Best Friends

by Ann M. Martin

  The celebration was truly over. The posters were gone. Store windows now advertised gas grills and inflatable swimming pools. The town decorations had been replaced with … “Nothing,” said Ruby glumly. With the exception of the pots of flowers, the decorations had simply been taken down and put away. And the Camden Falls Elementary auditorium was preparing for sixth-grade graduation. All signs of The Witches of Camden Falls had disappeared.

  Over and done in a flash.

  At least I have the newspaper article and the program from the play, thought Ruby. She looked at them frequently. She thought of them as her moment in the sun. When she mentioned this to Min, Min smiled and said, “I have a feeling you’ll be having lots more moments in the sun, Ruby. You’re only ten years old.”

  Ruby, who was thinking that she was already ten years old, said nothing and went into the backyard to sit on a lawn chair and reflect on her life.

  She was ten. Fourth grade was almost over. In the fall, she would begin fifth grade. It had been a good year for Ruby, if you didn’t count her report cards. Ruby’s report cards were never the sort that made grown-ups smile and congratulate her. They were more the sort that made her teachers shake their heads and discuss her attitude and potential. But oh well. There had been the play, and riding on the Needle and Thread float in the parade, and several performances of the Camden Falls Children’s Chorus, and talk of moving Ruby to the advanced tap class (the Turbo Tappers) at her dance school. Ruby decided she could be proud of her life so far. And Min was probably right. There would be many more moments in the sun.

  The one thing that felt off-kilter to Ruby was Aunt Allie. Ruby decided that she and Aunt Allie were like C and C sharp on the piano. Individually they were fine, but put them together and they sounded like King Comma on his way to the vet. Ruby and her aunt had had some good moments, it was true. After all, Aunt Allie had congratulated Ruby on the opening night of The Witches of Camden Falls and sounded as if she meant what she’d said. But mostly they crabbed at each other.

  And now — in just two weeks — Aunt Allie would be moving into her new house. So why didn’t Ruby feel happy about this? Aunt Allie would be out of her hair. C sharp would be gone. But when Ruby thought about moving day, she felt a small sadness, which she now realized was due to the fact that she believed she had failed where her aunt was concerned. She and her aunt ought to be able to get along. They were family. And yet …

  Ruby’s head was beginning to ache. Still, she felt quite mature for coming to the conclusion that she, Ruby, contributed to the problems with Aunt Allie — much as Ruby would like to place all the blame on her aunt.

  Flora joined Ruby at the lawn chair then. “Scootch up your feet,” she said. “Let me sit on the end.”

  Ruby obliged. Then she yawned and said, “Feels like summer.”

  “Pretty soon it will be summer for real,” said Flora. “Can you believe it? And then we will have been here for one entire year.”

  “I actually can’t believe it,” said Ruby. “It doesn’t feel like a year.”

  “It feels like a year since Aunt Allie got here, though,” said Flora.

  “Shh!” hissed Ruby, giggling. “Her window’s open.”

  “Oh, she’s clacking away at that computer of hers. She’ll never hear us.”

  “No she isn’t,” said Ruby. “I mean, she isn’t writing. She’s packing.”

  Flora was quiet for a moment. She reached down to stroke Daisy Dear, who had crawled under the lawn chair — even though she barely fit and her back was jammed up against Ruby’s bottom. “What are you doing there, Daisy?” she asked.

  “Daisy wilts in the heat. She’s a shade seeker,” said Ruby wisely.

  “I like Aunt Allie’s new house, don’t you?”

  Ruby nodded. “Her new old house.”

  “I guess it is her new old house,” replied Flora, smiling.

  The house Allie bought had been built in 1897.

  “I wonder if it has any ghosts,” said Ruby.

  “Oh, no. Don’t say that!” cried Flora. “I’ll think of it every time we go over there.”

  “Which hopefully won’t be very often.”

  “Anyway, the Row Houses are older than Aunt Allie’s house, and we don’t have any ghosts.”

  “That we know of,” said Ruby.

  Flora shivered.

