by Jenny Lee
I wished I knew what to say.
“Elvis, I guess I should call you by your formal name now, Parker—”
“No, you can call me Elvis. I like it. Coming from you.”
“I just want you to know that you changed my life. Seriously, I think I made some new friends today, and I wouldn’t have made them without you. Of course, with you gone, they might not be interested in me anymore.”
“That’s not true, Benjamin. I just helped you find your pack, that’s all. You’re a great kid. You’re the best kid I know.”
“I’m the only kid you know.”
“That’s not true. I know Taisy and Alexander now.”
“You like me better than Taisy?”
“Of course I do. Though I think she’s cuter. And you have a bad haircut.”
I laughed. “Well, anyway. Thanks. And I’m sorry I called you uptight.”
“You never called me uptight.”
“Oh, right. Well, I thought it. I just didn’t know you all that well.”
I hugged him one more time. Hard.
“I guess we should go now,” I said, not really meaning it.
“Yep. Agent Daniels is probably pacing downstairs. Talk about uptight—if you look up the word in the dictionary, I bet you’d see his picture.”
“Yeah.” I laughed despite myself.
Neither of us made a move. It was too painful to think about walking out of the room, because that meant he was really leaving.
Elvis walked over to my bedroom window and put his paws up on the windowsill. I walked over and joined him.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m thinking, too bad your room is on the second floor, because if it wasn’t, I could toss you into some bushes and we could run away together.”
I knew he was joking, but I appreciated that the thought had crossed his mind, because I gotta be honest, it was exactly what I was thinking too.
My mom came in again. “Benjamin, Agent Daniels is about to blow a gasket down there, so I think it’s time for Elvis to go.”
It might as well have been a funeral march down the stairs, we were all so sad and silent.
I held up the bag of Elvis’s stuff to Agent Daniels. He passed it to another guy and said they had to x-ray it before it came into the White House. I nodded. Elvis was going to a totally different world.
“Be sure to feed him well. He likes snacks and chicken-fried steak.”
“I think we can handle that.” Agent Daniels said it in a way that made me worry Elvis would never see another chicken-fried steak again.
Ripley walked up to me and sat down. I reached out and petted his head. He was soft, but not as soft as Elvis. And I felt a little guilty petting him right in front of Elvis.
Elvis walked up to Ripley. I understood what he said, but to everyone else it was just some low growling. “Benjamin is extremely important to me, and if I hear that anything has happened to him, you better watch out, because I’ll come back and you’ll be sorry.”
“Elvis. Be nice.”
“I’m watching you.”
Ripley lowered his head. I patted him again to reassure him and whispered, “He’s just being like that because he’s sad to leave me. Don’t take it personally.” Ripley thumped his tail like he understood me.
My mom, Ripley, and I watched them leave from the bay window seat. Elvis peed on a few of our trees, which I think was more for Ripley than for anyone else. Right before he jumped into the back of the black sedan that was parked in the driveway, he turned back and looked over at us in the window.
We waved. And the tears started flowing again. And then we watched as Elvis threw his head back and howled. I have never heard a sound like that before, and I probably never will again.
“Awwwhooooooooo!”
Elvis jumped into the car, and he was gone.
16
I couldn’t help it. Suddenly I jumped off the window seat and ran toward the door. I threw it open and ran across the front yard so I could watch the taillights of the Secret Service cars making their way down the street. Ripley barked. My mom yelled at me not to run into the street, but I couldn’t even think. I was too busy waving good-bye to Elvis. I didn’t know if he saw me, but I didn’t care. After I couldn’t see the car with Elvis in it anymore, I sat down on the curb and put my head in my hands. I was no longer crying, but I had this big, empty feeling in my chest.
Pretty soon Ripley nuzzled my neck. His tongue was much smaller than Elvis’s, and he had less slobber. I looked at Ripley. Closely. Honestly. I hadn’t paid much attention to him because I was so wrapped up in Elvis’s departure, but now that I had a chance to check him out, I found him pretty cute. And he was half the size of Elvis. Oh, who am I kidding? He was a quarter the size of Elvis, if that.
