Horseflies (11 page)

“There!” she cried. “Go!”

Carole and Starlight took off. They had to curve tightly through a series of poles, keeping the ball balanced on the racket strings. She and Starlight had a slight lead, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Joe Novick catching up fast on his big gray gelding.

“Hurry, Starlight!” Carole whispered as they turned the end pole and began twisting their way back to the finish line. She crouched low over Starlight’s shoulders as she guided him through the curving course. The tennis ball bounced once, and for a moment she thought she’d dropped it, but it landed back in the middle of the racket and stayed there. The last ten yards of the course were straight.

“Go, Starlight, go!” she cried as they rounded the last pole.

Starlight leaped into a canter. Carole held on to him with her legs and the tennis racket with her hand. With a thunder of hooves, she and Starlight crossed the finish line an instant before Joe Novick. A loud cheer went up from her team. Carole leaned over in the saddle and gave Starlight a big hug. Thanks to him, their team had won by a nose!

“All
right!
” Stevie said as she and Lisa rode over. The three girls lifted their hands together in a high fifteen. “We knew you could do it!”

“Thanks.” Carole smiled down at Starlight. He had been the hit of the day—first by modeling the fly hat, then by winning the relay race for their team. And he’d been a cooperative and well-mannered horse the whole time. She felt a warm glow of pride as she gave his neck a rub. She had known all along what was wrong with Starlight, and she had known exactly what to do about it. Not every horse owner in the world could say that!

S
TEVIE COLLAPSED ON
the bench in front of her cubby. “That was one of the best Horse Wise meetings ever!”

“I know,” Lisa agreed as she pulled off her tall black boots. “Carole, you and Starlight really saved the day.”

“Thanks.” Carole smiled with satisfaction. It had been a good day. She had finally worked Starlight through all his difficulties, and they had had a good time doing it. She loosened her dark hair from its braid and let it fall to her shoulders. “Hey, are we still going shopping for Jamie this afternoon?”

“I think so,” said Lisa. “Can anybody’s mom or dad take us to the mall?”

“Mine can’t,” grumbled Stevie. “They’re poring over their law books. They’ve both got big cases in court next week.”

“My dad’s reviewing a dress parade even as we speak,” Carole said. “How about your mom, Lisa?”

“No, she had to go and see the decorator about getting the living room redone.” Lisa shook her head. “I can’t wait to see how that will turn out!”

“I guess we’ll have to walk to the shopping center where TD’s is, then,” said Stevie. “Maybe that little gift shop will have something Jamie would like.”

They walked over to TD’s but for once passed by the ice cream shop. “I wonder if our favorite waitress is there?” Stevie cupped her hands around her eyes and peered through the front window.

Carole laughed. “She probably thinks that last ice cream concoction you ordered killed you and she’s hiding out from the police.”

“It didn’t kill me in the least.” Stevie patted her stomach. “In fact, it restored me to health.”

The girls trooped past the supermarket and the electronics store and turned into the small gift shop. Just inside the door stood a circular case filled with small crystal animals. Dolphins and dragons and unicorns glittered like diamonds on the black velvet shelves.

“Look!” said Lisa. “Aren’t these beautiful?”

Stevie and Carole crowded around her. “They’re gorgeous,” said Stevie. “But I don’t think a six-year-old boy would get much of a charge out of them.” She turned toward another part of the store.

Carole was about to follow her when a strangely familiar
shape caught her eye. “Wait!” she cried. “There’s Pegasus!”

The girls peered at the figurines again. Sure enough, at the very back was a small crystal horse rearing on its hind legs, just about to spread its wings and fly.

“Isn’t he fantastic?” Carole said.

Lisa nodded. “He’s beautiful!”

Carole looked at the price tag attached to Pegasus. Though he was expensive, he was on sale, and she had just enough money to buy him and still contribute to Jamie’s gift. She knew it would wreck her budget, but maybe she could do some extra chores around the house for her dad to make up the difference. Pegasus was worth it. Creatures that beautiful didn’t come along very often.

