“I do miss my mom and dad, but every day it gets just a teensy bit better.”
“That’s what I found out after my mother died,” spoke up Margaret.
Ruby looked at her with interest. She knew that Margaret and Lydia’s mother had died — she didn’t remember a visit to the Row Houses when there had been a Mrs. Malone — but she didn’t know what had happened or when. She was just wondering if this might be some sort of secret, when Robby said, “Margaret, can you tell Ruby what happened to your mother?” He paused, then gave Margaret a sly smile. “You brought up the sensitive subject yourself.”
Margaret smiled back at him. “Yes, I did. Ruby, my mother died five and a half years ago.”
Ruby did some mental arithmetic. Margaret and Lydia must have lost their mother when they were about the same ages as Ruby and Flora were now.
“She had something called a brain aneurysm,” Margaret was saying. “She died very suddenly.”
“I’m sorry,” said Ruby as they turned the corner onto Main Street. “Margaret, can I ask you something? If it’s too sensitive, you don’t have to answer.”
“You can ask me anything,” said Margaret.
“Do you still remember what your mother looked like?”
Margaret’s smile faded slightly, and when she began speaking again, her voice was softer. “Yes. But I can’t see her in my mind as easily as I could at first. That’s why I keep lots of photos of her in my room.”
Ruby was going to ask Margaret another question, but then she heard Robby say, “Two whole dollars.” He thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out two one-dollar bills. “Ruby, I have two dollars to spend today! Dad gave me money this morning. I want to spend it right here. In Stuff ’n’ Nonsense. I can get
lots
of things for two dollars. Someday I’m going to
work
in Stuff ’n’ Nonsense. That would be a very good job.”
“All right then,” said Margaret as they stood outside the store. “In we go. Would you like to come with us, Ruby?”
Ruby nodded and followed Robby and Margaret through the door.
“Wow,” said Robby. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.” He waved his hands in front of his face as he looked around the store.
“Robby, settle down,” said Margaret quietly, glancing at Mrs. Grindle, who was standing by the checkout counter, her hand on her hip.
“Remember that many of the items in the store are fragile,” Mrs. Grindle said, her lips pursed.
Ruby had been about to pick up a china dolphin that she thought would look nice in her collection (I could name her Delphine, she thought), but now she withdrew her hand.
Mrs. Grindle stood before her new customers, eyeing them suspiciously. Ruby eyed her back. Mrs. Grindle was tall and skinny as a rake, her hair pulled severely back from her face, spectacles perched on her pointy nose. She looked, Ruby realized, like the illustration of the witch from
Hansel and Gretel
in an old storybook of Ruby and Flora’s. Ruby wondered why Mrs. Grindle, who apparently didn’t like children any more than the witch did, owned a store that sold so many toys.
Robby, calmer now, made his way to a wall of stickers and surveyed them, his hands clasped behind his back. “Do you know why stickers are good, Ruby?” he asked. “Because you can get so many and still have money left over to spend on” (he glanced at Mrs. Grindle) “other
fragile items
.”
Robby walked around and around the store, studying small objects and their price tags, muttering to himself, adding figures in his head, and sometimes counting on his fingers.
“The challenge for Robby,” Margaret told Ruby, “is to see how
many
things he can get for his money. This could take a while.”
Ruby followed Robby for a few moments, then lost interest, especially since she didn’t have any of her own money to spend. She thought about returning to Needle and Thread but remembered that the embroidery class would be in progress, which meant that Nikki Sherman would be
“That’s what I found out after my mother died,” spoke up Margaret.
Ruby looked at her with interest. She knew that Margaret and Lydia’s mother had died — she didn’t remember a visit to the Row Houses when there had been a Mrs. Malone — but she didn’t know what had happened or when. She was just wondering if this might be some sort of secret, when Robby said, “Margaret, can you tell Ruby what happened to your mother?” He paused, then gave Margaret a sly smile. “You brought up the sensitive subject yourself.”
Margaret smiled back at him. “Yes, I did. Ruby, my mother died five and a half years ago.”
Ruby did some mental arithmetic. Margaret and Lydia must have lost their mother when they were about the same ages as Ruby and Flora were now.
“She had something called a brain aneurysm,” Margaret was saying. “She died very suddenly.”
“I’m sorry,” said Ruby as they turned the corner onto Main Street. “Margaret, can I ask you something? If it’s too sensitive, you don’t have to answer.”
“You can ask me anything,” said Margaret.
“Do you still remember what your mother looked like?”
Margaret’s smile faded slightly, and when she began speaking again, her voice was softer. “Yes. But I can’t see her in my mind as easily as I could at first. That’s why I keep lots of photos of her in my room.”
Ruby was going to ask Margaret another question, but then she heard Robby say, “Two whole dollars.” He thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out two one-dollar bills. “Ruby, I have two dollars to spend today! Dad gave me money this morning. I want to spend it right here. In Stuff ’n’ Nonsense. I can get
lots
of things for two dollars. Someday I’m going to
work
in Stuff ’n’ Nonsense. That would be a very good job.”
“All right then,” said Margaret as they stood outside the store. “In we go. Would you like to come with us, Ruby?”
Ruby nodded and followed Robby and Margaret through the door.
“Wow,” said Robby. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.” He waved his hands in front of his face as he looked around the store.
“Robby, settle down,” said Margaret quietly, glancing at Mrs. Grindle, who was standing by the checkout counter, her hand on her hip.
“Remember that many of the items in the store are fragile,” Mrs. Grindle said, her lips pursed.
Ruby had been about to pick up a china dolphin that she thought would look nice in her collection (I could name her Delphine, she thought), but now she withdrew her hand.
Mrs. Grindle stood before her new customers, eyeing them suspiciously. Ruby eyed her back. Mrs. Grindle was tall and skinny as a rake, her hair pulled severely back from her face, spectacles perched on her pointy nose. She looked, Ruby realized, like the illustration of the witch from
Hansel and Gretel
in an old storybook of Ruby and Flora’s. Ruby wondered why Mrs. Grindle, who apparently didn’t like children any more than the witch did, owned a store that sold so many toys.
Robby, calmer now, made his way to a wall of stickers and surveyed them, his hands clasped behind his back. “Do you know why stickers are good, Ruby?” he asked. “Because you can get so many and still have money left over to spend on” (he glanced at Mrs. Grindle) “other
fragile items
.”
Robby walked around and around the store, studying small objects and their price tags, muttering to himself, adding figures in his head, and sometimes counting on his fingers.
“The challenge for Robby,” Margaret told Ruby, “is to see how
many
things he can get for his money. This could take a while.”
Ruby followed Robby for a few moments, then lost interest, especially since she didn’t have any of her own money to spend. She thought about returning to Needle and Thread but remembered that the embroidery class would be in progress, which meant that Nikki Sherman would be
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