1 Whatchamacallit? Thingamajig?

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  “GRANNY’S IN TROUBLE”

  SERIES!

  WHATCHAMACALLIT? THINGAMAJIG?

  Julie Seedorf

  Thank you to my grandchildren Abby, Brady, Maggie and Jake. You are the inspiration for this book. Thank you for helping me through the creation and idea process. Abby and Maggie, your idea of a glossary instead of changing the words to ones that readers already know to help them learn was fantastic. Brady and Jake, your enthusiasm and ideas added to the fun of this book. Grandma may be older but I am happy you had fun learning who Grandma was when she was younger.

  I dedicate this book to my grandchildren. They are my heart.

  Copyright©January 2013

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions of this book in any form without the permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction.

  WHATCHAMACALLIT? THINGAMAJIG?

  Abby had her fingers full of chocolate cookie dough. She was putting her fingers to her mouth to sample a taste while no one was looking. Maggie had her back turned to Abby. She was sneaking a couple of chocolate chips out of the bag and into her mouth before she gave the bag to Abby so the chocolate chips could be added to the cookies. Both of them had their hands halfway to their mouth when the phone rang.

  Both Abby and Maggie jumped and quickly dropped their hands to their sides as Brady ran into the kitchen and snatched up the phone.

  “Brady, Brady, all of you have to come quickly. I need your help.” screamed grandma.

  Brady dropped the phone without even hanging up and called “Abby, Maggie, Jake we need to go fast. Grandma sounds like she is in trouble.”

  The cousins all ran out of the house. Abby stopped quick making everyone run into her and fall to the ground. Maggie yelled, “What are you doing Abby, you could have killed us.” Abby raised her eyes in response as Maggie sometimes liked to exaggerate. Maggie loved to be dramatic and that was why she was so much fun to be around.

  Jake ended up at the bottom of the pile and his lip was just curling under to announce his displeasure when Abby explained. “We have to leave a note for our moms and dads otherwise they will think we are lost. They will call the police and we will be grounded for the rest of our lives.” She ran back inside the house, scribbled a note, grabbed a quick swipe of the cookie dough so no one could see and hurried to catch up.

  Abby and Maggie hopped on their bikes, Brady hopped on his scooter and Jake hopped on his tricycle squealing the tires as they took off. They traveled over the hills and under the bushes, avoiding dogs and cats and especially candy stores so they weren’t tempted to stop. Grandma had sounded like she did on Halloween when she was trying to scare them with her screams, only it wasn’t Halloween, and they weren’t there to scare.

  Grandma lived in a big Victorian house. It was their favorite place to play because it had hidden doors and hidden passages. Grandma let them play in all of them. The hidden passages and doors were perfect to play hide and seek and perfect to listen in on conversations when the grownups thought they were alone and didn’t want Abby, Maggie, Brady or Jake to hear what they were talking about.

  The only place they were never allowed to go was the attic. Grandma would never tell them why. She would have a funny look on her face like she was hiding a secret and then she would change the subject. They had tried peeking through the keyhole and picking the lock but the lock wouldn’t give. Grandma was tough when she wanted to hide a secret.

  Abby, Maggie, Brady and Jake threw their bikes aside when they got to Grandma’s old Victorian house. They rushed up the front steps, the door was unlocked and without stopping to catch their breath they started shouting “Grandma!’ Grandma! Grandma!” as they rushed inside.

  All four came to a quick stop as they looked around. It looked like a tornado had hit. The lampshades had been tossed up in the air and were laying topsy-turvy on the chairs and couches! The rugs were hanging from the railing on the hallway stairs. The dishes were strewn about all over the kitchen and the cupboard doors were all open. Maggie and Abby whispered to each other so Brady and Jake would not hear and be scared. “Where is Grandma?” Abby whispered to Maggie. “Do you suppose we should call our parents? It looks like someone has been up to no good and they might be watching us right now.”

