Super Duper Pee Wee!

by Judy Delton

  Suddenly Molly caught herself. This was not fair. Jody would not write on a candy wrapper or towel. Neither would Kevin. This was what her mother called “discrimination.” Mrs. Peters had said they were all people. Molly had to be careful. She neatly wrote her address at the top of the paper, with the date. Then she wrote Lyle’s name and address on the other side, across from it. She left a little space and wrote, “Dear Lyle.”

  Here she had to stop to think. Finally she indented and wrote, “I drew your name from a basket. So you are my pen pal. I mean, if you write back you are. My name is Molly and I’m seven. How old are you? Do you have a dog? I do. Mrs. Peters is our leader. We go on trips and do good deeds and get badges. I have a mother and father and no brothers or sisters. I have lots of friends in Pee Wee Scouts. My best friend is Mary Beth. Her pen pal is a girl. Mine isn’t. My other friends are Jody and Kevin. They are boys, but they are nice anyway.”

  Molly read this much over and erased the last line. It might make Lyle feel bad. Then she wrote, “Some of the boys in our troop are mean. Especially one named Roger. I hope you aren’t like him.”

  She read it over and erased it. It was even worse than the other sentence!

  In its place she wrote, “Love, Molly Duff.”

  But did she love Lyle? She didn’t even know him! She crossed out love and wrote, “Yours truly.” Then she folded it in half and put it in an envelope. The envelope had an M with flowers just like the stationery.

  Molly was worn out. Letter writing took a lot of thinking and it made her fingers stiff.

  She went downstairs and asked her mother for a stamp. She’d mail it tomorrow. Then all she had to do was sit and wait for a letter back. It didn’t really matter if Lyle was nice or not. Even if he wrote only one letter, she’d get her badge.

  CHAPTER 4

  From Whole Room

  to Half a Room

  The next morning Molly mailed the letter to Lyle. Mary Beth mailed her pen pal letter too.

  “I don’t know what to say in a letter,” whined Sonny when the girls met him in the park riding his bike. “And I can’t spell all those words.”

  “Use a dictionary,” said Mary Beth.

  Sonny sighed, as if a dictionary was definitely too hard.

  “I can’t read dictionaries,” he said. “I can’t read those hard words.”

  Sonny was lazy, thought Molly. He only wanted to do things that were really easy. It was his mother’s fault. She treated him like a baby instead of a seven-year-old.

  Sonny rode off and the girls sat on a bench in the warm sun watching the robins dig for worms.

  “This is an easy badge to earn,” said Mary Beth. “Writing a letter is simple. I’m going to write a bunch of letters to people I know.”

  “What if our pen pals don’t write back?” said Molly.

  “They will,” said Mary Beth. “They have to. Or they won’t get their badge.” She stood up and stretched. “I have to go home and baby-sit my little brother now,” she added.

  Molly wished she had brothers and sisters Everyone else did, it seemed, but her. Her family was too small.

  But when she got home, her mother had some news that looked as if it might change all that.

  “Auntie Ree is coming to live with us for a while,” she said, hanging up the phone.

  Auntie Ree was her mother’s sister. Her name was Marie, but when Molly was little she couldn’t say “Marie” so she called her “Auntie Ree.” Auntie Ree was married and lived in a fine house of her own. Molly could understand her coming to visit. But her mother did not say visit. She said “live.”

  “Is Uncle Chuck coming too?” asked Molly, thinking how quickly her wish for a bigger family had been granted.

  “They are getting a divorce,” she said. She looked sad. “They have been separated, but I hoped they would get back together. Instead, they are divorcing.”

  This was not happy news. This was not news that Molly would be getting a new sister or brother. A divorced aunt was not the way to add to a too-small family.

  “You may have to share your room for a while,” said her mother. “Till we see how long she will be here. The den is all torn up, and the couch is gone to be re-covered.”

  She put her arms around Molly and said, “Do you mind very much? I know it won’t be easy.” Molly did mind. But she did not want to make her mother even sadder.