“Hey, Ripley. So you had a detour to the White House, huh? How was the president?”
Ripley wagged his tail and panted.
“It’s okay, boy, don’t be shy. If you can talk, I’d rather know now than later.” I stared him down. Nothing. Oh well, I guess my relationship with Elvis was one of those once-in-a-lifetime type things.
I scratched him behind his ears. He was a very nice dog. He seemed very friendly. See, this was me trying to be positive. No offense to Ripley, but he just wasn’t Elvis. I mean, you had to see Elvis to even believe him. Without proof, it was like no one would even believe that his head was three times bigger than my head, so . . .
I shot up off the curb like a cannon. Ripley immediately started barking. I hoped nothing was about to happen with my brain right now, because I really had no time to lose.
“Moooooom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mooooooom!” My mom ran toward me at warp speed with her arms outstretched.
“My baaaaby!” And soon she had me all scooped up in her arms. “There, there, Benji, let it out. Of course you’re sad. I’m so sorry, honey. You can cry it out.”
It took me a while to pull my face out of her chest (my mother, very strong), but then I yelled, “Put me down! We’ve got to go! Hurry!”
“Go where?”
“I don’t have a picture of me and Elvis. We never took a picture. I have to have a picture!”
“I don’t understand. What do you want to do?”
“I want you to chase the Secret Service down so we can get a picture. They can’t be that far. They just left.”
“Benji, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Mom, we are going to go. Now. So get your keys. Please. This is important to me. He’s changed my life. I need proof. Think about your scrapbook! Think about me!”
“Benji, baby, I know you’re upset, but—”
“Mom, all my life you told me that you would do anything for me, and that you’d always be there for me when I needed you. You promised, and I believed you. Well, today’s the day. I don’t know how to explain it to you, but I need this. Please?”
“I’ll get my keys.” She sprinted across the front yard to get her purse. I ran to the car, beckoning Ripley to follow me. My heart was beating so loudly that at first I thought I was imagining the ringing in my ears, but I wasn’t. I turned around and saw Alexander Chang-Cohen on his bicycle on the sidewalk behind me.
“Hey, Benji. Want to do homework together?” he asked.
“Alexander? Where did you come from?”
“Do you mean where are babies born? Or where do I live?”
“The second one.”
“Oh, it turns out I live around the corner from you. I don’t even have to cross the street, which is good, because I’m not technically allowed to cross the street unless it has a signal and a crosswalk.”
“Alexander, you told me that already. Remember?”
“Right. But I thought we were pretending that never happened. At least that’s what Taisy told me to do.”
“Okay, fine, whatever. Look, I’ve got no time to talk. We have to chase down the Secret Service agents. Want to come?”
“Dude, I’ve waited my wh
ole life to get such an invitation. Sure I want to come. But first I have to tell you something, and after I do, you might not want me to come anymore. But if you still do, your mom might have to call my mom from the car.”
“Alexander, we don’t have time for this. You can tell me on the way.”
By this time my mom was running out the door with her camera and tripod (of course she’d bring her tripod. I could picture it now, a big portrait of us on the side of the highway). She unlocked the car door. Alexander dropped his bike in our front yard and looked straight at me.
“Benji, I’m not going anywhere until I say what I need to say. I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been trying to tell you this all day. I’m the one who took your lug nut. It was me. I didn’t steal it, though. I found it in the hallway when I was picking up all my stuff Billy threw everywhere. I don’t know why I thought it was Billy’s, but I did. So instead of returning it to him or putting it in the school’s lost-and-found box like a responsible citizen, I put it in my pocket. And then, weirdly enough, I forgot about it until you brought it up. And when I heard it was your most prized possession, I panicked because I had no idea where it was anymore. For all I knew my mom washed my pants and threw it out in the trash. So all day I’ve been worried it would be all my fault if it’s gone forever. Then when you and Taisy blamed it on Billy, I went along with it because I thought that would buy me a little time to look for it. I never thought Taisy would go all Navy SEAL on us and insist we go over and storm the gates at Billy’s house.
