Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus Read Online Free

the sardines into Humphrey’s bowl. She only gave him sardines when she had a good reason. A smidgen of guilt crept into Harriet’s heart as she wiped sardine juice from the floor. He probably still remembered eating sardines the day before she took him for a trip to the vet, which turned into something a little more than routine. Let’s just say Humphrey came home a little lighter the next day.
    Humphrey lapped the fishies up faster than flies find a warm pile of poop in July. Harriet knew he was a little worried and wondered if she should even tell him. But that wasn’t fair. She couldn’t just spring it on him at the very last minute. Besides he had been watching her pack and must have known something was up.
    “Humphrey,” she said just as he swallowed the last morsel. “I got something to tell you.” She sat at the kitchen table and opened the donut bag. Humphrey scooted toward her. He had learned to do this on his butt, not that standing up and walking was so hard,but why waste the energy? His eyes brightened as she jiggled the donut bag.
    Harriet figured Humphrey had come to know her pretty well. Sometimes a dog can know things without words; a simple look on a human’s face can be enough to spell impending disaster or even unspeakable joy like a fresh warm donut from Larry’s.
    Harriet knew Humphrey knew. She scratched behind his ears and smiled into his impossibly sad, bloodshot eyes. “We’re taking a little trip, you and me.” She tried to sound as upbeat as possible and fed him part of the donut, which he wolfed down in no time.
    Humphrey perked up. The dog wagged his tail and performed his version of the happy dance, which was little more than a few tail chases. Harriet loved that.
    “Good boy, Humphrey. You are going to have so much fun on that airplane.” She patted his head.
    Humphrey yawned. Walked away. Did a double take and whimpered.
    “I don’t care what anyone says. I know you can understand me. But don’t worry, you’re going to love the plane.”
    Harriet spent the rest of the day packing, unpacking, and repacking. It was difficult to decide what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away. It had taken her nearly three years to rid the house of Max’s clothes and belongings. But as she went through closets and drawers she came across other Max memorabilia and had a tough time keeping tears at bay.
    “Oh, Max,” she said, holding an old wristwatch. “You never did get this fixed. But that was just like you. Say one thing, do another.”
    By dinnertime she had grown so weary of crying over Max she set about packing her salt-and-pepper collection. She had gone to the U-Haul store and purchased nice sturdy boxes, strapping tape, and a large black Sharpie.
    “I’m going to ship my collection to Grass Valley, Humphrey.”
    Humphrey barked.
    “Well I’m glad you agree.”
    Most of the shakers were on shelves in Henry’s old room. Henry helped install the shelving and even painted the room a sweet robin’s egg blue. Harriet loved the way the color looked with all her multicolor shakers. It was like walking into a rainbow every day.
    She pulled the shakers off the shelf one by one and wrapped them in newspaper. Martha, an absolutely rabid recycler, had given Harriet stacks of newspapers that Martha had been saving ever since Harriet informed her about the big move.
    “Look, Humphrey, this is the set Maggie and Joe sent me from Guatemala. Imagine that, all the way from there.” She wrapped the boy-and-girl-shaped shakers and lovingly set them in a box. Next she wrapped a set shaped like apples. Pepper had a blue bow and salt had a pink bow, but they both were wide-eyed and happy. “These came from Washington State. I think Jolene Farber brought them back from her visit with her mother.”
    Harriet couldn’t help but entertain the flood of memories and feelings that surfaced with each set of shakers. But it was the set from Ocean City, New Jersey, in the shape of saltwater