After school, Keisha sat at the kitchen table and pretended to do math problems. What she was really working on was her if-then hypothesis, but she didn’t think Mama would like it much, since it involved Carter children (specifically Keisha) doing dangerous things. Mama sat next to Keisha, figuring out the bills for the month. For every expense, there was an envelope—groceries, water, electricity. Any leftover money went in the envelope marked “extra.” The first time she went shopping each month, Mama paid all her bills in cash at the Family Fare service counter. Keisha had tried to explain to Mama about online banking, but Mama said she liked to do things the old-fashioned way and pay her bills with dollars and cents.
Sometimes, working on the envelopes got Mama talking about charging the people who dropped off squirrels with broken legs and songbirds who’d run into picture windows.
Keisha could tell that Mama was thinking that very thing because she looked up from her work and said, “Right now, your father is chasing all over the park after a deer that won’t bring in a penny, and I’m to figure out how much extra it will cost if Razi goes to a new school.”
“A new school?”
“Ms. Tellerico thinks Razi’s active body might like the Celia Cruz Performing Arts School better than Langston Hughes. It’s a public school, too, but it’s on the other side of town, so we have to pay extra for the school bus. Razi is going to try it out tomorrow.”
“But he’ll be back for the Halloween Parade on Friday, won’t he?” Keisha said. Razi had been looking forward to the parade and the line dance in costumes since he’d learned about them in kindergarten.
“Of course. Oh dear.” Mama pulled the bills out of the “extra” envelope and counted them again. “It was fine last summer to be an alligator, but now his heart is set on a police officer. Grandma found the badge and the hat at the dollar store, but we need a navy blue shirt.” She paused and looked up at Keisha. “Do police officers wear ties?”
“Oh, Mama, that reminds me … Mr. Drockmore told us yesterday—”
“Your costume is all finished, Ada. I ironed it this morning. I took up Grandma’s long skirt, and I made you a snowy white apron and bonnet … ”
Mama paused. Keisha imagined she was seeing her daughter in the full skirt, the snowy white apron and the stupid bonnet. Yuck. If only she could be a Romany girl with Racket by her side. That would be beyond Tallahassee.
“Try it on while I walk down to the thrift store and look for a navy blue shirt. Grandma’s at the park exercising her toe with Razi and the baby. She wants to be able to fit into the ruby slippers.” For months, Grandma had planned to be the Wicked Witch of the East for Halloween. She was the one who wore the ruby slippers and the black-and-white-striped tights. The supersecret part was that she planned to wear the emerald ring on her pinky finger for the first time.
“But, Mama—”
“I only have a few minutes. Go try it on. I can make the alterations and hear your poem again when I get back.”
Keisha sat down and crossed her arms. Vera Wang dang-doodle. How could she tell Mama she wanted a whole different costume on the day before Halloween?
But when she thought about wearing the stupid bonnet, the stupid apron and the stupid skirt during the line dance, how could she not?
Keisha started out the door after Mama and almost ran into Grandma trying to get the baby stroller up the back steps.
“Watch it there!” Grandma said. “The swelling is just going down.” Racket jumped all over Keisha as if she were the most famous movie star in the whole world.
It almost made her smile.
Until she remembered that Wen and Aaliyah and everyone else would be line-dancing in real Halloween costumes while she was stuck in the stupid eighteenth century. Blah.
“Heavens to Betsey Johnson,” Grandma said. “You look positively mortified.”
“Oh, Grandma.” Keisha helped Grandma with the stroller and unbuckled the baby. As she held drooly, sleepy baby Paulo against her chest, she all of a sudden felt like crying. “I’m … It’s just …”
“Say no more,” Grandma said. “This is serious. Razi, I am going to let you into my Grandpa Henry’s war chest.”
“Me?” Razi was still. “With the skeleton key?”
“The super-secret key hiding place is my top dresser drawer. And no playing with my silk scarves! You haven’t washed your hands.”
Razi took off like a shot. Grandma held out her arms for the baby and sat down in her kitchen chair. “Graham crackers,” she said. Keisha went to the cupboard and got the box. Grandma put several graham crackers on the table as if she were laying down a hand of Old Maid. Paulo was in ecstasy. Keisha didn’t know his mouth was wide enough to gnaw on three whole graham crackers at once.
“Now that the boys are taken care of, honey, tell me all your problems.”
“Oh, Grandma …” Keisha picked up Racket and rubbed his ears.
