Saturday, October 26th, 2019, Noon

Baxter and Elizabeth checked the kitchen, including the refrigerator. There was no sign that lunch had been started.

“Let’s find Dad or Pop and ask if they’d like us to fix lunch,” Baxter suggested.

“Okay.”

They found Vincent in the family room reading a magazine.

Elizabeth flopped down on the sofa next to him. “Pop, Baxter and I thought we’d fix lunch. Was there something you were planning to have that we could do instead?”

“I was going to check out the refrigerator and see what was there. Maybe make sandwiches. Is that okay with you, Baxter?”

“Sure. Is there anything I should know, like food allergies or what you or Rob don’t like?”

“If it’s in the refrigerator or cupboards, then it’s okay. We like almost everything, and we don’t have any food allergies. What about you, Baxter? Do you have any food allergies, or are there foods you don’t like?”

“I don’t have any food allergies. I don’t like liver or things like that. I don’t like salty food; I don’t like the taste of salt.”

“That’s unusual,” Vincent said. “Have you always disliked salt?”

“Yes, for as long as I can remember. I’ll use a little when I’m cooking. I almost never sprinkle it on food when I’m eating. I use a little salted butter and pepper in place of salt when I eat things like corn on the cob and baked potatoes.”

Vincent nodded. “My grandmother used to tell me, ‘You can always add salt, but you can’t take it away.’ I think that fits with your approach to cooking and eating.”

Elizabeth stood up. “Okay, Baxter and I are going to fix lunch,” she announced, taking Baxter’s hand and pulling him toward the kitchen. He looked back and grinned at Vincent and shrugged his shoulders as he followed her.

They found sour dough sandwich bread, sharp cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, bacon, and two beefsteak tomatoes. “How about toasted cheese, bacon, and tomato sandwiches?” Baxter asked.

“Mmmm… that sounds good!” she said.

Elizabeth, with Baxter providing directions, used the microwave to cook the bacon and toasted one side of eight slices of bread. Baxter cut the tomatoes into thin slices, then assembled four sandwiches with the two kinds of cheese, crisp bacon, and tomato slices on the toasted sides of half the slices of bread, and the untoasted sides on top and bottom. Then he returned them to the toaster oven to melt the cheese and toast the outsides of the sandwiches.

“So, you don’t like to grill cheese sandwiches in a pan with butter?” Elizabeth asked.

“That’s okay, but toasting them this way means they’re healthier, especially with the sliced tomatoes, and they will be delicious. Mainly because of the bacon.” Baxter grinned. “I love bacon! Even if it has a lot of salt.”

“Me, too,” Elizabeth agreed. “Everything is better with bacon, even if it’s not the healthiest thing to eat.”

They told Vincent and Rob that lunch was ready and they sat down to eat. Everyone agreed the sandwiches were delicious.

“Any time you want to cook for us, just let us know. Remember, though, your schoolwork is always most important,” Rob said. “And,” he looked at Elizabeth, “that’s both of you.”

“Yes, Dad. For me, school is what’s most important. I need to get A’s in every class so I can get into Cal,” Baxter said. “Especially when I start taking Advanced Placement classes.”

“Elizabeth?” Vincent asked.

“Sure, school is most important for me, too,” she replied.

“How about chores? Baxter asked. “What I did at home was fix dinner because I like to cook — you know that already. But I had other chores, too. I ran the dishwasher when it got full, and when it was done, I put the clean dishes away. I did the laundry every week, but I never did any ironing. Mom did that. I dumped the wastebaskets in the trash cans every day. I’d put the trash cans out on Tuesday nights for the Wednesday collection and bring them in when I got home from school. I brought in the mail when I got home from school, and did it on Saturdays, too. I mowed the lawn on Saturdays. I pulled weeds and swept the front porch and the walk and driveway about once a month. I made my bed and kept my room neat and clean. Our timer automatically turned on the sprinklers for watering the lawn and the plants at the right time and for the right length of time. Mom watered the house plants on the weekend. She also hired a service to come in and clean the house every other week. That’s about it.”

“For the yard, we have a sprinkler and drip irrigation system on a timer,” Rob said. “We have a gardener who comes Saturday mornings. So, no more weeding, sweeping, and mowing for you,” he said, followed by a chuckle.

“We have a cleaning service that comes on Tuesdays at ten in the morning. The cleaning service changes and washes the sheets and towels each week. If you want to wash your towels more often, you can do that yourself.

