Horseshoe (10 page)

“The man who came before dislikes hair spray,” Lisa said firmly. “He likes a natural look, clean, sun-dried hair and a clean, well-scrubbed face. The man who came before wants a girl who is comfortable in blue jeans.”

“Blue jeans?” Veronica asked. “He wants me to wear blue jeans?”

“He admires girls who wear blue jeans. He prefers old jeans—old jeans with holes and patches. He likes girls in tattered sweatshirts, old T-shirts, and well-worn, comfortable clothing.”

Lisa could hardly keep from laughing. She couldn’t remember ever having seen Veronica in jeans, unless they were brand-new neatly pressed designer
jeans, and Veronica certainly never wore clothes with holes in them. Lisa had described someone who was the exact opposite of Veronica in every outward way.

“He does?”

“He does. His ideal girl does not wear jewelry or other expensive—er—trappings.”

“And he was just in here, right?” Veronica pointed to the tent door.

“The man,” Lisa replied, “has just come before.”

Veronica looked surprised but satisfied. “Well, at least I know what I need to do.” She began to get up from her seat.

“Wait!” Lisa flung her hands into the air. “I’m getting one thing more!”

“Yes?” Veronica spun around.

“No,” said Lisa, “it’s too important. It’s going to cost you more than a dollar.”

Veronica reached into her purse, but Lisa shook her head. “It’s gone,” she said, waving her hand near her forehead. “I wasn’t concentrating, and it slipped away. Come back in a little while and we’ll try again. I know it was very important.”

Veronica looked unhappy. “Just so you’re sure you can get it back,” she said. “I don’t want to miss anything important.”

“I know we can,” Lisa assured her. “It’s a simple case of mind over matter.” She began to reshuffle her cards.

Veronica slunk out the door. Lisa let out a sigh. “She’s gone,” she said. Stevie and Carole rolled out from behind the back flap, laughing.

“You were wonderful.” Carole got up to hug Lisa and Stevie patted her on the back. “Even better than the time before!”

“I think she’s buying it,” Stevie said. “I really think she’s buying it.”

“Oh, she’s definitely buying it,” Lisa replied. “You should have seen her face! She nodded after everything I said—I’m surprised she didn’t take notes!”

“Here.” Stevie handed Lisa a soda. “Judy Barker saw us sitting back there and brought us these.” Lisa took a grateful sip.

“A toast,” Carole offered. “To the perfect setup for Project Fix Everything!” They raised their sodas in the air.

“And a toast to the Goodluck Horseshoe,” said Lisa. “Look at all the money we’ve made!” She pulled out the envelope she was keeping under the table. “Some of the grown-ups even gave us more than a dollar.”

“Wow. CARL is going to be thrilled,” Stevie predicted.

“If only the rest of it goes well—”

“It’ll go well,” said Carole. “Now take off that robe. It’s my turn!”

F
OR THE NEXT
forty-five minutes there was a line of customers waiting at the Goodluck Horseshoe tent. Inside, Carole was kept busy sloshing tea leaves and waving cards around. She predicted good weather, straight-A report cards, long sea voyages, new boyfriends, and, in one case, that the New York Mets would win the pennant.

Finally, Carole’s big moment arrived. Veronica returned for the third time.

She had been transformed. Instead of the stylish, expensive clothes she had been wearing before, she now wore tattered blue jeans and a battered red Ralph Lauren sweatshirt. Looking closely, Carole could tell
that the designer jeans weren’t really old—the holes were new and clean-edged. It looked like Veronica had attacked them with scissors. The rips on the sweatshirt seemed new too. Veronica’s fancy earrings were gone, her face was scrubbed clean, and her hair had been tied back in a plain tight ponytail.

Carole was thrilled.

Veronica hesitated at the door. “I was expecting Lisa,” she said. “She promised to tell me more.”

“We’re all on the same wavelength,” Carole assured her. “I’ll be able to tell you exactly what you need to know.” She held out her hand, and Veronica paid her another dollar.

