“I’d like to go back to THE BEGINNING.” I stepped forward and pushed the red button.
We’re in a hospital hallway. I know because it smells like hand sanitizer and cafeteria food all mixed together. People shuffle from room to room in light blue paper shoes, with matching paper caps pulled over their hair. I step to the right, and something hits me in the back of the ankle, taking out a chunk of skin.
“OUCH!”
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.” It’s a woman dressed in scrubs pushing an empty wheelchair. “Are you kids lost? Visiting hours are not till tonight.”
“Oh, yes, we’re lost.”
Lost? That doesn’t even begin to describe what we are.
The lady crosses her arms. “This is the nursery. The waiting room is back there. We’re packed today, so if you’re not waiting for a baby to be born, I would suggest you go back down to the lobby and ask for directions. Follow those exit signs.”
“Okay, thanks.” Zoe smiles and turns back toward the waiting room.
The woman charges ahead with the wheelchair.
“Why are we going back this way?”
“Research,” Zoe says. “You said you wanted to go back to the beginning. This is where beginnings happen, right?” Zoe walks down the long hallway toward the waiting room. The nurse was right, the place is packed! We scoot over to a corner by a window and look outside. There is snow on the ground.
“Excuse me, sir,” Zoe turns to an older man who is wearing a T-shirt that says “I’m the Grandpa” on it. “Do you have the time and date? I think my phone is off.”
“It’s 11:35 am,” the grandpa says, “and hopefully today is going to be my first grandchild’s birthday. January twenty second!”
Hearing that date causes goosebumps to raise on my arms.
The hospital elevator doors across the hall open, and a nurse emerges pushing a very pregnant African American woman wearing a hospital gown in a wheelchair. Walking next to them is a handsome dude who’s not wearing socks and who looks totally nervous.
“You got this, Dottie!” His words echo all the way down the hallway.
Zoe and I stand there, stunned. Zoe picks up a brochure from an end table and shows me the title. Baby Blessings—Forest Community Hospital.
“You know what I think?” Zoe gives me a silly grin.
The goosebumps spread down to my legs. “No, tell me.”
“That was Mom and Dad, and they just headed down to the delivery room to give birth . . . to you.” She pulls out some glitter from her pocket and throws it in my face. “Happy birthday, Arcade!”
So here we are, back at MY BEGINNING. But why? Suddenly, my stomach starts to growl. Who am I? Doug?
“Zoe, I’m hungry.”
“Who are you? Doug? Come on . . .” Zoe grabs my elbow and pulls me out of the crowded waiting room and down the hall. She passes by the exit sign that should lead us to the lobby . . . and hopefully food.
“Where are you going? We’re not supposed to be here.”
“I’m well aware of that, Arcade. But your token brought us here on your birthday, and I want to find out why. If someone stops us, we’ll just tell them we’re lost again. That’s normal in hospitals.” We turn a corner. “There it is!” Zoe points to a sign that says “Labor and Delivery.” Behind the sign are some double doors I’m pretty sure we can’t go through without a security clearance.
“Can I help you, kids?” A nurse sits behind the station to the right of the doors. “Is your mom in here having a baby?”
Well, yeah, but . . .
“Uh, I think we’re a little lost.” Zoe folds her hands on the counter. “We were in the waiting room, and my brother got hungry . . . you know how kid brothers can be . . .”
“So you’re looking for the cafeteria?” The nurse smiles. “You can follow the exit signs, or here . . . we just had maps made of our hospital.”
Zoe reaches for the map. “Thank you so much.” She opens it up and nudges me over to the side of the nurse’s station while she reads it.
I look over her shoulder and point to the cafeteria on the map. “There it is. Let’s go.”
Zoe looks at me cross-eyed. “I know how to read a map, Einstein.” Then she whispers, “I’m stalling.”
I mouth the word “Oh,” and wait.
Soon another nurse comes out of the double doors, holding a small manila envelope. She hands it to the nurse who gave us the map. “This is Dottie Livingston’s jewelry. Can you please lock it in the safe? She didn’t want to give up that necklace with the medallion on it. Man, people are attached to their stuff . . .”
