Remarkable by Elizabeth Foley Page A

was quiet. The truck with the bells on it had not yet arrived. He was just about to put his telescope down when he caught a glimpse of something that was very nearly as exciting to him as the post office addition.
    It was a beautiful, brand-new jar of Munch’s Generic Jelly, which was sitting on top of a table on a back porch. And even more beautiful than the jar of jelly was the woman who was eating dainty spoonfuls of it. Captain Rojo Herring’s heart flipflopped in his chest as he watched her spoon another bite of jelly into her mouth. Her teeth were white and perfect. He’d have bet all the pirate treasure in the world that she had the world’s loveliest smile.
    She looked up suddenly, as if she’d sensed him watching her. Her eyes scanned the hill above until they met his through the telescope. She put down her jelly spoon and raised a hand to wave to him. Captain Rojo Herring’s face blushed red, and his peg legs went weak and wobbly. He waved back.
    The woman suddenly stood up and went inside, and Captain Rojo Herring found that all he could do was stare after her. His heart had moved on from doing flipflops to cartwheels, somersaults, and happy backflips.
    “Avast!” he sighed as he clutched his chest. He’d heard of love at first sight, but he’d never believed in it until just that moment.

Milk and Pizza
    A t six o’clock, the doorbell rang at the Doe house. When Jane answered it, she found Lucinda Wilhelmina Hinojosa on the front steps.
    “Oh, hello again,” Jane said. “Are you here to see my brother?”
    “Hmmm,” Lucinda Wilhelmina Hinojosa hummed. “I don’t think so. Do I know your brother?”
    “Sure. He’s Anderson Brigby Bright Doe III. He’s taking you to the Science Fair Dance.”
    “If you say so,” Lucinda said. “But no. I’m not here about that. I’m here to give you this.”
    She was pulling a red metal wagon that was full of cartons of milk. She handed Jane one.
    “Look at the back,” Lucinda instructed.
    Jane turned the carton around. She saw the word MISSING in large letters over a vague and out-of-focus picture of a man. And under the picture it read T HE F AMOUS C OMPOSER Y SQUIBEL. L ARGE REWARD OFFERED FOR HIS SAFE RETURN .
    “You may remember,” Lucinda told Jane, “that I am the regional copresident of the Save Ysquibel Now! Club. We are distributing milk cartons in our attempts to locate the great composer before the premiere of his composition for the new bell tower. There’s some urgency. He’s never missed one of his own premieres before.”
    “Oh,” Jane said. “I didn’t know that.”
    “You didn’t? Hmm,” she hummed disapprovingly. Lucinda couldn’t believe anyone knew so little about Ysquibel. “Well, I can’t stay and chat. I have more milk cartons to deliver.”
    Lucinda walked back down the front steps and picked up the handle of her wagon.
    “Wait,” Jane called. “Don’t you at least want to say hi to Anderson Brigby Bright? I’m sure he’d love to talk to you.”
    “Who?”
    “My brother. The one who is taking you to the dance.”
    “Does he have information on Ysquibel’s whereabouts?”
    “Um…I doubt it.”
    “Then what could we possibly talk about?” Lucinda asked, and she headed off down the street with her wagon in tow.
    Jane carried the milk carton inside. Lucinda was the second surprise visitor to come to their house that evening. The first had been the delivery driver from Madame Gladiola’s House of Otherworldly Pizza.
    “There must be some mistake,” Jane’s father had said when he opened the door and saw the delivery driver. “We don’t need pizza tonight. I’m planning on making my world-famous olallieberry pancakes.”
    “Madame Gladiola has foreseen your confusion,” the driver said. “She said to tell you that soon you will realize that you lost your handwritten notes for your new chapter when you went to town earlier today. And your wife will realize that you accidentally picked up the bell