Clementine for Christmas

by Daphne Benedis-Grab

  “They’re really cute,” Josie said. She grinned. “And high energy.”

  Gabby couldn’t help grinning back. “Yeah,” she said. “I can work on that act.” Gabby wasn’t interested in actually performing, but organizing the kids to do something boisterous and fun would be a blast.

  “I’m doing it,” Oscar announced. “It was my idea.” He looked at Gabby with a raised eyebrow, as if daring her to disagree.

  Which figured. Gabby remembered the way he’d hogged the ball in basketball games last year, never letting anyone else shoot so that he’d have the best record at the end of the season. That was probably why he wasn’t on the team now—no one wanted to play with someone so selfish. He was also the guy who never helped out with group projects and the lab partner who dumped all the work on the other person. Obviously, he wasn’t going to do much to help with the Festival, unless he got into a power struggle with her and had to prove he was right. So she nodded enthusiastically.

  “That would be awesome,” she said, mentally planning to figure out the skit herself when he dropped out because it was too much work. “So that’s set. Who should we ask from the list?”

  “Definitely Dr. Wu from OB-GYN,” Josie said, typing the name into her phone. “Two years ago he did a juggling act with plastic candy canes while he sang ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.’ ”

  “Sounds like a winner,” Oscar muttered, and Gabby bit back a grin. Clearly Oscar was not into going overboard about the holidays.

  Josie took a moment to glare at him, then continued. “Also, the last act is always a big Christmas carol sing-along, so we just need to find someone to lead that. Last year Dr. Erlan did it, but he got a job in Hawaii or somewhere, so we need to find someone else. And we need to ask the cafeteria workers to perform. They do a big band thing with a brass section and a mini drum line.”

  “That actually sounds pretty good,” Oscar said.

  “Yeah,” Gabby said. It certainly sounded a lot better than the candy cane juggler. She shifted slightly on the sofa. Her meds seemed stable, but she was still tired from the days in the hospital bed. “Let’s start by working on these four acts. After we have them all set up, we can figure out who else to ask.”

  “It’s a plan,” Josie agreed happily.

  Gabby stood up. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait, right now?” Josie asked. Her cheeks looked pale, like Gabby had suggested facing down a pack of zombies. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”

  Gabby wasn’t sure if Josie would ever be ready, given how anxious she looked.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” she said warmly, covering up her impatience flawlessly. She led the way out of the lounge and nearly walked into a stretcher being pushed down the hall with a little girl lying on top.

  “Josie! Santa’s Secret Agent!” the girl cried out happily. “I’m going home in the morning, so you have to come see me now.”

  “We’ll be there soon, Rosie,” Josie said, sounding like a totally different person than the hesitant girl in the volunteer room. “And we’re so glad you’re well enough to go home.” She kicked up her feet, making her shoes jingle merrily.

  Rosie waved as the nurse pushed her down the hall with its cheery colored lights blinking. And coming the other way was someone pushing a cart filled with meal trays that were clearly going back to the cafeteria.

  “That guy must work in the cafeteria,” Gabby said. “Let’s go ask him.” She headed down the hall without waiting for a response, and Josie and Oscar trailed after her. The worker had stopped at the nurse’s station to chat and Gabby marched up to him. The nurse’s station had Christmas figures on the counter and a cheerfully decorated tree. Gabby had to admit that the staff did a great job making the hospital look more like a cozy café than a place for sick people. It even smelled like pine and cinnamon. Still, she couldn’t wait to get out of there and back to her regular life. But first things first.

  “Hi, I’m Gabby,” she said, giving the worker her dazzling smile. “This is Oscar and Josie,” she paused, noticing that Josie was hiding behind Oscar. “And we have something to ask you.”

  “Fire away,” the worker said. He was short, with gray hair and a bit of a potbelly. Not how Gabby imagined a musician looked. She hoped he was the right person to ask.

  “Last year a group of workers from the cafeteria brought down the house with a big band number at the Christmas Festival,” Gabby said. “Were you involved? We were hoping you guys could do it again this year.”

  “Sure,” the guy said. “I lead the drum line, and I know everyone would be up for it. I’m Orson Matthews, by the way.”

