That’s why he didn’t come to hear us, she thought, feeling oddly relieved. There was no one at the door to seat her, so she slipped inside and stood near the back of the room. Johnny was perched on a stool in the middle of the stage, playing a song that was so beautiful she was entranced within moments. When he finished playing, the restaurant was completely silent until suddenly the applause began and everyone was on their feet. Johnny looked up and grinned. “Thank you,” was all he said before leaving the stage.
Johnny was on his way to the office in the back of the restaurant when Cory started toward him. When he stopped to speak with someone, she hurried to get closer and was at arm’s length when he finally noticed her.
“Cory! What are you doing here? I thought Zephyr was playing at the Shady Nook tonight.”
“We were, I mean, we did,” she told him. “We finished just a little while ago.”
“In that case, why don’t you join me for a late supper? Unless you aren’t hungry.”
“I’m hungry, all right,” said Cory. “I haven’t had much to eat today.”
Many of the restaurants’ patrons had left when Johnny finished playing, so they didn’t have any trouble finding a table. Cory was delighted when he pulled a chair out for her, something Walker had never done. “How did it go?” he asked as he sat down. “Did you like playing at the Shady Nook?”
“It was fantastic!” said Cory. “I think it was the best we’ve ever played, and the audience loved us and my solo went off perfectly and … Wait! Here I am talking about my playing when I really wanted to tell you how much I loved yours. I heard only the last song, but it was so beautiful!”
“Thank you!” he said, giving her a warm smile. “I wrote it myself. I’m sorry I missed hearing you play tonight. Maybe next time …”
A waiter appeared at the table and they sat back in their seats while he placed menus in front of them. He was just walking away when a beautiful blond-haired girl only a little older than Cory appeared.
“Johnny? Johnny Blue? Is that really you? I’m sure you don’t remember me, but my family used to live just down the lane from yours. I’m Mary Lambkin. When I was a young girl, you had a black sheep and one summer you got three bags of wool from it. You gave one to the man you were working for, one to your mother, and one to me. That wool changed my life.”
“I remember that!” said Johnny. “What did you do with the wool?’
“I washed it and carded it and spun it into yarn. That wool is what started my interest in fashion. I have my own company and … oh, do you mind if I sit down?” she said, turning to Cory.
“Not at all,” Cory said, although she really didn’t like the way the girl had intruded and wished she would go away.
The girl gave her a bright smile and took a seat between Cory and Johnny. Turning her back to Cory, she continued to tell Johnny Blue about how much the gift of wool had meant to her.
“We were about to order supper,” Johnny said when the waiter stopped to see if they were ready. “Would you like to join us?”
“I’d love to!” she replied. “I just need a moment to look at the menu.”
Cory’s heart sank as the waiter walked away. Up until then, she had assumed the girl would leave at any moment, but now she knew that wasn’t going to happen. The more Mary Lambkin talked about old times, the more left out Cory felt. When the waiter came back again, Cory set her menu on the table and pushed back her chair. “I’m sorry, it’s getting late and I’m going to have a busy day tomorrow. Thank you for inviting me to stay,” she told Johnny. “Enjoy your supper,” she told them both.
Cory walked away, thinking that Johnny and Mary Lambkin were really hitting it off, but when she glanced back and saw the way he was watching her instead of the girl sitting beside him, Cory wasn’t so sure.
Chapter 17
Once in a while Cory’s visions came in her sleep. The only reason she knew they were visions and not dreams was that she was able to remember them so well the next day. That night she had a vision of a girl she thought might be Red Riding Hood and a boy who could perhaps be Jack Nimble, although their faces were so blurry that she couldn’t be sure. Even so, she was already planning to send messages to both Priscilla Hood and Jack Nimble when she left her bedroom that morning. It took her only a few minutes to write them. When she went to send the messages, she found that one had arrived the night before while she was out. Doris Dumpty wanted Cory to babysit from eleven to five.
