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“Not yet,” said Stevie, flagging down the waitress. “We were waiting for you.”

“Besides, Stevie couldn’t make up her mind,” Lisa added.

Stevie smiled and rubbed her hands together. “I have now,” she said gleefully. “Watch the master at work.”

When the waitress approached their table, she kept her eyes on Lisa and Carole, almost as if she were trying to avoid Stevie. Lisa ordered peppermint with hot fudge. Carole went with strawberry and whipped cream. “Hold the cherry, please.”

All eyes turned to Stevie, whose creations were legendary. Lisa and Carole were of the opinion that she ordered the most revolting combinations so that nobody would ever ask for a taste. Still, they had to admit she had elevated it to an art form. Stevie cleared her throat. “I’d like a scoop of rum raisin and a scoop of bubble gum. I want marshmallow fluff on the raisin, and pineapple sauce on the gum.” She put down the menu.

Looking relieved, the waitress turned to leave, but Stevie continued. “Of course, I’ll be needing a few other toppings, as well.” The woman stopped and sighed. Stevie paused for effect. “I’m thinking … whipped cream, Gummi Bears, and pistachios.”

The waitress swallowed hard. “Will that be all?”

“Hmmm, have I forgotten anything?” Stevie looked at her friends, her eyes twinkling. “Oh yes, of course, silly me! Chocolate sprinkles, and cover it all with cherry juice but,” she winked at Carole, “hold the cherry.” Stevie saw the waitress’s hand actually tremble as she wrote down the last of the order.

Lisa tried to suppress a fit of giggles. “You are going to drive that poor woman to a nervous breakdown.”

Stevie was about to reply when she saw Alex coming through the door. “Uh-oh.”

“What is it?” Carole asked, concerned.

“I forgot that I promised to meet my brothers at the mall.”

“Still haven’t figured out a present for your mom and dad?” Lisa asked sympathetically.

“Not even close,” Stevie said, discouraged. “The more we talk about it, the more we fight. It’s making me crazy.”

“I’m sure you’re not the only one,” Carole said, noticing the look of annoyance on Alex’s face.

“Stevie!” he snapped, stalking up to their table. “I’ve been waiting almost half an hour for you. Come on, the next bus is due any minute!”

“Hi, Alex,” Lisa said.

Alex acknowledged their presence with a distracted wave but kept his eyes on his sister. “Will you move it? We’re supposed to meet Chad and Michael at the pizza parlor.”

Stevie rose to her feet reluctantly. “Sorry, guys, duty calls.” She made a mock salute and started to leave.

“What about your sundae?” Lisa asked.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” She turned to her brother. “Meet me at the bus stop. I’ll be right out.”

“You better, because I’m not gonna ask them to hold the bus for you.”

As Alex left, Stevie hurried over to the waitress, who was now working behind the counter. “Excuse me, but have you started making my sundae yet?”

“No, I was saving that for last,” she said glumly. “In case you changed your mind.” She brightened suddenly. “Have you?”

“Not exactly. I’m afraid I have to cancel the order. Something came up.”

The waitress visibly cheered up further, looking like a death row inmate who had gotten a last-minute pardon. “Oh, what a shame.”

“Yeah, I know, but my friends will be staying.”

“Well that’s good, because I’m almost finished with theirs.” She topped off some pink ice cream and juicy-looking red strawberries with a generous squirt of whipped cream.

Stevie suddenly had a brainstorm. She rushed over to the booth where Lisa and Carole were sitting.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the bus stop?” asked Carole, looking up.

“Yes, but I’ve got a great idea and I need you two to
help me carry it out.” She took out a pen and grabbed a napkin. “I need you to order a pizza for me from Pizza Joe’s in the mall.”

“What do you want on it?”

Stevie looked back toward the ice cream counter and grinned, handing the pen and napkin to her friend. “Write this down.”

When Stevie finished dictating the order she literally bolted for the door, leaving her two friends shaking their heads in wonder.

Carole studied the paper in her hand. “Her brothers are not going to believe this.”

“I can hardly believe it myself,” said Lisa.

Carole went off to make the call moments before the waitress arrived with their sundaes. “You know, your friend has quite a sense of humor.”

Lisa knew she was referring to Stevie and not Carole. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” she said, looking toward the phones with a smile.