  “Excellent,” Gabby said, shaking his hand. “I’m Gabby Chavez. Nice to meet you.” She was slightly surprised someone so old could lead something as hip as a drum line, but what mattered was that they had another act, and a good one at that.

  “Wow, that was fantastic,” Josie said as the three of them walked down the hall. Her cheeks were pink again. “Thank you so much.”

  Even Oscar looked appreciative of Gabby’s handiwork. Or at least not as sullen as he’d looked before. Which meant that now was the time.

  Gabby took a deep breath, her palms prickling with sweat and her heart beating just a little faster. “You’re welcome,” she said. “And actually, I have a small favor I want to ask you guys.”

  Josie nodded, though her brows crinkled a bit. Oscar’s lips pursed like he’d sipped a glass of lemonade that was missing the sugar.

  But Gabby forged on. “It’s just, my sickness,” she said, then forced herself to say the word. “My epilepsy, is private. So I was hoping you guys wouldn’t mind keeping it to yourselves and, you know, not telling anyone at school.” She held her breath as she waited for them to answer because this was it, this was her big plan to keep her secret safe: help Josie and Oscar so much that they’d want to help her right back.

  Oscar shrugged. “Sure,” he said, sounding bored.

  “Yeah, no problem,” Josie said. There was a slight wrinkle on her forehead, as if she was wondering about Gabby’s request, but she had said yes and that was what mattered.

  Gabby let out the breath. “Thanks,” she said, already planning out her next move. Because it was great that they’d agreed, but the work had just started. Gabby needed to make this Festival the merriest Christmas event of the decade. That way Josie and Oscar would be so impressed, so grateful, that they wouldn’t even think to tell people that they’d seen Gabby collapsed on the floor.

  They’d happily keep her secret forever.

  And Gabby would do everything and anything to make that happen.

  The halls of Frost Ridge Middle School were packed with kids yelling, laughing, and pushing their way toward the big metal doors and the freedom beyond. It had begun to snow during fifth period, so people were especially eager to get to Sutter Hill for sledding and snowball fights. Normally, Josie hung back after the final bell, waiting for the crowd to thin out before attempting to leave. But today she pushed her way forward.

  She was hoping to find Oscar and Gabby so they could start figuring out their plan of attack for the afternoon. She’d almost considered trying to talk to them at lunch but chickened out at the last minute. What if they ignored her? That’s what everyone else did—which was why Josie always ate in the library, sneaking in a sandwich that Ms. Murphy, the understanding librarian, pretended not to notice. It would have been awful to approach Oscar or Gabby and have them brush her off, so Josie had stuck to her usual routine. But now, since they were all heading to the same place, it made sense to go together. Didn’t it? For a moment Josie wavered and stepped back. Something mushed under her foot.

  “Hey, watch it,” Aisha said sharply.

  Josie looked down—she’d stepped on Aisha’s silky black scarf and pulled it onto the floor. “I’m so sorry,” Josie said, the words a feeble whimper in her ears. If only she could wear her elf costume or be Mrs. Claus with the shiny black boots at school. Then she would speak
up. But obviously only a complete freak would do that, and Josie was close enough to freak status as it was.

  “Just be more careful,” Aisha said, her voice chilly. She didn’t even bother looking at Josie. She just grabbed her scarf and walked away with her group of friends. Luckily, Gabby wasn’t among them. If Gabby had seen that, she’d probably have second thoughts about helping with the Festival, and Josie couldn’t let that happen. She needed Gabby to pull it off.

  A group of boys talking loudly about the basketball game over the weekend passed by. Oscar was at the edge of the group, his black hair flying all over the place. He glanced over and saw Josie standing there.

  Feeling silly, Josie raised her hand and waved. Oscar nodded, the way he did when they passed at school, then continued on with his friends.

  “Hey, Oscar, wait,” Josie said.

  But her whispery voice didn’t carry across the loud conversations around them, and Oscar headed for the exit without her.

  Josie bit her lip, telling herself that he just hadn’t heard and that he wanted some time with his friends. But even so, the brush-off stung.

  “Hey, Josie,” Gabby said, coming up behind her. Gabby was alone, which was weird. She was never alone.

  “Why aren’t you with your friends?” Josie blurted out. Ugh, it was good that people ignored her at school—whenever she opened her mouth, something stupid came out.

