Read Online Treasures from Grandma's Attic by Arleta Richardson - Free Book Online

I don’t have to miss it after all! How long do I have to get rid of this cold?”
    “Until Sunday.”
    I stared at Sarah Jane in disbelief and then glanced toward the door to see if Ma was in earshot. “Sunday? Mrs. Brooke is having her party on Sunday?”
    “Yep.”
    “But we can’t go on Sunday. Our folks would never allow it.”
    “I’ve been thinking about that,” said Sarah Jane. “As far as I can see, the only way we’ll be able to go is for them not to know about it.”
    “And just how do you plan to arrange that?” I asked. “My ma knows where I’m going, how long it takes to get there, and when I’ll be back every day of my life. And yours does too. If that’s as far as your plan goes, it’s not far enough.”
    “I didn’t think it would be. But you’re good at devious plans. You come up with something.”
    “You’re just full of compliments today, aren’t you?”
    “Don’t be cross, Mabel. You want to go to this birthday party as much as I do. There has to be some way we can arrange it.”
    “Maybe we’d better work on your idea,” I mused. “If our folks don’t know where we’re going, they can’t forbid it.” I thought a moment. “Did you tell your ma you were coming over this afternoon?”
    “Didn’t have to. She knows if you’re not at our house, I’m at yours.”
    “That’s the answer then. Ma will think I’m going to your place Sunday afternoon. Your ma will think you’re coming here. We can meet halfway and go on to the party.”
    “Oh, Mabel! Do we dare?”
    “Of course we dare. Who’s going to know?”
    Sarah Jane looked at me sharply. “Are you sure your conscience isn’t going to kick you afterward until you tell someone what we did?”
    “Consciences don’t kick; they prick.”
    “Your conscience kicks,” she corrected me. “You’ve never gotten by with anything in your life, ’cause if your folks don’t find out, you tell ’em. Are you sure you won’t do it this time?”
    “Of course I’m sure! I’m not a child anymore, you know.”
    Sarah Jane got up to leave. “I’ll see you later. I’d feel easier about this whole thing if I didn’t know you so well.”
    By Sunday my cold was better, and I got ready to go to church with the family. It was a beautiful morning, and Ma quoted a Scripture verse as we got into the buggy: “This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” My heart sank, and I was tempted to tell her what we were planning. But the thought of Sarah Jane’s “I knew you would” kept me silent.
    After dinner, I met Sarah Jane at the end of the lane, and we started toward Mrs. Brooke’s house.
    “I’m proud of you, Mabel,” she said to me. “I was sure you’d back out.”
    “I’m not proud of me,” I replied. “You know we’re being deceitful.”
    “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Mabel. You can’t disobey your folks unless you do something they told you not to. We aren’t doing that.”
    Her argument sounded logical, but deep down I knew better. I would go to the party because I’d said I would, but my heart wasn’t in it.
    “Come on,” Sarah Jane said impatiently. “You look as if you were going to get castor oil instead of birthday cake. Can’t you cheer up a little?”
    “Don’t you feel the least bit guilty?” I asked her.
    “I probably would if I thought about it,” she said with a shrug. “So I don’t think about it.”
    I determined to stop thinking about it too and have a good time at the party. A number of people were there when we arrived, and the yard looked very festive. Mrs. Brooke had tied streamers in the trees, and a large table full of little sandwiches and cakes was set up in the shade.
    Sarah Jane grabbed my arm. “Mabel, whatever you do, don’t pour punch down your front or sit on someone’s cake. If you get anything on that dress, your ma will know for sure where you’ve been.”
    “You sound like an old mother hen,” I told her. “Why don’t you