Best Friends (Nancy Pearl's Book Crush Rediscoveries)

by Mary Bard

  Co Co clapped her hands. “Oh, Grand’mère! I like turkey best of all! How good it looks! Ummmm!”

  Grandmother patted her head. “Now suppose you skip up and put on your new plaid dresses.”

  When they came downstairs, they looked as neat and prim as if they were going to Sunday school. Grandmother handed them a big bouquet of flowers, a basket of fresh ginger cookies and some mystery books, and warned them not to stay too long because Mrs. Medlin wasn’t strong yet.

  They walked down the street hand in hand, whispering about how dangerous Mrs. Medlin was. Bravo was waiting at the gate. His curly topknot was tied with a pink ribbon, his bangs were brushed back out of his eyes, he wore a studded collar with a name plate, license tag, and identification disc hanging like charms from a bracelet. His back shone like hammered pewter, and his legs rippled like fox fur.

  Suzie giggled. “Gosh! He looks just like a movie dog!”

  Co Co said, “He is haughty also, like the poodles in Paris.”

  Bravo didn’t even wag his tail. He turned and led them to the front door, gave one short peremptory bark, and the door was opened by a trained nurse who said, “Come in—come in. You must be Suzie and Co Co, those brave girls I’ve heard so much about.” They followed the nurse up the stairs.

  Mrs. Medlin greeted them in her usual cross voice. “Good morning. Don’t sit on the bed. It makes me nervous as a witch. Not a wicked witch either.” She gave a short bark of laughter, and Co Co jumped back, put her hand over her mouth, and blushed.

  Suzie just stood and stared, she was so astonished at the change in Mrs. Medlin. She had always seen her dressed in grubby gardening clothes, but now she looked almost glamorous. She wore a pink frilly bed jacket, a pink ribbon tied around her short gray curls, pink lipstick and pink nail polish, and she had a pale-blue satin quilt tucked around her. But her voice hadn’t changed as she snapped, “I want to thank you for rescuing me Friday night. I am extremely grateful. Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Someday I may be able to do something for you. In the meantime, please use my garden as if it were your own.”

  Suzie said, “Thank you,” and Co Co said, “Merci, Madame.” However, they both wondered if Mrs. Medlin realized how much like a cross teacher she sounded as she continued, “Please don’t interrupt. When you arrived the other night, I had been trying to attract someone’s attention for almost two hours. If it hadn’t been for Bravo . . .” She snapped her fingers and said in an even crosser voice, “Come here, this instant.”

  To their astonishment, Bravo put his head on Mrs. Medlin’s bed and looked lovingly up at her. She snapped her fingers again. “Bravo, get in your basket. Good boy!”

  Instantly Bravo went over and plopped down in the fanciest basket they had ever seen. It was white with a pink cushion, and beside it were twin dishes on a rubber mat, with “Water” stamped on one, and “Dinner” on the other. He closed his eyes in a bored way, put his head down on his paws, and went to sleep.

  “That dog is remarkable! Absolutely remarkable!” Mrs. Medlin snapped. “He deserves a medal. When he saw that I was hurt, he tried to help me. Then when he found he couldn’t help, he hunted all over the house until he found that basement window open. Bravo! Remarkable!” She leaned over and smiled down at Bravo, who didn’t even bother to open his eyes.

  Suzie gulped. “Bravo has always been smart. He . . .”

  Mrs. Medlin held up her hand like a traffic policeman. “Please do not interrupt. I might just as well begin at the beginning.” She put on large horn-rimmed glasses and glared at Suzie and Co Co until they wriggled.

  “Saturday evening, I was listening to the ten o’clock news broadcast. I heard whining and scratching at the front door. I opened it and there was Bravo—a wetter, dirtier animal I have never seen. He had a frayed rope hanging from his collar. I said, ‘Get out!’ but he just stood there shivering and smiled. So, I took hold of the rope and literally dragged him through the kitchen and out into the garage. I must admit I had every intention of leaving him there until Monday morning and calling the Humane Society.”

  Co Co interrupted. “Oh, you must not . . .”

