Icing on the Cake

by Sheryl Berk

  She turned her attention back to Ricky who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, refusing to budge. “I heard your kindergarten teacher say she was going to read you a really cool story today about the Easter Bunny,” Jenna said, trying to bait him. “Hippity, hoppity!”

  Ricky looked up. “Yeah? What’s his name?”

  Jenna knew it was Peter Cottontail, but thought that would never entice Ricky enough to walk to the end of the block and get on the Blakely school bus.

  “Um, his name is José Starfighter—and he brings water balloons and video games to good little boys who go to school on time!” she improvised.

  “Cool!” Ricky laughed. “I wanna meet him!”

  Jenna handed him his lunch box and smiled. “Then vámonos!”

  •••

  Once she had deposited the Disaster Duo in their kindergarten classrooms, Jenna raced to her social studies class on the third floor. She slid into her chair and quickly unpacked, just as her teacher unveiled a large poster on the wall.

  “This is the Wheel of Caring,” Ms. Heller explained. “Everyone will get a chance to spin. Whatever you land on will be the organization you will learn about.”

  Meredith Mitchell’s hand shot up. “Me, me, me!” She waved at Ms. Heller.

  “Fine, Meredith, you’re up.” She flicked the spinner and watched as it landed on Shop for a Cause.

  “Woo-hoo!” she cheered. “I get to shop! I am so good at that!”

  Great, Jenna groaned. It was just like Meredith to land the easiest assignment!

  “Not exactly,” Ms. Heller explained. “Shop for a Cause is an Internet agency that arranges items to be donated. Then people go online and purchase them, and the money goes to various charities.”

  “So I don’t get to buy anything?” Meredith whined. “That is so not fair!” She stomped back to her seat.

  “Jenna, you’re next.” Her teacher spied her smirking at her desk in the back of the room. “Let’s have a good one!”

  Jenna looked over the wheel—there were lots of great options. Baking for Good sounded right up her alley, and so did the Hispanic Heritage Society. She could even get into researching the Believe Charity Drive, since she knew it was Justin Bieber’s cause. She closed her eyes, crossed her fingers, and spun the wheel as hard as she could. It landed on Rescue Rover.

  “Great!” Ms. Heller clapped her hands. “You got the new dog rescue shelter opening in Danbury.”

  “Um, I don’t really know much about dogs,” Jenna said. “Maybe you wanna give this one to someone who does?”

  Again, Meredith’s hand shot up. “Ooh, ooh! Ms. Heller, I’ll trade. I have a teacup poodle named Fifi Le Cute at home!”

  “Of course you do,” Jenna muttered under her breath. Was there anything Meredith didn’t have?

  “Sorry, you get what you get…and for Jenna, that’s pets!” Ms. Heller sang. She handed Jenna a brochure with a fluffy white puppy on the cover. “Try and set up a time to visit after school,” she told Jenna. “And take lots of notes.”

  •••

  Jenna wasn’t sure what she could do for a bunch of dogs that needed homes. Her house was crowded enough—and her sisters barked at each other already. She phoned the Canine Help Line and asked to speak to the person in charge.

  “That would be me!” said a perky voice on the other end. “I’m Lucky.”

  Jenna chuckled. Was that a person’s name…or a cocker spaniel’s?

  “Oh, hi…I’m Jenna Medina. I’m in the fifth grade at Blakely Elementary School, and I’d like to interview you for my community studies project.” Jenna opened her notebook. “Can I ask you a few questions?”

  “Nope,” Lucky replied. “You need to come to our shelter and see for yourself!” She dictated the address and dismissed Jenna with “See ya soon!”

  Her mom and her sisters were both at work, which left one person at home with a car—the last person she wanted to ask for help.

  “Qué pasa, Jenna?” Leo smiled. He was working on his laptop on the couch, going through projected sales figures for the new Ralph Warren resort collection. Great, Jenna thought, he’s already made himself at home!

  “I need to do some research in Danbury,” she said. “I don’t suppose you have time to take me?”

  “I’d love to!” Leo leaped to his feet. “Let me get my keys, and we’ll be on our way in a jiffy!”

