A Snicker of Magic

As part of their agreement, the family must attend church with Cleo. As they head to the van, Mama comments on Cleo’s hairstyle, saying it ages her. Cleo is 20 years older than Mama. Felicity recalls how Mama used to braid her hair and put feathers in it, but Mama hasn’t done that since she used to paint. Mama says Cleo thinks she’s a wayward soul. Cleo parks haphazardly at the church and clarifies that Mama has a wandering heart, but that doesn’t make her a wayward soul.

Inside the church are hundreds of words for Felicity to observe. She particularly likes Everlasting. The preacher mentions the Beedle, which grabs Felicity’s attention. The preacher wants the people of the church to follow the Beedle’s example of doing “good things for people without expecting anything in return” (57). Felicity thinks about Jonah, happy that he’s her first friend and feeling honored that he trusted her with his secret.

As the preacher asks the congregation to pray, Felicity casts her gaze down at her blue book. The preacher asks that people pray for their loved ones, so Felicity silently prays for Jonah and Mama. She then asks Aunt Cleo what she’s praying for. Aunt Cleo says she’s praying for a man and laughs, so Felicity adds Aunt Cleo’s wishes to her own prayer. Felicity also prays for Frannie Jo and their dog, Biscuit. She prays that Mama will choose to stay in Midnight Gulch. Finally, she prays that her father will write a song for her, hoping he’s thinking of her.

As the service ends, Mama wants to leave quickly to avoid small talk, but she catches the attention of a woman named Ponder Waller, who is one of Mama’s old friends. Ponder is happy to see Mama again and gushes about Mama’s painting talent. Ponder invites the family to come by her bakery for pie soon.

On the way home, Cleo praises the Beedle’s contributions to town. She says the Beedle is a local hero who has been watching over the town for 50 years. Felicity is confused because she knows Jonah is just a 12-year-old, but she doesn’t let on that she’s met the Beedle. Mama and Cleo talk about how the Beedle put flowers on the memorial of Abigail Honeycutt, whose story is too sad for them to talk about. Mama adds that she can’t believe the Beedle is still active after 50 years. Cleo says it must be magic.

When Cleo asks Felicity why she looks perplexed, Felicity just responds that Day Grissom wanted to say hi to Cleo. Cleo’s and Mama’s reactions show that Cleo and Day have romantic history, but things have long since changed.

When they arrive home, the family finds gifts and a note from the Beedle. The note welcomes the Pickle family to town, and it’s paired with dog treats, a coloring book, and a large carton of local ice cream. Mama smiles. She hasn’t smiled like that since the days of dancing with Roger Pickle and painting. Felicity says another prayer once they’re inside, thanking God for Jonah because he made Mama smile.

On the bus after school on Monday, Felicity asks Jonah how he’s been in business for 50 years, but Jonah reminds her they can’t talk about that around other people. However, he’ll fill her in when they get off the bus.

As the bus passes the Gallery where Stone Weatherly used to paint murals, Jonah remarks that the town should find someone to paint the wall again. Felicity comments that Mama has the talent to do so, but Mama hasn’t painted for a while. Felicity wishes Mama would paint again. Jonah can tell Felicity worries about Mama.

The night before, Felicity saw Mama sitting with her head in her hands after work. She knows Mama wants to leave town again. She explains this to Jonah, who responds that maybe that’s why Felicity needs to participate in the Duel. Jonah thinks that if Felicity shows Mama how she’s settled into town and happy, it might change her mind. Felicity is skeptical, but Jonah seems sure.

Jonah asks Felicity about her ability with words again. Felicity explains how words are never the same, how lonely is the word she sees most, and how she sometimes writes words on her shoe instead of her book. Felicity shows Jonah her shoe, and they talk about the words she’s written down. Jonah asks if there are any words close to him. Felicity sees splendiferous, which makes Jonah happy. He writes the word on Felicity’s hand, asking her to hold onto it for him.

When they arrive at their destination, Felicity is impressed by a large mansion complete with a rusty gate and hedges trimmed in the shapes of animals. The largest hedge is a hot-air balloon. Felicity sees the word Threadbare woven into the gate. The mansion belongs to Oliver, who is the owner of Dr. Zook’s Ice Cream Company. Oliver created a formula for keeping ice cream cold for hours at room temperature and has made a lot of money from the company and the formula. An elderly woman, Oliver’s assistant Charlie Sue, greets them enthusiastically at the door. Charlie Sue says Jonah called Felicity adorable, making Felicity blush.

Charlie Sue leads the kids to Oliver’s library to wait while Oliver finishes a phone call with an out-of-state client. They want to purchase an order of Blackberry Sunrise, but Oliver has vowed never to sell that flavor outside of Midnight Gulch because there is magic in it. While they wait for Oliver, Jonah tells how he met Oliver. Jonah’s uncle works with kids in Haiti, so Jonah collected cola cans to raise money to build them a school. Once Oliver heard about it, he arranged to meet Jonah and appointed Jonah as the new Beedle.

