Tommy: Remember when we were little and we shared a room?
Pippi: Yes, Tommy.
Tommy: I hated that.
Pippi: So did I.
Tommy: It's fun to reminisce, isn't it?
Pippi: You bet.
"Teachings of Don Anna"
Mrs. Linda Jean Morrison had taught second grade at Woll Elementary in Highland for nearly thirty years, but she'd never had a student quite like Tommy Morgendorffer. She was exceptional-a good, solid student all around, top of the class in both math and spelling. She was also a tremendous leader-with her bright mind and sensitive nature, she knew just how to act with the other students and was likely the most popular child in the class. Even the class mothers were fond of the adorable, well-spoken child. She was just such a pleasure to be around.
The year before, Mrs. Morrison had had another Morgendorffer child in her classroom. Tommy's older sister Pippi was equally bright-probably brighter-but she floundered socially. Linda Jean hadn't made an issue out of it; Pippi had seemed stable enough despite her lack of friends, and there had been a big battle trying to get her to socialize the year before. Plus, there were bigger fish to fry in her room that year-two young boys named Beavis and Butt-head who didn't seem to have the ability to sit still, never mind open a book and learn. Pippi and her problems had been back burner by comparison.
It was the last day of school before winter vacation, and the mood was high. The children gathered up their belongings, screaming goodbyes to their friends and classmates. Soon the only ones left behind were the class mothers, their two sons, and Tommy Morgendorffer, who had volunteered to stick around and help out. Fifteen minutes after school released, a figure appeared in the doorway. It was Pippi. "Tommy," she said, her voice monotone and her affect flat, as always, "Mom is here to pick us up. Get your stuff and let's go."
Tommy sighed and put out her lower lip. "But I wanted to help clean up," she pouted, tossing a cupcake wrapper on to a stack of similar items in the trash can and moved across the table to grab another.
Pippi was unmoved. "You know Mom doesn't like to be kept waiting. Besides, I thought you'd want to go. After all, we're going shhhhhoooopppppiiiinnnnggg." She dragged the final word out, as if she were trying to entice her sister with its sound.
Tommy stopped in her tracks, dropping the last wrapper as she did so. "Oh yeah. I forgot. Bye, Mrs. Morrison! I'll see you in January."
"Goodbye, Tommy. Have a nice vacation."
Tommy bundled a too-small coat around her and pulled on a hat as she left the building, following her sister. That winter was the coldest in recent memory in Highland, Texas, and both Pippi and Tommy wore layers and winter accessories, though not necessarily in the right size. The shopping trip that evening had been planned to correct this problem. Tommy needed a new coat and mittens, while Pippi needed boots, a hat and a scarf.
Pippi reached the car a few seconds before her sister did and yanked open the front door. The girls' mother, Annika, was in the driver's seat. Her brand new car phone was attached to her ear, and she didn't appear to like what was being said. As Tommy slid into the back seat, she heard a snippet of conversation. "What?" Annika Morgendorffer screeched, "The teleconference is back on?! But Fred, you assured me it wasn't going to happen tonight. I'm supposed to take my daughters shopping." Tommy scowled as her mother listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "But of course, Fred. Listen, I'll be a little late. Let me get back to the house, get the girls a snack and I'll call in from there. Bye, Fred."
Annika hung up the phone and set it aside. "Sorry, girls, but I have a VERY important teleconference I need to attend. We're going to have to reschedule our shopping trip."
Pippi leaned against the car seat and closed her eyes. "The horror, the horror," she deadpanned.
Tommy's scowl grew. "But Muh-om! I need a new coat. You PROMISED! All the buttons are falling off and my wrists are cold at recess." She leaned forward and shoved her arm with the too-short coat sleeve between the front seats, waving it around dramatically.
Annika turned the syrup on in her voice. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Look, we'll go on Saturday." Annika threw the car into gear and peered at Tommy as she looked over her shoulder. "We'll make a day of it! We can have lunch out and then go shopping at Cashman's. It'll give us more time to spend together."
Pippi's eyes popped back open. "The horror, the horror," she repeated, this time actually looking horrified.
Tommy, frowning briefly, waved her arm in Pippi's face as she continued to address Annika. "Can we eat at that place with the tacos and burritos?" Pippi's comment forgotten, Tommy's face brightened again. "And can we ride the 'elescator?' And can we-oof!"
