The Magic of Melwick Orchard

The Magic of Melwick Orchard — page 1 — For my grandparents

The Magic of Melwick Orchard — page 2 — The world is a great library and fruit trees are some of the books They have a voice and speak plainly to us and teach us many good lessons Ralph Austen 1653

The Magic of Melwick Orchard — page 3 — CHAPTER 1 Mom forgot to pick me up from school Again So I walked the two miles home which usually felt more like ten But that first afternoon in April it felt like one hundred miles Endless and annoying The least funny April Fools prank ever Probably because it wasn’t a prank at all And also because my shoes stunk I don’t mean they smelled bad They just stunk Crummy broken down too small No one heard me when I said I’d grown out of this pair weeks ago By the end of that walk my big toes stuck out and a blister was erupting on my right heel like a miniature volcano I’m just glad the other kids from school weren’t nearby to see Between my shoes and my patched jeans I looked a real mess Almost worse than Mom and she barely got out of her bathrobe or brushed her hair anymore At least she still had hair though Junie’s hair was all gone 1

The Magic of Melwick Orchard — page 4 — And it was a crying shame because she looked awful cute in pigtails I shuffled up our driveway my cranky toes lead ing the way kicking at pebbles and thinking about pigtails My feet veered left away from the house I crossed the backyard past the old shed that doubled as Dad’s workshop I paused to peer in the window The glass was cracked from a ball I’d accidentally thrown too hard during a game of catch last Septem ber I’d expected Dad to say something like Isabel We just moved here and you’re already smashing the place to smithereens To my surprise he wasn’t mad He sucked in his breath inspected the damage Instead of scolding me he let out a long whistle I knew you had the Fitzwilken arm he said beaming with pride which made my heart expand to at least three times its normal size We called that pitch the window breaker from then on Even though I hadn’t practiced it with him in a while I still considered it my secret softball weapon I lifted a finger and very carefully touched the glass If someone came along and tapped it in just the right place the whole thing might shatter to pieces Lately I felt the same Dad promised he’d fix the cracked pane months ago but other things came up Now looking in I could 2

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