Maggie and Max (4 page)

“You are really something else,” Charles said as he gave Max a quick scratch under the chin. The kitten purred and pushed against Charles’s hand.

It was the next afternoon, and Charles was sitting in the living room by the fireplace, helping Lizzie make paper chains for the tree. He wasn’t sure why she thought it was important to make more paper chains, since there were already dozens of them on the tree.

“They’re all old and faded,” Lizzie had said. “We need new ones.”

So, they were making paper chains. Charles was cutting out strips of green and red paper, and Lizzie was taping them into circle shapes, linking the circles together as she went. Dad had taken
the Bean along while he did some Christmas shopping, and Buddy had jumped into Dad’s red pickup with them. Charles had a feeling that Buddy needed a break from Max and Maggie, who had kind of taken over the whole house.

Mom was upstairs in her study, working on a newspaper story about a farmer who was giving away Christmas trees to anyone who needed one. “It’s due at five o’clock,” she had said. “And I’m only on paragraph one. Please keep an eye on Max and Maggie, and don’t interrupt me unless our house is on fire!” She’d paused on her way up the stairs. “Actually, if the house is on fire, call nine-one-one first, so your dad and the other firefighters will come. Then come knock on my door.”

“Gotcha,” said Charles.

“Hey!” Lizzie pulled a strip of paper away from Max. “Cut that out, you pest!” But she was laughing.

Charles pulled Maggie onto his lap for a hug. He had never met such a huggable puppy. Maggie
was almost like one of those gigantic, floppy stuffed dogs you could hug forever. She never struggled to get down, the way Buddy sometimes did. She just settled in, her big paws resting on either side of Charles’s neck in a warm puppy hug. She was so heavy that sometimes Charles’s legs fell asleep when she lay on his lap too long!

Ahh, very comfortable. I think I’ll take a nap. Hey! What’s going on?

Charles had to stretch out in order to grab another piece of green construction paper, which made Maggie slide off his lap.

Oh, well. Guess I might as well play a while, as long as I’m up. Where’s my favorite pal?

Maggie yawned as she trotted over to Max and gave him a big, sloppy lick. She bowed down with her butt in the air and her paws stretched out in
front. Then she turned and, looking over her shoulder, trotted off.

Try to catch me, my little friend!

Max rolled over and jumped up and ran after Maggie, all in one second. He was like a flash of black-and-white, streaking toward the stairs.

Wheee! Wait for meeee!

“Oh, no, the stair game.” Lizzie rolled her eyes. Charles could tell that even Lizzie was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by having two foster pets at once. The Petersons really had to do something about finding homes for Max and Maggie, together or separate. If they were still there by Christmas — which was only a week away! — Mom might insist that she had really had enough and that Max and Maggie would have to leave.
Then
where would they go?

Personally, Charles was enjoying having a puppy and kitten as visitors. They were so entertaining. Take the stair game. It was something Max and Maggie had invented all by themselves. Max would run up the stairs and meow at the top of his little lungs from the landing. From below, Maggie would bark in answer. Then Maggie would lumber up to the top of the stairs, and Max would scamper down. Maggie would bark, and Max would meow. Over and over and over. Charles wasn’t sure exactly what the
point
of the game was, but it was obvious that the kitten and puppy were having a great time.

First Charles heard meowing. He couldn’t see the landing from where he sat, but he could tell by the sound that Max was at the top of the stairs.

Hee-hee! Come and get meeee!

Then he heard barking.

You just wait, little friend! I’m coming after you!

Charles heard Maggie clamber up the stairs.
Thump, thump, thump.
But before she made it to the landing, Charles heard Max dash down.
Tooka-tooka-took.
His little paws moved twice as fast as the big puppy’s.

Max meowed some more, from the bottom of the stairs.

Hee-hee-hee! Missed meeee! Come and get meeee!

From above, Maggie barked.

Think you’re funny, do you, little friend? I’ll get you next time! Hey! Wait a second! What’s going on? Help! I’m stuck! I’m stuck! Do something! Help!

