Friday, March 27, 2020

Saving Grace


Grace had pulled the cat out of the baby pool once. She also got a water gun out of the bottom of the pool. So, James called her ‘Saving Grace’, which he heard somewhere. He thought of her as the bravest, most smart person in the world, because she knew how to swim underwater. 

He would never get his head wet. Ever. No matter what. But he would swim, super carefully. With a life vest. But really, he would rather just dip his feet in the pool than swim.
But Grace had GOGGLES.
If James had goggles, he KNEW he could swim underwater.
But where would he find some?
Buying was out of the question, because he had no money.
His birthday was in December. So was Christmas. It was long past Easter.
Then he had an idea.
“Grace! Grace?”
He ran shouting into the living room. No Grace. Grace’s room. Nope.
She wasn’t anywhere else. That left the pool. He sighed, then went out to the back deck. Of course. She was in the pool.
“Grace? Can I- do you- happen to have an extra pair of goggles?”
She looked at him funny for a minute. Then she laughed.
“No, James, I don’t. What makes you want goggles so much? You don’t actually like swimming very much. But I’ll ask April if she has any, OK?”
“OK.”
James went into the front yard. There he saw it. The sign.
                     
LEMONADE THIS WAYà
 
                                                                                                       
  




He followed it to Louis and Lois’s house. The twins were in the driveway, sitting at a card table.
“hi guys. What’re you doing?” he asked.
“selling lemonade! Want to help?”
Lois’s burnt orange curls were held back with blue headband. Louis’s brown hair was waving around wildly in the wind. (it was a very windy day).
James grinned.
“Sure!”
Mrs. Mint came out with a pitcher of lemonade.
“hi there, James! Here’s your lemonade, guys. Have fu-un!”
Then she was gone. She was like that.
And so, the lemonade sale began.