Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Author:Kevin Henkes
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins

After breakfast, Alice’s father used his pocketknife to break the seal on the package from Helen Blair. Mallory and Kate were gone, although Mallory had wanted to stay.

The knife sliced cleanly and easily through the shiny brown tape encircling the box, and the flaps sprang apart with a faint, satisfying sound. “All yours,” said Alice’s father. He pushed the box across the kitchen table to Alice.

Cushioned between layers of crumpled newspaper, Alice found three small boxes wrapped and tied in orange and purple, and a note. The note was written in a beautiful, slanted cursive hand.

“What does it say?” asked Alice’s mother.

Alice read the note aloud.

Dear Alice,

The snow seems endless here. Yesterday, people were walking and skiing down the middle of Lexington Avenue! And it’s cold—everyone has cherries on their cheeks.

I miss you all, but the airports are still a mess, and so I’ve decided to stay put. I hope you’ve found someone to play Sweet or Sour with.

The enclosed birthday gifts are from my trip to Venice this past summer. The little spoons are gelato spoons. I saved them because they seemed too pretty not to keep. The beads were too pretty not to buy. And the euros were in the bottom of my suitcase when I returned home. You can use them when you go to Venice one day. And you will. It’s heaven. Like being dropped into a jewelry box.

Love to all,

Helen

P.S. If I’m not mistaken, you’re ten this year. Ten is a big deal.

“I can’t believe she knew you were ten,” said Alice’s mother.

“I can’t believe you can ski down the middle of Lexington Avenue,” said Alice’s father.

Alice quickly tore into the three small boxes. Even though the note had described the gifts, Alice couldn’t wait to see the items, to touch them, to hold them.

There were ten gelato spoons in the first box. The spoons were just a few inches long. They were transparent colored plastic—two pink, one blue, one green, two purple, one orange, and three yellow. They were smooth and light.

There were ten glass beads in the second box. The beads were multicolored and looked like pieces of hard candy. Alice inspected each one, trying to pick a favorite, but couldn’t.

The last box held ten euros. The euros seemed more exotic than American money because each coin was both silver and gold, and was heavy.

“This is so nice of her,” Alice’s mother said, fingering the beads.

“So nice,” echoed Alice’s father.

Alice nodded vigorously. She started to reread the note. “What does ‘cherries on their cheeks’ mean?” she asked.

Alice’s mother gently patted Alice’s face. “Rosy cheeks—pink cheeks—from the cold air.”

“Oh, right,” said Alice. She continued to reread the note. She now wanted to know everything about Venice. She knew some about the canals, and she’d seen photographs of a cathedral in one of her father’s thick architecture books, but that was the extent of her knowledge. Alice had never been out of the country, and she’d only been in five states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Florida.

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