“Colleen!” an elderly male voice called out. “Colleen Wilson!”
A subtle grin crossed Grandma’s face as Maury Haven wheeled himself out of the elevator. His face was red, and a vein protruded from his forehead. He had something in his lap and my eyes widened when I realized what it was.
A plate with jiggly red Jell-O in the shape of an egg.
Oh, no.
Maury’s lips seemed oddly loose, and his jaw looked as if it didn’t fit together quite right.
“You she-devil,” he spat, pointing at her. Yep, no teeth.
Theo put a fist to his mouth, trying to keep from laughing. I gaped at Maury, horrified, as he wheeled his way across the room to our table.
Grandma pressed her fingertips together. “Well, hello Maury. How are you today?”
He picked up the plate, sending ripples through the red gelatin. I could see the outline of his dentures inside.
“How am I? How do you think I am? You did this!”
She batted her eyelashes at him. “Me? How could I have possibly done that?”
Theo coughed to cover his laugh.
“I know it was you,” Maury said, his wrinkled face twisting in a scowl. “Admit it.”
Grandma took a deep breath. “Fine. It was me. I Jell-O’ed your teeth.”
For a long moment, they stared at each other—eyes narrowed and shoulders set. My heart started to race. Had she gone too far? What was he going to do?
Out of nowhere, Maury’s face erupted in a wide, toothless grin. He laughed, a loud guffaw that carried through the entire room.
Grandma followed, laughing so hard she was almost wheezing.
Theo laughed along with them, but I couldn’t stop staring open-mouthed.
“You are a dickens, Colleen,” Maury said, his shoulders still shaking. “But this might be your best yet. How on earth did you do it?”
She dabbed the corners of her eyes. “As if I’d tell you.”
Maury shook his head. “Left it right outside my door, too. I don’t know how you pulled this off, but it’s one for the record books. Well done, Colleen. Well done.”
“Thank you, Maury.”
“You know I have to get you back, though.”
“Oh, of course.”
“Good,” Maury said with a nod and slid the plate onto the table. “Want to help me get my teeth? I could get some spoons.”
Theo laughed again and I tried not to gag.
“No, thank you,” I said with a slight shudder.
“You sure?” He scooped some Jell-O off the top and slurped it up. “It’s good. Strawberry.”
I shook my head. Theo kept laughing.
“No one wants to eat that, Maury,” Grandma said. “It has your teeth in it.”
