A Wishbone Come True

by Kristin Earhart

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” Max replied. His family owned a supersized water slide, and half the neighborhood hung out in their backyard during the summer. “Our grass is totally soggy and smashed, but a dog is a whole other story. A dog can ruin a yard.”

  “I’ll bet your pooch came with a whole list of new Family Rules,” Sadie added as she tried to dodge Luna’s sloppy kisses. Lexi’s friends had sometimes made fun of the Torres’ many rules, but it didn’t bug Lexi — not anymore.

  “Well, that’s kind of a good thing. I have a list. It helps me remember what I have to do to take care of her. The big rule is that I have to take her on walks, and I have to clean up after her. In the yard or wherever,” Lexi told her friends. “And I can never let her pee on someone’s trash cans, because Dad says that’s disgusting and rude.”

  “He’s right,” Henry said. “That’s one rule that makes sense.”

  Lexi laughed.

  “Has Luna met Bandit yet?” Max asked.

  Lexi shook her head. “I called Simon and left a message. I think they’re out of town.”

  “No, I saw him at the park this morning,” Max said.

  This time, Lexi couldn’t laugh it off. She had tried to call Simon yesterday and that morning. Why hadn’t he called back? She didn’t care if he wanted to brag all about how great his new town would be, she just wanted him to talk to her again.

  She had been so upset last night after dinner she couldn’t even eat pumpkin ice cream. Just seeing it in the freezer made her think of Simon. He was the only other person she knew who even liked pumpkin ice cream.

  She didn’t understand why Simon was avoiding her. Shouldn’t they be trying to spend time together before he moved? Was he so excited about his new house and new town that he didn’t want to hang out with her anymore?

  As if Henry knew what she was thinking, he changed the subject. “Can Luna do any tricks?” he asked. He was snapping his fingers, trying to get her to beg.

  “She can,” Lexi answered. She focused on her playful puppy. “Luna can already beg, shake hands, sit, and fetch. Here, I’ll show you.” But Lexi wasn’t going to show her friends the puppy’s special trick yet. She had a plan for when to unleash that trick next, and she needed to save up all of Luna’s energy for it to work.

  * * *

  That afternoon, after her mom came home, Lexi decided it was time to test out Luna’s trick again. Luna had had a long nap, and they were all in the backyard. Lexi’s mom was cutting back the rosebush. The scent of the late-summer blooms sweetened the air.

  Lexi plopped herself down close to where her mom was working. Luna trotted over and nudged Lexi for a pet. Lexi reached out with both hands and scratched the puppy behind her velvety ears.

  “Hey, Mom?” Lexi asked. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, honey,” her mom responded between snips of the garden shears.

  “Do you know why Simon is mad at me?”

  “People don’t get mad, Lexi. Animals get mad,” her mom said. “People get angry.”

  Her mom was avoiding the question.

  “Do you know why Simon is angry with me?” Lexi tried again.

  “Is he angry with you? I really don’t think he is, Lex.” A sadness tugged on the corners of her mom’s mouth. Lexi could tell her mom wasn’t telling her something. She was holding back. Lexi needed to put the plan into action.

  Lexi took a deep breath, held up one finger, and told Luna to sit. Next, she made three perfect circles in the air with her finger and asked the puppy to roll over three times. Luna gave a happy yip and then quickly did a triple roll, flashing her light-brown belly with each turn. As soon as Luna was finished, sparkles filled the air. They glittered all around Lexi, Luna, and Mrs. Torres.

  “Mom,” Lexi began, feeling a little nervous. “How do you know Simon isn’t angry with me?”

  “Because his mom would have told me.”

  Lexi paused. She wanted to ask the right question. “Well, what did she tell you? What did you and Mrs. Stone talk about on the phone?”

  Mrs. Torres took a deep breath, and then the words came rushing out. “Oh, Lexi. I wanted to tell you, but Kate made me promise not to.”

  Lexi knew that Kate was Simon’s mom’s first name. The two moms were friends.

  “Simon didn’t want you to know, but he asked his mom to call me,” her mom continued. “He thought she could convince me to let you have a dog for your birthday.” Lexi’s mom had dropped her garden clippers and was gazing right into Lexi’s eyes.

