The Wish Stealers (24 page)

No dreamer is ever too small;
no dream is ever too big.

A
t exactly ten o’clock Saturday morning Garrett rang Griffin’s doorbell. Griffin’s heart raced. The sky had never been so clear, like a blue birthday streamer floating free above them.

“Hi, Garrett,” said Griffin, opening the front door. She had checked her teeth three times for anything green. Libby had come over the night before and helped her pick out her outfit too.

“Hi,” said Garrett. “Are you ready?”

“Yup,” she said.
Did Garrett just blush? Could he be nervous too?
she thought.

Dr. Penshine called from the couch. “Have fun! I’m so proud of you both!”

Griffin slid into the backseat of the car.

“Good morning, Griffin,” said Garrett’s dad, smiling. They drove straight to the Dadesville Humane Society.

Puppies, cats, and rabbits were all up for adoption. Animals of all shapes and sizes were poking pink noses out of rows and rows of cages. Garrett bent down and looked into one. Tiny whimpers came from within. “Griffin, look!” There was a litter of five puppies bouncing around inside.

“Their mom got hit by a car, and they need good homes,” said the volunteer.

“Look at that one!” said Garrett. One of the puppies was rolling over on her back, her tiny white paws wiggling in the air.

“Can I hold her?” asked Griffin. The volunteer placed the puppy in Griffin’s arms. A pink tongue slurped all over her face. She giggled. Another one of the puppies was tugging hard on a piece of rope, wagging his tail.

“That’s my dog!” said Garrett.

Garrett’s dad bent down to look. “They both look great,” he said.

At the front desk they filled out all the registration papers. Mr. Forester explained to the woman at the desk that they were taking Griffin’s puppy straight to Florence; Garrett and his dad would come back for Garrett’s puppy in the afternoon.

In the backseat of the car Mr. Forester carefully placed the puppy’s cage between Garrett and Griffin so they could sit on either side of her. Her little paw kept shooting through the cage trying to touch them. Griffin giggled.

“What are you naming your puppy, Garrett?” asked Griffin.

“Nick, after Nicolas Flamel, or maybe Zosimos,” said Garrett.

“Cool,” said Griffin.

“How about you?” he asked.

“I think Florence should name her, you know?”

“Shhhhhh,” Griffin said to the puppy as she bounced up and down in the parking lot of the assisted living home. “Don’t ruin the surprise, silly!” Griffin dug her fingers in her pocket. The “puppy” penny was still there.

“Good morning. You must be Griffin and Garrett,” said Director Regan, meeting them at the front door.

“Hi,” they said in unison.

“I’m Garrett’s dad, Brian Forester,” he said. “The kids are so excited about this.”

“We are too. Florence will be so happy. Who do we have here?”

The director bent down to pet the new puppy through the cage. “Girl or boy?”

“Girl,” said Griffin.

“She’s perfect. Right this way. I told Florence she had some visitors today. A certain G. Penshine who wrote her a letter and her friend Garrett Forester. Florence got all dressed up, even put rouge on her cheeks!”

Garrett’s dad waited outside Florence’s room with the puppy to keep her a surprise until just the right moment.

“Knock, knock,” said the director, tapping on the door. “Florence, your visitors are here.”

“Come in,” said Florence.

Garrett and Griffin walked into her room. Florence looked very old and soft sitting in a chair by the window. She held out her hand to welcome them. “Welcome, welcome! Visitors to see me? What an exciting day. The real G. Penshine who wrote me a letter!”

Griffin said, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Busby.”

“Nice to meet you. Such a pretty and polite young lady. And who is this handsome young man?” said Florence.

“I’m Garrett,” he said.

“What a beautiful couple,” she said.

Griffin and Garrett both blushed a deep crimson.

“I don’t get a lot of young visitors. I was so excited when I was told you were both coming to visit me today.”

“Mrs. Busby, I was the one who wrote you that letter a few weeks ago.”

“Yes, yes, if I recollect correctly, you said you had something of mine? What could you possibly have that might belong to an old lady like me?” she asked.

“Someone gave me something that once belonged to you,” said Griffin, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the penny. Gently she placed it in Florence’s tender hand.

“A penny?” said Florence, and she studied it.

“I met a very, very old lady before she died,” said Griffin. “She said she overheard you make a wish for a puppy. She wrote down the wish in a guest book next to your name. She labeled your penny: ‘puppy.’”

“NO!” gasped Florence. She held the penny tight in her hand and closed her eyes. “I remember that summer day clearly, that scorching Kansas sun on my cheeks. I threw that penny high into the air. With all my heart I called out, ‘I wish for a puppy!’”

A long sad pause penetrated the room. “My very own
penny
returned
. My very own wish taken out of the fountain and returned to me after all these years. What a beautiful thing to make something right even after so many years have passed.” From her faded-blue eyes a single tear tumbled onto the penny.