Charlie Sue brings the kids some ice cream. While eating, Felicity sees the word Stoneberry. She mentions it to Jonah, who replies that Oliver knows a lot about the Weatherly brothers. Oliver arrives at the doorway, adding that he didn’t need to go far for research. Oliver shows Felicity a photo of Berry Weatherly. He talks about Barry’s banjo playing and his ability to sew. Finally, Oliver reveals that Berry Weatherly is his grandfather. Jonah adds that Oliver was the original Beedle.

Charlie Sue brings in Blackberry Sunrise ice cream. Oliver Weatherly explains how the magic within the ice cream helps people remember things. How the ice cream tastes indicates whether the person will recall something good or something bad. The ice cream helps Oliver recall information about the Brothers Threadbare. He offers some to Felicity, but she declines, worried about recalling a bad memory.

As Oliver eats Blackberry Sunrise, he tells Jonah and Felicity about his youth. Oliver was not a good kid. He liked to shoot doves from the upstairs window just for fun, despite his mom’s disapproval. Oliver admits he was also mean to people. When a woman preacher came to town, many were skeptical because she was a woman. He decided to go see her speak because he thought it would be fun to mock her. However, he was captivated by her beauty and speaking.

When Oliver mentions the preacher’s name, Eldee Mae, Felicity can tell he loves her. Though Oliver wasn’t a fan of church, he loved what Eldee Mae had to say. Eventually, Eldee Mae stopped in front of Oliver and reached out to touch his heart. She told him that hope was coming to him. Though he laughed at her, she never faltered. Felicity spots a tattoo on Oliver’s arm of a dove with dark wings.

Oliver woke the next day to a large shadow passing his window. He went outside to find a hot-air balloon landing in the yard. Felicity recalls the photo hanging in Aunt Cleo’s home. An old man climbed out of the balloon and asked Oliver if he was Berry Weatherly. Oliver said he was Berry’s grandson, informing the man that Berry Weatherly had left town and never returned. Oliver never met Berry. The man from the balloon was heartbroken. The man told Oliver that he looked just like Berry and revealed that he was Stone Weatherly. He’d been traveling for years and wanted to speak to Berry.

Oliver says that many know the story of the duel, but few know the story of the day Stone Weatherly returned to Midnight Gulch.

Charlie Sue warns Oliver to finish his story quickly because a big storm is approaching, and the kids need to get home. Felicity worries about getting in trouble if she gets home too late, but her heart tells her to stay and listen to the rest of the story.

Stone Weatherly didn’t stay very long because of his wandering heart. Stone “was such a lonely man” (91). Stone told Oliver about his life and his travels. He’d found a wife, whom he’d met in a hot-air balloon race, and he told Oliver about why he and Berry had dueled. Oliver indicates that they dueled over a person, but he doesn’t go into detail. Before leaving, Stone gave his guitar to Oliver, explaining that there was still magic in it. Stone asked Oliver to give the guitar to Berry if he ever saw him. Otherwise, he should give the guitar to a good home. Oliver says he found a good home for it. Before climbing back into his hot-air balloon, Stone advised Oliver to do good with his life, adding that his “words matter more than [he] knows” (92).

Later that night, Eldee Mae’s truck broke down in front of Oliver’s home. Oliver decided to use his words to express his love to her. They eventually married and began doing good for people anonymously. They bought the ice cream factory, which had been out of business, and began leaving free cartons for people. Soon, they were reading the paper to find out who needed help and taking it upon themselves to do what they could. They came up with the name the Beedle, which is Eldee’s name backwards plus Oliver’s middle initial.

Thunder cracks outside. Oliver wraps up his story. He never heard from Stone again. He believes Stone and Berry lived out the rest of their lives searching for one another. He recites the exact words of the curse. Felicity writes down one of the lines, “Till cords align, and all’s made right” (95). Oliver tells Felicity to make sure to always listen to both sides of a story.

Before leaving, Felicity notices Oliver’s dove tattoo is gone. She wants to ask about it, but she is interrupted by the realization that today is the seventh. Mama always skips town either on the seventh or during a storm, and now both are happening. When Felicity gets home, she finds Mama packing their things. Frannie is upset. Mama and Cleo bicker. Mama says she’s accepted a job in Seattle. Frannie and Felicity don’t want to leave. Felicity announces that they cannot leave because she’s going to be in the talent show. Mama is surprised and proud, despite Felicity’s public speaking struggles. Mama agrees that they’ll stay until after the show, which is a little over a week away. That night, Felicity prays for a miracle to keep them in Midnight Gulch.