“Guess Who Loves You, Mrs. Banks!” Friend, September 2022
Guess Who Loves You, Mrs. Banks!
It all started with one flower …
Roxy loved looking at all the houses in her neighborhood as she walked home from school. One house had a dog that barked and jumped up and down in the window. Another house had birds chirping in the trees.
And then there was Mrs. Banks’s house. Mrs. Banks had been her third-grade teacher, and she was Roxy’s favorite. Roxy always waved at Mrs. Banks when she saw her sitting on the chair on her front porch. Mrs. Banks was always friendly and happy.
But today the chair on the porch was empty. The house looked quiet. Even Mrs. Banks’s cat, Chester, was gone.
Roxy remembered her mom saying that Mrs. Banks was sick. She went to the hospital every day for treatments. Roxy felt sad. She wanted to do something nice for Mrs. Banks. But what?
Roxy looked around at the bees flying from flower to flower. Then she had an idea!
Roxy ran home and picked a rose from her garden. She went back to Mrs. Banks’s house and placed it on the front porch.
The next day Roxy put a sunflower on Mrs. Banks’s chair. And the day after that, she put a daisy by her front door. Each day for two weeks, Roxy left a flower for Mrs. Banks. She was careful not to be seen.
One day on her way home, Roxy saw Mrs. Banks sitting on the front porch. She was holding some flowers in her hand.
“Roxy,” Mrs. Banks said, “look at my beautiful flowers. Someone has been leaving them for me. Each day a new flower was waiting for me when I got home from the hospital.”
Roxy smiled. “Do you know who it was?”
Mrs. Banks smiled back. “Whoever it was, I’d like to thank them.”
“It was probably someone who loves you!” Roxy said.
“Well, I looked forward to finding a new flower each day,” said Mrs. Banks. “The first flower was on my porch.”
“Do you think your cat left it?” Roxy asked.
“Chester likes to leave me surprises, but he’s never left flowers.” Mrs. Banks laughed. “What about the flower on my chair?”
“The dog down the street?” Roxy smiled even bigger.
“By my front door?”
“A squirrel?”
“Oh my,” said Mrs. Banks, laughing. “I didn’t realize there were so many creatures who love me! But the flowers sure did help me feel special.”
Roxy was almost bursting with happiness. She was glad she helped make Mrs. Banks smile again.
Illustration by Adobe Stock