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  For Nancy Diamond,

  known to her students as

  The Best Librarian in the Whole Wide World,

  known to me as Mom

  —J.D.

  For everyone who told me I could …

  and to everyone who told me I couldn’t.

  Also Ally, Mum, Lil, Dad & Vettie

  —L.V.

  CHAPTER ONE

  PSPP

  It was 3:37 p.m. on Friday, and Lou Lou Bombay was where she belonged—in her sunlit garden, talking to her fall-blooming camellia.

  “I love Fridays, Pinky,” Lou Lou said as she pruned a stray branch. “It’s not the weekend but it’s the almost-weekend. When you know there are two empty days ahead and anything can happen.” Lou Lou stood on her tiptoes to examine a cluster of magenta flowers in full bloom. Pinky was a marvelous specimen—a camellia of the autumn queen variety and taller than Lou Lou by a full two feet. Lou Lou reached high to check the glossy leaves for aphids and other insect pests. Finding none, she smiled and thought about the upcoming garden show.

  “You’re going to win Best in Show for Flowering Bushes and Shrubs this year, Pinky. I just know it!” said Lou Lou. “Hello Horticulture! Society Annual Conference, here we come!” A breeze blew through the garden, and one of Pinky’s branches bobbed at Lou Lou in agreement.

  Just then, Lou Lou heard a knock at the backyard gate.

  “Gotta go, Pinky. Happy PSPP!” Pinky’s branch bobbed again as if to say, Happy PSPP to you, too.

  PSPP (Post-School-Pre-Parents) was a glorious hour and twenty-three minutes of Lou Lou’s Friday. School was over for the week, and from the time Lou Lou hopped off the bus on Lucky Alley until her parents came home from work at their architecture office, she had the house and the afternoon almost entirely to herself. The only other person she was guaranteed to see was a small brown-haired girl wearing a crisp school uniform. She was standing outside the gate now.

  “Hi, Pea! I mean, welcome to my humble garden, Miss Peacock Pearl.” Lou Lou remembered to greet her best friend with customary PSPP formality.

  “Thank you, Miss Lou Lou Bombay! I am very pleased to be here,” Pea said.

  “I do hope your journey was not long,” said Lou Lou, although she knew it was only a ten-minute bus ride from Pea’s school to Lou Lou’s house.

  “Not at all,” Pea replied with a dismissive wave. “Shall we?”

  “Yeah, I’m starving!” answered Lou Lou, forgetting her manners as usual. Pea blinked her bright blue eyes at her best friend. Unlike Lou Lou, Pea was always polite, although she was extra, extra polite during PSPP.

  “I mean, certainly, my dear. Please come in for a bite to eat and a spot of tea.” Lou Lou pointed at the little table at the edge of her backyard. She’d laid out tea and scones, a PSPP tradition born after a rainy day spent watching an old movie about dignified British ladies. Lou Lou and Pea had agreed that it would be quite lovely to have their own weekly afternoon tea and scones.

  Pea sat down and wiped her hands on a navy handkerchief embroidered with her initials. Lou Lou poured tea into mismatched cups, added a sprig of fresh mint from her garden to each, and handed Pea the blue one.

  “What interesting things happened at your school today, Miss Pearl?” Lou Lou asked. Lou Lou and Pea had once gone to the same neighborhood school where they met in the first week of first grade. But two years ago, right before third grade, Pea had transferred to a creative arts school to pursue her passions, painting and fashion design.

  “We have a new teacher in my Fun with Textiles class and she called me ‘Pea.’” She carefully spread jam on her scone, avoiding potential finger stickiness. Lou Lou, who was licking jam off her wrist, stared at Pea with wide eyes. “It was annoying!” added Pea, who seemed to be finished with formal speech for today.

  “Mmyeah,” Lou Lou sympathized, her mouth filled with scone. Only Pea’s family and Lou Lou were allowed to use Pea’s nickname. Lou Lou, on the other hand, preferred her nickname and insisted that no one was to call her Louise.

  “But I got my new color swatch book!” Pea pulled The Definitive Book of Color from her schoolbag. Lou Lou leaned closer as Pea showed her the different shades.

