"Veronika," Pippa said as she came out onto the back deck, "Jolena is sad. Do you know why?"
Veronika put down her book and motioned for Pippa to climb up and sit next to her on the bench.
"I didn't know she was sad," Veronika said as Pippa settled down next to her. "How do you know she's sad?"
"I know she's sad," Pippa replied, because she's reading a book, but she hasn't turned the page in ages! I know she can read fast, so she must be thinking about something else."
"Another thing," Pippa added. "Every once in a while she looks up and gives a big sigh. Besides that, she looks sad."
Veronika took her book and got down off the bench. "Let's go ask her," she said.
Pippa had thought of asking Jolena, but she was afraid the older doll would start to cry, and she wouldn't know what to do, so now she was quite happy to follow Veronika through the dog door and into the house.
Pippa led Veronika to the living room, where Jolena was alone with her book.
She does look sad, Veronika thought to herself. She climbed up and sat down next to her sister and looked at her.
"Is everything OK?" she asked, although she was sure that something wasn't.
Jolena looked at Veronika. "I'm OK, she said. I'm just sad."
"I told you she was sad," Pippa exclaimed. (She was always happy to find out she was right about something, even though she was sorry Jolena was sad, and that made her sad, too.)
"What are you sad about?" Veronika asked.
Jolena looked back at her book. Then she looked up. "Vali left this morning with her family," she said. "Now that school's out, they're moving away. I'm not going to see her again, maybe ever!"
That was sad, Veronika knew. Jolena and Vali were good friends. Veronika remembered often coming into the workroom and finding Jolena and Vali reading together. They usually liked the same books.
Jolena and Vali sometimes helped each other decide which shoes to wear with which outfit.
Vali spent the night one time, and they tried to decide how Vali should wear her hair.
They settled on something that kept the hair out of her eyes, but still most of it down.
They liked to do other things, too. Sometimes, when Vali was visiting Jolena, Mariah would read the two dolls something she had written.
The two dolls always listened intently as Mariah read.
Then they told Mariah what they thought about what she had written. Sometimes Mariah would change something because of something they said, and Mariah was always happier with it after they talked about it.
Vali was Jolena's best friend from school and the swim team.
Leaving the school meant that Vali would be leaving the swim team, too. Maybe she would have a new swim team at her new school. She was easy to be with, so she would make new friends.
"I know you're sad, Jolena," Veronika said, "but you can talk to Vali on the computer or the iPad, the way you do with your friend Elizabeth.
"Yes," she sighed. "At least we will have that. We can see each other and talk. We're dolls, so we're good at pretending; we can pretend we're in the same room. That will be nice."
Pippa had been listening to the other two dolls. "You still have us," she pointed out. "I'll play with you any time you like!"
"Thank you, Pippa," Jolena replied. "I'm lucky to have brothers and sisters! They don't move away."
Pippa suddenly had a thought. "If your best friend isn't in your family and doesn't live with you, like Mariah and Charlotte are best friends and both live here, your best friend can move away!"
"What if Pauly's family moves away!" she exclaimed, suddenly frightened. "Pauly is my best friend! What if he moves away and I never see him again!" Pippa felt like she might want to pretend to cry. "Who will help him when he has a problem, like when his kite was stuck in the tree," she moaned. There were many ways she and her friend helped each other. He needed her!
"If he does move away," Veronika told her, "you will still be able to see him, and you can talk with him using the computer or the iPad or the phone, just like Jolena and Vali will be able to do."
Jolena smiled. She was feeling a lot better, and she had some information to share with Pippa that would make them all a lot happier. "That won't happen," she told the smaller doll, "at least not for a very long time."
The other two dolls looked at Jolena, expectantly.
"I happen to have heard The Writer telling her husband that Jeffy's parents––so Pauly's family's grown-up human people––own a hardware store in town. They work there and have a good business. They like living here."
"I don't think Pauly will be moving away," she added, "unless Jeffy goes away to college and takes him along."
"Oh, my!" Pippa exclaimed. She had been starting to feel better, but now she was alarmed again. "What if Jeffy takes Pauly with him when he goes away to college!"
Jolena and Veronika looked at each other. They were both trying to imagine Pauly going off to college with Jeffy.
Veronika moved around to where she could give Pippa a pat. "Don't worry," she said. "He may stay here for college, and if he does go away it won't be for at least ten years."
Pippa relaxed a bit. "How much is that in doll years?" she asked while trying to imagine it. "Is it a long time?"
Neither of the older dolls knew the answer to that, but it seemed like a long time.
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Pauly: Götz Little Kidz Paul
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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Copyright © 2022 by Peggy Stuart
Well done story. The internet does keep us connected in ways that nourish friendships.
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