I spent the whole afternoon planning how I was going to ask my mom about bringing Harold home. I would have to somehow sneak it into the conversation.
As I sat down to dinner, I was feeling pretty good about my plan. I would just ask sweetly and look at her with my “sad puppy” eyes, and Harold would be mine for the weekend.
“So, honey, how was school today?” my mom asked.
“It was OK.”
“Just OK? You must have learned something interesting.”
“I learned that hamsters do not like to be blow-dried.”
“Blow-dried?” My dad chuckled. “Who would use a hair dryer on a hamster?”
“Chloe. That’s who. She took Harold home last weekend and gave him a whole makeover.”
“A makeover!” Suzie said, laughing. “That is hilarious. I wish I could have seen that!”
“It was hilarious. You should have seen the pictures.”
“She took pictures?”
“Oh, yeah. Poor Harold looked miserable. He was fluffed up like a big piece of cotton candy. He had a pink bow tied in his hair, and his toenails were painted pink!”
“That girl is something else,” my mom said.
“She’s a lulu,” Suzie added.
“Suzie, that’s not very nice,” said my mom.
“Well, she is.”
“When I bring Harold home, I won’t torture him like that.”
There. I did it. I just casually slipped it into the conversation. My plan worked!
“Did you just say, ‘when you bring Harold home?’” Suzie asked, slowly turning in my direction.
And there went my plan. Right down the drain.
“That’s the funniest thing I ever heard,” Suzie said, laughing so hard I thought she was going to fall off her chair. “Bring Harold home. That’s a good one, Freddy.”
OK. She can stop laughing now. She’s ruining everything. “What’s so funny?”
“I’ll tell you what’s so funny,” Suzie said between bursts of giggles. “You actually thought … Mom was going to … let you bring a hamster into the house? That’s a good one, Freddy!”
“No it’s not!” I yelled.
“Oh yes it is!”
“All right. Enough, you two,” my dad interrupted. “Suzie, you need to stop laughing at Freddy, right now.”
“But he just told the best joke.”
“It’s not a joke,” I complained. “I’m serious.”
“Serious about what, sweetie?” my mom asked, confused.
“About Harold. It’s my turn to bring him home this weekend.”
“Freddy, honey. You know I love you, but you also know that I don’t allow animals in the house.”
“I know, Mom. But Harold won’t really be in the house. He’ll be in his cage the whole time.”
“Nice try,” Suzie muttered under her breath.
I gave her the evil eye and turned back to my mom. “I promise I won’t take him out of his cage.”
“Hamsters are smelly, and at some point during the weekend, he’s going to need to have his cage cleaned. What are you going to do with him then?”
“I can put him in his little exercise ball. He can just run around in that while I clean the cage. He’s so cute. I’ll keep him in my room and just watch him play.”
“Do you know that hamsters are nocturnal?” my dad asked. “He’s going to be doing most of his playing while you are asleep.”
“That’s OK. He’ll keep me company.”
“I can’t believe you are even having this conversation!” Suzie said with a snort.
“Last time I checked,” said my dad, “you were Freddy’s sister, not his mother or his father. This is not for you to decide, Suzie.”
Suzie flopped back in her chair, folded her arms, and gave me the death stare. I smiled at her and turned back to Mom. “So, Mom, what do you say? Can I bring Harold home?”
“I don’t know, Freddy.”
Don’t give up now, I thought. She said, ‘I don’t know.’ She didn’t say, ‘No.’ There’s still hope. “Please, Mom. It’s just three nights. That’s all. No big deal.”
“Taking care of a pet is a very big deal, honey. It’s a big responsibility. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to Harold while he was staying with us.”
“I’ll take really good care of him. I promise. You won’t have to do anything. I’ll do it all myself. You won’t even have to see him. I’ll keep him in my room the whole weekend.”
“Well….” My mom turned to my dad. “What do you think, Daniel?”
“I think it might be a very good lesson in responsibility for Freddy,” said my dad. “He isn’t a baby anymore.”
I heard Suzie snicker, but I ignored her. I had to stay focused on the conversation. I was so close to victory! “That’s right. I’m not a baby.” I looked at my mom with my “sad puppy” eyes and pleaded. “Please, Mom, please … please … please!”
“How can I resist that adorable face?”
“Ughhhh,” Suzie groaned.
“I have an idea,” my mom said. “I’ll tell you what. You can bring Harold home for the weekend, but you have to let Suzie take care of him, too. Mrs. Wushy didn’t have a hamster when Suzie was in her class, so Suzie never got this special opportunity. Both of you can share the responsibility. Freddy, you can take care of Harold and keep him in your room one day, and Suzie can keep him in her room the next day. And neither of you are allowed to take him out of his cage. Do we have a deal?” my mom asked.
“Deal!” I said, and I threw my arms around her and gave her a great, big hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom. You’re the best!”
“Suzie, does that sound fair?”
“Oh yeah!” Suzie said, giving my mom a huge squeeze. “I love that idea! Thanks, Mom. I’m so excited!”
“Hey, what about me?” my dad said. “Don’t I get a hug?”
We both ran over to him and gave him a giant bear hug.
“Thanks, Dad. I promise I won’t let you down. I will be the king of responsibility.”
“And I’ll be the queen,” said Suzie.
My dad laughed. My mom smiled. Suzie clapped her hands, and I did a little happy dance around the kitchen.