  They both turned and carefully looked around moving just their eyes but not their bodies so anyone watching would not see them looking.

  Brady and Jake weren’t as careful. They ran up the stairs to the second floor and started looking in the bedrooms. Abby and Maggie ran behind them trying to stop them, afraid at what they might encounter.

  “Brady! Jake!” shouted the girls but there was no stopping them. Brady and Jake barreled into the bedroom and fell right onto the mattress that was thrown on the floor. The bedclothes were hanging from the chandelier on the ceiling and the closet door was crooked and off its hinges. “Whoa,” said Brady “I think Grandma had a big slumber party last night and forgot to pick up.”

  “I just found Grandma’s glasses” said Jake as he crawled under the mattress. “Grandma never goes without her glasses.”

  It was at that moment that Maggie, Abby, Jake and Brady felt their hair stand straight on their head as they heard a noise in the closet. Abby backed into the corner and grabbed the lamp. Jake picked up one of Grandma’s high heeled shoes. Maggie grabbed the fallen curtain rod and Brady jumped into his best tae kwon do pose. Together they slowly moved toward the closet. They peeked in. Two beady eyes stared back at them. On the count of three Abby, pulled the light cord and they all jumped into the closet to get the thief.

  They heard a growl and then a bark and then they were bathed in kisses. Sam, Grandma’s dog was hiding in the closet. “Where is Grandma?” cried Maggie. Grandma never left Sam.

  “Maybe we should let Sam find Grandma.” said Brady

  “If Sam knew where Grandma was, why would he be hiding in the closet?” stated Abby.

  “Well we have to do something.” said Maggie. “Maybe we should call our parents.”

  “Didn’t I just say that a few minutes ago?” Abby whispered.

  “Why are you whispering?” asked Maggie.

  “So the boys don’t hear and get scared.” answered Abby.

  Brady overhearing their conversation replied, “You don’t have to whisper. Jake and I have great ears. If Grandma would have wanted our parents she would have called them, not us.”

  “Then where is she?” asked Abby and Maggie at the same time.

  “Let’s play hide and seek in the tunnels,” suggested Jake.

  Abby, Maggie and Brady all looked at each other “Why didn’t we think of that!” shouted Maggie. Grabbing Sam they started to search all of the secret passages in the house.

  The name, Grandma, could be heard echoing throughout the house. As they searched they kept trying Grandma’s cell phone but there was no answer.

  “There’s only one place left,” said Maggie, “the attic.”

  “We can’t go up in the attic” whispered Abby.

  “Grandma would never give us any candy again if we get caught in the attic!” screeched Brady in concern.

  Jake just took off for the attic, climbing the winding stairs as fast as he could before the others could stop him. He climbed past the second floor and the third floor until finally he reached the end of the steps and the door to the attic stood strong and hard at the entrance.

  When Abby, Maggie and Brady caught up to him they were all gasping for breath. How did he climb so fast? Then they stopped. “Listen, said Brady.” They put their ears to the door an
d they could hear sounds but they were muffled and faint.

  At the top of their lungs all four of them started shouting “Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!”

  In a voice they could barely hear, Grandma said “You finally came. I thought I would be up here all day.”

  “We can barely hear you.” Abby said.

  “That’s because I soundproofed this room,” answered Grandma.

  Maggie looked at Abby, raised her eyebrows and whispered, “I think this is all too weird. Why would Grandma sound proof a room?

  Why would grandma keep everyone out of that room?” asked Abby.

  “Maybe she’s a spy and doesn’t want us to know.” guessed Brady.

  . “I just want Grandma,” cried Jake.

  “Let us in Grandma,” ordered Brady.

  “I can’t” answered Grandma, “You have to find the doo dad that attaches to the thingamajig that fits onto the whatchamacallit before I can get out. Hurry!”

  Abby, Maggie, Jake and Brady all looked at each other in confusion. Now Grandma was talking in a foreign language that they couldn’t understand. Doo Dad? Thingamajig? Whatchamacallit? It was clear they had to get her out soon before she didn’t know who she was. But how could they get her out if they didn’t know what she was talking about?

