Eggs with Legs (4 page)

Rachel was outnumbered. Molly went over to her and said, “I like to fish. And I like to eat the sunfish my mom fries at the lake.”

“So do I!” said Ashley. “I go salmon fishing with my dad, and lots of times we have lobster right on the beach at home.”

Mrs. Peters held her hand up for silence. At least two people defended Rachel, thought Molly. Rachel seemed grateful.

“Now let’s hear some other fresh Mother’s Day ideas,” said their leader.

“I’m cooking my dad a big thick steak,” said Roger.

“And some poor cow died for that,”
said Ashley. “I mean, a cow has more feelings than a fish.”

Molly wished they would get off the subject of food.

It looked as if Mrs. Peters did too. “No more food talk,” she said.

Lots of the Pee Wees told about foodless plans. They announced that they would run errands and spade gardens and sort laundry and push the grocery cart at the market. Others were going to paint pictures or scrub the bathtub or write a poem. Sonny was going to baby-sit the twins so that his mom could have a rest.

“She won’t rest with you baby-sitting,” said Roger.

Sonny hit Roger on the arm and Roger tripped him and Mrs. Peters glared at them both.

“I’m giving my mom lightbulbs,” said Tim. “Ones that are burned out.”

Everyone stared at Tim.

“I might put some in the Easter basket too,” he said.

“Why?” demanded Kevin.

“So she can paint them, what do you think?” said Tim. “You paint them and use them for Christmas tree ornaments.”

“How did Christmas get into this?” whispered Lisa.

But Mrs. Peters said, “Good, Tim,” and then Molly remembered that Tim collected old lightbulbs. When the Pee Wees had recycled, he had told them about painting them for ornaments.

Everyone seemed to have some plan but Molly. Even Mary Beth said she was going to set her mom’s hair the night before, and that was surely something original, Molly thought.

“I can’t think of anything special,” said Molly.

“You will,” said Mary Beth.

“You can come to The Trout Farm with us,” said Rachel kindly.

That was nice of Rachel, but Molly didn’t feel like catching a fish in a tank.

“I’ll help you think of something,” said Rachel.

The Pee Wees ate the cupcakes Mrs. Stone had brought in (Sonny’s mother was assistant troop leader), and then Mrs. Peters said, “Let’s talk about the Easter baskets now, so that we all have something in mind for our badges, and so that we’ll be able to brighten the seniors’ holiday at the nursing home.”

Everyone talked about the baskets, and what he or she would put in them besides the eggs. Then Mrs. Stone brought in the hard-boiled eggs to dye. She showed them how to write a message like “Happy Easter” on them with a crayon. After they
were dyed, the writing showed up on the egg in white.

“This is fun!” said Tracy, who had a big blob of blue dye on the front of her blouse.

Sonny was trying to dye Roger’s hair green when his mother caught him and took him to the laundry room for a talk.

Rachel had brought some dye that turned an egg many colors, and she showed Molly how to make one look just like marble. It was the prettiest one in Molly’s basket. She wondered if she could take it out and give it to her mother for Mother’s Day, but then she remembered the people in the nursing home who might need to be cheered up more than her mother. Anyway, the eggs probably wouldn’t keep that long.

When everyone was finished and the baskets were complete, Mrs. Peters put them in the middle of the table to be admired.

“Now, on Saturday you bring the other things to go in the basket, and I’ll put some candy in each one, and we will deliver them,” she said. “Be here at noon sharp.”

They sang their Pee Wee song and left for home, most of them covered in as much dye as the Easter eggs.

On the way home Rachel said, “I’m going to put lots of little things in my basket that my senior would like, like needles and thread, and some paper clips and a manicure scissors and a nail file. Stuff she might run out of.”

“I’m going to bring some of the little rabbit cookies my mom makes, with jelly beans for eyes,” said Mary Beth.

“Those are good ideas,” said Molly. “A lot better than old lightbulbs.”

The three girls laughed, thinking about Tim’s basket.

“He’s poor,” said Rachel.

“Well, it’s a very creative thing to do,” said Mary Beth.

When Molly got home her parents were talking in the den. They didn’t hear her come in. Their voices were muffled, but Molly thought she heard her mom say “And what I’d really like, more than anything …”

Molly walked down the hall to listen. This might be a clue to what her mother wanted for Mother’s Day! Something that could be a big surprise! Something to help Molly get that badge!

Molly could hardly make out the words her parents were saying. Something sounded like “Zippers! Lots of them. I can’t seem to find them when I need them.”

Molly stretched her neck to hear better. She heard what she thought was “hurry” or maybe “worry.” Or was it “jury”?

Molly got her notebook out of her backpack and wrote all of it down. Zippers were a funny thing to want. Especially a lot of them. In a hurry. But if that was what her mother wanted, Molly would see to it that she got her wish.

I
t was lucky that Molly had come home in time to overhear her parents’ conversation! If she had been a little later she would have missed it. But now she came to the next problem: Where could she find zippers? Especially a lot of them? And in a hurry?

