Best Friends (12 page)

This is Camden Falls, Massachusetts, on the first day of summer. The weather is warm and sultry, and in the afternoon, storm clouds will gather and the wind will pick up and thunder will roll, sending Min Read's dog, Daisy Dear, under the nearest bed. But for now, the sky is clear and there is no wind to rustle leaves or rattle doors.

It is ten o'clock in the morning, and Camden Falls is a busy place. Come look at Main Street. Here is Sincerely Yours, the newest store in town. In the kitchen, Mrs. Walter is stirring the mixture that will coat a batch of candy apples. In the front of the store, Mr. Walter is working the cash register, and Robby Edwards, wearing his new Sincerely Yours T-shirt, is helping a customer put together a birthday basket. Down the block at Needle and Thread, Flora Northrop, who has now lived in Camden Falls for an entire year, is helping a class of eight-year-olds make felt change purses in the shape of turtles. Olivia Walter is on a couch, reading a book about ecosystems. Ruby Northrop is not at the store because she's playing at her friend Lacey's house.

If you are a visitor to Camden Falls, these might seem like small things and Camden Falls a very ordinary place. But everywhere extraordinary things are happening, if you know what to look for. For instance, next to Plaza Drugs another new store will soon open: The Marquis Diner. A family named Nelson has moved here from Boston to make a new life for themselves in a small town. Now step into Time and Again and see the man, the one in the wheelchair, working at the information desk. That's Sonny Sutphin, and this is the first job he has held in a very long time. Most people in town were surprised to find out how much about books and literature Sonny knew — enough to be given this particular job. For Sonny, having a job to go to every day is momentous. He feels as though he has spent the last few decades underwater, but now he is rising and rising toward the surface and can finally make out the sky and sun above.

“Hello, Sonny,” says a customer.

“Hello!” he replies. “Nice to see you. Can I help you with something?”

“I need four copies of
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
, by Robert O'Brien, and four copies of
The Saturdays
, by Elizabeth Enright.”

“Four of each? That's a lot.”

The customer nods. “I know.”

“I think we have one or two of each,” says Sonny, checking the computer, “but not four. Have you tried Cover to Cover? They might have more.”

“I'll go there next.”

Sonny directs the customer to the children's section of the store, taking great pleasure in this small task.

Now walk outside of town, far into the country surrounding Camden Falls. Turn onto the gravel drive and approach the plain house at the end, the one that looks careworn and cared for at the same time. It belongs to the Shermans, who have had a most momentous year. Mrs. Sherman isn't at home. She's on a job interview, and if she gets the job (which she isn't sure about at all), the Shermans' lives will become much more comfortable.

On this warm day, Nikki and her little sister, Mae, are in the dusty yard, throwing an old tennis ball for their dog, Paw-Paw.

“He's good about catching it but not very good about bringing it back,” observes Mae.

“That's okay. He's having fun,” says Nikki, and she throws the ball again. It lands in the bushes at the edge of their property, and Paw-Paw dashes to the bushes, then skids to a halt and looks helplessly at Nikki and Mae. Where did his ball go?

“I'll find it,” says Mae.

Inside, their older brother, Tobias, has an hour before he needs to leave for one of his part-time jobs. He reaches for the TV remote, then withdraws his hand and heads for the kitchen instead. He sits down at the table, turns on the computer, and finds the Web site for the small college to which he has hastily and secretly applied.

Now walk back to town and turn onto Aiken Avenue. In the block just north of Dodds Lane are the Row Houses, where two small but momentous things are happening. Look first in the backyard of the second house from the left. There's Mr. Willet. He's sitting at his picnic table, leafing through a packet of materials from Three Oaks, where his wife now resides. He finds the pamphlet describing the apartments available for independent living and tries to imagine himself in a two-bedroom, which is what he would like. If he lived in one, he would be just minutes away from his wife.

Mr. Willet sighs. He removes his glasses and gazes around his yard. He can't believe he's thinking of leaving this place, his home for so many years. But he didn't realize how heart-wrenchingly difficult it would feel to be separated from Mary Lou, and he knows he can't live this way for much longer.

