Whatever After #4: Dream On (10 page)

W
e crash out of the mirror and land sideways on the basement floor. Me, Jonah, and a still-sleeping Robin.

Ouch.

Rinnnnnng!

Ack! That’s the doorbell from upstairs. Robin’s mom!

I look at Robin, sprawled across the floor on her back, still fast asleep. What are we going to do?

Ruff! Ruff!

I sit up, turn around, and see a small brown ball of fur.

Oh my goodness! It’s the puppy! He followed us back to Smithville! We took someone home with us! Is that allowed?

“I
knew
he liked me better,” Jonah says, jumping to his feet. “And I’m not naming him Horseyback. No way. What should I call him?”

The puppy sniffs Robin’s hair. Then he licks her face.

“He’s kissing her,” Jonah says. “He’s trying to wake her up.”

Yes, he is kissing her.

He’s kissing her.

He’s KISSING her!

An idea explodes inside my head. Maybe Lottie was wrong — maybe a wand
can
undo its own spell. Maybe Lottie didn’t say the RIGHT spell. Her exact words were:
I undo the one-hundred-years sleeping curse on Robin
. She undid the one-hundred-year part of the sleeping curse. But she didn’t undo the part about a prince waking her up. That means that a prince can now wake her up even if a hundred years haven’t passed.

“The dog’s name is Prince!” I exclaim.

Jonah’s eyes widen. He immediately says, “Good boy, Prince. You’re such a good puppy!”

Prince the dog licks Robin’s face again.

She shifts and stretches her arms above her head. She opens her eyes.

“Where am I?” she asks.

It worked! She’s awake! What do I tell her? Does she remember any of it? “You’re, um … in the basement,” I say.

“I had the craziest dream,” Robin says, rubbing her eyes. “We were in a tower and I pricked my elbow and then … I don’t know. I think we were in a fairy tale.
Rapunzel
?” She rubs her elbow. “Ouch. My arm hurts.” She looks around. “How did I get here?”

“You sleepwalked. There’s no time to explain.” I push myself off the floor. “Follow me!”

I take her by the hand and run, run, run up the stairs and to the front door.

Mom, Dad, and Robin’s big sister, Dalia, are all standing in the foyer of our house. Dalia has the same curly strawberry-blonde hair as Robin, but it also has purple streaks in it. She does not look happy.

“There you are!” Mom says, turning around and sighing with relief. “We were starting to get worried. Didn’t you hear us calling? You were in the basement the whole time?”

“Yes,” I say, out of breath.

“All three of you?” Mom asks suspiciously.

I nod.

“Why?” Mom asks.

Think, Abby, think! “We got up really early and we were … um …”

“Robin, you’re still in your pajamas!” Dalia says, putting her hands on her hips. “You better get changed fast. Mom’s waiting in the car and I’m supposed to be at Tali’s in five minutes. I called you a million times on your cell and you didn’t answer. You have to answer your cell every time I call. Got it?”

Robin rubs her elbow. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t hear it.”

Because cell phones don’t work in the Kingdom of Rose.

I think about all that happened in Rose — and about all that I learned. About how important it is to enjoy the present. To not get too caught up in the future.

Maybe I don’t need to grow up
that
fast. If Bri can live in the moment, then so can I. Maybe I can wait a few years for a cell phone after all. Also, do I want my brother calling me a million times when I’m at a sleepover? No, I do not.

“You’re so annoying,” Dalia mutters, and Robin flushes pink.

And maybe it’s not always so bad to have a younger sibling instead of an older one.

Robin runs upstairs. She hurries downstairs a minute later, her leather bag over her shoulder.

I give her a hug. “See you on Monday.”

She’s still rubbing her elbow. “Yeah, see you on Monday. Thank you for having me. I had a lot of fun. Next time you’ll sleep at my house.”

“Robin, come on!” Dalia hollers, already halfway to the car.

As I close the door behind her I take a deep breath. We did it! We got Robin home awake and in one piece!

Hurray!

“Breakfast?” Dad asks. “You must be hungry.”

“Not really,” Jonah says. “I had a lot of tea sandwiches.”

“What, honey?” Mom asks.

I nudge my brother. “Nothing,” I answer for him. We’re in the clear. Let’s not mess this up.

But then I hear it:

Ruff, ruff!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Dad turns toward the basement. “What was that?”

The puppy pushes open the basement door, scrambles down the hall, and jumps on Jonah’s leg.

“It’s Prince!” Jonah explains. “Our puppy!”

Our puppy?

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE?

“We have a puppy?” Mom looks incredulous.

“Er, yes,” I say. Think fast! Why do we have a puppy? “We found a puppy. In the … um … backyard. Yes! The backyard! And then we … went to see if any of our neighbors lost a puppy. That’s why we didn’t hear you calling earlier. We were outside.” Yes! That makes sense. Maybe not perfect sense, but a little bit of sense. Right?

