Icing on the Cake (4 page)

“It's so not fair!” she said with her mouth full, taking another big lick.

“Hey! No eating the order! I don't have any extra frosting,” Lexi said, snatching the cupcake out of Jenna's hands.

“Sorry, Lex,” Jenna moped. “When I'm stressed, I eat.”

“Is it really so bad?” Sadie asked. “I mean, a new house sounds pretty cool.”

“It's not the house, it's who's in it,” Jenna replied. “Leo.”

“I thought you said he drove you to the dog shelter so you could do your community friends project,” Delaney reminded her. “That was nice of him.”

“And those photos you posted of that puppy on Instagram were adorable,” Sadie pointed out. “What did you say her name was?”

“
Dul-say
,” Jenna pronounced it for them. “Oh, and I also promised Rescue Rover we'd make cupcakes for their grand opening this weekend.”

“What?” Kylie gasped. “How many?” She flipped through their order book. “We're maxed out this weekend!”

“Oops, I guess I got so upset over the whole house thing that I forgot to put it in the order book and tell you guys.”

Kylie shook her head. “Jenna, you can't make promises without checking with us.”

“I know! I know!” Jenna cried. “But this is a canine cupcake emergency!”

“How many?” Lexi said, piping a red rose on a cupcake for an anniversary order. “Are we talking a dozen…or twelve dozen?”

“Well, they do expect a big crowd,” Jenna said softly. “And then there are the cupcakes that the dogs can eat…”

“Whoa! You need cupcakes for dogs too?” Kylie said. “That's a lot of work in just three days.”

“But doable!” Jenna tried to convince her. “We've had crazier deadlines before.” She took out her phone and held up a photo she had snapped of Dulce. “Can you honestly say no to this sweet face?”

“I'm the one who has to decorate them. Do I get a say?” Lexi asked. She wiped a dot of sweat off her brow and left a streak of red frosting in its place.

Jenna pouted and made puppy-dog eyes at Lexi. “Woof, woof!” she barked. “Come on, Lex!”

“Fine…just don't lick me!” Lexi giggled. “Down, girl, down!” She patted Jenna on the head.

Sadie took a pen and paper and started making a list. “We'll need bananas, whole wheat flour, honey—what else do dogs like?”

“Peanut butter,” Lexi said. “My dog is nuts about peanut butter.”

Sadie added “PB” to their grocery list. “Anything else?”

“Better put down six dozen more eggs and another bottle of vanilla,” Jenna pointed out. “Just to be sure.”

“I think we should do minis for the dogs and full-size for the people,” Kylie said. “Maybe build a bone sculpture out of cupcakes?” She printed out several photos of dog breeds off her laptop and handed them to Lexi. “Think you can make these out of fondant?” she asked.

Lexi nodded. “Totally. Delaney can do the bodies and I'll do the faces. Sadie, can you do some dog bones and bowls out of fondant?”

“Aye-aye!” Sadie saluted.

“You see, there's nothing PLC can't do with a little teamwork.” Jenna smiled. It was the happiest she'd felt since the dreadful news of her mom's engagement. Maybe Ms. Heller was right; giving back to the community really did make you feel great.

In fact, she felt a pun coming on…

“I hate to
hound
you with a last-minute order,” she joked. “But I know nothing is too
ruff
for PLC to handle.”

First thing Saturday morning, Kylie and Jenna loaded large boxes filled with cupcakes and pupcakes into the trunk and the back of Leo's car to deliver to the dog shelter. The other girls agreed they would make the rest of the deliveries for the day with Sadie's brothers. When they pulled up to Rescue Rover, Lucky and Dulce greeted them at the door.

“
Hola, perrita!
” Jenna said as the little dog danced around her ankles. “Meet my friend Kylie.”

“Aw, she's so cute!” Kylie exclaimed. “I hope you like pupcakes, puppy.”

“All our guests do,” Lucky said, motioning to a pack of dogs running around a giant exercise pen. “That's Frito, that's Lulu, that's Milkbone, that's Curly, that's Romeo…and that huge Great Dane there is Trixie.”

“And this is Dulce,” Jenna said, kneeling down. “Isn't she delicious?”

Once in her arms, the tiny dog settled her head on Jenna's shoulder, hiding beneath her dark brown hair and nuzzling her neck.

“She really loves you, Jenna,” Kylie said.

“What's not to love?” Jenna joked. “Besides, I put a dab of vanilla behind each ear as perfume.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “I never know when you're joking or being serious!”

