Read Online Return to Sender by Kevin Henkes - Free Book Online

pen like that can cause.”
    Whitaker didn’t want to hang around—he didn’t like the direction in which the conversation was leaning. “Bye, Barney,” he said, as he ran into the backyard to practice pitching.
    Barney waved.
    â€œOh, Barney,” Mr. Murphy said, obviously flustered. “Some days, I tell you, I don’t know.” He nervously tapped the postcard against his leg. “Because of that little pen, Whitaker has gotten the crazy idea that Frogman is going to write him a message in gold. As big as a house, he says. In ‘extra-ultra-fluorescent letters,’ he says. To prove that Frogman is real. And something written in gold, he says, lasts forever.
    â€œBarney, Frogman is a cartoon character, ” Mr. Murphy continued, “and my Whitaker has to go and believe in him. Why?”
    Barney grinned. “That’s the way it goes with kids,” he said, his face starting to glow. “And that’s what tomorrows are for. By then, things are generally forgotten or resolved. Sometimes unbelievably so.”
    â€œ Tomorrow ? This kind of thing has been going on for weeks. ” Mr. Murphy scratched his head. “All I can say is I envy you today, Barney—all your kids are grown-up.” His eyes scanning the water tower, Mr. Murphy added, “I could tell you stories you’d never believe.”
    â€œI bet I would,” Barney whispered. In a matter of seconds, he was already two houses away. He hurried through the rest of his route, faster than he ever had.
    That night on the way home from work, Barney stopped at the hardware store to buy five cans of gold, glow-in-the-dark paint. The best plan of his life was beginning to form in his mind. And there was no time to lose.

CHAPTER 15
The Day Before Tomorrow
    B ECAUSE B ARNEY HAD to attend to his plan, he couldn’t watch the televised Brewer game that night. It was the first game that he had missed all season. But it would prove worth it, in a way he hadn’t counted on.
    Mr. Murphy and Whitaker watched, though. As usual, Mr. Murphy had beer. Whitaker had grape Kool-Aid. And they both had potato chips.
    â€œI hope we win,” Whitaker said, cramming a whole potato chip into his mouth.
    â€œI do too,” Mr. Murphy agreed.
    Whitaker was keeping score on the back of his reading workbook with his Frogman Utility Pen. The gold ink was as shiny as ever. In between batters, Whitaker worked on a drawing of Frogman in a baseball cap, with the water tower in the background.
    Mr. Murphy glanced over every few minutes to look at the drawing. But he didn’t say a word.
    During a commercial for EXPENSE credit cards, Whitaker asked, “Dad, how do they get the ripples in the potato chips?”
    â€œI suppose a machine does it,” Mr. Murphy answered. “But I never really thought about it before.”
    Whitaker decided to try to separate the ripples. It didn’t work. All that he managed to make was a pile of potato chip crumbs. But he kept trying.
    After a two-run homer by Cecil Cooper, Mr. Murphy turned to Whitaker, clapping. “All right!” he cheered. That’s when Mr. Murphy spotted the potato chip crumbs all over the carpet. “Whitaker, your mother will not love that. Why don’t you get a napkin and clean it up?”
    When Whitaker got up from the floor, he knocked over his glass of Kool-Aid.
    â€œOh, Whitaker,” Mr. Murphy said. “When you get that napkin, how about bringing back a wet dishrag too, to wipe up this grape mess someone made here?”
    â€œFrogman could just zap it away,” Whitaker said, leaving the den.
    â€œWell, you’re not Frogman—he doesn’t exist,” Mr. Murphy shouted after Whitaker. “And hurry up!”
    While Whitaker was in the kitchen, Mr. Murphy reached for the Frogman Utility Pen to see what time it was. He couldn’t get it to work, so he shook it and tapped it against the end table.