Carole crossed her hands in front of her and began to hum. She hummed louder and louder, closing her eyes and leaning backward. Veronica waited.

“Yes,” said Carole. “I understand what you need to know. You’re looking for a clue to the heart of the man who came before.”

“That’s right,” said Veronica. “I had the chauffeur take me home so I could change my clothes. What else do I need to do?”

“Hmmm.” Carole swept her hands over the crystal ball, back and forth, several times. The motion seemed to transfix Veronica, who watched her closely.

“I see the key to his heart,” Carole announced. “The man who came before wants a generous soul.”

“Generous?”

“Yes. How much money do you have with you?”

Veronica looked into her purse. “I just got my allowance, but I spent some of it,” she said. “Looks like twenty-eight dollars.”

“You must take that money,” said Carole, “and give it generously to a person in need.”

“Wouldn’t ten dollars be enough?” asked Veronica. “I was planning to buy some new lipstick—” Her voice dropped off, and Carole could see her wondering if she needed lipstick, since “the man who came before” didn’t approve of makeup.

“No way,” Carole told her. “It must be the whole twenty-eight.”

Veronica blinked. “Anything else?” she asked. Carole shook her head. “Okay. Thanks for the help.” She stumbled out of the tent, looking for a person in need.

Carole peeked out of the tent to watch. Just across from their booth, Stevie was introducing Jessica and Jessica’s mother to Judy Barker. Judy was explaining to Mrs. Adler that CARL put many animals up for adoption.

“Oh, couldn’t we get one?” Jessica begged, pulling on her mother’s hand. “Can’t we get a dog, Mom?”

“I know a great dog you could have,” Stevie said. She looked over and saw Veronica come out of the booth, and her eyes widened. “For only twenty-five dollars,” she added loudly.

“But I don’t have twenty-five dollars,” Jessica replied.

Veronica’s head jerked around to look at Jessica. She stared for a moment, her hand going slowly to her purse, then she shook her head and looked away.

There, on the other side of the road, Lisa stood talking to Michael Grant. Lisa broke off the conversation and waved. “Hi, Veronica,” she said. “Michael just told me he was looking for you.”

“I did?” asked Michael. “I mean—sure I did.”

Meanwhile, Stevie was saying to Jessica, “I couldn’t hear you. What did you just say?”

“I said, I DON’T HAVE TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS,” Jessica shouted.

Veronica looked at Michael, who looked at Veronica, who looked back toward Jessica. The Saddle Club held their breaths.

“Here,” Veronica said, pulling the wad of money out of her purse and handing it to Jessica, “why don’t you get yourself a dog. There’s enough there for you to buy it a toy or something too.”

Jessica’s mother shook her head. “That really isn’t necessary,” she said. “We can well afford—”

Veronica held up her hand. When she wanted to, she could be polite, and she was gracious now. “Please allow me to give Jessica a little present,” she said. “She was my ‘little sister,’ you know, until I decided not to ride in the drill.”

“Oh, thank you!” Jessica said. She threw her arms around Veronica’s waist.

“Well, thank you, but I really don’t think it’s necessary,” Jessica’s mother said. “It’s very nice of you, I’m sure.”

Veronica pushed Jessica away gently and held up her hand again. “Please let me,” she repeated. “It’s such a pleasure for me to do things for others.”

Jessica’s mother looked at Jessica’s ecstatic face and Veronica’s earnest one. “Well,” she said, “I know my daughter would really love a dog, and we’d like her to have one. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you, Veronica!” Jessica waved happily as Veronica crossed the road to Michael’s side. Lisa silently went back to the entrance of the tent.

“Can you believe that just happened?” she asked Carole. “It’s exactly like a play.”

“Keep watching,” Carole replied, “It isn’t over yet.”

“She wanted me to have a dog,” Jessica said to
Stevie, looking with wonder at the money Veronica had given her. “She must not hate me after all. She must
like
me.”

“Of course she likes you,” Stevie said.

