Tallulah's last study session had finally come.
JoJo was very glad. However, he was also very nervous. Tallulah would be taking her spelling test the next day. JoJo wasn't so sure what to expect. He'd spent two weeks reviewing over spelling words over and over with her. Surely the words should have sank in by now. Coby's journaling idea was all JoJo had left. He just hoped it would work.
"Stacey says that if I do well on the test, I came come to Mr. Mayor's ceremony." Tallulah said to JoJo.
They were standing on the balcony, looking over busy downtown Whoville.
"Great," JoJo replied lowly.
JoJo didn't want to talk about his dad or the ceremony. He'd given up on his song and if he had a choice, he would stay home that night.
"Did you bring your journal?" JoJo asked, leaning against the rale of the balcony.
"Yeah," Tallulah replied. She sounded unusually chipper.
They headed back into the Mayor's office and sprawled out on the plush carpeted floor. Tallulah unzipped her backpack and slid the composition book right out.
"I wrote a love letter using the words. I spent a lot of time working on it. I wanted it to be perfect. It's for someone that makes me feel secure," she explained.
JoJo flipped to the first page of the book. Everything was written down in loud, pink gel ink. There were doodlings of hearts and even some containing the message: 'Tallulah Luvs Mr. M 4-Evur!'
"Whose's Mr. M?" JoJo asked curiously.
Tallulah blushed. "My soon-to-be husband." She swiveled her head around and whispered. "I'm going to purpose to him with it and put our love to the test."
JoJo didn't respond. Mr. M. was probably Tallulah's little imaginary fwiend. She was always daydreaming. Although the illustrations of the character looked vaguely familiar: goofy smile, odd tie, wide waist, huge butt...if JoJo didn't know any better he'd say Mr. M was...Nah!
JoJo swiveled his head, like a puppy trying to shake off water after a bath. "Let's just go over your journal," he said.
JoJo flipped through page after page of countless drawings of stick-figure Tallulahs holding hands with whom he assumed to be the mysterious "Mr. M." Finally, his thumb stopped on a paragraph holding the eleven spelling words, underlined.
"That's it!" Tallulah said, excitedly pointing right at the page.
JoJo sat up and read through the love poem. He was expecting the typical "roses are red, violets are blue," but got something completely different. He couldn't believe what he was reading!
Marry Me
By: Tallulah Truffles
I loose my grip when you are near.
Your words so sweet and so endear.
I've never felt this way before.
Your perfect smile, I can't help but adore.
Your gentleness and compassion.
Whoville without you is hard to imagine.
Your passion for faith, hope and charity.
I really desire your decision to marry me...
JoJo was wide-eyed. He looked at the poem and then at Tallulah and then at the poem again.
"Tallulah! This is beautiful," he said."Sappy, but beautiful. Did you really write this?"
"I did! I did write it," Tallulah insisted. "I love writing poems and who-haiku when I don't have to worry about spelling everything right."
JoJo thought about how much time he'd spent writing his song for his dad. Why did writing come so easily for Tallulah, and not for him?
"How do you do it? How did you put it all together?" JoJo asked, practically pleading.
Tallulah took back the composition book and pressed it to her chest. "It comes from the heart," she said. "I just thought of all the things I like about Mr. May...I mean Mr. M, and then I wrote it down. In Old Wholish."
"All the things, I like," JoJo repeated to himself. JoJo liked so many things about his dad, but the past few days he seemed to only focus on the negative things about Ned, like his obsession with punctuality and most recently, the fight they had had.
At that moment Ned burst through the door. He was biting the tips of his fingers and mumbling frantically.
"Where is it!? Where oh, where?" Ned shuffled around, looking confused and helpless.
Tallulah and JoJo exchanged looks. Tallulah's test was tommorow and Ned's goofy shenanigans were cutting into her studying time.
Ned rushed over to his desks rummaging around in his drawers for something. He then pulled out his suitcase and started flinging everything out, over his shoulders: a scale, an old newspaper, his coffee mug, a rubber ducky, and his favorite underpants that blanketed JoJo's head.
Tallulah beat the floor with her fist; she was giggling so hard.
JoJo tore the underwear from off his head. He was seething. "Dad! What the speck!?"
"Alright, JoJo!" Ned spun around. "Give it back!"
JoJo's heart quickened. "What are you talking about?"
Ned charged over to JoJo, his fists on his hips. "Give me back my bill!"
Ned dragged JoJo out on the balcony. He had an idea or two about the whereabouts of his bill. JoJo had taken it in retaliation for being grounded from the observatory! It was what Dr. Larue called a "hypothetical theory."
"I didn't take your bill, Dad!" JoJo was arguing.
"How do I know you're telling me the truth when you've been nothing but dishonest with me these past two weeks?" Ned pointed out.
JoJo's auburn eyes fell to his feet. "You should know I'm telling the truth because I love you and I know how important this is to you," JoJo said. His voice was trembling.
Ned folded his arms and sighed. He couldn't believe he'd just blamed his son for something so silly. The bill wasn't as important as his son's love. Ned knew JoJo had to be telling the truth this time. He pulled JoJo into a long hug.
"I'm so sorry I blamed you, JoJo," Ned said, quietly.
JoJo pulled away from his dad. "I really like your hugs, Dad."
Ned smiled weakly.
Suddenly, Tallulah's head popped from around the corner. Her face lit up.
"My turn! My turn!" she said leaping up and down. Tallulah took JoJo's place for another hug with Ned.
Ned tried his best to seem cheerful for Tallulah, but all he could think about was his bill being gone and just the day before the ceremony. How was he going to explain this to the council and all of Whoville!?