Dessert.
As Dad had arranged with the maitre d', our waiter announced that he would bring us dessert menus, but instead he brought - a cake! No one sang "Happy Birthday," though, and I could tell Mrs. Schafer was relieved.
The cake was beautiful. The frosting was white with pink and blue flowers everywhere, and on top were four candles. We all leaned over for a closer look, but after Mrs. Schafer had blown out the candles, she continued to peer at the cake.
"What is it?" asked Dawn.
Very slowly, her mother pulled out one candle and held up something that had been slipped over it onto the cake.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked my father.
He nodded nervously.
Mrs. Schafer held the something up for Dawn and me to see.
It was a diamond ring.
"It's - it's an engagement ring," she told us. Then she turned to Dad. "I thought we agreed - no rings. We've both been through this marriage business before. We don't need new rings." Dad shrugged. "I just couldn't help myself," he said, "especially since I couldn't even get you a school ring back in twelfth grade." Mrs. Schafer leaned over and kissed my father on the cheek. And as you can imagine, Dawn and I just gaped at them. Finally I man- aged to whisper, "You mean you're getting married?" My father and Dawn's mother nodded.
"We were trying to think of a special way to tell you, but we hadn't come up with anything," said Dad. "I decided this might be the best way - a celebration." He turned to Mrs. Schafer. "I'm sorry I didn't consult you. Do you mind?" "Only a little," she replied honestly. "How can I mind too much with balloons and a cake and - and a ring ..." I could tell she was about to cry so I started to say, "Open your presents." Instead, Dawn looked at me and said in amazement, "We're going to be stepsisters! Can you believe it?" Suddenly / began to cry. Dawn did, too. We threw our arms around each other. Then we asked our parents a million questions, such as when would the wedding be held, would we be in it, and could we invite our friends?
Dad and Mrs. Schafer didn't have too many answers, except that the wedding would probably be a small one, held very soon, and that Jeff would fly in from California for it.
After that, Mrs. Schafer opened her presents. She loved Dawn's day-planner, even though it was no surprise and, as you can imagine, she really loved the school-ring charm I'd gotten her. She almost started to cry again, but instead she said, "What a special gift, honey. I'm so glad you're going to be my stepdaughter." Dad smiled at me.
I grinned at Dawn.
Dawn took her time smiling back.
After that, the party wasn't quite so festive. But it wasn't until I was snug in bed that night, Tigger curled up next to my head, that some other things began to bother me. For instance, Dawn had said her mother doesn't like cats. Well, no way was I giving up Tigger. Somehow, Mrs. Schafer would have to learn to get along with him after the wedding. Then I thought about what a neatnik my father is, and how organized he is. He likes everything just so. How would he ever live with Dawn's messy, scatterbrained mother?
Oh, well, those were small things, I told myself, compared to the fact that I was going to gain a stepmother, a part-time stepbrother, and ... a stepsister. And the stepsister would be Dawn - one of my best friends in the whole world. I could not believe my good luck! Chapter 9.
Dawn and I learned our amazing news on a Friday night. Somehow, we managed to wait all the way until the Monday BSC meeting before we told any of our other friends about it. I honestly don't know how we did that. Sheer willpower, I guess. Also, we really wanted to make a splash. That was the best way we could think of to do that.
I even asked Kristy if Logan could come to the meeting.
"Why?" she asked.
Good question. "Because I have some news," I replied carefully, "and I want all my closest friends to hear it at once." (I purposely didn't say that Dawn and I had news. That might have given the secret away.) "We-ell," said Kristy slowly, "it's not our usual club policy, but sure - if Logan can come, he's welcome." "Thanks," I replied. I already knew that Logan could come. I'd told him to hold five-thirty till six open on Monday in case we asked him to attend the meeting.
At five-thirty on Monday afternoon, Dawn and I were just as beside ourselves as we'd been at Friday's meeting.
"What is it with you two?" asked Kristy testily. "You've got to keep your minds on the meeting. This club is a formal organization, you know." "We know, we know," said Dawn breathlessly. "We also know there'll be lulls after we've finished our business and in between calls. And Mary Anne and I have something very important to tell you." "So you're part of this, too?" Kristy asked Dawn, and I could see the hurt in her eyes. I was Kristy's best friend, but lately Dawn and I had been having all the excitement and secrets.
