“I don’t hate him,” Sabrina said. “I’m just pointing out that he’s changing. Why is she getting angry when I tell the truth?”
“Because after all this time you still fail to give Canis the benefit of the doubt, and Sabrina, he deserves it. When he showed up on our doorstep, my father refused to help him, but Mom has always seen the good in people. She invited him to live here and it drove my dad nuts. He was sure Canis would change back and eat us all in the dead of night. Your father and I used to block our bedroom door with heavy furniture when we went to bed. We used to sleep with baseball bats under our pillows. We were terrified of him.”
“If all of you felt like that, then how come I’m the bad guy now?” Sabrina said.
“’Cause we were wrong back then and you are wrong now. Canis has proven over and over that he can be trusted. He’s saved all of our lives a million times over, and he has never allowed anyone to lay a hand on my mom. He has been the best friend she ever had and a good friend to me. When the Jabberwocky killed my father, Canis went and dug the grave. I was destroyed by what happened. I blamed myself and didn’t even stick around for his funeral. I decided to leave.” Jake leaned back in his chair, remembering. “I found Canis waiting for me on the edge of town, and he begged me to stay. He told me my family needed me, but I wouldn’t listen. He told me he knew I’d come back and he would watch over my family for me until I returned. Then he gave me a hug.”
“No way!” Daphne cried.
“It was the most uncomfortable hug of my life, but I knew I was leaving my family in good hands. I’ve never spoken badly about Canis since, and I never will again.”
“That’s fine, but you’ve seen him. He even told us to leave him alone,” Sabrina argued.
“Yes, he’s giving up on himself, but my mother never will and that’s why she’s mad at you, kid. You’re giving up on him. She wants you to believe in him like she does and you don’t. It breaks her heart. Listen, I didn’t come in here to give you a lecture. In fact, the warden has given me permission to release you,” he said.
“Is Granny still mad?” Daphne asked.
“Let’s just say the last time I saw her like this, your father and I had just been arrested for using a magic wand to turn a teacher into a billy goat. Ms. Junger nearly ate her own desk before Mom forced us to change her back . . . Now, your grandmother thinks the two of you can help me.”
“With what?” Sabrina asked.
“Tracking down our elusive Goldilocks,” he said, gesturing out into the hall.
Suddenly, the argument was forgotten and the girls rushed down the hallway, eager to help their uncle find the mysterious lady. Mirror was waiting for them when they arrived.
“Mirror, show the girls what you just showed me,” Uncle Jake said.
“Jake, you know how this works. Poetry activates the magic,” Mirror replied.
Daphne stepped up to the reflection. “Mirror, Mirror, my greatest wish is to know where Goldilocks is.”
Mirror frowned.
“What?” Daphne said. “It rhymes!”
“Hardly! Is and wish do not rhyme.”
“It’s close enough!”
“Where is the rhythm? And the grammar—atrocious!”
“Listen, if you want poetry, read some Maya Angelou,” Uncle Jake said. “Just show us Goldilocks.”
Mirror frowned but did as he was asked. Goldilocks appeared in the silver surface. She was standing on the second-floor balcony of an elegant hotel. Behind her, through a glass doorway, Sabrina could see a king-size poster bed and an expensive-looking antique dresser. There were vines climbing up to the balcony and pretty boats floating along the sun-dappled water below. Goldilocks looked radiant as the sunshine lit up her face.
“She sure is pretty,” Daphne said.
Uncle Jake smiled. “Your dad always had great taste in women, though I never understood what they saw in him.”