The nurse at the station takes the envelope. She picks up the phone and dials. “Hi, Gertrude . . . yes . . . are you free to come and put some jewelry in the safe for me? Yes . . . thanks . . . I’m the only one at the desk . . . yes, we’re packed today . . . must be a good day to be born!” She hangs up.
“Thanks for the map!” Zoe waves to the nurse.
“You are very welcome.”
Zoe begins to walk slooooowwwwly down the hallway.
“Did you hear that name?” I speak quietly in Zoe’s ear. “Gertrude? How many Gertrudes do we know, huh?”
“Shhhhhh. I’m waiting to see.”
We shuffle along. And then we hear an elevator ding. Zoe turns, and leans her back against the wall, pretending to read the map. I follow her lead.
An old lady emerges from the elevator and approaches the nurse’s station. I strain to hear the conversation.
“I’ll take care of it,” the old woman says, and she starts to walk in OUR DIRECTION.
“Stay cool,” Zoe says. “There’s a drinking fountain.” She points down a few feet. “You’re thirsty, right?”
“Well, actually, I’m hungry.” Zoe pushes me over to the drinking fountain and we bend over to take drinks, just long enough for Gertrude—our Miss Gertrude—to pass us in the hall.
And then we follow her down a few doors, where she stops. We jump behind a rolling cart full of medical equipment and squint through the shelves to watch her next move. She takes a key out of her pocket and puts it in the door. But before she turns the knob, she opens the envelope, reaches in, and pulls out a gold chain. The arcade token on the end of the chain flickers light right toward us. And then Gertrude drops the chain in her pocket, opens the door, and disappears!
“She just stole Mom’s token! Miss Gertrude has the token!” I’m yelling while whispering, if that’s possible. Then I feel something drop on my chest.
Zoe points to it. “No, you have it. I don’t know why or how, but you have it.”
The ding of an elevator door rings in my ears. “Whoa, that’s loud!”
“What’s loud?” Zoe gives me a confused look.
“The elevator . . . I think it’s calling me.”
“But the elevator is back there—”
“No, it’s not.”
The elevator is now between where we are standing and where Miss Gertrude ripped off Mom’s token. And the flashing golden coin slot is right in front of it.
Zoe stomps her foot. “I don’t want to leave yet! I was hoping to see a brand new, chubby-cheeked baby Arcade!”
“I guess we’ll have to postpone the birthday party until later.” I drop the token into the slot, the doors open, and we rush in.
We sit in the elevator and I freak out.
“Is Miss Gertrude a bad guy? I mean, she stole the token! Maybe she’s in partnership with Mr. B! Maybe we should go get the note from the flowerpot and—”
Zoe stops me in the middle of my panic. “Maybe you should calm down just a minute. She mentioned your good character, remember?”
Thoughts swirl in my head. I remember her praying over me when I was a kid. Did she really mean that? Of course, she had to mean that! Now I know she was there the day I was born, and she took the token from my mom!
Why would she do that?
The elevator seems to take forever to return us to the C
imarron woods. It chugs, shakes, stops, and starts again. Maybe time travel is harder than traveling to other parts of the world. It sure is confusing, that’s for sure.
Finally, it stops for good, and it dings real loud. The doors open.
And Celeste is waiting.
“Girl, those gnats are gonna to eat you alive! Get in the house!” Celeste pulled Zoe off the ground and flicked gnats out of her hair before bringing her through the back door. She totally ignored me.
“It’s okay. I can brush off my own gnats.” I followed them in.
Doug was already eating Popsicles, and Derek had a boatload of supplies scattered out on the kitchen table to make a model suspension bridge: string, cardboard, tape, scissors, a ruler, sandpaper, glue . . .
“This bridge is gonna be cool! You gotta eat twenty-four Popsicles, Doug, if we want enough sticks to build one deck. Thirty-six for two decks.”