  “No,” she said. “I don’t mind.”

  But she did!

  Her own darling little room! The place where she went to be alone when she was sad or happy or just to read a good book!

  Her other twin bed was where her stuffed animals sat. It was where Mary Beth slept when she stayed overnight and they talked long into the night and told ghost stories and secrets. It was where they had sleep overs. Did they want her Auntie Ree at a sleep over? Especially if she was crying all over the place?

  But it was true about the den being torn up. Her dad had begun to re-paper the walls and had not had time to finish.

  She wondered if it was a lie to tell her mother she didn’t mind. Or if it was one of those little white lies it was okay to tell to be polite, when it would be rude to tell the truth.

  “When is she coming?” asked Molly.

  “Tomorrow,” said her mom. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “We have a lot of work to do before she comes. Will you mind if we make some room for her things?”

  Molly shook her head and went upstairs with her mother.

  “We’ll have to clear some drawers in your dresser for Marie,” she said.

  Molly helped her mother put her sweaters with her underwear. She put her socks with her hair ribbons and pajamas. It looked crowded and it looked messy. But it was for a good cause. She liked her aunt.

  “Maybe she will make up with Uncle Chuck,” said Molly. “Maybe she will miss him and go home.”

  Molly’s mother sniffled. That was the wrong thing to say.

  Her mother shook her head. “A divorce means it’s over,” she said. “They are selling the house.”

  Poor Auntie Ree! Put out of her nice house to come and live in a bedroom! And not even a whole bedroom at that! A half of a bedroom. A half of a closet. And half of a dresser! Could Uncle Chuck be that bad?

  This morning when Molly had gone out to mail her letter, she had had a whole room of her own and a happy life. She had come home an hour later, and now she had a half a room and no secrets and a life that looked like it might not be happy.

  That’s what she got for wanting a bigger family! Once, her teacher had told the class to be careful what they wished for. Well, she hadn’t! And now she had a bigger family.

  Molly’s mother took her pretty dotted swiss curtains down and washed them. She vacuumed the rug and Molly dusted. Her mother put clean towels out and her dad fixed the switch on the bed lamp.

  “Be good to Auntie Ree,” he said, patting Molly on the head.

  What did he mean, be good? Did he mean smile at her? Wait on her? Take her to the Dairy Princess? Find her a new husband?

  Molly wanted to go to her room and cry. But her room wasn’t hers anymore. And no one wanted any more tears.

  CHAPTER 5

  Auntie Ree

  Moves In

  Supper was a quiet meal. And there was no dessert. Molly’s mother said she wondered what Marie would like to eat.

  “I’ll go to the market on the way home from work tomorrow,” offered her dad. “I’ll get something good.”

  Molly finished eating and went to her room. There didn’t seem to be anything to do but go to bed. She crawled into her clean little bed, and as she fell asleep she smelled the lemon furniture polish her mother had used.

  When she woke up in the morning her mother was putting a vase of tulips on the table between the two beds.

  “I thought flowers would cheer Marie up,” said Mrs. Duff.

  If things were as bad as they felt, it would take a lot more than flowers to cheer her aunt, thought Molly.

&nbs
p; Molly got dressed and ate breakfast and went out to play with Tracy and Lisa and Patty. She didn’t tell them about sharing her room. They talked about pen pals. They had all mailed their letters. When she got home, her aunt was there.

  She gave Molly a big hug and said, “Why, just look how you’ve grown!”

  She didn’t look sad, thought Molly. Not as sad as her mother. Maybe she was glad to be there.

  In Molly’s room, Marie’s things were all over the place. One suitcase was on the bed, spilling with jeans and shirts and jewelry.

  Her makeup was on Molly’s dresser, and in the bathroom were her hair dryer, panty hose, and her bathrobe. On the dining room table was her tennis racket.

  Auntie Ree had moved in.

  “Chuck is sending on some more of my things,” said Marie. “I couldn’t take everything on the plane.”

  Molly wondered where any more things would go!

