Pepperoni and the Flowers

 

Trials of Mimi Havfun

A Children's Series by R. Renée Bembry

Book Two

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Chapter One - Candie Deserves a Treat

Streaming sweat slid from Mimi’s sweltering face as disappearing fog cleared the way for beaming sunrays to shine down on her backyard. The hour hand had moved from morning to afternoon since she and Candie had begun their daily dog training session. Determined not to let even the hottest sun overpower her decision to teach Candie a few more tricks, Mimi stood beneath a shading pepper tree and ordered the dog to play dead.

Following Mimi’s instructions, Candie lay her beagle body down in tall fescue grass. She closed her eyes and held her torso stiff like a log. Both the girl and the dog actually knew this trick was now a cinch for Candie who had gotten it down pat weeks ago. Still, Mimi believed that mixing old tricks with new ones kept Candie feeling good about her progress.

“Okay, girl, now do some kangaroo hops,” instructed Mimi.

Hopping on hind legs like a kangaroo might have been a trick that came easy for some dogs but it was not exactly one of Candie’s specialties. Her short beagle legs were several times smaller than kangaroo legs and she did not have flat kangaroo feet. Nevertheless, not having kangaroo legs and feet never prevented Candie from acting like the best kangaroo she could be. She always showed determination when Mimi asked her to do something and her commitment to her master always spurred her to find ways to complete a task.

Without another word from Mimi, Candie stood up like a human. Her front paws pulled away from her body as if she were reaching to shake someone’s hands. She looked like a pogo sticker trying to keep her balance as her clawed back paws bounced around the yard. While she bounced, her pink tongue swung across her teeth and her ears flapped above her head like bat wings.

“You’re the best kangaroo bouncing dog in this great big ‘ol world,” commended Mimi about thirty jumps later. “I think you deserve a special treat!”

Proud of her performance, Candie returned her front paws to the ground. She tilted her head side to side, profusely wagged her tail, and screeched high-pitched beagle barks.

“Let’s go tell Mom and Dad,” prompted Mimi. Her beaded braids crashed together like click-clack knockers as she skipped into the house where Mr. and Mrs. Havfun were movie watching in a drape drawn living room. The coffee table held a pitcher of icy lemonade, buttered popcorn, and chocolate raisin drops. Reclining chairs rose the moviegoers’ feet so high their slanted bodies looked like human letter vees.

Mimi’s skipping feet came to a halt as her eager fingers reached over and tapped Mrs. Havfun’s right shoulder. “Can I go to the pet store?” she whispered.

“Huh? What was that?” simpered Mrs. Havfun who was too engrossed in the movie to make sense of Mimi’s question. Her dark marble eyes, captivated by the flick, never left the television screen.

“I want to go to the pet store!” Mimi repeated in a louder voice.

Still eluding the interruption, Mrs. Havfun rustled to discern Mimi’s statement, all the while reminding herself of the girl’s propensity to develop urgent needs while her parents engaged in relaxing pastimes.

Oblivious as to why her mom had not answered yet, Mimi inquired once more. This time she spoke so loudly her voice competed with the sound of the woofers and tweeters in the television speakers.

“Mimi… You don’t have to yell,” scolded Mrs. Havfun. Her heels lowered the foot lounger as she turned to address her daughter.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I just wanted to know if I could go to the pet store,” explained Mimi.

“What’s at the pet store?” insisted Mrs. Havfun leaning toward the coffee table. Her golden fingers curved around an icy glass of lemonade, gripping it like eagle talons wrapping a tree branch.

“Candie deserves a special treat for doing such a great job learning her newest tricks.”

“What kind of treat did you have in mind?” Mrs. Havfun inquired through lemonade sips.

“I don’t know,” admitted Mimi lifting and lowering her shoulders. “But she could use a new bone.”

“All right already,” bellowed Mr. Havfun. His slender torso shifted about in his recliner as he reached across his wife’s lap for the TV remote. “All this distracting chatter is preventing me from enjoying the movie. I need to blast the volume so that it can drown out the two of your voices,” he chuckled.

“Honey, Mimi wants to go to the pet store,” relayed Mrs. Havfun as if her husband had not been sitting in the room listening to the entire conversation or complaining about their chattiness.

“Just tell me one thing, Mimi,” he prompted. “Do you have any money?”

“I have three dollars and some change in my pocket,” boasted Mimi. As she talked, her fingers dug into her pants pocket to caress the coins and dollar bills.

“Goodie, goodie,” teased Mr. Havfun. “At least I won’t need to take out my wallet this time.”

“Daddy," giggled Mimi even though she and her mom would gladly agree that Mr. Havfun frequently showed relief when their shopping did not involve his wallet.

“I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be able to go to the pet store,” concluded Mrs. Havfun. “Just be sure to come straight home afterward.”

“And don’t be too long,” inserted Mr. Havfun.

“Okay,” replied Mimi, “but first I’ll take a drink of that delicious looking lemonade,” she added scurrying to the kitchen for a glass.

