Best Buds

by Catherine R. Daly

  “No problem,” I said.

  “I love it!” she said. She looked down at the ground. “I know it couldn’t have been easy,” she said. “Especially considering we’re not exactly best buds anymore.”

  “I … uh …” I sputtered.

  I watched in disbelief as Ashley pulled her hand out from behind her back and handed me a pretty frosted cupcake. “Happy Birthday, Del,” she said, and disappeared back inside before I could say anything in return. Not that I would have been able to. I was completely and totally speechless.

  Chapter Twelve

  As I stood waiting in the dark parking lot, the sounds of laughter and cheers of Ashley’s guests echoing across the parking lot, my excitement over the party’s success was slowly overshadowed by other things. Disappointment that Hamilton had a girlfriend. Anger that the only person to wish me a happy birthday had been my worst enemy. I began to silently stew. I threw the cute cupcake into the bushes. Maybe the raccoons would enjoy it. I had lost my appetite.

  Mom pulled up, the gravel crunching under her wheels. She had a big grin on her face. Wordlessly, I slipped into the passenger seat and buckled my seat belt.

  “So?” she said impatiently.

  “It was fine,” I said. “She liked it.”

  I didn’t say another word the whole way home.

  Mom and I returned home to a dark house. I decided to try one last hint.

  “It really was a special day,” I said as we walked up the front steps, looking at Mom meaningfully.

  “Mmmm-hmmm,” she replied.

  Shaking my head, I pushed open the front door and tripped over the shoes.

  “Stupid Crocs!” I grumbled. I slipped out of my sneakers and headed upstairs.

  “Del!” called Mom. “Nobody seems to be around and I need some help getting the fishing poles out of the back of the shed. Can you help me move the bikes?”

  I rolled my eyes. Was she kidding? Of course I minded! Moving the bikes was a terrible, time-consuming job on any day! I took a deep breath and headed back down the stairs. Could this birthday get any worse?

  I followed Mom out the back door into the backyard. I blinked. Were those lights hanging from the branches of our big oak tree?

  Then I heard a chorus of voices call out: “Surprise!”

  I blinked as I saw Dad, my sisters, and even Aunt Lily smiling at me.

  Mom turned to me. “Happy Birthday, Del.”

  My eyes took in the paper lanterns, the white lights, the quilt thrown over the picnic table, the Mason jars filled with wildflowers, and the big jar with the spigot, filled with lemonade.

  They remembered! I smiled at everyone in shock. Grateful, happy, shock.

  I turned to Mom. “How in the world …”

  “Becky,” she said. “She called me from camp and told me about your dream party. I’m so sorry I had to leave you alone at Ashley’s, but someone had to go pick up the lobsters.”

  “You mean we’re having …”

  “A backyard-kind-of-lobster bake,” she said. “We have everything but the pit.”

  “I can’t believe it,” I said, blinking back tears. “This is amazing.”

  My sisters rushed over. “Happy birthday, dear Del!” they shouted, wrapping me in a big group hug.

  Poppy started jumping up and down with excitement. “Del, you’re never going to believe who’s …”

  And that’s when Gran and Gramps stepped forward.

  “Happy Birthday, Del!” they chorused.

  For the second time that night, I was completely speechless. “I … uh …” My eyes went from Gran to Gramps and back again. They looked so tan and relaxed and happy. “I can’t believe it!” I finally choked out. “I’ve missed you both so much! What are you two doing here?”

  Gramps rushed forward to hug me, lifting me off the ground. “We couldn’t miss your thirteenth birthday, now could we?”

  After I’d hugged Gramps and Gran about ten times each, Dad led me over to the picnic table. As the paper lanterns swayed in the breeze, we started eating. First, we had New England clam chowder, creamy and delicious. Then came lobsters, corn on the cob, and lots of butter to dip it all in. After I had eaten every bite of lobster meat (nobody can eat a lobster the way I can), I squirted lemon juice on my hands to clean them off. (Wet naps are for wimps.)

