I've Had a Lot of Help

Momma strapped the kid into his little bouncy seat. "How's school? Are you doing okay with your arm being in the cast?"

I plunked onto a stool at the kitchen counter. "Well, I guess. There's no way I'd make it without my friends to help me. Like today we did this page on the book, Frog And Toad Are Friends. It was all writing sentences. Somebody had to write what I told them." I sipped from my glass of chocolate milk. "I did try to color with my left hand on another assignment. It wasn't too pretty." I scrunched my nose.

"Hopefully it won't be too much longer. Of course, school is out in just eight more days."

"I forgot to tell you. I get to go to the Reading Celebration after all. I barely got my one hundred books. I couldn't have done it without Mrs. Brooks and Sara and my friends. Reading for fifteen minutes doesn't feel so much like forever anymore."

"I'm glad."

I glanced at the kid. Some milk dribbled down his chin. "Um, Momma, you might want to check the kid, I mean, Peyton."

"Could you wipe him off, please? I'm trying to get supper going."

I slid off the stool and knelt beside him, using his bib to dry the milk like I'd seen Momma do. "There. That's better. Whew. That milk doesn't smell too good." I waved my hand in front of my nose.

The kid looked at me and smiled.

"Momma, he smiled at me."

Momma turned around. "That's his way of saying thanks."

"You're welcome."

The kid kicked his feet and waved his arms.

"He likes to be talked to. Hey, I know what." Momma pointed my way with a big spoon. "Why don't you read to him? Didn't you get some new books at the Book Fair?"

"Yeah." I shrugged and unzipped my backpack, pulling out my four new books. "Here's one you might like. It's about underpants."

The more I read, the more the kid wiggled and smiled. "I like him better like this. When he's all fussy and crying, it's really loud."

"He's growing. He's more aware of people and what's going on around him."

Suddenly I caught a whiff of something terrible. "Uh oh, I guess that underpants story must have given him an idea. He's stinky." I held my nose.

Momma chuckled. "He'll grow out of that eventually too."

"Thank goodness!"
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Chloe had to work hard to read one hundred books and qualify to go to the Reading Celebration. Have you ever had to work hard for something? What was it and what did you have to do to earn it?

Do you think Chloe will learn to like Peyton more? What kinds of things could she do with him?