Best Family Ever

by Karen Kingsbury

  1. Swimsuit

  2. Shorts

  3. Shirts

  4. Pajamas

  5. Sweatshirt in case it’s cold

  6. Flip-flops

  7. Goggles

  Kari bit down on the end of her pen. Goggles. They were around here somewhere. She looked at Ashley, stretched out on her bed drawing in her new journal.

  “You’re supposed to write in it.” Kari walked closer to her sister. “Not draw pictures.”

  “I like drawing better.” Ashley smiled at her.

  Kari squinted her eyes. “Have you packed?”

  “Nope.” Ashley smiled again.

  “You’re running out of time.” Kari couldn’t believe how Ashley always waited until the last minute. “Family meeting, remember?” Kari breathed out harder than before. Her sister was never going to get it all done.

  “I’ll pack later.” Ashley kept moving her pencil across the page. “I’m drawing our house. Because it’s the best house in the world.” She looked up. “What do you think this family meeting is about?”

  Kari ignored her last question. “Right now? Right now you have to draw our house?”

  “It felt that way.” Ashley giggled. “Sometimes my brain just works like that.”

  A laugh slipped out because Ashley was the funniest sister in the family. She had so much spirit. “About the meeting . . . it’s probably about the trip. All the details.” Kari dropped to the floor and looked under her bed. “Where are my goggles? I can’t find them.”

  “Not sure.” Ashley was back at her artwork. “Try Brooke’s closet.” She glanced up again. “So you don’t think it’s bad news? The meeting?” Fear flashed in her eyes. “I’m a little worried about that.”

  “It’s nothing.” Kari headed for the door. “What bad news could there be? We’re leaving for South Carolina in the morning.”

  “True.” Ashley looked back at her drawing. “Thanks.”

  “Sure.” Kari walked down the hall and poked her head into her oldest sister’s room. “Hey, Brooke? Have you seen my goggles?”

  “Not lately.” Her oldest sister was packing clothes into her duffel bag. “There’s a box of summer stuff in my closet.”

  Kari stared at her sister. Brooke was neat, obedient, always making friends, a hard worker, and never ran late. Kari wanted to be just like her. She opened the closet door. Sure enough. Her goggles were on top of the box. “Yes!” She held them up. “I needed these.”

  Brooke faced her. “So . . . this family meeting. What do you think Mom and Dad want to tell us?”

  “Stuff about the trip, I guess.” Kari grinned. “And now I’m officially ready for it.”

  “What about Ashley?” Brooke sat on the edge of her bed.

  “She’s drawing.”

  “Of course.” Brooke laughed. “Hours before a trip.” She looked in the mirror opposite her bed and smoothed her hair. “What about Erin and Luke?”

  “Probably building that toy tower again.” Kari raised one eyebrow. “Let’s go find out.” They hurried out of Brooke’s room and headed to Luke and Erin’s. Brooke opened the door and stopped. Their two youngest siblings were on their beds reading. Two suitcases stood packed nearby.

  “Well, look at you two!” Brooke leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed.

  “Amazing.” Kari stood just behind her, checking the room. “You two are fast!”

  “Yep.” Luke gave them a thumbs-up. “All ready.”

  “Mom helped.” Erin was reading Stuart Little. She had finished Charlotte’s Web a long time ago. A book a week, that’s how much Erin liked to read.

  “Okay.” Brooke stepped back. “See you at the family meeting.”

  Kari and Brooke both hurried down the hallway to their rooms. Kari found Ashley was putting shorts in her bag. It was about time.

  “Someone at school said Hilton Head has tons of kids our age.” Ashley looked up at Kari. “Do you think that’s true?”

  Kari dropped to the comfy chair in the corner of their room. “I don’t know. Maybe.” She thought for a few seconds. “It doesn’t matter. Spring break is for family.”

  Ashley gathered a few shirts from their dresser. “Yeah. I know.” She zipped her bag shut, and flopped down on her bed. “But new friends can be fun.”

  “Family meeting!” Their mom’s voice echoed through the upstairs hallway. She didn’t sound worried. Kari felt herself relax. She had been right all along. The meeting was about the trip.