"Well, yes," said Dawn, as if she were making some great confession.
Kristy sighed. "All right. Let's get this meeting underway. Order, order!" I looked around Claud's room. We were all in place - Kristy in the director's chair; Stacey backwards in the desk chair; Claudia, Dawn, and I lined up on Claud's bed; and Jessi and Mal on the floor. The few times Logan had attended meetings, he'd sat wherever he could find a space, usually next to me. But on that afternoon, he was also sitting on the floor, leaning against Claud's closet door.
Since it was a Monday, Stacey collected club dues. (Logan doesn't have to pay.) When she was finished, we just sat in our places. The phone did not ring. Dawn and I looked at each other. Now was our chance.
Dawn opened her mouth, and - Ring, ring! "I'll get it!" screeched Kristy, reaching for the phone.
It was Mrs. Perkins, across the street. Kristy and I arranged for Mallory to sit for the girls a week from Wednesday.
When the phone was quiet, Dawn and I looked at each other again.
Dawn opened her mouth.
Ring, ring! This time Stacey answered the phone and set up a job with the Rodowsky boys.
The phone grew quiet.
Dawn and I looked at each other.
We did not say a word.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Kristy.
"The phone," replied Dawn. "If I start to say something, it'll ring again." But it didn't ring for a full minute, so at last Dawn said, "Mary Anne? Should I give it a try?" I nodded.
Then Dawn looked across the room at Logan. She looked back at me. "You tell the news," she said unexpectedly.
I knew why she had decided to let me tell. She felt that Logan ought to hear such important news from me. Also, I'd known most of the other BSC members a lot longer than she had. I smiled gratefully at my future stepsister.
"Okay, here goes," I said, fully expecting the phone to ring again, but it didn't. "On Friday night, when we took Dawn's mom out for her birthday, it turned out that there was a surprise for Dawn and me, too. A big one." "There was?" said Claudia.
I nodded. "Dad's present to Mrs. Schafer was an engagement ring. They're going to get married. Dawn and I will be stepsisters!" Well, you have never heard such loud silence. Everyone in the room was stunned, but only for a moment. Then this incredible shrieking and cheering and yelling began. Logan jumped up, crossed the room in two strides (nearly stepping on Mallory), grabbed me off the bed, and whirled me around. As soon as he put me down, Claudia gave me a huge hug. Dawn and Stacey hugged. Everyone hugged - except Kristy. I mean, she did get into the spirit of things, but it took her a little while longer. I knew that deep down, she was hurt, and I'd been expecting that. How could she not feel hurt? Something had just happened over which she had absolutely no control and which was going to form a unique bond between Dawn and me forever. So I was prepared for Kristy's reaction. When she finally did hug me, I managed to slip a note into the back pocket of her jeans. It read: I hoped Kristy would find the note before she threw her jeans in the wash. As it happened, she did. She never said anything to me, but I could tell she'd read the note by the way she smiled at me in school the next day. I felt really good about that.) Anyway, the eight of us were making such a racket tha
t Claudia's genius sister, Janine, actually dragged herself away from her computer and came down the hall to see what was going on.
"Is anything wrong?" she yelled from the doorway. "What's happening? You're making quite a bit of noise. Furthermore, your phone is ringing." "What?" shouted Kristy. "The phone?" Janine nodded.
"Hey! Everyone be quiet!" ordered Kristy, as Janine disappeared back into her room, which is like the Bermuda Triangle, since she hardly ever comes out of it.
We quieted down enough to set up another job. Then the questions began flying: "When will the wedding be?" "Was your mom surprised, Dawn?" "Does Jeff know yet?" And the exclamations, too: "I can't believe you won't be an only child anymore, Mary Anne!" "You're finally going to have a mother!" "You guys are going to be stepsisters. Awesome!" Dawn and I, bit by bit, told everyone the story of the birthday dinner. We answered their questions as well as we could, even though we didn't know much more than they did. Some of those nagging thoughts (like Mrs. Schafer not liking cats) came back to me as we talked things over, but I put them out of my mind.
