fights.
“Here, let me.” Caroline kept the brush. I sat on the edge of the tub and she combed my hair carefully, starting at the bottom. After she’d gotten out all the leaves, she put my hair in two braids. “Even if my hair were long, I couldn’t have braids. My hair is so slippery they don’t stay in.”
I stood and admired the braids in the mirror. “You want dinner?”
“Okay,” Caroline said. “I’ll call my mom.” She got permission to stay.
“Now that you two are cleaned up,” Aunt Bessie said when we arrived back in the kitchen, “you’re in charge of the sauce.”
She found an extra apron for Caroline. The sauce splattered everywhere, but that was part of the fun.
“Who’s this?” Caroline asked when Annie brought Ava to her high chair.
“Ava. Ava, meet …”
“Caroline,” Caroline and I answered together.
“Hi, Caroline. I’m Annie. Want to feed her? I think it’s peas and plums tonight.” Annie got the containers of baby food.
“Sure!” Caroline said. She talked and sang to Ava while she fed her, and she did a good job. She even used the bib to wipe up Ava’s dribbles. I’d have thought they were too yucky to touch.
Uncle Hugh came in.
“You like babies?” he asked Caroline.
“Yeah. I have two little sisters. They aren’t babies anymore, but I used to help when they were.”
At dinner, Caroline answered all of Uncle Hugh’s questions and laughed at his jokes and passed the salad and got sloppy-joe sauce on her cheeks, which she neatly wiped away with her napkin without being embarrassed. And she helped me tell everyone about finding the next key and how the room turned out to be empty.
“Maybe there just wasn’t time to fill it,” Annie suggested.
“Nah,” Uncle Hugh said. “The way John liked puzzles … if he locked an empty room, there’s a reason.”
Invisible Things
Amanda was mad that I was hanging out with Caroline. She was squashing my lunch worse than ever. One morning it was under
everything
in the locker.
And she tried to slam the locker door on my hand. Again. But I got my hand out of the way just in time. She looked at me and said, “Oops.”
I overheard her talking to Caroline and she said, “It’s not like I’m the one hanging out with
losers.
” I couldn’t hear what Caroline said back.
Did Caroline think Franklin and I were losers? She still sat with Amanda at lunch, which was what she usually did, so maybe it meant nothing. But in the hallway she asked me what Franklin and I were doing after school. We were heading to Leonard’s and then out for burgers. I told her she could come, if she wanted to.
At the hardware store, Franklin took Caroline to meet everyone and I went to see Leonard.
“Hey, Leonard,” I said.
“Where have you been? You
are
too busy to visit old Leonard.”
“No. Ta-da! I’m here.”
“Yeah, well, long time no see.” Leonard didn’t look up at me as he counted all the twenties in the drawer, then the tens.
“You mad?”
“Nah. It’s just a sign you’re growing up, is all. I’m feeling like an old man.”
“You aren’t!” I said. “You’re nowhere near as old as Uncle Hugh.”
He laughed and shut the drawer. “Who’s your new friend?”
“Caroline.”
“That’s nice. It’s nice to see you with a friend who’s a girl. You’ll probably be needing some of those.”
“What’s wrong with Franklin?”
“Nothing’s wrong with Franklin.” Leonard looked me up and down. “What’s that book you’re carrying around?”
“Just something of Dad’s,” I said, pulling
The Little Prince
out from under my arm. I’d found it in the library. It was the pictures that caught me.
“Really?” Leonard asked.
“Yeah, he left me a whole bunch of books. I don’t know if you’ve ever been upstairs in the barn, but there’s all these locked rooms up there. Turns out they’re for me, from Dad. So far I’ve opened three of them.”
“What’d you find?”
“Some things of
“Here, let me.” Caroline kept the brush. I sat on the edge of the tub and she combed my hair carefully, starting at the bottom. After she’d gotten out all the leaves, she put my hair in two braids. “Even if my hair were long, I couldn’t have braids. My hair is so slippery they don’t stay in.”
I stood and admired the braids in the mirror. “You want dinner?”
“Okay,” Caroline said. “I’ll call my mom.” She got permission to stay.
“Now that you two are cleaned up,” Aunt Bessie said when we arrived back in the kitchen, “you’re in charge of the sauce.”
She found an extra apron for Caroline. The sauce splattered everywhere, but that was part of the fun.
“Who’s this?” Caroline asked when Annie brought Ava to her high chair.
“Ava. Ava, meet …”
“Caroline,” Caroline and I answered together.
“Hi, Caroline. I’m Annie. Want to feed her? I think it’s peas and plums tonight.” Annie got the containers of baby food.
“Sure!” Caroline said. She talked and sang to Ava while she fed her, and she did a good job. She even used the bib to wipe up Ava’s dribbles. I’d have thought they were too yucky to touch.
Uncle Hugh came in.
“You like babies?” he asked Caroline.
“Yeah. I have two little sisters. They aren’t babies anymore, but I used to help when they were.”
At dinner, Caroline answered all of Uncle Hugh’s questions and laughed at his jokes and passed the salad and got sloppy-joe sauce on her cheeks, which she neatly wiped away with her napkin without being embarrassed. And she helped me tell everyone about finding the next key and how the room turned out to be empty.
“Maybe there just wasn’t time to fill it,” Annie suggested.
“Nah,” Uncle Hugh said. “The way John liked puzzles … if he locked an empty room, there’s a reason.”
Invisible Things
Amanda was mad that I was hanging out with Caroline. She was squashing my lunch worse than ever. One morning it was under
everything
in the locker.
And she tried to slam the locker door on my hand. Again. But I got my hand out of the way just in time. She looked at me and said, “Oops.”
I overheard her talking to Caroline and she said, “It’s not like I’m the one hanging out with
losers.
” I couldn’t hear what Caroline said back.
Did Caroline think Franklin and I were losers? She still sat with Amanda at lunch, which was what she usually did, so maybe it meant nothing. But in the hallway she asked me what Franklin and I were doing after school. We were heading to Leonard’s and then out for burgers. I told her she could come, if she wanted to.
At the hardware store, Franklin took Caroline to meet everyone and I went to see Leonard.
“Hey, Leonard,” I said.
“Where have you been? You
are
too busy to visit old Leonard.”
“No. Ta-da! I’m here.”
“Yeah, well, long time no see.” Leonard didn’t look up at me as he counted all the twenties in the drawer, then the tens.
“You mad?”
“Nah. It’s just a sign you’re growing up, is all. I’m feeling like an old man.”
“You aren’t!” I said. “You’re nowhere near as old as Uncle Hugh.”
He laughed and shut the drawer. “Who’s your new friend?”
“Caroline.”
“That’s nice. It’s nice to see you with a friend who’s a girl. You’ll probably be needing some of those.”
“What’s wrong with Franklin?”
“Nothing’s wrong with Franklin.” Leonard looked me up and down. “What’s that book you’re carrying around?”
“Just something of Dad’s,” I said, pulling
The Little Prince
out from under my arm. I’d found it in the library. It was the pictures that caught me.
“Really?” Leonard asked.
“Yeah, he left me a whole bunch of books. I don’t know if you’ve ever been upstairs in the barn, but there’s all these locked rooms up there. Turns out they’re for me, from Dad. So far I’ve opened three of them.”
“What’d you find?”
“Some things of
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