  “Getting a puppy was Simon’s idea?”

  Her mom nodded.

  “But why?”

  “He thought you would like one. He said it might keep you from missing him and Bandit.”

  Lexi listened, trying to take it all in. She didn’t know how long it would last — this crazy sparkly effect — but she wanted to make the most of it. She wanted to get as much information as possible.

  “Is there anything else you want to tell me?” Lexi asked.

  Her mom paused. “Yes, sweetheart. I really wish you’d wear those barrettes I got for you. Your hair is always in your eyes.”

  “What?” Lexi couldn’t believe that in the middle of a heart-to-heart discussion, her mom wanted to discuss her hairstyle. “No, Mom, is there anything else about Simon?” Lexi still didn’t understand why Simon would suggest that her parents get her a dog if he was mad at her. He had to be mad — or angry — at her. Why else wouldn’t he call back?

  “Well, there is something,” Mrs. Torres began. “I really wanted Simon to tell you, but —” She was in the middle of her thought when there was a pop. She immediately stopped.

  The sparkles disappeared. Mrs. Torres had that look again, the one she had after she ate the cookie dough.

  “What is it, Mom? I still don’t get it,” Lexi said. “Why won’t he talk to me?”

  “Oh, Lexi. Kate asked me not to talk to you about any of this.” Mrs. Torres sounded more like herself again. Her words were more clear, more even. “It’s really Simon’s place to tell you.” Her mom reached forward and gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind Lexi’s ear. “Lex, you need to talk to Simon. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

  Lexi wasn’t sure how she would get Simon to talk to her. Even if she could, she didn’t know if she could fix their friendship. It was true that they were best friends, but they had never really talked about feelings. They talked about dogs, books, and gross jokes.

  Lexi was so deep in thought, she almost forgot about Luna. The puppy sniffed at Lexi’s foot and licked her toe.

  “Are you trying to tell me something, girl?” Lexi asked, stroking the puppy’s back. “I’ll bet you want to help,” she said to her puppy. Lexi didn’t know how or why, but she was certain that Luna’s special trick wasn’t just special. It was magic. Every time the puppy did a triple roll, the sparkles appeared. Every time the sparkles appeared, people told the truth.

  “Let’s do your trick one more time, Luna,” Lexi said. She hoped that it was just what she needed to make things with Simon good again.

  After a lot of thinking, Lexi had figured out a plan. If Simon wouldn’t answer her calls, she would have to track him down. She picked up Luna’s red leash and gave it a shake. “Luna,” she called. Lexi could hear the jangle, jangle, jangle of the puppy’s collar before she rounded the corner from the hallway.

  Rrruff, ruff. Luna jumped up on Lexi when she saw the leash.

  “Hey, girl,” Lexi said. “Let’s go for a walk. I want you to meet someone.”

  A little while later, Lexi and Luna arrived at the corner of Clearview and Evening Streets. Lexi checked her watch. She knew Simon really well. It was true that Simon was often late for school, soccer, dinner, and sleepovers. But he was never late for walking Bandit. He was always on time, and he always took his border collie on the same route. Lexi was counting on that.

  “He’ll be here, Luna, I’m sure of it. You just have to be ready,” Lexi advised. L
una sat patiently and kept watch.

  After they had been waiting for ten minutes, Luna looked up at her owner with deep brown eyes. The puppy let out a few hopeful whines. “We have to have faith, girl,” Lexi said, but she was worried, too. Had Simon changed his route? Had he seen Lexi and gone the other way?

  “We didn’t miss them, Luna,” Lexi assured her puppy. “If they turned onto this street, we would have seen him.”

  Just then, Lexi saw a familiar black-and-white head poke out from behind a house. Next came the loose, two-legged stride she knew so well. It was Bandit and Simon, side by side. Luna’s eyebrows shot up and she made three happy barks. “Shhh, Luna,” Lexi pleaded, but it was too late. Lexi could see Simon pause.

  “That’s not fair,” Lexi grumbled. “He has to come.”

  Luna butted her head against Lexi’s leg. The puppy whimpered and gazed at Lexi with big, white-rimmed eyes. Looking at Luna, Lexi remembered their plan. “You’re right. Let’s just do the trick. Right now.”