“I can babysit today,” Cory told Noodles, “but I’m going to have to decide if I really want to be a babysitter or what.” Zephyr had played even better than they’d hoped at the Shady Nook, and were actually starting to make money. There was a chance that she could quit doing her odd jobs altogether and concentrate on her music. In a way the thought delighted her, but in another way it didn’t feel quite right. She loved playing with the band, certainly more than she’d liked collecting teeth, but was it really helping anyone? Cory hadn’t left the TFG because of money, although that had been part of it.
Cory sent a message back to Mrs. Dumpty, saying that she would be there at eleven. Two other messages arrived as Cory was turning away. The first was from Priscilla, thanking her for finding someone so quickly, and saying that she wondered if Cory could meet her at the park at five thirty. The other message was from Marjorie. Cory was certain that her friend was going to have only good things to say about Perky, but she was wrong again.
Cory,
I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Perky is not the right one for me. All he talks about is Christmas and Santa Claus. He wasn’t at all interested in hearing about me or what I like to do. Do you know of anyone else I could meet?
Marjorie
Cory sighed. It sounded as if Marjorie wasn’t planning to give Perky a chance. But then, maybe they really weren’t right for each other. She sent a message to Marjorie saying that she would keep looking.
The finch on the mantel sang the half hour, reminding Cory that it was almost time to leave. In order to show the mice to Humpty, she’d have to take the pedal-bus instead of flying. If Mrs. Dumpty was back by five o’clock, Cory could take the bus to the park and still get there with time to spare.
Cory arrived at the Dumptys’ house precisely at eleven, but Mrs. Dumpty was already in a hurry to leave. Holding up the shoe box, Cory said, “Before I see Humpty, I want to ask you if it’s all right if I—”
“I’m sure it’s fine, whatever it is,” Doris Dumpty said, checking her reflection in the mirror on the wall as she pinned a tiny saucer-shaped hat to her hair. “I’m having lunch in town with RJ, then going shopping with some friends. Humpty has been waiting for you all morning. You two have fun today! Bye!”
Mrs. Dumpty was gone before Cory could say anything more. “I tried!” she told herself as she started toward Humpty’s room.
The little boy was sitting on his bed with a book open in front of him. “Did you bring the mice?” he asked. “I found a story you could read to them. It’s about a mouse that pulls a thorn out of a big cat’s paw and they become friends. I have some other books they might like, too.”
“I have the mice right here,” Cory said, sitting down beside him. “We have to be careful when we open the box. You don’t want them to get loose.”
“Ooh!” Humpty said as Cory lifted the lid. The little mice were nibbling some cereal she’d given them and they turned toward Humpty when he cooed. “Can I hold one?” he asked, his hand hovering above the box.
“I don’t know why not,” said Cory. “I’ve been handling them ever since I brought them home, and they’ve never tried to bite me. Just be gentle.”
Humpty reached into the box and lifted out one of the mice, holding it ever so carefully. Cory smiled when she saw the look of delight on his face and decided that taking the pedal-bus just so the little boy could see the mice had been worth it.
While Humpty held each of the mice, one at a time, Cory read his books out loud. Everything was fi
ne until Cory said that he had to put the mice back in the box.
“Can I show them my room before I put them back?” he asked, and gave her such a plaintive look that she couldn’t say no.
“They’re blind, remember? They can’t see it.”
“Then I’ll tell them about it!” said Humpty. Still holding one of the mice, Humpty picked up the other two before squirming off the bed. Starting with the table by the wall, he carried the mice from place to place, describing everything in detail. “And this is the floor,” he finally said, getting down on his knees and elbows. “It’s flat and you could run all over it if I put you down. There’s a rug on it that would feel good under your paws. Here, I’ll let you feel it for yourselves.”
“Humpty, no!” Cory cried, but the little boy had already set the mice on the floor. An instant later, the three blind mice had run under the bed.