“That makes two of us,” Leo chimed in. “Maybe you can help me decipher the mysterious Miss Medina?”

Kylie laughed. “Sounds like a case for Scotland Yard…”

Great, thought Jenna, just what I need. Leo cozying up to my best friend to brainwash her too!

“Do you like Sherlock Holmes mysteries?” Leo asked.

“Are you kidding?
The
House
of
Fear
is one of my faves!”

“But what about
Sherlock
Holmes
and
the
Voice
of
Terror
?” Leo asked.

“Classic!” Kylie exclaimed.

Enough was enough. The last thing Jenna needed was for Kylie to start comparing old scary movies with Leo! “No time for small talk,” she said, tugging Kylie by the arm and Dulce by her leash. “Gotta go set up for the fido fiesta!”

They unpacked the boxes of mini pupcakes and began sticking them with peanut butter to a giant Styrofoam bone that Lexi had sculpted. “
Perfecto!
” Jenna remarked. “Maybe PLC should consider adding more ‘pawstries' to our menu.”

Kylie laughed. “I can see it now: ‘Make no bones about it: PLC's gone to the dogs!' Honestly, I think dogs would be easier to please than some of our clients.”

She opened a box and checked that all the intricate fondant dog toppers on the cupcakes were in good shape. “So far, no crushed cocker spaniels or ruined Rottweilers…”

“And the terriers look terrific!” Jenna chimed in.

Kylie delicately placed a few cupcakes on a silver platter. “Do you think our doggies need doilies? Or is that too fancy?”

“I think we should put them on white paper napkins to look like wee-wee pads,” Jenna chuckled.

“That would be really funny!” Kylie agreed. “I think I saw some with the sandwiches out front.” She went to search, leaving Jenna with Dulce and her puppy playmates.

“Your family is bigger than mine,” Jenna observed, watching Dulce run with the pack in circles. She noticed that Dulce often got edged out of the group and left behind—the same way Jenna did in the Medina clan. Her mother was with Leo; Ricky and Manny were a duo; Gabby and Marisol stuck together like glue. That always left her out in the cold. Just like Dulce, she was always fighting to maintain her place in the circle.

She stepped in and scooped up the little puppy before she could get trampled again. “I know how you feel, girl,” she said, stroking Dulce's furry head. “Nobody pays much attention to you. But I will. I even brought you a present.” She sat down on the floor and pulled a chew toy out of her pocket. It was shaped like a cupcake. She tossed it high in the air and called, “Fetch!” Dulce scampered after it.

Just then, she heard a loud noise and lots of excited barks behind her. The entire display of pupcakes went crashing to the floor as Trixie pounced on it.

“Wait! No!” Jenna screamed. But it was too late; the dogs were devouring the pupcakes, and it was all she could do to wrestle the Styrofoam bone away before that was in shreds. Kylie, Leo, and Lucky came running.

“Oh, no! The pupcakes!” Kylie cried.

“Looks like Miss Trixie is up to her old tricks,” Lucky said. “She's a master at getting the latch on the pen gate open. I guess she smelled your treats and couldn't wait to have a taste.”

Jenna stared in disbelief: all that was left of their pupcake sculpture was a pile of crumbs. Dulce hopped into the center of the mob and nabbed a few.

“All our hard work,” Jenna sighed. “Gobbled up before anyone got to see it.”

“Doggone dogs,” Leo said, trying to brighten the mood. “Where are their manners? Don't they know you wait to eat until all the guests have arrived?”

“Well, at least we have plenty of beautiful cupcakes left for the people coming,” Lucky said. “Save me a vanilla Maltese one—I'm going to open the doors. It's noon!”

The afternoon flew by with lots of praise for PLC's cupcakes and lots of adoptions for the dogs at Rescue Rover. Jenna wanted Dulce to find a good, loving family, but she secretly hoped no one would take her away. By 4 p.m., most of the crowd had cleared out, and the tiny Havanese puppy remained in her crate. Jenna heaved a sigh of relief.

“I guess we're meant to be together for a little longer,” she said, reaching in to tickle the puppy's tummy. “I'll come back and visit you in a few days, I promise.”

•••

Jenna's report was due Monday morning, and she decided, as Lucky had advised, to let the dogs do the talking. She created an iMovie filled with photos and videos of the Rescue Rover residents. There was even Trixie gobbling up the pupcake sculpture! Jenna's voice narrated the movie as it played on the classroom SMART Board.