The next job call was from Mrs. Arnold, which prompted Jessi to ask me how the twins were doing.
"You know, I think they're worse," I had to admit. I reminded my friends about the masking-tape incident, which they'd read about in the club notebook. "The girls are so different now it's unbelievable. They vie for their parents' attention, they're mean to each other, and this business of Carolyn having all these friends has really come between them." "In fami - " said Mal, at the same time Kristy said, "The twins - " We laughed. Then, "You go first," Kristy told Mallory.
"Well, I was just going to say," Mal began, "that in families, brothers and sisters don't always get along." "That's true," said Jessi. "Becca and I fight sometimes. Sometimes we even get mad at Squirt." "Yeah," agreed the rest of us, except for Stacey and me, since we had never had a brother or sister not to get along with.
"And kids in families always tease," Mal went on, "no matter how much they love each other. Sometimes the target of the worst teasing can change. In my family, it used to be Vanessa. I guess because she would make such a pest out of herself by always talking in rhyme. Now a lot of the teasing is directed at Nicky. And when I first got my braces, the triplets called me 'metal-mouth' for two weeks. Just wait until they get their braces." "But what about this business with their parents?" I asked. "That's new. And I don't like it." "Well, what I was going to say," said Kristy, "is that the twins are changing. We know that. And their mother and father are two different people, of course, so now I bet the girls are trying to do things that will please one or the other of their parents. Like, maybe Mrs. Arnold really appreciates kids who are social and have lots of friends. And maybe Mr. Arnold really appreciates artsy stuff like music or whatever." "That makes sense," I said.
"It can work in reverse, too," Kristy pointed out. "Sometimes parents bend over backwards trying to please their kids. I'll never forget when Mom and Watson first got married. Any time there was an argument or a problem, Mom sided with Karen and Andrew, and Watson sided with my brothers and me. They just wanted their stepkids to like them." I nodded.
"Plus," went on Kristy, "you know how friends can go off in different directions?" "Yeah," I said guiltily.
"Well, if friends can, then I guess twin sisters can, too. But I bet things will work out again after awhile." "I think they usually do," added Mal. "Between brothers and sisters, or parents and kids, or friends." The eight of us grew so quiet thinking these things over that I could hear Janine's computer clicking away in her room.
Then Claudia suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, my lord! I just can't believe you two are going to be stepsisters!" "And friends and club members," I pointed out.
That was all it took for the screaming and hugging to start again.
Logan couldn't take it any longer. "See y'all tomorrow," he said hastily, and escaped.
It didn't matter. It was almost six o'clock anyway.
As you can imagine, the rest of the "meeting" was just giggling and talking. Kristy didn't even seem to mind - much.
Chapter 10.
Why was Karen in a rotten mood? According to Kristy, it was because Emily had had the audacity that morning to tug at Kristy 's arm, hand her Andrew's battered copy of The Teddy Bears' Picnic, and say, "Read?" And then Kristy had had the audacity to reply, "Sure, Emily," and lead her into the den, sit down, pull her onto her lap, and read the story to her.
That was all it took. Apparently, Karen was already in a bad mood, but reading together is a special activity for Karen and Kristy, so on that particular day, Karen wasn't thrilled to see Emily and her big sister sharing a teddy-bear moment.
Kristy' s mom noticed and offered to read The Witch Next Door to Karen, which is her favorite book, but Karen would have none of it.
"No, thank you," she said haughtily. Then she stalked up to her room.
By the afternoon, Karen was in an even worse mood. She had spent the morning muttering about what pains and brats little sisters are.
"They are always in your way," she'd said as she tried to pass Emily on the stairs. Emily was climbing them one slow step at a time, holding onto the banister with one hand, and trailing her blanket behind her with the other.
"They get all the attention," she said at lunch time as Watson cut Emily's sandwich into quarters for her, and Nannie settled Emily in her high chair.
By the time Watson and Kristy's mom and everyone else were taking off, leaving Kristy in charge, Karen had marched up to her room, marched back down again holding her T-shirt that reads, "I'm the middle sister . . . and proud of it," and said, "See this? I don't want it anymore. You can put it in Shannon's dog-bed." Then she had dropped the shirt on the floor and huffed off to the den to be alone for awhile.