  “Here, this is for you!” said her aunt, handing Molly a big box with pink tissue paper and a big white bow.

  Did divorced people go out shopping for presents? Maybe it was like a party. A divorce party instead of a wedding party!

  “I don’t know if you’ll like it or not,” chattered her aunt as Molly opened the box.

  She pulled out a big stuffed Scottie dog with a wide red ribbon around his neck.

  “I hope you aren’t too old for stuffed animals,” said Marie.

  “I love them,” said Molly.

  It was nice of her aunt to bring her a gift.

  “No one is ever too old for stuffed animals,” said Mrs. Duff. “Molly keeps them on her bed.”

  Molly hugged the big soft dog. “He’s like Skippy!” she said. “Except he’s black.” She ran over and gave her aunt a hug too. “Thank you,” she said. “I think I’ll name him Harry.”

  “It’s a good name,” her aunt said, laughing. “He has a lot of long hair.”

  Her mother had a package too. It was a pretty teapot in the shape of a strawberry. It even had a green leaf on the top of it.

  “That’s for us to have a tea party some afternoon,” said Marie.

  When Molly’s dad came home, they all ate dinner, and it was a cheerier meal than the one the night before. Mr. Duff even poured three glasses of wine.

  After Marie had gone to her room to unpack some more, Molly helped her mother do the dishes. “Auntie Ree doesn’t seem too sad,” she said.

  “Well,” said her mother, “she was always the plucky one in the family. She doesn’t believe in feeling sorry for herself.”

  The next afternoon, Molly’s aunt took her and Mary Beth to the zoo and then out for ice cream. It was fun getting to know her aunt better. When they got home, two men were delivering some exercise equipment.

  “I thought I could put it in the basement,” said Marie. “I have to get back in shape, you know!”

  Her aunt looked in good shape the way she was, thought Molly. On Sunday her aunt got a newspaper and read the want ads.

  “It’s time I stopped vacationing and got a job,” she said, running her finger down the list. “Here is someone looking for a fry cook. And a nurse in a doctor’s office. But I think I’d like to work in a bookstore.”

  A job? If she was looking for a job, Auntie Ree must be planning on staying! Exercise equipment was one thing. But a job was something you went to every day, maybe for the rest of your life! Molly might never get her room back! She’d never be able to have another overnight party the rest of her life!

  And her aunt snored. Sometimes it kept Molly awake and she was too tired to get up in the morning.

  But her mother seemed to enjoy having her sister there. Instead of making her sad, she seemed to cheer her up! And her aunt did take Molly shopping, and she showed her how to play tennis. Molly felt guilty wanting her to leave. Auntie Ree seemed to enjoy being with Molly. It felt more and more like being with a friend.

  “It’s just that our house is too small!” Molly told Mary Beth one afternoon when they were cutting out paper dolls on the Kellys’ front porch.

  “She needs a home of her own,” said Mary Beth. “And a new husband. I think she’s ready to date.”

  Molly was shocked. She felt bad about her uncle Chuck. How could Mary Beth want her aunt to go out with someone else?

  “That’s what you do when you’re divorced,” said Mary Beth. “You find someone new.”

  “She doesn’t even know anybody here,” said Molly.

  “Well, then it’s up to us to find her someone,” said her friend. “Let’s make a list of who we know.”

  Mary Beth ran and got a piece of paper and a pencil.

  She wrote down, “Mr. Stenstrom.”

  “Who is he?” asked Molly.

  “The butcher at the market,” said Mary Beth. “My mom says he’s looking for a wife.”

  Mary Beth frowned. “He is bald, though,” she said. “He may be too old for your aunt.” She crossed his name off.

  “I can’t think of anyone who isn’t bald,” she said.

  “Well, there’s always Roger’s father,” said Molly. “He isn’t bald.”

  “You’d be Roger’s cousin!” shouted Mary Beth. “If they got married, you’d be related to Roger! And your aunt would be Roger’s mother!”

