Katy Kelly_Lucy Rose 01 (5 page)

The thing about our new house is that we are short on furniture. My mom says it's no big deal because she likes the house to feel uncluttered which is good feng shui which is how they do houses in China but Madam thinks she is partly saying it to be a good sport and that she would really like a dining room table because, Madam says, “Who wouldn't?”

And I said, “I am one person who agrees with that.”

So we went to the tag sale of Madam's friend, Mrs. Greeley, who is 70 and has got a boyfriend who is really an old man friend because he is 72.
They are going to get married and move to San Diego, California, to be closer to Mrs. Greeley's daughter and also to the sun because the boyfriend never wants to shovel another flake of snow in his whole life. Those are fine reasons if you miss your daughter and are against snow, I guess, but I felt like I needed to tell her so I did. “Mrs. Greeley,” I said, “moving is not as much fun as you think.”

A little bit later, in the back of Mrs. Greeley's house I found an old table with a little bit curvy legs and called out, “Hey, Madam, come look!”

And she did. “It's made of wood from a cherry tree,” Madam said. “And I think it's older than me.”

“That is one old table,” I said, and then I saw a scrape right on the top of it. I told Madam, “Let's find a better one.”

“No,” Madam said. “This one has good bones.”

I think she is wrong about furniture having bones but I don't know everything.

Then the boyfriend showed us four chairs that are also made of cherry tree and Madam wrote a check for all of it.

The man that was in charge of the money box and is also Mrs. Greeley's great-nephew that goes to college at Georgetown University helped us put the chairs inside the station wagon and tie the table to the top of the car with bungee cords and Mrs. Greeley said, “I am glad they are going to a good home.”

And I said, “A very good home.”

When we got to my grandparents' house, Pop helped get the table down and put it in the garage, which was really a stable for horses in the olden days. Then we all three put on Pop's old T-shirts and Madam put on jeans which she hardly ever wears, and we worked like crazy to make that table good again.

I helped Pop rub the scrape on the top with sandpaper until it was flat and then Madam gave me big yellow rubber gloves and a fuzzy scratchy blob of stuff that is called steel wool and we rubbed all the old varnish away and when it was smooth we painted the whole table with new shellac which stinks like you wouldn't believe. After that I was so tired I had to lie on the chaise for a while and listen to Pop talk about when he was a boy and had a best friend with the name of Amos whose own
mother said he was nothing but trouble and that is one old-time story I like a lot.

Today I made another e-mail for Madam and it said: “Dear Lucy Rose, What should a person do when they are missing another person?” I signed it “Just Curious” so she would not know it was me.

And I got an e-mail back in about one second and it said: “Dear Curious, I picture them in my head and then I think of all the reasons I love them and then I call them on the phone and tell them.”

So I did and when I was done my dad told me all the reasons he loves me, too.

Pretty smart, that Madam.

This afternoon after school, Madam picked me up and we drove out to the G Street Remnant store and I got to pick out the fabric to cover the chair seats. Even though I really wanted shiny red, I
went with my mother's favorite color which is periwinkle blue. I found some with white dots that cost $6 for a yard which Madam said was a deal. When we got home we took off the old cloth which had mean-looking parrots on it and was so gross I didn't even want to touch it. Then Pop stapled the new dotty fabric on and it looks so beautiful that he said, “I can't believe they are the same chairs.”

I said, “If Mrs. Greeley saw them she would say the exact same thing.”

It is still 7 days until Christmas and I am feeling crazy to tell my mom her present but I am not because telling presents is a little kid thing to do. I am keeping mum, which means quiet and is also a palindrome. But I am going to tell Jonique who is a good one for keeping secrets.

Today was the last day of school because it's winter break and I brought Mr. Welsh a present of these kind of cheesy cookies that my mom and I made so he wouldn't have to have the sweet kind.
Melonhead gave him a mug, which I know from my dad is one thing that teachers get way too many of. But I didn't say it. That is because I am getting mature, according to Pop.

When I was leaving the classroom Mr. Welsh asked me, “Was December any better than November, Lucy Rose?”

And I told him, “Yes, but I still miss Ann Arbor and my dad and my Michigan grandma and my old house. And my old school. And my friends. And my dog.”

He said, “Of course.”

Which I appreciated.

And then he said, “Okay, Lucy Rose. For now, I guess I'll hang on to my hat.”

Which, I have to say, I still have not laid my eyes on.

Since it is Christmas Eve we went to Jonique's house which was decorated better than the Mazza Gallerie stores where we went to see Santa Claus. Mrs. McBee wrapped their front door like a giant
present with green shiny paper and a big red bow and inside they had a Santa and a Mrs. Claus with brown faces like the McBees and they had angels going up their stairs and a tree with golden balls and silver ribbons and lights that bubble. Mrs. McBee was wearing a Santa hat and a sparkly snowflake sweater and I told her, “You are a beauty, Mrs. McBee!” And she made me the biggest smile.

Then Mr. McBee made cocoa with baby marsh-mallows for everybody and poured it into mugs shaped like Santa heads with handles that are made of Santa's hat. Then Mr. McBee held his mug up in the air and said, “Merry Christmas to all!” and we clanked our mugs together for toasting.