  Jenna didn’t know what a “jiffy” was, nor did she care. She just needed to get her homework done. She barely said a word on the ride over—not even when Leo pressed her for more details on her assignment.

  “So where do the dogs come from? How many of them are placed in homes? Do you like dogs? What kind are your favorites?” He fired questions at her.

  “I dunno,” was all she replied. “Are we there yet?”

  Rescue Rover was located in a small, white storefront with large glass windows out front. In them were adorable dogs playing and pouncing on each other.

  “Aww, look at that little guy!” Leo said, pointing to a dachshund chasing his tail.

  But Jenna’s gaze zoned in on a tiny, black-and-white fluff ball hanging out in a corner. The dog was busily chomping on a chew toy, but when Jenna tapped her fingers on the window, the puppy sprang forward to try and greet her.

  “That’s our little eight-week-old Havanese,” said a woman’s voice. Jenna suspected it was Lucky. “You wanna see her?”

  “Actually, I’m Jenna. I’m here to interview you. We talked on the phone?” Jenna noticed that the puppy was still leaping against the window, trying to get her attention.

  “Of course! Come on in!” The woman pushed the door open. “But I think the best way to understand our organization is to talk to some of our rescues.”

  Jenna looked around. Clearly, Lucky was loco. There was no one else in the shelter except a dozen or so dogs.

  “You want me to interview the dogs?” she asked. “Um, I speak English and Spanish…not puppy.”

  Lucky lifted the Havanese out of the window and placed it on Jenna’s lap. “That’s okay. Just listen…”

  The little dog snuggled against Jenna and licked her fingers. Then she gazed up and gave a tiny yap!

  “Aww, she wants you to pick her up,” Leo cooed.

  Jenna wanted to ask, “Really? You speak dog and Spanish?” but held her tongue. Instead, she lifted the little bundle in her arms and cradled her. She would never admit it to Leo or Lucky, but this dog was pretty darn adorable!

  “What is she telling you?” Lucky asked.

  “Um, ‘Bowwow, how are ya?’” Jenna guessed.

  “She’s telling you she wants to be loved and she needs a good home,” Lucky replied.

  Jenna looked into the puppy’s dark blue eyes and her heart melted. “Me? She wants me?”

  “Can’t you tell?” Lucky smiled. “She’s saying it loud and clear!”

  “Where did she come from?” asked Leo.

  “Where most of the dogs here at Rescue Rover come from.” Lucky sighed. “She was abandoned on the side of a road by her owners. Someone found the litter of puppies and called us, and we brought them here.”

  “That’s so sad,” Jenna said, scratching the puppy under her chin. “She’s so tiny and helpless.”

  “Our job is to rescue, rehabilitate, and place homeless dogs with loving new families,” Lucky explained. “We’re just getting off the ground. This weekend is our grand opening party.”

  A lightbulb went off over Jenna’s head. “I want to help,” she said. “I have a cupcake club, and we could bake cupcakes for your party.”

  “That would be wonderful!” Lucky exclaimed. The little puppy barked her approval as well.

  “Does she have a name?” Jenna asked. “What do you call her?”

  “Well, she was found on the highway right by the Brewste
r exit—so we call her Brewster,” Lucky explained.

  Jenna made a face. “Oh, no! This is not a Brewster!” She lifted the puppy up to her face until they were nose to nose. “You’re too sweet to be a Brewster. That’s it! I’ll call you Dulce—that means sweet in Spanish!”

  The puppy gave Jenna a lick as if to say, “I like it!”

  “So Dulce and I will expect you on Saturday at ten a.m.,” Lucky said. “Tell everyone to come!”

  As they left the animal shelter, Jenna couldn’t help but notice a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t the hunger pains that usually rumbled her tummy. It was more a sensation of sad emptiness.

  “I hate to leave Dulce there,” she said, watching out of the car window as Leo slowly pulled out of the Rescue Rover parking lot. “I miss her already.”

  “Sounds like that pup made a pretty strong impression on you,” he commented.

  “She did. I just can’t bear to think of her all alone in the world!”

  Leo nodded. “I understand how you feel, Jenna, but someone will adopt her soon. You’ll see.”

  •••

  That night at dinner, Jenna barely touched her arroz con pollo. All she could think about was the tiny puppy that had snuggled in her arms.

