Later that evening, at the office that served as the Armstrong for Mayor
campaign headquarters, Mrs. Armstrong was discussing the latest poll results
with Mr. Frensky, who had been promoted to campaign secretary/treasurer.
"With only two weeks until the election, I'd say it's practically in the bag," Mr. Frensky commented.
"Maybe so," said Mrs. Armstrong, "but I wouldn't underestimate Bradley. He may still have a trick or two up his sleeve."
In the reception room, Sue Ellen sat on a couch, pretending to read a Henry Skreever book. In reality, she was pondering what her next action would be.
"I've waited too long to do this," she thought. "It has to be now."
Her eyes filled with determination, she put down her book and made her way to the room where her mother and Mrs. Frensky were working.
"Yes, honey?" said Mrs. Armstrong when she saw her daughter come in.
"Mom? Mr. Frensky?"
"Yes?" they both said.
Sue Ellen cleared her throat. "I think you should stop lying."
Mrs. Armstrong and Mr. Frensky were stunned by her statement.
"Lying?" said Mrs. Armstrong. "About what?"
"Mr. Frensky, you had no intention of jumping off the bridge," said Sue Ellen boldly. "You told us so yourself. Mom, you know that's the truth. But you've been lying about it through the whole campaign."
Mrs. Armstrong became visibly worried.
"Yes, I admit I took a little dramatic license in hopes of making a stronger statement against the casino..."
"You lied, Mom," Sue Ellen corrected her. "You should tell the people the truth."
"I will," said Mrs. Armstrong, "but now isn't the time..."
"Now IS the time!" Sue Ellen cried indignantly. "If you won't tell the truth then I will! I'll go straight to Mrs. Baxter and tell her the whole story. I'll even tell Mayor Cook if I have to."
The two grownups looked at each other, clearly disturbed by the girl's sudden outburst.
Then Mrs. Armstrong put a hand on Sue Ellen's shoulder. "There's no need for you to do that," she said kindly.
----
The next morning, Pal carried the daily issue of the Elwood Times into the Read house as he always did. Mr. Read, who was seated at the breakfast table with his wife, Arthur, D.W., and Kate, took the paper from Pal's mouth.
When he unfolded it and read the front page headline, he gasped.
"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. Read.
Mr. Read showed her the headline: DAISY ADMITS SUICIDE LIE.
----
The kids in Mr. Ratburn's class could talk about nothing else that day. Shortly after school, Buster, Muffy, Brain, and Sue Ellen were gathered at the Sugar Bowl, talking about the surprising turn of events.
"I doubt that Mrs. Armstrong decided to tell the truth out of the goodness of her heart," Muffy opinionated. "Not when it's so close to the election. We're the ones who were with Mr. Frensky on the bridge that day. One of us must have threatened to blab, and it wasn't me."
"It wasn't me either," said Brain.
"Or me," said Buster.
All eyes turned to Sue Ellen, who was keeping her silence.
"Well?" said Muffy.
"It was me," Sue Ellen finally admitted.
The other kids became speechless with shock.
"But...why?" Muffy asked. "Why would you sabotage your mom's campaign like that?"
Sue Ellen didn't speak.
"We're waiting," said Brain impatiently.
Sue Ellen took a deep breath. "I don't really want my mom to win."
Once again the other kids were shocked into silence.
Before the could speak, Sue Ellen continued. "To you, Elwood City is home. But to me, it's just another stop. If my mom wins, I could be stuck here forever. Or worse...my parents could split up, like the Frenskys."
"I'm sure your parents would never split up over something like that," said Brain comfortingly. "Did you talk to them about it?"
"I tried," Sue Ellen answered, "but they always said they would discuss it later."
"What we have here is a serious failure to communicate," Brain observed.
"You won't tell my mom what I said, will you?" Sue Ellen pleaded.
"I won't tell her," said Buster, "but I think you should tell her."
----
Two weeks passed. All the kids were gathered at the Armstrong house, anxiously waiting to hear the election results on TV. The dining table was laden with all kinds of snacks.
"Quiet, everybody! It's on!" said Arthur.
At the same time, Mrs. Frensky, Francine, and Catherine were huddled in front of the set, hoping for a decisive Daisy victory.
"Here it comes!" said Francine excitedly. "Cross your fingers!"
"The preliminary results of the Elwood City election are in," said one of the two newscasters. "So far, incumbent Mayor Bradley Cook has an oh-so-slight lead over challenger Daisy Mack Armstrong in most districts."
Francine and Catherine groaned.
The kids at Sue Ellen's house groaned.
"It's not over yet," said Buster between handfuls of popcorn.