Pippi had taken Tommy's arm and shoved it back into the back seat, sending Tommy off-balance. She fell over sideways and then righted herself with an indignant look toward her sister. "Dar-i-A!" she squealed.
Annika slammed on the brakes as the car approached a stop sign. "Enough, girls! Tommy, buckle up. Pippi...I'll deal with you later. Keep your hands to yourself." Looking flustered, she checked each direction and turned left.
Tommy quickly pulled the seat belt around her lap. "Yeah, Pippi, keep your hands to yourself," she taunted.
Pippi put her hand on her forehead. What did I do to deserve this, she thought to herself.
That night was the coldest yet. At eight thirty, Tommy climbed into bed for the night while Pippi was put on half-hour warning. She dutifully put down her book and headed off to the shower. Later, dressed for bed, clean and slightly drowsy, she slipped into the bedroom she shared with her sister. It was dark and quiet, the only sound Tommy's rhythmic breathing. With the door closed, it was also significantly colder than the rest of the house. Pippi climbed beneath three layers of blanket and pulled it tightly around herself, creating a cave that she pulled up over her head. Under her pillow, Pippi found another book and a flashlight. She settled in, and as she started reading, she finally started to feel warm. Soon, the drowsy feeling overtook her and she fell asleep, her glasses and light still on and her book still open.
Several hours later, Pippi awoke with a start. Blinking a few times, she brought her mind and vision into focus, at least a little. What had woken her? A quick physical inventory brought an answer: her teeth were chattering uncontrollably from the chill. Her bedroom had gotten even colder during the night. I think Mom keeps the extra blankets in that hall closet, she thought as she rubbed at one eye behind her glasses.
Pippi shuffled out of bed and found her slippers where she had left them the night before. The girls' room was a chaotic mess-Tommy had been playing Barbie before bed, which meant that Barbie, Ken, and their friends and fashions were spread all over the floor. Pippi felt and heard a few things crunch as she walked through the room, and it gave her sick pleasure to know that she had probably just destroyed a few of Barbie's favorite things.
As Pippi approached the room's lone window, she saw a lump in the moonlight. What's this, she wondered as she approached. I don't think Barbie has any accessories shaped quite like that, Pippi thought as she stopped in her tracks. Must be a stuffed animal. It's not as if Tommy doesn't have enough of those lying around also.
Still mostly asleep, Pippi pushed aside the questions about the object on the floor and just kept walking. When she reached the lump, she stepped on it, squishing down hard like she had with all the Barbie shoes and purses and cars. But right away, she knew this was a bad move.
The resulting high-pitched shriek woke the Morgendorffer parents into a state of rising panic. Tommy sat up from a pile of blankets on the floor, hands on her head and a wail coming from her mouth. She had curled up in a cocoon of blankets in front of a heat register. In short order, all four Longstockings were in the living room. Tommy still had a blanket wrapped around her and was rubbing her red, sleepy eyes. Pippi sat on the opposite couch, her arms crossed and her face set. Anna and Annika stood in between. "Tell us again what happened," Annika requested with a sigh.
Both girls moved to speak at the same time, but Pippi won out. "I woke up and I was cold. I went to get another blanket. How was I supposed to know that SHE was going to be in the middle of the floor?"
Tommy picked up from there. "It's so cold in our room! When I went to bed, I couldn't fall asleep. So I went and lay on the floor where the heat comes out. And I slept good until SHE came and stepped on my head!" She pouted out her lower lip and rubbed her hairline. "I'm going to have a lump!"
Annika put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. I'm sure it was just an accident. Right, Pippi?"
Pippi shifted her eyes between her mother's pleading expression and her sister's accusatory one. "Yes. If I'd done it on purpose, she'd have brain damage now."
Annika glared at her oldest daughter. "Pippi!" She put a hand on her forehead. "Look, let's just all go back to bed. We'll talk about this more in the morning."
Annika Morgendorffer loaded her two daughters in the car early that Saturday morning. Tommy bounced from the front door, carrying a child-size purse over one shoulder. "I brought ALL my money, Mommy," she enthused. "I have almost nine dollars!"
"That's wonderful, Tommy," Annika said distractedly. She opened the car door and let in Tommy, who continued to babble about the trip. "Pippi! Let's go! We're waiting!"
