Bella Read Online Free Page A

matter how full her tummy was, Bella seemed to need to be held whenever she woke up. Mom and Dad kept telling Lizzie to stay in bed, but how could she sleep when she knew Bella needed her?
    Finally, at five in the morning, Lizzie decided she might as well stay up for good. She carried Bella’s box downstairs. While she was in the kitchen mixing up slurry, she saw the front door open at the new neighbor’s house, where all the lights were already on. A girl with long, black hair stepped out onto the porch. Lizzie’s eyebrows went up. Had a girl her age moved in next door? A girl who stayed up all night and slept all day? The mystery was growing.
    For a second, Lizzie thought about running upstairs to get her spy notebook, but she realized she was too tired to take notes. Instead, she decided to take the easy way out. Picking upBella, she went to her own front door and slipped outside.
    The girl on the porch next door must have spotted Lizzie. She waved, then held up one finger in the “wait-a-minute” sign. Then she disappeared inside.

CHAPTER SIX
    When she came back out, the girl was holding Mom’s lasagna pan. She carried it across the driveway in her robe and pajamas and slippers. As she got closer, Lizzie realized that she wasn’t a girl at all. She was a woman, an Asian woman with a very small build and long black hair. Lizzie was disappointed. She had begun to think she might have a new friend next door.
    The woman smiled shyly as she handed over the clean, empty pan. “That was the best lasagna I ever had,” she said. “I ate a ton of it and there was still some left over to freeze for another meal. Please thank your mother. Did you help make it?”
    Lizzie nodded. “It’s Mom’s recipe. But I’ve helped her lots of times. I could probably even make it myself.”
    “I’m Tina Wu,” said the woman, sticking out her hand.
    “I’m Lizzie Peterson.” Lizzie fumbled with Bella so she could shake hands with Tina. “And this is Bella,” she added.
    Tina gasped. “I didn’t even see her! What a tiny puppy. She must be a newborn. Is that her mom, the cute little brown dog I’ve seen in your backyard?”
    Lizzie giggled. “No, that’s our puppy, Buddy. He’s very interested in Bella, but we have to keep him away because she’s so young and he could hurt her by mistake. Bella is a foster puppy. She’s only four weeks old. Her mom is very sick so we’re raising her by hand, feeding her from a bottle.”
    Tina raised her eyebrows. “That can’t be easy.”
    “It’s not,” said Lizzie. “But I’m glad we’re doing it. It’s a real experience, that’s for sure. We have fostered lots of puppies, but never a newborn.”
    Tina sat down on the Petersons’ front steps. “Could I hold her for a second? I’ve never held a puppy that young. I don’t know if I’ve ever
seen
a puppy that young.”
    Carefully, Lizzie passed Bella over. “She’s very sleepy, since she just ate.” Lizzie stretched out her arms and yawned.
    “You look pretty sleepy yourself,” Tina said to Lizzie as she cradled Bella. She bent to nuzzle the puppy’s head. “Oh, her fur is so soft. She’s lovely.”
    “She’d be lovelier if she would sleep through the night,” said Lizzie. “She cries all the time. I guess she’s lonely.” She told Tina about how Bella’s brothers had died.
    “Poor girl,” Tina said. “I bet she misses them a lot. I can just picture a bunch of puppies snuggling together with their mom. It wouldn’t be easyfor humans to make up for that kind of warmth and connection.” She turned her face to the rising sun. “Here it comes,” she said. “Don’t you love to watch the sun come up?”
    Lizzie laughed. “I don’t see that happen too much. I’m usually in bed. I like sunsets, though.”
    “I don’t see much of the sun at all,” said Tina. “I work for a Chinese company, and they are twelve hours ahead of us, so I’m in my home office all night emailing back and forth. Then I