Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 AROUND 3:30 P.M. THE POTTS HOUSE Mrs. Potts welcomed them, and it was clear she would have invited them in even if Mama hadn't brought her a tin of gingersnaps. She smiled at Mama and grabbed her hand.

"I'm so happy you're here," she said. "We've opened the house to anyone who needs a safe place." She brushed some rain from Lulu's curls and waved for them to follow her. "Let's find you a place to change." Mrs. Potts took them upstairs to a room so they could change into the dry clothes Mama had packed. (Charlie had lost track of how many times he'd changed today.) On the way back downstairs, Papa couldn't resist peeping into the bathroom. They all stared at the toilet before moving on. There were at least thirty people in the living room. But there was still plenty of space. The room was bigger than Charlie's entire five-room house. Lulu gaped at the fancy couches and chairs, the paintings on the wall, the vases filled with flowers. "Is this a castle?" she asked. "Yes," Charlie said.

And he meant it. There were electric lamps all around the room, but they weren't lit up; Charlie guessed that the electricity was out all over the city. Lanterns gave the room just enough light so that Charlie could see the faces of the people around him. He recognized most of them—families of kids who went to Charlie's school, people from church.

There was Mr. Lutz, their butcher, and his family. There was Mrs. Butler, the teacher Charlie had been hoping to get this year. Women rocked babies. Men stood at the windows. Charlie spotted Mr. Potts, lurking in the doorway of the living room. "He doesn't look happy," Papa said. That was for sure. Mr. Potts scanned the room suspiciously, like he was sure someone was about to pocket one of the silver cups that lined the shelves. Mama shook her head. "I don't know how Mrs. Potts lives with him. He is quite… unpleasant." So is his son, Charlie thought. As for Gordon, Charlie didn't see him anywhere. Probably he'd locked himself in his fancy bedroom and was eating his supper off a golden platter. Charlie hoped he'd stay there. "The storm is getting stronger," Papa said softly. Charlie had been thinking the same.

The rain was banging harder against the roof, as though hundreds of carpenters were up there, all pounding hammers at once. The wind had taken on a new sound, a kind of roaring shriek. Whoooooo-eeeeeesh! "What that noise?" Lulu said, her eyes widening. Uh-oh. Up until now, Lulu had been amazingly calm. It really was just thunder that scared her, and so far there hadn't been a single boom. But with each shrieking gust of wind, Lulu's eyes were getting wider, and her lip was starting to quiver. They sat down on the floor. She climbed on Charlie's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Any second, Lulu was going to start to wail. Charlie had to think of something. Whoooooo-eeeeeesh! "Listen to those fairies!" Charlie exclaimed. It was worth a try… and it seemed to work.

Lulu let go of his neck. "Fairies?" "Yes," Charlie said. "That's the sound they make when they're… uh… building a rainbow." Mama and Papa nodded along. "We have to stay very calm," Charlie went on. "Because if anyone cries or whines, we'll scare the fairies away before they're done." Lulu nodded. "Okay," she whispered. Mama gave Charlie's leg a grateful pat. More and more people came through the front door. They brought stories of what was happening outside. "I saw a huge pole flying through the sky. Like a stick." "Four horses swam down our street." "Houses are floating like boats."