An April Fool's Day Joke

Grandpa says there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason. Sally couldn't see any good reason why she, by accident, had overheard her cousin gossiping about her.
When she picked up the extension in the bedroom, her cousin was already on the phone.
"Sunbonnet Sally, that's such a stupid name," she heard her cousin say.
As Sally listened in, her heart beat so fast, she imagined fireworks might shoot from her chest at any moment.
The person at the other end of the conversation replied, "Yeah, I know." Sally never did find out who that other person was.
She hung up the phone. She felt like she'd just been punched in the stomach. But she decided not to tell on Eloise. Anyway, no one would do anything about it.
When Eloise comes to visit she gets away with murder. If Sally complains, all her Mom ever says is, "Eloise is our guest." What Sally's Mom is really saying is, "We're to be nice to her, no matter what."
The thing of it is, Sally thinks it's a stupid name, too. She's almost eleven now and can't remember the last time she wore a sunbonnet. That doesn't mean she has to like it when other people make fun of her nickname.
Easter Sunday, when she was four, Grandpa nicknamed her Sunbonnet Sally. She had such fair skin, she had to wear sunbonnets when she went outside.

"Smile Sally, Sunbonnet Sally," Grandpa called out to her. She squinted into the sun, the camera clicked and Grandpa took her by the hand. She remembers that in particular. No one except Grandpa ever held her hand unless they were helping her cross the street or climb the stairs. Grandpa held her hand, just because. His hand was big and warm and strong, yet gentle.
He led her through the front gate to join the Easter Egg Hunt. Her brother Jeremy and his cousins scampered around the yard searching for hidden treats.
In Grandpa's pocket, there were two polka-dot eggs, pink dots on a pale blue background. He had painted them himself the night before. Earlier that morning, he hid them in the mailbox earlier.
"Let's see if the Easter Bunny left any mail today," he said. He lifted her up and she pulled on the metal door. It flopped down.
Sally hesitated, then pointed at the eggs with a quizzical expression and looked at Grandpa. "It's OK. The Easter Bunny left those for you," he said. "For you," he repeated. He leaned forward so she could reach them.
By that time her brother and all the cousins had gathered on the front steps to compare their loot. "Grab your goodies! Dinner will be ready in three shakes of a lamb's tail!" The announcement caused a stampede into the house.
Sally sat next to Jeremy at the kid's table. Jeremy dug a tin box out of his pocket. What happened next caused a ruckus.
Holding the box beneath the table, so no one else could see, he whispered, "Close your eyes."
When Sally was four, she always did what her brother told her to do.
This tin box looked liked the tin box Jeremy stored gumballs in. She felt around inside the box while Jeremy traded mischievous glances with his cousins.
When she opened her eyes, she screamed. Inside the tin box, slimy earthworms squirmed and wriggled. All of the adults at the grown-ups table turned around to see what the commotion was about. Not knowing what else to do, Sally burst into tears.
"Jeremy!" Sally's Mother came to her rescue and scooped her up. "You're about as much help as a leaky umbrella! Apologize to your sister now and everyone at the table."
He looked guilty but started to plead his case anyway. "They're just worms!" he began. "It's not my fault she's ..." He was going to complete this sentence with "Such a baby."
He thought better of it when he saw his father seated at the head of the adult table, glaring at him. The others tried to hide their smiles behind their napkins.
"And take your worms outside!" his mother added.
Grandpa got up and took Sally from her Mother's arms. "We'll just take a little walk outside for a bit, Maddie," he said to his daughter. Sally hid her head in his shoulder and feeling safe there they followed Jeremy through the back door.