“I know I shouldn’t have gone along with you thinking it was Billy who was responsible for losing it instead of me. But I liked you so much during lunch that I just couldn’t bear being the guy who lost your good luck charm.
“When I finally got home, I found it in the laundry room. It may have shrunk a bit—the leather string, not the lug nut, obviously, since titanium doesn’t shrink—but at least now it’s extra shiny and cleaner than it was when I found it, and here it is.
Alexander held out his hand and opened it, revealing the missing lug nut at last. It sparkled in the sun, and just seeing it made me feel hopeful that we’d be able to catch up to Elvis and the Secret Service, even though Alexander’s confession had just cost us another two minutes. Man, oh man, who knew so many words could even fit in such a tiny kid?
Alexander was still babbling on, “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, please don’t hate me, but if you do, I understand, but it’ll also make me really, really sad.”
My mom spoke first. “Benji, is everything okay?”
I just smiled and nodded. “Mom, meet Alexander Chang-Cohen, Alexander Chang-Cohen, this is my mom. Alexander is new at school, he’s my new best friend, and he’s also a hero, since he found my lug nut for me!”
Her eyes welled up. I think if we weren’t in such a rush, my mom would have cried herself. It was the first time I had ever brought a friend home from school.
We all buckled up, and Alexander asked if my mom could call his mom, because he really only had permission to be around the corner at our house. My mom called Alexander’s mom on her car speakerphone. Alexander’s mom sounded really happy that I was actually a real person, which meant Alexander probably didn’t have many friends either. My mom, rather than getting into the long, crazy story of it all, decided to play it safe and told Alexander’s mom that she was taking us for ice cream. She also invited Alexander over for dinner. Alexander’s mom hesitated, but my mom said she would bring Alexander and his bicycle home, and she would love to meet her. She promised to bring some dessert.
I piped up and said my mom was the best baker in the entire neighborhood. Realtors even used her as a selling tool to get people to buy homes near us, because my mom is president of the Welcome Wagon.
Mrs. Chang-Cohen laughed and said her Realtor had told her about my mom and said those exact words, but she hadn’t believed it at the time. My mom assured her that after one bite of her red velvet cake, she’d believe it.
“Mom, remember that time two years ago on April tenth when you were in the kitchen wearing your red sweater?” Alexander suddenly spoke up. “And I asked if I would one day have a friend who would invite me over to dinner at their house like I saw on television, and you said absolutely it would happen but you weren’t sure when, and I said I didn’t think it would ever happen, and you promised me it would, and then I asked why, and you said that when you make a best friend, you know it immediately? Well, when I met Benji today, I knew we’d be friends forever. So don’t you think you have to say yes and make good on your promise? Please?”
There was a silence from the other end of the phone. My mom looked at me quizzically, and I mouthed, “Long story, tell you later.” She nodded, and we all held our breath for Mrs. Chang-Cohen’s response. I think it took so long for her to reply because she might have been crying, which meant our moms were definitely going to be fast friends.
“Sure thing, baby. And Mrs. Barnsworth, I look forward to meeting you later. And Alexander needs to eat all his vegetables, no complaints.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Hi, Mrs. Chang-Cohen, I’m Benji,” I said. “I just want you to know that I promise to eat all my vegetables too.”
Mrs. Chang-Cohen laughed and said she looked forward to meeting Alexander’s new best friend. After we hung up the phone, Alexander asked what was really going on, and I told him that we really were chasing down the Secret Service guys. I gave him the abbreviated version of the whole Elvis story (minus the talking dog part). After I finished talking, I looked at his face to see if he believed me, and he couldn’t have looked happier.