"This election may prove too close to call," said the other newscaster. "It all seemed cut-and-dried two weeks ago, when Armstrong was 12 points ahead in the polls, and then she dropped that bombshell about the fabricated suicide sob story..."
Sue Ellen left the crowd of kids and approached her mother, who was bringing more snacks to the table.
"Mom," she said somberly, "it looks like I cost you the election. I'm sorry."
"No one's blaming you, dear," said Mrs. Armstrong with a smile. "Things like this happen in elections. They're unpredictable."
Three hours passed. The kids had eaten all the snacks, and Mrs. Armstrong had gone to the grocery store to buy more (the clerks were, to say the least, surprised to see her there).
"Cook's lead over Armstrong is still extremely slight," said the newscaster. "It's starting to look like a recount is on order."
The kids groaned again.
Mrs. Armstrong entered through the front door, carrying a bag full of chocolate bars. "What's the latest?" she asked the kids.
"They're talking about a recount," Muffy answered.
"Great," muttered Mrs. Armstrong. "This could stretch out for days."
She picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Yes, this is Daisy. That close, is it? I'm coming over there. See you soon."
As she hung up the phone, the kids watched her curiously.
"What was that about?" asked Fern.
"That was the election office," Mrs. Armstrong explained. "I'm headed out there. If a decision isn't made soon, I may have no choice but to concede."
The kids gasped.
"Mom, no!" Sue Ellen cried.
"I don't want the wheels of government to grind to a halt while we haggle over a few hanging chads. I'll be back soon...I hope." With that, Mrs. Armstrong marched out the front door.
In Town City, Mrs. Frensky talked to Francine and Catherine about the latest election results.
"Knowing Daisy, she's probably planning to concede defeat," said Mrs. Frensky.
"At least one good thing came out of this," Catherine remarked. "We know that Dad wasn't really going to jump off the bridge."
----
The newspaper lying on the table in the Armstrong for Mayor campaign office announced the story: COOK RE-ELECTED. ARMSTRONG CONCEDES.
Mrs. Armstrong finished sorting through her financial records, and closed the drawer to the file cabinet. "All finished."
"So," said her husband, "how much did that set us back?"
"All together, a total of approximately seventy-two thousand dollars."
Mr. Armstrong winced. "It's going to take a while to pay that off."
Mrs. Armstrong sighed.
"Let's try to run the next campaign more efficiently, okay?" said her husband.
They smiled at each other.
----
"I was just on the phone with Sue Ellen," Francine told her mother. "Do you know how much the election cost them? Seventy-two thousand dollars."
"Ouch," said Mrs. Frensky. "That's quite a chunk. I'll never see that much money."
"Mom, I've been thinking..."
Francine and Mrs. Frensky sat down together.
"The Armstrongs spent all that money, and they have nothing to show for it. But they still love each other, and they don't blame each other."
"Yes," said Mrs. Frensky. "So what's your point?"
"Maybe Muffy's right," Francine continued. "Maybe the eight thousand dollars Dad lost gambling is just a drop in the bucket. He's been working hard since then, and he hasn't gone back to the casino."
"Yes."
Francine's voice started to break. "Mom, I still love Dad, and I know you do, too. Maybe it's time to...to think about giving him another chance."
Mrs. Frensky gazed at her wordlessly.
"It's something to consider," she finally said.
----
One month later, Linda Frensky and her daughters moved back to Elwood City and were reunited with Oliver. All was forgiven, and they lived happily, if not luxuriously, ever after. (Oliver even got back his sanitation job eventually.)
After starring in a season of Bionic Bunny episodes, Arthur was notified that Ms. Carver had planned a new direction for the franchise. She wanted to appeal to a vast untapped market...girls. In short, Arthur was being replaced by a girl sidekick. The actor's salary that Arthur had not donated to Mrs. Armstrong's campaign was placed in his college fund. However, Arthur had gained more than a little money in Hollywood. Meg became a good friend of the Read family, and often came to Elwood to visit. After some time, Arthur and D.W. began to refer to her affectionately as "Auntie Meg".
Mr. Ratburn contacted the Town City school district and voiced his concerns over the employment of his twin Angela Ropeburn as an elementary teacher. The district promised to investigate his claims, but never did, as Ms. Ropeburn suddenly disappeared from Town City one morning, and was never seen there again. She was replaced by an old-school teacher who had a great love of science, much to Minerva's delight.
The Armstrongs eventually paid off their campaign debts. Mrs. Armstrong did not run for mayor again, but was content to support her husband in his diplomatic career. The casino remained in business for another twelve years, at which point it started to lose money and was converted into a library.