  After dinner it was time for presents. Turned out all of my friends had remembered and mailed me different gifts. I grinned as I opened them — a bottle of citrusy-smelling perfume from Heather, a pair of white plastic retro-looking sunglasses from Amy, and bizarrely enough, a pair of leg warmers from Jessica. She always buys the weirdest gifts.

  I saved Becky’s for last — it was a flat, rectangular gift wrapped in white paper with purple, curling ribbon corkscrewing across it. A book, for sure! I opened it up and stared at the familiar cover.

  I laughed out loud. “No Flying in the House!” I cried. I flipped open the front cover and read what Becky had written inside:

  Happy thirteenth birthday to my best friend, Del! Remember when we both read this over Christmas break in third grade and tried to kiss our elbows to prove we were fairies? I have a copy here at camp so we can read it at the same time again. I miss you! XOX, Becky

  I closed the book and hugged it to my chest.

  “And this is from all of us,” said Mom, handing me a slim box. I lifted the top and gasped as I saw what was inside — a tiny ruby pendant, my birthstone, hanging from a delicate gold chain.

  “I picked it out!” Poppy boasted happily.

  “I love it,” I said.

  Gran and Gramps had brought me a fun straw bag from Key West and a huge conch shell they had found and polished. Even Aunt Lily gave me a gift — a pretty jewelry box, where I could store my new necklace.

  “Thank you for what you did earlier, Del,” she said softly.

  I felt embarrassed. “No problem, Aunt Lily,” I said.

  I looked at my family. My crazy, kooky, extremely generous, and thoughtful family. “Thanks, everyone,” I said.

  “Speech, speech!” Dad called out.

  I gulped. I despise public speaking, even if it’s just in front of my family. But I knew what I wanted to say. “You know,” I began, “who needs a fancy catered party, anyway? This is shaping up to be the best birthday ever!”

  “Hear! Hear!” shouted Gramps, and everyone clapped and cheered.

  “Time for cake!” Poppy said. “Where is it?”

  “It’s coming,” said Mom with a grin. I gave her a look. The cake was being delivered? Wasn’t it a little late?

  There was a knock at the back gate. Everyone just looked at me. “Go get it, Del,” Mom encouraged me. Confused, I stood up, walked over, and opened up the gate. And there stood Hamilton Baldwin, holding a large, white bakery box. I just stared.

  “You work for the bakery?” I asked, totally bewildered.

  He laughed. “No, I don’t.”

  Rose pushed up behind me. “Invite him in, Miss Manners!” she said.

  I blinked and stepped back so he could come in.

  “Wow!” he said, gazing around the backyard. “This looks great.” He grinned. “Sorry I missed the lobster, but I had a” — he grinned — “prior engagement!”

  I led Hamilton to the table and introduced him to my family.

  “Hey, everyone,” he said, as laid-back as ever.

  “Pleased to meet you, young man,” said my gramps, which made me laugh. Mom took the cake box from Hamilton and then the rest of my family thoughtfully busied themselves getting plates and forks and knives.

  I looked at him. “So …” I started.

  “Becky called me,” he explained. I grinned. When did Becky have time to play tennis with all the social arrangements she was making? I had to give my BFF a lot of credit.

  “So I called your mom and asked her if there was anything I could bring. And she told me — dessert!”

  I took a deep breath. “But what about your date?” I asked.
<
br />   Hamilton looked confused. “My date?”

  “The one you were about to introduce me to at Ashley’s party!” I explained. Sheesh.

  Hamilton looked like he wanted to laugh. “That wasn’t my date. That was my cousin Melissa. She’s here for the summer to help out my mom at Fleur.” He smiled. “My mom makes me take Melissa everywhere with me since she doesn’t know anyone.” He smiled. “But now that she’s settled in, I’m going to have more free time on my hands.”

  “Oh,” I said, smiling. It all made sense. Why he blew me off. Why he and the girl had been in Fleur together. And why Ashley had said he was bringing a date to her party.

  “So maybe when you get back from Maine, we could … go to the movies or something,” Hamilton said, blushing a little.

