Play Dates by Leslie Carroll Page B

to be a secret and they said it was because Xander’s mom Nina can be a real meanie. I know this is true because Mommy said she wasn’t nice to her the day Mommy had to see Mrs. Hennepin. I wish I could sic the Powerpuff Girls on Nina.
    MiMi said we’ll have to wake up really early on Thanksgiving morning, like when it’s still dark out. I can’t wait. It’s going to be one of the funnest best days of my life. Even better than my birthday, maybe. Then, after the parade we get to go to Granny Tulia’s and Grandpa Brendan’s house in Sag Harbor for dinner. I talked to Granny Tulia on the telephone and asked her if she was going to have orange food and she said yes. We are going to have Marsh-mallow sweet potatoes, which she always makes special for Thanksgiving. And carrot pennies. And pumpkin pie.
    Xander Osborne’s birthday party is next week and it’s a hockey skating party. I wish he would have a birthday party like April and May had over the summer for all the girls from our first-grade class. W
    Beauty and the Beast
    e went to see
    , which is a
    Broadway play. We even got to bring our moms. Then after the play ended, we got to go back to say hi to the actors and each of us got a poster that was signed by them. I thought the girl who played Belle looked prettier on the stage than she did in her regular clothes. She looked older in her blue jeans. And her hair wasn’t even reddish brown in real life. It was dirty blonde like April and May’s mom June. If I had dresses like Belle I would

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    wear them all the time. Her yellow one is my favorite because yellow is my favorite color.
    I’m really, really, really bad at ice skating. I went a couple of times with Mommy and Daddy to the place with the gold statue and the big Christmas tree and to the skating rink in Central Park because it isn’t far from our house and my feet wobble too much no matter how tight I make my skates. I fall down and I don’t like it. And it’s too cold. Hockey is too fast and it’s scary and I don’t want to do it. And I can’t even wear a pretty dress to the party if I have to play ice hockey. Mommy said I didn’t have to go to the party but I want to invite Xander when I have a party for my birthday in December and if I don’t go to his party he won’t come to mine. And Xander is one of the people I want most to be at my birthday party.
    I have to admit I enjoy being a sightseeing guide. Especially since my Go Native! boss seems to welcome my input on tour ideas. In fact, the movie-themed excursion was my idea; and, so far, “Location, Location, Location!” has been one of their best sellers. Even in the middle of November, my buses are packed with people scrambling to grab the upstairs seats first. To catch a better glimpse of the Dakota and the Empire State Building, they’re willing to sit outdoors for two hours braving some pretty chilly, damp weather.
    This morning I had seventeen people from the High Point, North Carolina Jaycees, eager to see where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks finally hooked up in Sleepless in Seattle . Last week, a bunch of librarians from Vermont wanted to see where the little bookstore around the corner in You’ve Got Mail w
    .
    as located
    This afternoon, I’ve got a gaggle of grandmothers who specifically requested that I show them where the famous “orgasm”

    PLAY DATES
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    scene from When Harry Met Sally took place. Maybe I should rename my tour “Meg Ryan in Manhattan.”
    Boy, can those ladies move in their orthopedic shoes. I stand back while they jockey for position on the upper level of the tour bus, swatting at each other with purses and umbrellas like the Ruth Buzzi character on Comedy Central’s Laugh-In reruns.
    We chug downtown, and when we get to the Empire State Building stop, knowing that they’re Meg Ryan buffs, I begin my description of the landmark with the Sleepless in Seattle reference. However, I make the cardinal mistake of underestimating my audience.