  “Please do not interrupt. I had just climbed into bed, when that dog started to howl. He barked and howled until he almost drove me crazy. I opened the garage door, and a man was running down the path. Bravo dashed after him, barking every inch of the way. A prowler! And Bravo was trying to protect me!” Mrs. Medlin cleared her throat. “Remarkable! Then Bravo came back and whined and scratched on the door and, well, I let him right in the house!”

  “The first thing Sunday morning, I tried to give him a bath. What a job! The bathroom was a sea of water, I was soaking wet, Bravo was patient, but it was obviously a job for a trained person. So I dried him off, put him in the car, and took him to a veterinary.

  “The veterinary said Bravo was a good dog—half Kerry blue and half standard poodle, but he would look better if he were clipped. So, what with one thing and another, shots, toenails, clipping, the veterinary kept him there until Thursday evening. When I put him in the car, I just wish you could have seen him. Nobody has ever been as glad to see me in my life.” She leaned over and said, “Bravo—good dog!”

  Bravo sighed and rolled his eyes. Co Co chuckled and Suzie giggled. They tried to stifle their laughter, but it was no use. Mrs. Medlin started to say, “Don’t interrupt” but changed it to, “Then I bought him this basket and his own dishes and made him understand that from now on he was to stay right beside me. I was about to show him his basket when I slipped on the rug and fell. Now. I’ve talked long enough and I daresay you’re hungry.” She rang the bell and asked the nurse to bring lunch.

  When the nurse had left, she continued. “Before lunch, I have one more thing to say. Living alone makes people selfish—and lonely. Now that I have Bravo, I’m not lonely. It’s a pleasant feeling. While we are having lunch, I want you to tell me all about yourselves.”

  So, while they ate chicken salad and hot rolls and ice cream and cake, they told Mrs. Medlin all about the Lookout, and Co Co’s travels and what they did in school. At first they were a little shy, but she asked such understanding questions, and paid such strict attention, that they soon found her to be as interested and understanding as someone their own age.

  It was almost five o’clock when the nurse came in and said Suzie’s mother had called and reminded them it was time to go home. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Suzie said. “We’ve had such a good time, we forgot all about tiring you.”

  Mrs. Medlin snapped, “Nonsense! I’ve had a most enlightening afternoon. I’m not in the least tired. I can hardly wait for you to come back and tell me more about Millicent and the Sappy Seven. Remarkable! Absolutely remarkable!”

  Bravo accompanied them to the front gate, but he made no attempt to follow them and acted as if he could hardly wait to go back to Mrs. Medlin.

  Grandmother had all of their favorite things for dinner. Turkey, crisp and brown, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and homemade strawberry ice cream. During dinner, they acted out their visit to Mrs. Medlin. Then they brought out Suzie’s report card and Co Co’s note, and Grandfather gave Suzie a dollar for each of her five A’s, and Co Co five dollars because she did so well in school.

  Co Co said, “And next year, Suzie and I will go to the big school, and I am to help the class with French. Is that not neat?”

  Mr. Langdon cleared his throat and looked at Suzie’s mother, as he said, “I don’t think we’d better plan that far ahead. You know I must travel, and it will always be difficult for us to tell where we will be from one month to the next.”

  Suzie’s heart sank. She watched her family give one another the “we’ll discuss this later” look.

  Mr. Langdon continued. “I, too, have a surprise for smart girls. I have rented a cruiser, and tomorrow we’ll pack a lunch and go through the Locks and cruise around Puget Sound. How would you like that?”

  Co Co was immediately diverted and bounced up and down asking que
stions, first in French and then in English. Suzie, however, kept her eyes on her mother’s face. She looked as if she were thinking about something sad as she said, “If you girls will clear off the table and stack the dishes, I’ll do them later on.”

  Suzie caught part of a low-voiced conversation, as the grown people went into the living room. She picked up a plate and motioned to Co Co to pick one up also and tiptoed over to the doorway and stood listening.

  Co Co’s father said, “I’m fully aware of this, and I hate to disappoint her as much as you do, Helen, but I cannot leave Co Co here while I go to Mexico, and that job may take months. Boarding school seems the only solution.”

  Co Co clutched Suzie. “Boarding school! I will not attend. I will run away!”

  They listened to snatches of a long argument. Grandmother and Grandfather and Suzie’s mother all wanted Co Co to stay with them while her father was away. Mr. Langdon insisted that he couldn’t impose on them to that extent.