  “Lots of the purples have flower names!” Lou Lou observed as they looked at a swatch of violet and another of wisteria.

  “I know,” Pea said. “And there are so many beautiful blues. Cerulean, ultramarine, azure…”

  The breeze picked up again and riffled the pages of the latest issue of the Hello Horticulture! Society magazine. Since Pea was still perusing the blue color swatches, Lou Lou couldn’t resist a quick peek at the Perfect Perennials section of the magazine.

  “And how was your day?” Pea asked.

  Lou Lou looked up from an article about the underappreciated ornamental onion. Nothing that had happened to her at school seemed as interesting as the onion’s resistance to deer, voles, and rabbits.

  “Same old, same old. Kyle Longfellow was irritating. The mac and cheese was cold at lunch. Danielle Desserts called me ‘Lou Lou Loser’ in front of our whole Science class. But I got an A-minus on my math test and an A on my book report.”

  Pea sipped her tea. “Danielle is always so childish. But that is good news about your grades. Are you almost ready for the Hello Horticulture! Society Annual Conference? It’s only a few weeks away!”

  “Yes! I’m going to photograph Pinky’s flowers soon,” Lou Lou said. “I went to see Juan at Green Thumb Nursery earlier this week. He has a customer with a forsythia who thinks he’ll win the competition, but Juan says the forsythia doesn’t have a chance with Pinky in the running!” She winked at her camellia.

  “Wonderful, Lou Lou!” replied Pea. Gardening was too dirty for her taste but she supported her best friend. “Now how about a stroll?” Pea suggested another PSPP tradition.

  “Certainly.” Lou Lou drained the final drop from her cup.

  “Candles or cupcakes?” Pea asked. Here was the usual dilemma. Should they head to Cupcake Cabana for their favorite frosted treats, or should they pay Elmira the Candle Lady a visit?

  Before Lou Lou could answer, Pea’s phone rang.

  “¡Hola, Mamá!” Pea said, answering the call. Then she frowned. “¿Qué? ¿Qué? ¿Magdalena? ¿Su vestido? ¡Pobrecita! Sí, Mamá. Hasta luego.”

  “What happened? Is Magdalena okay?” Lou Lou didn’t speak a lot of Spanish, but she recognized Pea’s cousin’s name.

  “Magdalena is fine, but her quinceañera dress is not,” Pea replied. “It was in my tía Marie’s car. She left the window open by mistake and when she came back from running errands, there was a giant purple stain down the front of the dress!”

  “From what? A sudden purple rainstorm? A mad magician’s purple spell?”

 
“Nothing that weird. My mother said it smelled like grape juice. On second thought, that is weird. Why would someone pour grape juice on a quinceañera dress through a car window?”

  “I don’t know,” Lou Lou said. “Maybe it was an accident? Otherwise, it’s a really mean thing to do.”

  “Hopefully, the dress is not ruined,” said Pea. “Magdalena’s quinceañera is on Sunday! Tía Marie took the dress to Sparkle ’N Clean this morning, and now my mother wants me to pick it up before they close.”

  “I guess that means candles today,” said Lou Lou. Sparkle ’N Clean was on the same block as the candle shop. “We’ll get Magdalena’s dress, then we’ll visit Elmira. Don’t worry, Pea. It will all work out!”

  With that, it was decided. Before they left for their stroll, Lou Lou left a message for her mom and dad with the details of their afternoon plan. Then she took one last peek at Pinky.

  “See you tomorrow morning,” she said to her camellia. “Stay beautiful!”

  I will, Lou Lou, a bobbing branch seemed to say in reply.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sparkle ’N Not-So-Clean

  Lou Lou and Pea walked the short distance to Sparkle ’N Clean along cracked sidewalks, stopping occasionally to pet neighbors’ pugs and poodles. Although they lived in a city, their little neighborhood was close-knit like a small town. It was called El Corazón, because it was in the heart of the city and alive with culture and art. Lou Lou and Pea adored their community for the rainbow of buildings, some of which had the popular El Corazón murals painted on them. The people of El Corazón were friendly, and neighbors were always greeting Lou Lou and Pea on the street or from their front porches with a Hello! or a ¡Buenos días! And El Corazón was well-known for its community celebrations that were filled with beauty and energy.

