Durinda's Dangers by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Author:Lauren Baratz-Logsted [Baratz-Logsted, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

She led us inside, where a big fire blazed in the small fireplace.

"Dinner's just about ready," she announced.

That's when we noticed how good their house smelled. It smelled of home-cooked food. More than that, it smelled of love.

"We don't want to put you out," Annie said.

"We're used to PBJs," Rebecca added.

"It's no trouble," Mrs. Pete said. "I've always wanted a whole houseful of children."

"Haven't you any of your own?" Petal piped up.

"Sadly, no," Mrs. Pete said, looking very unhappy when she said it.

"I'll bet these people would give great presents to their kids," Zinnia whispered as the Petes, Mr. and Mrs., led us to their dining room table.

And so we ate Valentine's Day dinner with the Petes.

There was roast beef, which Pete carved himself. There were real mashed potatoes with enough gravy for everyone. They didn't even make us eat the salad, and for dessert there was fresh strawberry cream pie with enough whipped cream on it to satisfy even Rebecca. It was the best meal we'd had since before New Year's Eve. (Not to knock Durinda's cooking skills.)

When the last dish had been wiped clean and all the dishes cleared away—we did help clear the table—Mrs. Pete brought out a large book to show us. She said it was a special book.

"As I said before," she said, "Pete has told me all about you and he's told me about your, er, situation, or at least what he thinks that situation might be. I think this book might help."

"It looks like just an ordinary book," Marcia observed. "Except it's very large."

"What is it?" Jackie wanted to know.

"Are there stories in it?" Zinnia asked.

"I hope they're scary stories," Georgia said.

"With lots of blood and guts," Rebecca added.

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Pete said with an easy laugh. "There are no scary stories here, but it is a very special book. It's called The Mommy Catalog."

"The Mommy Catalog?" Durinda asked. "I never heard of such a thing."

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Pete said, opening the book and flipping the pages. "You can pick out any kind of mommy you want from this book."

"Hey!" Jackie said. "That one is called the Tall Mommy! I'll bet she'd come in very handy. You'd never need a stepladder with her around!"

"What about the Soft Mommy?" Petal said. "She looks like she'd be great for giving out hugs."

"The Silly Mommy looks like she'd only be fun for about a day," Rebecca said.

"Then we'd have to kick her out," Georgia added.

"The Funny Mommy doesn't look like she'd be half as funny as she probably thinks she is," Marcia observed.

"The Money Mommy could be cool," Annie said. "It'd be nice to not have to worry about handling the money anymore."

"The Money Mommy sounds good to me too," Zinnia said.

We all agreed that the Pretty Mommy, while pretty, wasn't the kind of mommy a person needed to have.

"Hey!" Durinda said suddenly, flipping the page. "That's you, Mrs. Pete! Isn't it?"

Mrs. Pete blushed.

We studied her picture in The Mommy Catalog. Underneath it, the legend read, The Nice Mommy.

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