“Rescue Rover is run by Lucille ‘Lucky' Gilligan, a lady who gives her heart and soul to saving dogs who have been abused, abandoned, and otherwise forgotten. Rescue Rover is trying to recruit dozens of volunteers from the Connecticut community and to raise funds for everything from training to treats. Lucky's goal is to find every pet at her shelter a loving home.”

The last image was a photo Leo had snapped of Jenna snuggling Dulce. “Won't you reach out to a puppy in need? Rescue Rover needs you!” Jenna concluded. The class applauded.

“That was a very moving and heartfelt presentation, Jenna,” Ms. Heller commended her. “I can see you really spent a lot of time researching your cause and becoming involved in it.”

“Oh, I am.” Jenna nodded. “In fact, I'm going back today to visit my puppy.”

“I bet it's supersized like her,” Meredith muttered under her breath.

Jenna ignored the nasty comment. It was what she did most of the time when Meredith tried to get a rise out of her. But then, she went too far.

“Is it that messy black-and-white thing in the video? What a mutt!” Meredith snickered. “My Fifi comes from a long line of purebred poodles. She's a show dog.”

Jenna gritted her teeth. No one—especially not Meredith—was going to call Dulce nasty names.

“If anyone is a messy mutt, it's not Dulce…” Jenna shot back.

Ms. Heller stepped between them. “I'm sure she's a lovely dog. Meredith, kindly keep your opinions to yourself.”

“Just sayin'…” Meredith smiled innocently.

“Don't let her ruffle your fur,” Ms. Heller whispered to Jenna. “Dulce is absolutely precious.”

•••

After social studies, Jenna caught up with Kylie in the hallway.

“I know that look,” Kylie said, observing the scowl on Jenna's face. “What did Meredith Mitchell do now?”

“She said some totally mean things about Dulce.”

“Meredith is picking on an innocent little puppy?” Kylie had dealt with Meredith's mean ways all through fourth grade, and had hoped she'd learned her lesson and stopped bullying. “I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Meredith is always going to have a big mouth.”

“Exactly!” Jenna exclaimed. “And if she does it again, it's gonna get ugly. No one messes with my puppy.”

Kylie laughed. “You sound like a fierce mommy protecting her young. I've never seen this side of you, Jenna.”

Just then, Rodney Higgins, Juliette's boyfriend and Blakely's visiting Shakespeare teacher, ran up to them.

“Girls, can I have a quick word?” he asked. He was looking around anxiously. “You haven't seen Ms. Dubois on this floor of the school, have you?”

Jenna raised an eyebrow. “I think she's teaching second-period drama to the fourth graders downstairs. Why?”

Rodney mopped his brow with a handkerchief. “Oh, phew! That's a relief. I need to ask you a very important favor.”

“If you want us to convince Juliette to do a different Shakespeare play next year, it's no-go,” Jenna said. “She's determined to do
Macbeth
—even though she says it's not your favorite.”

“I prefer
Julius
Caesar
—but that's not what I wanted your help with,” he continued. “Can you assure me I have your ultimate confidence?”

Kylie nodded. “If you're asking can we keep a secret…our lips are sealed.”

He ushered them into a quiet corner and pulled a small velvet box out of his jacket pocket.

“Is that what I think it is?” Kylie gasped. “A ring?”

“Oh, no…not another engagement!” Jenna groaned. “It's an epidemic! Wedding-itis!”

“I'm afraid so.” Rodney blushed. “And you're to blame! If it hadn't been for your fifth-grade Shakespeare class, we would never have met and fallen in love.”

Jenna remembered how Rodney and Juliette started off hating each other several months ago, fighting over which actor played the best Hamlet (Juliette thought it was Richard Burton; Rodney thought it was himself) and disagreeing over how to stage the fifth-grade performance of
Romeo
and
Juliet
. Then one day, as if a bolt of lightning struck them both, everything changed. They started calling each other “sweetheart” and “darling” and staring lovingly into each other's eyes. It was pretty sickening!

Jenna knew her mother and Leo has fallen for each other even quicker than that. Her
mami
called it “
amor
a
primer
vista
,” love at first sight. She insisted that she knew Leo was “The One” before he even spoke a single word. It seemed pretty crazy: how could someone know that in just one look?

But Kylie was a romantic: she believed that Rodney and Juliette, like Romeo and Juliet, were destined to be together, even when they hated each other's guts back in the fall. “We'd love to help, Mr. Higgins,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”

“I'd like to place an order for a few dozen cupcakes.” Rodney winked.