My parents are looking at us suspiciously.

“Jonah went outside in his pajamas with no shoes?” Mom asks. “And, Abby — what are you wearing? Where did you get that outfit?”

Oops. I’m still in Bri’s blue dress. “Um, it’s Robin’s. She loaned it to me. I’ll bring it back to her at school on Monday.”

Mom frowns. I’m not sure she believes me at all. “Okay,” she says finally. “But be careful with it. It looks expensive.”

Jonah scoops up the puppy and lets it lick his face. “Can we keep the puppy?” Jonah asks. His face is pleading. “Pretty please? We named him Prince. Isn’t he cute?” Jonah hands him to Dad, and Prince licks Dad’s face.

My dad laughs. “He’s very energetic.”

“I don’t know about this,” Mom says.

“Please, please, please?” Jonah asks.

Mom opens her mouth but then closes it. Is she softening? I think she is. She looks at Dad and shrugs.

No way. My heart leaps. Is she actually considering letting us keep the puppy?

“We’ll take care of him!” I squeal. “I’ll walk him every day!”

Jonah jumps on his toes. “I’ll feed him! Good stuff, too, not just ketchup!”

Mom and Dad eye each other over the fur.

“It could be fun….” Mom says.

“It would teach them responsibility….” Dad adds.

I hold my breath.

“All right,” Mom says finally. “We’ll have to try and find the original owners first, but if we can’t …”

“We can keep him?” Jonah asks.

“You can keep him,” my mom says. “But honestly, kids, don’t get too attached yet, in case we have to give him back.” She ruffles his fur. “Who’s a cutie?” she asks in baby talk.

Jonah and I give each other a knowing smile.

Smithville finally has its own prince.

*  *  *

“I’m going to take a nap,” I announce after lunch. I can barely keep my eyes open. I have major fairy tale jet lag.

“Good idea,” Mom says. “I bet you girls were up all night chatting.”

Not exactly. But I nod and head upstairs. Prince follows right behind me. What a sweetie. He’s like a real live teddy bear.

I’m about to get into bed when I remember to check my jewelry box. I spot the image of Bri right away. Instead of lying asleep on the bed, she’s riding a bicycle … and smiling.

I smile, too. I climb under my covers. Prince jumps on my bed and smushes his little body against mine.

I can’t believe we brought a puppy back with us.

Sure, we’ve brought stuff back before — clothes and shoes and such — but never something LIVING.

I stroke my fingers over his fur. If Prince can come back — does that mean other characters can come back, too?

Maybe Bri or one of the other princesses could come visit!

Although if one of the princesses could come, that means one of the not-so-nice people could come visit, too. Like Carlotta.

I shudder. I don’t even want to think about what could happen then.

Prince buries his nose in the mattress and closes his eyes.

“Tired?” I ask between yawns.

He yawns back. Yawns really are contagious.

“Should we take a little nap?”

I’ll worry about Carlotta or other evil characters coming to Smithville later. Now, I close my eyes, lay my hand on Prince’s back, and murmur, “Sweet dreams.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you to: Laura Dail, Tamar Rydzinski, Aimee Friedman (world’s fastest and most responsive editor!), Abby McAden, David Levithan, Becky Shapiro, Becky Amsel, Bess Braswell, Allison Singer, Janet Robbins, Lizette Serrano, Emily Sharpe, Emily Heddleson, Candace Greene, AnnMarie Anderson, Courtney Sheinmel, Emily Bender, Anne Heltzel, Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart (double thanks for your awesome notes!), Tori, Carly and Carol Adams, Targia Alphonse, Shaznay Calixte (who has a great name!), Jess Braun, Lauren Kisilevsky, Bonnie Altro, Susan Finkelberg-Sohmer, Corinne and Michael Bilerman, Jess Rothenberg, Adele Griffin, Leslie Margolis, Robin Wasserman, Maryrose Wood, Tara Altebrando, Sara Zarr, Ally Carter, Jennifer Barnes, Alan Gratz, Penny Fransblow, Maggie Marr, and Farrin Jacobs.

Love and thanks to my family: Aviva, Dad, Louisa, Mom, Robert, Gary, Lori, Sloane, Isaac, Vickie, John, Gary, Darren, Ryan, Jack, Jen, Teri, Briana, Michael, David, Patsy, Murray, Maggie, and Jenny.

Extra love and thanks to my husband, Todd.

Hello, Chloe Michelle Swidler. I love you. I know you want to see your full name in a book, so here it is! To avoid sibling rivalry: Anabelle Morgan Swidler, I love you, too. Thank you both for being so smart and sweet even though you didn’t have a
wiftical
party. Or maybe you did….

Don’t miss Abby and Jonah’s next adventure, where they meet Rapunzel!

Look for

Whatever After #5:
BAD HAIR DAY