The Secret Book Club (9 page)

Three days a week, Robby Edwards worked as a clerk at Sincerely Yours. His shift started at ten in the morning, when either his mother or his father dropped him off at the store, and ended at three in the afternoon, when someone arrived to pick him up. In between, Robby waited on customers, stocked shelves, made coffee, and occasionally manned the cash register.

By the middle of July, Robby had been working for almost a month. He was pleased with the way his bank account was growing. But he was even more pleased by something that had happened the previous week: Olivia Walter had decided that four times a year, Sincerely Yours should honor a particularly hardworking employee and post that person's picture by
the cash register. Robby had been selected as the Employee of the Summer.

“Dad! Dad!” he had cried when his father collected him that afternoon. “Look! I'm the Employee of the Summer! It says so right over there.” He grabbed his father by the hand and tugged him inside the store. “See the sign? That makes it official.”

“Robby, that's wonderful!” his father had exclaimed. And that night the Edwards family had celebrated with ice cream at Dutch Haus.

One sultry morning, when the July humidity had settled oppressively over Camden Falls, making Robby feel as if he were wearing a damp winter coat, Mr. Edwards walked along Main Street with his son.

“What does today hold for you?” he asked.

“Always the same,” Robby replied with satisfaction. “First I will check the coffeepot, and if it is empty, I'll make more coffee. Then I'll straighten the merchandise. On the shelves. Maybe there will be new items to stock. But if any customers arrive and they need help, then I stop what I'm doing and help. The customers always come first.”

Robby and his father passed Needle and Thread and peered through the windows. Gigi waved to them from the cutting counter. Robby waved back, then said, “Oh, there's Flora. She's going to teach a class, Dad. To
grown-ups
.”

The Edwardses passed Zack's and Heaven and then they were standing outside Sincerely Yours. “Dad, don't hug me, okay?” Robby said urgently. “Tell me good-bye like a man.”

Mr. Edwards looked gravely at his son. “Good-bye,” he said. “Have a good day at work. This afternoon Margaret Malone is going to pick you up.”

“Good-bye,” replied Robby seriously. “You have a good day, too.”

As Robby opened the door to Sincerely Yours he wished, as he often did, that he was allowed to walk to Main Street on his own. But then he reminded himself that he had a
job
. And he was earning a
paycheck
. He had already taken huge steps toward independence.

“Well! If it isn't the Employee of the Summer!” declared Mr. Walter, who was carrying a tray of cookies that Mrs. Walter had just made.

“I'm ready to check the coffee,” was Robby's reply. He made his way to the coffee machine, reached for one of the pots, and knocked over a newly filled pot of milk. “Uh-oh! Uh-oh!” exclaimed Robby as milk pooled on the counter and dripped to the floor.

“Never mind,” said Mrs. Walter. She bustled out of the kitchen with a dish towel and handed it to him.

Wordlessly, Robby cleaned up the mess. “Sorry, I'm sorry,” he muttered when he had finished, and a memory flashed through his mind, quick as a snake, the
memory of another summer day and of a girl — had she been a friend of Lydia Malone's? — whispering loudly that he was a retard.

This day, this stifling day when people in Camden Falls hustled from one air-conditioned building to another and complained about the heat in between, turned out to be a very bad day for Robby Edwards. He became confused when making change for a customer (before Robby had finished the transaction, the customer had handed him a ten-dollar bill and asked if Robby could give him a five and five ones, and also use one of the ones to buy a chocolate-chip cookie), and he was forced to call on Mr. Walter for help. Later, he was hauling a box of wooden picture frames to a display shelf, and just as he reached the shelf, the bottom of the box gave way and forty frames crashed to the floor, the glass in two of them breaking.

“Emergency!” Robby cried, horrified.

“Don't worry. Accidents happen,” said Mrs. Walter. “That wasn't your fault.”

And Mr. Walter added, “At least it wasn't a box of those.” He pointed to a selection of expensive hand-painted glass ornaments that had recently arrived.

Robby tried to smile, but as he tackled the shards of glass with a dustpan and broom, he had the feeling that people walking by the store at that moment would see him and think, Retard.

“Time for your lunch break,” said Mr. Walter gently when the mess had been cleared up. “Go relax for a while.”

Humiliated, Robby ate a solitary lunch in the kitchen. The Walters were too busy to join him, and Robby was relieved. He used the quiet time to have a talk with himself, pointing out that it had just been a bad morning, and that when his lunch break was over, he could start fresh and try to pretend that the events of the morning hadn't taken place.

When Robby emerged from the kitchen, he found that Sincerely Yours was as crowded as he'd ever seen it.

“Everyone's escaping from the heat,” he overheard Mrs. Walter say.

