Someday Angeline (Someday Angeline 1)

Angeline laughed. She tried to think of one too. “It’s too bad your name isn’t Melvin,” she finally said. “Then you could be the Moon.”

Gary laughed. Not only did she laugh at his jokes, but she also liked to play along!

“Do you know any more good jokes?” she asked him.

No one had ever asked him that before. He tried to think of his best joke but, for the first time in his life, he couldn’t think of one. His mind just went blank.

The bell rang. He quickly took off his shoe, then put it back on.

“What did you do that for?” asked Angeline.

“Do what?” asked Gary.

“Take your shoe off, then put it on again.”

Gary looked around in confusion, utterly bewildered. “I don’t know,” he said.

Four

No Tomatoes

Angeline lay on the floor, her feet on the sofa, as she read her book about the lovelorn sailor. The sailor didn’t know it, but the day after he set sail, the beautiful lady suddenly realized that she loved him too, more than anything else in the world. So she got a boat of her own and sailed the seas in search of him and was almost eaten by a shark.

Abel came home from work. “Don’t hug me until I take a shower,” he said, but she hugged him anyway.

“Look,” said Abel. “I brought you a present. It’s wrapped in plastic so it doesn’t smell.” He set it down on the end table at the end of the sofa.

Angeline crawled over the sofa and eagerly tore away the plastic. It was a book called The Philosophical Substructures of Psychological Subcultures. With a title like that, no amount of plastic could keep it from smelling.

“Thank you,” she said politely, and tried her best to look happy despite the awful odor emanating from the book.

“I hope it is smart enough for you,” said Abel.

“Oh, it looks like a real smart book,” Angeline assured him.

She put the book on the bookshelf along with all the other smelly books her father had given her. She wished he’d just bring her a book with a good story and lots of funny jokes.

“Gus is coming over for dinner,” Abel announced after his shower.

Angeline’s face lit up. “Oh, good!” Gus was Abel’s partner. They drove the garbage truck together.

Abel knew she didn’t like the book. Gus had told him she wouldn’t like it, but he bought it anyway. Gus had told him to find a book with a good story and lots of jokes. “They don’t even have to be funny jokes,” Gus had said. “Angelini will laugh anyway.”

When Gus arrived, Angeline let him in. “Hello, Gus,” she greeted.

“Hello, Angelini,” said Gus.

“We’re having chili,” she told him.

“Sounds good,” said Gus.

“Do you like it hot?” she asked. “I mean spicy hot, not hot hot.”

“The hotter the better,” said Gus.

“Me too,” said Angeline, “only not too hot.”

Abel was in the kitchen. He accidentally touched the hot pot of chili with his thumb. “Ow!” he exclaimed. He walked into the living room with his thumb in his mouth.