Best Friends by Ann M. Martin

again.
    â€œRuby,” said Flora.
    â€œWe’re having a lot more play rehearsals now than before!”
    â€œOkay,” said Olivia calmly. “Show us what you’ve done. Maybe we can help you. I only need a couple of hours to finish my present.”
    â€œFirst let’s see yours,” said Ruby.
    Olivia opened a paper bag and carefully withdrew a package wrapped in tissue paper. “It’s a photo album,” she said. “I bought the album, but I’m making a cover for it — it’s going to say BABY in pink-and-white-checked fabric right here — and I decorated some of the pages. See? Mr. and Mrs. Fong can take pictures of the baby’s ‘firsts’ and put them in the album. This page is for her first walk in her carriage, this one is for her first Halloween, this one is for her first steps. All I need to do now is finish the cover.”
    â€œOlivia, that’s beautiful! It’s a great idea,” said Ruby.
    â€œBut you’re not off the hook, Ruby Jane,” said Flora. “Come on. Let’s see your present. What have you got?”
    Ruby made a face at her sister. Then she left Flora’s room, crossed the hall to her own room, and returned a few moments later holding out an empty soup can.
    â€œWhat’s that?” asked Olivia.
    â€œIt’s a can,” replied Ruby.
    â€œWe can see that,” said Flora.
    Ruby sighed. “I figure it could be either a rattle or a piggy bank. I could fill it with pebbles or something and it could be a rattle —”
    â€œYou mean a choking hazard!” shrieked Olivia. “That’s a terrible idea.”
    â€œAll right then, a bank,” said Ruby. “I’ll wrap the sides with construction paper, make a top out of cardboard or something, and cut a hole in it for dropping the money through.”
    â€œWhy,” said Flora, “am I reminded of the pencil cup you made Dr. Malone for Christmas? Oh, that’s right. Another decorated soup can.”
    â€œLook,” said Ruby, growing angrier, “I have play rehearsals and dance classes and chorus rehearsals —”
    â€œYou guys, don’t fight,” interrupted Olivia. “The point is that Ruby needs to make a present. Fast. Flora, you and I have time to help her. Let’s all sit down and think.”
    â€œHow about a stuffed animal?” said Ruby a few moments later.
    â€œThat’s not a bad idea,” said Flora. “We still have a couple of teddy bear kits left at the store.”
    â€œHmm,” said Olivia. “I wonder what Annika would make.”
    Flora frowned. “What do you mean?” she asked.
    But Ruby said, “She’d make something wild, like a jungle quilt.”
    â€œIs Annika good at sewing?” asked Olivia.
    â€œPretty good,” said Flora. She turned to her sister. “Why don’t we call Min and ask her to bring one of the kits home tonight? I can help you with a bear, okay?”
    â€œOkay,” replied Ruby.
    Olivia and Flora turned to their own gifts, but Olivia’s mind was on Annika and jungle quilts and all that Annika had in common with Flora.
    Â 
    Four days later, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, Olivia’s house began to fill with neighbors, who arrived through the Walters’ back door, bearing packages hidden in grocery bags and old cardboard boxes.
    â€œNot that the Fongs will see us,” said Olivia to Flora and Ruby. “They should be in town now. Then at two o’clock Mr. Fong is supposed to say, ‘Come on, dear. Let’s go home. We’ll stop by the Walters’ on the way and pick up their old high chair.’”
    â€œWhat if Mrs. Fong doesn’t want to stop by?” asked Ruby.
    Olivia’s face fell. “I didn’t think of that,” she said.
    â€œDon’t worry,” said Flora. “Mr. Fong will get her here one way or another.”
    Olivia looked around her