The Adventures of Rank
A Visitor For Rank
Rank had lived with his foster parents for over two months before arrangements were made to see his true sister. He had a foster sister and he actually kind of liked her but he found he missed his real sister.
That thought came as a surprise to Rank. When his family had all lived together, he thought of his sister as the ultimate pest. She was four years younger than him and she always seemed to be in the way. If he wanted to go out and play in the yard, she always begged to come with him. If he was going to play ball with his friends, there she was with her glove in hand. Even when he was in the bathroom, she was banging on the door asking what he was doing.
Rank was smarter than he looked. It didn’t take him long to figure out that he should just give in to her. If she went to their parents, they would tell him to take her anyway. So, to make life a little easier, he saved himself having to be told to do it. His parents were usually proud of him for including her without them making him and sometimes he got extra servings of desert.
Saturday couldn’t get here soon enough. Sarah was scheduled to arrive at noon. She was even going to spend the night. Rank had everything all planned. He would walk her down to see his school, take her to the neighborhood park, buy her an ice cream cone and visit the neighbor, Mr. Jenkins.
The upcoming visit was everything Rank could talk about. He had worked it out that Sarah could come with him to Mr. Jenkins house and visit the cat they shared. At first Mr. Jenkins said “NO.” Even though he was getting nicer, some days he was still just a grumpy old man. But, Rank never gave up. He really liked Mr. Jenkins and he wanted them to meet. Mr. Jenkins finally agreed. They would have a cookout and make lemonade. Sarah could meet Mr. Jenkins and visit the cat.
Saturday morning Rank woke up bright and early. He cleaned his room and took his shower without being told. He had saved some of his allowance to buy Sarah a few presents. He had them carefully laid out on his dresser. He ran over to Mr. Jenkins and gave the cat a bath. Rank didn’t know cats didn’t like baths until it was too late. Once the cat was all clean, Rank had to go home, take another shower and change clothes. Mr. Jenkins told him he smelled like “wet cat.” He assumed by the funny look on Mr. Jenkins face that the smell was a bad thing.
Noon finally arrived and so did Sarah. Rank introduced her to his new foster family. Sarah was polite to everyone but Rank notice she didn’t smile. Rank took her to his room and gave her all of her presents. Sarah said she liked them but she still didn’t smile.
Rank didn’t know why Sarah wasn’t smiling. He was sure happy to see her. Maybe she didn’t like him anymore. Maybe he teased her too much when they all lived together and she was mad at him. Maybe she liked her new foster brother more than she liked him. He didn’t know and he was afraid to ask. He thought if he kept trying harder, she would forget whatever he had done to upset her and she would smile.
It was time to go to Mr. Jenkins. Rank knew Sarah would like him and the cat. This would do the trick. The visit to Mr. Jenkins would make her smile.
When they arrived at Mr. Jenkins, Rank was amazed. Mr. Jenkins had made cookies and to top it off, he was actually smiling. Mr. Jenkins didn’t smile a lot and his face looked kind of funny with that big ole grin. But, the smile was there. Proving that Mr. Jenkins really was a nice old man.
Upon seeing the cat, Sarah’s eyes lit up. She picked it up and held it close. The cat purred and licked Sarah’s face. Sarah began to cry.
Rank really didn’t know what to do when girls cried. Boys cried, but they hid it. No boy wanted to be called a cry baby. But girls cried and if you called them a cry baby, you got in trouble. So, what are you suppose to do?
Rank sat down next to Sarah and asked her what was wrong. She said she missed him and was afraid he would forget her. She thought he looked so happy in his new home that maybe he wouldn’t be her brother anymore.
Cry baby or not, Rank’s eyes started to water. He told her he had been worried that she didn’t want to be his sister anymore. They hugged and cried for a long time.
Mr. Jenkins was watching from the kitchen. When he thought the living room would flood, he came in and told the kids so. Mr. Jenkins did the most surprising thing. He grabbed each of their hands, helped them off the floor and hugged them. There they were, in the middle of the living room, standing in a circle, hugging each other. Rank was glad none of the neighborhood kids could see them. Rank only had one school friend and he would only talk to Rank when no one was around, but still one part-time friend was better than no one. If word got around, he thought he could even lose that friend.
The threesome did have to admit though that the hug helped. They all just felt better. Closer. Like they all belonged together.
After all of the crying and hugging, it was time to get to the good stuff… food. Sarah, Rank and Mr. Jenkins prepared dinner. They made hamburger patties. The cat enjoyed being at Rank and Sarah’s feet. Cats like raw hamburger that drop from small fingers. What a surprise.
They stayed at Mr. Jenkins until late that night. They ate, laughed, played games and watched movies. The cat was always on someone’s lap.
Sarah left the next day. It was hard to see her leave but Rank knew they would always be brother and sister and they would see each other soon. Maybe someday they would live together again.