Florida - Part 6

Hello, FFFs,

This week has been cooler. It even dropped below freezing one night. But now it is starting to get warmer. We've had sunshine this week. It's amazing how wonderful the sunshine is when you've had so many cloudy days.

Did you all have a good Resurrection Sunday? We did. It was quiet. We watched last year's Easter sermon from someone we really enjoy listening to, then we joined a live service and got to listen to our pastor's son-in-law preach. We knew my brother and his family were watching too, and some others, so that was nice.

As far as writing goes this week, it's been good. Twice I have written 2k words in a day. And so far I'm around 18,400 words written for Camp this month. I think I need to up my goal again. Should I just move it to 30k since I still have two weeks left? I figured that if I finish this Secret Project before the end of the month (not sure if I will or not), then I'll just write something else. ;)

Well, I hope you enjoy this final part of this story about Ria's gift. Make sure you read the note after the story because I'll tell you what really happened to my grandma.

Florida

    Lydia gave a gasp that was almost like a scream. Her eyes widened as she looked around, and then whispered, “Where . . . where is he?”

    But Ria shook her head. “I don’t know. Come on.”

    All that day Ria and Lydia kept glancing into corners, under desks, and behind doors. Chris, Dave, and Walt joined them in the lunch room, for it was too cold to walk home, and it wasn’t long before Ria told them of the empty aquarium tank.

    “Maybe he got out and is wandering around the school looking for his lunch,” Dave whispered. “Oh!” He jerked his leg. “Something’s biting my foot!”

    Lydia did scream that time, and sprang up from the table knocking over her chair.

    The cafeteria grew silent, and all eyes turned in their direction.

    Ria looked under the table and then kicked her cousin. “There’s nothing there, Dave, and you know it,” she said. “Sit down, Lydia, he’s only trying to scare us.”

    Dave’s eyes widened. “I thought there was something biting my foot. Maybe it was just my shoe.”

    Walt and Chris exchanged glances, and Ria was sure Dave would catch it from the rest of the gang if he didn’t behave. Of course Dave wouldn’t care. Of all the gang, Dave was the most likely to cause trouble in some way or another. But Ria didn’t think about Dave and his joke much, she wanted to know what happened to Florida.

    Before the week was over ,everyone in school knew the alligator had disappeared, but no one knew where or how. Everyone went around cautiously, wondering if they would suddenly find an alligator behind a door or under a desk. Questions abounded. Did he die and get taken away and disposed of? Had he climbed from his home, wandered out an open door, and frozen to death in the cold winter weather? When asked, all the teachers shook their heads and could offer no explanation. A few looked nervous. The principal had been sick in the hospital for several days over the time Florida had vanished, so Ria knew he hadn’t done anything.

    “I just don’t understand it,” she said to Chris and Lydia as they trudged home through the snow. “How could an alligator just disappear like that? Did someone break into the school and take him away?”

    “Beats me.” Chris kicked aside a clump of snow. “No one seems to have a clue what happened. Maybe it wandered outside.”

    “But then,” Lydia said, “wouldn’t someone have found it dead? Florida wasn’t exactly small enough to fit in a cigar box now.”

    Chris had to agree with that, and nothing more was said.

    But Ria kept wondering.

*

    “Mr. Mulford!” Ria called, almost running down the hall about a week later when she caught sight of the returned principal.

    Principal Mulford, an older man with iron gray hair and a slight limp from the last war, stopped and waited. Though firm and even stern when need required, he wasn’t intimidating.

    Slightly out of breath, Ria blurted out, “Do you know where Florida is?”

    The principal glanced around quickly and then said slowly, as though he was expecting a joke of some sort. “Yes.”

    “Oh, where?”

    “Down in the southeastern part of the United States.” He looked down at Ria and added, “You should already know that, Ria.”

    Ria burst into a merry laugh. “Not that Florida; I know where the state is. I meant my alligator that Tom sent me. The one who came to live here.”

    Understanding filled the principal’s face, and he chuckled. “I was beginning to think either I had missed something on the news or you had failed in geography,” he said. “The alligator. Yes, I know where it went. Doesn’t everyone?”

    “No, sir. Chris and I have asked everyone at school, and no one, not even the teachers know. Please, what happened to him?”

    “The Kansas City Zoo took him. He was growing too large for us to keep him here, so I called an old friend of mine who works at the zoo. He came by sometime when I was in the hospital. My wife brought him over and let him in the school, and I thought she was going to tell Mr. Beemer. She must have forgotten.” He shook his head. “So, don’t worry about your alligator, Ria. He’s gone to a good home. Now you’d better hurry along to class or you’ll be late.”

*

    Dear Tom,

Florida is now in the zoo. Can you imagine that tiny thing you sent me months ago growing up in a zoo? I still find it hard to believe, but the girls at school are relieved, since everyone was wondering what had happened and were half expecting to find an alligator anywhere around school. Now, please don’t send me any more alligators! And don’t try any snakes, or birds, or other live creatures. Perhaps you should stick with things like shells, or postcards.

Love, Ria

Historical Note:
My grandma really did receive a baby alligator in the mail from her brother who was stationed down in Florida. The mailman really did stop and watch while she opened it because he was curious. My grandma's alligator grew and they had to use some of their ration coupons to buy meat for it. The local school that my grandma attended finally agreed to take the alligator and keep it in one of their aquariums. Then one day, my grandma, just like Ria, stopped to see her pet, and found he wasn't there. She doesn't know what became of him. It was winter at the time in Indiana, and she wondered if he'd gotten outside and died. Whether she knew at one time and has just forgotten (she's 91), or whether she never did know, we aren't sure.

Did you have a good Easter Sunday?

Did you enjoy this Ria and the Gang story?

I'm not sure what to post next week, any suggestions?