Doug slurped up the last bite of a grape Popsicle. “Why go for one deck when you can have two? Someone toss me another one.” He looked over at me. “Arcade! You finally made it! You look a little hot! Wanna Popsicle?”
CHAPTER 30
Sneaky, Good Plans
Popsicle eating became an obsession over the next few days as Derek perfected his suspension bridge-building skills. He designed model after model, and we all got into it. The girls even painted the sticks with their unwanted nail polish.
Aunt Weeda was overjoyed. “You see? People complain about young people nowadays, always havin’ their noses in technology. But look at all of you, being creative with wood and polish! I couldn’t be prouder.” Then she looked closer. “But you better not be gettin’ any of that old nail polish on my kitchen table!”
Celeste grabbed some newspapers out of the living room and spread them out under the bridges. “We’re doin’ fine, Mama, don’t you worry.”
Aunt Weeda smiled. “You all gonna build me a new house someday?”
I laughed. “Sure! Just call us Livingston Clark Construction.”
“What?” Derek shot out of his seat. “You mean Clark Livingston Construction, don’t you?”
“Hey!” Doug swallowed a bite of Popsicle. “Don’t forget Baker! Baker Clark Livingston Construction. After all, I suffered brain freeze for you!”
“Now, now,” Aunt Weeda said, “I hear some pride settin’ in to you, young men. Don’t you ever let that happen. We all know that pride goeth before a fall.”
“Pride goeth before a fall? Goeth?” I twisted up my face.
“Well, that’s in an old Bible translation. But y’all know what it means. When pride creeps up in hearts, people fall. And kingdoms follow.”
Hmmm. Windmills too?
Zoe and I kept Miss Gertrude informed of our plan by continuing to put notes under the flowerpot. I felt like we should talk to her in person, but I was a little scared after that trip to the hospital on the day I was born.
“Just trust,” Zoe said. “Hopefully she’s on our side.”
After several meetings at the bakery with Jacey, we came up with a solid plan.
“Tuesday night is crane night,” I reminded the group over a scone-snacking session at Bridgeview Bakery. “Getting the windmill up is going to be a huge project, so we need all hands on deck for that. Wednesday night will be wood patching, painting, landscaping, and fixing the steel net on hole eighteen. And on Thursday night, Derek and I will fix the bridge while everyone else finishes painting.” I paused to look at the group, who were all staring intently back at me. “On Friday, Mr. B’s employees will have a lot of explaining to do about why his windmill course looks so good.”
On Sunday, after church, Derek and I ran over to Miss Gertrude’s to add another note.
Please call me when you see Mr. B leaving for the airport.
Sincerely,
Arcade Livingston
I left her a list of all our phone numbers just in case she couldn’t get through to me. I’ve been known to lose my phone at important times.
I folded the note and lifted the plant to place it under the pot.
“Hey, what’s that?” Derek reached under the pot and pulled out a card.
Pattie’s Paint Shop. Brilliant Color in Every Drop.
Under the business name, there was a note scrawled:
Pattie is a friend of mine. She will donate the paint.
Gert
“Man, Miss Gertrude knows everyone in this town! She’s the best!” Derek handed me the card, and I programmed the number in my phone.
“Says here she’s closed on Sundays.” I shoved the card in my back pocket. “I hope tomorrow isn’t too late to call.”
“Nah. Sounds like Miss Gertrude already got it squared away.”
“I need to tell Jacey! That means there’s money left over now to buy some more plants or something.” I dialed Jacey. My cheeks heated up and my heart pounded.
You’ve called her before, Arcade. What’s the biggie?
“Hello? Bridgeview Bakery. Is this Arcade?”
And now my ears were hot. “Hey, Jacey. I have good news.”
“I LOVE good news!”
“Yeah, well, Miss Gertrude has a friend, Pattie, who’s going to donate the paint.”
“WHAT?”
I dropped the phone when she yelled, “WHAT?”
Then I kicked it around in the dirt for a few seconds before I was able to retrieve it and bring it back up to my ear.
I heard laughter in the background. “Did you drop your phone?”
“Um . . . yeeeeah.”
