by Laura Dower
Eliot loped down the stairs slowly, clinging to the banister rails. “What, Mama?”
“I’d like you to meet our new friend, Madison. She’s going to be helping Mama this summer. Remember I told you that we would have a friend take you to the pool and play in the water?”
Eliot nodded. He jumped off the bottom step and ran right for his mother’s left leg. He clung so hard his fingers left white marks on Mrs. Reed’s sunburned skin.
“Okay, now, Eliot. I want you to say hello to Madison. Can you do that?” Mrs. Reed pushed him gently off her leg, and he let out a little scream.
Dad leaned over to Madison. “He’s a cutie,” Dad said. “He’ll warm up to you in no time.”
Eliot stared at Madison without moving. She was beginning to panic.
“Go ahead and say hello,” Mrs. Reed said, encouraging him. “Why don’t you show Madison your new blue truck?”
Madison searched the floor for the truck. She lifted it into the air. “Is this yours?” she asked aloud. “Should we play with it?”
Eliot stuck his thumb into his mouth and started to suck hard. He shook his head and murmured. “Mmmmnnnnnn,” he said. Madison didn’t know if that was a yes or a no.
Becka let out a teeny squeal, and Eliot turned around to face his sister. He pointed at her. “My baby,” he said. “My baby sistah.”
Madison nodded. “She’s nice. How old is your sister?” she asked.
Mrs. Reed smiled. “Eliot, why don’t you show Madison your train set in the other room?”
Eliot shook his head. “No,” he said.
Madison blinked. “Oh, well,” she joked. “We can do something else.”
Eliot smiled. “Pee-pee,” he said.
Madison’s face blanched white for a second. “Huh? Um…is that some kind of game?” she asked Mrs. Reed.
Mrs. Reed chuckled softly. “No, Madison. He has to go to the bathroom. We’re just starting potty training. He still wears diapers sometimes, but he’s doing better.”
“Pee-pee! Pee-pee!” Eliot yelled. He stomped his feet and jumped up and down a little without ever taking his chewed-on thumb out of his mouth.
Mrs. Reed called him over and gently whispered in his ear. Eliot disappeared into the next room, and Madison was sure he was off to the bathroom. But he came right back with a wooden train car that was painted red and black. Mrs. Reed made a little face at him, and he vanished again—this time for the bathroom.
Madison tapped her feet, crossed and then uncrossed her arms. She was still feeling a little nervous.
“Eliot seems like a great kid,” Dad said to Mrs. Reed. “He’s very cute.”
She nodded. “He’s just having a hard time with his new sister. But I suspect it won’t last. Especially once he becomes your friend, Madison!”
Madison raised her eyebrows. “So does that mean I have the job?” she asked.
“I hope so!” Mrs. Reed said. “We would all love to have you!”
Dad put his arm around Madison’s shoulders and squeezed.
“When can you start?” Mrs. Reed asked.
“Whenever you need me,” Madison said with a shrug. “Tomorrow?”
“Hooray!” Mrs. Reed said. “Tomorrow it is.”
Even little Becka cooed.
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About the Author
Author Laura Dower has a lot in common with Madison Finn: They’re both only children and they both love dogs, the color orange, and books! Laura has written more than ninety kids’ books to date, including twenty-five in the series From the Files of Madison Finn. Her other books include the new Palace Puppies series and For Girls Only, a guide to girl stuff. When she’s not writing, Laura loves to garden, sing (loudly), and volunteer as a scout leader for her daughter and two sons. She and her family live in New York. Want to be keypals? Drop her a note at www.lauradower.com.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2003 by Laura Dower
Cover design by Connie Gabbert
978-1-4804-2263-6
This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
FROM THE FILES OF
MADISON FINN
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