A glow crescendoed through the entire room as if the sun had charged on full blast and poured the brightest rays into Florence’s room. “Well, that’s not all,” said Garrett. “Dad!”

Mr. Forester walked into the room holding the puppy. “Good morning, Mrs. Busby. I’m Garrett’s dad. The kids have brought you a present. A surprise just for you!”

Mrs. Busby’s eyes lit up like a child’s. Jumping up from her seat, her arms flew into the air, springing the penny like metallic confetti. “A puppy! A puppy!” she shouted, clapping her hands together.

“Do you want to hold her? She’s a gift for you,” said Griffin.

“A puppy for me?” She cried even harder now, her shiny eyes crinkling. “A puppy to keep me company! It’s hard to feel lonely with a bouncing pup! My first puppy in my whole life!” She held out her old hands to the dog. Florence giggled like a girl as the puppy licked her wrinkled cheek. Laughter and tears came at the same time. “What’s the puppy’s name?”

“It’s up to you,” said Griffin.

“Penny! That’s her name!” said Florence. “This is a wish worth waiting for!”

Never give up on a dream just because it takes time.
The time will pass anyway.

G
riffin waved as Garrett and his dad backed out of her driveway. Griffin couldn’t wait to call Libby and tell her everything! Garrett was so nice and cute and kind to Florence and funny and smart and great at drums. Also seeing Florence so happy made this one of the best Saturdays that Griffin had ever had. Smiling and giddy, Griffin couldn’t wait to tell her mom about the puppy, too. She pushed on the front door, but it was locked.

“Mom, I’m home!” she called. She rang the front doorbell. But no one came. Three times she rang the bell. “Mom! Dad! Hello!”

Nothing.

Griffin checked her cell phone. She had turned it off at the Sunflower Home. Her message box was full. “Griff, it’s Dad. Everything is okay. I’m taking Mom to the hospital because the baby is on the way! Hang tight. When you get this message, please go to Mrs. Jasper’s house. I called her, and she is going to stay with you until I can come pick you up. I love you.”

“Griffin!” called Mrs. Jasper, running toward her. “I’ve been looking out my window for you ever since your dad called me!”

“Did the baby come yet?” asked Griffin.

“I don’t know. I just know your mom is in the hospital, and your grandma, too.”

“Grandma, too?” Griffin’s heart started racing. “They’re both at the hospital?”

“Yes,” she answered.

Griffin trembled.
This is my fault,
she thought. She still had three pennies. Although she had given away “no homework,” “most beautiful,” “change the world,” “a dad,” “baby,” “success,” “popular,” and “puppy,” the “STOP” penny, “world peace” penny, and the unlabeled penny remained in Mariah’s black box.

“Your dad said it would be best if you stayed with me until he calls, and then I can drive you to the hospital to be with him. Okay?” she said.

“Okay,” said Griffin slowly, finding it hard to breath. “Both Mom and Grandma in the hospital,” she whispered to herself.
Why is my grandma there? Will the baby be okay?

They walked over to Mrs. Jasper’s house. Eight times Griffin called her dad on his cell phone, but he did not pick up.

Griffin sat at Mrs. Jasper’s table, pushing noodles around on her plate. When the phone finally rang, it sounded like a fire alarm and a rushing ambulance to her ears. Mrs. Jasper grabbed for the phone. “Hello. Yes, she’s fine. We’re eating some dinner. Is everything okay?” There was a long pause and Griffin gripped the sides of her chair. “Here’s Griffin!”

“Hi, Griff,” said her father, sounding exhausted.

“Hi, Dad.”

“You doing okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Are Mom and Grandma okay?”

“Your mom is doing just fine. I’m so sorry you had to come home to a locked house. My cell phone ran out of battery in the hospital and I was with your mom in the delivery room. But … dun, dun, dun … drumroll, please. … You have a new happy, healthy baby brother!

A baby brother! The opposite of what I wished for!
thought Griffin.
A healthy baby brother is fine with me!

“Caelum came a week early. We were worried he might be born in the car! We almost changed his name to CAR-lum!”

Griffin laughed so hard tears filled her eyes. “Caelum’s here! I have a brother!”

“Yes, a healthy, happy baby brother. Ten pounds! As big as a turkey! A giant baby! He and Mom are doing great.”

“Can I come see him?”

“Yes. Mrs. Jasper is going to bring you to the hospital.”

“And Grandma?” she asked.

“Grandma had a fall this morning. Hit her head on the floor, Griff,” said her dad softly.

“Is she okay?” asked Griffin, her stomach squeezing up into her throat.

“She goes in and out of sleep, in and out of making sense.”

“Can I see her?” asked Griffin, starting to shake.

“Yes, we’ll see her together, okay? Hang tight, kiddo. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” Griffin sat down and couldn’t stop crying.
Grandma
.