The next afternoon was bright and sunny as the children welcomed people to their party. Grandfather was there, of course, and so was Mrs. McGregor. Tío brought some delicious food along with him. Chad arrived with Mrs. Wickett. Watch growled at both of them. Kayla came with Ethan. She kept staring at the green metal frog.
Everybody helped themselves to lemonade or iced tea, then they all played games. Ethan and Jessie paired up to play badminton. Sodid Henry and Chad. Benny watched to call the birdie fair or foul.
It looked as if Kayla was going to win at croquet, but Mrs. Wickett wound up winning.
After games, the children and their guests gathered around to talk. Henry, Benny, and Chad stood around the grill where Tío helping Mrs. McGregor prepare more food.
“Did you see Kayla looking at that green frog?” Chad asked. “I think she wants it back.”
“No,” said Henry, “I think she’s just happy the frog has a home.”
Chad looked at the bull pi?ata that was still hanging in the sunporch. “I wanted that pi?ata,” he told Benny. “But you got to it first.”
“Sí,”said Tío as he cooked. “That is one of my old pi?atas. Chad came in one morning and was very upset when the old pi?atas were gone. I told him I took them to the recycling center.”
“That pi?ata would look great in my den,” Chad said to Benny. “I’d like to buy it from you.” Chad pulled out his wallet. “How much do you want?” he asked.
Benny shook his head. “I don’t want to sell my pi?ata. I want to break it open.”
Tío laughed. “Benny is right,” he said. “This is a party. It is a good time to break open a pi?ata! I hope somebody stuffed the pi?ata with good things. You must always put good things into a pi?ata—shiny half-dollars, wrapped cookies, things like that.”
Chad frowned. “If you break it open, you ruin the pi?ata.”
“Then I’ll get another one,” said Benny, “and we’ll have another party!”
Jessie and Violet stayed with Kayla, Ethan, and Mrs. Wickett. Violet noticed that both Kayla and Mrs. Wickett were wearing sparkling stones.
“I have a great idea,” Kayla told Mrs. Wickett.
“What’s that?” asked Mrs. Wickett.
“I know how we can solve the problem of the recycling bags and boxes that people leave outside the gate every night,” said Kayla.
Jessie and Violet were very glad to hear that Kayla wanted to solve this problem.
“I want to hire you,” Kayla said to Mrs. Wickett. “I want to hire you to keep the center open from five o’clock in the afternoon until midnight. That way, people can drive into the center and sort all of their recycling or drop it off alongside one of the Dumpsters.”
Mrs. Wickett thought about this. “That way, there won’t be any trash outside the recycling center. I won’t have to look at it all the time.” She frowned. “But I already have a job. I work at Jonah’s Jewelry Store in the evenings.”
“Oh,” said Kayla. She seemed disappointed. “I was really hoping you would say yes.”
“Hmmm,” said Mrs. Wickett as she sipped iced tea. “I like your idea. I think recycling is important. But Mr. Jonah gives me a big discount on jewelry,” she said. “If he didn’t, I couldn’t afford to wear these diamonds.”
Kayla looked at the rings. “If you worked at the recycling center, you could make your own rings. I try to keep my designs secret until I’m ready to sell them,” said Kayla, “but I can show them to you.”
“Is that why you cover up your jewelry when people walk into your studio?” asked Violet.
“Yes,” said Kayla. “I don’t like people to see my art until it’s finished.”
Suddenly Mrs. Wickett smiled. “Yes!” she told Kayla. “I’ll take the job. I’ll keep the recycling center open until midnight. And I’ll learn how to recycle junk into jewelry!”
Kayla smiled as she and Mrs. Wickett shook hands.
Jessie and Violet smiled, too.
Then everybody helped themselves to the wonderful food that Tío and Mrs. McGregor had prepared. All the food was laid out in bright dishes on the new purple tablecloth that Violet had made from the cloth Kayla had found in the Other Stuff bin.
Each person found a lawn chair or blanket to sit on while eating.
After everybody finished, Henry stood up and announced that it was time to swing atthe pi?ata and see what kind of prizes fell out.
The guests followed Henry into the sunporch. Violet gave each guest a purple blindfold. She had also made these from the cloth Kayla had given her.
“Benny will go first,” said Tío as he tied the blindfold around Benny. “Here is the stick,” he said, putting a sturdy stick in Benny’s hand.
But before Benny could swing at the pi?ata, Chad pushed him away, pulled the pi?ata off the ceiling, and ran out the door.
“Hey!” shouted Ethan. “You pushed Benny!”
Ethan and Henry both ran after Chad, but Ethan was faster.
Ethan tackled Chad. The pi?ata few out of Chad’s hands and onto the lawn.
Everybody rushed out and surrounded Chad and Ethan.
“That was a terrible thing to do,” Mrs. Wickett said to Chad. “What is wrong with you?”
Henry picked up the pi?ata. “I think Chad wants something that’s inside this pi?ata,” he said. “But it’s not in there anymore. We took it out before we could swing at the pi?ata.” Henry reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small brown cloth bag. “Are you looking for this?” he asked Chad.
Mrs. Wickett gasped. “That’s a Jonah’s Jewelry Store bag! Those are the stolen diamonds!”
“Let me up,” said Chad. “I can explain.”
Ethan let Chad stand up—but as soon as Chad stood, he raced away toward the street.
“Let him go,” Henry told Ethan.
All the guests watched as two men stepped out of a car that had been parked alongside the street. They grabbed Chad and handcuffed him.
“Oh,” said Mrs. Wickett to Grandfather. “Do you always have unmarked police cars parked on your street?”
Grandfather chuckled. “No,” he admitted, “but I called them before the party to let them know that the diamond thief would be at the party.”
Mrs. Wickett looked at Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. “You must have great confidence in your grandchildren,” she said.
“Yes,” said Grandfather proudly. “They know right from wrong.”
Mrs. Wickett looked at the children again. “I’m sorry that I wouldn’t let you see the bottom of my boots,” she said. “They are very old and shabby. I didn’t want you to see that there are holes in the bottom.”
“Oh, Mrs. Wickett,” said Kayla. “Old and shabby can be very good.”
Mrs. Wickett smiled. “Yes,” she said, “I suppose I could give you the boots and you would find a use for them.”
Kayla smiled and nodded.
Tío spoke up. “So tell me, how did the diamonds get into my pi?ata, which is now Benny’s pi?ata?”
“Well,” said Jessie, “we figure that the night Chad stole the diamonds, he went across the street to your restaurant. Then, when you were back in the kitchen and there was nobody around, he put the bag of diamonds into the pi?ata.”
Tío rubbed his chin. “Chad was a customer that night,” he said. “And there was nobody else there. And I did go into the kitchen.”
Tío thought some more. “That explains why when Chad came in again last week, he was very upset that the pi?atas were gone.”
One of the police officers pushed Chad into the car. The other officer came up to the guests.
“Here are the diamonds,” said Henry, handing the bag to the officer.
The police officer looked inside the bag. Everybody could see the sparkling stones. He closed the bag, nodded to everybody, and walked back to his car.
“Wow!” said Kayla. “I guess what I’m always saying is true—there are treasures in recycling!”
“Yes,” said Benny, picking up his pi?ata. “But you can’t eat diamonds. Pi?atas should be stuffed with things you can eat!” |