  “Hey, Simon!” Lexi yelled. “Come here, I want to show you something.”

  Even from far away, Lexi could tell he was hesitating. Rrruff, the puppy yipped.

  Lexi knelt down. “Luna, please help me talk to Simon.” Lexi took a deep breath and asked Luna to roll over three times. Then Lexi made the three circles in the air.

  Luna had never rolled over so fast! Within seconds, the puppy was finishing her final twist. She hopped back up, her tongue dangling out of the side of her mouth.

  As soon as Lexi saw the sparkles, she started talking, nice and loud. “Simon! Thank you for telling my parents to let me have a dog. It worked!” As Lexi kept speaking, Simon slowly walked toward her. “It was so nice of you, especially since you’re mad at me.”

  Simon and Bandit stopped when they were about ten feet away.

  “I’m not mad at you,” Simon said. “I thought you were mad at me! You know, for moving.” The two best friends faced each other, and the sparkles seemed to float all around them. Lexi had no idea how Luna’s magic worked, but the sparkles made it easier to say exactly what was on her mind.

  “It’s not your fault that you’re moving. I wish you weren’t. It’s weird thinking about you living somewhere else and doing fun new things without me.” Lexi paused. “And now I have a puppy, and it will be weird doing dog things here without you.”

  “I wish I could stay,” Simon said.

  “You do? But you sounded so excited,” Lexi said, feeling confused. “I thought you were really happy about moving.”

  Simon glanced up at Lexi. “No. I was really bummed, so my mom told me to think about the good things. That’s why I told you about the pool and that stuff. I was just trying to make it sound cool.”

  Lexi felt a rush of relief. Simon wasn’t looking forward to moving away and leaving her! But that didn’t explain everything. She needed more answers.

  “I don’t get it. Why didn’t you call me back?”

  “I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want you feeling bad for me, but I didn’t want to lie about liking the new place either.”

  Lexi let Simon’s words sink in. She had been relieved that Simon wasn’t happy about moving, but that also meant that Simon wasn’t happy. She wanted to try to help. “Your new house sounds nice. I bet you’ll like it. And you’ll make lots of new friends.”

  Simon shrugged.

  “Maybe they’ll even like pumpkin ice cream,” Lexi added hopefully.

  “Maybe,” Simon said.

  Lexi heard the familiar pop. The magic was over. She wondered if Simon would stop talking to her now. Without the sparkles, she didn’t know what to say.

  Lexi took a deep breath. “I’ll miss you,” she said. She realized that she had been thinking about how much she’d miss Simon, but she had never told him.

  “I’ll miss you, too,” Simon replied. “When I was really sad, Bandit made me feel better. That’s how I got the idea that you needed a dog, too.”

  “Thanks, Simon. That was super nice of you.” Suddenly, Lexi felt like she had her best friend back. “I’m sorry you’re not excited to move. But I’m glad you’re talking to me again.”

  “Yeah. Talking with you is okay, but I really just wanted to meet your puppy,” Simon joked. “She’s really cute. What’s her name?”

  “Luna,” Lexi replied. “Look, she wants to meet Bandit.” Luna was bowing down, her tail wagging high in the air. She pulled on the leash. She barked. She barked again. “Can we introduce them?”

  “Let’s walk and see how they get along,” Simon suggested. They all headed toward town. Simon told Lexi about training Bandit as a puppy. The two dogs padded along next to each other, tongues long and tails curled.

  “Do you think they like each other?” Lexi asked.

  “I think so,” Simon said. “Bandit likes to feel in charge, so he likes younger dogs.” As the dogs marched along, Luna kept glancing up at the older dog.

  Lexi could not believe how normal it seemed, walking Luna alongside Simon and Bandit.

  It was very normal, until a not-very-normal wind blew down the street. It was a warm, tingly wind. It was a wind a lot like the one that had lifted the envelope out of her hands a few days earlier.

  This gust seemed to have a mind of its own. The swift air swirled in and lifted the leashes out of both Simon’s and Lexi’s hands. As if on cue, Bandit and Luna took off at a full gallop, the leashes carried on a gust of air behind them. The dogs yipped playfully and bounded ahead. Taken by surprise, Simon and Lexi stood and watched in a daze. Then, all at once, they realized their dogs were running away!