Charles shook his head as he cut a pile of green strips. That Maggie sure could bark a lot! Suddenly, Max raced into the room. He jumped onto Charles’s lap and started meowing and kneading his sharp claws into Charles’s leg.

Help! My friend needs help! Saaave her! Pleeease!

“Ouch!” said Charles. “What are you doing?”

Max jumped off Charles’s lap and ran to the bottom of the stairs. Then he ran back toward Charles and Lizzie. Then he ran back to the stairs. Maggie was still barking.

Charles looked at Lizzie. “I think something’s wrong.”

They both jumped up, ran into the front hall, and stared up the stairs. “Oh, no!” groaned Charles.

There, on the landing, was Maggie. She stared down at them sadly and gave one last whiny bark.
Her head was caught between two railings. She was trying to back herself out, but Charles could see right away that she was stuck.

Just at that moment, Mom came out of her study. “What is going
on
out here?” she began. “I thought I asked you two —” Then she stopped.

“Oh, no!”

It took all the Petersons (Dad came home the second Mom called him on his cell phone) plus one saw (borrowed from Sammy’s dad next door) to get Maggie unstuck. Everybody agreed that Max was a hero, just like his puppy friend.

“Maggie is usually the one who saves Max!” Charles said. “But this time, Max saved Maggie by letting us know she was trapped. They really are best friends.” He had Max on his lap, and Lizzie was comforting Maggie on hers.

“And they really do belong together,” Dad said thoughtfully. “I call a Peterson powwow, right this minute. I think we should make a family decision that these two animals
have
to find a
home together. We can’t separate friends as good as these. Agreed?”

“Agreed!” everyone chorused.

“But where in the world will that home be?” asked Mom as she reached out to pet Max. “I can’t imagine.”

Charles could. In fact, he had a pretty good idea of the
perfect
home for Max and Maggie. But he first he had to convince somebody else that he was right.

“What are you so happy about?” Sammy asked Charles. “You keep smiling. C’mon. Tell me!”

Charles shook his head. “You’ll find out.”

“I better,” said Sammy. “And you owe me a humongous favor for agreeing to recite ‘The Night Before Christmas’ all by myself.”

It was Christmas Eve, and the boys were in the back of the van, on their way to the Nest along with the other Scouts. Charles
was
happy. He had been working hard all week, but it was worth it. He had solved two big problems. One: how to find a home for a puppy and a kitten that could not be separated; and two: how to find a poem he could memorize for tonight’s showcase.

The second problem was the easiest. Charles had figured out that if he wrote his
own
poem, he wouldn’t have such a hard time remembering it. He didn’t even have to figure out the form for the poem. He just used “The Night Before Christmas” as a model but changed the words, the same way the Cub Scouts changed the words of familiar songs like “It’s a Small World.” Charles thought the poem had turned out pretty well. Maybe he would be a writer someday, like his mother.

He would have liked to teach the poem to Sammy, but he’d only finished it the night before. Anyway, that would ruin the surprise, which had to do with problem one. And Charles wanted
everyone
to be surprised, including his own family, the families at the Nest, and all the Scouts. Well, there was
one
person who was in on the surprise. But that person wasn’t telling, either.

The Petersons’ van pulled up at the Nest at the same time Lizzie, Mom, and the Bean arrived with Max and Maggie. The Scouts piled out of the
van, excited to be at the Nest on Christmas Eve. Charles went over to help his mom and ended up carrying Max up the front walk while Lizzie walked Maggie. The door swung open before Dad could even ring the bell.

“They’re here!” shouted Evan. “Merry Christmas, Max! Merry Christmas, Maggie! Merry Christmas, Charles! Merry Christmas, Charles’s family!”

Behind him, Mr. Baker laughed. “And Merry Christmas to all our Scout friends, too,” he said. “We have really enjoyed having you boys here every week. Come in, come in!”

The Nest was warm and bright with Christmas lights that draped all around the front desk and led down the hall. It smelled good, too. Like turkey and stuffing and — Charles took a big sniff. “Apple pie?” he asked Mr. Baker.

