Libby's Sweet Surprise Page 10

  Libby stuck the candy in her bag. “That’s really nice of you. Thanks.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Behind where Mrs. Arnold stood, a cute plaque hung on the wall that said, I’LL TAKE THREE SCOOPS OF KINDNESS, PLEASE. Beneath those words was a small ice cream cone with three hearts stacked on top of each other, like three scoops of ice cream.

  “I like that plaque behind you,” Libby said.

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Arnold replied. “A friend of mine gave it to me for my birthday. I figured we could hang it here, even if we’re scooping candy and not ice cream.”

  Libby looked over at Cedric, but he was busy reading his comic book. Should she mention the idea that had just popped into her head, or wait and tell Cedric later, when they were alone? Something told her she should tell her, right now. After all, what did she have to lose?

  “With a name like The Sweet Retreat, it seems like you could sell ice cream pretty easily too. Kids are crazy for ice cream, you know. Maybe even more so than candy.”

  Mrs. Arnold stuck her hands into the pockets of the bright yellow apron she wore around her waist. “Ice cream?” she asked, as if she was trying this idea on for size.

  “Yes. Just think. On one side of your shop, you could have candy. And on the other side, ice cream by the scoop.”

  Cedric came over and stood next to Libby. “Mum, I think that is a brilliant idea. We’ve been trying to think of how we can make more money. If we sold ice cream too, you wouldn’t have to change the name or anything.”

  “We’d have to rearrange some things and add some freezer cases,” Mrs. Arnold said as she looked around the room, like she was trying to imagine what it would look like. “Your father’s in the back, doing some paperwork. I’ll have to talk to him about this idea a little bit later.” She smiled. “I like it. I really do. Thank you, Libby, for mentioning it.”

  “You’re welcome,” Libby said. She looked at Cedric and then back at Mrs. Arnold, as a funny feeling nagged at her. She knew that feeling. It was the same one she’d ignored when Cedric had first told Libby about The Sweet Retreat. After everything she’d been through with Cedric, she didn’t want to mess things up again. Even though it would be hard, she knew she should tell Cedric’s mum the truth.

  “Mrs. Arnold,” Libby said. “There’s something I need to tell you. My aunt and uncle, who I live with, own the other sweetshop in town. Mr. Pemberton’s?” A look of surprise washed over Mrs. Arnold’s face, but Libby kept talking. “I still want to be friends with Cedric because we get along so well, and it’s not our fault our families are competitors. I’m hoping that might be all right with you?”

  Mrs. Arnold looked at her son. He smiled at her, and Mrs. Arnold’s face relaxed. She looked back at Libby. “Of course it’s all right. I don’t want you to feel bad about anything. After all, Cedric’s father and I are the ones who decided to open this business despite the competition. We simply hoped there would be enough customers to go around.”

  “I hope there are,” Libby said.

  “I’m curious, though,” Mrs. Arnold said, “about the suggestion you made. Have your aunt and uncle ever considered selling ice cream at Mr. Pemberton’s?”

  “Oh, no. We would never sell anything but candy in our shop. My uncle is all about keeping up the family tradition. Besides, we don’t have nearly as much room as you do. I want your business to do well.” Libby’s eyes begged Cedric’s mother to believe her. “I really do.”

  “I appreciate that,” she replied. “Like I said, I think you’ve brought up a good idea, and we’ll definitely consider it.”

  “Come on,” Cedric said as he walked around behind the counter and slipped the comic book into a drawer. “Let’s go back outside so I can make a fool of myself some more.”

  “I’m happy to help you with that,” Libby said. “Good-bye, Mrs. Arnold. Thanks again for the Swedish Fish.”

  “Good-bye, Libby.”

  When they got outside, Cedric said, “Well, that was something.”

  Libby smiled. It felt like she’d just set down a ton of bricks she’d been carrying around. She felt so much better, now that everything was out in the open. “Your mum is really nice. And I love your shop.”

  “Thanks,” Cedric said. “For everything. The comic book is really great. I love it.”

  “You’re welcome,” Libby replied. “So, am I forgiven?”

  “Yes. I mean, you didn’t even make fun of me when you saw me in this silly costume. That’s what I call a good friend.”

  Libby breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be fine. Well, hopefully everything.

  “Do you think they’ll do it?” Libby asked. “Do you think your parents will decide to sell ice cream too?”

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. But whatever happens, it’s a fantastic idea. And you’ve got them thinking, which is good.”

  “It might be hard to believe, coming from someone who works at the other sweetshop in town, but I meant what I said about wanting The Sweet Retreat to do well.”