###

Jeremy needed his worms to go fishing later. He set the tin box on the patio table with the lid closed. For the second time that day he wanted to say, "Don't be such a baby." But he knew Grandpa would disapprove. He just turned around and ran back inside.
Grandpa began telling Sally a story. He made it up as he went along. It was about April Fool's Day and a little girl whose big brother was always teasing her. The little girl had curly blonde hair just like Sally's. She was just as sweet as the morning dew on a morning glory.
Sally sat on Grandpa's lap, her head resting on his chest.
"April Fool's Day is the day for harmless pranks," Grandpa began. "You play pretend. You've played pretend before, haven't you?" Sally nodded.
The little girl in the story wanted to get back at her big brother for all the times he teased her. She asked her Mommy if it was okay to play pretend and fool her big brother.
Her Mommy not only said it would be okay, she promised to help. They thought about it. April Fool's Day was a week away. How would they play an April Fool's Day joke on her big brother?
More than anything, her brother loved baseball. He was trying out for Little League. The following Saturday was not only April Fool's Day, it was also the day the coach would announce who made the team.
The little girl and her Mom decided how they would fool her brother. Once they had the plan figured out, they couldn't wait for Saturday to arrive.
The little girl woke up early. She remembered what day it was and jumped out of bed.
Her Mommy was already in the kitchen, smiling like the "cat that ate the canary". "It's all taken care of," she said. The little girl didn't even have to ask.
All morning the little girl bounced from room to room to see what everyone else was doing.
Dad had his head buried under the hood of their car. Mommy busied herself with carpooling to Little League tryouts. Jeremy nervously tossed a ball into his glove over and over as he sat watching TV.
At about 9:30 he went upstairs to put on his uniform. He'd grown an inch or two in the past year and struggled to get into it. They wouldn't hand out new uniforms until you made the team.
He worried about making the team. This year the kids were bigger and several guys that just moved into the neighborhood were pretty good.
"Come on Jeremy get your butt out here!" His buddies had arrived. He raced downstairs. They all gathered on the front lawn and burned off their nervous energy playing catch.
Finally, his Mom appeared. His little sister skipped right along behind her.
The boys sat in the back and shoved at each other. The little girl's Mom told them to settle down. If they wanted to get there, she had to concentrate on driving.
But the car wouldn't start. She frowned and tried it again. It just wouldn't start! "Don't wear down the battery," she said to herself.
"I'll get Dad!" Jeremy shouted. The little girl and her Mommy traded smiles. Everyone got out of the car and Jeremy ran inside. In a moment he returned with his Dad walking nonchalantly behind him.
It seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. Didn't they realize this was the biggest day of his life? He couldn't be late, he just couldn't!
Making the team wasn't just about being a good hitter, you had to show you wanted it. That meant being a team player, not to mention arriving on time.
Everybody leaned against the front fenders on either side of the opened hood. Jeremy's Dad tinkered with the engine.
"Did you notice the gas gauge?" he asked his wife.
"There's plenty of gas, half full."
"Hmmm," his Dad mused. Secretly he wondered how long he should milk his son's agony.
"Were you tuning it up just now?" his wife asked.
"Just a spark plug gap," her husband responded. "Should run better, I just don't know."
Jeremy spun around, exasperated. "Maybe we should just ride our bikes down!" He knew this wasn't possible. Municipal Stadium was downtown, too much traffic, and no bike lane. It would be too dangerous.
The little girl's Mommy and Daddy looked at her and winked. She took a step back from the others and shouted, "April Fool's Day!"
At first, Jeremy didn't get it. April Fool's pranks were the last thing on his mind.
His buddies, who had been in on the joke too, began poking him and laughing. That's when he saw he had been set up.
He threw his glove down. Then remembered something the coach had told him about good sportsmanship. He hung his head a moment and came up smirking, "OK, you got me! Now can we go?"
Still laughing everybody piled back into the car while his Dad took the rotor out of his pocket. He removed the rotor cap and snapped everything back into place. When his wife turned the key the engine sputtered to life.

###

Sally's Mom came outside to where she and Grandpa were sitting. She had two dinner plates with ham slices, potato salad, and red Jello on the side.
"I thought you two might be getting hungry." She placed the plates on the table and handed each of them a blue and white checkered napkin.
"I should say we are, Maddie," Grandpa said, taking a napkin.
Sally felt much better. She decided she would start with the red Jello and save the juicy slice of ham for later. As she took a spoonful of Jello she spotted her real-life brother coming across the lawn.
She tensed up. She wasn't in the mood for any more "Jeremy pranks". He had something in his hand that he set down next to her before he ran off. She watched him go back to rejoin his cousins.
What he had left for her was his most treasured find of the day. It was a chocolate bunny with tall ears wrapped in bright crimson foil. Red is her favorite color.
Sally didn't know for sure what "make the team" meant. But she thought it had to be something good.
"Did the boy in the story make the team?"
"What do you think, Sally? Do you think he made the team?" Grandpa asked.
She looked at the crimson rabbit. It had two very long front teeth and whiskers drawn on its cheeks. She thought she saw it wink at her.
"I think he did," she decided.
"I think so, too," Grandpa replied.
End