Maybe the word was not
hurry
. Maybe it was
worry
or
jury
! She’d have to cover all the bases.
Jury
did not seem to make any sense, so she discarded that thought.
But if zippers were a worry to her mother, it was very important she get them. And Molly could easily hurry, although she couldn’t give her mom her gift before Mother’s Day. That would be like opening Christmas presents early. It would ruin the holiday.

Molly got out the phone book and looked in the yellow pages under Z. Not a single zipper was listed. She knew that zippers were
in
things, like jeans and purses and jackets. But if her mother had wanted things
with
zippers, she would not have said “zippers.” She would have said “purse” or “jeans” or “jackets.” No, this much was very clear—she wanted just plain zippers.

Molly went upstairs and found an old sweater of hers with holes in the elbows. Some of the yarn was unraveling. It was
worn out and it was too small. Molly could take out the zipper and have her first gift!

She got a scissors and tried to cut out the zipper. But then it looked ragged and uneven. She decided she’d have to rip out the tiny stitches one by one. She sighed. It was a slow job. It would take forever.

“I hope all of them don’t take this long,” she said to herself. But she shouldn’t complain. All the work would be worth it when her mother opened the gift! She would be surprised that Molly had known exactly what she wanted! Molly could just see the joy on her mother’s face when she opened it!

No, the work would be worth it. She smoothed the zipper out flat. It isn’t very nice-looking, as zippers go, she thought. And when she got it halfway up (or down), it stuck. Well, there would be other zippers. All she had to do was find them.

The next day at school Molly was in a good mood. Knowing what to do for her mother, and for the badge, was half the battle. She had a good start. Now if only she could think of what to get for the Easter basket, she’d feel even better.

When the bell rang she walked home with Rachel and Ashley because Mary Beth was at the dentist.

“Have you decided what to do for Mother’s Day?” asked Rachel.

Molly couldn’t wait to tell them.

“I’m getting my mom zippers!” she said. “It’s a lot of trouble, but it will be worth it. I heard her tell my dad it’s what she wants.”

The girls stopped walking.

“Zippers like in this backpack?” said Rachel.

Molly nodded.

“Does your mom sew?” asked Ashley.

“Sometimes,” said Molly.

“Well, that makes sense,” said Ashley. “But it’s really best to get zippers and thread and stuff when you start to make something because of the color of the material. You have to match it.”

Molly hadn’t thought about the color. “I’ll get her lots of colors,” she said. “Then no matter what color she needs, she’ll have it.”

That must be why her mother had said “lots.” It all made sense now. How practical her mother was!

“Have you got any old clothes you’re throwing out that have zippers?” asked Molly.

Rachel frowned. “I don’t think you should give someone a used gift,” she said.

“I know where you can get new ones real cheap,” said Ashley. “I was in the Sew Sew shop with my mom Saturday in the new mall, and they have what they call seconds in these huge baskets, and they’re only a nickel apiece.”

A nickel! Molly had lots of nickels in her bank! Or she could take a dollar from her allowance and buy lots and lots of zippers for that amount! And the new mall was just at the top of the hill. It was within walking distance!

“They’re all different colors too,” said Ashley.

“Let’s go now!” said Molly.

The girls agreed to go along and show Molly the zipper basket at the Sew Sew shop.

Molly raced home to get her money and tell her mother she was going to the mall with Rachel and Ashley.

When they got there Ashley ran ahead and found the baskets. “Five cents!” she said, holding up a purple zipper for Molly to see. “What a bargain!”

This was a dream come true. Molly went through the baskets carefully and chose a zipper in every color. She chose six short ones and four long ones. She chose five thick ones and five thin ones. She counted out twenty zippers, the number she could buy with one of her dollars. Her mother would never run out of zippers again in her whole life!

Molly looked at the zippers that were left behind. She hated to not buy them all. They were so colorful. And so cheap. All of a sudden she had a wonderful idea. It was as if one of Tim’s lightbulbs had switched on in her mind! She went back to the basket and chose twenty more zippers. Then she paid for them all and the girls started for home.

“That was very nice of you to help me get my badge,” said Molly to her friends. “Thanks a lot,” she added warmly.

“You’re welcome,” said Ashley. “Your mother will really be surprised.”

On Saturday the Pee Wees met at Mrs. Peters’s house to go to the nursing home. Everyone had brought things to put in the baskets with the eggs.

“What is that?” said Mary Beth, staring at Molly’s basket. “What are those things in your Easter basket?”

“How pretty!” said Tracy. “You have the brightest basket of all.”

Everyone was looking at Molly’s basket. It was the most attractive one. Not only were the eggs bright, but there were blue and red and yellow and green and purple ribbonlike things sticking out of the grass.

“They’re zippers!” said Molly. “I decided if my mom wanted zippers so bad, the people in the nursing home would like them too.”