  “Let’s look downstairs.” said Abby

  “Look for what?” screamed Maggie “You can’t look for something if you don’t know what you are looking for.” Maggie rolled her eyes, threw her hands up in the air, gave a big sigh and plopped down on the floor in an imaginary faint. Brady looked at his cousin, grabbed her arm and started pulling her down the stairs. Maggie shrieked as she bounced down the stairs, reached down and grabbed Brady’s ankle and they both tumbled to the bottom and landed in a pile giggling.

  Abby and Jake rushed downstairs after them. Using her most disapproving voice, Abby said “Maggie, Brady. Grandma will never give you any candy ever again if you don’t take this seriously. We need to help Grandma out of the attic. Why do you suppose she didn’t call our parents? Why haven’t we been able to call her since her first call?”

  “I know. Someone has kidnapped her, locked her in the attic and stole her phone.” cried Maggie in her most dramatic voice. “And then they made her talk a foreign language! Who knows what they will do to her next.” Maggie broke out sobbing.

  The other three looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They knew when Maggie was in this mood there was no stopping her. “I know,” said Abby, “we’ll look those words up on Grandma’s computer.” Maggie lifted her head, gave one more little sniff and raced for Grandma’s computer. Abby typed in doo dad. The computer screen sprang to life. “It says a doo dad is a decorative embellishment or a gadget,” stated Abby.

  “Great,” said Brady, another word we don’t understand. How are we ever going to help Grandma this way if we can’t even understand what the computer is telling us a doo dad is?”

  “I know what a gadget is.” chirped Abby, “A gadget is something we use to help us do something.”

  “That would make sense, Grandma wants out and a doo dad would help us do that.” stated Brady.

  “I want Grandma!” cried Jake bored with standing around.

  “Quick Abby, look up thingamajig.” said Maggie.

  “Thingamajig according to the dictionary refers to something whose name has been forgotten.” Abby informed them. Jake started crying again.

  Maggie screeched and Brady wailed “Great we are looking for something that we need to free Grandma and she called it a thingamajig because she’s forgotten its name! Now what do we do?”

  “We have to look up whatchamacallit Abby.” urged Maggie.

  “Whatchamacallit. Whachamcallit is a name used for something unknown.” answered Abby.

  “That means we are looking for a gadget that fits to something whose name Grandma forgot that belongs to something else that is unknown.” muttered Brady.

  “I am never going to see my grandma again,” cried Jake. At that point they all started screaming.

  Abby realized that since she was the oldest of the group she had to take charge. “Quiet!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “We are the best snoopers that we know and so we better snoop. Look for anything that looks like a doo dad or thingamajig and then maybe we will know what the whatchamacallit is.”

  Since Jake was the smallest he looked under all the couches and chairs and tables while Brady climbed up on all the light fixtures and the top of the cupboards. Abby covered the bookshelves and drawers and Maggie checked under all the rugs. They looked in the wash machine and the dryer, the refrigerator and stove and yet they found nothing that looked like it would be a do dad.

  “I am snooped out” said Brady as he sank to the floor. Jake turned a somersault and landed right next to Brady. Maggie and Abby huddled in a corner deep in thought.

  “If Grandma has been stuck in the attic all this time why is this house such a mess?” asked Abby. Grandma was usually a neat housekeeper.

  “It looks like someone else was looking for something. Maybe someone else already found the do dad and the thingamajig. Maybe that’s why Grandma told us we have to find it.” answered Maggie.

  “Where’s Sam?” Asked Brady. “Jake have you seen Sam?”

  Jake realizing Sam was missing too started wailing “I want Sam. I want Grandma.”

  ‘Great now we have to look for Sam and Grandma.” Said Abby.

  “We better stay together,” said Abby “We don’t want any more of us to disappear.” Together they started checking the rooms and the closets. When they got to grandma’s bedroom they heard whining coming from the closet.