And so, as in any good Arthur story, all ended happily, and the status quo was preserved.
THE END
"With only two weeks until the election, I'd say it's practically in the bag," Mr. Frensky commented.
"Maybe so," said Mrs. Armstrong, "but I wouldn't underestimate Bradley. He may still have a trick or two up his sleeve."
In the reception room, Sue Ellen sat on a couch, pretending to read a Henry Skreever book. In reality, she was pondering what her next action would be.
"I've waited too long to do this," she thought. "It has to be now."
Her eyes filled with determination, she put down her book and made her way to the room where her mother and Mrs. Frensky were working.
"Yes, honey?" said Mrs. Armstrong when she saw her daughter come in.
"Mom? Mr. Frensky?"
"Yes?" they both said.
Sue Ellen cleared her throat. "I think you should stop lying."
Mrs. Armstrong and Mr. Frensky were stunned by her statement.
"Lying?" said Mrs. Armstrong. "About what?"
"Mr. Frensky, you had no intention of jumping off the bridge," said Sue Ellen boldly. "You told us so yourself. Mom, you know that's the truth. But you've been lying about it through the whole campaign."
Mrs. Armstrong became visibly worried.
"Yes, I admit I took a little dramatic license in hopes of making a stronger statement against the casino..."
"You lied, Mom," Sue Ellen corrected her. "You should tell the people the truth."
"I will," said Mrs. Armstrong, "but now isn't the time..."
"Now IS the time!" Sue Ellen cried indignantly. "If you won't tell the truth then I will! I'll go straight to Mrs. Baxter and tell her the whole story. I'll even tell Mayor Cook if I have to."
The two grownups looked at each other, clearly disturbed by the girl's sudden outburst.
Then Mrs. Armstrong put a hand on Sue Ellen's shoulder. "There's no need for you to do that," she said kindly.
----
The next morning, Pal carried the daily issue of the Elwood Times into the Read house as he always did. Mr. Read, who was seated at the breakfast table with his wife, Arthur, D.W., and Kate, took the paper from Pal's mouth.
When he unfolded it and read the front page headline, he gasped.
"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. Read.
Mr. Read showed her the headline: DAISY ADMITS SUICIDE LIE.
----
The kids in Mr. Ratburn's class could talk about nothing else that day. Shortly after school, Buster, Muffy, Brain, and Sue Ellen were gathered at the Sugar Bowl, talking about the surprising turn of events.
"I doubt that Mrs. Armstrong decided to tell the truth out of the goodness of her heart," Muffy opinionated. "Not when it's so close to the election. We're the ones who were with Mr. Frensky on the bridge that day. One of us must have threatened to blab, and it wasn't me."
"It wasn't me either," said Brain.
"Or me," said Buster.
All eyes turned to Sue Ellen, who was keeping her silence.
"Well?" said Muffy.
"It was me," Sue Ellen finally admitted.
The other kids became speechless with shock.
"But...why?" Muffy asked. "Why would you sabotage your mom's campaign like that?"
Sue Ellen didn't speak.
"We're waiting," said Brain impatiently.
Sue Ellen took a deep breath. "I don't really want my mom to win."
Once again the other kids were shocked into silence.
Before the could speak, Sue Ellen continued. "To you, Elwood City is home. But to me, it's just another stop. If my mom wins, I could be stuck here forever. Or worse...my parents could split up, like the Frenskys."
"I'm sure your parents would never split up over something like that," said Brain comfortingly. "Did you talk to them about it?"
"I tried," Sue Ellen answered, "but they always said they would discuss it later."
"What we have here is a serious failure to communicate," Brain observed.
"You won't tell my mom what I said, will you?" Sue Ellen pleaded.
"I won't tell her," said Buster, "but I think you should tell her."
----
Two weeks passed. All the kids were gathered at the Armstrong house, anxiously waiting to hear the election results on TV. The dining table was laden with all kinds of snacks.
"Quiet, everybody! It's on!" said Arthur.
At the same time, Mrs. Frensky, Francine, and Catherine were huddled in front of the set, hoping for a decisive Daisy victory.
"Here it comes!" said Francine excitedly. "Cross your fingers!"
"The preliminary results of the Elwood City election are in," said one of the two newscasters. "So far, incumbent Mayor Bradley Cook has an oh-so-slight lead over challenger Daisy Mack Armstrong in most districts."
Francine and Catherine groaned.
The kids at Sue Ellen's house groaned.
"It's not over yet," said Buster between handfuls of popcorn.
