Holy Enchilada by Henry Winkler Read Free Book Online Page A

drinker, too. By the way, in case you recognize the McKelty name, the bowling alley is owned by Nick the Tick’s father. He’s a nice man. No one can understand how that idiot he has for a son got born into his family.
    â€œWhere’s Mom and Dad?” I asked Papa Pete as we dodged our way along the crowded sidewalk. “I thought they were coming to pick us up.”
    â€œThey’re still at the apartment,” Papa Pete answered. “They’re busy.”
    â€œDoing what?”
    â€œYour mother got it into her head that they had to put up new wallpaper in the bathroom,” he answered. “I don’t know why she picked today of all days to do it.”
    I knew, but I didn’t say anything.
    â€œShe thought they’d be finished by now,” Papa Pete went on. “But—” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “There was a little accident involving the iguana and a can of wallpaper paste.”
    Emily, who has all-powerful hearing when you even breathe anything about Katherine, flew into a total panic.
    â€œWhat happened to Katherine?” she asked. “Is she hurt?”
    â€œKatherine is fine,” Papa Pete reassured her. “She stepped in the wallpaper paste and got stuck to the kitchen floor for a few minutes, that’s all.”
    â€œYou mean she was glued to the linoleum?” Emily yelled.
    â€œWe soaked her feet in water and got her unstuck,” Papa Pete explained. “She’s absolutely as good as new. Except she keeps smelling her toes.”
    Frankie and I burst out laughing.
    â€œOh, so you think it’s funny that Kathy was stuck to the floor!” Emily shouted at me.
    â€œNo, Emily.” I could barely answer because I was holding my sides, I was laughing so hard. “I don’t think it’s funny, I know it’s funny.”
    â€œHank, when will you grow up?” she said.
    â€œIn about another eight years,” I howled.
    I was behaving badly and I knew it. But I couldn’t stop. Yoshi was behaving much better than I was. He reached out and patted Emily’s arm.
    â€œI would like to meet your lizard,” he said to her in a kind voice.
    â€œYou would?” she said. “Oh, Kathy would love that.”
    Emily smiled so big, you could almost see her molars. And she had another goo-goo-eye attack, too. Boy, that really got to Robert.
    â€œActually, Yoshi,” he said, “I don’t recommend that. The iguana can be very moody around new people. I don’t think Kathy would like you.”
    Wow. Robert Upchurch gets grumpy. Iguess love will do that to a guy.
    â€œRobert! Of course Kathy wants to meet Yoshi,” Emily said.
    â€œHow do you know?” I asked. “Did she tell you?”
    â€œAs a matter of fact, she did,” Emily said. “We have a special way of communicating. I know what she’s thinking, and she knows what I’m thinking.”
    â€œActually, I have developed the knack of iguana communication myself,” Robert said. He had that annoying little bubble thing going on in his throat, and he needed to clear it real bad. Poor guy. I didn’t have the heart to tell him.
    It didn’t matter, anyway. We had arrived at McKelty’s Roll ’N Bowl and we were already running up the stairs to get our bowling shoes on.
    It probably won’t surprise you to learn that Yoshi was a very good bowler. And you should have seen him on the arcade games. Was there anything this kid couldn’t do? He had magic fingers and killer concentration. I hardly ever play arcade games because my mind always wanders and I’m never able to win.
    After we bowled, Papa Pete treated us all to root-beer floats. Yoshi thought the float was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted—next to enchiladas.
    After we had slurped down the last speck of float, Papa Pete let us play one game of air hockey before we had to leave. Yoshi and I were neck and