  “Sam, what are you doing back in the closet.” asked Brady. He started to head for the closet when Maggie held him back.

  “Wait Brady, whoever kidnapped Grandma and put her in the attic might have Sam and be in the closet with him.” Maggie explained in an upset whisper.

  They all looked at each other in alarm. Abby jumped in the corner and grabbed the lamp, Jake grabbed another high heel shoe, Maggie grabbed the curtain rod and again Brady jumped into his best tae kwon do pose. At the count of three they leaped into the closet. Sam growled.

  “Ouch, someone clunked me on the head with something hard.” yelled Jake. They heard a clunk and Maggie wailed.

  “I just stubbed my toe on something hard.” Abby quick flicked on the light. Brady was ready to let go with his best tae qwon do kick when he realized it was Sam that clunked Jake on the head.

  “It’s ok Jake,” sympathized Brady, “it is just Sam with a brass door knob in his mouth.”

  “He looks guilty,” Abby proclaimed, “like he is hiding something.”

  “He is,” exaggerated Maggie, “He was trying to kill us with the doorknob and this round metal thing I stubbed my toe on.”

  “Calm down Maggie.” said Abby. “This is a door knob and the thing it fits on to. Where do you suppose it goes?”

  Sam hung his head, grabbed the door knob and leapt out of the closet and started running up the stairs to the attic as fast as he could.

  Jake, always the quickest when it came to Sam, was right behind him. Abby grabbed the round metal thing that Maggie had stubbed her toe on and ran after them. Maggie and Brady not wanting to be left behind, sprinted for the stairs. Sam reaching the top floor first, screeched to a halt in front of the door just like Scooby Doo did in the cartoons and dropped the doorknob.

  “The door knob!” exclaimed Abby. “We have been looking for the door knob. That’s what Grandma meant by the do dad, and this round metal thing must be the thingamajig that it fits on, and the door must be the whatchamacallit!”

  “She couldn’t get out because the door knob fell off.” said Brady nodding his head.

  Maggie started pacing “Do you know what this means? Grandma was talking in this foreign language because she couldn’t remember what to call the door or the door knob or the thing the door knob fits onto.” Maggie stated in a pani
cked voice.

  “I want my Grandma.” hollered Jake.

  “Grandma can you hear us? asked Abby through the door in a loud voice.

  Grandma replied in a muffled, faint voice. “I can hear you.”

  “We’re going to get you out Grandma,” said Brady, “We will save you.” as he put the door knob on the round metal thing and stuck it back in the door. “Grandma put the other door knob on so we can turn this thing.” They felt a click and saw the door knob turn.

  Abby, Brady, Maggie and Jake hurried into the room. Abby was the first one in and stopped so fast everyone banged right into her and fell down. They looked up and their mouths fell open. They were so surprised at what they saw they were speechless.

  There was grandma or a woman they thought looked a little like grandma standing in the middle of the room. Only this woman didn’t look like their gray haired grandma. This woman had long blond hair hanging to her hips. She had on a multi colored mini skirt and beads that were hanging down the front of her dress. Long earrings dangled from her ears. On her feet were tall boots. Her eyes were rimmed with eye liner and blue eye shadow covered her lids along with pink lipstick on her lips. Who was this woman?

  “Grandma?” asked Abby, Brady and Maggie all at once.

  Jake looked up and cried “I want my Grandma!”

  Grandma reached down and picked him up. “Jakey it’s me. I am still your grandma. I am looking a little different for a few minutes.”

  Abby, Brady and Maggie started to look around the attic. Again their mouths fell open and again they were speechless, which is a pretty amazing thing to happen twice in one day.

  The attic walls were covered with posters. They didn’t recognize the people on the posters but they looked like they were from a long time ago. Beaded curtains were hanging on the windows. The furniture looked like it was from ancient times. There were big flowers painted on the walls and a huge old fashioned music machine, and what looked like speakers tucked into the corner.