When she’d finished telling the story, Grandma said: “Hmmmm … if only I were Bohemian.” Grandma bit into a graham cracker of her own. “But you know that’s not my style. I’m more eclectic.”
“That’s too bad,” Keisha said, though she didn’t know what “Bohemian” or “eclectic” meant.
“Still …” A smile spread across Grandma’s face. “There were the hippie days. I wonder … Let me talk to your mama when she gets home, Keisha. I have a feeling we can make this—”
“Well, that was a fool’s errand.” Daddy came in the back door and opened the refrigerator. “Three interns from the Department of Natural Resources, Bob, myself, Bert, that crazy reporter from Live at Five … with all the hubbub and commotion, there wasn’t even a squirrel in sight, let alone a baby deer. Bert and I agreed we’d go back alone at sunrise tomorrow … Hopefully, Mindy Patel will still be snoozing under her covers.”
“That is all very unfortunate.…” Grandma winked at Keisha. “But I know you will find that deer, Fred, because the Carter family never gives up. I’m quite sure of it. In the meantime, I need to take this baby upstairs and track down an old suitcase.”
Grandma put Paulo on her hip and left the room, trailing graham cracker crumbs behind her. Keisha watched her father take a fat carrot from the vegetable drawer and slump into his kitchen chair.
“It shouldn’t be this hard, Key. I don’t get why we keep missing him.… ”
“We’ll find him, Daddy.” She got out the list and the drawings she’d made earlier while she was supposed to be doing her math problems. “I think it’s time to explore the gray area.”
“Again? Didn’t you just explore the gray area with the dog … the coyote … whatever this guy is?”
Keisha held up Racket for some petting from Daddy.
“Hmmm …” Daddy munched on his carrot while he studied Keisha’s drawings. “A jug of water, canola oil, dried corn, rope from the laundry line … oops …” He pulled the half-eaten carrot out of his mouth. “You need these carrots?”
“Not every one. You can eat that one.”
Daddy pushed the drawing between them. “We used to play this trick in college,” he said. “Maybe you better fill in the blanks for me.”
Keisha told Daddy what she and Wen had hypothesized about in science class. “I want to mix the canola oil in water and toss it on the baby deer,” she said. “That would be easier than catching him. I know it’s a long shot, but if he gets oily and the temperature drops and the plastic gets hard, then he just might be able to rub it off himself.”
Daddy leaned back in his chair. “Why do I have the feeling I’m going right back to that park?”
“I could do it myself! I could ride my bike and climb the tree. All by myself. Aaliyah says it has to be me to avoid a public-relationship disaster.”
“Come over here, Key.” Daddy pulled Keisha onto his lap. “What matters most is what we know in here.” He put Keisha’s hand on his heart. “Not what they report on the five o’clock news. We are a team and that means we solve problems together.”
They were quiet a minute, thinking their separate thoughts, before Daddy said, “At the same time, that poor little guy doesn’t have much longer. And with the coming cold, these deer are likely to be on the move.”
Daddy remembered the camera crew talking about a press conference as they’d packed up their gear. Mayor Heartwell was going to announce his strategy for making Grand River into a greener city.
“Maybe we’ll have the park to ourselves. There’s a chance this idea of yours just might work.”
“Hey, Mom,” Daddy called up the stairs. “Can we borrow your cell phone?”
Grandma appeared at the top of the stairs. She gave Keisha a thumbs-up before taking her cell phone out of its pink leather holder and tossing it down to Daddy. “Be careful,” she said. “I just got those Hello Kitty decals.”
It was starting to get dark and a little drizzly as they drove down Joan Street … not perfect for humans, but perfect for deer. Mr. Gorman was standing on his porch, spreading newspapers over his flowerpots.
Keisha ran over to say hello.
“Just hoping to keep the blooms a little longer by giving them a blanket to protect them from the frost,” Mr. Gorman explained. “You got something you need to fry?” he asked, pointing to the big bottle of canola oil Keisha was holding.
She tried to explain her plan to Mr. Gorman. He cocked his head to the side, thinking it through. “It sounds a little wacko to me, but I hope it works. I can’t stop thinking about the poor little fella.”
Keisha ran ahead of Daddy down the hill to the boardwalk until she found the tree she and Razi had climbed two days earlier, the one that gave her such a great view of all the deer trails.
