Just Grace and the Trouble with Cupcakes Read online

About an hour later we had a new bow for Mr. Scruffers and a list of two pretty good fair ideas.

  OUR FAIR IDEAS AND WHO THOUGHT OF THEM

  1. SUPERPOWERS (There would be games about different superpowers.) Me

  2. CANDY (Every game could have something to do with a different kind of candy.) Mimi

  Once you have an idea you really like it’s hard to think of anything else that seems better. I was happy with my superpowers idea. It fit me.

  WHAT I COULD TELL RIGHT AWAY

  Candy was the best idea on the list. Best and favorite are not the same thing. My idea was still my favorite, but I knew candy was the kind of idea our whole class was going to go crazy for.

  THE PROMISE

  I looked at Mimi and said, “If everyone likes your idea the best, I’m not going to try to make my idea be the winner. I don’t want our ideas to fight against each other.” Mimi looked surprised. “That’s another good idea,” she said, and she smiled. “I don’t want that either. If your idea is the most popular, I won’t say another word about my idea.” “Pinky swear,” I said, and I held out my pinky. “Pinky swear,” said Mimi, and we made it official.

  After the pinky swear, Mimi came back to my house so we could try the new bow on Mr. Scruffers. Of course Mr. Scruffers hated it, but that wasn’t a surprise—she hates all accessories. At first she tried to bite it off, but as soon as we took her outside and threw the ball, she sort of forgot that she was wearing it. It looked super cute. All I had to do was put it on just before Grandma arrived and then keep Mr. Scruffers from chewing it off until Grandma saw it. How hard could that be?

  WHAT MOM SAID ABOUT GRANDMA

  She said, “We have to be careful and not tire Grandma out before her big trip.” I nodded, but I was sad. I wasn’t super happy that Grandma was only staying with us for the weekend. On Sunday night she was flying to France to meet Mr. Costello, her boyfriend, and some of her other friends from Shady Grove—that’s the place where she lives. They were all going on an amazing trip, to visit French castles and the city of Paris. It sounded fantastic, and a lot better than two weeks in school.

  Whenever Grandma and I see each other, we always try to have special time that’s just the two of us. I made sure to remind Mom about that so she wouldn’t forget. After I asked her about a hundred times, Mom finally gave me two choices—lunch tomorrow or two hours in the afternoon on Sunday. I picked lunch, because it was perfect for my plan, and that plan started with a “p” and ended with a “c.”

  MY PICNIC PLAN

  1. Put the bow on Mr. Scruffers and take Grandma and Mr. Scruffers on a picnic.

  2. Sit on the swinging bench at the park with Grandma and Mr. Scruffers.

  3. Eat delicious sandwiches and have iced tea mixed with lemonade as a drink.

  4. Visit with Grandma and take a photo of me, Grandma, and Mr. Scruffers all together, so I can remember the day and keep it forever.

  Mom said she would help out by making snickerdoodle cookies. I love Mom’s snickerdoodle cookies. I would almost pick them over cotton candy, but I didn’t tell her that. That’s not a good thing to tell a mom. That kind of thing could turn out bad later.

  After Mom left for the store I went upstairs to start on the sign for Grandma. She is staying in the room next to me. It’s nice to have her close. When Mimi’s grandmother visits she has to stay in their basement. I wouldn’t like that. I like having my family right around me.

  While I was making the Welcome sign, I had a new idea of something else to do. It was almost even better than the sign.

  It was good that Mom was gone a long time, because getting everything done took longer than I thought it would. When she finally got back, I was starving for dinner and almost finished.

  AFTER DINNER

  When all the dishes were done, Mom and Dad helped me put up the sign I’d made for Grandma. They loved it. Grandma’s not famous, but I felt like she almost could be, because that’s how excited I was to see her.

  I told Mr. Scruffers all about Grandma, and even though she couldn’t understand what I was saying, she was a good listener. I couldn’t wait for them to meet. It was going to be love at first sight.

  THE NEXT MORNING

  Mr. Scruffers and I were up early. The sun was shining, and it was a perfect day for a picnic. Mom must have been excited about Grandma too, because she was up before we were, and she never gets up that early. She offered to make me French toast. I like to have French toast when I need extra energy, or if am worried about something, but today even though I was neither of those things, I still said yes. Having extra energy is never a bad thing.

  THE THING THAT MADE ME EXTRA HAPPY

  Seeing a plate of fresh snickerdoodles on the counter. Mom said not to eat any because we were saving them for Grandma.

  WHAT IS HARD TO DO

  Not take a cookie just to see if it tastes as good as it smells.

  WAITING FOR GRANDMA

  After breakfast Dad told me to take Mr. Scruffers outside and play with her. “Throw the ball and tire her out,” he said. Mr. Scruffers heard Dad say “ball” and “outside,” so she was looking at me with her ears up. When she hears words she understands, she gets super interested and watches to see what’s going to happen next. As soon as I said “Okay,” and stood up, Mr. Scruffers ran to the back door. She’s smart about the words she knows.

  Using up some of her energy before Grandma got here was a good idea. Even though Grandma loves dogs, she was probably like Mimi. Not everyone likes jumping, barking dogs, and Barnaby, Grandma’s old dog, definitely didn’t do either of those things.