“Uh-oh!” Humpty exclaimed, sitting back on his heels. “They got away.”
“There has to be a way to get them to come out,” said Cory. “Maybe if you make noise at that end, they’ll come down here and I can catch them.”
“Okay!” said Humpty. He tapped on the floor, but the mice didn’t appear.
“Do you have any crackers or cereal?” Cory finally asked. “They might come out for food.”
“I’ll be right back,” Humpty said, and took off down the hall. When he returned, he had a handful of cookies. Giving one to Cory, he climbed onto his bed and began to eat the others.
Cory broke off a piece of cookie and set it on the floor. She sat back to wait, but no mice appeared.
“Read me another book!” said Humpty.
“I will after we’ve caught the mice.”
Humpty scowled, but his face lit up again when he said, “I’ll watch for the mice while you read the book! I’ll tell you when I see them.”
“All right,” said Cory. “But we have to catch them before your mother comes home.”
“I know,” he said, and got down on the floor so he could see under the bed.
For the next fifteen minutes, Cory read stories to Humpty while he lay beside her with his head pillowed on his arm, watching for the mice. She was reaching for another book when she realized that the little boy had fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake him, she took a folded blanket from the end of his bed and covered him with it.
None of the mice appeared for the next hour and a half. When Humpty woke, Cory made his lunch while he watched for the mice. After he ate, they played board games on the floor next to his bed until they heard his mother at the front door. Humpty went with Cory to see her.
“How was your day?” Mrs. Humpty asked as she took off her hat.
“The mice got away, and we couldn’t catch them!” Humpty announced. “I took my nap on the floor and ate cookies before lunch!”
“What?” Mrs. Dumpty said, turning a horrified look on Cory. “Did he say mice?”
Cory nodded. “I told him about my pet mice the last time I was here and he wanted to see them. I tried to ask you if it was all right, but you were so busy. I brought them today and—”
“You brought mice into my house and let them loose?” Mrs. Dumpty shrieked. “What were you thinking?”
“Humpty was being very careful with them until—”
“That’s enough!” the woman shouted. “Get out of my house! You are never coming back here again! And I thought you were such a good babysitter!”
Cory started toward the door, then hesitated, wondering if she should apologize or say anything at all.
The woman took a step closer. “I am not going to pay you, either, if that’s what you’re waiting for. Go on. Leave!” She started making shooing motions with her hands, chasing Cory out the door. “In fact, I’m going to send you a bill for the exterminator.”
Mrs. Humpty was closing the door when Cory heard Humpty ask, “What’s an exterminator, Mama?”
Without the box and the mice to weigh her down, Cory was able to fly to the park across the street from Sprats’, so she arrived there earlier than she’d expected. She was sitting on a bench, feeling bad about the mice, when she saw Priscilla Hood get off the pedal-bus with Mary Lambkin.
“Cory!” Priscilla called. Grinning, she hurried over to the bench where Cory was seated, while Mary followed behind. “This is Mary Lambkin, my friend that I wanted you to meet,” said Priscilla. “Mary, this is Cory.”
“Mary and I have met,” said Cory, nodding to Priscilla’s friend. After what had happened at the Dumpty’s house, she wasn’t feeling very sociable.
“Right!” said Mary. “Last night. You were sitting with Johnny Blue. You left so suddenly that I didn’t really get to talk to you. Last night was such a disappointment! Johnny was an old friend of mine,” she told Priscilla. “He was very shy when he was young and I see he hasn’t changed. I’d hoped I might be able to fan some flames, but there wasn’t even a spark. I was so disappointed!”
“I bet Cory could help you, too,” said Priscilla.
“I hope so!” Mary said. “I really want to meet someone special, but I’m way too busy to meet someone on my own. How much do you charge?”
“I’m not sure I’m taking on any more clients right now,” said Cory.
“Don’t be silly. I’ll pay whatever Priscilla is paying you. Twice if necessary. Here’s my leaf. Call me when you’re ready to talk.”