  Molly tried to picture Roger in her own little house on holidays. She might need brothers and cousins but she didn’t need Roger! That was definitely a bad plan! Roger at her house on Christmas Eve, Roger there pushing and shoving on her birthday!

  “Still,” said Mary Beth, “you can’t be selfish. We have to do what’s good for your aunt. Even though you like her, it’s definitely not good for her to live with you forever.”

  Molly thought about what it would be like to share her bedroom with her aunt when Molly was a teenager. And then she thought about Roger for a cousin. It was a hard choice.

  But Mary Beth was right. She couldn’t be selfish. She wanted her aunt to be happy. And she did want her bedroom back.

  Molly sighed. “I guess Mr. White would be a good husband. He is nicer than Roger.”

  “And he has more hair than Mr. Stenstrom,” said Mary Beth sensibly.

  Molly sighed. She had lots of things to worry about. She had a boy for a pen pal, and he had not written to her yet. And she had to get her badge. The other Scouts were getting letters. And now she had to find a husband for Auntie Ree.

  When she got home, she found out her worries had just begun.

  CHAPTER 6

  Pillow Fight

  When Molly turned into her yard, she knew something was not right. The front door was standing open, and it was always closed. She could hear loud voices from inside, and no one in her family ever talked that loudly. And it was almost dinnertime, but there was no smell of anything cooking from the kitchen.

  Her parents did not hear her come in. They were standing in the living room talking, but the talking wasn’t friendly. It was angry.

  Molly heard her father say, “I don’t care if you do!”

  Do what? Molly wondered.

  Then her mother called him a stubborn mule, and her father said, “Well, if that is the way you feel …” and then Molly’s mother did something Molly had never seen her do. She threw something at Molly’s dad. It was only a pillow from the couch, but she threw it hard and it hit Molly’s dad in the chest. He looked surprised and turned and walked out of the room. Her mother’s hair was hanging in her face, and her face was red.

  In a minute Mrs. Duff walked into the kitchen and started getting dinner. Pots and pans banged onto the stove. Silverware clattered. Usually when her mother cooked she was very quiet. The only noise she made was to hum a song or put something in the blender.

  Molly ran up to her room to be alone, and for a change her aunt was not there. She threw herself onto her bed, shaking with fear. What had gone wrong? Was it something she had done? Had Molly caused her parents to fight?

  Molly knew that other families fought sometimes, but hers never did!

&nbs
p; And she knew that parents who fought often got a divorce! Were her mother and father going to get a divorce too? Was divorce contagious, like the flu or a sore throat? Had they caught it from Auntie Ree?

  Now Molly’s stomach began to ache, and she felt shaky all over. What would happen if her father moved into another house? Where would Molly live?

  Or what if her mother threw something bigger and heavier than a pillow? On TV Molly had seen parents throw books and vases and dishes and even things made out of metal. This could happen next, and it could be all her fault. Molly put her face into her pillow and began to sob. She fell asleep crying, and when her mother called her to dinner she woke up with the same awful feeling inside of her. She hoped that it had been a dream, but she knew it wasn’t.

  Her mother had combed her hair and her dad was in his regular place at the table. Were her mother and father being brave, like Auntie Ree? Was this whole family a brave family, except her? She didn’t feel brave, she felt scared.

  Auntie Ree came in with a cake from the bakery for dessert. “I found a job!” she said. “This cake is to celebrate!”

  Auntie Ree talked and talked about her new job, which was at an insurance agency instead of a bookstore, and her parents acted interested and polite, but they were quieter than usual. Molly wondered if she had imagined the fight. Or made it worse than it was. People who were getting a divorce did not sit at the table together politely, eating bratwurst on buns, no matter how brave they were. Did they?

  After dinner her dad cleared the table and put an apron on and washed the dishes. Auntie Ree dried them, and Molly put them away. It all looked normal.

  But Molly wasn’t fooled. Her parents had fought. Something was the matter. Molly knew people called lawyers to get divorces, and her mother was on the telephone right now!