  I played ball with Mr. Scruffers for almost an hour. It was a new record. At the end Mr. Scruffers was really tired and my arm was sore. It was a workout for both of us.

  The rest of the morning took forever to go by. Waiting time moves a lot slower than regular time. The only fun thing I did after playing with Mr. Scruffers was to get the picnic ready. Mom helped me make the sandwiches, but everything else I did by myself. When I was done I set it out on the counter, just to be sure there was nothing missing. It looked perfect.

  THE AIRPORT

  Normally when Grandma comes, I go with Mom to the airport to get her, but this time was different. This time I was staying home. It felt weird to see Mom drive off without me, but I didn’t have a choice. I wanted Mr. Scruffers to be wearing her new bow when Grandma met her, and there was no way I could put the bow on her and then leave the house. I knew Mr. Scruffers—the minute I was gone she’d rip it off.

  MR. SCRUFFERS LYING

  Mr. Scruffers watched out the window with me until Mom’s car disappeared, and then we flopped down on the sofa. “Grandma’s going to be sad when I’m not at the airport,” I said. Mr. Scruffers didn’t look up. “I don’t want you to feel bad, but it’s all because of you.” She didn’t move. I petted her head. “That’s okay. You’re worth it.” We sat there for a long time—me talking and her listening. I made sure not to use even one of her jump-up-and-get-excited words, so it was pretty relaxing.

  MR. SCRUFFERS’S JUMP-UP-AND-GET-EXCITED WORDS

  Squirrel

  Treat

  Cookie

  Cat

  Walk

  Ball

  Outside

  Park

  After about thirty minutes, I went up to my room to get the bow so I could be ready. Of course, Mr. Scruffers followed me. As soon as she saw the bow, she put her tail down and looked up at me with sad eyes. That’s how much she hated it. “It’ll be okay,” I said. “You only have to wear it for five minutes.” She didn’t look any happier. I put the bow around my neck like a scarf and tied it up. “See! It’s not that bad.” I got on the bed and bounced up and down so she could see how happy it made me. Suddenly she was better. Mr. Scruffers loves jumping games.

  Jumping on the bed probably wasn’t the best thing to do right before Grandma was coming, but I didn’t think about that. All I was thinking about was trying to make Mr. Scruffers happ
y.

  WHAT DID NOT HAPPEN

  I didn’t hear the front door open, but Mr. Scruffers did. She has ears like a superhero. One second she was jumping on the bed with me, and the next second she was gone—racing down the stairs barking her head off. Instantly I knew, This is not good. I ran after her, but she is fast. I couldn’t catch her to put on her bow.

  THE POWER OF TEA AND COOKIES

  Tea and cookies can make you feel better, especially if you are disappointed about not having your dog look fancy to meet your grandma. Grandma didn’t mind, though—she liked Mr. Scruffers right away.

  Grandma brought me a present. Usually I rip the paper, but with Grandma and Mom watching I was more careful than normal. After I got the paper off there was still more unwrapping.

  The bubble wrap was easy to get off, and inside in the middle of it all was a beautiful little pot with a lid. It was my favorite colors, blue and green. I shook it—there was something inside. “It’s a lucky penny pot,” said Grandma. “And there are two lucky pennies inside. Every time you find a lucky penny, you can put it in your pot, and every time you need a lucky penny, you can take one out.” Then Grandma whispered, “Sometimes it’s a good idea to save a lucky penny for a day when you’ll really need it.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I leaned over and gave Grandma a hug. I already had a wish, but I didn’t say anything. Wishes are the kind of things you keep secret, especially if you want them to come true.

  While Mom and Grandma were making tea, I snuck one of the pennies out of the pot and made my wish. I’d already messed up the bow, and I didn’t want anything else to go wrong. Grandma hadn’t said what to do with pennies after you used them, so I just put it in my pocket. I’d have to ask about that later. When we all sat down it was like a real tea party. Mom even made a special tea for me. At first I didn’t like it very much, but after Mom put maple syrup in it, I loved it. I took a cookie and listened to Grandma talk about her trip. Listening to her made me wish I had two more pennies. Wishes were a lot easier to think of than theme ideas.

  MY TWO NEW WISHES

  1. That I could see the Eiffel Tower, because it is the most famous thing about France.

  2. That Grandma and I could get the good bench at the park.

  LATER IN THE MORNING

  Mom thought I forgot about the picnic, but of course I didn’t. I was just waiting for the right time to tell Grandma about it. As soon as I told her she was super excited. She loves picnics.

  After the picnic was ready I tried to put Mr. Scruffers’s bow around her neck, but she backed away and ran behind the sofa. “Oh, she doesn’t like it,” said Grandma. “Why don’t you put it on the picnic bag instead. It’ll look pretty there.” For a second I thought about saying, No, Mr. Scruffers has to wear her bow, but then I changed my mind. The bow was really for Grandma, and if she wanted to see it on the picnic bag instead of Mr. Scruffers’s neck, then that was the place to put it. Mr. Scruffers was probably thinking some nice thoughts about what was happening.