“You bet! Made it myself.” Mr. Baker patted Charles on the shoulder. “How about if you and I get Max and Maggie settled in the rec room?
Lizzie, we could use your help in the dining room tonight, okay?”

Lizzie shrugged. “Sure!” She handed Maggie’s leash to Mr. Baker and followed Mom and Dad and the Scouts down the hall.

“So, is everything all set?” Mr. Baker asked Charles in a low voice as they walked with the animals toward the rec room.

Charles nodded. “All set!”

“Excellent.” Mr. Baker pushed open the door to the rec room, and Beverly came over to welcome the animals. “You won’t have many visitors tonight, Bev,” Mr. Baker said. “At least not once the showcase gets going.”

“Fine with me,” Beverly answered. “Maggie and Max and I have some catching up to do, anyway.”

Charles gave the puppy and kitten each a quick pat, then followed Mr. Baker to the dining room. Sammy was waiting for him by the mashed-potatoes
station. “Ready to tell yet?” he asked as Charles took his place.

Charles just shook his head and pretended to zip his lips.

Dinner went by in a blur, and before he knew it, Charles was helping to move tables aside and set up chairs. In a few minutes, the dining room had been converted into a theater, with rows of chairs facing a platform where the performers would appear.

Charles felt his hands getting sweaty. He gulped. All too soon, he would be up there on that platform, performing in front of a whole bunch of people! He took a deep breath and tried to relax. After all, these people weren’t strangers anymore. He’d been serving them food for weeks now, and he’d gotten to know most of the Nest’s residents pretty well — especially the kids, of course.

Before they let the audience in, Mr. Baker stood up in front of all the volunteers and explained
how the showcase would work. The performers would sit in the back row. He would introduce each one in turn, and they would come up onstage and do their thing, then go back and sit down. At the end of the evening, everybody would come up onstage together for one last bow. “Are we ready?” Mr. Baker asked. He went and opened the doors, the audience flooded in and found their seats, and the showcase began.

Sammy was third, after a Scout who sang “Silent Night” and a funny skit by Charles’s mom and dad. Charles was impressed by how well his friend recited “The Night Before Christmas.” Sammy didn’t make one mistake! Charles gave him a high five when he got back to his seat. Then they sat together and watched all the other volunteers perform. The audience loved everything!

Then Charles saw Mr. Baker look at him and give a secret wink. As Charles made his way to
the front of the room, Mr. Baker disappeared, slipping out through a side door.

For a second, standing up there in front of everyone, Charles felt his hands go all sweaty. His knees felt like Jell-O. But then he looked out at the audience and spotted Evan, who smiled and waved. Charles took a deep breath. “Hi, everybody! Merry Christmas! I wrote a special poem, just for tonight.” His voice was a little squeaky, so he cleared his throat. “Um, so here it is.” Then he began.

Just then Mr. Baker reappeared in the doorway — but now he was dressed up like Santa, in a red suit and a very obvious fake white beard! He walked down the aisle, leading Maggie on her bright red Christmas leash. Maggie carried a big red-and-white-striped knitted stocking in her mouth — and in the stocking was Max, his bright eyes looking all around.

The audience broke into excited whispers and giggles. From the stage, Charles saw Evan’s
face light up when he saw his favorite animal friends.

Soon Mr. Baker was standing next to Charles. They smiled at each other. Now it was Mr. Baker’s turn to finish the poem. He faced the audience and began.

For a second, the whole room was quiet. Then the audience burst into cheers and applause. Suddenly, Charles felt almost as if he might start crying, so he quickly knelt down and threw his arms around Maggie’s big, furry neck. Charles could hardly believe he had finally gotten Mr. Baker to change his mind. It had taken a lot of work to convince him, but Mr. Baker had finally understood that if everyone at the Nest pitched in, they could take care of both a puppy and a kitten.

“I think you’ve both found a wonderful home,” Charles whispered to Maggie and Max. “Merry Christmas.”