Four houses away, Mr. Pennington is lost in thought. He's standing in his living room, his hand resting on his trumpet case, and thinking that it might be time to ask Min Read out to dinner again, just the two of them. Would she like to go to Fig Tree? “What do you think, Jacques?” he asks the old cocker spaniel, and Jacques thumps his tail on the floor.

Now leave the Row Houses behind, take a stroll along shady streets, turn up a flagstone walk, and peek in another window. Someone is very busy at a desk in the study. This person, the one who was a customer at Time and Again an hour ago, has arranged four mailing envelopes on the desk, and placed one copy of
The Saturdays
and one copy of
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
on each envelope. On top of each stack of books a letter is now placed. The letter informs the recipient that these titles are the first selection in a secret summer book club, and that every few weeks until school starts again, another selection will arrive. The sender of the letter hopes the recipient will enjoy the books and the conversations and activities they spark. The sender does not sign any of the letters.

Come closer and take a good look in the study. The person at the desk is busy and won't notice you. Watch as each envelope is stuffed with the books and letter. Now watch as the person writes a name on each envelope: Flora, Ruby, Olivia, Nikki.

The person seated at the desk smiles and thinks about the Camden Falls summer that stretches ahead.

Q: Who was your best friend growing up? What were some of the things you'd do together?

A: My best friend was Beth McKeever. We met when we were four years old — and we're still friends! When we were growing up, we lived on the same street, and we spent tons of time together. In fact, half of the entries in the diary my mother kept for me say that either Beth spent the night at our house or I spent the night at hers. We invented clubs, played outdoors with the other kids in the neighborhood, watched Soupy Sales and
The Mickey Mouse Club
on television, and put on plays with my sister. When we were older, we went to the Jersey Shore, went shopping, learned how to sew, took long bike rides, and spent plenty of time on the telephone.

Q: In this book, Flora has trouble when her old best friend and her new best friend don't get along first). Have you ever been in that situation? Any advice for someone who is?

A: I haven't been specifically in Flora's situation, but I do know that introducing two friends can be tricky. It can go well — or one or both friends can experience a bit of jealousy, as Olivia and Annika did. The important thing to remember is that your friends are jealous because they like
you
so much, and they want to be certain they'll remain your friends.

Assure each of them that you have room for plenty of friends in your life, and tell them you want your friends to get to know each other as well as they know you. Your friendships may expand, but you hope to remain best friends (with both of them) forever.

Q: A lot of readers have asked what Flora's life back in her old town, with Annika, was like. How do you think that town was different from Camden Falls?

A: Flora's old town was bigger than Camden Falls, and there was less of a sense of community. Flora comments at one point that she didn't know the shopkeepers in her old home, as she does the shopkeepers on Main Street. However, Flora still remembers her home fondly. After all, she grew up there. She had friends there and knew her neighbors. But she didn't feel as connected to the community as she does to the Row House families, to Main Street, and to Camden Falls.

Q: What are some things you and your best friends do now?

A: Some of my best friends no longer live nearby so we don't get to see each other as often as we used to. We keep in touch via e-mail and the telephone.

When we do get together, we like to go out to dinner, go shopping, or maybe take a trip. One of my best friends these days is my sister. We talk on the phone a lot, and I love spending time with her family. We've gone to Disney World twice, we go to the theatre (we love musicals), and we especially like to play board games and word games. I do different things with different friends. One of my favorite pastimes is simply hanging out at my house — reading or talking on the porch, watching videos or doing arts and crafts with my friends and their kids. We're never at a loss for something to do!

Q: What's your favorite ‘best friend' memory?

A: I have so many memories from the years when Beth and I were neighbors that it's hard to choose one favorite, but we do have a lot of great Christmas memories. Every year on Christmas Eve day, we would get together and try to pass the long hours until Christmas Eve by making a large mural depicting a holiday scene. We drew the same scene year after year. I wonder where those murals are now.