Polkacide (31 page)

So much for chaos and
confusion. All eyes and ears in Polka Central were suddenly glued
to me.

I knew I needed to take
advantage of the attention while I still could. "Okay then." I
cleared my throat and did my best to project my voice. "Remember
when you asked me to write you some checks? Well, you're going to
get your wish."

"Seriously?" said Charlie.

Bonnie held a squirming
kid's shoulder with each hand. "How're you gonna pull
that
one off?"

Ellie sounded skeptical and
smart-alecky as always. "What's the
catch
?"

"The checks will be
paychecks
." I met each of
their icy stares in turn. "I want to
hire
you to work on
Polkapourri."

"I
knew
it!" Ellie swung a fist like she
was punching someone in the face. "
That
woman
ruined Polkapourri,
didn't
she?"

"It figures!" said Charlie.

"Not at all!" I chopped my
hands through the air. "We just need some help, what with
everything that's happened."

"You couldn't
pay
me enough to take
orders from
that woman
!" Ellie folded her arms across her red t-shirted chest and
cocked her head defiantly. "Count me out!"

"This isn't
about
her," I said. "This
is about Dad's
legacy
."

Ellie snort-laughed. "Now
I
know
you're on
drugs."

"This is about the
25
^th
anniversary of
his
festival." I spread my arms wide. "His
baby
. This is about
making sure it doesn't
die
."

"Give it up, Lottie." Ellie
waved me off and turned to go. "I don't want any part of
this."

"Ellie!" said Mom. "At least hear her
out!"

"Forget it." Charlie started after
Ellie. "This conversation is over."

My heart thrashed in my
chest, bashing itself against the cage of my ribs. I knew I was
losing control; the window of opportunity was about to slam shut on
my fingers.

I sucked in a deep breath
and marshaled my resources. If I didn't act now, and Ellie made it
through the door, the other sisters would slip out in her
wake.

So I acted. I leaped off the
stage.

I landed hard on the gym floor and
sprinted past Charlie after Ellie. Grabbing her shoulder, I spun
her around to face me.

"I
need
you! We can't do it
ourselves
!" I held on
tight as she tried to shrug me off. "Are you going to make
me
beg
?"

As I paused to take a
breath, I noticed the whole place had fallen dead silent.
Finally
, I was making an
impression on my family.

Still holding on to Ellie's
shoulder, I turned to look at my other sisters, my mother, and my
Baba. "I need
all
of you, or Polkapourri's going in the
dumper
. Are you
all
going to make me
beg
? Because I
will
!

"If it means keeping Dad's
dream alive, I'll do
anything
!" I said it with a fierce
passion I hadn't expected. "
Anything
!"

Letting go of Ellie, I
walked through the crowd, meeting each person's gaze with steely
intensity. "If you
do
this, you're not doing it for
me
. You're not doing it for
Peg
. You're doing it
for
him
." I paused
near Charlie. "So if you
ever
loved him, if he meant
anything
to you at all,
do
this for
him
." I walked over and
locked eyes with Bonnie. "Do it for
Polish
Lou
!"

Nobody said anything for a
moment. I walked to the stage and boosted myself up to sit on the
edge while I waited for the verdict.

Then, someone clapped, and a
little boy's chirping voice broke the silence. "I'll do it!" It was
six-year-old Louie, my favorite nephew, shouting and applauding.
"Where do we start, Auntie Tickle-Tock?"

The grownups and most of the
kids laughed. Louie had broken the ice.

"I'll do it." Bonnie sighed. "I'd hate
to see Polkapourri go under."

Mom smiled and raised her hand. "You
know you can count on me, dear."

I looked at Ellie, but she still
seemed to be steaming. When I turned my gaze to Charlie, she looked
unhappy, too...but then she rolled her eyes and shook her head in
surrender. "All right already. Sign me up. Geez."

"You don't even have to ask me,
Lottie!" Baba Tereska got up from her folding chair and shook her
fist in the air. "Remember the Alamo!"

Again, I met Ellie's
seething glare. She was the last holdout, and everyone was waiting
to find out which way she would go. Knowing Ellie, I doubted she'd
join the Polkapourri volunteers; the big question was, how much of
a stink would she raise in the process of turning me
down?

The wait dragged on so long
that the kids started to get restless. Bonnie had to snap at one of
hers, and Charlie had to do the same with one of hers.

As for me, I sat patiently on the
stage and watched Ellie. I knew from experience not to try to rush
her into anything.

Finally, she brushed her
spiky bangs out of her eyes with the edge of her hand and stared at
me resentfully. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"

I shrugged. Not like I
hadn't been ready for her to raise a stink. "Does that mean you'll
help with Polkapourri?"

She ignored my question.
"
You
screw up, and
then you expect
us
to bail you out. You think we'll
jump
just because you wave a
little
money
in
our faces."

"You're right about my
needing you to bail me out." I held up both hands, palms out, in
front of me. "But not about waving the money. That's just me trying
to be
fair
."

"You've been
gone
for fifteen years,
and now you're back here telling
us
what to do?" Ellie snorted and pointed a finger at
me. "You've got a lot of
nerve
."

