Tody on The Wishmonger, the Order of the Wish gets a new member and the kids get a hint of something sinister in Wishful!
Joey said, “Good thing we were here or my body guard might’ve killed you. We call him Crunch. Crunch help the gentleman out, please.”
“Oh, you must be Matthias, I’m so sorry,” Crunch leaned over the fountain wall and hoisted the old man out, setting him on his feet.
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“Don’t be. I probably needed a bath anyway,” Matthias chuckled, “I don’t think we’ve officially met.” The old man held out his hand to Joey who shook it.
“Pleased to meet you. That was a great you pulled the other night, stealing that coin from under their noses.” Joey said.
Matthias smiled, “Almost didn’t make it. I’m not as quick as I used to be.” Roger looked at his watch. It was nearly five thirty and the sun was beginning to sink.
“We’d better get home if we don’t want to answer a lot of tough questions. Remember we’ve agreed, we protect the fountain and keep it secret, okay?” Roger said, Thomas and Joey nodded vigorously.
“Sounds like you boys have joined the Order,” Matthias wrung out his hat.
Thomas grinned, “Yeah, you know about the order?”
“Know about it? I started it. See, here’s my badge,” he turned back the lapel of his coat to reveal a bronze medal about the size of a silver dollar pinned to the fabric. Roger and Joey recognized
it at once as the ‘W’ crest from the top of the key box.
“ Cool, I want one. See I told you guys badges were a good idea,” Thomas grinned.
“No sooner said than done my friend. We’ll just pop round to see Prunella on our way through town. I’m sure she must have a few spares in that collection of junk.” Matthias led the way and the group walked along talking quietly. The boys filled Matthias in on their most recent adventures and he listened attentively asking questions every now and then.
Prunella welcomed them with her usual enthusiasm when they knocked at the back door of the theater. She did have a box of badges and the boys each found a place to wear them out of sight. Matthias and Prunella gave them an impromptu induction including a long and complicated oath that Roger was sure Matthias was making up on the spot. It was almost dark before the boys left the the theater.
When they reached the town square Thomas said goodnight. Matthias walked him home and Roger and Joey pedaled home alone. As they reached the foot of Joey’s drive he noticed a flier stapled to a tree.
Roger stopped the bike and got off to check it out. Excitedly he grabbed the flier, “Look at this,” he said handing the flier to his friend.
Joey read it aloud, “Free to good home, three Cocker Spaniel puppies,” he glanced at the tree and back to the flier, “This was definitely not here earlier. All we need to do now is get the puppy and deliver it.”
Roger said, “I have an even better idea, I say we tuck this flier into Leslie’s locker and watch to see what happens.”
The next morning the boys made sure to get to school a little early. They found Leslie’s locker and shoved the folded flier through the vent in the top of the locker door, then hid around the corner. Leslie nearly fainted. She ran to the office, called her mother, checked out of school and was back before lunch with a new puppy. Roger and Joey agreed that they had never seen anyone happier.
After school the three new members of the order had planned to meet at the war memorial to plan their next wish. It was a toss up between Sammy Johnson’s wish for his little sister to make friends so she wouldn’t cry herself to sleep at night, and Cynthia Byer’s wish for a seeing eye dog for her granny. They had decided to focus on their original plan and make unselfish wishes, as these seemed to be the most likely to be fulfilled.
Roger and Joey left school together and made their way to town square where they waited on a bench near the memorial.
“I think we ought to branch out a little, we have already done one dog wish,”Joey said, “Besides, Sammy's sister is really cute, I could be here new friend!”
Roger thought it over, “We could do that. I'm game, although I heard that Sammy broke his last sister's collar bone, you might want to rethink that last part of your plan.”
“What was an accident, during football practice, which, in case you didn't notice, I do not attend.” Joey defended his idea.
Roger and Joey were so engaged in their conversation that it was a good two minutes before it fully registered with them that Thomas was standing behind the bench, waiting to speak to them. Roger was the first to look up, Crunch looked scared for the first time since preschool.
“You guys are gonna kill me,” he was visibly shaken.
Roger’s chest grew tight, “Why, what happened?” he asked quietly.
Thomas sighed, “I kind of told somebody,” he flinched.
“Told somebody what?” Joey asked.
“About this,” Thomas choked, “about the order.”
Roger leaped from the bench, “What!? Who?”
“Um, Leslie asked a bunch of questions about how I found out about my Dad the other day. I didn’t give anything away. Then she came around to show me her new puppy and it kind of slipped
out,” Thomas sat heavily on the bench, “Sorry guys, here.” He held out his badge.
Roger sat next to him. They were all silent for a moment.
“What do you think we should do?” Joey squinted at Roger.
“I’m not sure what my choices are,” he answered. Roger sat thinking until he realized that the other two were waiting for him to answer. It suddenly occurred to him that sometime in the last few days he had become a leader, “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do…first, Thomas put your badge away I don’t think this is the kind of club you get kicked out of. Second, where is she?”
A curly head popped out from behind the memorial, “Here I am,” Leslie had apparently been hiding behind them the whole time.
“Here I am, now where’s my badge?” she giggled.
Great! Giggling! As if it weren’t hard enough to keep a secret around here, now they had to deal with a giggling girl, “Hi, Leslie,” Roger said, “We were just about to discuss the next wish. I
guess we’d better induct you before we give you any confidential information.”
“Okay, where do I sign?” she was eager.
Maybe a little too eager, Roger thought. Maybe she’s a spy. Then she looked shyly at Thomas and giggled again. Suddenly it was all clear! She had a crush on Thomas and from what he could see, it
was mutual. Oh, well, it could be worse, “All right, raise your right hand and repeat after me.”
Following the induction the members of the order voted to move the meeting to Ike’s Ice cream Emporium. Over scoops of double chocolate, peppermint, French vanilla, and orange sherbet,
they discussed their next wish. Just as they were prepared to vote, they were interrupted by a wail. Ike, the proprietor, stood with his head in his hands, looking very distressed.
Leslie walked over, “Ike, is there something wrong?” she asked.
“No, no, nothing. I’m sorry to disturb you. You kids enjoy your ice cream.” A moment later Ike went into the back room and they could hear him having a heated conversation on the telephone.
Leslie turned out to be the most adventurous new member of the order when she walked behind the counter and pressed up against the wall leading into the kitchen where Ike was on the phone. Ice cream dripped uneaten onto the formica tabletop as the boys watched, holding their breath.
When Leslie returned to the table she wore a huge smile, “Scrap these wishes, these will work themselves out. I mean, Cynthia’s grandmother is already on the list to get a dog it’s only a matter of time. And I happen to know that Sammy’s sister just joined the pep squad.”
It seemed that having a girl had its advantages, including a built in connection to the information pipeline, “So then what do you suggest?” Roger asked.
“Well I just heard Ike talking to somebody about this place. It seems if he doesn’t get a new sewer line by next week the city will shut him down. If that happens he’ll be forced into foreclosure by the Wishful First Bank and Trust, that’s who he was talking to,” Leslie talked fast, “So what do you think?”
The boys looked at her blankly. They hadn’t considered adults having wishes. It was outside their experience, but somehow it made sense, “Why not?” Roger said with a shrug.
“Good enough for me, after all if Ike closes down where do we spend next Summer?” Joey said, “What do you think Thomas?”
Thomas looked uncertain, “You guys still want me to help?”
“Of course, now what do you think?” Roger asked.
Thomas smiled, “Yeah okay, I’m in!”
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