“Then she must not think I’m a terrible rider either.”

Stevie put her arm around the little girl’s shoulder. “Nobody thinks you’re a terrible rider,” she said, “because you aren’t. Come on. Do you want to meet the dog I was telling you about?” She led Jessica to the other side of the trailer.

“Hello, Michael,” Veronica said silkily. “Did you see what I just did?”

“I sure did,” Michael said, staring at her with a slightly disgusted expression. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“Oh, I do things like that all the time,” Veronica said with a casual wave of her hand. “Money means so little to me.”

“And what happened to your clothes?” he asked. “That’s not what I saw you wearing earlier.”

Veronica laughed, and touched his arm lightly. “Who wants to wear those fancy clothes all the time! I went home and changed. I’m much more comfortable dressed like this. They’re much more like me—I’m sure you know what I mean. How do you like them?”

Michael swallowed hard and didn’t answer. “I’d better go,” he said. “Boy, you sure gave that little girl a lot of money. How much do you have left?”

“Nothing,” Veronica replied proudly. “I gave her every cent I had.”

Michael looked at her as if she’d just sprouted a second head. “I’ve really got to go,” he stammered. “There’s some blond girl I’m supposed to be looking for.” He walked off shaking his head, Veronica trailing raggedly in his wake.

“Ohhh!” Carole and Lisa heard Jessica’s cry of delight coming from the far side of CARL’s van.

“Come on!” Lisa grabbed her friend’s arm. “We don’t want to miss this!” They ran across the road, Carole’s fortune-teller’s robe flapping in the wind.

Jessica was kneeling beside Trump’s cage, her face pressed close to the wire. Trump was licking her furiously through the bars. “He’s perfect!” She turned when The Saddle Club approached. “Do you want to meet my new dog?” she asked them. “His name’s Buddy, I’m going to call him Buddy.”

“He’s an awfully nice dog,” Lisa said. Carole felt that she could hardly speak.

“He’s the
best
dog. Of course,” Jessica added importantly, “Dr. Barker told me he isn’t trained yet. I’m going to have to teach him everything.”

Jessica’s mother finished signing the adoption papers that Judy Barker had given her. Judy brought out a leash and carefully clipped it to Trump’s—Buddy’s—collar before opening the cage door. She handed the leash to Jessica. “Here you go. He’s all yours.”

Buddy bounded out of the cage and threw himself at Jessica. Jessica laughed and rolled with him on the grass. “Buddy, Buddy,” she called. Then she stood up. “You can’t jump up and down,” she told him firmly. “You have to sit.” She pressed down on Buddy’s rear end and he sat, wagging his tail. “Good boy!” Buddy jumped up and licked Jessica’s face. Jessica laughed again. “I think it will take a little while,” she said to The Saddle Club. “But I know he’ll learn.”

Carole caught Stevie’s and Lisa’s arms. “Back to the booth,” she said. “I’ve got fortunes to tell!”

“Forget the booth,” Stevie said as they walked away. “We’re done. We’ve accomplished all our goals—”

“First,” said Lisa, “we’ve made oodles of money for CARL—”

“Second,” said Stevie, “we’ve played a great joke on Veronica. She’ll wear torn blue jeans for days.”

“Third, we convinced Michael Grant to go searching for Cindy Crawford instead of Veronica. Not only
is that part of the joke on Veronica, it’s no more than he deserves for wanting to go out only with rich girls.”

“And fourth, and most important—not to mention miraculous,” Lisa said, looking back at CARL’s van, “we made Jessica very happy.”

“You’ve forgotten the fifth thing,” said Carole.

“Fifth thing? What’s that?”

“We’d have to close down the booth anyway. It’s almost time for our drill!”

They hurried to remove the signs from their tent. Luckily, it seemed that everyone who wanted their fortune told had already been there—no one else was waiting for them. Then they used the tent to change back into their riding gear.

“If we ride as well as we tell fortunes,” Stevie said, “this drill will be fantastic!”