Full Speed Ahead: My Journey with Kit

I reach out to take Buddy from Kit’s arms, and Inky growls again. That gives me a great idea. I thank Uncle Hendrick for his invitation, but it seems as though my dog and his dog will not get along. Kit immediately gets it and says that’s right. So I had better not accept his gracious invitation. We’ll just get the suitcase and go.

Uncle Hendrick grumps. That preposterous puppy. But very well. There’s so much disorder in chaos of the Kittredge house that one more flea-ridden addition to the menagerie won’t be noticed. As for the suitcase, it’s not here yet. He says he’ll have a taxi bring it to the house when it arrives.

Uncle Hendrick leads Kit, Buddy, and me back to the front hall and opens the door and says goodbye. We’ve wasted enough of his time.

We say goodbye and he closes the door behind us. Kit grins at me. Phew. He’s a real sourpuss. Kit nods and says that she never thought she would say this, but thank goodness for Inky. And Buddy, too. Let’s go home.

When we arrive back at the Kittredge house, we go upstairs to her bedroom in the attic. Grace is waiting for us there. Kit starts to polish her shoes, which I’ve never actually seen anyone do before. Absentmindedly, I pull a book off of Kit’s bookshelf. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I tell Kit that I love that movie.

Kit looks at me, puzzled. Movie? I freeze. I guess the famous movie hasn’t been made yet. I correct myself and tell her that I mean book. I love it when Dorothy taps the heels of her magic slippers together and says, “There’s no place like home.” Kit laughs, close her eyes, and bonks together the heels of her brown Oxford shoes. She recites, “There’s no place like home” three times.

I laugh and open the book eagerly. I haven’t been reading long when Stirling appears. He hands Kit a picture that she asked him to draw. It’s just a pencil sketch, but it’s of Buddy and me looking at each other. Stirling managed to catch the impish look of Buddy’s eyes, and my expression shows how much I love Buddy. It’s really good. Kit says thank you, and Stirling blushes. I can tell he’s pleased.

Kit asks if I want to see some of the old newsletters that Stirling, Ruthie, and her used to make. She pulls a box out from under her desk and I sit on the floor. I begin to look through it, and then I have an inspiration. I ask Stirling if he can draw a sketch of Kit and Buddy and Grace for me. Stirling says sure. He pulls a pencil out of his pocket, takes a piece of paper off of Kit’s desk, and get straight to work. Kit sits on the floor and continues to polish her shoes. Grace tries to fit onto Kit’s lap, but Buddy is already there. Kit and Stirling laugh. I can see that they are very good friends. Watching them laughed together makes me miss my good friend, Izza.

I open the box. One of the newsletters announces that Stirling and his mother are coming to live with the Kittredges. Another is a newsletter designed like a help-wanted sign. It says that it’s looking for kids with a wagon to haul away leftover lumber suitable for fixing a sleeping porch. Another ad says that a talented handyman is required to fix a sleeping porch so it will fit two. There are funny advice columns. One of them says that Rotten Roger was caught stealing a girl’s lunch every day. Kit recommends bringing an extra lunch bag of dried-up leaves and let Rotten Roger have that bag. She can write a note inside that says “I have a hunch you’ll munch and crunch this lunch a bunch!”

I’m laughing at Kit’s advice when Mrs. Howard calls up the stairs for Stirling. By the sound of her voice, Buddy jumps to his feet, flies across the room, and gazes up at Mrs. Howard with big brown puppy-dog eyes. And to my surprise, Mrs. Howard kneels down, lifts Buddy up, and gives him a hug and a kiss. Her face is transformed from being nervous and tight to looking open and happy.

Mrs. Howard says that when I first arrived, she thought my dog was a bother. But she was wrong. I tell her that it’s okay. In fact, I can see I was wrong about Mrs. Howard, too. Reluctantly, Mrs. Howard puts Buddy down. Then Kit, Stirling, and I sneak knowing looks at one another. I can tell we’re all thinking the same thing. Buddy has completely won over Mrs. Howard’s heart. She is his new best friend.

Mrs. Howard tells Stirling it’s time for his cold medicine. And Kit’s mother needs her to help in the vegetable garden. I put the newsletters away in the box and pick up the book and ask if it’s okay for me to stay here and read. Kit says sure. As they leave, I settle back into the reading chair. But I can’t stop thinking about my home and my friend, Isabel. Just as Dorothy met people she loved in Oz, but still longed for Kansas, I love being with Kit and Buddy, but I am suddenly overwhelmed with longing for my own home and longing to spend time with my mother and my friend.

I find a scrap of paper and write a note:

I set my note on top of the book. Stirling has left his sketch of Kit, Buddy, and Grace on the Kit’s desk, so I fold it carefully and put it in my pocket. Although I don’t have magic slippers to knock together, I do have the camera. So I click it, and the next thing I know, I am home.