  “I told them I had stuff to do after school,” Gabby said, giving Josie her luminous smile.

  Josie wondered if Gabby’d told her friends that the stuff involved Josie, but then she pushed the thought aside. It didn’t matter—what mattered was the Festival.

  “So I’m thinking we go straight to Dr. Wu and try to sign him up,” Gabby said, leading the way through the doors. Josie fell into step next to her, nodding as Gabby mapped out the plan. There was an arctic wind whipping the falling snow, the flakes crusty with ice as they hit Josie’s cheeks. After the steamy warmth of the hall, the cold was revitalizing, but by the time they’d reached the path, Josie was fumbling in her pockets for her mittens and hat.

  “Oh, and this time you can’t hide when I ask,” Gabby said.

  “You saw that?” Josie asked sheepishly.

  Gabby laughed. “It was pretty hard to miss.” She straightened her maroon scarf that matched her maroon cloche hat and went perfectly with her navy peacoat. Josie felt like a butterball next to her in her huge down jacket.

  “Talking to people I don’t know isn’t really my strong suit,” Josie said. “I appreciate you helping us out with it. The Festival means a lot to me—and to all the kids stuck in the hospital for the holidays.” She pressed her mouth into a line so she wouldn’t babble on. Gabby, with her shiny hair, fabulous outfits, and confident charm, made her nervous.

  Gabby bit her lip for a moment but then smiled her dazzling smile. “I’m happy to do it,” she said. “And I’m sure we’ll find our ten acts.”

  “I really hope so,” Josie said. “A lot of people are away, though, or have plans already. And then there are people like me who want to help but aren’t performers.” Then the obvious occurred to her: Gabby was comfortable anywhere and would probably be great up on the stage. “Maybe you could do something,” she said as they stopped on the corner. A snowplow was driving by, and they stepped back to avoid being hit by the spray of snow flying up beside it. “Do you sing or act or anything?”

  Gabby shook her head. “That’s not really my thing,” she said. “I don’t have talent like that. But I’ll help organize and maybe I could go with you to visit the kids in their rooms sometime. I like playing silly games with my brothers, and it seems like that’s kind of what you guys do.”

  “Sure, anytime,” Josie said, though it was pretty impossible to imagine sleek, poised Gabby singing goofy songs. She’d probably offered just to be nice. Though why she was being so nice still puzzled Josie.

  They’d reached Dandelion Drive. “I need to run and get my dog,” Josie said. She wasn’t sure if she should invite Gabby to her house—it wasn’t like they were friends exactly. And thinking about showing someone her house reminded Josie that it might not be home for much longer—that she and her mom might be finding a new place to live. That was something she didn’t like thinking about at all. So it was better if she could just dash in quickly for Clementine and then head to the hospital.

  “Okay, I’ll see you in the volunteer room,” Gabby said easily. “And we can go find Dr. Wu then. Maybe a couple of other people, too. We don’t have much time to find four more acts.”

  “Sounds good,” Josie said. In fact, it sounded great as long as Gabby was doing the asking. “We’ll get Oscar and then go to OB-GYN.”

  “Right,” Gabby said.

  Josie thought she saw Gabby roll her eyes, but she wasn’t sure. So she took off for her house, eager to get to the hospital and get the remaining acts they needed to make the Festival happen.

  BOTH GABBY AND Oscar were in the volunteer lounge when Josie arrived. Josie quickly shed her outside layers and settled Clementine on the sofa to wait until they were back. Then the three of them headed to the OB-GYN ward.

  “Hi, we’re here to see Dr. Wu,” Gabby told the woman at the nurse’s station.

  Oscar was fiddling with a bowl of peppermints on the counter, and Josie made a concentrated effort not to inch behind him.

  “I’m sorry, kids. Dr. Wu is in Sierra Leone with Doctors Without Borders until March,” the nurse at the station said. “Can I get another doctor for you?”

  Josie sagged against the counter in defeat, but Gabby flashed the nurse her famous smile. “Actually, maybe you can help us,” she said, her voice sweet and peppy. “We’re signing up volunteers for the Christmas Festival, and we need awesome people like you to perform.”