  Co Co became so upset that Suzie suggested that they hurry and clear off the table and go to bed so they could talk.

  After they’d finished stacking the dishes, they sneaked up the back stairs, undressed, and got into bed. Suzie tried to comfort Co Co with all the cheerful things she had ever heard about American boarding schools, but no matter how pleasant she tried to make them sound, big tears rolled down Co Co’s cheeks and she kept repeating, “He promised me I would not have to travel anymore.”

  Finally Suzie asked, “What is a French boarding school like, anyway?”

  Co Co sat up in bed. “Oh, Suzie, you do not know what Celeste, a French girl, told me. If the exercise book is not perfect, the teacher raps the hand. They are very strict. If the children are hungry, no one cares. At night they cry and cry and no one comes. Celeste said it was like a prison camp!” Co Co’s eyes were black, as she remembered more and more things Celeste had told her. Co Co buried her head in her pillow and broke into a fresh storm of tears.

  Suzie hunted around in her mind for even one comforting idea. Dorothy had been to boarding school once and she just loved it. She even cried when she had to go to Maple Leaf. Millicent had been to boarding school in California. Suzie gave a shout of joy. “Co Co, I’ve got an idea! Do you remember what Millicent said that day? ‘If they’re so crazy about each other why don’t they get married?’ Well, why don’t they, and then you could stay here with me?”

  Co Co sat up again and her eyes were shining. “Suzie! You are intelligent! What a wonderful idea!”

  Suzie said, “The whole trouble is, how on earth do you make grown people get married?”

  Co Co’s eyes were dancing. “I know—wait—I believe I have an idea. In France, it is the custom to arrange the marriage. I do not know if I can tell you in English. Listen. In France, the mother and father choose the romance for the young people. In America, it is not the same thing. Here, the young lady is boy crazy and the young man is girl crazy and pouf—they get married! As in the cinema. In France, it is not the same at all—not at all.”

  Co Co held her head on one side and looked out of the corner of her eye. “In France, the love is not so important as the marriage. Mademoiselle has told me of this many times. One does not marry unless the families approve.” She hugged her knees and rocked back and forth with the effort of translation. “I think this marriage could be arranged. Tell me, Suzie, are you fond of my papa?”

  Suzie answered very seriously. “I just love him. He’s awfully good looking and besides he’s fun. He’s really just neat! But the thing is, do you love my mother—really, I mean—not just because she’s mine?”

  Co Co smiled. “Oh yes. She is beautiful and gentle and intelligent and so kind. Yes, I do love her.”

  Suzie said, “Okay. Then that’s settled. Now, what do we do next?”

  “We must make them feel that the marriage is necessary—a marriage of convenience. That they need one another, as we do.”

  Suzie hugged her knees and thought a minute. “You know something? Grandmother always says, ‘That child needs a father,’ every time I act smarty or whine or disobey.”

  Co Co interrupted, “And Mademoiselle told me constantly, when I misbehaved, that I was reflecting on the memory of my dear maman. Perhaps if we both behaved badly . . .”

  There was a long silence. Suddenly Co Co jumped out of bed and rushed over to the dressing table and began hunting in Suzie’s bureau drawers.

  “What do you want?” Suzie got out of bed and stood beside her.

  “Millicent! We will both be Millicents. Ah-ha, they will hate that and worry and worry and . . . Do you have the bobby pins?”

  Suzie began to dance up and down. “Oh, Co Co, you have the best ideas in the whole world. Come on in mother’s room. She has a whole box.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Boy Crazy

  The next morning Suzie and Co Co got up before anyone else was awake and went down to the Lookout to complete their plans for the arranged marriage.

  Suzie thoughtfully sucked an orange and gazed out over the lake as she listened to more of Co Co’s ideas of the French arranged marriage. “Hey, wait a minute. Don’t they even care whether they’re in love?”

  “Yes, it is well to have the twinkle in the eye and the sigh, but it is not important. The marriage must be necessary for the land, or the name, or the inheritance.”

  Suzie said, “Boy! It sure is necessary this time. You know, Co Co, in the movies, if grown-ups take a walk in the woods, even if they’ve been fighting like the dickens all day, they sit down under a tree and look into each other’s eyes, and whamie—they’re engaged! Of course, if we worry them enough, they’ll probably go off and talk about us.”