While the two girls walked away, Cory glanced down at the leaf Mary had left in her hand. Written on the leaf were Mary’s name and messaging address. “I don’t know about this,” Cory said with a sigh. She had yet to help anyone find a match they really liked. Should she really take on more people?
When Cory returned home that evening, she found a message from Gladys waiting for her.
Cory,
The strangest thing just happened. I was coming home from work when a woman followed me to my front door like she’d been waiting for me. She wouldn’t give me her name, but she insisted on telling me what a bad businessperson you are, and that you do terrible work. She told me that you neglect the children you babysit, you let them eat whatever they want, make them sleep on the floor, and play with vermin that you bring to the house. I wish you could have heard the way I told her off! I said that none of that was true and that you had helped me out when I really needed it. I told her that you were great with children and that my brood, who hate most babysitters, can’t wait to have you back. I don’t want to upset you, but I thought you should know about this crazy woman.
Best wishes,
Gladys
“I bet it was that woman, Mary Mary,” Cory said to Noodles, except the woodchuck wasn’t there. “Noodles!” she called, peeking in the kitchen. He wasn’t there either, nor was he in her bedroom, or her uncle’s room, or anywhere else in the house. “Did I take him out this morning and forget to bring him back in?” she wondered, although she was sure she’d put him in her room. After checking the house one last time, Cory stepped out the back door, locking it behind her.
“Noodles!” she called as she checked the yard, looking behind every shrub and around the far side of the garden shed where he’d been digging a hole.
When Cory couldn’t find Noodles in the yard, she began to search the neighborhood. She met Wanita walking her boar and Felice with her sister, Selene, and told them that her woodchuck was missing. They offered to watch for him on their walks. Cory scoured the three blocks around her uncle’s house, including the park across the street. She did spot a woodchuck in a small meadow, but it was much bigger than Noodles and didn’t look anything like him. The sun was starting to set when the rain began, but Cory didn’t give up until it was almost too dark to see.
When Cory returned home, she noticed that the porch light was on; her uncle was home. Worried about Noodles, she was anxious to talk to Micah and might not have noticed the parchment half hidden under the sea-grass mat if the breeze hadn’t made the end flutter. Cory picked it up and discovered that it was a note written in the same
sprawling script as the previous notes.
Cory sucked in her breath as she finally understood what had really happened. Noodles hadn’t wandered off. The Tooth Fairy Guild had taken him!
Chapter 18
Before she got dressed the next morning, Cory sent a message to Johnny Blue.
The Tooth Fairy Guild kidnapped Noodles.
Cory
When she shuffled into the kitchen, her uncle said, “Here’s something I never thought I’d see.”
“What?” Cory asked, glancing down at her robe and slippers. “I look like this every morning.”
“Not you,” said Micah. He held up a message he’d plucked from the basket. “This! It’s a message for you from Santa Claus.”
Cory snatched the message from his hand and read it out loud.
Corialis Feathering,
If you have the time today, I’d be interested in seeing that house you mentioned.
Ho, Ho, Ho,
Santa Claus
Cory was still half asleep after staying up most of the night, worrying about Noodles. “Of course he would pick today,” she said, yawning.
Micah reread the note over her shoulder. “What house is he talking about?”
“Suzy’s. I guess I should ask her if we can come by.”
“Good idea,” said her uncle. “Although I can’t imagine that anyone would mind a visit from Santa.”
It took Cory just a minute to write the note.
Suzy,
If it is convenient for you, I would like to bring Santa Claus around to see your house this morning. He needs a vacation property and I think yours would be perfect for him.
Cory
She was surprised by how quickly Suzy wrote back.
“I’ll be right back,” she told her uncle, yawning again. “I’m going to get dressed before I eat. Johnny should be stopping by soon.”
“Is he the only one the FLEA sends?” her uncle asked.