For all the wonderful teachers who have welcomed the Peach Pie Truck into their classrooms Thank you
1 THE CREEPY MANSION Herb Peach was pretty sure his Great Aunt Lucinda's house was haunted There was just something about the massive red brick mansion that gave him the willies The Peach family visited their great aunt often and she herself was always cheerful friendly and welcoming The house It was not Maybe it was the way the hall chandelier cast shadows shadows that looked a lot like screaming little faces Or how the creaky old stairs and radiators groaned and moaned even when no one was nearby Then there were the dusty old portraits hanging on the living room wall with their painted eyes that seemed to watch Herb whenever he rushed past He also found it strange that the house always smelled like split pea soup and crackers even though Great Aunt Lucinda didn't even like soup
Whatever the reason eight year old Herb always felt a little skittish inside his great aunt's big cold house He looked forward to the moment their dad would say it was time for his family to pile into the car to head back across town to their own small comfy house It was always a relief to get home This was unfortunate since it sounded like his family family might be moving in to the creaky old mansion Welcome welcome Aunt Lucinda flung open the brick mansion's enormous front door She stepped out onto the front stoop and pulled Herb into a hug squeezing squeezing him so tight that he squeaked a little bit I've missed you so much Herbie muffin Mfff mu too Herb said wriggling out of his great aunt's arms Next Aunt Lucinda turned and kissed Herb's big sister Lucy once on each side of her face Kisses kisses like they do in France ma chérie she announced After offering her great aunt a huge smile and hug in return twelve year old Lucy set to work trying to wipe the bright red lipstick prints off each of her cheeks And look at you Aunt Lucinda gasped stepping across the large covered stone patio She grabbed ten year old Freddy's shoulders before pulling him in for a hug that looked slightly less squeezy than the one Herb had gotten You've grown so much over the summer
You should see my toenails Freddy murmured into Aunt Lucinda's shoulder his voice muffled by the enormous black and silver curly wig Aunt Lucinda had perched atop her head Aunt Lucinda's hair was never the same Herb had noticed She had a seemingly endless endless collection of wigs that she traded out depending on her mood and outfit Herb's dad climbed up the steps and joined his three kids on the mansion's front porch offering his aunt a formal handshake Even though Dad had known Aunt Lucinda his whole life she was his aunt after all Dad always greeted her like she was some distant relative he only saw at weddings and funerals Great Aunt Lucinda took his hand in hers and in a friendly voice said Wally dear How are you Herb giggled No one called their dad Wally except Great Aunt Lucinda Most everyone called him Walter or Professor Peach since he was a geology professor at the university in their hometown of Duluth Minnesota Herb and his two older siblings just called him Dad Dad held out a golden brown peach pie and said It's good to see you We brought a pie He held it aloft and Herb took a quick step back Even looking at pie still made him feel a little bit queasy After spending part of the summer traveling around the country with his family family selling pie out of an old beaten down food truck