  On the way to Sparkle ’N Clean, Lou Lou and Pea admired things they loved about their neighborhood, from Mrs. Thompson’s wooden lawn flamingos to the shiny red-and-black vintage cars that were meticulously maintained by Mr. Martinez. El Corazón dazzled the eye with its variety and color.

  As they arrived at Sparkle ’N Clean, Pea pointed at the window display.

  “Look at that silver boa!” Sparkle ’N Clean was a fashion boutique as well as a laundry. “And the jeweled headband is exquisite,” Pea said as they went inside. “You should wear it when you claim Pinky’s blue ribbon at the Hello Horticulture! Society Annual Conference.”

  “Lou Lou and Peacock! Darlings, so wonderful to see you!” Thomas, the owner of Sparkle ’N Clean, was arranging elaborate brooches on a table in the corner. “Are you two here for some satin opera gloves? Or perhaps a feathered fascinator for your Halloween costumes?”

  Lou Lou noticed Pea gazing longingly at the opera gloves. Lou Lou made a mental note for Pea’s next birthday. “No, we’re just picking up Magdalena’s quinceañera dress,” Lou Lou said.

  “Oh riiight.” Thomas sounded hesitant. “I’ll go fetch it.” He disappeared into a maze of clothing racks while Lou Lou and Pea looked at hats. Pea picked out a velvet hat with ribbons and flowers.

  “That’s like something Ella Divine would wear,” said Lou Lou.

  “I know, so glamorous,” Pea replied. The hat was perched precariously on her head. “We’re still going to her show next Friday, right?” The singer was Pea’s idol, and Lou Lou was Ella Divine’s second biggest fan.

  “Yes! My mom and dad—” Lou Lou was interrupted by Thomas sweeping out from behind a rack of jackets. He was carrying Magdalena’s quinceañera dress with its layered tulle skirt and beaded bodice that was fit for a fairy-tale ball.

  “I’m afraid there was nothing I could do.” Thomas held up the dress for Lou Lou and Pea. On the front was a wicked spread of purple, like a big bruise. Pea’s mouth fell open, and the velvet hat slipped off her head and sailed to the floor.

  “But it’s just grape juice. Surely there must be a way…” Pea’s voice grew quiet.

  “Darling, I wish this was just grape juice. That would have been a snap, a breeze, nothing at all!” Thomas replied, waving his hand and wiggling his fingers. “But no no no. This was something much more vicious. One part grape juice, two parts DYE.” Thomas said the last word in the voice of an old movie villain.

  “Someone poured dye on Magdalena’s dress?” Lou Lou could hardly believe it. “Who would do something so awful?”

  “I haven’t a clue,” Thomas said. “But mark my words, whoever ruined this dress wanted it to stay ruined. What a shame! It was such a lovely shade of lemon yellow. Your prima has very good taste, Peacock.”

  Pea nodded. “Her quinceañera is in Limonero Park. She chose that color to match the lemon trees.”

  “What’s Magdalena going to do?” Lou Lou looked at Pea.

  “I don’t know.” Pea looked dismayed. “She will be really upset, that’s for certain. There’s not enough time for Tía Marie to make a new one.” She reached for the huge dress, careful to avoid touching the stain. Because of its giant size, the dress hid Pea almost entirely—Lou Lou could barely see her two blue eyes peeking out over a cloud of yellow fabric.

  “Please tell your tía that I’m sorry, Peacock. I spent half the morning soaking and scrubbing,” Thomas said. “No charge.”

  “Thank you, Thomas,” Pea replied.

  “Of course, darling. If Magdalena needs a new dress, send her my way. I don’t have anything lemon-colored, but I do have some gorgeous apricot taffeta that would look smashing on her.”

  Outside of Sparkle ’N Clean, Pea stared forlornly at the ruined bundle.