  THE PICNIC

  I crossed my fingers the whole way to the park. The best benches are the swinging ones and there are only two of them in the whole park. If somebody was already sitting on them, we’d have to sit on the boring regular benches, and that was not part of my plan.

  The best swing bench is the one next to the flower garden and the pond. The other one doesn’t have a very good view, just a bunch of bushes, but it’s better than nothing. As soon as we got to the park, I saw that two ladies were already sitting on the good bench. I wanted to wait until they got off, but Grandma said, “Look—we’re lucky. We can have the other swinging bench.” Grandma is good at not getting upset about things. There was a little puddle under the bench, but we got on without getting our feet wet, and once we were swinging, I didn’t even notice it anymore.

  Mr. Scruffers wanted to sit on the bench with us. I wasn’t sure if I should let her, but Grandma said, “The more the merrier,” so I let her jump up.

  At home no one is allowed to feed Mr. Scruffers from the table. But this was not home, and we were on a bench, not at a table, so I didn’t say anything when Grandma gave Mr. Scruffers a piece of her sandwich. It was hard not to share—Mr. Scruffers was watching every single bite we took. At first everything was okay, but then after a few minutes Mr. Scruffers wanted more. When Mr. Scruffers wants something, she is not quiet. She barks. It was not a relaxing way to eat.

  It made me think about Dad’s rule.

  Dad was right. I could see it happening. We told Mr. Scruffers to stop barking, but that didn’t work. All she cared about was Grandma’s sandwich, and she wanted that sandwich in her mouth. “I’m sorry,” I shouted. It was hard for Grandma to hear me over the barking. “It’s my fault,” shouted Grandma. I nodded—she was right about that. Suddenly I had an idea. Mr. Scruffers always stops barking when I hold up a ball. I looked in the picnic bag and pulled out an orange. “Look! Ball,” I shouted. Mr. Scruffers stopped barking and looked up at the orange. Her tail started to wag. I waved it in the air and chewed my sandwich as fast as I could. It wasn’t the best way to eat, but at least it was quiet.

  I was right about it not working for very long, because after a few more seconds, Mr. Scruffers started to bark at me to throw the ball. To make it more exciting for her I pulled my arm back and pretended like I was going to throw the orange—only by accident, I dropped it. The second the orange left my hand, Mr. Scruffers jumped off the bench to get it. She bumped the picnic bag and knocked the whole thing over, right into the middle of the puddle. It was a disaster!

  WHAT GRANDMA SAID

  “Oh, Grace, I’m so sorry. I should have said no to having Mr. Scruffers on the bench.” Having Grandma say that did not make me feel better. For some reason it did the opposite—suddenly I felt even worse. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it—I started to cry.

  WHAT IS REALLY HARD TO DO

  See where you are going when your eyes are full of tears. I jumped off the bench and landed with both feet right on top of the picnic bag. Now everything was wet and muddy. Grandma pulled the bag out of the puddle. It was all was squashed and dirty. “The cookies!” I cried. They were my favorite part of the picnic. “There, there,” said Grandma. “I’m sure there’s more at home.” I shook my head. I keep track of stuff like that. There were no more. These were the last ones.

  Both Grandma and Mr. Scruffers looked at me with sad eyes. That made me feel a little bit better, and I stopped crying. “I have an idea,” said Grandma. “Why don’t we go home and make some cupcakes. You like cupcakes, don’t you?” I nodded. “Well, I have an amazing cupcake recipe. I’ll phone Mr. Costello and have him go down and get it from my kitchen. I promise, these will be the best cupcakes you’ve ever tasted.” I wiped my eyes with my hands. Grandma gave me a tissue. “Will you help make them?” she asked. I nodded. “Okay,” said Grandma, “let’s get home so we can send your mom to the store.”

  WALKING HOME

  I would not have been a good burglar. Each step I took made a funny squishing sound. I didn’t mind how it sounded, but I didn’t like how it felt. It was cold and soggy and it made my feet feel like they were big wet fish.

  Mr. Scruffers was really good the whole way home. It made me wonder if she felt guilty. Grandma carried the muddy picnic bag and didn’t even complain when it touched her pants and made a big dirty mark. She cared more about me than she did about fashion. I was lucky.

  On the walk home I told Grandma all about the spring fair. “I wish I could help you with it,” she said. I said I wished that too, but it was impossible. “I guess I can’t help if I’m all the way in France,” said Grandma. I nodded my head and felt sad. She was right about that.

  WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE GOT HOME

  I went upstairs to get changed and Grandma called Mr. Costello and then made a whole list of things for Mom to get from the store. I could tell that Mom wasn’t excited about going, but Grandma is her mom, so she pretty much had to do it.
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  WHAT MOM BROUGHT HOME

  A fast way to get excited about making cupcakes is to get a lot of really cool things to decorate them with. Grandma and I followed her recipe and made the cupcakes. My favorite part is always cracking the eggs, and I showed her how I could almost do it with one hand. It was fun to mix them up, but what I really couldn’t wait for was the decorating part. I couldn’t wait to use all the new stuff Mom had bought.

  A HARD THING TO DO