  “Oui, oui. The worry is begun with the bobby pins.” Co Co pushed at her bangs, which were no longer smooth and shining, but stuck out like frizzy mattress stuffing.

  Suzie giggled and patted her bangs, which looked like the inside of a cattail when it goes to seed. “Me, too. But remember, we also look like Millicent, and Mother never sees her that she doesn’t shake her head and say, ‘Suzie, I’m glad you don’t feel you must look like Millicent.’”

  Suzie began to jot down their ideas in her notebook. Co Co hung over her. “Do not forget the sad face—like this.” She gazed at Suzie with wide grief-stricken eyes. “Oh, Papa, I wish I had a maman, beautiful and gentle, like Suzie’s maman. Sometimes I feel as if I were the only child in America without a mother.”

  “Boy, that’s neat! See if this is all right?” Suzie quivered her chin and cast down her eyes and looked tragic. “Mother, I hate to hurt your feelings, but it makes me feel so lonely and left out to watch Co Co playing with her father. I wish I had a father.”

  Suzie snapped her notebook shut. “I do hope they catch on. Grown-ups are pretty dense, especially about hints. Say, I know the ‘Wedding March,’ kind of. I’ll play it whenever they’re together.”

  “Excellent—excellent! You have good ideas, Suzie.” Co Co checked off the items on her fingers. “The telephone, the lipstick, the bobby pin, the sadness, the wedding music. Oh, they will take the walk in the woods—they will have to.”

  They climbed down and ran back through the orchard. When they opened the back door, Suzie’s mother and grandmother gasped simultaneously, “What on earth have you done to your hair?”

  Co Co said, “The new coiffure—chic, is it not?” and Suzie added, “See, it’s just like Millicent’s. Isn’t it cute?”

  Suzie’s mother sighed. “Oh dear, I suppose you must experiment but you looked so sweet with your straight hair and bangs. Come on, breakfast is all ready.”

  Co Co’s voice was sickly sweet, as she asked, “Chère Maman, did Rich call me on the telephone?”

  Suzie banged down her fork. “Gosh all fish hooks! They promised!” She giggled just like Millicent and whispered to Co Co.

  All the time they were eating, they giggled and whispered and talked in code. Co Co winked at Suzie. “Oh, chère Maman, is it not nea
t? We have almost the steady with Rich and Ray!”

  Grandmother snorted. “Going steady at your age! Of all the ridiculous . . .” she slapped another waffle down on Co Co’s plate. “You’d better concentrate on that, young lady, and stop all this nonsense.”

  Co Co pushed at the waffle with her fork. “I do not think I can eat until Rich calls.” She heaved a long, trembling sigh. “The romance—it is so wonderful!”

  The telephone rang and they pushed and shoved each other in the race to answer it. Barbara was calling to see if they could go to a movie. Suzie mouthed, “It’s Barbara,” and then said in a high, silly voice, “Gosh, Ray, I thought you’d forgotten all about calling. Sure, we’d love to. Meet you at one o’clock. Don’t forget now. Bye-e-e!”

  She held down the shut off on the telephone and handed the receiver to Co Co. Co Co sounded exactly like Millicent as she cooed, “Rich, I’ve got something to tell you. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. No. You guess. Noooo! Well, I do like you best. See you later. Bye-e-e-e!”

  They were delighted to hear Suzie’s mother say, “Goodness, I didn’t think they’d reach the silly stage for at least a year. I suppose it’s that Millicent’s influence.”

  Grandmother said, “As I’ve said before, Suzie needs a father and as for Co Co, goodness knows what will happen to that French imp without a mother!”

  The girls hugged each other and sauntered back into the kitchen, arms entwined. Suzie said, “Mother, I thought I’d die. Ray said—oh-oh! I’d better not tell you.”

  Co Co simpered, “Four and five will take us to the cinema this afternoon. We meet them at one o’clock.”

  Suzie’s mother said, “But, girls, Mr. Langdon has hired the boat for this afternoon. You cannot disappoint him.”

  Co Co said airily, “You may go with him. I will tell him we also have the date. Come, Suzie, let us call up Rich and Ray and ask them to guess who this is.”