  The next two weeks were busy ones for Aunt Allie. She called the phone company. She called the electric company. She changed her address. She traveled to New York City to supervise the packing of the remainder of the things in her old apartment. She cleaned the new house, finished packing up the things in her room at the Row House, then cleaned the room. To Allie’s surprise, Ruby offered to help with the last two of these chores.

  “I’m a good packer and a good cleaner,” she announced. “And if you want me to do things a certain way, I’m good at following directions.” This was not quite true. Ruby was only good at following directions onstage, but why split hairs?

  “Well … thank you,” said Aunt Allie. “I could use a little help. Why don’t you start by packing up the books? You can put them in those cartons that are under the window. Just don’t fill them too full or we’ll never be able to lift them.”

  “Aren’t the movers going to carry them?” asked Ruby.

  “Yes, but we have to get them downstairs first. The movers are going to start out in Manhattan and then drive up here. I told them we’d have these things waiting by the front door.”

  So Ruby packed books and wrapped breakable things in newspaper and dusted shelves and tried not to appear too crabby when Aunt Allie asked her if she was certain she shouldn’t be doing her homework instead.

  “Why don’t you help, too?” Ruby asked Flora on the evening before the big move.

  Flora, who was sitting at her desk, working on a report about the wives of the presidents, replied by saying, “Isn’t it weird that there are no husbands of presidents? That doesn’t seem quite right.”

  “Flora?” said Ruby.

  “What?”

  “I said, why don’t you help Aunt Allie, too? If you did, it would be good karma. Besides, it’s Friday night. You have all weekend to finish your homework.”

  “I don’t like moving,” said Flora flatly.

  Ruby stepped all the way into Flora’s room. “But you’d be speeding Aunt Allie on her way.”

  “Ruby!” Flora spun around in her desk chair. “I want her gone as much as you do,” she said in a loud whisper, “but I don’t like packing and vans and cartons and everything. It reminds me of — oh, never mind.”

  “What? You can’t not tell me,” said Ruby.

  “It reminds me of when we moved here, okay?” said Flora. “And that was not my best time. I’m happy to be here, but moving makes me think of Mom and Dad and all the stuff we left behind. So stop talking about it.”

  Ruby backed out of the room.

  On Saturday, Ruby said to her sister, “Are you going to be okay today?”

  “I guess. I’ll just be happy when it’s all over. When the room upstairs is back to normal and when Aunt Allie’s house is set up. What time are the movers supposed to get here?”

  “Right after lunch, I think.”

  The movers arrived at one-thirty. They added the boxes stacked in the front hall of the Row House to the van and then followed Aunt Allie (proudly driving her new Subaru) through Camden Falls to her home. Min, Flora, and Ruby followed the van in Min’s car. The van backed into Allie’s driveway, and Allie and Min parked on the street in front of the house.

  Ruby and Flora emerged from the car to find their aunt in tears on her front porch.

  “What’s the matter?” they asked. Ruby wondered why on earth adults had to cry. It was so unsettling. Why couldn’t they leave the crying to kids?

  “Oh,” said Aunt Allie, searching her purse for Kleenex, “this is just silliness. It’s a happy day. But I can’t believe I’ve left New York for good. I lived there for so long, and I co
nsidered myself a city person, and now here I am back in a small town.”

  “But I thought this is what you wanted,” said Ruby.

  “It is.”

  “Oh.” Aunt Allie, Ruby thought, was not only C sharp, she was also a big knot of yarn that you couldn’t untangle. Even if you found one of the ends and pulled on it, the rest of the yarn would just bunch up more tightly.

  Aunt Allie wiped at her eyes, put the Kleenex back in her pocket, and said, “Girls, there’s something I want to show you, and I think now is as good a time as any. Come upstairs with me.”

  Ruby and Flora followed Aunt Allie through the front door of her house, into the empty first floor, and then up the stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs, Allie stepped aside and said, “Go to the room at the end of the hall.”

  Ruby glanced at her sister, then walked down the hall, her footsteps echoing softly. The door to the room was closed. “Go ahead. Open it,” Ruby heard Allie say.

