Honey Read online

  “Just for a little while, though, right?” asked Melody.

  “That was the original plan. But then that little while turned into a long while and —”

  “You left him there, Dad?”

  “He was in good hands. Better hands than mine would have been.”

  “But he must have been wondering where you were and what had happened to Mom,” said Melody.

  Her father looked at Bee-Bee again.

  “I wouldn’t have said anything, Henry,” Bee-Bee told him. “I gave you my word.”

  “I know, Bee-Bee, and I truly appreciate everything you’ve done, but I promised Melody I wouldn’t keep any more secrets from her.”

  “What are you talking about?” asked Melody. “What secret?”

  “A few weeks ago, this same kind friend called me up on the phone and told me she was moving here to Royal,” Melody’s father said.

  “Did she bring the dog with her?” asked Melody anxiously.

  Her father nodded. “He’s here.”

  Melody’s anxiety instantly turned to excitement. “Can we go see him? What’s his name?”

  “If it had been up to me, I would have picked something literary, like Tolstoy or Hemingway, but he was your mother’s dog and she wanted to name him after one of her favorite composers.”

  “Brahms?” guessed Melody, remembering the name written on the tape.

  “No,” said her father. “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.”

  Melody laughed. “That’s an awfully long name for a little puppy.”

  “That’s why we gave him a nickname,” said her father, handing Melody the blue box.

  Inside, between two squares of soft cotton, was a tarnished silver chain. Melody lifted it out of the box and read the name inscribed on the little heart-shaped pendant.

  “Mo.”

  Mo was not happy. Why had the tall woman felt the need to give him a bath that morning? What was so special about today that required that he be any cleaner than he’d been the day before? He hoped she would make it up to him later by cooking him something nice for supper. It was the least she could do after what he’d been through.

  Once he was sure the coast was clear, he crawled out from under the bed and went into the kitchen for a drink of water. When he was done, he lifted his nose and sniffed. The scent of new-cut grass was stronger than ever. Cocking his head to one side, he listened intently. Someone was coming.

  The door opened … and as soon as he saw the girl standing there, it all came rushing back to him. The large woman with her hair spread out on the pillow like a halo behind her, the thin man with glasses, and the small gray bundle on the bed.

  At least, it had looked gray to Mo. Of course, he thought. That’s who this girl was — the bundle, now standing before him, no longer small, but still smelling sweetly of new-cut grass. The light caught in her long yellow hair, and when she threw back her head and laughed, Mo’s breath quickened and his heart began to race. She opened her hand and there was the heart-shaped pendant, dangling from her fingers on the silver chain.

  Mo heard the jingle-jangle and knew where he was meant to be.

  The girl looked at him with wide eyes. “It’s you,” she whispered. Then she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.

  The phone call Bee-Bee Churchill had made that day at the Frosty Boy while the real estate agent waited outside had been to Melody’s father. She’d wanted to ask if it would be a problem for him if she and Mo came to live in Royal. It had been a long time since they’d spoken, and Henry Bishop admitted that he’d never told Melody about the dog because he thought it might upset her. Bee-Bee had promised to keep his secret.

  The only reason she had let Teeny Nelson visit Mo was because she knew Teeny wouldn’t have any way to make a connection between Melody and Mo. Later, when Teeny and Melody showed up at the Bee Hive together, and Teeny asked to see the dog again, Bee-Bee didn’t want to take any chances. She had promised Henry his secret was safe with her.

  Melody and her father were both grateful to Bee-Bee for taking such good care of Mo.

  “It was my pleasure,” she told them. “But now it’s time for him to go home.”

  “But he’s your dog,” said Melody.

  “Just for a little while,” said Bee-Bee. “That was the deal. Even Mo knows that. It’s clear from the way he’s looking at you, he’s been waiting for you to come and find him all along.”

  “Won’t you miss him?” Melody asked.

  “Sure I will. But he can come and visit anytime — I’ll be right here. And, to tell you the truth, I’ve always been more of a cat person.”

  Melody had an idea. “Mrs. James, the pharmacist’s sister, has a cat who just had a litter of kittens. Maybe you could have one of them.”

  “I might just take a walk over there later today and have a look,” said Bee-Bee.

  Melody’s father was staring at her.

  “It’s uncanny how much you look like your mother in that thing,” he said, pointing to her hair.

  In all the excitement, Melody had completely forgotten about the wig. While she went and put it back in the closet, Bee-Bee gathered up Mo’s things, and Melody’s father loaded her bike into Esmeralda’s trunk, tying it closed with a rope.

