Oops. I forgot.”

  WHAT MIMI SAID TO ME

  “Don’t ask. It’s a mystery to me too.”

  WHAT BEST FRIENDS CAN DO

  Sometimes best friends can answer each other’s questions before the questions are even spoken out loud. This was one of those times.

  WHAT I SAID TO MIMI

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

  WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

  Robert looked down at his legs and up at Mimi, and then he ran back home across the lawn. I guess his brain was thinking, “Oh! I get it. Legs need pants.” Whether his brain was also thinking, “Feet need shoes”...that part was hard to tell. Mimi followed him home.

  WHAT I 100 PERCENT FORGOT TO TELL MIMI

  That Augustine Dupre was getting married!

  I ran inside and shouted out to Mom that I was going over to Mimi’s house.

  WHAT I SAID TO MIMI THE MINUTE SHE OPENED HER DOOR

  “Augustine Dupre is getting married in two weeks in Mrs. Luther’s backyard, and I don’t get to be the flower girl!” Of course Mimi was totally surprised. “You aren’t the flower girl? Are you sad or mad?” she asked. “Sad,” I said. "And really I should be super happy
for Augustine Dupre, but I can’t because mostly I’m just sad for me.” Mimi made her I-feel-sad-with-you face and opened the door wide so I could come in. I followed her up to her room. On the way we passed the kitchen. She grabbed a plate of banana bread. Mimi is not allowed to take food up to her room, but no one saw her and I didn’t say anything. And besides, this was not a normal day. This was a special occasion—it was a flower girl crisis!

  WHAT HAPPENED IN MIMI'S ROOM

  Of course I had a lot to tell Mimi.

  It is impossible to chew and talk at the same time, so by the time I had finished telling Mimi all about the wedding, she had already finished her half of the banana bread. It’s easy to chew and listen.

  Mimi had lots of questions, Most I could answer, but the last one was a surprise. It was a question I hadn’t even thought of before.

  MIMI'S QUESTIONS

  Are you mad at Augustine Dupre?

  Are you sure you can’t remember who Luke is?

  Is Luke French? Can he speak English?

  Are you going to help with Delphine?

  What special thing are you going to be doing at the wedding? Did she say what it was?

  Does Luke like cats? Is he allergic to them?

  Is Luke going to live with Augustine Dupre in your basement? Or is she going to go live with him?

  MY ANSWERS

  No.

  I know it’s weird, but I can’t.

  Yes. Augustine Dupre says he speaks English perfectly and doesn’t even have a French accent.

  Probably.

  I don’t know. Probably something not exciting.

  I don’t know.

  OH NO! Do you think she might move away?

  WHO CUTELY INTERRUPTED US

  I was just starting to get upset, thinking about Augustine Dupre maybe moving away, when someone rattled the handle on Mimi’s door. I thought it was Mimi’s mom and suddenly a new thought popped into my brain. “Oh no! She’ll see my banana bread.” I grabbed it off the plate, looked around for a hiding place, and then decided that the best place to hide it was in my mouth. It was a big piece.

  Two seconds later Robert opened the door and charged into the room. He ran over to Mimi, flung himself into the air, and landed right beside her on the bed. For a second I thought he might want to cuddle, but suddenly he jumped to his feet and started waving a box in front of her face. “Mimi, open these! Open these! Open these!” he shouted. Mimi took the box from him. “Hey, where did you get this?” she said. “You aren’t supposed to have this box.” She looked at me and winked. “Grace thinks we should take these back to the kitchen, right?” I had banana bread cheeks, so instead of talking I nodded my head.

  WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

  Robert and I followed Mimi downstairs. I was glad that we were going to the kitchen—I really needed to drink something. As soon as Mimi stepped into the kitchen, she stopped. I wasn’t expecting that. I bumped into the back of her.

  THIS IS WHAT MIMI SAW

  Mimi spun around and looked at Robert. Her eyes flashed mad, but she blinked the mad out, took a deep breath, and bent down to talk to him. “You have to stop doing this,” said Mimi. She pointed to the stool. “It’s dangerous. You could fall. Promise me you won’t put all this stuff together to climb on the counter. Okay?” Mimi was using a serious voice but she wasn’t yelling or sounding mad. If she had shouted, Robert would have for sure cried, but instead he just put his head down and mumbled something. I couldn’t hear what he said, but Mimi nodded her head, gave him a hug, and then opened the box of crackers.