  “Couldn’t we adopt her, Mami?” she blurted out. “I’d take care of her and walk her. I’m really responsible. If I can handle Ricky and Manny, I can handle a dog!”

  “Sí, I know you are,” Jenna’s mother replied. “But the house is so crowded already. Where would we put a dog?”

  “In my room,” Jenna volunteered.

  “You mean our room,” Marisol corrected her. “And no way. I trip over all your junk on the floor already.”

  “Then I suppose I have some good news,” Leo said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Your mother and I saw a ‘For Sale’ sign on a bigger house just a few blocks away. It needs a little fixing up, but we thought it would be perfect for our new familia. I made the owners an offer…and they accepted.”

  Jenna’s mom threw her arms around Leo’s neck and hugged him. “Qué sorpresa maravillosa! What a wonderful surprise!”

  “A new house?” Gabby exclaimed. “Awesome! Do I get my own room?”

  “Marisol is the oldest, so we thought she should get her own room, which will be yours when she goes to college in a few years,” Leo said.

  “Yes!” Marisol pumped her fist in the air. “No more sisters snoring!”

  “You and Jenna will share, and Ricky and Manny will have their own room,” he added. “And there will be an extra room for Maggie when she stays over.”

  “Maggie?” Jenna gasped. “She’s coming to live with us, but we can’t get a little puppy?”

  “Um, she’s Leo’s daughter,” Gabby whispered. “Not a pet. And FYI, I am painting our room neon green—like it or not.”

  •••

  “Neon green? She really said neon green?” Kylie asked Jenna as they packed up the weekly cupcake order for Mr. Ludwig at the Golden Spoon. The club was hard at work in Kylie’s kitchen, whipping up six dozen strawberry champagne cupcakes and six dozen salted caramel cupcakes for the gourmet shop.

  Jenna stirred the sugar in a small pot with butter and cream until it melted and browned. “Gooey-licious,” she said, taking a whiff. “Caramel’s ready.”

  “It could be worse,” Delaney pointed out. “She could have said she wanted to paint your room neon yellow. Or black with red polka dots.”

  “That’s not the worst part,” Jenna explained, taking the pot off the stove so it could cool. “Leo’s kid is moving in too. He gets her every other week, and she’s my age and gets her own room!” She swiped her finger along the edge of one of the cupcakes and tasted the frosting.

  “It’s so not fair!” she said with her mouth full, taking another big lick.

  “Hey! No eating the order! I don’t have any extra frosting,” Lexi said, snatching the cupcake out of Jenna’s hands.

  “Sorry, Lex,” Jenna moped. “When I’m stressed, I eat.”

  “Is it really so bad?” Sadie asked. “I mean, a new house sounds pretty cool.”

  “It’s not the house, it’s who’s in it,” Jenna replied. “Leo.”

  “I thought you said he drove you to the dog shelter so you could do your community friends project,” Delaney reminded her. “That was nice of him.”

  “And those photos you posted of that puppy on Instagram were adorable,” Sadie pointed out. “What did you say her name was?”

  “Dul-say,” Jenna pronounced it for them. “Oh, and I also promised Rescue Rover we’d make cupcakes for their grand opening this weekend.”

  “What?” Kylie gasped. “How many?” She flipped through their order book. “We’re maxed out this weekend!”

  “Oops, I guess I got so upset over the whole house thing that I forgot to put it in the order book and tell you guys.”

  Kylie shook her head. “Jenna, you can’t make promises without checking with us.”

  “I know! I know!” Jenna cried. “But this is a canine cupcake emergency!”

  “How many?” Lexi said, piping a red rose on a cupcake for an anniversary order. “Are we talking a dozen…or twelve dozen?”

  “Well, they do expect a big crowd,” Jenna said softly. “And then there are the cupcakes that the dogs can eat…”

  “Whoa! You need cupcakes for dogs too?” Kylie said. “That’s a lot of work in just three days.”

  “But doable!” Jenna tried to convince her. “We’ve had crazier deadlines before.” She took out her phone and held up a photo she had snapped of Dulce. “Can you honestly say no to this sweet face?”