  “Definitely,” I replied, my cheeks turning red, too.

  From behind me, my family began to sing “Happy Birthday.” I turned around. Mom was standing at the top of the steps holding a strawberry shortcake from Bella’s!

  I turned to Hamilton. “That’s my favorite!” I told him.

  He grinned. “Your mom told me. It’s mine, too!” He looked at me. “Happy birthday to you, Delphinium Bloom.”

  A very happy birthday to me, indeed, I thought. This evening just gets better and better.

  Mom placed the cake in front of me, glowing with fourteen candles, one for good luck. “Make a wish,” she said.

  Gran and Gramps were there. I was having the birthday party of my dreams (pretty much). With one very special guest. I wasn’t quite sure what to wish for. I closed my eyes, thought of something, and blew out the candles, all in one breath.

  “Hooray!” cried Poppy. “You get your wish!”

  “Don’t tell us what it is,” Aster warned.

  “And we have some special news,” said Rose.

  “Gran and Gramps are coming to Maine with us!” shrieked Poppy.

  I gave Gran and Gramps each a huge hug. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.

  I grinned at my family. They might not always do things exactly the way I hoped they would. But they had really come through for me today. It seemed like all my birthday wishes were being granted.

  “And I’m coming, too!” added Aunt Lily.

  “Yay!” I said weakly.

  Okay, sometimes all your wishes can’t come true!

  Read on for a

  sneak peek at the next

  Petal Pushers book!

  The house phone rang. I reached out a soapy hand and picked it up. “Bloom residence,” I said.

  “Hello, may I please speak to Daisy Bloom?” a woman’s voice asked.

  “May I ask who’s calling?” I said, looking pointedly at my sisters, who were all lacking in phone etiquette skills. The twins simultaneously stuck out their tongues at me.

  “This is Marlene Lewis,” the voice said. “From the Homecoming Committee.”

  A big grin spread over my face. I held the phone to my chest and brought it to Mom, who was curled up on the living room couch knitting Aster a long black scarf.

  “It’s a woman named Marlene Lewis,” I whispered. “She’s from the Homecoming Committee.”

  Mom sat up straight and put her knitting to the side. I handed her the phone, then lingered in the entryway to listen.

  “Hello, this is Daisy Bloom,” she said. “Hi, Marlene, how are you? I can’t wait to show you our amazing idea for the Homecoming bouquets. I was hoping we could set up an appointment this week….” She paused to listen and a frown crossed her face. I leaned forward, worried. “Oh, I see. Is that your final decision?” Mom nodded. “Okay, well, thank you for your time. Good-bye.”

  I was too afraid to ask. Dad did it for me. “Oh, Daisy,” he said sympathetically. “That didn’t sound like it went so well.”

  Mom nodded grimly. “It certainly didn’t. This Marlene person told me that she already hired another florist.”

  My heart sank. “Fleur,” I said. I shook my head. I had been right to be suspicious at the mall!

  Mom nodded grimly. “Fleur,” she confirmed.

  Dad frowned. “Marlene just started this fall. She probably doesn’t know that Petal Pushers has always done the flowers for Homecoming. Do you think I should talk to her?”

  Mom shook her head no emphatically. “She’s allowed to make her own decisions,” she said. But then she dropped her head into her hands. “But she didn’t even give us a chance. This is the first time that our family isn’t doing the Homecoming bouquets in seventy-five years. How am I going to tell Gran and Gramps?”

  Read all the Petal Pushers books!

  Too Many Blooms

  Flower Feud

  Best Buds

  Coming Up Roses

  About the Author

  Catherine R. Daly has been a children’s book editor for many years and has also written or adapted more than one hundred books for children. She lives in New York City with her family. Her middle name is Rose, which perhaps helps explain her lifelong love of flowers. Petal Pushers is her first series for young readers.

  Copyright

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  Copyright © 2011 by Catherine R. Daly

  Cover illustration © 2011 by Bella Pilar

  Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First edition, June 2011

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  eISBN: 978-0-545-38878-8