  It had to be.

  Still. Now that it was here, Kari wasn’t sure. Brooke and Ashley had been a little worried about it. So maybe she should’ve been worried, too.

  Ashley got off the bed first. Kari followed her into the hallway.

  “Do you think this is going to be bad?” Kari whispered. “Like is someone in trouble?”

  Ashley shook her head. “You said it was about the trip. I think you’re right.” She grinned. “But come on . . . Mom and Dad never have bad news.” Ashley giggled. “And if anyone was in trouble it would be me.” She pumped her fist in the air. “And I’m definitely not in trouble. Not this week!”

  Kari nodded. Yes, that was it. Whatever this meeting was about, everything was going to be okay. Ashley was right. They were headed for the beach tomorrow morning.

  What could possibly be wrong?

  8

  The Awful, Unthinkable, Really Bad News

  ASHLEY

  As everyone took a seat, a strange kind of quiet came over the family. Ashley looked around. Brooke and Kari, Erin and Luke, even their parents sat quietly. No one wanted to speak. It was as if everyone knew something was coming.

  But what?

  Finally their dad took a long breath and opened his mouth. “First, we’re leaving at seven tomorrow morning.” He smiled at them. “Everyone packed?”

  Ashley’s siblings nodded. She was the only one. Again. “Almost.” She gave her father a weak smile. “Sorry. Time ran away with me.”

  “Got away from you.” He did a hushed laugh. “Time got away from you.”

  “Right.” Ashley gave a single nod. “That.”

  Their mom seemed a little rigid. She looked at their dad and her eyes got serious. “John . . .” That’s all she said.

  Just his name.

  “Right.” Dad took another deep breath. “So . . . we have some big news. I’ve been offered a job at a hospital in Bloomington, Indiana.”

  Ashley blinked. Indiana? How was her dad going to make that drive every day? She leaned forward. The eyes of her siblings grew wide and no one said a word.

  Their mom crossed her arms. Her eyes got watery, like she was about to cry.

  Just inside her chest, Ashley could feel her heart beating faster. Harder. She tried to speak, tried to think about how to ask the big question: Why would her father take a job so far away?

  But her words wouldn’t come.

  Dad held his hands together. “I’ll be working at a brand-new facility, and I’ll be in charge of the emergency room. It’s a wonderful opportunity.” His smile seemed calm, like everything was normal.

  Except it wasn’t. Not at all.

  Ashley raised her hand. Her question came before anyone actually called on her. “How long will it take you to drive there every day?”

  Their dad’s face went kind of blank. “That’s what I’m trying to say, honey.” He looked from her to Brooke and then to Kari and to Erin and finally Luke. “We’re moving! To Indiana.”

  Mom took a deep breath. “At the end of the school year.”

  Ashley felt like she was on a spinning merry-go-round. One that wouldn’t stop no matter what. This couldn’t be happening. She raised her hand again. “The whole family?”

  Kari was sitting beside her. She looked the way she had after the fall festival last year when she ate half her candy all at once. “You mean . . . we’re leaving Ann Arbor?”

  “We are.” Their dad looked less happy than before. “I know this is a bit of a shock. But w
e’ll be okay.”

  “What about school? And Lydia?” Ashley stood up. “I, for one, am not going. I’m not able to go. I already have a commitment here.”

  “Ashley.” Their mom gave her a stern look. “Sit down, please. This is a family discussion. Not a protest.” Her voice got softer. “Obviously we are not leaving anyone behind.”

  Ashley sat down. The spinning was getting worse.

  “I’m fine with it.” Brooke smiled at their dad. “The kids in my class are mean anyway. Something new is a great idea. New start. New everything.”

  New everything? Ashley sank back in her chair. No one could ever replace Lydia . . . or this house . . . or the skating rink down the street . . . or the way her mom looked making snickerdoodles in this exact kitchen after school.

  Why would Brooke want something new?

  Luke bounced a few times in his seat. “Will we get a big moving truck? Just like the Johnsons?”

