GRANDMA MELVYN SLEPT IN THE RECLINER ALL AFTERNOON WHILE I unsuccessfully attacked the glitter in the kitchen and then got ready for the talent show. I found sparkles in places that should never sparkle, and I don’t mean the kitchen.

By the time I got cleaned up, it was already six o’clock. I was supposed to be at school an hour ago, and I still hadn’t eaten anything. In fact, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. I was suddenly starving. I went to the kitchen and snarfed down a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. Magically delicious.

Time was ticking, but I had one more thing to do before I got out of the house. I still had not done anything to tell Grandma Melvyn that I was sorry. I knew that sooner or later she would wake up from her nap, and I wanted her to know that at least I had tried. I wrote on the back of Grandma Melvyn’s ticket: “Dedicated to the Amazing Melvyn. I am sorry.—Robbie.”

I checked on Grandma Melvyn. Part of me hoped that she would be awake and would want to come to the show. The rest of me was afraid that she would be awake and not want to come to the show.

It didn’t matter. Grandma Melvyn was still asleep, with her glasses on the table next to the chair. I had never seen her without her glasses, and for the first time, I looked closely at her creased face. Instead of the lion tamer or a world-famous magician, Grandma Melvyn was just a tiny old woman snuggled beneath a glittery blanket, her thin cheeks puffing in and out as she snored softly. I quietly put the ticket and a peanut butter cup on Grandma Melvyn’s blanket.

Grandma Melvyn wasn’t going to make it to the show, but at least Mom and Ape Boy would be there to tape it. I could show it to Grandma Melvyn, and maybe Cat could come over to watch, too.

It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.