“I do that ALL the time. Hey, I’m super busy with the bakery line right now, so let’s talk later. I’m PUMPED about the paint. BYE!”
“Bye.”
I hung up, and Derek was staring at me, grinning. “I see what’s goin’ on here. You like Jacey, don’t you?”
“What? NO! Have you been talking to Zoe? I like her, but I don’t like like her.”
“Okay, yeah, you like her.”
“STOP IT, Derek, or I will totally take you down.”
“Only if you can catch me first!”
Derek took off toward the woods, and I chased after him. We used to do this all the time when I lived here. He knows I can’t catch him since he’s a basketball player, and he runs all the time. I used to come close sometimes, but now I live in New York City, and I don’t run anywhere anymore. I just ride the subway.
I called Pattie’s Paints the next morning.
“Pattie’s Paints! Hope you are having a colorful morning! How can I help you?” The cheerful, sing-song greeting put me at ease right away.
“Good morning, this is Arcad—”
“Arcade Livingston? I am SO glad to hear your voice. I hear you need some paint! Just tell me how much, what colors, and when you need it. I’d do anything for you and your family. They’ve always been so generous. Your mom and dad helped me when my business was struggling a few years ago. We went to school together, you know. And I remember the day you were born!”
And now, so do I.
“Wow, thanks Miss Pattie. I’ll have my friend Jacey call you back with the color list tonight, but we know we need it on Wednesday night to do some painting at Forest Games and Golf.”
“That’s what Gertrude said. Well, I say it’s about time! What a shame about those brothers, right? Maybe this will help patch things up. Ha! Patch things up. Literally. I’m so glad to help.”
Again, with the brothers? Why hasn’t Miss Gertrude answered my question about that?
“Thanks so much, Miss Pattie. It might be a lot of paint. I hope that’s okay.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve seen the place. I’ll have plenty for you. No problem.”
CHAPTER 31
Raising Hopes and Windmills
Tuesday afternoon came, and I was excited and scared. The teen employees at Forest Games and Golf were prepared to meet us at nine thirty for a windmill raising. Dave, the crane guy, was gonna be there too.
Aunt Weeda got called to work on inventory all
night in the retail warehouse till the end of the week. That was a prayer answered! And Jacey’s brother, Jaden, was set to pick us up at 9:00 pm.
The only thing that hadn’t happened yet was the call from Miss Gertrude. And the reason she hadn’t called? The silver truck was still sitting in the driveway of 2292 Cimarron Road.
Doug and Derek had gone to check it out. “If he’s leavin’ today, it hasn’t happened yet!” Derek wiped sweat from his forehead. “You think we should call Miss Gertrude?”
“You do it.” I pointed to Zoe. “Please?”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “See how much you need me?”
She poked some numbers on the phone and pushed my forehead when I crowded in to listen.
“Hello? Miss Gertrude? This is Zoe . . . I’m fine . . . how are you?”
Oh, no! Has she forgotten about our plans?
“Yes . . . we were wondering about Mr. B . . . we see that his truck is still there . . .”
Zoe held the phone out so we could all hear.
“Oh, yes, honey . . . he’s right here! I asked him to come on over and help me move some furniture . . . he’s not too happy with me right now . . . I have some other jobs . . . What? Hang on a minute. He’s calling me from the other room . . .”
“WHY is she doing that? She knows we need him to get out of town!”
Zoe put out a hand to calm me. “She knows, Arcade.”
Miss Gertrude came back on the line. “Well, isn’t that the funniest thing? He says he can’t help me clean the fireplace because he has a flight to New York in two hours. He’s leavin’ right now.”
Zoe sighed. “Thanks, Miss Gertrude.” She hung up. “See, everything’s under control.”
So why don’t I feel like it is?
Jaden picked us up at eight forty-five. He winked as he slid open the delivery van door. “Never hurts to be early, right?”
“Especially when we’re talking donuts!” Doug jumped in the van first and climbed way in the back. My hands shook as I climbed in next. I grabbed onto the seat and slipped.
Arcade and the Golden Travel Guide Page 12