"I
get
it already." Now it was my turn
to roll my eyes. "You hate my guts, and you don't want anything to
do with Polkapourri. Message received."

"Slow down, sister." Ellie
stepped forward, sneering. "Did I
say
I didn't want anything to do with
Polkapourri?"

The implications of what she'd said
dawned on me. She wasn't turning her back on Polkapourri, after
all.

I knew better than to make a big deal
of it, though. Instead, I nodded and stretched out my hand. "Thank
you. Welcome aboard."

To my surprise, Ellie
scooted over, grabbed my hand, and shook it. "Any time, sis. Just
one thing." She leaned forward and dropped her voice. "If that
woman tries ordering me around, she's dead meat.
Capische?
"

"Whatever." I let out a
heavy sigh. I was certain she'd be a problem, but at least she was
on board. That in itself was quite an accomplishment.

Ellie let go of my hand and
turned to face the crowd, pumping her fists in the air. "This
Polkapourri is gonna
rock
."

Everybody cheered. The kids danced and
ran in circles. Maybe the family volunteers would work out okay,
after all.

"Okay, everybody!" I got to
my feet, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice.
"Let's talk assignments!"

Chapter 46

I couldn't believe how well
the meeting went. By the time we were done, my sisters, mother, and
grandmother had not only agreed to their assignments, but had come
up with ways to improve the event. Even as the gang trooped out,
they were discussing plans to deal with various Polkapourri
issues.

Only Mom and Baba Tereska
stayed behind in Polka Central to chat with me afterward. Leaning
against the stage, we watched the front door close on the last of
the ADHD Dozen.

"Thanks again, you guys." I leaned one
way, bumping Baba with my shoulder, then the other, bumping
Mom.

"We're so happy to help, sweetheart."
Mom wrapped an arm around my back and gave me a squeeze.

"Even if Lou
did
cut us out of the
picture fifteen years ago when Miss Peggy came along." Baba Tereska
scowled and tossed up her hands in disgust.

"We could have stayed, I suppose,"
said Mom, "but..."

"But that husband of yours
was thinking with his
little
brain, as always," snapped Baba.

Mom winced and shook her
head. "What I meant to say was, it would've been too
awkward."

Baba shrugged. "That, too."

"Well, I'm lucky to have you both." I
gave each of them a quick peck on the cheek. "You know Polkapourri
better than almost anyone."

"It
was
my idea," said Baba. "Well,
practically."

Mom gaped at her. "What on
Earth are you talking about, Tereska? It was your
son's
brainchild."

"I told him to go play his
noisy polka music
outside
, where it couldn't upset
my
digestion
. Next
thing you know, he's having an outdoor polka festival!" Baba
Tereska nodded proudly.

"Whoever's idea it was, I
think it just might work out after all." Pulling out my phone, I
saw there were no missed calls or voice mail, which worried me. Now
that the meeting was done, I was starting to wonder what Peg was up
to...and if she was okay. Finding Eddie Sr.'s body so soon after
Peg got her death threat was making me jumpy.

"Your father would be proud,
Lottie." Mom's eyes were bright as she gazed at me. "The way you
brought us all together to help keep his dream going. He really
knew what he was doing, picking you to run the company and
Polkapourri with Peg."

"I agree," said Baba Tereska, "except
for the 'with Peg' part."

"I just wish he was still
alive to be a part of it." Even as I said it, I felt a pang in my
belly. So much had been happening, I hadn't really stopped to think
about missing Dad...but all of a sudden, the feeling welled up
within me. "Can you imagine seeing him and Eddie Sr. playing
together again after all these years?"

"Wait a minute,
kochanie
," said Baba.
"Lou and Eddie were going to
play
together?"

"That's right." I nodded.
"For the 25
^th
anniversary of Polkapourri. It was going to be a
big surprise."

"Impossible! Who told you
about this?" Baba leaned back and grimaced. "Was it Miss
Peggy?"

I shook my head. "Eddie Jr.
He said they
recorded
something together, too, but Lou hid it somewhere. Eddie Jr.
and Peg have been looking all over but can't find it."

"They
recorded
together? After all
that
bad blood
between them?" Baba Tereska looked aghast. "Are you
sure
about
that?"

I shrugged. "According to
Eddie Jr., it's true."

Baba narrowed her eyes.
"Still sounds fishy to me. I can't believe those two would
ever
bury the hatchet,
except in each other's
heads
."

"Well, they did." Mom nodded. "They
finally made amends and joined forces again."

"Do you think I'm
senile,
synowa
?"
snapped Baba. "What brought on this supposed
reconciliation?"

"I don't know." Mom sighed.
"Lou never told me. I just know it happened. He and Eddie Sr. did
get back together before they died."

Baba rejected her with a quick puff of
breath between her chapped lips. "That husband of yours made it up
to drum up publicity for the festival. He was always such a
showman."

"Absolutely not." Mom pushed away from
the stage and stood in front of us with her arms folded over her
chest. "I have proof."