  Ruby opened the door and found a room that was already furnished, right down to the knickknacks. “It’s beautiful!” exclaimed Ruby softly. She and Flora stepped inside and admired the twin beds, each covered with a purple chenille spread and awash in brightly colored pillows. Between the beds was a white bookcase, filled with books. One wall of the room had been painted with a scene from Paris. On a dresser sat china figurines and framed photos of Min and Aunt Allie and Flora and Ruby’s parents, and even Olivia and Nikki.

  “Whose room is it?” asked Flora in a whisper.

  “Yours,” said Aunt Allie. “Yours and Ruby’s. I made sure it was ready first. It’s yours for whenever you want to visit. Okay?”

  “Okay,” said Flora.

  “Thank you,” said Ruby.

  Ruby was envisioning dinners of tofu and kale at Aunt Allie’s, and evenings spent completing crossword puzzles and homework assignments. Still, she gave her aunt an awkward hug, joined by Flora.

  “This was a very good surprise,” said Ruby solemnly.

  June was the month of graduations. Robby Edwards graduated from the high school proudly with his certificate of attendance. Tobias Sherman graduated from the high school proudly but with no clear idea of what he wanted to do next. A week later, Flora, Nikki, and Olivia graduated from Camden Falls Elementary. A day after that, Alyssa Morris graduated from preschool.

  “I haven’t seen so many caps and gowns since your aunt Allie graduated from college,” said Min.

  Of all the graduates, Robby was perhaps the most excited. “It means I can start my job,” he said. “It means no more school for babies. It means I’m a man.” And then he asked his mother for the sixth or seventh time, “Are you sure our class gets to graduate with the rest of the high school kids? We won’t have to graduate with the babies at the elementary school, will we?”

  “No,” said his mother patiently. “Your teacher promised. The only reason your class was moved to CFE was because of space. You’ll graduate with the twelfth-graders. And, Robby, remember that Flora and Ruby and Olivia will be graduating from CFE, and I’m sure they don’t think of themselves as babies. Okay?”

  “Okay,” said Robby. “Oh, I hope it doesn’t rain! I really hope it doesn’t rain! We need sunshine for high school graduation! I better wish on a star. That usually works.”

  Robby’s wish came partially true. Graduation day was overcast and dreary but no rain fell. The ceremony was held at four o’clock on a June Thursday in the Camden Falls Central High School football stadium. As there was open attendance, the bleachers were packed.

  Olivia had begged to go. She’d known Robby all her life. “Please, please, please?” she’d said to her father the week before graduation.

  “But your mother and I will be working at the store.”

  “I could go with Min. She’s taking Flora and Ruby.”

  “All right,” said Mr. Walter. “You can go. And why don’t you put together a Congratulations basket for Robby?”

  “What do you suppose people wear to graduations?” Olivia asked Flora on the phone on Wednesday night.

  “I don’t know, but I think you’re supposed to look pretty nice.”

  “Should we wear dresses?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I’ll ask Nikki what she’s going to wear.” Olivia hung up the phone and dialed Nikki’s number. “Hi,” she said. “Guess what. Flora and Ruby and I are going to the graduation, too.”

  “Oh, to see Robby,” said Nikki.

  “And Tobias. Anyway, we wanted to know what you’re going to wear.”

  “Uh-oh. I didn’t even think about that. You know what I have been thinking about?”

  “What?”

  “What if my father gets to feeling guilty and decides he should come back to see Tobias graduate?”

  Olivia felt a chill wash over her. She remembered what had happened when Mr. Sherman had returned after Christmas. “You don’t think he would, though, do you? I mean why would he come back, after what Tobias did to him?”

  “That’s true,” said Nikki slowly. “Still … Tobias is his son.”

  “Well, let’s not think about that. Let’s think about our outfits,” said Olivia.

  In the end, Olivia, Nikki, Ruby, and Flora all decided to wear dresses. Flora’s was one she had made herself, Ruby’s was one she had worn in a dance recital (it was the fanciest of the four dresses, involving sequins, but Min couldn’t talk her out of it), Olivia’s was the one she wore when she went to church sometimes with her grandparents, and Nikki’s was a brand-new one recently provided by Mrs. DuVane (who would also be attending the graduation). Nikki was supremely grateful for it.

