Teeny Weeny Zucchinis (2 page)

He helped himself to a gray pork chop. He sprinkled it with salt and pepper just as if it were a normal chop.

“Pass the mashed potatoes, please,” he said. He took some. The bits rolled around on his plate.

“They should stick together,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly. “My mom’s mashed potatoes stick together.”

“Well, they stuck on the oven,” said Molly.

“They will stick together when we put gravy on them,” said Mr. Duff.

Molly felt like crying. “This isn’t like Mom’s dinner,” she said.

Mr. Duff sliced a piece of gravy. “Every cook makes things just a little different. And variety is the spice of life!”

Molly tasted the food. It was awful! How could her dad sit there and eat it? Even her best friend couldn’t eat it. The chops were like rubber. The potatoes stuck to the roof of her mouth like library paste! And the gravy was as hard as peanut brittle. But it wasn’t sweet and brown. It was white and floury.

When Mr. Duff finished his dinner, he did a surprising thing. He took a second helping!

“Was I lucky that you two could cook,” he said, chewing a piece of gravy. “Mom will be pleased to hear about this big surprise.”

The girls tried to eat, but they had a hard time. It took a long time to chew. Molly’s dad was a good sport.

A
fter dinner Mr. Duff went into the living room to read his paper just the way he did after a regular meal.

“You girls cooked dinner,” he said. “I’ll do the dishes. Just soak them in the sink and I’ll wash them in a little while.”

“What did we do wrong?” Molly asked Mary Beth as they cleared the things away.

Mary Beth looked thoughtful.

“It must have been one cup of water, instead
of one cup of flour,” she said. “We got it turned around.”

“Do you think it’s still a good deed?” asked Molly.

“Sure,” said Mary Beth. “Your dad had two helpings. We don’t have to tell them about it. We cooked it and your dad ate it. That’s a good deed.”

Mary Beth said she had to get home to take care of her little sister. But Molly had a feeling she was hungry and had to hurry home in time to eat dinner with her family!

The next day, when Molly’s mother came home, her dad told her about the surprise.

“They did all that work,” he said. “All by themselves.”

But that night Molly confided in her mother. She told her about the white gravy and gray chops.

“Chops get browner in the frying pan,” Molly’s mother said, “and the gravy probably needed more water. Then you have to stir
it in the chop pan. After you take the chops out.”

“We couldn’t use the real stove,” said Molly.

“You did the right thing,” her mother said. “And all’s well that ends well.”

Molly was not sure it had ended well, but it was nice of her mother to say so.

“Do you think it’s a good deed?” she said.

“Of course,” her mother said. “It’s a very good deed.”

On Tuesday Molly couldn’t wait to get to her Pee Wee meeting. She and Mary Beth had a good deed to tell that no one else had. And they would find out the new badge they would earn.

Mrs. Peters was there to meet them. Her baby, Nick, was with her. And Lucky, their troop mascot.

“Hey, have I got a good deed,” said Tim Noon. “I recycled plastic water jugs.”

“Into what, Noon?” said Roger White.

“Into water jugs,” said Tim. “I fill them with water again and you can take them on a picnic. Or a bike ride or something. Or you can water the grass.”

Roger began to hee-haw. “Water jugs into water jugs! Oh boy, what a good deed!” He laughed, hitting his knee.

“That’s a good idea,” said Mrs. Peters. “It is definitely better than throwing them out. And it is definitely a good deed.”

It was okay, thought Molly. But not as good as cooking dinner for your dad. Even gray pork chops were better than a water jug.

Molly and Mary Beth wanted to tell their good deed, but Mrs. Peters had other things on her mind.

“This is our new badge,” she said, holding something up. “Let me tell you about it. Autumn is here, or fall, and we all know what that means.”

Hands waved.

“It means Halloween,” said Lisa Ronning.

“It means raking leaves,” said Kevin Moe.

“It means school starts,” said Patty Baker. Patty was a twin. Her brother Kenny was a scout too.

“It means hay fever,” said Tracy, who had allergies.

Roger sneezed loudly. “Ker-
choooo!
” he said.

“Is our badge for sneezing, Mrs. Peters?” asked Roger.

Most of the Pee Wees began to sneeze. Over and over and over. Mrs. Peters had to clap her hands and frown.

“Our badge is not for sneezing,” she said. “And not for raking or going back to school. Our badge is for helping at the Harvest Fest. Fall is the time to harvest vegetables and fruit. Corn and apples and broccoli and squash.”

“And pumpkins!” shouted Sonny Stone.

Sonny was spoiled. Even though his mother had married the fire chief, and Sonny
now had a father and a little brother and sister, he was still a baby. His mother was assistant scout leader.

“And pumpkins,” said their leader, laughing. “Fall is definitely the time for pumpkins.”

“Do we have to harvest the food?” asked Kevin.

Kevin was one of Molly’s favorite scouts. She wanted to marry him someday. Unless she married Jody George. Jody had a wheelchair. If she married him, she would get to ride in it whenever she wanted. She knew married people shared things.