Without being told, Robby began to answer customers' questions. He directed them to new merchandise. He told Mrs. Walter when the chocolates in the candy counter were running low. When he noticed that no one was manning the cash register, he took it over. He rang up purchases and made change for nearly half an hour — without needing any help whatsoever.

His shift was almost over, the store still crowded, when a young man approached the cash register, reached into a Sincerely Yours shopping bag he was carrying, and removed the tissue paper that was protecting a glass rosebud. “Excuse me,” he said to Robby, “I bought this this morning” (he pointed first to the rosebud and then to the display of painted ornaments)
“and, well, my wife said it was too expensive and that I have to return it.” He laughed uncomfortably.

Robby, peering at the display, saw that sure enough, one of the ornaments was missing. “Okay,” said Robby.

“So do you think I could have my money back? All the ornaments are the same price, I'm pretty sure. The total came to eighty-five dollars even.”

“Okay,” said Robby again. He placed the ornament carefully on a shelf below the cash register, then opened the drawer, withdrew four twenty-dollar bills and one five, and handed them to the customer.

“Thank you, sir,” said the man solemnly, and he left the store.

Robby carried the ornament back to the shelf and placed it in the empty spot between a glass bell and a glass bird.

“Was someone interested in that?” asked Mr. Walter.

“The man who bought it this morning returned it,” Robby answered. “I gave him his money back.”

Mr. Walter pursed his lips. “I don't remember selling one of those. I don't think we've sold any of them yet. Did the customer show you his receipt?”

Robby's gaze traveled to the floor. “No. But he had the ornament. He returned it,” he said again. “In one of our shopping bags.”

“Wendy?” Mr. Walter called. “Did you sell one of the new ornaments today?”

“No,” Mrs. Walter called back.

Mr. Walter sighed. “Robby,” he said, “I think we've been tricked. I think that man probably stole the ornament, then said he had to return it. That's why we always need a receipt when someone wants his money back or wants to exchange something.”

Robby felt his face burning. “Oh.”

“Don't worry,” said Mr. Walter. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

But I make more than most people, thought Robby. He looked out the window, then back at Mr. Walter. “I just cost you eighty-five dollars,” he said. “You can take it out of my pay.”

“What?” said Mrs. Walter from across the store. She joined Robby and her husband. “Why are we taking something out of your pay?”

Mr. Walter explained what had happened.

“And I want to pay you back,” said Robby miserably.

“Absolutely not,” said Mrs. Walter. “We won't hear of it.”

“Thank you,” mumbled Robby. He glanced at the door. “Margaret's here,” he said. “I have to go.”

Robby made his way to Margaret Malone. As he passed the checkout counter, he snatched the Employee of the Summer sign from the cash register and crumpled it into a tight ball. Moments later, he tossed it in a garbage can on Main Street.

The heat in Camden Falls was unrelenting that July, and Nikki, whose house had no air-conditioning, spent a great deal of time in town with Olivia, Ruby, and Flora. Sincerely Yours was air-conditioned, Needle and Thread was air-conditioned, the Row Houses were air-conditioned. And Min and the Walters were allowing the girls to stay at home alone more and more often.

“A good thing, too,” said Olivia, “since I want to start baby-sitting for Grace. I wonder when the Fongs will decide I'm old enough to do that.”

Nikki regarded Olivia, grateful that her old friend seemed to have returned. She had no idea why, but ever since the day of their last Saturday adventure, the day they had visited Mrs. Angrim's house, Olivia had been her sunny, bouncy self — as long as no one mentioned
Tanya, her party, barbecues, swimming pools, or Camden Falls Central High School.

“Have you ever taken care of a baby before?” Nikki asked.

She and Flora were sitting on Olivia's bed, watching Olivia remove every article of clothing from the wardrobe in the corner of her room. Olivia was growing (much to her relief), and her mother had told her it was time to try on all of her clothes in order to weed out the ones that no longer fit. When that chore had been accomplished, they would go shopping for new clothes.

“Well,” Olivia replied, “I helped take care of Henry and Jack when they were babies.”

“I don't know if that counts,” said Flora.

Olivia tossed a shirt onto a pile in the middle of the room. She had barely been able to squeeze her head through the neck hole. “This is boring,” she said, but she reached for another shirt. “You know what? We should be getting our next book any day now.”

“I was just thinking the same thing!” exclaimed Nikki. “Also … I was getting an idea.”

“You look awfully sneaky,” observed Flora.

“Wait until you hear my idea. Okay, did you guys notice that both times we got books, they arrived on the same day of the week?”

“Yes,” said Olivia and Flora.

“And that they arrived early in the morning?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if my calculations are right —”

Olivia let out a laugh.

“Ahem,” said Nikki. “If they're right, then the next packages should come in three days.”

Flora jumped to her feet, peered at the calendar on Olivia's wall, and said, “I'll bet you
are
right!”

