Bitsy had never married—“too much trouble,” she said—and had lived all over the world. She used to be a journalist, which Nancy knew was the professional name for a reporter.
Mrs. DeVine told Bitsy about the beauty salon that she had owned. Its name was Hair and Now. Nancy and Bree already knew that. But they hadn’t realized that their neighbor had been married three times!
“I have three children, one from each husband. But no grandchildren, not yet.” Mrs. DeVine pointed at Nancy and Bree. “They’re my substitute granddaughters.”
A waiter appeared with menus for everyone and said, “I’ll be back in a minute to take your orders, ladies.”
“No, wait. Do you girls know what you want?” Miss Simon asked Nancy and Bree.
“We’ll each have the Death by Chocolate, please,” Nancy said. Whenever they came to Cohen’s, that was always what they ordered. It came with two scoops of chocolate ice cream on a giant brownie in a pool of hot-fudge sauce, topped with chocolate-flavored whipped cream. Heaven!
“And you, ma’am, what would you like?” the waiter asked Mrs. DeVine. Mrs. DeVine was about to order but Miss Simon interrupted. “Margie here will have coffee ice cream with butterscotch sauce and slivered almonds, please.”
“That’s absolutely correct,” Mrs. DeVine said. “And Bitsy here would like two scoops of strawberry ice cream with sprinkles—the multicolored ones—and a mountain of whipped cream.”
Both ladies marveled over how they still remembered what ice cream the other one liked. But that didn’t strike Nancy as surprising. Of course your best friend would know all the important stuff about you!
Their orders arrived, and as usual Nancy had to help Bree finish off the last part of her brownie. The ladies were busy exchanging phone numbers and email addresses. By the time everyone was ready to leave, they had made dinner plans for the following Tuesday. And they were both going to wear their silver keys on a chain around their necks—just like they used to.
At the parking lot behind Cohen’s, Miss Simon pulled out her car keys and was heading for her car, when Nancy whispered something to Bree.
“We want both of you to take a solemn oath,” Nancy said.
“That’s right.” Bree nodded. “You have to promise to stay friends this time—forever.”
After raising their right hands, the ladies repeated Bree’s words.
Then, just to be doubly sure, Nancy made them pinkie lock on it!
JANE O’CONNOR is truly a native New Yorker. She was born and raised on the glamorous Upper West Side and, after graduating from Smith College, returned to the metropolis (that’s fancy for city) to begin a career in publishing. Currently Jane works as an editor for Penguin Books for Young Readers.
Jane has written more than sixty books for children, including the bestselling Fancy Nancy books, seven of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers.
Jane is married to Jim O’Connor. They have two grown sons and a rambunctious canine (that’s fancy for naughty dog) named Arrow.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
ROBIN PREISS GLASSER, a former professional ballet dancer, has illustrated more than fifty children’s picture books, including the New York Times bestselling Fancy Nancy series, written by Jane O’Connor. Robin lives in San Juan Capistrano, California, with her husband, Bob. She has two grown children, Sasha and Ben, and a dog, Boo, who looks exactly like Nancy’s dog, Frenchy!
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CREDITS
Cover art © 2014 by Robin Preiss Glasser
Cover design by Jeanne L. Hogle
COPYRIGHT
NANCY CLANCY, SECRET OF THE SILVER KEY
Text copyright © 2014 by Jane O’Connor
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Robin Preiss Glasser
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013958341
ISBN 978-0-06-208299-2
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EPub Edition © APRIL 2014 ISBN: 9780062083005
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FIRST EDITION
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