I love this new ribbon,” Brooke said. “It’s the same color as Sunvisor. It goes so nicely with the bright red and orange we bought last week.”
It was a Saturday morning a few weeks later, and Aly and Brooke were sitting together in their living room making barrettes. Sparkly was jumping around and barking, like he was offering advice on which colors to use.
Since the barrettes were such a hit, the girls kept making them—and kept donating all the proceeds to Loving Locks.
Mid-braid, Aly heard a car pull into the driveway. Sparkly went crazy, racing for the front door.
“Dad?” Brooke asked.
Aly grinned.
The girls went racing for the front door too.
Dad walked in smelling like an airplane, with his briefcase strap slung over his shoulder, his suitcase rolling behind him, and a stack of letters in one hand. “Did you ladies forget to get the mail?” he asked.
Mom had come up next to the girls. “Oops,” she said, and leaned over to give Dad a kiss.
“Sorry, Dad,” Aly said, taking the mail from him. Even though all the Tanner women were CEOs, going to the mailbox while Dad was gone was not their best skill.
Aly scanned through all the envelopes, pulling out one addressed to Brooke. “Brookester, you’ve got mail,” she said, handing over the letter.
Aly quickly sifted through the rest of the mail. Nothing for her. There rarely was. Or for Brooke, either, for that matter. So this letter must be something special.
Brooke tore it open. A photograph fell to the floor. She bent to pick it up, then unfolded the note that came with it. “Whoa,” she said. “I can’t believe it. Whoa.”
Brooke was rarely speechless.
“What is it?” Aly asked her sister.
Brooke handed the note and the photograph to Aly.
Dear Brooke,
Thank you so much for donating your hair to Loving Locks so that a wig could be made for me. Your hair is just like mine—the same color and everything. I wanted to show you how it looks and how happy your kindness—and hair—has made me. I felt so much better when I put it on.
XOXO,
Arianna
Aly looked at the picture. It was of a girl who looked maybe nine or ten years old. She had Blue Suede Shoes–colored eyes and a huge smile on her face.
“You know what I think?” Brooke said. “I think I’m going to grow my hair long again just so I can cut it off and help someone else.”
Aly fingered her own hair. “Me too,” she said.
Mom read the letter, then leaned over and hugged both girls. “It’s one thing to be smart, it’s another thing to be strong, and yet another to be sparkly,” she said. “But you girls are kind and caring and compassionate too.”
“We got some good ones,” Dad said. “Right?”
“We sure did,” Mom answered.
Mom’s and Dad’s smiles looked as big as Arianna’s did in her picture. Aly decided she wanted to be the kind of person—for her whole life—who did everything she could to make people smile just like that.