Mister Pepper's Secret by Marian Hailey-Moss

Mrs. Goldenrod went to prepare the tea. She
didn’t need help so Mia waited in the living room. There was a
painting near the desk of a kindly–looking elderly man in a green
suit. Mia walked over to look at it more closely.
    “Here we are,” said Mrs. Goldenrod. She was
carrying a silver tray with a teapot and two cups, two bowls of
strawberries, and a plate of butter cookies. She set the tray on a
small table and began to pour the steaming brew. She explained to
Mia that the painting was of her late husband. Mia wondered if
souls who were late in the heavenly spheres were sent to the
principal’s office.
    “Would you like some sugar, cream or
lemon?”
    “A little sugar and lemon, please,” said Mia.
She carefully took the cup and spoon from Mrs. Goldenrod, but
somehow the spoon clattered to the floor. Mrs. Goldenrod paid no
mind, and Mia quickly picked it up from the shiny hardwood floor.
She took a sip of the hot liquid. The tea tasted sweet and
strong—and in an instant, all seemed well in the world.
    “Now, how about some strawberries?”
    “Oh, yes, please.” She daintily took a bite.
“They’re yummy,” said Mia. “Thank you, Mrs. Goldenrod.”
    “You have good manners, Mia,” said Mrs.
Goldenrod. “Your mother taught you well. Being polite is one of the
more important things in life. If people would be polite with their
friends and enemies alike, the world would be a happier place.”
Mrs. Goldenrod sighed and took a large sip of tea.
    “How do you practice being polite, living by
yourself?” Mia asked.
    Mrs. Goldenrod waved her hand around the
room. “These are my friends—the desk, the chest, and these tables.
All my pieces of furniture have stories to tell. I politely listen
to their tales and they listen to mine. Every day I dust and polish
their little faces, fronts, and sides. People think wood is only
wood and has no life once it is cut from the growing tree. But all
is energy and keeps on becoming. If you believe—they will respond.
Like most friends, they are willing to please.”
    Mia had never heard of furniture being
friends for someone. She wondered what she would say to a chest of
drawers or a table. She gazed past the room to the doorway. There
sat a statue of a large black dog.
    “If you don’t mind, why is that statue by the
door?”



“That’s my pet doggy, Mister Pepper.”
    “But it’s a stone doggy.”
    “Yes, so it is.” said Mrs. Goldenrod. “Would
you like some cream on your berries?” Mia kept staring at Mister
Pepper. Mrs. Goldenrod waited patiently for an answer. Mia assured
her hostess that the strawberries tasted quite delicious on their
own.
    “A butter cookie then?”
    Mia answered, as politely as she could, that
she was on a different kind of diet. Mrs. Goldenrod was taken
aback. She thought Mia was much too slender to be worried about
weight. Mia explained it was a vegan diet.
    “A what?” asked Mrs. Goldenrod.
    “Vegan—I eat fruits, veggies, grains, and
tofu.”
    “Why do you do that?”
    “Well, isn’t it a bit rude to make hot dogs,
hamburgers and an ice cream smoothie, out of one’s friends?” Mia
paused and took a bite of another strawberry.
    Mrs. Goldenrod pictured her friend Lenore as
a hot dog and gave a little shiver. Lenore had given Mrs. Goldenrod
the statue of Mister Pepper when she sold her country home. Try as
she might, Mrs. Goldenrod couldn’t see Lenore as a hamburger or an
ice cream smoothie either. Lenore was who she was—a pretty
middle-aged actress.
    “What will the younger generation think of
next?” Mrs. Goldenrod exclaimed with a twinkle in her eye.
    The girl and the old woman chatted some more.
Mrs. Goldenrod said that she was donating Mister Pepper to the
courtyard garden. She and Mister Pepper were excited at the
prospect, but they had to be patient. The garden committee wanted
to find the right spot. “After all, being out in nature is where a
dog feels at home,” she explained.
    That reminded Mia that it