"I'm sorry to leave you with this mess," Watson apologized as he and Mrs. Brewer headed for his car.
"That's okay. I can handle it," Kristy assured him. She turned around and walked back into the house. She passed Andrew and David Michael, who were in the living room with the curtains closed, playing a game in the dark called The Wandering Frog People. The Pike boys made the game up.
Kristy was watching them and smiling when she heard an odd noise from the direction of the kitchen - several small thumps, like something being dropped. Then she heard Karen say, "Bad girl, Emily. Bad girl!" Kristy raced to the kitchen. There was Karen, shaking her finger at Emily, who was standing by a chair. On the table was a package of cookies, and on the floor were several broken ones.
"Just look what Emily did," said Karen in a disgusted voice. "She made a huge mess. Daddy hates cookie crumbs on the floor. Plus, Emily tried to climb up to the table for the cookies when she knows she's not supposed to stand on chairs." Kristy looked firmly at Emily. Watson, Kristy's mother, and Nannie had all said that it was important not to spoil Emily, even though she had gotten off to a bad start in life. And yet - Kristy didn't know what to think. Emily couldn't talk well enough to defend herself.
"Did you try to get the cookies?" Kristy asked Emily.
Emily just stood there and cried.
"Did you break the cookies?" This time Kristy pointed to the mess on the floor.
More tears from Emily, while Karen watched, hands on hips.
"If I did something bad, Kristy," said Karen, "Daddy or Elizabeth would send me to my room. They always do." That was true. But Kristy still didn't know for sure what had happened. Finally she just said, "Emily, did you do something naughty?" Emily's crying grew louder, so Kristy decided that meant she was guilty. "Okay," Kristy continued. "Up to your room." She marched Emily to her room, took off her shoes, and put her in her crib. "Time-out for ten minutes," she told her. Then, feeling horrible as Emily stood in her crib, crying hopelessly, Kristy turned and walked away. By the time she'd returned to the kitchen, Karen had cleaned up the mess, but now she was crying.
"What's the matter?" asked Kristy, thoroughly perplexed. "You can't possibly be upset that I punished Emily." "Yes I am
," wailed Karen.
Kristy sat down. "Why?" she demanded. Nothing made sense.
"Because you should be punishing me. I made the mess. Then I blamed it on Emily. I just wanted to see if you'd really punish her. I know what I did was wrong. Emily looked so sad and - and confused. She even looked a little mad. Do you think she understood what I did to her?" "She might have," Kristy replied. "Emily's not stupid. She just doesn't talk much yet. And furthermore, Karen Brewer," (Kristy had stopped herself just in time from saying "young lady," a phrase her mother uses that she hates), "furthermore, you will now have ten minutes of time-out in your room while I try to explain things to Emily. Then I want you to apologize to her." Karen nodded. She knew she deserved everything that was happening. So now Kristy walked Karen up the stairs. On their way, David Michael called out, "Kristy, I'm going over to Linny's house!" "Okay," Kristy replied. She noted that the living room curtains had been pulled back and that Andrew was on the floor, playing with Shannon. The Wandering Frog People must have come to an end.
Kristy deposited Karen in her room, then rescued Emily from her crib, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She held Emily in the rocking chair for awhile and tried to explain what had happened. By the time Karen's punishment was over, Emily was smiling again, so Kristy took her into Karen's room.
"Time's up," she informed Karen.
Karen nodded.
"Now don't you have something to say to your sister?" "Yes," replied Karen. "I want to say - Hey, get out of my toy box, Emily!" "Karen," said Kristy warningly.
"Well, she's always getting into my stuff. And she's doing it right now." "She just wants to see what's in the box. She isn't going to hurt anything." "How do you know?" Kristy didn't know. But luckily for everybody, just at that moment, Emily emerged from the box with an old stacking toy of Karen's.
"Where'd that come from?" asked Karen. "That's a baby toy. I didn't even know it was in there." Emily sat on the floor and happily placed the colored rings on the pole. Karen got up and dug through her toy box. At the bottom she found a pull-toy, some plastic pop-apart beads, and a cloth book about a little girl who takes a bath.
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