“The cleaning service will wash your clothes. Leave anything that doesn’t need to be ironed in your clothes basket. They will iron your shirts or whatever you want to have ironed. You’ll get a mesh bag the same color as your clothes basket. Monday nights put the items you want washed, dried, and ironed in the mesh bag, zip it closed, and put it in your clothes basket. Move your clothes basket to the foot of your bed. After they’re washed and ironed, the shirts will be put on hangers and hung in your closet. Everything else will be folded and put on your bed. Then you can put them away in your closet when you get home from school. How does that sound?”

“That’s good. How about my chores?”

“We’d appreciate it if you’d collect the wastebaskets and dump the contents in the trash bins every day after dinner.” Vincent said. “They are collected early on Thursday mornings, so you’d need to put the three trash bins out at the curb Wednesday nights and bring them in on Thursdays when you get home from school. Elizabeth will show you where the wastebaskets are.

“Elizabeth brings in the mail when she gets home from school and on Saturdays,” Vincent said. “She waters the house plants. She unloads the dishwasher and puts everything away. Since she knows where it all goes, I think it’s best if she keeps doing that until you learn where everything goes. Then you should take over that chore. That’s it.”

“That sounds easy. How should I make my bed every day? At Groveland, we had to make it and put on the bedspread. Should I do that here?”

“Since you call yourself a neat freak, I’d guess you’d like to make your bed every morning, so your bedroom looks neat.”

“Yes, I would. I’m used to making my bed after I shower and get dressed. Will it be okay to do it that way here?.”

“Yes, that’s okay. By the way, Elizabeth has a bedspread, but Rob and I don’t use one. If you’d like a bedspread, we can buy one for you.”

“Can I try it without one? That way, if I want to take a nap after I do my homework, I don’t have to take off the bedspread first and then put it back after.”

“Sure,” Vincent replied. “There’s one other thing about your bed. All of our beds have electric blankets. The control for each side is on the nightstand on that side. Elizabeth wanted both of her controls on the same nightstand as her clock radio. You can move your controls so they’re both on the same side if that’s more convenient for you.”

“I’ll show you how to do the settings, if you’d like,” Elizabeth offered.

“Thanks, I would like you to show me how to use it. I’ve never had an electric blanket,” Baxter said. “I didn’t notice. Do I have a clock radio, too, or an alarm clock?”

“We all have clock radios,” Elizabeth replied. “It’s an internet radio and has Google built-in, so you can say, ‘Hey, Google, set an alarm for seven a.m. and then tune to KKDV’ and at seven a.m. your radio will turn on to that station. FM stations work great, but the reception on AM stations isn’t good. There’s static.

“When your alarm turns on, you can tell it, ‘Hey, Google snooze for’ and how long, like five minutes. You can preset named alarms like ‘school’ and ‘weekend’ or whatever, and say ‘Hey, Google, set school alarm’ and it will do it. Of course, you can also say, ‘Hey, Google, stop!’ and your radio will turn off, and you can go back to sleep and be late for school.” She giggled. “It’s always best to get out of bed before you tell Google to stop.”

“Is that the voice of experience?” Baxter asked. That resulted in more giggles.

“Can I turn the radio on and off manually?” he asked.

“Sure. I’ll show you how it works when I show you the electric blanket settings,” she replied.

“The house has an alarm system,” Rob said. “We each have a code to enable and disable the alarm. I’ll give you the instructions and go over them this evening before dinner so you’ll know how to use it. There’s an app you can install on your computer or on your phone to do things like see and hear who rang the doorbell, enable the alarm, and so on.

“Baxter, there’s one other thing I want to tell you,” Rob said. “You’ll be getting a twenty-five dollar allowance every week. It’ll be in cash, and it’s for incidental things you want to buy or do for yourself. It’s not for things like clothes and school supplies. We’ll buy those for you.”

Baxter looked amazed. “That’s over…” he mentally did the calculation, “…thirteen hundred dollars a year,” he said. “That’s a lot!”

He looked at Elizabeth because she was giggling. “I get the same allowance,” she said. “I put what’s left over in my savings account in the bank.”

Baxter looked at Rob. “Dad, can I put what I have left over in my trust account?”

“Yes, you could do that. However, I suggest that you open a separate savings account that isn’t connected to your trust. Then put what’s left over from your allowance at the end of each month in that account. That way, if there’s something expensive you want to buy, like a game for your PS4, you’ll have the money available.”

“Okay. Can you help me set up the savings account?”

“Sure. We can do that this afternoon if you’d like.”

“Okay.”

