of it practically every day."
"I didn't mean that," Zinnia said, growing more excited still. "I meant Annie. She said, and I quote, 'We'll take a plane.' She was talking in the present tense. That must mean we're going to the wedding. We're going to France!"
We all turned to Annie, wondering. Was this true? Even Petal stopped running in circles long enough to look at her.
"' Fraid not," Annie said, answering our questioning looks with a rare blush. "That was just a slip of the tense. I meant that's how we'd get there if we were going, which we most definitely are not."
"Thank the universe!" Petal said, collapsing into a happy, exhausted heap.
"But why not?" Zinnia, the most disappointed among us and the last to hold on to any shred of hope, said.
"Because it is in France," Annie said. "Because we would have to fly there and we would need passports, which none of us have."
We didn't?
"Well, do you?" Annie demanded.
Sadly, we shook our heads. It would be nice to be international travelers, people of mystery and intrigue like James Bond 007, but that wasn't us. Even Mommy and Daddy always said it was scary enough just taking us across state lines.
"No," Annie said with a satisfied nod of the head, "I didn't think so. On top of that problem, there's the even bigger problem of what we would tell people."
"How do you mean?" Durinda asked. She may have been willing to go along with whatever Annie dictated, but even Durinda secretly longed to go to the wedding.
It would be so much fun. It would be different.
We liked different. Or at least most of us did.
"It's like this," Annie said. "Whenever we have to explain to nosy parkers why Mommy and Daddy aren't around, we always say—"
"That Daddy is in the bathroom and Mommy is in France," Jackie cut in, beginning to see what Annie was getting at.
"Or vice versa," Georgia added. "Sometimes we say it the other way around. It's good to have variety, mix things up a bit."
"And that's the problem," Annie said. "How can we go to the wedding of Aunt Martha and Uncle George—Daddy's sister and Mommy's brother— without Mommy and Daddy? How could we ever explain their absence on such an occasion? Obviously, we can't say that one or both of them are in France because—"
"Because the wedding is in France, " Zinnia finished, thoroughly getting it and thoroughly glum now.
"Exactly," Annie said gently.
"So what do we do?" Durinda asked.
Annie sighed. Sometimes she seemed like Atlas, trying to hold the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Some of us thought that it could get pretty heavy, but only occasionally did Annie appear to mind. And even then, we suspected that her appearing to mind was just for show.
She studied the invitation again.
"They've included a reply card," she said at last. "It says to RSVP no later than June seventh." She handed the card out toward Durinda. "You'll take care of this for us?"
"Of course," Durinda said, reaching for the card, but before she could grab hold of it, a smaller hand snatched it.
"May I do this?" Zinnia asked timidly. "I know it's not the kind of job you'd usually entrust to the youngest—you know, the importance of RSVPing and all—but I am so sad we are not going to the wedding, I think it would make me feel just the slightest sliver better if—"
"Say no more." Annie patted Zinnia on the shoulder as another tear threatened to overspill Zinnia's eyelid. "If it makes you feel better, of course you can be the one to RSVP no for us."
"Really, people!" By now Marcia's hands were on her hips. "Doesn't anyone else think this is all too strange?"
We all stared at her. What was she going on about?
" June? " Marcia tapped her foot impatiently. "Isn't it high time for it to be June? "
***
And then it was June.
First it was June 1, a Sunday, and then it was June 2 and time to go to school.
But one of us was nowhere to be seen.
So we searched for Petal and found her in the first place we looked.
Petal was under her
"I didn't mean that," Zinnia said, growing more excited still. "I meant Annie. She said, and I quote, 'We'll take a plane.' She was talking in the present tense. That must mean we're going to the wedding. We're going to France!"
We all turned to Annie, wondering. Was this true? Even Petal stopped running in circles long enough to look at her.
"' Fraid not," Annie said, answering our questioning looks with a rare blush. "That was just a slip of the tense. I meant that's how we'd get there if we were going, which we most definitely are not."
"Thank the universe!" Petal said, collapsing into a happy, exhausted heap.
"But why not?" Zinnia, the most disappointed among us and the last to hold on to any shred of hope, said.
"Because it is in France," Annie said. "Because we would have to fly there and we would need passports, which none of us have."
We didn't?
"Well, do you?" Annie demanded.
Sadly, we shook our heads. It would be nice to be international travelers, people of mystery and intrigue like James Bond 007, but that wasn't us. Even Mommy and Daddy always said it was scary enough just taking us across state lines.
"No," Annie said with a satisfied nod of the head, "I didn't think so. On top of that problem, there's the even bigger problem of what we would tell people."
"How do you mean?" Durinda asked. She may have been willing to go along with whatever Annie dictated, but even Durinda secretly longed to go to the wedding.
It would be so much fun. It would be different.
We liked different. Or at least most of us did.
"It's like this," Annie said. "Whenever we have to explain to nosy parkers why Mommy and Daddy aren't around, we always say—"
"That Daddy is in the bathroom and Mommy is in France," Jackie cut in, beginning to see what Annie was getting at.
"Or vice versa," Georgia added. "Sometimes we say it the other way around. It's good to have variety, mix things up a bit."
"And that's the problem," Annie said. "How can we go to the wedding of Aunt Martha and Uncle George—Daddy's sister and Mommy's brother— without Mommy and Daddy? How could we ever explain their absence on such an occasion? Obviously, we can't say that one or both of them are in France because—"
"Because the wedding is in France, " Zinnia finished, thoroughly getting it and thoroughly glum now.
"Exactly," Annie said gently.
"So what do we do?" Durinda asked.
Annie sighed. Sometimes she seemed like Atlas, trying to hold the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Some of us thought that it could get pretty heavy, but only occasionally did Annie appear to mind. And even then, we suspected that her appearing to mind was just for show.
She studied the invitation again.
"They've included a reply card," she said at last. "It says to RSVP no later than June seventh." She handed the card out toward Durinda. "You'll take care of this for us?"
"Of course," Durinda said, reaching for the card, but before she could grab hold of it, a smaller hand snatched it.
"May I do this?" Zinnia asked timidly. "I know it's not the kind of job you'd usually entrust to the youngest—you know, the importance of RSVPing and all—but I am so sad we are not going to the wedding, I think it would make me feel just the slightest sliver better if—"
"Say no more." Annie patted Zinnia on the shoulder as another tear threatened to overspill Zinnia's eyelid. "If it makes you feel better, of course you can be the one to RSVP no for us."
"Really, people!" By now Marcia's hands were on her hips. "Doesn't anyone else think this is all too strange?"
We all stared at her. What was she going on about?
" June? " Marcia tapped her foot impatiently. "Isn't it high time for it to be June? "
***
And then it was June.
First it was June 1, a Sunday, and then it was June 2 and time to go to school.
But one of us was nowhere to be seen.
So we searched for Petal and found her in the first place we looked.
Petal was under her
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