  “Isn’t this exciting?” said Olivia as she and Flora and Ruby and Min walked across the high school lawn toward the stadium on Thursday.

  “Look at all the caps and gowns,” said Ruby. “It’s like a flock of penguins.”

  “Penguins don’t wear hats,” said Olivia.

  “Well, if they did,” said Ruby.

  “I wonder which one is Robby,” said Flora.

  “I wonder which one is Tobias,” said Olivia.

  “Come on, girls,” said Min. “Let’s find seats.”

  Flora and Ruby helped their grandmother navigate the steps of the bleachers until they reached a row with space for four people.

  “Lord love a duck,” said Min, puffing, as she sat down.

  Olivia leafed through the program that had been handed to her as they approached the bleachers. She found Robby’s name, then Tobias’s. “I wonder where Nikki is sitting,” she said aloud. “She was afraid her father might decide to show up.”

  “Lord love a duck,” murmured Min again.

  “But I’m sure he won’t,” added Olivia.

  The members of the high school band, minus the graduating seniors, filed onto the football field then and sat in rows of chairs that had been arranged next to a podium. And then the seniors, all 322 of them, walked onto the field and sat in another, much bigger arrangement of chairs.

  Olivia felt a flutter of excitement, but it faded quickly when a woman, who turned out to be the superintendent of the schools, stepped up to the podium and started to make a speech. A long speech. Olivia lost track of it early on and was relieved when the woman finally stopped talking. Unfortunately, when she finished, the high school principal made an even longer and duller speech. Luckily, this was followed by a speech given by the valedictorian of the graduating class, a girl who looked so much like Olivia that Olivia began to picture herself standing in front of that podium in six years. Now that was something to strive for. Valedictorian of her class.

  At long last, the speeches were over and it was time to award the diplomas. They were to be handed out alphabetically by last name. Olivia looked for Robby. Then she looked for Tobias. And then she began to scan the stands for Mr. Sherman. She was startled when she felt Ruby nudge her and hiss, “Olivia, Robby’s next!”

  Olivia jumped to attention. She returned her gaze to the seniors. A boy named
Nathaniel Edmond was shaking the hand of the superintendent and receiving his diploma. At the head of the line of waiting seniors was Robby. He was standing stiffly, arms at his sides, staring at Nathaniel and the superintendent.

  Nathaniel walked back to his seat.

  “Robert William Edwards!” called the superintendent.

  A cheer arose from among the other seniors. In the stands around Olivia, people applauded and stamped their feet. Robby, grinning widely and waving at his audience, walked smartly to the podium. When he was handed his certificate of attendance, he shook hands, said thank you, and returned to his seat, tossing his cap in the air.

  Tobias, when he accepted his diploma later, was more subdued, but as he left the podium, Min, Flora, Olivia, Ruby, Nikki, Mae, Mrs. DuVane, and Mrs. Sherman cheered loudly, and Ruby (feeling bad because Tobias’s cheering section hadn’t been as large as Robby’s) inserted her fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle, which caused Min to raise her eyebrows.

  When the last diploma had been handed out, everyone left their seats and the football field was filled with excited seniors and equally excited families. Olivia decided that she had never seen so many cameras. Everywhere she looked were groups of people posing for someone’s camera. Three girls in their caps and gowns threw their arms around one another and, nearly tumbling over sideways, grinned while a mom snapped their photo. Robby posed with his beloved Mrs. Fulton. A boy posed with his parents. The valedictorian posed with the principal.

  “Gosh, just think,” said Olivia wistfully, “this will be us next week.”

  And so it was. The week between was busy. Robby had his long-awaited graduation party and then began training to work at Sincerely Yours. Olivia and her friends finished up final assignments and cleaned out their desks. Olivia said a lot of good-byes (in her head). She said good-bye to the CFE playground and cafeteria and library. She said good-bye to her desk and the classroom she had so happily shared with Flora and Nikki. She bid good riddance to the gym, but even as she did so, she thought with a shudder of the even bigger and scarier gym she was likely to find at the high school.