  “I could probably have mum make you a candy cane costume,” Cedric said with a smile. “Or, how about a Swedish Fish costume? You’ve always wanted to dress up as a fish, haven’t you?”

  Libby laughed. “You’re on your own there, Cedric. Sorry.”

  He waved at a passing car. “Thanks, Lib. Thanks a lot.” He turned and smiled at her. “Some friend you are.”

  On Sunday, Libby sat at the desk in her room and pulled out a piece of paper. Then she took off the bracelet and set it right in front of her, so she could look at it as she wrote the letter to Hannah. She knew it was time to send it on, especially if she wanted Hannah to receive it before Christmas, which she did. But she was still a little sad about it. The bracelet had become like a part of her. She’d worn it every day and every night, never taking it off, except for the one time she’d put it on the other wrist so she could have a special memory.

  She fingered the shiny new charm she’d added to the bracelet yesterday. When her aunt had picked her up from The Sweet Retreat, Libby has asked her if they could go shopping at the nearby jewelry store. It hadn’t taken Libby long at all to decide what charm she wanted to add to the bracelet, to join the flower and the bird. It looked so cute and felt absolutely right, after everything that had happened the past month or so.

  Dear Hannah,

  Hooray, it’s your turn to wear the bracelet! Are you excited? I’m excited for you. You’ve been so patient, waiting for it to be your turn, I hope having three adorable charms to wear on the bracelet makes the wait worth it.

  You can probably guess who chose which charm, but just in case, I’ll tell you. Caitlin chose the flower charm, Mia chose the bird, and I chose the peppermint candy.

  So why the piece of candy? Because, like an old poem I recently found says, “Friendship is the sweetest thing.” I feel so lucky to call you and Mia and Caitlin friends. I also feel lucky because I have two new friends, Sabrina and Cedric. I’m going to try and get them to go Christmas caroling with me sometime soon. We’ll see what they say. Maybe I’ll ask Cedric to wear the candy cane costume his mother made for him to help promote their business. I’m sure he’d love that.

  Along with the bracelet, I’m also sending you a bag of dew drops from Mr. Pemberton’s Olde Sweetshop. I think in America, you call them gum drops. As you can see, I picked out a variety of flavors for you. Anyway, I hope you like them. You can share them with your family if you want to, but it’s perfectly fine if you keep them all for yourself. Just don’t eat them all at once. I’ve learned the hard way that’s never a good idea, no matter how good the candy tastes.

  That’s so wonderful you might get a horse for Christmas. You have to write to me as soon as you find out and tell me if your wish comes true.

  Merry Christmas! I miss you!!

  Your Cabin 7 BFF,

  Libby

  As she carefully wrapped the bracelet in some tissue paper, Libby looked over at the purple
jar that sat on the nearby nightstand. Sometimes she wondered how much the jar was worth, but of course, it didn’t really matter because she’d never consider selling it. To her, the happy feelings she got just by looking at it were worth far more than any amount of money she might get for it.

  Once again, thinking about the jar made her think of her great-grandma and her good friend, Mae. One had lived in America while the other one had lived in England, and yet, across all of those miles, they’d managed to stay friends through the years. That’s what she wanted with her Camp Brookridge friends, more than anything.

  Someday, years and years from now, would a young girl study the charm bracelet and wonder why it had meant so much to a great-grandma and her friends?

  Libby smiled as she thought to herself, That would be awfully sweet.

  “Y’all are kidding, right?” Hannah asked as she searched under the Christmas tree for one last box. A box that would have a note in it, telling her to head out to the barn, where she would find the horse she’d always dreamed of. The horse she was absolutely, positively getting for Christmas this year.

  She’d overheard her parents talking one night, as she walked by their bedroom. All right, fine, maybe she hadn’t heard them mention the word “horse,” but she’d heard her mama say, “It’s a pretty big responsibility. Are you sure Hannah is ready for it?”

  Her daddy had assured her mama that Hannah was, indeed, ready for it, and that was all Hannah had needed to hear. After all, what other big responsibility could they have been talking about it?

  Her ears had been pierced since third grade.

  She already owned a cell phone.

  She wasn’t old enough to drive.

  It had to be a horse, Hannah had reasoned every single day from that night until now. It just had to be.

  She crawled around the Christmas tree, pushing the mess of red, white, and green wrapping paper out of the way as she went, searching for the last box.

  “Hannah,” her father, Mr. Crawford, said gently from his place on the sofa, next to her mother. “There isn’t another box to open. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”

  With a heavy sigh, Hannah stopped looking and plopped down on the floor. She yanked on her flannel pajama top covered in penguins, straightening it out. “I am not disappointed. I’m … impatient. I love the gifts I’ve opened so far and I appreciate them, I really do, but I have a feeling there’s one more. Isn’t there?”

