The Gift Page 4
Chapter 13
NEW FRIENDS AND NEW BEGINNINGS
Mama said, “Oh no, please tell me your daddy didn’t do that.”
Mr. Doolittle stood up, and he had so much orange frosting on his face I wasn’t sure he could breathe, much less see. Then he stretched his arms straight out like Frankenstein and said in a really scary voice, “Watch out! Here comes Peter, Peter the Pumpkin Eater!”
The little kids started screaming and laughing and running around, and the adults were laughing and trying to get out of the way.
Daddy was laughing too and came over to me and Mama and said, “Well, that was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. We were just standing there talking about doing a grocery store charity event together and he was asking me where I play golf, and the next thing I know, he turned around and smashed his face right into the giant pumpkin cake!”
Mrs. Doolittle came over with a big smile. She said, “In case you’re wondering what’s going on, he’s done this for years. When he was a kid he really did fall into a big orange pumpkin cake and all the kids called him Peter, Peter the Pumpkin Eater for the rest of the year. When Peter Jr. was big enough to dress up for Halloween and trick or treat, we started hosting an annual neighborhood Halloween party. The first time my husband asked me to make a giant pumpkin cake with lots of orange icing I thought it was a cute idea. Then the first time he smashed his face into the giant pumpkin cake and stood up and yelled, ‘Watch out! Here comes Peter, Peter the Pumpkin Eater,’ I thought, well . . . he’s lost his mind. When I saw how much fun he and the kids were having, it just kind of became a tradition.”
They all laughed and then my parents followed Mrs. Doolittle and the other grown-ups into the living room so they could avoid the pumpkin cake massacre.
When I walked over to where Sally, Peter, and Billy were standing, Peter said, “You should be safe from flying cake and frosting over here.”
Just then a big glob of orange frosting smacked him right in the face. We looked over and there was Mr. Doolittle, standing in the kitchen pointing at Peter and laughing. The next thing you know, everyone was throwing cake and orange frosting and the kitchen looked like a giant pumpkin bomb had gone off. I saw Virginia Flanker run by, her blond ponytail now bright orange. She didn’t look very happy.
I looked over at Sally and I opened my mouth to say something but when I did all that came out was, “BURRRRRRRRRRP!”
It was maybe the loudest burp I’ve ever heard in my life! I looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Sally, Peter, and Billy were all looking at me with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open.
I laughed nervously. “EXCUSE ME! Wow, my stomach feels a lot better now!”
At that moment, I realized that the funny feeling I’d been having—which I’d thought was going to lead to a vision—was just that I needed to burp. Oops!
We all laughed and for the next few minutes, until the cake throwing was over, we sat there talking and laughing and eating frosting right off the kitchen counters, and the cabinets, and the refrigerator, and anywhere else we saw frosting land.
It was late when we left the Doolittles’. We walked home with Sally’s family, and Darrel had Bubba on his shoulders. Bubba thinks that Darrel is the greatest thing since sliced bread and Darrel is always nice about it and plays with him. Bubba was still just wearing his Spiderman underwear, but now he also had orange spiky hair.
Sally and I lagged behind everyone else because we were still talking about the party.
She whispered, “So did you have any of your feelings tonight?”
“No, but I thought I was having one earlier,” I said. “I was so worried about how Daddy and Mr. Doolittle would get along because of the whole grocery store thing. Luckily, I just needed to let out that giant burp! Did you hear that thing?”
Sally said, “Did I hear it? That was the loudest burp I’ve ever heard in my life! Too bad you didn’t get a feeling that it was coming, or you could have made an announcement so everyone could have heard it!”
We were both still laughing about it when we got to Sally’s driveway. We said goodnight and then she stood there watching me walk the rest of the way to my house.
When I got to my driveway, I turned around and yelled the same thing I do every day: “See you tomorrow, Sally Rose Hope!”
Sally yelled back, “See you tomorrow, Birdie Mae Hayes!”
And then we both went inside.
Later, after Mama had tucked me in, I was lying there thinking about my family and my friends and thinking about my new gift. I wasn’t sure how often my gift would show itself, but I was positive that things were going to be real interesting from now on.
READ ON FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT THE NEXT ADVENTURE IN THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BIRDIE MAE HAYES!
HENRY THE CAT
When I woke up on Saturday morning I wasn’t expecting to find a big white fluffy cat sitting outside my bedroom window. But there he was. He stared at me, then he yawned, laid down on the window ledge and started cleaning himself. Well just make yourself at home, why don’t you, I thought.
I got out of bed and walked over to the window. I watched him through the glass for a few minutes, wondering if he might be one of the cats left over from when Old Lady Miller lived in the neighborhood. She had at least fifty cats before she moved away.
Mama walked into my bedroom and said, “Good morning Birdie Mae! What are you looking at out the window?”
I pointed to the cat and said, “Mama, it’s the strangest thing . . . I woke up and this big, white, fluffy cat is just sitting right outside my window staring at me.”
Mama looked toward the window and then walked over to get a better look. I noticed her back stiffen a little and when she turned around she had a funny look on her face. She walked back across the room and sat on my bed.
She looked right at me and said, “Birdie Mae, are you telling me there is a big, white, fluffy cat sitting outside your window right now?
“Yes ma’am! Isn’t he the cutest thing?” I asked.
Mama still had that same funny look on her face. She said, “Now, I don’t want to upset you, but Birdie Mae, I don’t see a big, white, fluffy cat outside your window. Or any cat outside your window. But I do believe you see a big white fluffy cat outside your window. I just think you may be the only one who can see it.” She paused. My mouth had dropped open. “It sounds like I need to call Grandma Mae right away. I’ll be right back.”
And just like that, Mama got up, turned around, and left my bedroom in a hurry. I just stared at the bedroom door and then back at the cat over and over again. I started getting a nervous feeling, and I knew this all had something to do with my gift—or what mama now calls my “special abilities.” That had to be the only reason Mama was calling Grandma Mae.
I could hear Mama talking on the phone but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Then, before I knew it, she was coming back down the hall. She rounded the corner to my room and said in a cheerful voice, “How about we take a ride out to Grandma Mae’s house today?”
I immediately thought to myself, Oh great . . . here we go again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeri Anne Agee grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in communications. An avid reader and a mother of three, Jeri Anne retired early from the financial industry, and at the age of forty-four, began writing her first children’s book. Her quest to combine her own stories of growing up in the South with a character who is strong, lovable, loyal, and funny resulted in Birdie Mae Hayes. Jeri Anne currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband, three children, and four rescue dogs.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Bryan Langdo spent his childhood drawing dragons and ninjas on whatever was around—sketchbooks, math tests, desks. He studied under author/illustrator Robert J. Blake and then at the Art Students League of New York, where he focused on life drawing and portrait painting. After that he earned a BA in En
glish from Rutgers College. Bryan is the illustrator of over thirty books. His picture book Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat won a 2012 Spur Award for Storytelling from Western Writers of America. In addition to his work as an illustrator and writer, he works as an editor for an ESL website and app. Bryan lives in Hopewell, New Jersey, with his wife and two children. When not working, he likes to be in the woods.