Just Grace and the Double Surprise (11 page)

WHAT I SAID

Mimi's mom was probably expecting me to say something important and good. Grown-ups are a lot better than kids at thinking of the exact right thing to say. I could tell that us being together and her telling me all this was special. It was the kind of moment your brain might remember for the rest of your life so it was important for me to say the right thing. Sometimes it's easier to think of all the things you should probably not say instead of the exact right perfect thing you should say.

WHAT I SHOULD NOT SAY

Usually I'm a fast thinker and I can make the right words come out of my mouth so fast that it might look like I didn't think about them before I said them. This was not one of those times. I was probably thinking too long because Mimi's mom started talking again. "Well, I just wanted you to know what had happened," she said. "In case you could help Mimi, you know, feel better about everything." Suddenly my empathy power was at 100 percent. "Don't worry," I said. "Mimi is going to love her new brother, and I am going to help her."

WHAT WAS A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE BUT STILL GOOD

Right when I stood up Mimi's mom came over and gave me a big hug. I had never hugged her before. She was squishier than Mom, but still it was nice. I think first hugs are probably always a little weird. "I'm so glad that Mimi has you," she said. Her voice was kind of sad—like almost crying—but when I looked up at her she was smiling. "Why don't you come by later," she said. "I'm going to make some of that banana bread you like." Mimi's mom's banana bread is the best! "Okay," I said. I waved goodbye and ran across the yard to my house.

WHAT I TOTALLY DIDN'T GET TO DO

WHAT HAPPENED AS SOON AS I WALKED IN THE DOOR

Mr. Scruffers went crazy with excitement. I couldn't believe how excited she was to see me. It was like I had been gone for days and she had been worried I was never coming home. It felt great to have her be so happy to see me. I could tell that she was feeling love for me as much as I was feeling love for her.

"Come on, Mr. Scruffers," I said. "Let's go." I ran up the stairs and she followed me right into my room.

THE NEW THINGS I WAS THINKING ABOUT

1. How I had to make a plan to help Mimi like her new brother.
   
2. How Mimi's brother had the same name as Robert Walters at school. And how that Robert had pretty much totally ruined the Robert name for me.
   
3. How to tell Mimi about my new thing when she was not at all excited about her new thing. And I was 100 percent knowing for sure that if I did the telling in the wrong way, it was totally going to make her feel worse.
   

WHAT HELPS ME FEEL BETTER

This was a lot to think about. Sometimes when I am not feeling good it helps me feel better if I do a drawing—my favorite kind of drawings to do are comics. I like to tell silly stories, especially stories about teeny-tiny superpowers, because even a mini superpower is probably better than nothing.

WHY IT CAN BE HARD TO EAT A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Mom made me a grilled cheese for lunch. I like it when she makes this because I can smell it cooking, and then by the time it's ready to eat, I am super hungry for it. Someone else was super hungry for it too, but Mom said I was not allowed to feed Mr. Scruffers any of it—not even the crusts. This was hard to do because Mr. Scruffers was sitting right next to my chair, watching me with big hungry dog eyes. "But Mom, I think she's really hungry," I said. Mom shook her head and said, "Don't do it. You can't feed her from the table. She'll turn into a monster."

For reasons I had never thought of before, being a dog owner can be really hard. I felt like every bite of sandwich I was taking was breaking Mr. Scruffers's heart.

After lunch Mr. Scruffers and I went out to the backyard to play fetch. I am spending a lot more time in my backyard than I ever used to before I got a dog. This is probably going to make me super healthy. Mr. Scruffers loves chasing games—they are her favorite. Mostly it's me doing the chasing and her doing the running away. She is fast and sneaky, which makes her hard to catch. She would have probably played for hours, but I had to take breaks and sit on the steps to rest.

WHAT I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO SEE

While I was resting I looked over and saw Augustine Dupre standing in her doorway. It seemed crazy, but it looked like she was wearing a supercape. When something is unusual a person who has a wondering-type brain cannot just say, "Hmm, oh well." A person with a wondering brain has to get up and go over and see what is going on.

"Hi! It's me!" I shouted, and waved as I walked closer. Maybe she was playing some kind of superhero game. I think that Augustine Dupre is a very interesting person, but seeing her in the cape made me think that maybe she was even more interesting than I thought she was. When I got a little closer I could see that her supercape was really a towel.

WHAT AUGUSTINE DUPRE WAS NOT EXPECTING TO SEE

Me.

I could tell this because she kind of looked surprised. "Oh! My head is a mess," said Augustine Dupre. "I was just coloring my hair." Augustine Dupre never steps out of her door unless her clothes and her hair are perfectly perfect. I was a little disappointed that the towel/cape was not for something more exciting, but I didn't say that. Instead I said, "Oh, Mom colors her hair too."

After that I couldn't think of anything else to say. I could tell that Augustine Dupre was feeling uncomfortable, and just standing there was letting her uncomfortable feeling slowly creep over to my body too. I was glad when Mr. Scruffers started barking at something across the yard.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," I yelled, and I ran over to Mr. Scruffers. "Okay," said Augustine Dupre. When I looked back she was gone. It wasn't like seeing someone in their underpants, but somehow it felt like maybe it was a little bit the same.

WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE GOOD