handwriting. I bet the manny probably had to spend a lot of time after school writing sentences.
We left the nursery and went down to the riverbank, where we looked for rocks to line the flower beds with. Lulu decided that she was in charge of inspecting the rocks that we found. She said that we needed big, smoothrocks that were all around the same size. She said no to every rock that I picked out. The manny threw a rock into the river, which splashed Lulu. He pretended that it was an accident, but I think he did it on purpose, because after he did it, he said, “I’m melting, I’m melting,’” like the Wicked Witch of the West from
The Wizard of Oz.
Lulu quickly snapped back, “‘I’ll get you, my pretty.’”
Then she looked at me. “‘And your little dog, too.’”
I laughed, but I don’t think she really meant it as a joke, because she was grumbling after she said it. If she were a cartoon, there would have been a bubble coming out of her mouth with exclamation marks, question marks, and other bad-word marks. I wish she were a cartoon. I’d erase her so the manny would want to stay forever.
I stopped trying to find round, smooth rocks and started to look for rocks that were shaped like different states. I have a collection of twenty-four state-shaped rocks. I even have the Hawaiian Islands.
I found Oklahoma and shoved it into my pocket.
When we got home, we ate dinner and waitedfor the sun to go down. We had to wait until Grandma would let Dad close the curtains before we could start planting the surprise garden. We didn’t want her to see us. This meant we had to use flashlights and whisper like we were spies.
Finally the sun was going down, and Grandma and Belly were drifting to sleep in the big, shiny hospital bed. The manny grabbed flashlights, and we began the transformation. First we planted our own private flowerpots and placed them along the porch right outside of Grandma’s window. We tiptoed. Then we dug all the sand out of the tractor tire and replaced it with soil that we had bought in bags. The manny tripped over the tire and fell right on his back with a thud. I tried to cover my laughter so that I wouldn’t wake Grandma up, but it made me have to go to the bathroom.
My first pee in Grandma’s new garden.
While I tried to control my laughter, we planted the hydrangea bush in the middle of the tire. Lulu and the manny began to arrange different flower beds, using the river rocks as the edges. They left enough room so that Grandma’s wheelchair could roll through the middle. Lulu kept telling the manny what to do, like she was in charge. The manny didn’t look like it bothered him. His face stayed calm. He says that he’sreally good at looking “collected,” and that’s why he has a good chance of winning the National Poker Finals next year in Las Vegas.
We planted the rosemary, the mint, and the rest of the flowers in the river-rock-lined beds.
Uncle Max brought over an old birdbath that he had found at a flea market. Uncle Max calls the stuff he buys at flea markets “treasures.” Grandma calls the stuff “trash.” The birdbath was painted white and had a fancy base on it. It reminded me of something that might have been in the Snow Queen’s garden from the Chronicles of Narnia. Last Christmas, India was in a play called
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
that was based on the Chronicles of Narnia. She played a little girl who was turned into a stone statue. Every night after dinner she practiced standing completely still, even her face. She looked like the plastic mannequins from the front window of Saks Fifth Avenue. I tried to make her laugh by mooning her, but Mom told me to stop because I was teaching Belly inappropriate things. I got into big trouble during India’s performance because Belly turned around on her chair, pulled up her green velvet dress, and pulled down her white tights to moon India, who was up on the stage pretending to be a statue.
I said
We left the nursery and went down to the riverbank, where we looked for rocks to line the flower beds with. Lulu decided that she was in charge of inspecting the rocks that we found. She said that we needed big, smoothrocks that were all around the same size. She said no to every rock that I picked out. The manny threw a rock into the river, which splashed Lulu. He pretended that it was an accident, but I think he did it on purpose, because after he did it, he said, “I’m melting, I’m melting,’” like the Wicked Witch of the West from
The Wizard of Oz.
Lulu quickly snapped back, “‘I’ll get you, my pretty.’”
Then she looked at me. “‘And your little dog, too.’”
I laughed, but I don’t think she really meant it as a joke, because she was grumbling after she said it. If she were a cartoon, there would have been a bubble coming out of her mouth with exclamation marks, question marks, and other bad-word marks. I wish she were a cartoon. I’d erase her so the manny would want to stay forever.
I stopped trying to find round, smooth rocks and started to look for rocks that were shaped like different states. I have a collection of twenty-four state-shaped rocks. I even have the Hawaiian Islands.
I found Oklahoma and shoved it into my pocket.
When we got home, we ate dinner and waitedfor the sun to go down. We had to wait until Grandma would let Dad close the curtains before we could start planting the surprise garden. We didn’t want her to see us. This meant we had to use flashlights and whisper like we were spies.
Finally the sun was going down, and Grandma and Belly were drifting to sleep in the big, shiny hospital bed. The manny grabbed flashlights, and we began the transformation. First we planted our own private flowerpots and placed them along the porch right outside of Grandma’s window. We tiptoed. Then we dug all the sand out of the tractor tire and replaced it with soil that we had bought in bags. The manny tripped over the tire and fell right on his back with a thud. I tried to cover my laughter so that I wouldn’t wake Grandma up, but it made me have to go to the bathroom.
My first pee in Grandma’s new garden.
While I tried to control my laughter, we planted the hydrangea bush in the middle of the tire. Lulu and the manny began to arrange different flower beds, using the river rocks as the edges. They left enough room so that Grandma’s wheelchair could roll through the middle. Lulu kept telling the manny what to do, like she was in charge. The manny didn’t look like it bothered him. His face stayed calm. He says that he’sreally good at looking “collected,” and that’s why he has a good chance of winning the National Poker Finals next year in Las Vegas.
We planted the rosemary, the mint, and the rest of the flowers in the river-rock-lined beds.
Uncle Max brought over an old birdbath that he had found at a flea market. Uncle Max calls the stuff he buys at flea markets “treasures.” Grandma calls the stuff “trash.” The birdbath was painted white and had a fancy base on it. It reminded me of something that might have been in the Snow Queen’s garden from the Chronicles of Narnia. Last Christmas, India was in a play called
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
that was based on the Chronicles of Narnia. She played a little girl who was turned into a stone statue. Every night after dinner she practiced standing completely still, even her face. She looked like the plastic mannequins from the front window of Saks Fifth Avenue. I tried to make her laugh by mooning her, but Mom told me to stop because I was teaching Belly inappropriate things. I got into big trouble during India’s performance because Belly turned around on her chair, pulled up her green velvet dress, and pulled down her white tights to moon India, who was up on the stage pretending to be a statue.
I said
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