While Carole was placing Stevie’s order, Lisa took a taste of frosty mint and chocolate and thought over the best way to express what she was feeling about the day’s events.

“That’s done,” Carole said, slipping into the booth. “I’d love to see the look on her brothers’ faces when
that pizza arrives!” She snatched up her spoon and started on her sundae. “Yum. I think I really earned this today.”

“You did work hard,” Lisa said. “I think we were all doing our best.”

“I’m sure of that, but you wouldn’t believe some of the things I saw and heard going on at the stable!”

“It must be hard trying to keep up with so many riders,” Lisa sympathized.

“Oh, believe me, it is.”

“Maybe some of the mistakes you thought you saw or heard were because you arrived mid-lesson,” Lisa suggested gently. “Maybe if you had heard the entire conversation …” She trailed off, unsure how to proceed.

Carole looked up from her sundae. “Are you worried about that thing with feeding Outlaw?”

Lisa was relieved. Perhaps this was going to be okay after all. “As a matter of fact, yes, I did want to talk to you about that.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lisa.” Carole reached across the table and patted her hand. “I know you’re still pretty new to riding, and I don’t mind going the extra mile to make sure you keep Jasmine on the right track.”

Lisa was dumbfounded. That wasn’t what she had meant at all! Annoyed, she stabbed resentfully at her ice cream. Carole wasn’t being fair. She had been doing fine with Jasmine, telling her everything she needed to know about feeding her pony properly. Just because Carole had come along in the middle of what they were doing was no reason for her to assume Lisa had forgotten some important detail. Carole had made her look bad in front of her Pony Partner, and now Lisa was concerned that Jasmine might lose confidence in her if it happened again.

“Look, Carole—” she began.

“Well, well, look who’s here,” a voice broke in. Turning, Lisa saw Veronica diAngelo and Betsy Cavanaugh approaching their table. “Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. The only one missing from this little tea party is the Mad Hatter.”

The two girls slid into a seat right behind Lisa and Carole. “What are you going to order, Veronica?” Betsy asked in a loud voice. “The blue ribbon surprise?”

“No, Betsy,” replied Veronica. “Unlike some people, I don’t see a blue ribbon in my future—or yours either, for that matter.”

Carole got to her feet and went over to the other girls’ booth. “I might as well tell you right up front. You’re absolutely right. You two will not be getting any blue ribbons from me.”

Lisa was alarmed. How could Carole say something like that right out in the open? It made her look completely biased!

“On the other hand,” Carole continued, “if you do a good job, your Pony Partners might!”

“Oh, Carole,” Veronica smirked. “You don’t have to say that simply because we’re in public. Everyone at Pine Hollow knows where you stand.”

“Veronica made sure of it,” added Betsy, casually looking at her menu. “Just so none of those little kids would get their hopes up too high.”

“Everybody is going to get a fair chance,” Carole said, a little pleading creeping into her voice. “I mean that.”

Veronica gave her a sly glance. “Don’t worry about it, Carole, we know exactly what you
mean
.” She winked at her friend. “Don’t we, Betsy?”

Lisa could see that Carole was on the verge of tears. She desperately wished Stevie were there to handle Veronica, but she wasn’t, so it was up to her. “Why Veronica,” she said, peering over the back of her booth, “what a beautiful job you’ve done on your nail
polish. I sure hope May Grover appreciated all the hard work you put into that today.”

Much to Lisa’s satisfaction, Veronica looked peeved. Lisa turned to her friend. “Carole, now that we’re all clear on where we stand, don’t you think we should finish up our sundaes and be on our way?”

“You’re right,” Carole said gratefully. “I still have a lot of work to do.”

With that they sat down and determinedly ignored Veronica and Betsy for the rest of their snack.

S
TEVIE AND
A
LEX
hustled from the bus stop to Pizza Joe’s. When they got there they saw Michael and Chad standing by the doors at the front entrance, looking irritated. Stevie steeled herself. “I know, I know, don’t say it,” she said, hoping to cut off the inevitable recriminations before they began. “We’re late.”

“It’s all her fault,” Alex said accusingly.

“We could’ve grown old and died waiting on you,” Chad growled, scowling at her.

Stevie was unable to resist. “Ah, I knew there was a reason I wasn’t hurrying.”

“I’m hungry,” whined Michael.

“So what else is new?” asked Alex.