“So here's my sneaky idea,” Nikki continued. “You know how the packages were left at Needle and Thread before it opened? Well, what if, three days from now, we went into town really early in the morning and hid somewhere nearby so we could see who leaves the envelopes?”

“Ooh,” said Olivia. “That
is
sneaky. Except I don't think Mom and Dad will let me do that.”

“I
know
Min won't let Ruby and me do that,” said Flora.

Nikki frowned thoughtfully. “Okay. How about if
I
go into town?”

“All by yourself?” said Olivia.

“If I have to.”

“Will your mother let you?” asked Flora.

“She won't know anything about it. She's already started her new job. She leaves the house before eight o'clock. And she takes Mae with her so she can drop her at day care. Tobias sleeps late — the whole house could fall on him and he wouldn't wake up. I figure if I'm ready to go when Mom leaves, I can get on my bike
the moment her car is out of sight and be on Main Street by eight-fifteen. That's forty-five minutes before Needle and Thread opens. Maybe I'll catch the mystery person in the act.”

“Ooh, I like this idea,” said Olivia. “Where are you going to spy from?”

“That's a good question. I have to be able to see Needle and Thread, but I don't want to be out in the open. I don't want anyone to see
me
.”

“I hate to suggest this,” said Olivia, “but what if you hid across the street in the doorway of Stuff 'n' Nonsense? You'd be out of sight, and you'd have a great view of Needle and Thread.”

“Stuff 'n'
Nonsense
?” cried Nikki. “The
Grinch's
store?” Nikki and Mrs. Grindle had a sorry history stemming from the previous summer when Mrs. Grindle had accused the innocent Nikki of stealing a necklace from her store.

“She won't be there at that hour,” Olivia pointed out. “Stuff 'n' Nonsense doesn't open until ten that day. She'll never know.”

“Hmm.” Nikki paused thoughtfully. “I kind of like the idea of using Mrs. Grindle to further our cause. Okay, let's make plans.”

 

Three days later, Nikki Sherman was awake and dressed by seven-thirty.

“Goodness, you're up early,” said her mother.

Nikki shrugged. “I don't want to waste any of the summer.”

Mrs. Sherman eyed her but said nothing.

“So how's the job?” asked Nikki.

Mrs. Sherman smiled. “It's wonderful. It's
really
wonderful. I know the hours are long and that that isn't easy on you and Tobias and Mae. But I love working at Three Oaks. Everyone there is so nice. My co-workers, the residents.”

“That's great, Mom,” replied Nikki seriously. “I never heard you say that about any of your other jobs.”

Half an hour later, Mrs. Sherman's car was disappearing down the drive, and Nikki, having peeked into Tobias's room to make sure he was sound asleep (he was), was unlocking her bicycle. Fifteen minutes after that, following one of her fastest rides ever into Camden Falls, Nikki relocked her bicycle at a rack in front of the library, looking over her shoulder all the while. Main Street was quiet, though, and Olivia had been right: Stuff 'n' Nonsense wouldn't open until ten. Relieved, Nikki ducked into the doorway, trained her eyes across the street — and saw that four thick envelopes were already stacked by the entrance to Needle and Thread.

“No way,” said Nikki under her breath.

She slouched away from Stuff 'n' Nonsense, hands in her pockets.

It was now eight-twenty. Nikki had half an hour to kill before Flora, Olivia, and Ruby would arrive at Needle and Thread with Min. She set off down Main Street, a very different place at this early morning hour. Nikki saw that she was one of just a handful of people in town. She watched as a teenage boy, with lank brown hair falling across his eyes and jeans falling well below his waistline, unlocked the door of the T-shirt Emporium. Across the street, Zack was letting himself into the hardware store. Farther down the block, a customer hurried into the post office, which, Nikki knew, Jackie and Donna had opened at precisely eight o'clock.

Nikki ambled along the sidewalk in the direction of Boiceville Road. In the windows of many of the storefronts, she saw signs advertising Nelson Day, the fund-raiser to help the Nelson family. She paused to read one of the signs. Nelson Day — which would feature a street fair with sidewalk sales, food, and music — would take place on Labor Day, which was also the end of summer vacation. And then … and then Nikki, Olivia, and Flora would officially become students at Camden Falls Central High School. They would be members of the youngest class, in there with all the older kids, kids as old as eighteen. Nikki shivered despite the heat that was gathering. Olivia wasn't the only one who was nervous about September.

Nikki shook herself and opened the door to Frank's Beans. After checking her pockets, she stepped up to the counter, greeted Frank, and, feeling extraordinarily grown-up, ordered an iced tea with extra ice. She selected a seat facing Main Street and sat by the window, sipping her drink, until she saw Min, Olivia, Ruby, and Flora approaching Needle and Thread. In a flash, Nikki tossed her cup in the trash and ran out the door. But she slowed down after she crossed the street. The plan was for Nikki to saunter down the sidewalk and pretend, for Min's sake, that she had just arrived in town.