“The bank’s open until four o’clock on Saturdays. It’s almost one now, so how about we leave in twenty minutes?”

“Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“Rob, as long as you’re going to the bank, how about stopping at Target and buying one of those plastic clothes baskets for Baxter? A blue one, since none of us have a blue one. And a blue mesh bag, too,” Vincent suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Baxter, is there anything you need from Target?”

“I could use a couple sets of official Las Lomas gym shorts, tees, jockstrap sets with cups in my size, and socks for PE. Mine are getting a little worn out and are too small.”

“How about gym shoes?”

“I have one pair that’s okay and one that’s pretty much worn out and doesn’t fit me anymore. I suppose I should get a pair if it’s okay. I also need jeans and khakis; a lot of what I have now no longer fits. Mom always took me to Gap to get them.”

“Okay, we’ll get those things for you at Gap as well. We can stop at the Big 5 sporting goods store downtown. They have a better selection of shoes, and they have the approved Las Lomas tees and gym shorts in the school’s colors and design. And they have jockstraps. Then we’ll go to Gap and get your jeans and khakis and to Target to get your clothes basket.”

This made Baxter a little dizzy. He wasn’t used to someone volunteering to buy whatever he needed, and actually suggesting they’d do it!

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready to go,” Rob said.

“Sounds good. I’ll ask Elizabeth to teach me how to use the electric blanket and the clock radio until then.

“Okay.”

Elizabeth took less than five minutes to explain how to set the electric blanket, including moving both controls to the nightstand on the right side of his bed. “Any questions?” she asked.

“Nope, that was very thorough. I’ll do some experimenting with the temperature setting. Thanks for showing me how it works.”

Elizabeth added, “It’s better to start at a lower number, and then in the morning you can decide if you want it warmer or cooler from then on. Or if you wake up and you’re cold, you can reach over to your nightstand and set it one or two numbers higher. Or if you’re hot, set it one or two numbers lower. The main thing is to remember to turn it on when you go into your bedroom to get ready for bed.”

“I should get a smart plug that works with Google. Then when I walk into my bedroom, all I’d have to do is say something like, ‘Google, turn on my electric blanket.’”

“That’s a great idea!” Elizabeth said. “Can you also get one of those plugs for me?”

“I’ll read the reviews and check the prices on Amazon, then talk to Dad and Pop and see what they think.”

It took even less time for her to explain how to use the radio since she’d already told Baxter how it worked. He told it to set the alarm and have an alarm turn on the radio or one of the alarm sounds. He turned the radio on and off manually, set a timer, and left a message for himself.

“There are more features, but I don’t use them. You can ask Google what features it has, and then you can ask it how to use a feature,” Elizabeth said. “Or you can Google it.”

After playing with the clock radio, Baxter said, “I love it! “It’s better than my smartphone.”

“You know, if you have an Android phone, you can install the Google Now app and use it the same as this smart radio. You can even set the radio from your phone.”

“That’s interesting. I’ll install it on my phone and give it a try. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone.”

“Maybe it’s already installed. Try it.”

Baxter pulled his phone out of his pocket and used his fingerprint to turn it on. “Now, what do I do?”

“Hold down the start button for a couple seconds. If it’s installed, you’ll see the Google Now balloon and a little microphone icon will pop up. Then say ‘Okay Google’ and it should wake up.”

Baxter did that and was amazed when it actually worked.

“Now you can teach it to recognize your voice, then it will tell you things you can do. You can also go to the Google website and get more information about what you can do.”

Baxter tried it and played with some of the options. “Wow, that’s so cool. I especially like the reminders, like to study for a quiz that’s coming up. Thanks for telling me about this.”

“I love helping my big brother,” Elizabeth told him. “And I want to thank you for taking over the wastebaskets and taking out and bringing in the trash cans chores for me.”

“You’re welcome, Elizabeth. And I love having the world’s smartest and most wonderful sister,” he replied.

Baxter looked at the box of books that still had to be organized by class and put on his bookshelf.

“I guess I’d better arrange these textbooks so I can find them Monday morning.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Elizabeth said. “I have a history test on Monday, and history isn’t my best subject. So I’m going to go bury myself in my Eighth Grade United States History textbook. See you later.”

“Okay. Later,” he responded.

After finishing that task, Baxter called Mike to see how he was doing with his new family. He tried doing it on Google Now by saying, “Okay, Google,” to his phone, then after it responded he said, “Phone Mike.” To his delight, it worked. After about four rings, it was picked up.

“Hi, Baxter!” Mike said.

“How are you doing?” Baxter asked.