  “We will.” Their dad seemed glad for Brooke’s and Luke’s responses. “What about you, Erin, honey?”

  Ashley hadn’t noticed Erin in all this. A quick look across the room at her sister and it was clear she wasn’t happy or sad. Erin looked at their mom. “We’ll all be together, right?”

  “Of course.” Mom gave Erin a very kind look. “No matter what.”

  “Okay, then.” Erin’s lips turned into the slightest smile. “That’s all I care about.”

  Of course that was all Erin cared about. It was easier for her because she was only eight. Her whole life was this family and her books. Ashley crossed her arms. She loved her family as much as Erin did. And she loved this house. But she could not imagine leaving school and Ann Arbor. And she definitely couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Lydia.

  This was maybe the worst news ever.

  Ashley tried to focus on what her parents were saying, but she couldn’t. Something about packing up at the end of April and leaving the day after school got out.

  For a second, she closed her eyes. When she opened them the room seemed like it was shrinking. Also her heartbeat sounded loud. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans and tried to take a big breath. But she felt tired like after an hour of running around at recess or a whole soccer game.

  All around her the people in her family were talking. Even Kari didn’t look as sad as before. Ashley just wanted the meeting to stop, wanted everyone to go back to the details of the trip. So the meeting could be about the South Carolina beach.

  But they kept talking. Which could only mean one thing. This was really happening.

  They were moving.

  “So what are the names of our new schools?” Brooke looked more excited all the time. “And what’s the weather like in Indiana?”

  “Can I play baseball there?” Luke raised his eyebrows high up his forehead.

  “Yeah.” Kari nodded. “And is there soccer?”

  Ashley couldn’t believe it. Her siblings had a million questions.

  She only had one.

  “Why?” She looked around the room. That’s when her eyes filled with tears. “Why are you doing this?”

  “We.” Her father’s look told her that the move was already a for-sure thing. “We are doing this. As a family.” He seemed to relax a little. “Ashley, you’re going to love it. We all are.”

  “What if we don’t want to go?” Ashley didn’t want to sound rude. But maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe her dad would understand that this was awful, unthinkable, really bad news.

  Tears started spilling down Ashley’s cheeks. Didn’t anyone understand her? They had a deal, right? This was their home and they were never, ever leaving.

  Dad only let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. At the same time, their mom stood and came to her. “Ashley . . . sweetheart, it’ll be okay.”

  She sat next to Ashley and pulled her into her arms. Then she rocked her back and forth like she used to do when Ashley was little. “You can cry. I know it’s not the news you expected.”

  “W-w-why are we moving?” Ashley’s voice was small and sad. Tears crowded out her words. She rested her head on her mom’s chest and wiped her cheeks.

  The room was quiet again. Like everyone was watching her.

  Ashley tried to find the bravest part of her heart. They were moving. There were no options. And she didn’t like everyone watching her cry. She lifted her head and looked around.

  Kari was crying, too. Silent tears, but still. At least she understood.

  “Dad.” Ashley still didn’t understand. She brushed at her wet cheeks. “You already have a good job here. Why do you have to go to Indiana?”

  Their dad leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “My job here was never permanent, sweetheart. Trust me. This is a much better position. The head doctor at a new hospital.”

  “What’s the place again?” Ashley couldn’t remember anything but Indiana. “Bloom Town?”

  “Bloomington.”

  Bloomington. Ashley didn’t like the sound of that. “Like where flowers bloom?” It sounded like a place covered with roses and tulips. Which might be boring. Besides, no place could ever be better than Ann Arbor. This was their home.

  “I have a question.” Two more tears slid down Kari’s cheeks as she talked. “How far away is Bloomington?”

  Their mom still had her arm around Ashley, but she leaned forward so she could see Kari better. “About six hours.”

  “Six hours.” Ashley was on her feet again. “I’ll never see Lydia again as long as I live.”

  “That’s not true.” Their dad’s words were extra-warm. “We can take trips on the weekend to see Lydia. You can still be friends.”

  Ashley sat back down. Trips on the weekend? What about their lunch table? What about being snowflakes together?