  “You’re a good boy, Mo,” Bee-Bee said, scratching him under the chin. “Come by whenever you like. I promise to make you chicken and dumplings and never to give you a bath again.”

  The next thing he knew, Mo was sitting in the backseat of the old white car. The thin man with glasses kept glancing in the rearview mirror at him and the little girl sang, “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine …” in a high clear voice as they headed down the road together toward home.

  #1: Silver Linings

  #2: Cherry Pie

  #3: Emerald City

  #4: Pink Frosting

  #5: Queen Anne’s Lace

  #6: Red Badge of Courage

  #7: Holy Moly!

  #8: Gingersnap

  #9: Shooting Star

  #10: Ectoplasmic Ooze

  #11: Maple Syrup

  #12: Daffodil

  #13: Hot Cocoa

  #14: Kitten Nose

  #15: Fancy Fingers

  #16: Cinnamon Sugar

  #17: Wintergreen

  #18: Whitecap

  #19: Moonlight

  #20: Royal Plum

  #21: Your Majesty

  #22: Glamourpuss

  #23: Blue Jay

  #24: Sunset

  #25: A Whisper of Smoke

  #26: Wild Berry Skittles

  #27: Watermelon

  #28: Ladybug

  #29: Tutti-Frutti

  #30: Sea Glass

  #31: Let’s Go, Kokomo!

  #32: Toasted Marshmallow

  #33: Rosy Cheeks

  #34: Starburst

  #35: Snow Angel

  #36: Pacific Ocean

  #37: Ripe Papaya

  #38: Pillow Fight

  #39: Root Beer Dum Dum

  #40: Cotton Candy

  #41: Slumber Party

  #42: Dandy-Lion

  #43: Confetti

  #44: Swimming Pool

  #45: Whipped Cream

  #46: Sweet Dreams

  #47: Pearly Gates

  #48: Icicle

  #49: Pink Lemonade

  #50: Love Bug

  #51: Grape Jelly

  #52: Queen of Hearts

  #53: Eureka!

  #54: Teeny’s Tutu

  #55: Surf’s Up!

  #56: April Showers

  #57: May Flowers

  #58: Red Licorice

  #59: Orange Marmalade

  #60: Seashell

  #61: Lemon Drop

  #62: Raspberry Jam

  #63: White Tulips

  #64: Banana Split

  #65: Pink Flamingo

  #66: Diamond Ring

  #67: String of Pearls

  #68: Cool as a Cucumber

  #69: Tidal Wave

  #70: R
ed Hots

  #71: Be Mine, Valentine

  #72: Fireworks

  #73: All That Glitters

  #74: Candy Apple

  #75: Wild Strawberries

  #76: Little Red Wagon

  #77: Christmas Tinsel

  #78: Candy Kiss

  #79: Pot of Gold

  #80: Snow Globe

  #81: Lucky Penny

  #82: Zippity Doo Dah

  #83: Sweet Potato

  #84: Fire Engine

  #85: Roses Are Red

  #86: Silver Bullet

  #87: Milk Dud

  #88: Midas Touch

  #89: Kaboom!

  #90: Velveeta

  #91: Tomato Soup

  #92: Brahms Intermezzo

  #93: Fuzzy Pink Slippers

  #94: Fireball

  #95: Creamsicle

  #96: Esmeralda

  #97: Orange You Glad to See Me?

  #98: Silver Heart

  #99: Annabelle’s Bubble

  #100: You Are My Sunshine

  #101: Honey

  There are many people who helped me with this story — Jim Fyfe, Frances Weeks, Nathaniel Abbott, Gabriel Abbott, Lucia Gratch, Abby Gaebel, Parrish Finn, Barrett Rollins — but there would be no HONEY were it not for my brilliant and patient editor, David Levithan. Thank you, David, for knowing when to leave me be and when to take me by the hand and lead me out of the darkness.

  — SW

  Sarah Weeks did extensive research for the making of this book, including making her own nail polish from scratch. She’s delighted to report that when she does school visits, the boys seem as eager to try polishing their nails as the girls.

  When not brainstorming names for new nail polish colors or painting her toenails to look like bumblebees, Sarah writes widely acclaimed novels, including Pie; So B. It; Oggie Cooder; Oggie Cooder, Party Animal; and As Simple as It Seems. She lives in New York and can be found on the Web at www.sarahweeks.com.

  Pie

  Oggie Cooder

  Oggie Cooder, Party Animal

  Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Weeks

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First edition, February 2015

  Cover illustration © 2015 by Mark Elliott

  Cover design by Sharismar Rodriguez

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-66281-9

  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 regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.