Age:
High School
Reading Level: 2.9
Chapter 1
“Hey, sis!” announced Karen as she knocked on the open door. “Feeling better after surgery?”
Kara sat up in her hospital bed. “Oh, I’m okay. A little sore. Guess I'll miss a couple days of school.”
“At least you're on the mend,” said Joshua, placing a vase of flowers on the table next to her. “You'll be better soon.”
“Hi, Sweetpea! How are you feeling?” asked Davy as he walked in with Pat.
“I was doing just fine until you showed up,” said Kara.
Davy turned to Karen. “See? She's back to her old self already.”
Kara sighed and made a face at him. “Bleh.”
“Better you than me,” retorted Davy. “Besides, I don't like doctors.”
“Why, what's wrong with doctors? I see mine every now and again,” said Pat.
“Of course you do,” replied Davy. “That's because you have indoor plumbing.”
“What's the big deal about you and doctors?” asked Joshua over the hysterical laughter of Pat.
“Because the last time I saw a doctor, she took my tonsils out and then threw me out of the hospital.”
“That's because you ate all their ice cream,” said Joshua. “Remember?”
Davy thought for a moment. “Oh yeah. Boy, Dad sure got mad when he saw the surcharge they tacked onto the bill for that one. He got even madder when the insurance company wouldn't cover it.” Then he turned back to Kara. “Can I have your ice cream?”
“You don't get ice cream when they take out your appendix.”
“Can I see your scar?”
“No.”
“So how long will you be here?” asked Pat.
Kara sighed. “Probably until this afternoon, after I recover from the anesthesia.”
“I have to babysit tonight,” said Pat. “But we'll stop by tomorrow to see how you're doing.”
“Who are you babysitting?” asked Kara.
“Little Jimmy,” replied Davy. “I like him. He's a great kid.”
Kara chortled at the thought. “Maybe Jimmy will help keep you in line.”
Chapter 2
“How're you doing, sis?”
Kara shifted her position a bit on her side of the sofa. “I'm okay. Still a little sore.”
Karen leaned over so she could see around Joshua. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, I'm fine. It's good to be home again. I'm just enjoying the movie you guys picked out.”
“I'm glad you like it,” said Joshua. “These old silent films are a lot of fun.”
Just then Joshua's phone rang. “Hey, Buckwheat!” announced a familiar voice. “It's me, Davy. Quick, what is bumpy toast?”
“Bumpy toast?” Joshua turned to Karen and gave her a puzzled look.
“Bumpy toast?” she asked. “Never heard that one before.”
“I have no idea,” Joshua said to Davy. “Why do you ask?”
“I'm babysitting Little Jimmy tonight, and he wants bumpy toast for dinner,” said Davy.
“YOU? What happened to Pat?”
“She's sick in bed,” sighed Davy. “She came down with something, so it's just me.”
“How's it going so far?” asked Joshua.
“Oh, everything is just ducky. He lets me do whatever I want and laughs everything off.”
“What's going on?” asked Karen.
“Davy's babysitting Little Jimmy by himself,” Joshua told her.
Karen burst out laughing. “OH NO!”
“Tell Cupcake I heard that,” grumbled Davy. “Oops, hold on a minute... Here you go.”
“What?” asked Joshua.
“Oh, Little Jimmy wanted some more yogurt.”
“Why don't you just feed him yogurt for dinner?” asked Joshua.
“He doesn't eat it,” answered Davy uncertainly. “He just likes to lug it around. Now, about this bumpy toast thing… Help me out, I'm running out of yogurt.”
“What's he doing with all the yogurt?” Joshua asked.
“Beats me. He wanders off with it and asks for more.”
Just then, Kara spoke up. “French toast.”
Joshua turned from the phone. “What?”
“I think it's French toast. But don't tell him yet. Make him suffer first.”
“Hey, Kara says it's French toast,” Joshua said into the phone.
Kara gave Joshua a gentle poke in the ribs. “You softy!”
Davy gave a moment’s pause to think. “That sounds about right. I'll make that kid the bumpiest toast he ever had. Tell Sweetpea I said thanks!”
“Breakfast for dinner always works in a pinch.” quipped Joshua.
“By the way,” said Davy. “What's that I hear in the background?”
“Oh, we're watching It.”
“Stephen King?”
“Nope, Clara Bow. She was the “it girl” back in the 20s. This is one of her silent movies.”
“Never heard of her,” replied Davy. “But I know Marlo Thomas was “that girl” in the 60s. Any relation?”
Chapter 3
Joshua's phone rang about thirty minutes later. “Hello?”
“Hey, Buckwheat. It's me, Davy.”
“It's Davy,” said Joshua to Karen, who leaned over to hear the phone.
“Hey, Batman! How did the bumpy toast go?” Karen said to Davy.
“I hope he gets bumped on the head,” grumbled Kara.
“Oh, it was a blast!” replied Davy. “Little Jimmy really liked it. What a great kid.”
“So he liked your cooking?”
“Um, no, not really. We didn't get quite that far.”
“How far did you get?” asked Karen.
“The front yard.”
“The front yard?” asked Joshua.
“Yeah,” replied Davy. “It caught fire, so I threw it outside. Little Jimmy liked it so much he wanted me to do it again, but we had cereal instead.”
It wasn't but thirty minutes later that Joshua's phone rang yet again. “I'll bet that's Davy,” smiled Karen as Joshua picked up his phone and handed it to her.
“You take it this time,” he said with a laugh.
“Hello?” Karen said.
“Hey, Cupcake! It's me, Davy. Say, do you have a TV Guide kicking around?”
“Sure. There's one right here,” she replied, handing it to Joshua.
“Great! Anything good on tonight that Little Jimmy might like?”
“Why don't you just read him a story instead?” asked Karen.
“I already read him Binky Billingsley and the Big Bunch of Bright Blue Bananas three times because I like the part about the Bouncy Boinky Blob. But now he's bored and I ran out of yogurt for him to play with.”
“Tell him to try channel four,” said Joshua, holding up the magazine and pointing at a listing.
“Joshua said channel four,” said Karen. “They're having a classic cartoon marathon tonight. You might like that.”
“Uh-oh.”
“What?” asked Karen.
“I gave Little Jimmy a tube of toothpaste to play with,” replied Davy.
“Did he...?”
“Yeah. He really liked that. I don't know how I'm going to get all that toothpaste back in the tube, though.”