“No, the farmers do the harvesting,” said Mrs. Peters. “They cut the wheat and pick the corn and beans and peas and other things. The Harvest Fest is like a party to celebrate all the crops. It’s a sort of Thanksgiving party.”

“Do we eat turkey and dressing and cranberries?” asked Lisa Ronning.

“Thanksgiving is in November,” said Ashley Baker, the temporary scout from California. Her two cousins, Kenny and Patty Baker, were in Troop 23, and she was visiting them. “November is winter, not fall.”

“We won’t eat turkey at the fest, but we will have lots of good food. Corn on the cob and hot dogs and fresh strawberry shortcake,” said Mrs. Peters.

Some of the boys started to rub their stomachs and make yummy noises. Pretty soon everyone was doing it, even baby Nick.

“Yum, yum, yum!” he said.

“Hey, we don’t harvest hot dogs!” said Sonny. “They don’t grow in the garden.”

“Well, everything at a harvest fest isn’t harvested, is it, Mrs. Peters?” said Rachel Meyers.

“That’s right, Rachel. But most of the food will be food grown in our own area,” said their leader.

“There will be rides, and games, and
prizes to win,” Mrs. Peters went on. “As scouts, we will all pitch in and help. We’ll wear our uniforms and help at the booths and stands, and afterwards we will pick up litter and clean up the park.”

“Is that all we do to get the harvest badge, Mrs. Peters?” asked Jody. “That’s not much.”

Wasn’t that just like Jody! thought Molly. He always wanted to do a little extra. Jody was ambitious.

“I’d like you each to have a little project of your own for the Harvest Fest,” said Mrs. Peters. “These are some of the things you could do for the badge.”

Molly got out her pencil and notepad. She liked to write things down. She liked making lists.

“Some of you could help in the first-aid tent,” said their leader. “You can help the nurse there put Band-Aids on knees and elbows. Another thing some of you could do would be to have a little stand of your own.
You may want to sell some fresh produce from your gardens, or cider, or even something you make yourself, like pumpkin bread or zucchini bread. One year, one troop made jewelry out of small vegetables. They dried little pea pods and berries and painted them and glued them onto pins and earrings. They earned a lot of money for their troop that way.”

Ashley was waving her hand. “I’m going to have a ‘back to school’ booth,” she said. “I can sell things I get at thrift stores, like sweaters and scarves and mittens and stuff. That is, if I’m still here. In California we don’t need things like mittens. It never gets cold there. We can use our pool the whole year long.”

“She just wants to brag,” whispered Mary Beth. “She thinks it’s so great to live in California. You’d think she was a TV star or something.”

“That’s a good idea, Ashley,” said Mrs. Peters. “Just let your imagination guide you. The sky’s the limit. You can do things with autumn leaves and dried flowers and grapevines too. You can collect seeds and sell them. Just keep the season in mind, and the harvest theme.”

When Mrs. Peters was through talking, she showed them some things that scouts had made in past years. Then Mrs. Stone came down the steps with some chocolate cupcakes and glasses of milk. Everyone cheered and forgot about harvest things for a while.

After their treat, they all went out in the yard and played ball. Then they sang the Pee Wee song and said the Pee Wee pledge.

It looked as if everyone had also forgotten about good deeds, thought Molly. Even Mrs. Peters.

W
hen the meeting was over, Molly found Mary Beth and said, “We didn’t even get a chance to tell our good deed. This is the first time she didn’t ask for them. And it’s the time we’ve got the best one!”

“Good deeds keep,” said Mary Beth. “They’re like secrets. You just keep them inside
until the time is right, and then there they are! Next time she asks, we can tell it.”

Molly supposed her friend was right. But by the time the time was right, it would be old news. It wouldn’t seem as exciting to report as it was now. Rat’s knees, thought Molly. Good deeds are like homemade bread. Good only when they’re fresh.

On the way home, Molly and Mary Beth talked about what they should do to get their badge.

“I might sell my mom’s pumpkin cookies,” said Mary Beth. “They’re made with pumpkins from our own yard.”

Rat’s knees! That was a good idea. Why hadn’t Molly thought of that? But Molly did not have pumpkins in her yard. Molly’s dad said gardens were lots of work. She’d have to think of something else.

But just then something happened that made Molly forget about the Harvest Fest badge. Rachel was across the street. And she
was pushing Jody’s wheelchair. Jody was laughing at something Rachel had said.

Then Mrs. Meyers drove up and Rachel got into the car. As the girls watched, Jody got in too! Then Rachel’s mother folded up the wheelchair and put it in the back of the station wagon.

“Why is Jody in Rachel’s car?” said Molly. “His dad always picks him up.”

“He’s been going over to Rachel’s a lot after scouts,” said Mary Beth. “I think Rachel likes him.”

Molly was shocked. Jody liked
her
! How could he like Rachel too? Rachel was a show-off. She wasn’t Jody’s type. Jody was generous and friendly and smart. Molly felt an empty feeling in her stomach. Jody looked as if he was enjoying himself.

Mary Beth was talking on and on about the Harvest Fest. “I think we should help out in the first-aid tent too,” she said.