“Great. You?”

“Great also. I just finished with the last of my unpacking by putting my books in my bookcase. My clothes are all organized, which was the big thing I had to do. Are all your things unpacked?”

“Yes. It’s nice having my own dresser that has drawers that are all mine. Nothing personal, I didn’t mind sharing with you, but… well, it’s better having all the drawers for myself.” He laughed.

“It is good, isn’t it. From two drawers to lots more.

“So Mike, tell me how is it living with your new folks?”

“It’s wonderful. They are super nice, they talk to me like I’m an adult, which I really like, and they listen when I ask questions and say things. Sometimes it seems like they are too cautious when they tell me something. If there’s something they don’t want me to do the way I’m doing it, they should just tell me. I’ve told them that, and they’re getting better about it.

“So, how are your dads? And your sister?”

“Like your parents, My dads are wonderful. Elizabeth is the perfect sister. A lot of my friends at school seem to have problems with their sisters, like arguing and yelling at each other all the time. So far, Elizabeth and I are getting along great. Maybe it’s because we didn’t grow up together. No sibling rivalry. Like with chores. I asked what chores I should do, and I’m going to do one of the ones she did. That’s to empty the wastebaskets every day and move the trash cans to the curb on Wednesday nights and bring them back into the yard on Thursdays when I get home from school. Elizabeth actually thanked me for taking on the trash cans chore. She also showed me how to use my clock radio and electric blanket because she has them too.”

“Have you been swimming yet?” Mike asked.

Baxter laughed. “I’ve only been here for about six hours. I haven’t even been outside. Is it snowing yet?”

Mike laughed. “That’s funny. I wonder, does it ever snow in Walnut Creek? Anyway, I figured you’d’ve put on your Speedos and rushed outside before it got too cool to swim.”

“Maybe tomorrow. Say… hang on for a minute or two, okay?”

“Okay.”

Baxter rushed down the hall — without running — to where he could see the family room. Vincent was there, reading something on his tablet.

“Pop?”

“Hi, Baxter.”

“Hi. Do you think it’d be okay if I invite my friend Mike to come over tomorrow afternoon to go swimming?”

“Sure, assuming that it’s going to be warm enough. Let me check the weather.” He tapped on his tablet, then looked up with a grin. “It’s going to be in the low 80’s. Luckily we’re having a warm fall, and that’s definitely warm enough.”

“Great. I’ll let Mike know, and Elizabeth, too.”

Vincent looked at Baxter and smiled. “Thanks for thinking of your sister.”

“I know she loves swimming. It’ll be a lot of fun splashing around in the pool with her and Mike. I’ll find out if he can come. His folks might want to talk to you or Dad before letting him come over.”

“Okay. Let me know, then I’ll turn on the pool heater so it will be warm enough by tomorrow.”

“Will do. Thanks, Pop!”

Baxter returned to his bedroom and picked up his cellphone. “Can you come over tomorrow afternoon to go swimming? I checked with my pop, and he said it’s going to be in the low 80’s tomorrow. Should be perfect swimming weather. He’s okay with you coming over. Can you get here around one o’clock? Can you check with your folks?”

“Sure. They’re busy outside. I’ll go talk to them and call you back.”

“Let me give you our home phone number. That way, if your folks want to call my folks to check that they’ll be here to supervise and so on, they’ve got the right number.” He checked the number — that was something he knew he’d have to memorize — and told Mike. Then he saved it to his contacts.

“Okay, I’ll ask my folks and talk to you later.”

“I almost forgot,” Baxter said, “I’m going to Big 5 Sporting Goods, Gap, and Target, with my dad to get jeans and khakis and gym clothes and shoes. I’ve grown, and what I’ve got are getting too tight.”

“It’s your fat butt that’s making them fit too tight!” Mike said, then he laughed.

“That’s true, but it’s all muscle,” Baxter bragged. “Anyway, if your folks call while I’m out, I think my pop, Vincent Choi, will be home. If not, they can leave a message, and either Vincent or Rob will call them back.”

“Okay, will do. Say, are you getting an allowance?”

“Yes. It’s the same as Elizabeth’s. Are you getting one?”

“Yes. I was surprised at how much. I mean, I’m not going to be rich, but it’s going to make doing things easier, like when we get together to go to the movies or go out for lunch or to buy a new game for my Xbox.”

“Same here.” Baxter was glad Mike wasn’t saying how much he was getting; he didn’t want to say how much he was getting from his folks, either. He liked that they’d both kept their amounts private.