  WHAT HAPPENED AFTER I HAD A BIG DRINK OF WATER

  Mimi gave Robert two crackers and put the box back high on the shelf. “Crackers are his favorite,” said Mimi. “Well, that and chocolate cake, but that’s more of a special occasion thing. If Mom let him he would eat nothing but crackers. That’s why we have to put them up so high.” Mimi held the stool and looked around the kitchen. “Maybe Dad should put this in the basement,” she said. I watched Mimi being busy. She was the same Mimi but different. I had never seen her be so mom-like before.

  “You’re good at taking care of someone,” I said. “Really?” asked Mimi. “Yeah, you are,” I said. “If I ever go on vacation I would totally let you watch Mr. Scruffers.” “Wow. Okay, thanks,” said Mimi. She came over and gave my shoulder a little hug. “I’m sorry about you not being a flower girl,” said Mimi. I thought she was finished talking, but then she said, “Maybe the other special thing you get to do will be even better. Augustine Dupre is pretty good with ideas.” I smiled. It was my real smile because it was true. “Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “She is good with ideas.”

  WHAT I SAW ON THE WAY HOME

  Mimi lives next door, so usually there is not much new stuff to see on my walk home. Today was different though. I noticed two new things right away.

  THE TWO THINGS

  A UPS truck parked right in front of my house.

  Sammy Stringer walking on the road.

  I noticed the UPS truck because I love the UPS truck. The UPS truck brings presents! I love presents! Lately we’ve been pretty lucky—the UPS truck has been coming by more often. Mom must be buying more stuff.

  I noticed Sammy Stringer because he was walking in the middle of the street. The street is not a safe place to walk. I waved at Sammy but he didn’t see me. He was looking at the sidewalk, and there sitting in the middle of the sidewalk was Crinkles. Sammy is not a cat lover. He has catphobia. I don’t know if that’s a real word, but for Sammy it’s a real thing. He’s 100 percent scared of cats.

  Crinkles has Sammy-phobia. He 100 percent does not like Sammy. Ever since Sammy tried to catch him while wearing oven mitts, Crinkles hates him and hisses at him. I can’t really blame him for that. Oven mitts are probably scary to a cat.

  I called Crinkles over to get him off the sidewalk so Sammy could be safe, but he ignored me. Lately Crinkles has not been liking me very much either. I took a step closer and he got up and ran under the UPS truck. I know it’s because of Mr. Scruffers, but it still kind of makes me sad. We used to be such good friends.

  Mom says it’s probably because I smell like Mr. Scruffers. I’ve been trying to wash my hands a lot, but so far Crinkles doesn’t seem to be appreciating all my extra efforts.

  WHAT SAMMY SAID

  Lots of boys might be embarrassed if they knew you found out they are afraid of cats. They might try to hide their fear by saying things like “I like walking in the street” or “Sidewalks are for babies,” but not Sammy. Sammy is not this kind of boy.

  As soon as Crinkles was under the truck Sammy stepped onto the sidewalk. “Thanks,” he shouted. “That was a close one!” He waved his arm in the air. I waved back like I understood what he was talking about. Sammy is a boy who always leaves behind more questions than answers.

  Crinkles stayed under the UPS truck even after Sammy left. I was hoping the UPS man would be at our house, but he wasn’t—I guess it was someone else on our street getting presents.

  WHAT IS NICE ABOUT COMING HOME

  I know that Mom and Dad love me, but no one says, “Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you’re back! I missed you and I love you so so much!” better than Mr. Scruffers. Her welcome-back-homes are the best.

  WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE DINNER

  Mom and Dad were in the kitchen talking about dinner. “Let’s take Mr. Scruffers for a walk around the block before dinner,” said Mom. “Dad’s making Sunday spaghetti.” Sunday spaghetti is always one of two things. Either it’s really good or ... it’s really bad. Unfortunately there is absolutely no way to tell which one it’s going to be until you take your first bite. Mom calls it a mouth lottery. She tries to be nice because she says it’s good for Dad to cook once in a while, but really I know she wishes the same thing as me.

  HOW TO MAKE SUNDAY SPAGHETTI

  Sunday spaghetti is scary. There is only one member of our family who always likes it.

  GETTING READY

  I put Mr. Scruffer
s out in the backyard while Mom and I were getting ready. It’s a new plan we have because if Mr. Scruffers sees me walk toward her leash, she goes crazy with excitement and annoying barking. It’s a ton better for everyone’s ears to surprise her with the walk at the very last minute. When Mom was ready to go, I quietly opened the door to let Mr. Scruffers in. Sometimes I can even fool her for longer by hiding her leash in my pocket. Usually she is waiting right outside the door, but today was different—she wasn’t there. I walked outside to see what was going on.