Free The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall Page A

taking on.
    “We can get everything we need at Moose Market,” said Jane. “And this will give me a chance to get better at cooking. Rosalind showed me how to make a tuna noodle casserole once.”
    “I can cook, too,” said Jeffrey. “Some.”
    This was news. “Like what?”
    “Omelets and stuffed green peppers. Churchie’s been teaching me.”
    The sisters had never met a stuffed green pepper, but if Churchie made them, they must be delicious. So they added omelets and stuffed green peppers to Jane’s casserole, plus there were always sandwiches that even Skye could make, and spaghetti with sauce from a jar—with all those to choose from, they decided that meals would be no problem.
    Their rising confidence was stemmed by another phone call. Since this time it
was
Aunt Claire, Skye took the call and got the news. Aunt Claire’s ankle was severely sprained and she would need to be on crutches. This was a blow. But when Skye hung up and looked around at the anxious faces, she decided that if she wanted to be a successful OAP, she neededto rally her troops, not upset them. So she explained that although Aunt Claire had a bad sprain, a broken bone would have been far worse, and that if they were really organized and responsible, maybe Aunt Claire wouldn’t need to go home. Inspired, they began being responsible immediately. Jane rearranged the living room so that Aunt Claire would have her choice of comfortable places to rest, then collected wildflowers from the field across the street to put in jars. Jeffrey and Skye tackled the kitchen so energetically that it ended up cleaner than it had been before Jane started cooking. When Batty begged to help, Skye gave her a broom and told her to sweep the living room, and though not very much actual sweeping was done before the whole thing turned into a game of tug-on-the-broomstick with Hound, Jeffrey took over later to do it right while Skye gave the bathroom a quick go-over.
    When the house was spotless, everyone had worked so hard that Skye ordered them into their bathing suits for some enthusiastic diving and splashing in the ocean. They were cleaning up from that, and Skye was about to attack Batty’s wet curls with a brush, when Alec and Aunt Claire returned. The four children lined up to show off their good work, but as Alec half carried Aunt Claire into Birches, they could see that she wasn’t in an observant mood.
    “The medicine the doctors gave her for pain hasmade her a little goofy,” said Alec after he’d gotten her settled on the sofa, with her feet propped up and the crutches beside her.
    “ ‘Edelweiss, edelweiss,’ ” sang Aunt Claire in several different keys, “ ‘every morning you greet me.’ ”
    “Like I said, goofy. She’s been singing a lot.”
    “She never sings,” protested Skye. She wasn’t ready for this. The crutches and the poor ankle—encased in yards of bandages, tape,
and
a white plastic boot—were bad enough, but if Aunt Claire had lost her mind, she was going to be difficult to care for.
    “ ‘Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.’ ”
    “That’s from
The Sound of Music
,” said Jane, then started to hum along, in yet another key.
    Batty covered her ears and Jeffrey winced.
    Skye was less delicate. “Jane, be quiet,” she said, and Jane was.
    Aunt Claire now moved on to “Do-Re-Mi,” which sounded awful enough to make Hound abandon his exploration of the crutches.
    “She should fall asleep soon,” said Alec. “And then the singing will stop.”
    Skye hoped so. “Thank you for taking care of her. We’ll be grateful forever.”
    “Well, it was Hoover’s fault and Hoover is my responsibility, whether he agrees or not.” Alec rubbed his beard worriedly. “So now what should I do for youkids? You can’t take care of your aunt all by yourselves. We need to call someone—your father?”
    “Call Daddy? You can’t do that!” Jane was appalled. “You’d wreck his