  All of the gifts under the tree had been opened. The family had taken turns, to make the best part of Christmas morning last as long as possible. Her older brothers, twins Adam and Eric, were oblivious to Hannah’s desperate pleas, as they had spent the last ten minutes trying to open the box that held the new video gaming system they’d received.

  Hannah glanced over at her small pile of gifts, which included an adorable pair of red cowboy boots, a cookie cookbook, an apron, and a necklace with an emerald pendant (her birthstone).

  “Please,” she begged. Hoping for some luck, Hannah fingered the charm bracelet hanging on her wrist that she’d received from her camp friend Libby last week. “What do I have to do to get you to give it to me? I know there’s one more. I just know it.”

  Grandpa chuckled from his place on the loveseat, next to Grandma. They lived on the same property as Hannah and her family, in the original old farmhouse, right next door. Because of their close proximity, she saw them every day, and she was thankful for that. They were two of her most favorite people in the world.

  Now, Hannah eyed the two of them suspiciously. Neither of her grandparents had said a single word the past few minutes. And that wasn’t like them. At all.

  She made her way over to the loveseat and, while on her hands and knees, clasped her hands together out in front of her. “Grandpa, do you like seeing me crawl around here like a beggar? What do I have to do? Tell me. Please?”

  He smiled as he pointed at the tree. “Say, what is that, stuck between a couple of branches? I can’t quite tell from here.”

  Hannah shrieked as she stood up and dashed over to the tree, stumbling over Grandpa’s box of new slippers. “Where?” she cried, her hands batting at the tree branches, the scent of pine circling around her.

  “Careful,” her mother, Mrs. Crawford, said. “Some of those ornaments have been in my family a long time. I’d be sad to see one of them fall to the floor and break.”

  Something white caught Hannah’s eye, tucked on a branch near the trunk, way up high. “I don’t know if I can reach it,” she said as she stood on her tippy-toes, stretching herself inward and upward, needles poking her cheek as she did.

  And then, she had it. She grabbed whatever it was and pulled it toward her until she could see exactly what it was: an envelope.

  She jumped up and down, hugging the envelope to her chest. “I knew it, I knew it!”

  “What is it?” Adam asked as he brushed his long, blond bangs out of his gray-blue eyes.

  “It better not be money,” Eric said. “Unless there are two more envelopes just like that one stuck in there somewhere.”

  Adam looked at Eric. “Maybe we should look.”

  “It’s not money,” Hannah said as she tore open the envelope.

  “How do you know?” Adam asked.

  “I’m curious about that as well,” her father mumbled.

  “I just have a feeling, okay?” Hannah pulled out a purple piece of paper. “Aw, my favorite color.” She unfolded the paper and read the words out loud.

  “There’s one last gift

  that’s not under the tree,

  so head out to the barn

  where you’ll squeal with glee.”

  Hannah dropped the purple note, grabbed her new cowboy boots, and slipped them on over her pajama bottoms. “Who’s going out with me?”

  “I reckon I’ll go,” Grandpa said as he stood up. He reached for Grandma’s hand. “And I know your grandma doesn’t want to miss this either.”

  “We’ll go too,” Mr. Crawford said as both he and Mrs. Crawford stood up.

  Hannah clapped her hands. “You folks are slower than maple syrup, you know that? Come on, hurry up.” She looked at her brothers. “Don’t you want to see what it is?”

  “Not right now,” Eric said.

  “Yeah, maybe later,” Adam said. “Mama, I’m hungry. Can we have one of Grandma’s cinnamon rolls now?”

  “I suppose,” Mrs. Crawford replied.

  “Just save some for the rest of us,” Grandpa said.

  “Who can eat at a time like this?” Hannah cried, grabbing her gray wool coat from the hall closet. “Let’s go!”

  She’d dreamed of this moment forever, it seemed.

  And her dream was finally, finally coming true.

  Lisa Schroeder is the author of several books for young readers, including the Charmed Life series, It’s Raining Cupcakes, Sprinkles and Secrets, and Frosting and Friendship. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two sons. You can visit her online at lisaschroederbooks.com.

  Charmed Life

  Caitlin’s Lucky Charm

  Mia’s Golden Bird

  Libby’s Sweet Surprise

  Hannah’s Bright Star

  Text copyright © 2014 by Lisa Schroeder

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

  First printing, August 2014

  Cover photos by Michael Frost

  Charms by Coherent Images

  Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-60516-8

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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 hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information
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