"This election may prove too close to call," said the other newscaster. "It all seemed cut-and-dried two weeks ago, when Armstrong was 12 points ahead in the polls, and then she dropped that bombshell about the fabricated suicide sob story..."
Sue Ellen left the crowd of kids and approached her mother, who was bringing more snacks to the table.
"Mom," she said somberly, "it looks like I cost you the election. I'm sorry."
"No one's blaming you, dear," said Mrs. Armstrong with a smile. "Things like this happen in elections. They're unpredictable."
Three hours passed. The kids had eaten all the snacks, and Mrs. Armstrong had gone to the grocery store to buy more (the clerks were, to say the least, surprised to see her there).
"Cook's lead over Armstrong is still extremely slight," said the newscaster. "It's starting to look like a recount is on order."
The kids groaned again.
Mrs. Armstrong entered through the front door, carrying a bag full of chocolate bars. "What's the latest?" she asked the kids.
"They're talking about a recount," Muffy answered.
"Great," muttered Mrs. Armstrong. "This could stretch out for days."
She picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Yes, this is Daisy. That close, is it? I'm coming over there. See you soon."
As she hung up the phone, the kids watched her curiously.
"What was that about?" asked Fern.
"That was the election office," Mrs. Armstrong explained. "I'm headed out there. If a decision isn't made soon, I may have no choice but to concede."
The kids gasped.
"Mom, no!" Sue Ellen cried.
"I don't want the wheels of government to grind to a halt while we haggle over a few hanging chads. I'll be back soon...I hope." With that, Mrs. Armstrong marched out the front door.
In Town City, Mrs. Frensky talked to Francine and Catherine about the latest election results.
"Knowing Daisy, she's probably planning to concede defeat," said Mrs. Frensky.
"At least one good thing came out of this," Catherine remarked. "We know that Dad wasn't really going to jump off the bridge."
----
The newspaper lying on the table in the Armstrong for Mayor campaign office announced the story: COOK RE-ELECTED. ARMSTRONG CONCEDES.
Mrs. Armstrong finished sorting through her financial records, and closed the drawer to the file cabinet. "All finished."
"So," said her husband, "how much did that set us back?"
"All together, a total of approximately seventy-two thousand dollars."
Mr. Armstrong winced. "It's going to take a while to pay that off."
Mrs. Armstrong sighed.
"Let's try to run the next campaign more efficiently, okay?" said her husband.
They smiled at each other.
----
"I was just on the phone with Sue Ellen," Francine told her mother. "Do you know how much the election cost them? Seventy-two thousand dollars."
"Ouch," said Mrs. Frensky. "That's quite a chunk. I'll never see that much money."
"Mom, I've been thinking..."
Francine and Mrs. Frensky sat down together.
"The Armstrongs spent all that money, and they have nothing to show for it. But they still love each other, and they don't blame each other."
"Yes," said Mrs. Frensky. "So what's your point?"
"Maybe Muffy's right," Francine continued. "Maybe the eight thousand dollars Dad lost gambling is just a drop in the bucket. He's been working hard since then, and he hasn't gone back to the casino."
"Yes."
Francine's voice started to break. "Mom, I still love Dad, and I know you do, too. Maybe it's time to...to think about giving him another chance."
Mrs. Frensky gazed at her wordlessly.
"It's something to consider," she finally said.
----
One month later, Linda Frensky and her daughters moved back to Elwood City and were reunited with Oliver. All was forgiven, and they lived happily, if not luxuriously, ever after. (Oliver even got back his sanitation job eventually.)
After starring in a season of Bionic Bunny episodes, Arthur was notified that Ms. Carver had planned a new direction for the franchise. She wanted to appeal to a vast untapped market...girls. In short, Arthur was being replaced by a girl sidekick. The actor's salary that Arthur had not donated to Mrs. Armstrong's campaign was placed in his college fund. However, Arthur had gained more than a little money in Hollywood. Meg became a good friend of the Read family, and often came to Elwood to visit. After some time, Arthur and D.W. began to refer to her affectionately as "Auntie Meg".
Mr. Ratburn contacted the Town City school district and voiced his concerns over the employment of his twin Angela Ropeburn as an elementary teacher. The district promised to investigate his claims, but never did, as Ms. Ropeburn suddenly disappeared from Town City one morning, and was never seen there again. She was replaced by an old-school teacher who had a great love of science, much to Minerva's delight.
The Armstrongs eventually paid off their campaign debts. Mrs. Armstrong did not run for mayor again, but was content to support her husband in his diplomatic career. The casino remained in business for another twelve years, at which point it started to lose money and was converted into a library.
And so, as in any good Arthur story, all ended happily, and the status quo was preserved.
THE END