“I have a gift for her and her sisters.” She lifts one of the books in her hands to show him.
It brings an instant smile to his face. “That is really thoughtful,” he tells her. “Come on inside. She’s playing in her room.”
“Um, could we maybe sit out here?”
He sees exactly what I see. She’s scared to leave the porch.
“Absolutely. It’s a beautiful day. I’ll go get her,” he says without hesitation.
A second later, Katie steps outside. “Jenny, I’m so happy you’re here.” She waves her over to the rocking chairs. “Please have a seat.”
I chuckle at Katie’s properness, but man, do I love my friends right now. I should have given them a heads up, but I honestly didn’t think she’d make it this far today.
When Petey comes out with his daughter, Jenny stands. “Hi, Charlotte. I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Aspen’s … grandma,” she says hesitantly. She walks over and sits on the edge of the porch. “I have a present for you.”
Petey nudges Charlotte to sit down beside her. This isn’t like Charlotte; she’s usually a social butterfly. I hope she’s still not getting bullied by that boy.
Jenny hands her the book.
“It’s my name,” Charlotte says, looking from the book to Jenny.
“Charlotte’s Webwas my favorite book as a child.”
“Charlotte’s a spider?” the little girl asks, scratching her nose.
Jenny nods. “Sometimes when a bully knows you’re afraid of something, they will use your fear to keep you under their control. Do you understand what I mean by that?”
Charlotte thinks about it for a moment. “Does it mean like he keeps me afraid?”
“Is that how you feel?”
Charlotte’s shoulders fall. “Yes, but only of the spiders. I just don’t understand why he’s so mean to me. I know he’s a nice boy.”
Jenny gives her a small smile, tipping her head from side to side like she’s studying her. “How do you know he’s a nice boy if he’s been nothing but horrible to you?”
“Because I see him petting dogs all the time. He shares his lunch with a boy in our class who hardly ever has anything.” Charlotte holds up her hand and begins to tick things off with her fingers. “He gave our teacher a hug because her daddy died, and …”
Jenny holds up her hands. “I understand now. You pay attention to the world around you, and you sense he’s a good person.”
Charlette nods.
“I know this is going to sound strange, but sometimes boys pick on girls they like. Maybe he just wants to be friends with you.”
Charlotte laughs. “That’s silly. Why wouldn’t he just ask me to be his friend?”
“Maybe he’s scared you’ll say no.”
“Why would I do that?”
Jenny shrugs. “Maybe someone has turned him down before. It’s hard to know.”
Charlotte thinks about it, running her hand over the cover of the book.
“But one thing I know for sure is I can help you overcome your fear of spiders. Conquer that and he will have no power over you.”
“I don’t know,” Charlotte says, shaking her head. “I really hate spiders.”
“Read the book. Who knows, maybe you will change your mind. If you do, you come find me.” Jenny hands her the other two books. “I brought your sisters a few books too, so they wouldn’t feel left out.”