Stepping outside into the blaring sun again, Mimi was happy she had paused for a refreshing drink of lemonade. Realizing Candie needed to quench her thirst as well; she turned on the garden faucet and let the dog lick water from the hose. Afterwards, Candie trotted along as Mimi skipped down the sidewalk singing:

“Oh, what a beautiful day

Makes me want to play

Laugh and sing

Skip and jump

Oh, what a beautiful day… Even if it does feel like an oven!” she snickered as they came upon a yard blossoming with a zillion flowers.

When it came to flowers, Mimi could gladly attest that everyone knew her mom grew some of the nicest flowers in the neighborhood; and in fact, no kid could brag more about their mother’s green thumb than she could. Well—that is except for her brother Cito. Nonetheless, Mimi would never expect rough and tough Cito to brag and boast about flower growing abilities.

All the same, as proud as Mimi felt about her mother’s gardening abilities, she knew as well as anyone that not even her mom’s tallest finger could compete with Mrs. Gardener’s green thumb. When called on it, Mimi always had to admit that Mrs. Havfun had a good plant-growing thumb, but hers was only half as green as Mrs. Gardener’s was.

“What a beautiful sight!” she exclaimed as she and Candie stood in front of the house. Then, she hustled over to sniff a purple flower growing in a bed next to the gate. Afterward, she sniffed a pink flower followed by a red one.

“Oh... They smell so awesome!” she cried.

“Roof!” barked Candie smelling a few for herself.

“Look at these sunflowers! They are almost as tall as Mommy is. I sure would like to eat some of their seeds when they ripen.”

Just then, the front door opened. A woman stepped onto the porch wearing a flowered dress that swept the ground like a wedding gown and a wide brimmed hat garnished with silk flowers. The patio echoed as her heels tramped across the concrete flooring.

“And what may I ask are you doing, young lady?” demanded the woman.

“I was just looking at the pretty flowers,” said Mimi straightening her stance.

“Just looking?”

“Oh, and smelling too,” admitted Mimi—only Mrs. Gardener could not understand her because Candie started barking.

“Is that your dog?” asked Mrs. Gardener throwing her voice down the stairs.

“Her name is Candie,” shouted Mimi.

“Well maybe she can show how sweet she is by not barking up a storm in my front yard.”

At times, it was hard to believe that Candie, considering the itty-bitty thing she was, could cause such ruckus when she barked. Nonetheless, as soon as Mimi told her to be quiet, she zippered her snout and heeled next to her master.

“Looks like you have her trained pretty well,” noted Mrs. Gardener.

“She’s a fast learner,” bragged Mimi. “That’s why I’m taking her to the pet store to buy a special treat.”

“That’s nice,” concurred Mrs. Gardener. “I suppose dog training is your hobby?”

“I guess so,” wondered Mimi who had never before thought of dog training as a hobby.

“Well, I suppose you could say gardening is my hobby,” disclosed Mrs. Gardner. “It keeps me busy and it keeps my yard looking nice. But you should know these flowers are not free to the public.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means this is private property. I don’t allow picking or touching my flora.”

“My Mom doesn’t like anyone messing with her flowers either,” confided Mimi. “But is it okay if I smell yours like I do hers?”

“I’m sure I don’t see any harm in that,” tittered Mrs. Gardener.

Mimi leaned over and sucked in a whiff of orange petals she had been about to smell when Mrs. Gardener opened the door.

“Do you know the names of any of your mother’s plants?” asked Mrs. Gardener.

“Only a few,” admitted Mimi.

“Does she have any like the ones you just smelled?”

“Not a one—but it would be nice if she did.”

“Well, those are zinnias. If you’d like her to grow some tell her to get zinnias.”

“Zinnias,” repeated Mimi.

“That’s right. The red ones and the pink ones behind the ones you sniffed are zinnias as well.”

“Zinnias come in different colors?”

“You bet cha!” chuckled Mrs. Gardener. Enjoying her botany talk with Mimi, she pointed out another group of flowers on the far side of the yard. “The yellow ones over there are tulips,” she said directing a finger at the long stemmed petals. “They’re my favorites.”

“I like yellow ones best too,” said Mimi. “It doesn’t matter what kind they are. I just like them because they’re yellow.”

“Well zinnias come in yellow too,” informed Mrs. Gardener.

“Do you know what I like best about your garden?” quizzed Mimi.

“What’s that?”

“The colors are spread out like a mixed up rainbow.”

“I suppose I can agree with you on that, and what a lovely way to describe my flora. I just realized you are Mr. and Mrs. Havfun’s girl, aren’t you?”

“My name’s Mimi.”

“Well, Mimi, you can call me…”

“You don’t have to tell me. A lot of kids call you the flower lady but we all know your name is really Mrs. Gardener.”

“Well you’re a nice girl, Miss Mimi. Yes indeed…looking all grown up. I’m sure your parents must be mighty proud of you.”

“I’d better get going,” said Mimi. “Thanks for letting me smell your flowers.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” assured Mrs. Gardener as Mimi and Candie strolled away.

Continue to Chapter Two...