“I’m going to buy him,” Carole announced decisively. “I’m going to take him home and look at him every day. That way I’ll be inspired when the time comes to do my project.” She dug in her purse for her wallet. “Why don’t you two go look for a gift for Jamie while I pay for Pegasus. That way we can save some time.”

“Okay,” Stevie agreed. She and Lisa sauntered off to browse through the gift shop while Carole paid for Pegasus. By the time the clerk had wrapped him securely in bubble wrap and given Carole her change, Stevie and Lisa reappeared, their faces flat with disappointment.

“We’ve looked at everything they have.” Lisa sounded frustrated. “And it’s either too babyish or too grown up.”

“Unless Jamie would like some rose-scented potpourri,”
griped Stevie. “There’s just not much here for a six-year-old with chicken pox.”

“What shall we do?” Carole asked as she put Pegasus safely inside her purse.

“Maybe we could just go over to Jamie’s house for a visit,” suggested Lisa. “Since we’ve all had chicken pox, we could talk to him and maybe help cheer him up.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Stevie.

“Fine with me.” Carole happily patted her purse.

The Bacons’ house was not far away. The girls crossed the street in front of TD’s, then turned down a little side street that curved along a small creek. Soon they were standing on Jamie’s front porch, ringing the doorbell.

For a long moment no one answered. Then Mrs. Bacon opened the door.

“Why, Lisa, Stevie, Carole! What a surprise!” She smiled, but there were deep lines of fatigue around her mouth, and her face looked pale and tired. The girls had seen the same signs on Max and Deborah, and they knew exactly what had caused them—a small child with chicken pox.

“Hi, Mrs. Bacon.” Lisa spoke for the group. “We finished with our Horse Wise class and wondered if we might come over and say hello to Jamie. You know, to try to cheer him up.”

“Well, how nice of you girls. Please come in.” Mrs. Bacon held the door open. Her normally spotless living room was cluttered with the morning paper, a half-empty cup of coffee, and a scattering of Jamie’s crayons and coloring books.

“I’m sorry the house is such a wreck. It seems like I spend all my nights trying to keep Jamie comfortable and all my days trying to keep him entertained. I’m afraid I’m way behind on my housekeeping, and I don’t know when I’m going to catch up.”

“That sounds a lot like what our friends went through when their baby girl had chicken pox,” Lisa said.

“Well, it’s not that chicken pox is all that dangerous. As childhood diseases go, it’s usually not serious at all. But it just makes whoever has it so cranky. It breaks my heart to see Jamie lying in there so itchy and miserable.” Mrs. Bacon gave a heavy sigh. “Now he’s awake from his nap and I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Why don’t you go and rest for a couple of hours and let us take care of Jamie?” Stevie said. “Lisa can read him a story and Carole can play charades with him and I can teach him all my good jokes. We came over here to cheer him up, anyway. Now we can cheer him up and let you get some rest at the same time.”

Mrs. Bacon blinked. “Would you girls really be willing to do that?”

“Sure!” Lisa and Carole said together.

“Well, I’m certainly not going to turn down such a wonderful offer.” Mrs. Bacon smiled in gratitude. “Let’s see … Lisa, you know where things are in the kitchen, and where the telephone is if someone calls.” She shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “You’ve got a deal!”

Mrs. Bacon turned to lead them down the hall, then stopped. “Oh, just one thing,” she said. “All of you have had chicken pox, haven’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” the girls reassured her. “We all had it years ago.”

“Perfect,” Mrs. Bacon said. “Then follow me.” She led them to Jamie’s room and tapped softly on the door.

“Come in,” a small, woeful voice responded.

“Hi, Jamie.” Mrs. Bacon peeked in the room. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Look who’s here!”

She opened the door wider to reveal Carole, Lisa, and Stevie standing there. “Hi, Jamie!” they greeted the sick little boy.

“I’ll leave all of you to have a nice visit,” Mrs. Bacon whispered, hurrying down the hall to her own room. “See you in a couple of hours!”

“Hi, everybody.” Jamie smiled as the girls sat down on the foot of his bed. His face and neck were covered in red, blotchy pox.