There was a knock on his bedroom doorjamb. Baxter turned around. It was Rob.

“Hang on, Mike.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s leave in about five minutes, okay?” Rob asked.

“Okay, Dad,” Baxter replied. “I’ll end this call and be ready to go.”

He returned to the call. “You probably heard. My dad’s ready, and we’re going to head out on our shopping trip. I’ll call you when I get back.”

“Okay. I should have an answer about tomorrow by then.”

On his way out, Baxter looked into Elizabeth’s room. “I invited my friend Mike to come over tomorrow to go swimming with you and me. Even if he can’t come over, I’d like to go swimming with you. You could invite a friend, too.”

“That’s great! I’m in. Who’s Mike?”

“He was my roommate at Groveland. You didn’t meet him because the day you were there, he was out visiting the couple that fostered him and wants to adopt him.”

“Okay. It’ll be nice to meet one of your friends. So you’re okay if I invite one of my friends to come over?”

“Sure. That’ll make it more fun.”

“Okay. I’ll get Dad or Pop’s approval.”

“You always get their okay in advance?”

“Always. There’s sort of an unwritten rule, and that’s ‘no surprises.’ The best way to make sure there aren’t any surprises is to let them know about something you want to do and get their okay in advance. I do it for things like having someone come over to go swimming, or for an overnight, things like that. If I bring someone from school home with me and we’re going to do homework, then they’re going to go home, that’s usually okay without getting approval in advance.”

“Who will you invite to come over tomorrow?”

“Maria King. I told you about her and me. You’ll like her. She’s a good swimmer, and she’s really cute, too. She attracts lots of boys to our lunch table.”

“She won’t have to worry about me,” Baxter said. “But Mike — that might be a different story!”

Elizabeth laughed. “That should be interesting to watch.”

“Dad and I are leaving now. See you later.”

“Okay, see you.”

The trip to the bank was… interesting. They met with the bank’s New Accounts Manager. He suggested that Baxter have a savings account connected to a credit card.

“I don’t need a credit card,” Baxter said. “The way it’s going to work is this. I’ll get my allowance every week. That way, I’ll have cash when I need it. When I have over $100.00, I’ll deposit what’s over in my savings account. That way, I’ll always have at least $100.00 in cash available to use if I need it. Do you agree, Dad?”

“I agree.”

“If you have a credit card, you have the equivalent of cash,” the bank New Accounts manager said.

“But I can’t use a credit card to get a soda from the machines at school, or pay for my lunch in the cafeteria, or buy something from the Las Lomas High School store. And so on. So a credit card connected to my savings account is useless.”

“You said you’re going to keep an amount in cash so you can make cash purchases. But the credit card will let you access your savings account if you need to make a purchase that’s larger than what you have available in cash. You can also use it on an ATM machine. We pay back any ATM fees you’re charged, too.”

Because he was so eager to sign him up, Baxter guessed that the New Accounts manager would get a bonus for opening a new credit card account.

“Dad, let’s think about this and make a decision over the weekend.”

“I think that’s a good idea. Let’s go and get our other shopping taken care of, and we can talk about it.”

“When you make up your mind, give me a call, son.” He handed Rob his business card then handed one to Baxter.

“Thanks,” Rob said. They left the bank.

Once they got in the car, Baxter said, “Three things. Number one, I hate it when some stranger calls me ‘son.’ The only ones who can call me ‘son’ are you and Pop, and your parents and grandparents — once I’ve met them. Number two, I like the credit card idea. That’s why I already have a credit card, the one with my trust account. And, I can use it at ATM machines if I need cash, but I’ve never had to do that. Also, any ATM fees are supposed to be refunded into my account. Number three, even though it would be my account, he faced you most of the time he was talking, and he gave you his business card before giving one to me.

“So, if you’ll pay my allowance in cash each week, then what I have that’s over a hundred dollars at the end of each month, I’ll deposit in my trust account, and if I need to buy something big, I’ll use my existing credit card.”

Rob took a deep breath. “Okay, but make me a promise, okay?”

“About what?”

“If you want to buy something big, come to Vincent or me first. We are your parents. We want to provide for you. Let us do that. Other than adding excess allowance money, leave your trust fund alone. Okay?”

“Okay,” Baxter replied. “So, it sounds like a plan!”

Rob stared at Baxter and shook his head. “Where does that come from, that phrase ‘sounds like a plan’?”

“I don’t know. I was reading a story online and saw it there. The kids in the story used it a lot. I like that phrase! Tell you what, when we get home, I’ll go to the fount of all knowledge, the Great All-Knowing Google Search, and see what I can find.” He chuckled.

