Turtle in Paradise

The next day, the Diaper Gang is tasked with watching Pudding, as well as Buddy, to allow Aunt Minnie to do laundry for a customer. Pork Chop invites the group to his house, where his mother, Mrs. Soldano, cooks and sells bollos, a Cuban appetizer. She shares some with the children and serves them sandwiches for lunch and flan for dessert.

Afterward, Mrs. Soldano tells Pork Chop to take some flan to an elderly woman named Nana Philly, short for Philomena. The group walks to Nana Philly’s house, which is boarded up and falling apart, and Beans, who is scared to enter, waits outside. As the others go inside, Beans explains that Nana Philly’s father salvaged cargo from wrecked ships. He even salvaged a piano, which is now overrun by termites. When Nana Philly sees Turtle, she becomes excited and says, “Thadie.” Miss Bea, Nana Philly’s caretaker, invites Turtle to return for a visit.

Back outside, the boys explain that, until she had a stroke the year before, Nana Philly was known for her mean comments. Beans also reveals that she is Sadiebelle and Aunt Minnie’s mother, making her Turtle’s grandmother. Turtle is surprised, since Sadiebelle told her that her grandparents were dead.

Turtle, her cousins, and Pork Chop are at the beach when a boy named Ira appears, recently returned from Miami. A good friend of Beans, Ira came up with the idea for the Diaper Gang. Beans updates Ira on their work and mentions that they need to find a new wagon. Beans and Pork Chop’s schoolteacher, Miss Sugarapple, passes by and greets them. They grow tense, remembering that she caught them cheating last year.

After they finish swimming, the kids have a “cut-up,” which involves making a communal fruit salad from whatever can be found nearby. As they eat, Ira explains tick-tocking, a trick he learned in Miami. Tick-tocking involves throwing a rock tied to a string over a house, then pulling it up across a window to create a frightening sound, like a ghost knocking on the window. Pork Chop and Beans plan to tick-tock Miss Sugarapple’s house.

That night, Turtle lies in bed and remembers something Archie once said: He sells dreams, not items, and that everyone has a dream. Suddenly, she hears a scream.

The next morning, the town is abuzz with gossip about the supposed ghost at Miss Sugarapple’s house. When Jelly mentions it to Beans, he pretends to be concerned for Miss Sugarapple. After Jelly leaves, Pork Chop quotes a popular radio show, replacing the name of the show’s narrator, the Shadow, with the Diaper Gang: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Diaper Gang knows!” (88). Over the next few days, the Diaper Gang tick-tocks various people they resent for whatever reason. As a result, they become increasingly tired during the day. One day, Beans allows Turtle to help take care of Pudding.

The next day, the Diaper Gang is pleased to see an apparent ghost haunting mentioned in the paper. Pork Chop is disappointed, however, when the article quotes his first-grade teacher, who describes the ghost as a tragic figure, rather than a frightening one.

Sitting on the porch one day, Turtle watches Termite chasing Smokey. Pork Chop explains the dog’s name: Like a termite, he’s impossible to get rid of. The mail carrier appears and gives Turtle a letter from her mother. In the letter, Sadiebelle describes her tiring work and jokes that she should become a movie star. Turtle isn’t sure whether she’s being serious.

A feeble old man, whom the boys identify as Killie the Horse, passes by in a horse-drawn carriage. The boys share a rumor that Killie once whipped a horse to death. Once he passes, they call taunts after him and even jump on the back of the wagon, causing Killie to fall to the ground. A nearby woman tells them to leave Killie alone. Unimpressed by their cruelty, Turtle sarcastically suggests that they should “go drown some kittens” next (95). Pork Chop replies that it is better to light their tails on fire.

Later, Beans, Kermit, and Buddy are excited to see their father, Turtle’s Uncle Vernon Curry. Uncle Vernon is quiet and kind, and the boys are better behaved while he is at home. After dinner, Turtle is surprised to see Uncle Vernon mending his clothes, and he explains that he learned to sew from his father who was a sailor. Turtle sews a pair of Buddy’s pants as she and Uncle Vernon listen to Little Orphan Annie on the radio. As they talk, Turtle learns that the soup they had for dinner was turtle soup, not beef stew, and she feels strange for eating her namesake. Turtle says that Sadiebelle named her Turtle because she has a hard shell. Uncle Vernon points out that turtles are soft underneath. After Turtle tells Uncle Vernon about Sadiebelle and Archie, Uncle Vernon recalls that Minnie and Sadiebelle were the prettiest girls in Key West.

A woman exchanges movie tickets for some of the Diaper Gang’s diaper-rash formula. When Turtle and the Diaper Gang are about to leave for the movie, Aunt Minnie asks for someone to skip the movie and give lunch to Nana Philly. Turtle, who is curious to learn more about her grandmother, volunteers.

At Nana Philly’s house, as Miss Bea leaves for her lunch break, she instructs Turtle to make something soft for Nana Philly. Turtle reintroduces herself to Nana Philly, who doesn’t say anything. Turtle prepares a bowl of milk-softened toast for her. When Nana Philly knocks the bowl to the ground, Turtle assumes it was an accident, and she makes another bowl, which Nana Philly also knocks to the ground. Realizing that Nana Philly is doing it on purpose, Turtle prepares a third bowl of milk toast, then eats it in front of Nana Philly. When Miss Bea returns, Turtle accepts her invitation to return for lunch the next day.

The next day, Turtle joins Nana Philly for a lunch of fish, porridge, and gravy, prepared by Miss Bea, but Nana Philly again knocks her portion to the floor. As she eats dessert in front of Nana Philly, Turtle realizes that Nana Philly treated Sadiebelle unkindly, which is part of the reason Sadiebelle never returned to Key West. From a brief expression on her face, Turtle can tell that Nana Philly regrets her behavior but is too prideful to admit it.

During her third lunch with Nana Philly, Turtle is surprised to see her grandmother wearing her best hat. She also eats her meal instead of throwing it away. When Turtle mentions that she hates Shirley Temple movies, Nana Philly smiles and says, “Me thoo” (112).

Uncle Vernon leaves to work on the highway that will someday connect the Florida Keys. One day in August, someone steals Turtle’s shoes, which were a gift from Archie. The day he bought them for her, she began to feel that he was different from Sadiebelle’s other boyfriends and to hope that they could become a family.

Aunt Minnie confronts Turtle, showing her some laundry that was apparently ruined by a cat. Turtle insists that Smokey would never do such a thing, but Aunt Minnie threatens to get rid of Smokey if it happens again.

On another day, Turtle is visiting with Slow Poke in a bar when Kermit and Buddy appear and tell Turtle that Aunt Minnie is furious after another piece of clothing was ruined by a cat. Back at home, as Turtle tries to decide what to do with Smokey, Beans suggests that she give the cat to Pork Chop. Hearing a sudden scream, Turtle and her cousins rush downstairs to find Aunt Minnie collapsing after she was stung by a large scorpion that was hidden in her nightgown. Smokey kills the scorpion as Kermit runs to get a doctor. The doctor gives Aunt Minnie a shot, and the children stay at her bedside through the night. At one point, Aunt Minnie mistakes Turtle for Sadiebelle and asks her why she took her dolls.

Late the next day, Aunt Minnie emerges from bed to find, to her surprise, that the house is clean, and the children are behaving well. When Buddy tells her that Smokey killed the scorpion, she pauses, then affirms her insistence that the cat must go.