  “It really will be okay.” Her mom brushed her hair back from her face. “I’m sorry, Ash.”

  “One thing.” Kari sniffed. “I really do hope they have soccer.”

  “They will.” Their dad seemed like he was trying to have pep in his voice. So the whole family would be happy. “And we’ll still have each other.”

  Their mother nodded. “What do I always tell you kids?”

  Erin was the first to answer. “Your very best friends are the ones sitting around the dining room table every night.”

  “Exactly.” Mom nodded. “God will be with us. A year from now Bloomington will feel like home.”

  Ashley couldn’t believe that would happen. Not in a year. Not ever. She felt tired in her soul. “Why did you tell us before the beach?” Her throat had a line of sobs ready to come out. “N-n-now the trip is ruined.”

  “Well . . .” Their mom wrapped her free arm around Kari, who was sitting on her other side. “Our Realtor is putting up the FOR SALE sign while we’re gone.” She looked at Brooke and Luke and Erin, and then at Kari. Finally she turned her eyes to Ashley. “We didn’t want you to be surprised.”

  A FOR SALE sign? For this beautiful house? The one she’d been drawing just a half an hour ago? More tears filled up Ashley’s eyes. So this was real. Not a scary dream.

  And a Realtor? Well . . . Ashley wasn’t quite sure what that was. But it didn’t sound right. Nothing did. And something happened that she was not expecting. She didn’t really care about the beach anymore.

  She was too sad.

  “I know moving isn’t fun.” Her father’s voice was nice, like usual. And maybe extra-understanding. “It really is okay to be sad.” Their father looked at each one of them again. “But God is calling us to Bloomington.”

  “He’s calling you to Bloomington.” Ashley crossed her arms. If her dad didn’t take that job, they wouldn’t be moving.

  Her dad smiled. “True. He is. It is my job that’s moving us. But I think everyone will benefit from the move. It’s an opportunity to meet new people and make new memories. It’s time to move on.”

  Their mom checked all the faces around her and then turned to their father. She sighed and stretche
d her arms wide. “Come on, kids. Come here.” Ashley and Kari moved closer to their mom. Luke, Brooke, and Erin slowly crossed the room to her. They all piled onto the couch, like they often did.

  One big family.

  Her mom wrapped her arms around all five kids as best as she could and hugged them close.

  Dad sat on the floor so he could look them all in the eyes, and then he took a breath. “We are the Baxter family. We will be okay. We have each other.”

  Deep down, maybe somewhere near her knees, Ashley knew her parents were right. They were going to be okay. They still had each other. But she didn’t like it. And up high, near her heart, something was crumbling like a soup cracker.

  Their dad clapped his hands, like Ashley’s soccer coach sometimes did. “Come on. Everyone on your feet.” He smiled, rallying the troops. “Let’s pray.”

  Baxter family meetings always ended by talking out loud to God. Ashley stood, and so did the others. They got in a circle and bowed their heads.

  “Dear God . . . we know this is hard. But we pray for strength and guidance as we plan our move . . .”

  As her dad started praying, Ashley started words of her own. She had lots to say.

  God. I’m kind of mad. I have that hurt feeling in my heart. I don’t want to move. I like my school. I like Ann Arbor. I’m going to miss Lydia so much. I don’t even know how I’m going to tell her. And I don’t know anything about Bloomington. I want to stay here.

  Help me believe that this will be okay. And help me have patience and keep breathing. I don’t know what else to say. Just . . . help me get through the goodbyes.

  Her dad was finishing his prayer. “And, God, help us get through the goodbyes.”

  Ashley popped her eyes open. She stared at her dad. How did he know that’s what she had just asked God? Goose bumps ran down her arms. Maybe God really was here. She looked out the window to the still-winter sky. And just maybe He was listening.

  Their dad closed by saying, “Please keep us safe at the beach and may we have a fun time together. As a family! In Jesus’ name, amen!”

  “Amen.” Ashley and her siblings and their mom echoed their father and they squeezed each other’s hands. Ashley felt a little bit better.