  “What happened?” Simon blurted out as he and Lexi took off after their dogs. “Where are they going?”

  “I don’t know,” Lexi answered. The soles of her shoes slapped against the hard sidewalk. The dogs were almost a full block ahead, and they were headed straight toward the center of town.

  The wind kept blowing, pasting wisps of hair across Lexi’s face. The dogs were racing down a busy street. It was dangerous! Lexi trusted that dependable Bandit would look out for her puppy.

  As they neared Castleton Elementary, Lexi spotted the two dogs running across the street into the town square. Luna and Bandit paused in the center and looked back at Simon and Lexi, as if they were making sure their owners were still following them.

  “Bandit, wait!” Simon yelled. “Stay there, boy.”

  Lexi stared across the street. She was afraid to call to Luna. What if the puppy ran across the street toward Lexi? What if there was a car?

  Lexi and Simon watched the crosswalk sign. As soon as the signal changed, they darted across the street. When they were halfway there, Luna and Bandit took off toward the far end of the square. They bounded across Main Street and trotted straight into Power’s Pets. “I feel like this has happened before,” Lexi said under her breath.

  The next crosswalk signal changed, and the pet owners rushed to the opposite sidewalk and into the pet store. There, Luna and Bandit were slurping up water from two bowls. It looked like someone had set out the water in anticipation of two runaway dogs.

  “Well, there you are,” Mr. Power said upon seeing Lexi and Simon. “I knew you couldn’t be far.”

  For a moment, Lexi worried that Mr. Power would be angry with her. After all, no one should let a puppy run loose around town! But Mr. Power didn’t seem concerned. Lexi rushed forward and swooped her puppy up in her arms, and then buried her face in Luna’s soft belly.

  “Don’t you do that again, Luna,” Lexi demanded, even though she knew it wasn’t the puppy’s fault.

  “Quite a wind out there today, isn’t it?” Mr. Power said.

  “It is,” Simon agreed. He sat on the floor next to Bandit, and the dog rested his chin on Simon’s leg. The dogs seemed so calm now. It was hard to believe that they had just gone on a wild chase across the town.

  Lexi studied the pet store owner. He was wearing the same vest as before — and the same knowing smile.

>   “You thirsty?” he asked, offering them glasses of water.

  “You bet,” Simon said, taking one.

  Lexi reached out for a glass as well. It seemed as if Mr. Power had been expecting them.

  “You know, I think I’ll need some helpers around the shop,” Mr. Power said. “The previous toy store owner mentioned that you and your friends might be up for the job.”

  “Really, Ms. Kidd said that?” Lexi asked.

  “Sure. Maybe you want to come by on Thursday afternoons to help walk dogs and play with the animals?”

  Lexi thought of Henry, Max, and Sadie. “I’d love that,” she exclaimed. “So would my friends. I’ll ask them for sure.” She was excited just thinking about it.

  “And what about you?”

  It took Simon a moment to realize that Mr. Power was talking to him. “Oh, me?” Simon said. “I’m moving, so I guess I won’t be able to help out.”

  Now that Lexi knew the truth, she could see it all over Simon’s face. Even if his new town had great soccer fields and a huge pool, he was still sad to move. He had never helped out at Toys, Toys, Toys, but Lexi suspected he would have been there every week if the store had been Pets, Pets, Pets.

  “I see,” Mr. Power said. “Well, you’d still be welcome. Maybe when you come back to visit.”

  Lexi looked outside. Through the large picture window, she could see that the trees were now perfectly still. No leaves rustled. The air was calm again. It was odd how that crazy wind had just gone away.

  “Where are you moving, son?” Mr. Power asked.

  “Ashland,” Simon answered, his voice low. He buried his hand in the long hair around Bandit’s neck.

  “That’s not so far,” Mr. Power said. “It’s just on the other side of Carmel. Did you know that Carmel has a great new dog park? It’s only about twenty minutes from here.”

  It took Lexi a minute to figure out what Mr. Power was saying.

  “Wait, Simon, do you think your parents would drive you and Bandit to the dog park in Carmel?” Lexi asked. “To see Luna and me?”