Read Online Serendipity and Me (9781101602805) by Judith Roth - Free Book Online Page A

for Dad.
    Â 
    I can’t believe the lyrics.
    The happy crowd is singing
    We’ll always be together
    on and on and on.
    Â 
    Taylor notices I’ve stopped dancing
    and I see the moment when she gets it
    in a ripple across her face.
    Um, you want to go outside
    and hug a bunny?
    Â 
    Yes.             I do.
    And then I want to go home
    to Serendipity.
    Â 
    Â 

 
    I’m at my front door
    when I hear Mrs. Whittier calling.
    Â 
    Sara,             wait.
    Â 
    Serendipity has already seen me
    from her spot in the window.
    Her mouth opens in silent mews.
    I put my hand on the glass and tell her
    Just a minute, Dipity.
    Â 
    Mrs. Whittier is holding a CD.
    My stepdaughter’s
    finally coming to visit.
    I found this while I was
    cleaning out the guest room.
    Â 
    I probably look as clueless as I feel.
    Â 
    When you were little
    and I sat for you at night
    I’d play this CD
    your mom made you for bedtime—
    it’s her voice telling you fairy tales.
    Â 
    I feel a tickle of a memory.
    Â 
    Mrs. Whittier twists her mouth around.
    I shouldn’t be the one telling you this
    but you know about the cat now
    and Matthew can’t seem
    to talk about it.
    Â 
    I have no idea what that
    has to do with fairy tales.
    Â 
    Then she tells me how the cat died
    because they didn’t notice an infection
    until it was too late
    Â 
    and how guilty Mom felt about it
    Â 
    and how she cried for three days.
    Â 
    That was the cause for no more cats.
    Â 
    And when I got old enough to start asking
    for a cat of my own
    that was the reason the cat pictures
    were hidden.
    That was the reason one fairy tale
    could not be played
    and why it was removed from the book.
    Â 
    They didn’t want me to think
    cats were a possibility in this house.
    Â 
    Wait             I say             What good would that do
    if I already knew about the cat?
    Â 
    Mrs. Whittier shakes her head.
    You were two when that kitty died.
    You’d forgotten about him by the time
    you asked for a cat.
    Â 
    She hands me the CD.
    The cat fairy tale is the first one.
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 

 
    I can’t believe I’m holding
    Mom’s voice in my hand.
    Â 
    Go on, now             Mrs. Whittier says with a smile.
    You know you want to.
    Â 
    I make a dash for my CD player
    grabbing up Serendipity on the way.
    Â 
    Dad is still safely at school.
    Â 
    I drop in the disk
    and settle us on my bed
    my kitty curled in the center
    of my crisscrossed legs.
    All I have to do
    is push the button
    to hear my mom’s voice.
    Â 
    I’m almost afraid to do it.
    Listen, Serendipity.
    This is my mom.
    Â 
    Mom’s voice tears my heart
    when she starts.
    Okay, honey bunny,
    snuggle down.
    Here’s your story.
    Â 
    Â 

 
    Once upon a time a princess lived in an ivy-covered tower. The tower walls were hard, cold stone. From her window she could see a meadow where furry creatures played in the sun, and she longed to cuddle their warm, soft bodies. But the rule-keepers had forbidden animals. No creatures were allowed inside to comfort her.
    The princess was lonely.
    One night, she heard a cry from below. She tiptoed down the stone staircase to find out who made the sound. She peeked outside the door into the dark. At first, she saw nothing. There was no one on the doorstep. The bushes held their secrets. The princess called out into the night, “Someone, someone who is scared, I am here. Come to me.”
    The bushes trembled and rustled and frightened the princess. But she remembered she was lonely and she became brave again.
    She called, “Someone, someone who is scared, I am here. Come to me.”
    And this time the bushes answered her with a quavering mew, and a furry creature tumbled out and poked a nose at her outstretched hand. He twined his tiny body around her ankles until she picked him up and held him in