"You've Got Mail!"

That's what Rebekah told me yesterday afternoon when she took a break from work.

"What kind of mail?" I yelled back, typing away.

Then she brought this box into my room. 

"I didn't order anything," I said, stopping in suprise to examine the label.

Sure enough, it had my name - which you can't see because I'm hiding the return address.

So we opened the box and peered inside. And this is what we saw.

Now before you get excited and think it's Bertrand the Mouse, who's been missing since the beginning of May, I have to let you know this mouse is quite a bit bigger than Bertrand.

You see, this mouse is actully Bertrand's Uncle Barty. Now I've heard of Uncle Barty, but I never met him.

So if I've never met him, how do I know it's Uncle Barty? That is for another post.

But Uncle Barty did not come alone. He came with a letter.

The letter is from Vanessa Stephens and one of Bertrand's best friends, Vanessa's daughter Laila. 

Bertrand loves Laila so much, he actually visited her classroom at Farragut Elementary School in Joliet, back before the family moved out of state.

Laila is the girl with the pink bow. You can't see Bertrand because she is holding him. Bertrand was so happy that day. He loved being passed around from child to child so they could all say, "Hello" to him.

But when Bertrand was done making new friends, he wanted to sit by Laila.

Now I understood.

"That's it!" I cried. "Maybe Bertrand went to visit Laila. And Uncle Barty has brought him home."

I used to think Vanessa moved away because she was tired of WriteOn Joliet. But ever since the group started holding Zoom meetings last year at the start of the pandemic, Vanessa has been attending. So that could not have been the reason.

Although, did write an entire novel since moving out of state. So - maybe?

But, no. Bertrand did not go to visit Laila. Apparently Uncle Barty did!

Here is the letter Vanessa sent with Uncle Barty.

Denise,

A crazy thing happened the other day while I was cleaning out Laila's closet. As I was pulling out old toys, I heard a squeak from deep inside. 

Digging further, I found this little guy, which, after questioning, learned he is a stowaway from Joliet. I told him he looked very familiar and asked him if he knew a Bertrand, to which he hurst out in excited squeals, exclaiming they were kin.

I hated being the one to tell him of Bertrand's recent disappearnce, but he took the news as well as any. 

He then asked of you, Bertrand's mistress, and has insisted that he be shipped out to you immediately in order to help with the search or, at the very least, offer some comfort. 

He says that although he may not be exactly Bertrand, he would love to be a stand-in for any of your needs until his return.

We hope you two get along and can be a comfort to each other.

Your "Hoosier" friends,

Vanessa and Laila.

I looked up and told Rebekah, "I think I'm going to cry."

But Uncle Barty was hungry, having come a long distance, and asked if he could get something to eat. Leave it to a crocheted mouse to spoil the moment!

So I took him downstairs to the refrigerator and told him to pick out anything he liked. He was, after all, here to find Bertrand.

I'm sure you can guess what he picked. And since he's a much bigger mouse than Bertrand, his appetite is heartier, too.

But after a good meal, Uncle Barty went off in search of Bertrand...

He hasn't found Bertrand yet. But if anyone knows all the hiding places of a crocheted mouse with adventure in his tail, it's another crocheted mouse.

I'm hopeful...