  “C’mon,” Lou Lou said, nodding in the direction of the candle shop. “Elmira is a genius at fixing problems! I bet she can help.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Elmira the Candle Lady (Part One)

  “Brrr!” Lou Lou buttoned up her coat as they walked down the block. The October day had been sunny and warm when they left Lucky Alley. But outside the candle shop, the wind picked up and Lou Lou’s golden-brown curls whipped around her face.

  The tiny candle shop was nestled between Manny’s Bodega and Chilly Refrigerator Repair. The candle shop’s official name was La Fortuna Candle Emporium, but everyone just called it the candle shop. An unremarkable building with faded paint, it was not much to look at from the outside. Still, the flames that danced in the window promised intrigue and warm memories. Lou Lou and Pea had spent many afternoons in the shop listening to Elmira’s stories and advice. Lou Lou read aloud the shop’s paper sign that she’d seen countless times: “SE VENDE LUZ Y SUERTE.”

  “We certainly need light and luck today to help Magdalena,” Pea said.

  A bell chimed overhead as Lou Lou and Pea entered the store. They were greeted by the aroma of smoldering incense and candles that smelled of jasmine, vanilla, and hot chilies. The candles, which were tall pillars flickering in glass holders, brightened the otherwise dark shop. They were every color of the rainbow and various shades in between, and they were decorated with writing and images. Lou Lou liked all the candle hues. But blue was Pea’s signature color, as it matched her eyes and her name. She loved the candles that ranged from the light blue of a robin’s egg to the dark blue of the early-night sky.

  While they waited for Elmira to emerge from the back room, Lou Lou moved along one of the shelves, running her fingers over the smooth rims of the candleholders. Each candle made a different promise in pictures and Spanish words. Many of the words were still unfamiliar to Lou Lou, but she knew that the silver Buena Suerte candle, with its picture of a horseshoe, was for good luck. And the red Amor candle, with the heart, was for love. She paused at a yellow candle that showed a smiling face and read Buena Salud.

  “Good salad? Why would anyone need a good salad candle?” Lou Lou held it up for Pea to see. Her best friend smiled.

  “Salud means health, not salad.”

  “Oh, right,” Lou Lou said. She hoped that someday she would speak Spanish as well as Pea. Pea was fluent because her mother, who was Mexican, spoke Spanis
h at home. Lou Lou wandered over to the green candle on the shop’s counter. The dollar sign on the holder gave the meaning away—Riqueza, wealth.

  “¡Hola, niñas!” Lou Lou and Pea heard Elmira’s scratchy voice before they saw her face. The Candle Lady appeared through the curtain behind the counter.

  Elmira had been selling candles for as long as Lou Lou could remember. Nearly everyone in the neighborhood relied on the Candle Lady to grant wishes and cure ailments, including Lou Lou and Pea. Elmira always lent a sympathetic ear to her customers and recommended appropriate candles. But Lou Lou and Pea visited Elmira even when they had no need for a candle. They loved the Candle Lady’s mysterious ways and they valued her wisdom and advice. She was always interested in problems and ready to cheer on accomplishments.

  “How are things with you two? ¿Están bien?” Elmira asked. She was short and squat, and appeared older than Lou Lou’s parents but younger than her grandparents. She favored gauzy garments and robes that she draped over herself in creative ways. Today she wore swaths of maroon silk.

  “Muy bien, Elmira. ¿Y usted?” Lou Lou replied. Pea nodded at Lou Lou’s Spanish, and Lou Lou felt a twinge of pride.

  “Bien, gracias,” said the Candle Lady. “It is always lovely to see you both. But I gather you are here today for my help with un problema.”

  Elmira seemed to know when people were just browsing for something they might need. In those cases, she would chat for a bit and then recommend a basic purple Felicidad candle to bring happiness. But Elmira could also tell when customers wanted something specific—the right candle to cure a cold or get a good grade in math. Elmira was so talented, she often made appropriate suggestions before customers began their tales of hope or woe. Sometimes she even helped people with problems they didn’t know they had. Lou Lou, hoping to learn a few psychic tricks, had asked Elmira how she came to have her mystic knowledge. Elmira had simply answered, “Tengo la intuición.” I have the intuition.