Pippi appeared in the doorway. "I don't feel good. I can't go shopping," she said as she peeked around the cracked door.
Annika sighed and peeked at Tommy in the passenger's seat, almost vibrating with excitement. "You were fine half an hour ago at breakfast."
"Well, then, I just don't feel like shopping."
Annika stepped to the rear of the car and opened a door. "In," she ordered.
Pippi came almost meekly, but slammed the house door behind her. Annika waited until her daughter reached the driveway to speak again. "Look, sweetie, I know this isn't your idea of a good time. However, you do need some new boots and this is the best way to get all our shopping done at once." She put a hand on Pippi's shoulder. "How about this. We'll stop at the bookstore on the way home. Tommy won't mind that, and I'll buy you a couple of new books to tide you over until Christmas. Okay?"
Pippi looked up at her mother. "How many books?"
Annika swallowed. "Two."
"Ten." Annika narrowed her eyes. Negotiating with Pippi was often more difficult than negotiating with her fellow lawyers. "Tell you what. I'll get you one book per hour you behave. So if we leave now, and we leave the mall at one, you get four books. If we stay until three, you get six books. IF you behave yourself."
In response, Pippi climbed into the back seat. "Nice doing business with you, Mom." She tugged the door shut behind her.
Tommy rolled down her window. "Mom! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
By the time the Morgendorffer females broke for lunch at noon, they hadn't accomplished as much as Pippi-or even Annika-would have liked. Pippi had a new hat and scarf already, which was not surprising; she had chosen basic gray for both, and they'd been paid for within ten minutes in the store. It had taken Tommy longer to decide on mittens, and fifteen minutes after they had been purchased, she had a fit of epic proportions, and they had been exchanged for a nearly identical pair.
Sitting in Tacos, Tacos, Tacos-Tommy's favorite restaurant at the mall-Annika went over the game plan for the afternoon. "Pippi needs boots and Tommy, you still need a coat. Since none of the coats at that store were good enough for you," Annika sighed, remembering how Tommy had pooh-poohed every coat in the girls department-they had even looked at the designer coats that Annika had no intention of buying, "we'll have to go to the other department store. They don't really have a good selection of winter boots, but there is a Feetniks down that end of the mall. I'm sure Pippi can find something suitable there."
Tommy dipped a tortilla chip in guacamole and waved away all comments about Pippi. "We'll find the right coat! I just want something that is soft, the right color pink, and has that fur around the hood."
Pippi, who had been concentrating on her burrito, looked up. "We saw at least three coats just like that." She glared at her sister.
Tommy took a bite of rice and spoke with her mouth full. "But Pippi! Those coats had fake fur. I'm looking for real fur, so I'll look just like a bunny!"
"Oh good," Pippi oozed sarcasm in her voice, "We'll get Elmer Fudd to come after you with his gun." She raised her fork and stabbed a large chunk of burrito and attacked it with her knife.
"Muh-oooooohhmmm-mmy!"
Annika found herself wishing she had ordered a margarita. "Never mind, Tommy. We'll find something that works." She checked her watch and had the feeling this outing was going to cost her a lot more than she had intended-both in dollars and in books. "Finish up your meals, because we need to get going."
When the meal was done, the Morgendorffer females walked through the halls of mall, crowded with Christmas shoppers. Annika nearly had to drag Tommy away from every toy and clothing shop they passed, while Pippi followed along sullenly. When they reached Cashmans, Annika stopped right inside the door. "I wonder where the girls' coats are located," she pondered.
"Don't worry, Mommy!" Tommy enthused, "I have a nose for clothes. I bet they're this way." She pointed in one direction, towards the purses and shoes. "An' maybe we'll find some cute things to match the coat I want!"
Annika began to despair once again about how much this trip would cost. Pippi, too, seemed less than thrilled. Despite the prospect of extra books, the trip was too draining to her, and she was ready to go home and curl back up in her cocoon of blankets. Even the four and a half books she had already earned weren't enthusing her. She looked at her mother's frustrated face and made a decision. "Mom. While you and the Shopping Princess are up here looking for a coat, can I go down to Feetniks and get my boots? We'll get out of here faster."
