Wish

At VBS, the children play a game where they wrap themselves in toilet paper to mimic Joseph’s coat of many colors and race through an obstacle course. Howard’s limp causes him to tear his toilet paper coat and come in last, but he doesn’t seem to care. Charlie sits next to Audrey at lunch and pulls out her fake note, making sure that Audrey can see it. Audrey tells Charlie that she shouldn’t lie at church, and Charlie gets angry. When she jumps up with her fists clenched, Howard quickly races over, shouting “pineapple.” Audrey leaves, and Howard asks Charlie to explain what happened. Charlie tells Howard that Audrey called her a liar but then lies to Howard by claiming that she didn’t lie about anything. He reminds her that she can’t get into fights at church.

T.J. Rainey mocks Howard’s walk, but when Howard turns around to face him, he just walks away. Charlie races towards T.J. and shoves him to the ground. He shoves her back, but Miss Rhonda separates them before the fight escalates and lectures them about being kind to one another. Miss Rhonda tells Bertha about Charlie’s behavior, but Bertha isn’t angry and instead praises Charlie for defending her friend. At home, Charlie calms herself down by observing the garden and spending time with Wishbone. The dog has become her constant companion, and she no longer needs to keep him on a leash. Charlie loves having him around as he makes her feel less lonely. Bertha is proud of Charlie’s loyalty to Howard, and Charlie can’t remember a time that an adult has ever been proud of her for anything.

Bertha tells Charlie a story about her mother. Once, Carla fell into the lake, and their uncle had to jump in and rescue her, but Carla never panicked or got upset. Another time, she cut all the buttons off one of Bertha’s blouses for no reason. Bertha says she was always a little peculiar. Gus arrives home from work and tells Charlie that she is “a ray of sunshine at the end of a long, sorry day” (196). Later, Charlie wonders if her family in Raleigh ever thinks of her the way Gus does.

Charlie draws a replica of her dad’s tattoo on her hand. When Audrey Mitchell asks her about it, she tells her that it’s just like her dad’s tattoo. She instantly worries that Audrey will ask about her father, but she doesn’t, so Charlie adds that he is “getting corrected” (198) and that she will be returning home to Raleigh soon. Howard overhears the conversation and asks when she is leaving, but Charlie isn’t certain. The doubt shakes her confidence, and Charlie wipes the tattoo from her hand.

Howard asks Charlie why she shoved T.J. at VBS, and she explains that he was making fun of Howard. She wonders why Howard didn’t shove T.J. himself, and Howard says, “’Cause I’d be shoving somebody every day of my life” (200). Charlie says she cares about Howard because he is her friend, and he exclaims that his wish to be her friend has come true. Charlie thinks to herself that she can’t believe someone would want to be her friend and is happy that Howard’s wish came true.

Bertha finds Charlie’s fake lunchbox note and apologizes to her for not knowing to make such gestures. She explains to Charlie that she and Gus always wanted children, but it didn’t happen, so she doesn’t know much about being a mother. Charlie is overwhelmed by Bertha’s compassion for her and doesn’t know how to respond. Charlie and Bertha join Gus and work together in the garden. Later, they pick up Howard and go to town for ice cream. Bertha talks the entire trip as Charlie stares out the window and realizes how much she misjudged Colby and has grown to love and respect the small town. On the way home, Charlie sees a yellow rail car and makes a wish because her old neighbor Fulton Banner told her they were rare and lucky. Charlie wonders if her daily wishing might be futile, but she thinks that it can’t hurt to continue trying.

Charlie spends the remaining summer days playing with Howard and Wishbone, selling vegetables, and fishing with Gus. Jackie checks in regularly and tells Charlie about her new boyfriend named Jake and her new job at an insurance agency. Scrappy writes infrequently and never asks about Charlie’s life in Colby. Charlie keeps wishing daily, still hopeful that her wish will come true.

A social services worker comes to the house and inspects Charlie’s living conditions. She explains that Charlie’s mother is improving and that whenever possible, children should be with their parents. In a few weeks, Charlie will be returning home. Charlie experiences a confusing wave of emotions. She used to think that she wanted to leave Colby, but now she isn’t so sure. As the social worker is leaving, Charlie yells that she can’t leave Wishbone. Bertha tearfully reassures her that she will try her best to help.

Charlie’s mother calls and has a tense conversation with Bertha. When she speaks to Charlie, Carla tells her that she is excited to see her but then quickly devolves into selfishly complaining about Scrappy and Jackie’s refusal to move back home. When Charlie tells her about Scrappy’s tattoo, she hangs up and doesn’t call back. Bertha says that Carla hasn’t changed and has always been quite selfish. Charlie hopes Bertha will keep her promise to fix everything, but she isn’t certain that it is possible.

Charlie walks to the Odoms’ house feeling queasy with anxiety. She loves the familiarity of the sights and sounds of the Odom household and how Mrs. Odom welcomes her inside and doesn’t care that Wishbone is muddy. Charlie intends to tell Howard about returning to Raleigh, but she can’t do it. Instead, they sit silently while Howard plays Monopoly.

Jackie calls to tell Charlie how excited she is about her return, but Charlie tells her that she wants to stay in Colby. Jackie exclaims that she tried to tell Charlie how good she had it there, but she wouldn’t listen. Inside Charlie knows Jackie is right and she can see it now. Everything she had been wishing for, she already had in Colby. Charlie tells Jackie that Bertha is going to fix everything, but she’s not sure how. Charlie goes to bed feeling the weight of all her problems.

Charlie overhears Bertha talking on the phone with her mother. Carla has decided to move to Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a man. Bertha angrily scolds her immature decision and lack of care for her daughter’s needs. Carla hangs up on Bertha, and Charlie is worried that she will still have to return to Raleigh, but Bertha says she is staying in Colby.

Charlie goes to Howard’s and tells him everything. He tells her that at least she can stay in Colby, and Charlie wonders at his optimism when she sees her life as one big mess. Howard suggests that they build a fort. They spend all day gathering materials from Howard’s cluttered garage with Cotton and Wishbone in tow. Once they drag it all to the woods, they get overheated and go inside. Stifling her tears, Charlie tells Howard that she wants to stay in Colby, and Howard says he is certain that she is staying. Mrs. Odom tells Charlie that Bertha has called her to come home, making Charlie even more worried.

Charlie returns home to find Gus washing turnips greens for their dinner. Bertha explains that the social worker is concerned that it might not be best for Charlie to return to her mother in Raleigh. She is going to Carla’s house to investigate and will make her decision in a few days. The waiting is excruciating, as everything in the house, and even at Howard’s home, makes Charlie sad because she worries that she will have to leave. She realizes, “I couldn’t stop thinking about how wrong I’d been about everything here in Colby. How I hadn’t seen all the good things Jackie saw right away” (222). Charlie tries to use what she’s learned from Jackie and Howard and sees the positive in the situation. Even if she must leave Colby, living there has made her a better person. Each time she sees Howard, he remains confident that she is staying.

Finally, the social worker delivers the good news that Charlie can stay with Bertha and Gus. She runs to Howard’s to tell him and his family the news. Howard says he knew it all along because the second part of his wish was that Charlie could stay in Colby. When his first wish came true, he knew the second part would as well. Later, as Charlie, Gus, and Bertha sit on the porch looking at the stars, Bertha calls them a family. Charlie can’t wait to go to church and add to her blessings list “my family” (226). Charlie looks up at the stars, but for the first time, she doesn’t make a wish, because her wish has finally come true.