“Hi!” she called to her friends.

Min was unlocking the door. “Hello, Nikki,” she said. “I didn't expect to see you so early.”

Ruby held out the packages. “Look what's
here
!” she cried. “What a sur
prise
! Did
any
body have
any
idea it was time for the next books to arrive? And what a co
in
cidence — we're all here to open them.”

Olivia poked Ruby. “Tone it down, tone it down,” she murmured.

Ruby scowled, but Nikki said brightly, “I can't wait to see what we got.”

Min held the door open for the girls, and they rushed inside with the packages.

“Who brought them?” whispered Ruby loudly as soon as Min was behind the checkout counter.

“SHHH!”
hissed Flora. “Min's already suspicious
because Olivia wanted to come with us this morning.”

“I don't care!” exclaimed Ruby. “Who brought them?”

“I didn't see,” confessed Nikki. “I got here at eight-fifteen — as soon as I could — and the packages were already in the doorway. Someone must have left them overnight, or else really,
really
early this morning.”

“Dang,” said Olivia.

“Oh, well. Let's open them,” said Flora. “I don't care if the mystery person is still a mystery. It's more fun that way.”

Nikki and her friends sat on the couches, each holding her package. “One, two, three … open!” cried Nikki.

Olivia was the first to withdraw the book. “
The Summer of the Swans
, by Betsy Byars,” she said. She flipped through it. “It's short.”

“It has pictures, just like
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
,” commented Ruby approvingly.

“You know what?” said Flora. “This book won the Newbery Medal, and so did
Roll of Thunder
and
Mrs
.
Frisby
.”

“What's the Newbery Medal?” asked Ruby.

“It says right on the book. It's an award for ‘the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.'”

“Cool,” said Olivia.

“Let's read the letter,” said Nikki. She unfolded hers and after a moment said, “Guess what the Saturday activity is. We're supposed to hold a Brave Saturday and each do something brave. I wonder why.”

“I guess we'll know after we read the book,” said Flora.

“Let's read it right now!” cried Olivia.

“What — the whole thing?” asked Ruby.

“Sure. Why not? It's short. I'll bet we could finish it in a few hours. Does anybody have anything else to do today? We could go right across the street to the library and read in those comfy chairs.”

“Okay. Let me just call Tobias and tell him where I'll be,” said Nikki.

 

It was not often that Nikki spent an entire day on Main Street, but on that sticky July day she didn't return home until nearly suppertime. After she and her friends read
The Summer of the Swans
(the older girls entertained themselves on a computer while they waited for Ruby to read the last several chapters), they left the library for College Pizza, where they sat at a booth and ordered sodas.

“Now I see why we're going to have Brave Saturday,” said Nikki. “All the books we've read so far, except maybe
The Saturdays
, are about bravery.”

The Summer of the Swans
was the story of Sara Godfrey, who spends a night in the woods searching
for her little brother, Charlie, after he disappears trying to find six swans that have shown up that summer.

“Does Charlie have the same thing Robby does?” asked Ruby as they waited for their sodas.

Olivia shook her head. “Robby has Down syndrome. And Charlie — I don't know. He doesn't talk.”

“The kids are mean to him,” said Ruby.

“The kids are mean to Sara, too,” Nikki pointed out, “because her family is different and they don't have much money. I know exactly how Sara feels. I know a little how Cassie feels in
Roll of Thunder
, too. Outcasts.”

“Things are better for you now, though, aren't they?” asked Flora anxiously.

“Better,” agreed Nikki. “But I think once you've felt that way, it stays with you.”

“Probably we all feel like outcasts sometimes,” said Olivia.

Nikki played with her straw paper, folding it back and forth, back and forth, into an accordion. Then she dripped water on it and watched it spring to life. No one spoke.

The waitress brought their sodas. When she had left, Ruby said, “Well, I don't know
what
I'm going to do on Brave Saturday. I'm not afraid of anything.”

Flora snorted. “Everyone's afraid of something, Ruby.”

“You're afraid of so many things, you'll have trouble choosing,” Ruby retorted.

“Girls, girls. No fighting now,” said Olivia in her best Gigi voice.

“Let's have Brave Saturday this Saturday,” said Nikki.

“
This
Saturday?” exclaimed Olivia. “But that's so soon.”

“Do you have anything else to do?” asked Flora.

“No,” admitted Olivia.

“Well, okay then. Let's start thinking.”

“I have an idea,” said Ruby. “Let's keep our brave things secret until Saturday. We won't reveal them to each other until we're ready to do them.”

“Remember,” added Nikki, “the letter said we each have to do something
truly
brave.”