“That’s the best story ever. Now, Mrs. Barnsworth, which way are you going to the highway? Because I know all three routes, and I’m pretty sure that the Secret Service guys would take the second route, because it’s more direct and . . .”
I explained to my mom that Alexander had total recall. “See, Alexander has a weird brain, just like me.”
“You do not have a weird brain. And neither does Alexander. You’re both just extra special. That’s all. Now Alexander, which way should I go?”
“I’d take Maple to Dogwood Lane, and then hit Route 309, which will lead to I-276, which is the most direct route to Washington, DC.”
“That’s amazing,” I said in awe.
“I’m good with maps. I can see them in my head.”
I looked out the window and saw that we were still waiting at the stoplight on Grand Street. My mom calls it the forever red light, because it seems like it lasts forever. I sighed. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered whether we’d ever catch up with them. We were at least ten minutes behind them. What if we never found them?
“Don’t worry, Benji, we’ll drive all the way to the White House if we have to.” My mom looked at me in the rearview mirror. She always knew what was going through my head. Then I noticed a huge black Escalade at the Shell station up ahead.
“Mom, pull into the gas station.”
“What? Why? We have plenty of gas.”
“Just do it. Stop the car!” She slammed on the brakes, and Ripley flew into the back of the front seat, just like Elvis did the first time he drove with my mom.
I jumped out and ran over to the black Escalade. I couldn’t believe our luck! It was Taisy’s dad’s car.
“Mr. McDonald! Hey! It’s me, Benji!”
Taisy got out of the car.
“What’s going on?”
“The Secret Service took Elvis to go live at the White House, and we’re never going to see him again. After they left, I realized I didn’t have a picture of him, so now we’re going to get one. Do you want to come with us? This is your chance to say good-bye. I’m sure Elvis would like to say good-bye to you and Princess Daisy in person.”
“Are you serious?” She looked closely at my face, and I was totally and completely serious.
“I don’t have time to explain more. Do you want to come, or not?”
“Sorry, Benj
i, but Taisy has to get home and do her homework.” Mr. McDonald got out of the car.
“Dad, we have to go! This is more important than homework. I’m going, and you’re not going to stop me.”
“Sorry, honey, but no can do.”
“Daddy, I lied about my elbow hurting. I’m sorry, but I felt like I had no choice. You never listen to me. I’ve been telling you for the last two years that I didn’t want to practice as much, that I wanted to do regular kid things and have fun. And today that’s what I did, and it felt right. So listen, remember what you taught me about never letting down your team?”
“Sure I do.”
“Well, this is my team, and I can’t let them down when they need me the most.” Taisy wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Mr. McDonald, this is kind of an emergency. I may never have this opportunity again,” I said.
My mom got out of the car. “C’mon, we need to go now. Every minute we delay it’ll be harder to catch up with them. By now they have fifteen minutes on us.”
Taisy’s dad looked at all our faces, and it was clear he was not happy about Taisy’s big revelation. I’ve got to hand it to her, she really goes for broke sometimes. “Taisy, you lie to me again, and you’re grounded for a month.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Mr. McDonald then broke out into a big smile. “But I do respect you for standing up to me. I’m proud of you. And we’ll figure it out later, together, okay? Now as for you parroting back what I always say to you about being a champion? Well, I’m glad you pay attention, because it’s absolutely true: you don’t become a champion by letting down your team. So let’s go. I’ll drive!”
“Mom?”
“At this point, who am I to say no to anything? Let’s go.”
In less than a minute, my mom parked her car at the gas station. We all piled into the Escalade. My mom sat in the front. Me, Taisy, and Alexander sat in the back, and Ripley was in the way back.
Once again, I told everyone the whole crazy story so Taisy and her dad were up-to-date. By this time we got on the highway, Taisy’s dad was speeding. My mom recognized Taisy’s dad and told him all about the twins’ football career. She told him she was a big fan and remembered his famous catch, the one that won his team the Super Bowl the first time.