Chad put his arm around his little brother.
“Michael’s right. If were gonna eat and still have time to look for a present for Mom and Dad, we’ve gotta get moving. It does actually take
time
to cook a pizza.” He led the way inside.

“Don’t worry about it, guys,” Stevie said, bringing up the rear. “I have it all taken care of.”

At those words her brothers stopped so abruptly that she ran right into Alex’s back. All three of them turned to look at her. “Stevie, what have you done?” Alex said, squinting at her suspiciously.

She batted her eyes innocently. “Why, nothing terrible. Unless you call ordering ahead so that we wouldn’t have to wait some kind of crime.”

Her brothers all groaned with dismay.

“My treat,” she added graciously.

The hostess returned to her post. “How many, please?”

“Four to sit down,” Chad answered. “Probably one to eat.” He glared at his sister.

As they were being seated, the woman offered menus.

“Oh, we won’t be needing those,” Stevie said, waving them away. “I called in an order.”

“Your server will check on that for you.” She left.

“Stevie, how could you do this?” demanded Chad.

“What?” Stevie asked with wide-eyed innocence.

“You ordered one of your bizarre combinations, didn’t you?” he accused.

“Oh no!” wailed Michael. “I’m really, really hungry.”

“Don’t worry, Michael, you’re gonna love this,” she assured him.

Alex, elbows on the table and head in his hands, moaned. “What toppings did you put on it?”

“Stevie, this isn’t funny,” Chad reprimanded her. “It’s one thing to play a practical joke, but the rest of us are actually hungry.”

“Look,” she said. “I simply preordered a pizza so that we could get on with looking for Mom and Dad’s present. We
are
here to talk about Mom and Dad’s anniversary gift, right?”

The boys all nodded.

“Then let’s get on with it! Any suggestions?”

“How about some smelly bath soaps?” Michael offered.

“That’s nice, Mike,” agreed Alex. “But try to think bigger. How about a party? Like one of those
This Is Your Life
kind of things?”

“Not a bad idea,” said Chad.

Stevie shook her head. “I don’t think we have enough time left to get all their old friends together.
You know, like Dad’s best man, Mom’s maid of honor? What about a weekend at one of those exclusive spas?”

“Don’t be stupid, Stevie,” scoffed Chad. “Do you know how much those things cost?”

Stevie was annoyed by his superior attitude. “No, as a matter of fact, I don’t. Do you?”

Chad had to admit he didn’t. “But I bet it’s a lot more than we have.”

“Perfume?” suggested Michael.

“That’s okay for Mom,” Alex told him, clearly getting frustrated, “but we need something for the both of them! Get it?”

Stevie jumped to her younger brother’s defense. “Don’t snap at him. He’s just trying to help.”

“What about a barbecue?”

“We have barbecues all the time.”

“Besides, that’s not very romantic.”

“I haven’t heard you come up with anything brilliant.”

“I’m doing my best!”

The discussion was quickly turning into a fight. Luckily, the waitress appeared, carrying a pizza tray. “This must be the Lake party,” she said.

“That’s us,” Stevie said, relieved by the interruption. “How did you know?”

“Oh, the person who called in your order said to look for four young people having a big argument.”

Stevie almost laughed aloud. Carole sometimes had a surprising sense of humor.

“One Stevie Lake special?” the server asked cheerfully.

“Oh great,” muttered Alex. “Shall we leave you alone, Your Highness, so that you can eat your concoction in peace?”

“Let me guess,” Chad said to the waitress. “Anchovies, pineapple, pepperoni, spinach, olives, onions, green pepper, and tuna fish.”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” she replied with a smile, “but you forgot the extra jalapeños.”

Her three brothers glared at Stevie, who wouldn’t meet their eyes.

“Of course, that’s only one quarter of the pizza,” continued the waitress. “The other three are all different. So, who gets the plain cheese?” She looked around the table expectantly.

“Plain cheese?” Michael echoed with wonder. “Me, me, me!”

“I should have known that. I’ve got a boy your age at home.” She smiled as she served it. “Pepperoni and green pepper?”

“That’s for him.” Stevie pointed to her twin. “The
pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms goes to my right.” She gestured toward Chad. “And I think that leaves me with the works.” Since her brothers appeared speechless, Stevie also handled who got which of the four different drinks.

“Let me know if you need any refills,” the waitress said, moving away.