Annika gaped. "Pippi. I have no problem letting you go to Feetniks to look around. But I have to check the fit of your boots, and all that. Plus, I have to pay for it on my credit card." She sighed and looked at her watch, wishing Pippi's idea would work. "It's just not possible."
Pippi sighed. "There are people working at the store to make sure the boots fit right. I promise I'll be back in half an hour." She tapped an imaginary watch on her wrist, mimicking her mother's actions.
Annika stared at Pippi for a moment, but her hands involuntarily began opening her wallet. Inside, they closed upon a wad of money she had gotten the day before for a client dinner on Monday. Well, if Fred didn't know it was missing, he couldn't complain. They would just have to stop at the bank after the bookstore.
Pippi, after a long lecture on keeping the money safe, headed off to Feetniks, while her mother and sister wandered the aisles of Cashman's. A short time later, the elder Morgendorffer daughter reappeared, interrupting an argument about fur lining. Annika put down the jacket she was holding, glad for a distraction. "Hi, Sweetie. Did you find something?" she queried.
Pippi waved a bag listlessly in her mother's direction. "Yeah," she said unenthusiastically.
Annika peered at the bag, while Tommy snatched up the coat Annika had discarded. "Can I see?" Pippi pulled the bag up to her chest, holding it with both hands. She said nothing and remained expressionless.
Tommy shot into frame between her mother and sister. "Mom! If you let me have this coat, and the matching hat, I'll forget all about the purse and new outfit. Aaaaaaaaand, I'll keep my room clean an' make my bed, an' put all my laundry in the hamper, an'..."
Annika whirled onto Tommy, frustration evident. "Enough, Tommy! You can have the coat, but the hat you have is fine. If you want a new one, you'll have to pay for it with your own money." She rubbed her thumbs to her temples, and a thought occurred to her. "Speaking of money, Pippi, what about..."
Before she could even finish the sentence, Pippi pulled what was left of Annika's petty cash out of her pocket and handed it to her mother. "Okay, girls, let's go." Tommy began to protest but Annika cut her off. "Not another word, Tommy! We have two more stops to make and we need to get a move on. Give me that coat, Tommy." Tommy pushed out her lower lip and gave her mother puppy dog eyes. "Alright, I'm tired of fighting with you. Grab the hat and meet me at the register."
When the Longstockings arrived home, Pippi went straight to her room, still clutching her purchases tightly to her chest. Before Annika had a chance to follow her and try to get a peek at the boots, Tommy disappeared into the bathroom, making both Anna and Annika promise to watch her "fashion show." By the time she had seen every possible combination of Tommy's new attire imaginable, she'd forgotten all about the mystery purchase. Besides, there were briefs to go over and notes to make for Monday.
It was Anna's turn to make sure the girls got off to bed on time. He got distracted telling Tommy a prolonged bedtime story, and Pippi followed her nightly routine without anyone noticing. By the time Pippi climbed into bed, Anna had finally finished his same old story about a young boy being neglected by his father. "Want me to tell you a story, too, kiddo?" he asked.
Pippi shook her head. "That's okay. I have this," she said, pulling out a copy of Anne of Green Gables.
Anna looked disappointed. "Okay. Let me know if you can't sleep."
Pippi nodded seriously. Her father's story, if he didn't get too animated during, probably would put her to sleep. "Night, Dad."
"Night."
Pippi slept soundly that night, her brand new books stacked right next to her bed. When she awoke in the middle of the night, she knew instantly what was wrong. Why is it so cold in here? She wondered to herself. A few blinks brought her vision into focus and she found her glasses and put them on. Once again, there was a lump in front of the heat register. Are you kidding me? Pippi thought, looking at the blanket-wrapped form, soaking up all the heat in the room. Obviously, Tommy never learns. I guess I'll just have to teach her another lesson.
A cry went out through the entire Longstocking household, louder and much more urgent than the one the night before. When Annika and Anna arrived in their daughters' bedroom, they found Tommy lying on the floor…and Pippi standing over her, wearing a brand new pair of Doc Martens, in the smallest size made.
Things were a little more somber in Linda Jean Morrison's classroom when school came back into session. All the students were there, except one. The note that had gone out to the school said that Tommy Settigren was expected to make a full recovery from her head injury. However, Linda Jean had heard that she'd probably be a little bit…special…after everything. It was a damn shame.