Rob couldn’t help laughing. “Let me know what you find out.”

“Okay, will do!”

When they got home after a successful shopping trip to three busy stores, Baxter found Vincent in the family room watching TV.

“Hi, Pop. Did you get a call from Mr. or Mrs. Stewart about Mike coming over tomorrow to go swimming?”

“Yes. They’ll drop off Mike at twelve-thirty. I invited them to dinner, so they’ll join us at around four. We’re going to barbecue steaks on the grill. We’ll have stuffed baked potatoes, grilled veggies, and a salad.”

“Wow, that sounds great! Is there anything I can do to help prep things?”

“I’m sorry, Baxter. There isn’t anything for you to do.”

Baxter looked disappointed. “Oh.”

Vincent grinned. “Baxter, that’s because everything is all done and is ready,” he said. “Elizabeth and I went to Sprouts Market and got ribeye steaks, pre-stuffed baked potatoes, and veggies that we can grill. When I got home, I sorted the lettuces and add-ins for the salad, including avocado — you like avocado, I hope.” Baxter nodded enthusiastically. “Elizabeth cooked some bacon in the microwave and crumbled it for the salad, and we have blue cheese dressing — do you like blue cheese dressing?” Again, Baxter nodded and said, “Yes, I do!”

“The Stewarts are going to bring age-appropriate beverages. Sodas for the three of you kids, and wine for us adults.

“So, everything is ready. All we have to do tomorrow is put the potatoes in the oven, prep the salad, and put the steaks and the veggies on the grill.”

“You’ve been very busy!” Baxter told him. “Thanks for doing all that.”

“I had Elizabeth’s help, especially organizing the ingredients for the salad and the veggies that we’ll grill.”

“When I see her, I’ll thank her, too.”

“Elizabeth told me you invited her to go swimming tomorrow with you and Mike. She also said that you suggested that she invite a friend if I agreed. I did agree, and thank you for that, too. Rob and I appreciate how well you and Elizabeth are getting along.”

“Elizabeth is a perfect sister. She’s cute, smart, fun, and clever. We both love each other and like each other — those are two different things, and both are important.”

 “And you, Baxter, are cute, smart, fun, and clever, too!” Vincent stood up and pulled Baxter into a hug.

“By the way,” Vincent said, pulling out of the hug, “you should phone Mike. He was bugging his mom about talking to you while I was on the phone with her.” He smiled. “He seemed to be very eager.”

“Okay, I’ll call him right now.”

When Baxter got to his room, he toed off his shoes, flopped down on his bed, and placed the call. He got Mike’s voicemail, so he left a message to call back. He got up and put his phone in his pocket.

Then he sat down at his laptop and researched the phrase, ‘sounds like a plan’ on Google. After about ten minutes of research, he discovered that it was used occasionally starting around 1950, then came into common use around the year 2000. One reference said it was known as early as the 1400s. But someone posted a comment that there was no evidence that the 1400s was valid. He made a mental note to tell his dad what he found.

Baxter gathered his new clothes in a big wad and, carrying them under his arm, walked to Elizabeth’s room. Her door was open, and she was sitting at her desk, reading. He knocked softly on the doorjamb. She turned around and grinned when she saw him standing there.

“Hi, Baxter. Did you know that Pop talked to Mike’s foster parents and invited the Stewarts to dinner tomorrow night?” she asked.

“He told me when Dad and I got home from our shopping trip. He said that we’re going to have steaks and that you helped with the prep work. Thanks for doing that. Pop said you were a big help.”

“The steaks are thick. I love steak. How about you?” Elizabeth asked.

“I love steak, too. I can’t remember the last time I had a steak.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. At Groveland, the food was good, but not very fancy. We probably ate chicken more than any other meat.”

“Didn’t you get tired of it?”

“A little, but they changed the way they cooked it and used lots of different sauces, so the taste varied a lot.”

“What about beef?”

“Mostly in stews, pot roast, meatloaf, and spaghetti sauce, things like that. So having steak tomorrow night is going to be a real treat!”

Elizabeth smiled. “There’s nothing as good as steaks cooked on the barbecue grill.”

“We gotta stop talking about steak, or I’m going to start drooling all over my new clothes.”

Elizabeth laughed. “We have some bibs we got when we ate lobster at a restaurant, and we brought them home. I can loan you one whenever you need it.”

Baxter chuckled, and continued to the laundry room to wash his new clothes.