The McBees gave me a reindeer made out of a candy cane with pipe cleaner antlers and googly eyes and I gave Jonique a Friends of the National Zoo pencil with a panda eraser which I told her came from my heart and my mom gave them a jar of pecans that are called roasted because she cooked them herself.

Afterwards we went to Madam and Pop's and put everything under the tree except my mom's present
which Madam and Pop and I put under three big blankets on account of wrapping it would take about 50 rolls of paper.

My mom and I are spending the night here at my grandparents' so we could wake up early because I could not stand to wait one extra minute to give my mother the table and chairs even though Madam says I have to stay in bed until 7:30 A.M.

It is the second longest night in my whole life. The first longest was the last night in my old house.

In the morning my mother loved the table so much she danced around and sat in every single chair and said, “This is the best present I've ever gotten.”

And then she looked at every chair and said, “The fabric is completely perfect and full of good feng shui.”

And my grandmother said I gave her the exactly right thing that she really needed like mad which was safety pins. And my grandfather opened his present which was a lion piggy bank that I got at
the tag sale for one dollar which was a lot but worth it because he said it was the handsomest lion in his collection and put it on the fireplace mantel in his office which is the best place he has in the whole house. And I gave Gumbo a tennis ball that I found rolling around on the sidewalk near our house which he loved, I think.

From Santa Claus I got a new red bike with a basket and a bell and a glittery helmet with silver streaks on the side that make you look like you are going really fast. Also he brought me a chef's hat and an apron and a cookbook that is made for kids and a new backpack and socks with toes built in and a jar of macadamia nuts which I love. My aunt Marguerite airmailed me a whole set of pens from Japan where she lives with her husband who works at a bank. They are good for drawing and they make smells when you write. The best one is pink and smells like strawberry cough syrup.

From my aunt Pansy who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, I got a book about flowers which I think is kind of a dopey present but she wrote in the front of it a note that said: “Dear Lucy Rose, Since all the girls in our family are named after flowers
you should get to know species.” I already know that marguerites are the same as daisies so it's not like I have so much to learn. I am remembering what Madam said about having better luck next year.

And I got a silver necklace with a lighthouse on it from my uncle and aunt who live in Swampscott, Massachusetts. He is named Mike after Pop's father because flower names aren't good for boys and she is named Madelyn but everybody calls her Max. I don't know why. And I also got a painting kit from Madam and Pop. Plus I got a new red writing book that I love and is just from Pop by himself. I told him it was in the nick of time because this old book is almost full on account of all my original thinking.

Later when we were sitting on the new chairs having chocolate croissants and sparkling cider in champagne glasses the door knocker knocked and my mom looked at my grandmother and smiled and the front door opened and my dad walked into the hall! That was the thing that I told the Mazza Gallerie Santa I wanted most of all.

When he saw me my dad bent down on his knees
and made his arms wide and I rushed in and we hugged and hugged and then stopped so he could back up and take a good look at me and he said, “You look prettier than ever, Lucy Rose.”

And I said, “You look like a million! And also different.”

“New glasses,” my dad said.

“Plus your hair is shorter,” I said.

“Too short?” he said.

“Nope,” I said, “exactly right.”

Then my mom said, “Hello, Bob.”

And my dad said, “Hello, Lily.” And I think they were a little happy to see each other. Then Pop got a chair from the kitchen and my dad sat down with us and ate a croissant and told a funny story about a girl he teaches who didn't know Bingo was a game and just thought it was a name for a dog and then we all started singing “B-I-N-G-O” and it was so fun even though it is a kindergarten song.

In the afternoon my dad and Pop and I went to see the National Christmas Tree which is near the White House and is huge and then we walked around and looked at all fifty trees from all fifty states and Pop took a picture of me and my dad in
front of the Michigan tree and then we stood in front of the White House and I waved like mad in case the president was looking out.

At night we all had dinner together. It was crawfish étouffée which I am not one for eating but is a New Orleans food that Madam loves, so we have it. For dessert we had chocolates from Ann Arbor and a cake that looks like a log but tastes extremely excellent and afterwards I played the song of “The Little Fireflies” on my cello. My dad said, “It really sounds like little fireflies.”

And Pop said, “I hope you never learn a song called ‘The Little Buffaloes.’”

That was a joke.

Then my dad gave me a little present from my Michigan grandma. Her name is Glamma because when my oldest boy cousin was a baby he couldn't say Grandma and I say that is a good name for her because she is glamorous like anything. Inside the box there was a real gold ring and it fits just right and I have never had a real ring before. Madam says this is not the thing to mention about presents but I bet it cost a lot of money. And I got a Polarfleece pullover from his
sister who is my aunt Betsy who has seven kids if you can believe it. I also got a present from my dad which was a red and blue plaid suitcase that has wheels and a handle for pulling. My mom and I ran home and packed it up real fast so I could go stay with my dad at the Capitol Hill Hotel near the train station.

Of all the things I put in my new suitcase the thing I forgot was my new writing book so I had to wait until now when I am back at home to write about my whole time at the hotel. Before this I never stayed at a hotel actually but when I grow up I plan to stay in a lot of them. For one thing, they have a swimming pool and a whirlpool you can sit in which we did every morning for the whole three days. For another I got my own queen-size bed that was so hugely big that when I lay down in the middle and stretched as hard as I could, I could not touch any of the edges.