  “I’m the one who has to decorate them. Do I get a say?” Lexi asked. She wiped a dot of sweat off her brow and left a streak of red frosting in its place.

  Jenna pouted and made puppy-dog eyes at Lexi. “Woof, woof!” she barked. “Come on, Lex!”

  “Fine…just don’t lick me!” Lexi giggled. “Down, girl, down!” She patted Jenna on the head.

  Sadie took a pen and paper and started making a list. “We’ll need bananas, whole wheat flour, honey—what else do dogs like?”

  “Peanut butter,” Lexi said. “My dog is nuts about peanut butter.”

  Sadie added “PB” to their grocery list. “Anything else?”

  “Better put down six dozen more eggs and another bottle of vanilla,” Jenna pointed out. “Just to be sure.”

  “I think we should do minis for the dogs and full-size for the people,” Kylie said. “Maybe build a bone sculpture out of cupcakes?” She printed out several photos of dog breeds off her laptop and handed them to Lexi. “Think you can make these out of fondant?” she asked.

  Lexi nodded. “Totally. Delaney can do the bodies and I’ll do the faces. Sadie, can you do some dog bones and bowls out of fondant?”

  “Aye-aye!” Sadie saluted.

  “You see, there’s nothing PLC can’t do with a little teamwork.” Jenna smiled. It was the happiest she’d felt since the dreadful news of her mom’s engagement. Maybe Ms. Heller was right; giving back to the community really did make you feel great.

  In fact, she felt a pun coming on…

  “I hate to hound you with a last-minute order,” she joked. “But I know nothing is too ruff for PLC to handle.”

  First thing Saturday morning, Kylie and Jenna loaded large boxes filled with cupcakes and pupcakes into the trunk and the back of Leo’s car to deliver to the dog shelter. The other girls agreed they would make the rest of the deliveries for the day with Sadie’s brothers. When they pulled up to Rescue Rover, Lucky and Dulce greeted them at the door.

  “Hola, perrita!” Jenna said as the little dog danced around her ankles. “Meet my friend Kylie.”

  “Aw, she’s so cute!” Kylie exclaimed. “I hope you like pupcakes, puppy.
”

  “All our guests do,” Lucky said, motioning to a pack of dogs running around a giant exercise pen. “That’s Frito, that’s Lulu, that’s Milkbone, that’s Curly, that’s Romeo…and that huge Great Dane there is Trixie.”

  “And this is Dulce,” Jenna said, kneeling down. “Isn’t she delicious?”

  Once in her arms, the tiny dog settled her head on Jenna’s shoulder, hiding beneath her dark brown hair and nuzzling her neck.

  “She really loves you, Jenna,” Kylie said.

  “What’s not to love?” Jenna joked. “Besides, I put a dab of vanilla behind each ear as perfume.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “I never know when you’re joking or being serious!”

  “That makes two of us,” Leo chimed in. “Maybe you can help me decipher the mysterious Miss Medina?”

  Kylie laughed. “Sounds like a case for Scotland Yard…”

  Great, thought Jenna, just what I need. Leo cozying up to my best friend to brainwash her too!

  “Do you like Sherlock Holmes mysteries?” Leo asked.

  “Are you kidding? The House of Fear is one of my faves!”

  “But what about Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror?” Leo asked.

  “Classic!” Kylie exclaimed.

  Enough was enough. The last thing Jenna needed was for Kylie to start comparing old scary movies with Leo! “No time for small talk,” she said, tugging Kylie by the arm and Dulce by her leash. “Gotta go set up for the fido fiesta!”

  They unpacked the boxes of mini pupcakes and began sticking them with peanut butter to a giant Styrofoam bone that Lexi had sculpted. “Perfecto!” Jenna remarked. “Maybe PLC should consider adding more ‘pawstries’ to our menu.”

  Kylie laughed. “I can see it now: ‘Make no bones about it: PLC’s gone to the dogs!’ Honestly, I think dogs would be easier to please than some of our clients.”

  She opened a box and checked that all the intricate fondant dog toppers on the cupcakes were in good shape. “So far, no crushed cocker spaniels or ruined Rottweilers…”

  “And the terriers look terrific!” Jenna chimed in.