Setting down her supplies, she climbed the tree, just far enough to get a view of the trails the deer had stomped down on their travels. She chose the widest two and followed them with her eyes until she could see where they came together and crossed. Then she looked for a tree with a sturdy branch that would overhang that spot. Another oak tree was in just the right position. Perfect! With her brown sweatshirt, she would be hidden in the leaves.
Keisha made a path through the brush until she reached the right tree. She could hear Daddy breaking twigs behind her. “This is the one, Daddy.” Keisha tried to keep her voice low. It was almost dusk.
“You may have to wait for a while.”
“I’m a good waiter.”
“That’s my girl. Okay, take Grandma’s cell phone and call me if you need me. After I hand these things off and we practice like we discussed, I’m going to disappear.” Keisha put the laundry line around her shoulders and stepped into Daddy’s cupped hands. He boosted her, and she caught hold of a high branch and swung herself up. When Keisha was about fifteen feet above the path, she lowered the line and Daddy started to tie on the items they’d brought. One at a time, she hauled them up, wedging the two plastic jugs in the branches. One was filled with water. The other was filled with a mixture of canola oil and water.
Daddy looked up and waved. They had to work fast so he could get out of there and leave the trail to the deer. He opened the umbrella he’d brought and walked several steps down the path. Then he walked back Keisha’s way. Keisha used her jug of water for practice. It took a while before she measured the distance correctly. Too soon and the water hit the ground. Too late, the water hit the ground again. When it was just right, she could hit the umbrella. After they practiced a few times, Daddy spread the corn and carrots out on the trail and left for his spot in the picnic area.
Keisha was alone. She leaned up against the trunk and tried to think waiting thoughts. A crisp fall breeze riffled her hair. Would they go apple picking this weekend? Maybe Grandma would make an apple pancake and they would invite Big Bob over and have hot chocolate. Maybe Daddy would let her use the apple picker in the tree this year. And a teething baby brother Paulo would have nice fresh apples for all the sore parts on his gums.
Just as she was thinking about Paulo’s gums, Keisha heard a snort and then the thud of hoofbeats. A little fog had crept in, but she could still see two deer coming toward her. No plastic pumpkins. Keisha wondered if she should practice her aim on these healthy deer, but she decided that if she startled them, they might discourage others from coming her way.
All of a sudden, the tune to “I’m So Sexy in My Heels” started playing in her pants pocket. Jeez Louis Vuitton. It was Grandma’s cell phone! Keisha almost fell out of the tree getting it out. She looked at the caller ID.
Why was Daddy calling her now?
“Daddy!”
“It’s Big Bob, Keisha. Your dad told me to call.”
“Hi, Big Bob. I’m a little busy right now.”
“I know.” Big Bob’s voice sounded excited. “I’m up a tree in the picnic area with your dad. I brought my bird-watching binoculars. We can see the pumpkin deer and his mama! They’re coming your way!”
Keisha was so flustered, she hung up without saying good-bye. She wasn’t ready! She tried to jam the cell phone back in her pocket, but she dropped it. It thumped its way through the trees. Oh no. She froze. Now what was she supposed to do? She heard crashing in the forest not far away. Something must have startled the deer, and they were coming her way, bounding along.
Keisha had no practice with bounding! She took the lid off the gallon container and made an experimental pour. If deer were running at twenty miles an hour and water mixed with vegetable oil was traveling at four miles per hour, what time would they meet? Oh deer!
Of all the worst things that could happen, Grandma’s cell phone went off again. Keisha couldn’t tell exactly where it was, but she knew that if she were a deer, she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a man-made noise like that. Here they came. She only had a minute to think. The deer bounded toward the tree. Just as suddenly, they stopped. They must have heard the cell phone. Mama deer stuck her head in the air, sniffing. The baby deer with the pumpkin on its head was right behind.
Later, everyone couldn’t believe how she’d kept her cool, but Keisha knew she had really panicked and poured without thinking. The liquid gurgled out of the gallon container, and then—music to her ears—she heard the plunk, plink, plank of water hitting plastic. The baby deer took off again, and it was all over in an instant.
Keisha leapt to the ground just as Daddy and Big Bob came rushing up. “What happened?” Big Bob asked.
It was almost dark. Keisha hugged her dad. “Bull’s-eye,” she said.
After several high-fives, Keisha asked Big Bob: “Will you call Grandma’s cell phone one more time? I think it’s lost in the leaves.”