“How are you feeling?” Lisa asked softly. “We haven’t seen you since Wednesday.”

“Pretty itchy,” he replied with a sigh. “But I haven’t thrown up anymore.”

“That’s good,” said Carole. “As I remember, we ate some pretty weird stuff Wednesday.”

“Yeah.” Jamie smiled. “But it sure tasted good. And the rides were great. Did they ever fix the merry-go-round?”

“Nope,” Stevie reported. “I was there until late Wednesday night, and the merry-go-round hadn’t turned an inch. You didn’t miss a thing.”

“Gosh, Jamie, you’ve got some neat books over here.” Lisa bent over and looked at the books beside his bed. “Would you like us to read you one?”

Jamie nodded.

“Let’s see.” Lisa ran her finger along the titles. “How about
Where the Wild Things Are
?”

“Okay.”

Lisa plumped up Jamie’s pillows and sat beside him to read. Carole and Stevie relaxed on the end of the bed, listening as Lisa read the words and Jamie studied the pictures. When Lisa finished, he looked up and smiled.

“That’s one of my favorite stories,” he said softly. “Sometimes at night I think there are wild things under my bed.”

“Shall I check for you, just to be sure?” Stevie asked, leaning upside down over the bed till her head touched the floor. She lifted up the bed skirt and peeked underneath. “Nothing wild down here,” she reported. “But look what I found!” She held up a game of Candy Land. “Want to play?”

“Sure,” Jamie said.

Lisa put a pillow on Jamie’s lap, and Stevie set up the game. Stevie and Jamie played while Lisa and Carole watched. Around and around the board they went, until Jamie finally won.

“Yay!” he said. Again his voice was soft.

“Want to play again?” asked Stevie. “And let me avenge my honor?”

Jamie shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Want to read another book?” Lisa asked.

“No thanks.”

“Want me to show you how to make an origami goldfish?” Carole offered.

“No thanks,” Jamie replied again, beginning to scratch at a chicken pox on his neck.

“Then what would you like to do, Jamie?” Lisa asked.

“I don’t know.” Jamie sighed. “Sometimes I run out of fun stuff to do.”

“Would you like me to tell you a story, Jamie?” Carole sat up and looked at him, her dark brown eyes bright. “A story about a wonderful, magical horse that could fly?”

“You mean the one you were reading about at the stable?” Jamie asked, suddenly smiling.

“That’s the one. Just lie back on your pillows and listen.”

Everyone settled down on the bed and listened as Carole told the legend of Pegasus and Bellerophon. She told of King Iobates, the Chimera, the Amazons, and finally Pegasus’ gift of immortality from Zeus. When she finished, Jamie clapped his hands.

“That’s the neatest story I’ve ever heard!” he cried.

“Then let me show you something else,” Carole said. She dug in her purse and pulled out the thick bundle of bubble wrap. Slowly she unwrapped it and placed the crystal Pegasus right on Jamie’s lap.

“Wow!” he breathed, stroking Pegasus’ wings with one finger. “That’s a whole lot neater than the pony on the merry-go-round!”

Suddenly Carole realized that today Pegasus was far more important to Jamie than he was to her. Jamie needed Pegasus to feel better right now, while she only needed Pegasus for inspiration on a school project that wasn’t due for three months.

“Tell you what, Jamie,” she said with a smile. “I bought Pegasus for me, but why don’t I lend him to you to help you feel better? You can keep him until your last chicken pox is gone, and then you can give him back.”

“Gosh.” Jamie’s eyes grew wide. “Thanks! I’ll take good care of him.”

Just then the door opened. Mrs. Bacon stood there. The tired lines on her face had magically disappeared, and her pretty blue eyes looked bright again.

“How’s everybody doing in here? I can’t believe I’ve been asleep for almost two hours!”

“We’ve been having a great time!” Jamie said excitedly, cupping Pegasus in his hand.

“Well, Jamie, I think we need to let these girls get home now. Why don’t you say good-bye? And maybe they can come back some other time.”

“Okay.” Jamie grinned up at Lisa, Stevie, and Carole. “Bye,” he said. “Thanks for coming by and playing with me.”