When they arrived at the candle shop, Lou Lou and Pea were greeted by Rosa’s pet bunny, Helado. He bounded over, cocked his head, and gave Lou Lou a once-over with his amber eyes, then jumped directly into Pea’s arms. Lou Lou didn’t mind. It wasn’t as if Helado didn’t like her—she’d once helped rescue him from a nasty bunnynapping—but Pea had a way with animals.
“Hola, mi pequeño.” Pea kissed the bunny’s ears and placed him gently on the floor.
Lou Lou and Pea looked around the candle shop. It had changed a lot since Rosa had taken it over. The shop was still dim, and the tall, brightly colored candles provided most of the light, creating a sense of mysticism. But much to Pea’s delight the shelves were now spotless, and Rosa had carefully arranged the candles by category.
Today, Rosa was nowhere to be seen, but her cousin Jeremy was behind the shop’s counter. As usual, he was dressed in all black, so Lou Lou nearly missed him in the shadowy space.
“Buenas tardes, Jeremy,” Pea called. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Hiya, Peacock!”
“You dyed your hair!” Lou Lou exclaimed. “When did you do that?” She’d run into Jeremy just yesterday when he was leaving his sixth-grade homeroom, and his hair had been the same as always.
Jeremy laughed at Lou Lou’s outburst. “Hello to you, too, Lou Lou Bombay! And yep, I dyed it last night. I needed a change.” Jeremy rolled his fingers around a piece of his bright-red spiky hair. His studded metal bracelet gleamed in the flickering candlelight. “Didn’t want people thinking I was feeling blue all the time.” He winked. “Whaddya guys think?”
“It looks good,” Lou Lou said. Pea smiled but looked down. Lou Lou knew that she much preferred Jeremy’s blue hair—it was her favorite color, after all—but she was way too polite to tell him. When Pea looked up again, she said, “According to Christian Dior, red is ‘a very energetic and beneficial color.’”
“Cool. If Mr. Dior approves, that’s good enough for me,” Jeremy replied.
“Where’s Rosa?” asked Lou Lou.
“She had to deliver a candle to a customer,” Jeremy said. “So I’m minding the shop and bunnysitting. Hey, how were my currant scones?”
“Delisho!” replied Lou Lou.
“She means delicioso,” said Pea.
“As long as she’s saying they’re yummy, I’ll take the compliment,” said Jeremy. “Rosa and I were just discussing my baking. I’m still working on the caracoles for the Bonanza and I can’t figure out el último ingrediente. You know, the one that gives it that extra kick!” To illustrate his point Jeremy kicked his foot up into the air, nearly hitting Helado’s floppy ear with a black leather boot.
“Have you tried honey?” asked Lou Lou. “Or maybe agave?”
“Yes, and just about everything else I can think of,” Jeremy said. “So far, no luck. They have to be ready in a few weeks for the caracoles contest!” Lou Lou nodded. The caracoles contest was in the morning on the day of the Bonanza. The winner would receive a trophy and the honor of serving caracoles, the city’s signature pastry, at the celebration later that afternoon. “My caracoles taste good, just not like the ones that Señora Basa used to make. And I want them to be killer!”
“Why would you want your caracoles to kill people?” Pea asked.
Jeremy laughed. “I meant killer as in awesome and super-duper and out-of-this-world. I brought the latest batch for Rosa to sample, if you guys feel like trying ’em out.”
“Sure!” Lou Lou was full from Jeremy’s PSPP scones, but she couldn’t resist a nibble.
Jeremy opened a paper bag on the candle shop counter and pulled out two caracoles, handing one each to Lou Lou and Pea. “Tell me whatcha think. And be honest even if you hate them. I suppose I can take it.” He sighed theatrically.
Lou Lou laughed at Jeremy’s drama. “Since when have we ever hated anything you baked, Jeremy? I mean, it’s true your blueberry muffins could use some work, but still…”
“There’s a first time for everything,” replied Jeremy. “Now enough chatting—more munching.” Lou Lou turned her caracol over in her hand. It was a long length of flaky sweet dough wound into the shape of a snail. In the center of the caracol’s doughy shell was a little well of custardy cream. This was Lou Lou’s favorite part, and she usually licked out the cream before eating the rest. But this time, she bit straight into the dough, taking her role as a taste tester very seriously.
“It’s really good,” she said, forgetting to not talk with her mouth full.
“Yes,” Pea agreed, dabbing her lip with her blue handkerchief.
“But…” Lou Lou said, just as Pea said, “Pero…”
“… they don’t taste like Señora Basa’s caracoles.” Jeremy finished their sentences.
“Right,” agreed Lou Lou, thinking back to the perfect caracoles from the Panadería Basa, El Corazón’s beloved Mexican bakery, which had been owned by Pea’s abuela’s cousin. Lou Lou and Pea had spent many happy hours at the panadería, feasting on caracoles, conchas, and tres leches cake, as well as enjoying the company of Señora Basa, who always had a good story about the old days in El Corazón or the history of Pea’s family. Unfortunately, Señora Basa had passed away last year, taking the secret caracoles recipe with her.
Jeremy threw his hands in the air, startling Helado. “Woe!” he cried ridiculously, and Lou Lou couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t worry, they’re still muy sabroso!” Pea could never bear the thought of hurting a friend’s feelings.
“But they need to be perfect for the Bonanza,” replied Jeremy. “I might as well just make my mediocre blueberry muffins if I can’t get the caracoles recipe right.”
“Well, as someone—I can’t remember who—said, ‘Always fertilize your peonies in the daytime,’” Lou Lou said, trying a horticulture quote. Jeremy looked puzzled.
“Maybe a candle would help,” Pea said. She went to the shelf marked Velas Artes y Transformación. Lou Lou and Pea owned many candles from this group, including a Moda Fabulosa candle for Pea’s design endeavors and a Floración candle to help Lou Lou’s honeysuckle bloom. Pea held up a Gastrónomo candle with a picture of a chef on its glass holder.
“Rosa suggested that one, too. I’ll try it, but it’s also back to the kitchen for me,” said Jeremy.
The clock on the wall struck the quarter hour. “Lou Lou, we’d better get going,” Pea said. “PSPP is almost over. ¡Adiós, Jeremy!”
“Good luck with that secret-ingredient thing!” Lou Lou called to Jeremy as she followed Pea outside. “You’ll get it right!” Like Pea, Jeremy seemed to need some encouragement.
“I sure do hope so, Lou Lou Bombay!” Jeremy called back.
Outside, Lou Lou linked arms with Pea for the stroll back to the SS Lucky Alley. Despite today’s obstacles, Lou Lou felt like the Bonanza preparations were progressing wonderfully. She and Juan were horticulture masters of the honeysuckle, Jeremy was on the road to making killer caracoles, and she was sure Pea would find a creative way to fix Abuela Josie’s hat. However, come next Friday’s PSPP, everything would be different in a way Lou Lou could never have predicted.