  The nurse smiled. “I’m already part of the show!” she said. “A couple of us from OB-GYN are doing the ‘Night Before Christmas’ skit with Nurse Joe. He’s got a whole group participating.”

  Josie’s heart sank. Right then, Oscar somehow managed to spill the mints all over the counter and hastily began scooping them back into the bowl. Josie leaned over to help, glad for a distraction. Luckily, they were individually wrapped.

  “Oh, that’s great,” Gabby said, shooting Oscar an evil glare that the nurse couldn’t see. “Do you think any of the doctors might want to sign up, too?”

  “I can ask,” the nurse said. “But honestly we’re pretty short-staffed around the holidays, and you never know when a patient is going to come in to have a baby. The doctors here might not be the best ones to ask because if a baby’s coming and there are any problems, it’s all hands on deck.”

  “Well, thanks so much, anyway,” Gabby said.

  Josie couldn’t help admiring how warm Gabby was, even though they’d gotten bad news. Gabby really was a pro at this life skill. And every other one, too, it seemed.

  “Okay, that was disappointing, but we’ll find a replacement,” Gabby said as they walked down the hall. “And next time keep your hands off the mints,” she told Oscar.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” Oscar said. “I think there was something wrong with the bowl.”

  “You sound just like my little brothers,” Gabby huffed.

  Josie wanted to talk about their new game plan: She had really been counting on Dr. Wu and wasn’t sure who was going to take his place. But Gabby was charging ahead, annoyed at Oscar, and Oscar was sulking about the mints, so Josie followed along silently. They could figure it out upstairs.

  The OB-GYN unit was painted a cheery yellow and had murals of storks and chubby-cheeked babies. But as soon as they left that wing and were back on the main hall, it was beige walls and tasteful landscapes. Josie liked the murals better and was glad when they turned onto the peds ward, with its colored lights and big tree.

  “It’s Reindeer Day,” Nurse Joe announced when he saw them, pointing to the antlers on his head. “Grab a pair.” He gestured to a cardboard box at the nurse’s station t
hat was half-filled with plush antler headbands strung with bells.

  Josie picked one up and slid it on. She assumed Gabby would pass—the headband would probably mess up her hair—but Gabby surprised her by immediately grabbing a pair and perching them on her head.

  “What about yours?” Gabby asked Oscar.

  Oscar shook his head. “I don’t do Christmas costumes,” he said.

  Josie thought she heard Gabby mutter, “it figures,” but when she looked at Gabby, she was just nodding politely.

  “Josie, Oscar, come sing for us,” Henry called, poking his head out of Melanie’s room.

  “Sure,” Josie said. The Festival would have to wait. They needed to see the kids first. “Just let me get Clementine.” She hurried back to the volunteer room. Clementine was curled up on the sofa, but she gave a happy bark when Josie walked in and bounded over on her fat fuzzy paws.

  “I missed you, too,” Josie told her dog. She knelt down to scratch Clementine’s ears and then pressed her face against the dog’s soft fur. There was really nothing better than her wriggly, downy Clementine.

  But Henry and Melanie were waiting, so Josie made a quick dash into the costume closet for a reindeer costume to go with her antlers, zipped herself into it, and walked back to the others with Clementine.

  “I brought your costume,” she said to Oscar, handing him his cap and sunglasses, which he slipped on.

  “Hey, guys,” Jade said as she and Ed walked past. They were dressed as elves but of course had their reindeer headbands on, too.

  “Should I come in with you guys?” Gabby asked, tugging on a curl.

  “Definitely,” Josie said, sounding much more confident than she felt. She really didn’t see Gabby fitting in with what they did. And Josie didn’t want to feel self-conscious with the kids the way she had back when Oscar was “observing.” But she couldn’t say no, so the three of them walked in.

  Melanie lay on the bed attached to tubes and wires that connected to beeping machines. Her skin was waxy and had a grayish tinge, but her brown eyes lit up when she saw them. Clementine walked over, her tail wagging, and put her paws up on the bed so she could lick Melanie’s hand. Melanie petted Clementine for a moment, then let her hand rest on the dog’s head. Clementine seemed to know that Melanie did not have the energy for a vigorous ear rub—she simply held still, allowing Melanie’s hand to stay in place.